Sanrio, the Japanese company behind the popular character Hello Kitty, apologised on Thursday over its tie-up with a TV spy drama criticised as being anti-China, which had prompted the cancellation of a merchandise collaboration with the show. It comes days after Chinese sponsors dropped football superstar Kylian Mbappé over comments calling communist leader Mao Zedong a “dictator”, for which the Real Madrid forward later apologised. Read moreReal Madrid apologises to China over Mbappé’s Mao Zedong comments In one episode of “Vivant”, a drama with a wide audience in Japan, a Chinese-affiliated organisation had been depicted torturing a member of the Japanese military’s unofficial spy unit. “We have recently received feedback from various quarters regarding the collaborative merchandise with the Japanese television drama VIVANT,” Sanrio said in a statement. “We sincerely apologise for any concern this may have caused.” The project “contains expressions that are inconsistent with the Sanrio Group’s corporate philosophy”, it said. Sanrio said it had “decided to cease this collaboration, as well as all subsequent projects and promotional campaigns”. Hello Kitty and other cute Sanrio characters had been depicted as characters from “Vivant” – currently in its second season – in a range of novelty merchandise items. Read moreFrench-Saudi ‘Dragon Ball’ theme park puzzles Japanese manga fans Before the apology, Chinese state media outlet the Global Times had accused the show of “smearing China”, saying it had “sparked shock and fierce backlash on social media”. The series reflects the “anti-China narrative of the current conservative Japanese right-wing administration, catering to the trend of right-wing extremism in Japanese society”, it said. Long-frosty ties between the countries have worsened since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last year that Japan could intervene militarily in any conflict over Taiwan. Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to bring it under control one day. ‘Beauty and goodness’ The drama “is a completely fictional entertainment work”, private broadcaster TBS, which created “Vivant”, said in a statement to AFP. “There is absolutely no intention to deliver messages that disparage any particular nation or hurt public sentiment,” it said. The network’s president told Japanese media that TBS “does not in any way take a position that foments conflict between nations or condones the use of force or violence”. Comments posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo before Sanrio’s announcement had angrily criticised the merchandise tie-up. “Sanrio, you are a brand for conveying a message of beauty and goodness, why have you got involved with this?” one post said. “It’s disappointing,” read another. “The founder has long taken part in various anti-war activities, and Sanrio was originally founded on the ideals of stopping war and cherishing peace.” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun echoed the complaints at a regular news briefing on Thursday, following Sanrio’s statement. “This television drama once again reveals the persistent existence inside Japan of a force that seeks to use cultural products to vilify and smear China and spread anti-Chinese sentiment,” he said. “This should raise alarm amongst the international community and enlightened individuals within Japan.” The furore follows similar ire from the country over Mbappé’s comments.
Mbappé’s China faux pas: When the sports world collides with the complexities of geopolitics
To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
Accept
Manage my choices
One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Try again
Cover image: SPOTLIGHT © FRANCE 24
Real Madrid apologised to Beijing on Wednesday after their French star striker apparently joked about Chinese former leader Mao, sparking a social media storm that saw Spanish football yanked off Chinese state TV. Mocking Mao – blamed by historians for millions of deaths – is taboo in China. In a clip of a video interview with French show “The Bridge” – since taken down – Mbappé talked about being amused by an internet meme of his face photoshopped onto “some guy, think he’s a Chinese dictator”. Mbappé issued his own apology on Tuesday, saying: “My comment was ill-judged and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world.” (FRANCE 24 with AFP)