Hello Kitty maker Sanrio cuts ties with TV spy show after China backlash
- On Wednesday, Sanrio terminated its collaboration with the Japanese television drama Vivant after the series faced intense public backlash in China over its content.
- Chinese state broadcaster CCTV accused the spy thriller of "deliberately smearing" Beijing by depicting Chinese intelligence agents torturing Japanese operatives in scenes critics interpreted as distorting wartime history.
- China accounts for about 40% of Sanrio's overseas sales and roughly a quarter of operating profit, with the company booking 9.8 billion yen in Chinese revenue during the first quarter, up 25% year-over-year.
- Sanrio pledged to strengthen review procedures for future projects, while TBS President Masamine Ryuho defended the drama as "entirely fictional and has no intention of disparaging any specific country" at Wednesday's press conference.
- Tensions between China and Japan have remained elevated since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response; the incident echoes recent backlash against footballer Kylian Mbappe.
18 Articles
18 Articles
Sanrio has ended its partnership with the Japanese TV series "Vivant" and apologized after a strong backlash in China. The advertising line for the popular spy thriller featured Hello Kitty, My Melody and Cinnamoroll dressed as characters from the series. Criticism of "Vivant" is related to the way the series depicts Chinese agents using brutal methods of torture on a Japanese operative. Chinese state media and users on social networks have spok…
Japanese Sanrio, which owns Hello Kitty, apologized and ended collaboration with the Japanese TV series Vivant after criticism in China. This was reported on October 29 by The Straits Times. The company posted a statement about the cancellation of the project on its official Weibo account. Sanrio is now abandoning
Sanrio has apologized and immediately terminated its collaboration and canceled the Hello Kitty collection with the popular series "Vivant" following backlash in China over the series' portrayal of Chinese characters using cruel and inhumane torture methods.
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