Hello Kitty maker ends collab with Japanese spy drama after backlash in China

Hello Kitty maker ends collab with Japanese spy drama after backlash in China

Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty, has apologised and ended its merchandise partnership with a controversial Japanese TV show after drawing backlash in China.

Vivant, a popular spy thriller, has been widely criticised in Chinese state media and by Chinese social media users for portraying Chinese agents as using brutal torture methods on a Japanese operative.

The backlash has also reached the internationally loved Hello Kitty and her friends, including My Melody and Cinnamoroll, who appeared in merchandise dressed as characters from the show.

Sanrio said it ended its collaboration with Vivant after deciding that it "contained elements inconsistent with Sanrio's core values".

"Since its inception, Sanrio has consistently used its characters to convey values such as care and connection, and remains committed to its corporate philosophy of fostering harmony among all people," Sanrio said in a statement late on Wednesday.

"We take the feedback we have received regarding this incident very seriously. Moving forward, we will strengthen our review processes for all future collaborative projects."

China-Japan relations have fallen to their lowest level in years since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments on Taiwan last November triggered a diplomatic uproar.

In response to a question in parliament, Takaichi suggested that Japan would deploy its self-defence force if China attacked Taiwan.

Beijing has since been increasing pressure on Tokyo, from limiting rare earth exports to reducing tourism and even taking back its pandas.

Takaichi told parliament earlier this month that she had recorded episodes of Vivant and intended to watch them over the year-end holidays.

State-run Global Times criticised Sanrio on Wednesday, saying the hugely popular cat character "should not dance with Japan's right wing".

Sanrio "stands to lose far more than short-term sales" by working with "anti-China content", the Global Times article said. "The trust and emotional bond it has built up over a long time will also suffer."

Hello Kitty is not the only internationally beloved figure to have faced such anger in China in recent days.

Earlier this week, several Chinese brands dropped French footballer Kylian Mbappé over comments he had made about late Chinese leader Mao Zedong - which he has since apologised for.

Vivant follows a Japanese salaryman who becomes caught up in an international network of crime and espionage.

Its first season, which aired in 2023, was set in a fictional Central Asian country. Its second season, which premiered in July, shows Chinese agents torturing a Japanese spy by cutting his fingers and stabbing his abdomen.

Chinese state outlets, including CCTV, said these tactics "highly overlap" with those historically used by Japanese troops against the Chinese, and that the drama "distorts the truth".

Masamine Ryuho, president of Vivant's TV network TBS, said on Wednesday that the show was entirely fictional and had no intention of "disparaging any particular country".