Sanrio Ends Vivant Tie-Up After Backlash in China
Hello Kitty maker Sanrio apologised and dropped its merchandise deal with the Japanese spy drama Vivant. Chinese state media had attacked the show and the partnership.
Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty, has apologised and ended its merchandise partnership with the Japanese TV drama Vivant. The move follows a backlash in China.
The company said it terminated the collaboration after determining that the show "contained elements inconsistent with Sanrio's core values". In a statement issued late on Wednesday, it said it takes the feedback "very seriously" and will strengthen its review processes for all future collaborative projects.
"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," the company said in the same statement.
Vivant is a spy thriller about a Japanese salaryman who becomes entangled in an international web of crime and espionage. Its first season aired in 2023 and was set in a fictional Central Asian country. The second season premiered in July. It shows Chinese agents torturing a Japanese spy by cutting his fingers and stabbing his abdomen.
Chinese state outlets, including CCTV, argued that these tactics "highly overlap" with those used by Japanese troops against the Chinese. They said the drama "distorts the truth". The show was widely criticised in state media and on Chinese social media. The anger reached Hello Kitty and her friends My Melody and Cinnamoroll, who appeared in merchandise dressed as characters from the show.
Pressure from Chinese media and officials
The state-run Global Times wrote on Wednesday that the cat character "should not dance with Japan's right wing". It said Sanrio "stands to lose far more than short-term sales" by working with "anti-China content". The trust and emotional bond built over a long time "will also suffer", the paper said.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson was asked about the scrapped partnership on Thursday. The spokesperson said the incident should "serve as a warning to the international community and discerning people in Japan".
Masamine Ryuho, president of Vivant's TV network TBS, said on Wednesday that the show was completely fictional. He said it had no intention of "disparaging any particular country".
China-Japan ties are at their lowest point in years. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments on Taiwan last November set off a diplomatic firestorm. Asked in parliament, she suggested Japan would activate its self-defence force if China attacked Taiwan. Beijing has since restricted rare earth exports, curbed tourism and reclaimed its pandas. Takaichi told parliament earlier this month that she had recorded episodes of Vivant and planned to watch them over the year-end holidays.
Hello Kitty is not the only internationally known figure to face such anger in China in recent days. Earlier this week, several Chinese brands dropped French footballer Kylian Mbappé over comments he made about the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. He has since apologised.
Source: BBC News