Chinese state media repeatedly criticized Hello Kitty's parent company and apologized for "insulting China"

The Chinese subsidiary of Sanrio, the parent company of Hello Kitty, announced on Wednesday (October 28) that it would terminate its joint cooperation with the Japanese spy drama "VIVANT". The collaboration follows ongoing discontent on Chinese social media, with state media stepping up condemnation this week. This is the second similar incident in just a few days, highlighting that foreign companies and celebrities are treading on thin ice in the Chinese market.

"VIVANT" (also known as "Fellow Class" in Chinese) is produced by Japan's TBS TV station, starring Sakai Masato, Abe Hiroshi, etc., and is also broadcast on Netflix. According to reports, in the second season, which is currently airing, there is a plot in which Chinese intelligence agents torture Japanese agents.

Chinese state media fiercely criticized the show. According to reports, CCTV accused the show of "portraying Chinese people as inhumane perpetrators and beautifying Japanese Self-Defense Force intelligence officers as righteous counterattacks." It said that torture methods such as finger amputation and abdominal stabbing were similar to those used by the Japanese invaders. It "grafted" the crimes of the Japanese army onto China and "cognitively poisoned" the audience.

TBS President Long Baozhengfeng said at a regular press conference on Wednesday that the drama is "completely fictional and has no intention of disparaging any specific country."

According to media reports, Sanrio launched the first batch of co-branded dolls with the show in July this year, allowing characters such as Hello Kitty and Melody to dress up in the costumes of the characters in the show. In late October, the two parties announced that the second batch of cooperative products would be released, and the controversy expanded.

"Global Times" published a comment on the 28th, "Hello Kitty should not dance with the Japanese right wing," saying that Sanrio's cooperation with the show deviated from its "cute" and "healing" brand image, and also deviated from the founder's philosophy of "everyone living in harmony." The commentary also specifically mentioned that Sanrio's revenue in China in the first half of 2026 reached 781 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of more than 40%. Several official media Weibo accounts immediately forwarded it, and related topics became hot searches on Weibo.

Sanrio (Shanghai) International Trading Co., Ltd. issued a statement on its official Weibo late at night on the 28th, saying that the joint name "contains expressions that are inconsistent with the corporate philosophy of Sanrio Group", and decided to terminate the cooperation and subsequent publicity, and will strengthen the review mechanism.

The statement was initially published only in Chinese on Weibo. The Beijing Daily client published a comment on the 29th, questioning whether this was a "special apology" and lacking sincerity. Commentators called the play a "poisonous drama that insults China," warned that Japanese militarism was "poisoning" young people through cultural products, and said that "those who play with fire will burn themselves." Sanrio later issued a Japanese version of the statement on the official Japanese website on the afternoon of the 29th. Observer.com quoted Japanese media reports saying that the relevant co-branded product pages on the TBS official shopping website can no longer be displayed.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded at a regular press conference on the 29th that this TV series "once again exposed that there is always a force in Japan that attempts to vilify and discredit China through cultural products and spread anti-China sentiments" and should arouse the vigilance of the international community and people of insight in Japan.

Criticism from state media also drew sarcasm from some Chinese netizens. Some netizens said that "extreme low self-esteem can lead to extreme sensitivity", while others asked: "I allow anti-Japanese dramas, but don't allow others to have anti-China dramas?"

Sino-Japanese relations have deteriorated sharply since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks on the Taiwan issue late last year. China has discouraged its citizens from traveling to Japan and tightened exports of rare earths to Japan. However, a large number of Japanese companies, including Sanrio, still rely on the Chinese market. A few days ago, French star Kylian Mbappe just apologized for remarks involving "Mao Zedong is a dictator", and many Chinese sponsors have terminated their contracts with him. Previously, foreign brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, H&M, Nike and Adidas have also encountered boycotts in China due to "insulting" remarks, "boycott of Xinjiang cotton" or expression of concerns about "forced labor".