October 29th, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun presided over a regular press conference.
A reporter asked: The Japanese company Sanrio canceled its partnership with a Japanese drama because the portrayal of Chinese characters in the drama caused public aversion. What is the response from the spokesperson on this matter?
Guo Jiaqun said that we have noticed the relevant reports. This TV drama once again exposes the existence of a faction within Japan that attempts to portray China in a negative light through cultural products, spreading hatred towards China. This should draw the attention of the international community and insightful individuals in Japan.
According to previous reports, recently, the second season of the popular TBS TV series 'VIVANT', featuring a top Japanese star, caused strong indignation on the internet for deliberately smearing China and exaggerating the 'China threat theory'.
In the drama, Chinese intelligence agents are deliberately depicted as brutal and backward villains, who even resort to cruel torture such as cutting off fingers and stabbing people in the abdomen. These methods closely resemble the cruel treatments used by the Japanese invading army during their occupation of China against Chinese resistance fighters. This practice of distorting history and applying cruel punishments from the past to modern Chinese people is considered an attempt to deliberately create opposition and incite hostility.
On the night of October 28th, Sanrio's official account @HelloKitty_Sanrio issued an apology statement, announcing the termination of its joint collaboration with the anti-Chinese Japanese drama "VIVANT". Initially, this statement was only published on the Weibo platform, and was not synchronized to Sanrio's overseas official social media accounts such as X and Instagram.
On October 29 local time, Sanrio's Japanese official website also released a Japanese apology statement, announcing the termination of its partnership with "VIVANT".
Sanrio (Shanghai) staff revealed to Observer Network that they have completely stopped any joint collaborations with related Japanese dramas.
The statement says that regarding the controversial “VIVANT” joint product that caused controversy recently, the company has received opinions from various parties and expresses its deep apologies for the public concerns caused by this. The company believes that the content of this joint effort contradicts the corporate philosophy of Sanyi Group, and has decided to stop this joint effort as well as all subsequent projects and promotional activities. Currently, corresponding measures are being taken to address the situation.
The statement emphasizes that since its establishment, Snoopy has always conveyed values such as "care" and "connection" through its characters, and has committed to practicing the corporate philosophy of "harmonious coexistence among all people." Under the vision of "One World, Connecting Smiles," Snoopy hopes to make more people smile and extend the circle of happiness to every corner of the world.
Sanrio also stated that they will seriously listen to and take into consideration the opinions of all parties regarding this incident. In the future, when carrying out joint cooperation projects, they will further strengthen the relevant review mechanisms.
