On November 6, Japan's Sanrio announced that due to the criticism faced by their joint product with the popular TV series 'VIVANT' in China, and its subsequent removal from the market, the company will strengthen the review and approval processes for jointly developed projects in the future.
According to Kyodo News, Matsumoto Jōichirō, executive director of Sanrio, made the above statement when answering reporters' questions online.
Sanrio explained that the decision to collaborate with Vivant was based on the content of the first season. The criticism in China stemmed from the plot in the second season: depicting Chinese people as inhumane bullies, and portraying Japanese Self-Defense Forces agents as just counterpunching heroes.
According to reports, although this joint product is only sold in Japan, Matsumoto said, “If it will disappoint Chinese consumers, we should not continue doing this.” He also admitted that their previous review process was not thorough enough.
Matsumoto simultaneously stated: “China is an important market and we have no plans to change our investment strategy.”
Recently, the second season of the popular TBS TV series "VIVANT," featuring a top Japanese star, caused strong outrage on the internet for deliberately slandering China. Against this backdrop, the joint product launched by the Japanese Sanrio company and the series once again attracted widespread attention.
As a brand labeled with 'cute' and 'healing', and carrying the concept of peace, Sanrio has been deeply associated with a controversial drama series that ‘smears China and distorts history’. This has caused shock and strong opposition among online users on social media. Many Chinese and Japanese netizens have criticized Sanrio for abandoning its long-advocated anti-war ideals.
On the late night of October 28th, Sanrio issued a apology statement ahead of Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo and REDnote, announcing the termination of the related joint cooperation.
On the 29th, Sanrio’s Japanese official website released a Japanese apology statement, announcing the termination of its partnership with the anti-China Japanese drama ‘VIVANT’.
Observer.com found that the specific content of the Japanese official statement is consistent with the Chinese version published on Chinese platforms the previous day. Both statements mention that the cooperation with VIVANT does not align with the philosophy of Saurin Group. Saurin Group has decided to stop all joint initiatives and subsequent promotional activities. It also emphasizes that it will further strengthen the review process for such joint activities in the future. Saurin Group will seriously consider and take into account opinions from all parties regarding this incident.
Sanrio (Shanghai) staff revealed to Observer Network that they have completely terminated their joint cooperation with VIVANT. An internal team has been formed to urgently handle this matter.
Regarding the controversy over the inconsistent release times of the Chinese and Japanese statements, Sanrio explained that both statements were originally planned to be released simultaneously. However, delays in the process prevented this from happening. The Chinese company released the statement late at night on the 28th, while the Japanese headquarters rushed to process and release it “at the fastest speed” on the morning of the 29th.
