'One Piece' Singer Maki Otsuki Forced to Stop Shanghai Show Following Renewed China-Japan Tensions

Japanese singer Maki Otsuki was forced to abruptly halt her performance at an anime event in Shanghai, a move that highlights the growing fallout from renewed tensions between China and Japan.

On 28 November, Otsuki, known for singing the theme song to the hit anime series, One Piece, was forced to stop in the middle of her performance. Videos of her halted performance showing two members of the production team suddenly coming up to the singer to inform her of an issue, and Otsuki was then brought off the stage. Her management later cited 'unavoidable circumstances' for the cancellation.

Wave of Cancellations Hits Japanese Artists

Otsuki was not the only performer affected. Japanese girl group Momoiro Clover Z also had their performance cancelled, and the organisers of the event announced on WeChat that the entire festival, scheduled to run until 30 November, would be shut down altogether after 'comprehensively taking into consideration various factors.'

The cancellations have extended beyond a single event. Pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki and jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara were also forced to cancel their upcoming performances in China for similar reasons. The musical Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon was also cancelled.

'I still strongly believe that entertainment should be a bridge that connects us and that I should be the creator of that bridge,' Hamasaki wrote in a post on Instagram following the announcement of the cancellation of her tour in Shanghai on Friday. The cancellation came the day before she was to perform.

Political Tensions Boil Over

The incident is among the latest disruptions to take place in light of renewed tensions between China and Japan in recent days. This stems from the latest comments made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan.

Takaichi warned that an attack by China on Taiwan may trigger a military response from Japan. She compared the possibility to a 'survival-threatening situation.'

The Chinese consul general in Osaka criticised Takaichi's comments in a now-deleted post on X. 'The dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off,' they said at the time.

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson also issued a warning to Takaichi. They said that Japan could suffer a 'crushing' military defeat should Japan intervene militarily. China claims the self-governing island of Taiwan as its own.

Beijing's Broader Retaliation

China has also issued a warning to its citizens not to travel to Japan, resulting in hundreds of thousands of flight cancellations.

Beijing has also suspended imports of Japanese seafood, paused exchange programmes with Japan, and cancelled dozens of concerts of Japanese artists on its soil.

Journalist Soichiro Matsutani weighed in on the latest row between the two countries. Matsutani explained that this unfortunately came at a time when Tokyo appears to be increasing its efforts to promote Japanese video games, anime, and other media overseas.

'The situation surrounding Japan's entertainment business could become even more severe,' said Matsutani, citing the row between China and South Korea around 10 years ago over the deployment of a missile defence system. That situation led to China limiting the broadcasts of South Korean dramas and other media.