TOKYO (Reuters) - Hello Kitty maker Sanrio has cancelled a collaboration with a Japanese TV spy show after a backlash in China, the second incident in days to highlight the tightrope foreign firms and celebrities must walk in the lucrative market.
The Wednesday announcement by Sanrio's Chinese subsidiary came just after French soccer star Kylian Mbappe apologised for remarks about late Chinese leader Mao Zedong that saw several Chinese sponsors cut ties with him.
The hit show VIVANT, produced by Japanese broadcaster TBS and also available on Netflix, centres on Japanese spies and a terrorist organisation called Tent. The latest season, currently being aired, depicts a fictional Chinese intelligence agency capturing and torturing some of the Japanese spies.
Chinese anger over Sanrio's range of soft toys, including Hello Kitty, dressed as spies from the show has simmered for days on social media and came to a head this week when Chinese state media ramped up the condemnation.
"We deeply apologize for the concern this has caused everyone," Sanrio's Chinese subsidiary said in a statement.
"Regarding this collaboration, we believe it contains expressions that are inconsistent with the corporate philosophy of the Sanrio Group. We have therefore decided to terminate this collaboration along with all subsequent projects and promotional activities."
TBS did not have immediate comment on the cancellation.
TBS President Masamine Ryuho said at a regular press conference on Wednesday that the drama is "entirely fictional and has no intention of disparaging any specific country", local media reported.
Relations between China and Japan have plunged since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi late last year said that a hypothetical Chinese attack on democratically ruled Taiwan could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
China has urged its citizens not to travel to Japan and throttled exports of rare earths to the country, minerals vital to the manufacturing of everything from cars to weapons.
Swathes of Japanese firms including Sanrio, however, are still reliant on the world's second-biggest economy for sales. Sanrio booked sales of 9.8 billion yen ($62 million) in China in the first quarter, up almost 25% on the same period a year earlier.
Foreign brands have often faced public backlash in China. Dolce & Gabbana cancelled a Shanghai fashion show in 2018 after ads showed a Chinese woman struggling to eat pizza and spaghetti with chopsticks. H&M, Nike and Adidas in 2021 came under attack over comments made about labour conditions in Xinjiang.
