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Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty, has apologized and ended its trading partnership with a controversial Japanese TV show after drawing backlash in China.
Vivant, a popular espionage thriller, was widely slammed in Chinese state media and by Chinese social media users for its depiction of Chinese agents using brutal torture tactics on a Japanese operative.
Criticism extended to the internationally beloved Hello Kitty and her friends, including My Melody and Cinnamoroll, who were dressed in merchandise as characters from the show.
Sanrio said it ended its collaboration with Vivant after finding it contained “elements inconsistent with Sanrio’s core values”.
“Since its inception, Sanrio has consistently used its characters to convey values such as caring and connection, and remains committed to its corporate philosophy of fostering harmony among all people,” Sanrio said in the statement late Wednesday.
“We take the feedback we received about this incident very seriously. Going forward, we will strengthen our review processes for all future collaborative projects.”
China-Japan relations have sunk to their lowest point in years since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan last November sparked a diplomatic firestorm.
Responding to a question in parliament, Takaichi suggested that Japan would activate its self-defense force if China attacked Taiwan.
Beijing has since stepped up pressure on Tokyo, from restricting rare earth exports to curbing tourism and even taking back its pandas.
Takaichi told parliament earlier this month that she had recorded episodes of Vivant and planned to watch them over the end of the year.
The state-run Global Times took aim at Sanrio on Wednesday, saying the hugely popular cat figure “shouldn’t be dancing with Japan’s right wing”.
Sanrio “stands to lose much more than short-term sales” by collaborating with “anti-China content,” the Global Times article said. “The trust and emotional connection it has built up over a long period of time will also suffer.”
