Hello Kitty owner Sanrio scraps Japanese TV show Vivant deal over China backlash

Japanese character company Sanrio, the owner of beloved IP characters like Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, and My Melody, has ended its planned collaboration with the Chinese television drama Vivant due to strong opposition in China. An official statement released late on Wednesday revealed that the Japanese spy drama included content that "does not align with the Sanrio Group’s corporate philosophy."

The drama's controversial scenes depicting Chinese intelligence agents torturing Japanese operatives prompted China's state broadcaster, CCTV, to accuse the show of distorting history and deliberately slandering Beijing. As a result, Sanrio has ceased the current collaboration with Vivant, which debuted in 2023 and began its second season in July, along with all future projects and promotional campaigns.

The company expressed deep regret for the public concern generated by the partnership and vowed to enhance its internal review processes for future collaborations. The backlash in China came amidst escalating tensions between Beijing and Tokyo, which intensified in November when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested during a parliamentary speech that a Taiwan contingency might lead to Japanese military intervention.

While most countries, including the U.S. and Japan, do not recognize Taiwan as an independent state, Washington opposes any attempt to annex the self-governing island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons. Beijing and Tokyo's long-standing geopolitical tensions are deeply rooted in Japan's invasion of China during World War II.

CCTV noted that Vivant's plotlines featured a Chinese intelligence officer cutting off the fingers of Japanese operatives and stabbing them in the abdomen - actions "extremely similar to the torture inflicted by the invading Japanese army against Chinese resistance fighters." The state broadcaster stated that the series "reverses black and white by grafting [these actions] onto the image of modern Chinese people, deliberately creating conflicts and stoking hostility."

Sanrio has garnered a large fan base in China, thanks to its characters' soft shapes and pastel color palettes that convey warmth and comfort. The brand consistently promotes the value of "getting along together" and emphasizes bridging differences to live in harmony. China remains a crucial overseas market for Sanrio, with the company reporting revenue of 781 million yuan (US$117 million) in China during the first half of 2026.