{
  "id": 16411988,
  "title": "Fandom vs flag: why young Chinese embrace Japanese pop culture but reject war-era symbols",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/fandom-vs-flag-why-young-chinese-embrace-japanese-pop-culture-but",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-25T02:00:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3372036/fandom-vs-flag-why-young-chinese-embrace-japanese-pop-culture-reject-war-era-symbols"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chinese youth enjoy Japanese pop culture, including anime and music, but they draw the line at Japanese symbols of militarism. This stance was recently tested at Moscow State University when a Chinese student confronted a classmate wearing Japan's rising sun flag, leading to an online backlash. The flag is viewed as a symbol of Japanese aggression in China.\n\nMany young Chinese, such as Lucy Huang, a 24-year-old anime fan, acknowledge the differences between Japan in reality and its idealized depiction in anime. Huang stated that it is \"unforgivable\" for a Chinese person to wear the rising sun flag.\n\nAnother Chinese student, Lillian Liu, also expressed her disapproval of a collaboration between WEGO, a Japanese fashion brand, and the anime series My Hero Academia. Liu boycotted the collaboration as it featured a character linked to Japan's Unit 731, which conducted human experiments during World War II. Liu, who began watching anime in kindergarten, spends up to 20,000 yuan (US$2,995) a year on Japanese pop culture merchandise.\n\nWhile many Chinese fans appreciate Japanese anime and manga, they cannot support countries that violate their country's political stance. However, the spread of anime has helped young people avoid viewing all Japanese people as bad, according to Yuki, another anime fan. Yuki stopped following the series after the 2020 controversy and noted that the popularity of Japanese anime fluctuates with China-Japan relations and political tensions.",
  "summary": "Young Chinese people enjoy Japanese pop culture such as anime and music, but many draw a firm line at symbols of Japanese militarism. That line was tested recently at Moscow State University, where Chinese students confronted a classmate wearing Japan’s rising sun flag in class and called for his repatriation, state-run newspaper Global Times reported on Sunday. Many countries, including China,…",
  "key_points": [
    "Chinese youth embrace Japanese anime and music but reject militaristic symbols.",
    "Rising sun flag viewed as symbol of Japanese aggression in China.",
    "Young fans boycott collaborations involving wartime human experiment links."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The distinction between consuming Japanese media and rejecting its wartime symbols shows that Chinese youth prioritize national political stances over personal fandom when historical aggression is involved.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Mainichi",
        "title": "Japanese carmakers to cut development times to counter Chinese rivals",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/japanese-carmakers-to-cut-development-times-to-counter-chinese-rivals",
        "published": "2026-10-25T02:06:59.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Straits Times Business",
        "title": "Japanese carmakers to cut development times to counter Chinese rivals",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/japanese-carmakers-to-cut-development-times-to-counter-chinese-rivals-16425328",
        "published": "2026-10-25T04:10:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}