Japanese singer Maki Otsuki, famous for the theme song of the popular anime “One Piece”, was forced to stop mid-performance on stage in Shanghai amid a diplomatic dispute between Tokyo and Beijing over Taiwan.
Otsuki was scheduled to perform for two days at the Bandai Namco 2025 festival in the Chinese city starting Friday.
According to her management, she had to “suddenly cut short her performance due to unavoidable circumstances” on Friday, “even though she was in the middle of a performance.”
Its management posted an update on its official website on Saturday.
It was the latest hit in a series of cancellations of cultural events involving Asia’s two biggest economies.
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have soured over Taiwan
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have soured this month following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan.
China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to conquer the democratic island, reacted furiously to Takaichi’s remarks, summoning Tokyo’s ambassador and advising Chinese citizens not to travel to Japan.
What is Bandai Namco Festival 2025?
The Bandai Namco 2025 festival was scheduled to run until Sunday, but organizers announced on Chinese social media platform WeChat that the entire event would be canceled after “comprehensive consideration of various factors,” Kyodo News reported.
Popular Japanese girl group Momoiro Clover Z, who were scheduled to perform at the same event on Saturday, were also affected.
Other artists and shows forced to cancel performances in China include pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki and jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara, Kyodo said.
“I still firmly believe that entertainment should be the bridge that connects us and that I should be the creator of that bridge,” Hamasaki wrote on her Instagram after announcing the cancellation of her Shanghai tour on Friday, just a day before she was scheduled to perform.
