Sanrio cuts ties with TV drama Vivant after backlash in China

Sanrio, the Japanese company behind Hello Kitty, has apologised and terminated its partnership with a controversial Japanese television series following fierce backlash in China.

The controversy surrounds Vivant, a popular spy thriller that faced intense criticism from Chinese state media and social media platforms for its depiction of Chinese agents using brutal torture methods on a Japanese operative.

While the show's first season in 2023 was set in a fictional Central Asian country, its second season premiered in July with scenes showing Chinese agents severing a Japanese spy's fingers and stabbing his abdomen.

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The public outrage quickly extended to Sanrio after Hello Kitty and other characters, including My Melody and Cinnamoroll, were featured in merchandise dressed as characters from the show. In an official statement released on Weibo, Sanrio confirmed the immediate cancellation of the collaboration and all related promotional activities.

"We determined that the collaboration contained expressions inconsistent with the Sanrio Group’s corporate philosophy, leading us to terminate this partnership alongside all subsequent projects and promotional activities," the company stated.

Sanrio said the company is currently actively executing the necessary follow-up actions. "Since our founding, Sanrio has consistently used its characters to convey core values of 'care' and 'connection,' remaining dedicated to our philosophy of 'fostering harmony among all people'."

"Guided by our vision of 'One world, connecting smiles,' we strive to bring smiles to more faces and expand the circle of happiness to every corner of the world. We take all feedback regarding this incident very seriously and will enforce stricter review protocols for all future collaborative projects," the statement added.

On the other hand, Chinese state media, including CCTV, sharply criticised the storyline, asserting that the torture tactics shown "highly overlap" with those historically inflicted by Japanese troops on the Chinese and accusing the drama of "distorting the truth".

In response to the growing criticism, Masamine Ryuho, president of network TBS, defended the series on Wednesday, emphasising that the show is entirely fictional and was never intended to "disparagingly portray any country".

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Sanrio for a statement.

The incident unfolds against a backdrop of heightened political friction between Beijing and Tokyo, following a sharp decline in diplomatic relations triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments on Taiwan last November.

This marks the second major brand controversy involving Chinese cultural sensitivities in recent weeks. French football star Kylian Mbappé recently lost endorsement deals with Chinese brands including Mengniu, Dongpeng Beverage, and Milkground after making derogatory comments about former leader Mao Zedong on a podcast, leading to a widespread media blackout and commercial boycott in the country.

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