Japan ‘One Piece’ singer stopped mid-performance as Japan-China relations sour | Japan

Japanese “One Piece” singer Maki Otsuki’s management said she was forced to halt her stage performance in Shanghai, in one of the latest incidents hit by a diplomatic dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.

Otsuki, known for the popular anime’s theme song, was scheduled to perform at the Bandai Namco Festival 2025 in the Chinese city for two days starting Friday.

However, his management said in a statement on its official website on Saturday that “despite being in the middle of his performance” he “had to abruptly stop his performance due to unavoidable circumstances” on Friday.

This is the latest incident in which cultural events spanning Asia’s two largest economies have been cancelled.

Relations between Beijing and Tokyo soured this month after comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Tokyo could intervene militarily against any attack on Taiwan.

China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to take the democratic island, reacted angrily to Takaichi’s words, summoning its ambassador to Tokyo and advising Chinese citizens not to travel to Japan.

Bandai Namco Festival 2025 was scheduled for 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.

It was stated that the popular Japanese female idol group Momoiro Clover Z, who will perform at the same event on Saturday, was also affected.

Other artists and acts forced to cancel their performances in China include pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki and jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara, Kyodo said.

“I still strongly believe that entertainment should be a bridge that connects us, and I should be the creator of this bridge,” Hamasaki said on Instagram following the cancellation of her Shanghai tour, which was announced on Friday, just one day before her scheduled performance.