Japanese concerts in China are getting abruptly canceled as tensions simmer

BEIJING — China’s growing conflict with Japan is reinforcing Beijing’s growing economic influence and a propensity for sudden actions that could create uncertainty for businesses.

Hours before Japanese jazz quintet The Blend were to perform in Beijing on Thursday, a man in civilian clothes entered the DDC music club during sound check.

“The owner of the live-streaming house came to me and said, ‘The police told me that tonight was cancelled. There is no discussion,'” Christian Petersen-Clausen, a music manager who has organized more than 70 concerts in China in the past 12 months, later said.

“Everything Japanese is canceled now,” he said. He added that he spent six months getting approval from Chinese censors to allow The Blend to perform in the country.

DDC announced Thursday afternoon that the evening’s concert was canceled due to force majeure and ticket holders would be penalized. automatically returned in the coming days.

Japanese singer-songwriter Kokia’s concert in Beijing on Wednesday evening was also canceled. by venue. Technical issues were blamed in a public announcement on Thursday.

Again, there was little advance notice. What was said in a fan’s social media post waiting outside He remained at the venue for more than an hour until the concert went well beyond the scheduled start time.

Other concerts of Japanese artists were also held in China. canceled or postponed This week.

This appears to be the latest outcome of an escalating row between China and Japan over the status of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. November 7 comments He stated that Tokyo would support Taiwan if it was seriously threatened by Beijing’s military. Beijing claims territorial rights to Taiwan, a democratically self-governing island. Taiwan denies this claim and says only its people can decide its future.

“The speed and scale of Beijing’s responses are unprecedented,” said George Chen, partner at The Asia Group, a business policy consultancy based in Washington, D.C. He added that the biggest risk for Japanese brands in China would be a nationwide boycott, although there are limited signs so far that Chinese consumers are broadly avoiding the brands.

Two Chinese ministries took office at the end of last week Warns citizens against travel And study in japan. On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce also Threat of countermeasures against Japan “If it continues on the wrong path,” according to CNBC translation.

Mainland Chinese tourists have been the largest group of foreign visitors to Japan so far this year, and Nomura estimates bilateral tensions could reduce the small Asian country’s GDP by 0.29%.

It’s not just music that’s potentially affected, There are reports that Beijing will ban the import of all Japanese seafood – something that China’s Ministry of Commerce refuses to confirm or deny. The foreign ministry said only: “Under present circumstances No market for Japanese seafood Even if they enter China.”

The developments reinforce how abrupt and uncertain top-down policies in China can be, making it difficult for businesses to plan.

“There is no predictability because no one announces the policies publicly,” said music agent Petersen-Clausen. He said he held a Japanese concert in Shanghai on Wednesday without any problems and added, “No one told us anything like that on Saturday.”[‘s concert] It has definitely been cancelled.”

But China’s rhetoric remains firm and the foreign ministry appealed to Takaichi again on Thursday. withdraw your words and warned that “if Japan creates problems in Taiwan, Japan will not be able to recover from it.”

“Basically what this means is I have no hope for Saturday,” Petersen-Clausen said.

The venue expects about 200 attendees on Thursday alone, he said, adding that at both shows, about 20 Chinese people will be paid for the work involved. Tickets for the jazz performance ranged between $40 and $70 each.

The film industry may also come under pressure. Local releases of Japanese animated films featuring Crayon Shinchan and the “Cells at Work” series have been postponed, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday. He evaluated this move as “prudent” It is based on China’s declining interest in Japanese films.

“The risk for Beijing is that the perception that it is overreacting will strengthen anti-China sentiment in Japan, as it has in South Korea,” Teneo analysts said in a report. he said.

“If Beijing chooses to continue increasing pressure over the incident, additional measures could include trade investigations or new barriers to imports from Japan due to product safety concerns.”

Some venues in the US and UK following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 canceled Demonstrations or demonstrations featuring artists believed to support Russian President Vladimir Putin. China has also been restricting large-scale Korean pop music performances for nearly a decade in protest of its new missile system, but there are indications that these acts may return soon.

Uncertainty about concerts in China is hurting business, according to Petersen-Clausen.

“Foreign musicians rejected bookings from us because they said we didn’t know if it would actually go ahead or be cancelled,” he said. “The rumor goes around that China is sometimes unstable. This is a problem for us if we want to encourage people-to-people exchanges.”

“If we do not achieve stability and predictability, I will have to disclose a very significant risk, which is an unnecessary risk for potential investors,” he said.

Taylor Swift $2 billion Eras Tour It did not include China, although Mariah Carey and the Black Eyed Peas both performed on the mainland this year. Chinese policymakers have attempted to encourage some live events as a way to boost consumption and the overall economy.

But national leaders have other priorities.

“Music and arts, as well as sports, are the first things governments have ‘rediscovered’ as a means of coming together or reengaging,” said James Zimmerman, a Beijing lawyer and former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

“What happened to diplomacy?” he said. “Such arguments lead to the erosion of trust, and rebuilding trust becomes increasingly difficult on both sides. We see this in many bilateral relations around the world.”

— CNBC’s Hui Jie Lim contributed to this report.