Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actor Raymond Lam Fung has cancelled two coming concerts in Japan, adding to a growing list of high-profile entertainment disruptions amid escalating diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Tokyo.
Japanese promoter Promax Inc said on Wednesday that Lam’s “Go With The Flow in Japan” tour – originally scheduled for January 31 and February 1 at the Tokyo Garden Theatre – had been postponed indefinitely.
“After careful consideration and extensive discussions with all parties involved, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the performance due to unforeseen circumstances,” Promax said.
The concerts were set to be the 46-year-old singer’s Japanese debut after he enjoyed a surge in fame overseas as a result of his role in the martial arts hit Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. The blockbuster film had a successful run in the country, earning more than 570 million yen (US$3.6 million) at the box office and cementing its status as the highest-grossing Hong Kong production in Japan in two decades.
The previous Hong Kong blockbuster hit was Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s 2005 Kung Fu Hustle, which grossed 1.6 billion yen.
Late last year, fellow Cantopop singer Ekin Cheng Yee-kin also called off a Japanese concert scheduled for December 5 at the Yebisu Garden Place in Tokyo, attributing it to “unforeseen force majeure circumstances”.
Tensions rose in November last year after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that her country might consider military action if Beijing attempted to invade or blockade Taiwan.
The Chinese foreign ministry attributed the impact on cultural exchanges and cooperation to Takaichi’s remarks, stating they “severely hurt the feelings of the Chinese people”.
The diplomatic fallout also hit Japanese pop icon Ayumi Hamasaki. Following the abrupt shutdown of her Shanghai show in late November, her January 10 finale in Macau at the Venetian Arena was also axed.
The performance was meant to conclude Hamasaki’s first Asia tour in 16 years, but organisers cited ongoing political strains as the reason the tour could no longer reach its planned grand finale.
Similarly, Japanese singer Maki Otsuki, renowned for performing the theme songs of the popular anime series One Piece, was midway through her set at an event in Shanghai in November when the sound system was abruptly turned off, with organisers telling her to leave the stage.
At the government level, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu at the time stressed the need for official exchanges between Hong Kong and Japan to respect Chinese dignity and serve residents’ interests amid diplomatic tensions.
His administration cancelled or delayed numerous exchanges with the Japanese consulate.
A Hong Kong student delegation also withdrew from a regional exchange programme in Japan in November following a travel alert advising caution in the country. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
