The China Film Administration has frozen approvals of new Japanese movie titles, while the release of at least six titles that had previously been approved has been postponed indefinitely. — Bloomberg
SHANGHAI: Earlier this month, fans packed a Guangzhou cinema to see Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle, helping to make the animated feature China’s top-grossing foreign film of the year.
Some even came in cosplay, excited to be part of a cultural phenomenon that’s smashing box office records around the world.
But an escalating spat between Japan and China over remarks about Taiwan by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is threatening to derail what was set to be a breakout year for anime in the world’s second-largest cinema market.
The China Film Administration has frozen approvals of new Japanese movie titles, while the release of at least six titles that had previously been approved has been postponed indefinitely.
More than 20 performances by Japanese musicians and one comedy group have been cancelled. Those came on the heels of Takaichi’s comments suggesting a hypothetical conflict over Taiwan – an island China claims as its own – could pose an existential risk to Japan.
Among the animated films affected are Detective Conan: The Time-Bombed Skyscraper and the latest Crayon Shin-chan movie.
Although the scope and duration of Beijing’s restrictions on Japanese films and live events remain unclear, the uncertainty is weighing on Japanese companies’ ambitions to expand beyond a rapidly aging and shrinking domestic audience.
“Japan is walking a razor’s edge,” said Matt Alt, Tokyo-based author of Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World.
Japan’s shift from a manufacturing economy to one driven by services and content may make it vulnerable to political tensions and boycotts by Chinese consumers, he said.
“You can’t predict when China’s censors will come down with the hammer. It’s like trying to forecast the weather.”
Asked if the movie suspensions and concert cancellations are part of a retaliatory response to Japan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning didn’t answer directly but said Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan have hurt Chinese people’s sentiments and affected cooperation between the two countries.
“Japan should correct its wrongdoing and stop creating trouble on issues related to China,” she said.
The recent flare-up between the two neighbours is also a reminder of the damage borne by South Korea’s entertainment industry nearly a decade ago, when Beijing halted concerts, TV dramas and celebrity endorsements after South Korea deployed a US missile-defense system.
Beijing has also slowed the number of American films released in the country, making its clout felt in Hollywood.
US blockbuster films have since returned to the mainland, although South Korean content remains largely barred.
In recent years, Japanese anime helped fill the void left by South Korean content. Demand surged during the pandemic, buoyed by hit anime streamed on online video platforms owned by Bilibili Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
Japanese content powerhouse Sony Group Corp rode that wave with an investment in Bilibili, while Studio Ghibli Inc partnered with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s film arm, Damai Entertainment.
Based on the best-selling manga series, the latest Demon Slayer movie grossed US$49.9mil in its first weekend in China, according to Artisan Gateway, putting it among the top box-office debuts for a Japanese title.
At home and in North America, it broke records and spurred Sony, whose unit Aniplex Inc was involved in producing the film alongside Ufotable Inc and Shueisha Inc, to lift its annual forecast. — Bloomberg
