On the afternoon of November 28th, the organizers of the Shanghai concert of the well-known Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki announced the cancellation of the “Ayumi Hamasaki 2025 Asia Tour” in Shanghai due to “force majeure”. The concert, which was scheduled for the evening of November 29th, was meant to be the finale of Hamasaki’s Asian tour. The company responsible for organizing Hamasaki’s concert in China expressed deep apologies to the audience for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation. They stated that ticket holders do not need to take any action as refunds will be processed within 30 days through the original payment method.
In a post on her Instagram story, Hamasaki revealed, “As with previous performances, my team and I, consisting of 200 members, worked day and night, spending five days setting up the Shanghai stage for today’s event. However, key staff members were hastily summoned in the morning and we received a request to cancel the performance.”
She further expressed, “I have no intention to comment on things I do not understand. I am simply filled with regret that I couldn’t allow around 100 Chinese staff who had worked hard for this performance, as well as another 100 staff, dancers, and band members, to participate. It is unbelievable and inexpressible that this stage is now being dismantled, and I don’t even have the opportunity to apologize to the approximately 14,000 TAs (Ayumi Hamasaki fans) who gathered from China, Japan, and other countries. I am truly sorry.”
On the previous day, November 27th, Hamasaki had made a post mentioning the concert but without indicating a cancellation. She had mentioned the tragic fire at Hongfu Garden in Tai Po, Hong Kong, and advised audience members attending the Shanghai concert to avoid wearing red clothing. She also stated that the concert organizers would cancel red costumes and live flame effects at the venue.
Hamasaki’s Asian tour began in June in Hong Kong, where she expressed gratitude on Instagram for the love and encouragement received from the people of Hong Kong, and she also urged everyone to pray for the victims of the fire that occurred on November 26th in Hong Kong.
Following the cancellation of Hamasaki’s concert, she went on to complete the entire performance in the empty venue. Some netizens commented, “At this point, extreme art has reached its peak: a return to the days of COVID-19, where Shanghai once again becomes deserted.”
In fact, with tensions rising in Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, several Japanese musicians have had their performances in Chinese cities abruptly canceled, and yet-to-be-released Japanese films have also been withdrawn.
On the evening of November 17th, QQ Music announced on social media that the JO1 Fan Party scheduled to take place in Guangzhou would be canceled due to uncontrollable circumstances.
On November 20th, Japanese actor Yuki Furukawa posted on Weibo that the Shanghai fan meeting scheduled for December 6th had been canceled for “unavoidable reasons,” and he apologized to everyone.
The official WeChat account of the Shanghai International Comedy Festival announced the cancellation of the “Yoshimoto Comedy Special” on November 20-22, due to “force majeure.” The Yoshimoto New Comedy is Japan’s representative stage comedy, and Yoshimoto Kogyo is Japan’s largest talent agency and television program production company, as well as the oldest talent agency in Japan.
Moreover, Japanese artists such as Takashi Kashiwabara, Yoshio Suzuki, Mari Nakamoto, KOKIA, singer-songwriter Natori, the Tokyo-based three-member band chilldspot, the visual kei band SID, and the “Kaoru Wada x Inuyasha 30th Anniversary Music World Original Anime Symphony Concert” have also canceled or postponed their performances in China.
In response to the news, some netizens commented on the Weibo news section, asking, “Who is responsible for my lost plane tickets and hotel bookings?” while others questioned, “Why can football matches in Sichuan go on?”
Even more surprisingly, on November 28th, during the “Game Carnival 2025” event organized by the Japanese game company Bandai Namco in Shanghai, Japanese singer Maki Ohtsuki abruptly had her performance of the ending theme song “memories” from the first season of the anime “One Piece” interrupted when the lights went out, the music stopped, and the performance was forcibly halted. Ohtsuki looked bewildered, and then two staff members came on stage, took away her microphone, and escorted her off the stage. The audience exclaimed, “Can’t be true”, “One-size-fits-all, nationwide one-size-fits-all, witness the scene… in a lifetime.”
In the realm of cinema, according to a post from the WeChat account of the “China Film Report,” it was indicated that imported Japanese films such as “Crayon Shin-chan: Shrouded in Mystery! The Flowers of Tenkazu Academy” and “Cells at Work!” will be postponed.
Regarding the aggressive actions taken by the Chinese government, senior Japanese media personality and Executive Director of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Think Tank Akihio Yanai posted an analysis on the social platform X, stating that the Chinese side’s obstruction of Japanese artists’ performances is an attempt to pressure the Japanese government through artists and fans, compelling Prime Minister Sanae Takai to retract statements concerning Taiwan. He further criticized this indiscriminate and coercive approach as demonstrating the Chinese government’s disrespect for art and human rights, causing significant losses for artists, organizers, and fans.
Yanai stated that on social media, many Japanese netizens strongly condemned the actions of the Chinese government. They also believe that the Japanese government should not yield to such hooligan behavior and support Prime Minister Takai’s firm stance on not retracting her statements.
Netizens criticized the Chinese government, expressing comments such as, “They wait until people arrive to announce the cancellation, a complete lack of respect,” “No matter what kind of contract is signed, everything becomes meaningless,” and “It’s like in ‘The Pianist’ or another film where the Nazis go to arrest the Jewish pianist – they waited for him to finish playing before taking action.” Some even stated that the Chinese government is more savage and brutal than the Nazis.