Sanrio ends Vivant merchandise tie-up after China backlash

By Amara Osei

Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty, apologized and ended its Vivant merchandise partnership late on Wednesday after widespread Chinese backlash over the Japanese spy thriller’s portrayal of Chinese agents torturing a Japanese operative. Sanrio said the program “contained elements inconsistent with Sanrio's core values.”

Chinese state media and Chinese social media users had widely slammed Vivant, a popular spy thriller, for showing Chinese agents use brutal torture tactics against a Japanese operative. The backlash widened to Hello Kitty and other internationally beloved characters, including My Melody and Cinnamoroll, who featured in merchandise dressed as characters from the show.

Why did Sanrio end the Vivant partnership?

Sanrio said: “Since its inception, Sanrio has consistently used its characters to convey values such as care and connection, and remains committed to its corporate philosophy of fostering harmony among all people.” It added: “We take the feedback we have received regarding this incident very seriously. Moving forward, we will strengthen our review processes for all future collaborative projects.”

Sanrio’s decision came as China-Japan ties fell to their lowest point in years. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan last November sparked the diplomatic firestorm. Responding to a question in parliament, she suggested Japan would activate its self-defence force if China attacked Taiwan.

Beijing responded to the diplomatic dispute by restricting rare earth exports, curbing tourism and reclaiming pandas. Takaichi told parliament earlier this month that she had recorded episodes of Vivant and planned to watch them over the year-end holidays.

What was Sanrio’s commercial risk?

State-run Global Times criticized Sanrio on Wednesday, saying the hugely popular cat character “should not dance with Japan's right wing.” It warned that Sanrio “stands to lose far more than short-term sales” by collaborating with “anti-China content.” The outlet added: “The trust and emotional bond it has built up over a long time will also suffer.”

Hello Kitty was not the only internationally beloved figure to face such wrath in China in recent days. Earlier this week, several Chinese brands dropped French footballer Kylian Mbappé over comments he made about late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Mbappé has since apologized.

The Mbappé episode showed how commercial links could become political liabilities in China. The Vivant case spread criticism from a television program into a merchandise partnership, pushing Sanrio to end its involvement.

Vivant follows a Japanese salaryman who finds himself entangled in an international web of crime and espionage. Its first season, which aired in 2023, was set in a fictional Central Asian country. The second season, which premiered in July, features Chinese agents torturing a Japanese spy by cutting his fingers and stabbing his abdomen.

CCTV and other Chinese state outlets linked the depiction to historical conduct. They argued that the tactics “highly overlap” with those historically used by Japanese troops against the Chinese. The outlets said the drama “distorts the truth.”

Masamine Ryuho, president of Vivant’s TV network TBS, said on Wednesday that the show was completely fictional. He said it had no intentions of “disparaging any particular country.”

Sanrio nevertheless apologized, terminated the collaboration and promised stronger reviews for future projects. Its late-Wednesday statement placed the decision alongside a broader dispute involving Global Times, Chinese state outlets and TBS.

The contrast between the fictional premise and the Chinese response