A live performance by renowned Japanese singer Maki Otsuki, the voice behind the iconic theme song for the global anime phenomenon 'One Piece', was abruptly cut short on stage in Shanghai. The incident, which occurred on Friday, is directly linked to a fresh diplomatic crisis between Japan and China concerning Taiwan.
Performance Halted Mid-Song
The singer was scheduled for a two-day appearance starting Friday at the Bandai Namco Festival 2025 in the Chinese metropolis. According to an official update posted on her website by her management on Saturday, Otsuki had to abruptly halt her performance due to unavoidable circumstances even though she was in the middle of her act.
This was not an isolated incident. The entire festival, which was scheduled to run through Sunday, was subsequently cancelled. Organisers announced the decision on the Chinese social media platform WeChat, stating they had called off the event after comprehensively taking into consideration various factors.
Diplomatic Fallout Over Taiwan
The disruption of the cultural event is a direct consequence of severely strained relations between Beijing and Tokyo this month. The tension ignited following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who suggested that Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan.
China, which claims the self-ruled democratic island of Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory and has not renounced the use of force to achieve unification, reacted with fury. Beijing summoned Japan's ambassador and issued a travel advisory, cautioning Chinese citizens against visiting Japan.
A Growing Trend of Cancellations
The cancellation of the Bandai Namco Festival and Maki Otsuki's performance is the latest in a series of cultural casualties affecting the two Asian giants. As reported by Kyodo News, other prominent Japanese artists have faced similar fates.
Popular Japanese girl idol group Momoiro Clover Z, who were due to perform at the same event on Saturday, were also affected. Furthermore, pop superstar Ayumi Hamasaki and celebrated jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara have been forced to call off their scheduled performances in China.
Reacting to her cancelled Shanghai tour, Ayumi Hamasaki posted a poignant message on Instagram, stating, I still strongly believe that entertainment should be a bridge that connects us, and that I should be the creator of that bridge. Her performance was announced as cancelled just a day before she was set to take the stage.
This growing list of cancellations signals a worrying trend where cultural and artistic exchanges are becoming collateral damage in the complex geopolitical dispute between Japan and China over Taiwan.
