The company behind the successful Hello Kitty franchise has ended its partnership with a Japanese TV drama after Chinese state media and netizens condemned the show’s portrayal of Chinese agents using “deliberate smears” against China, according to the Guardian and BBC.

Sanrio Terminates Collaboration

Sanrio, a Japanese firm whose characters are popular around the world, said in a post on the Chinese social media site Weibo that it had decided to end its association with the TV drama Vivant after concluding that it “contained elements inconsistent with Sanrio’s core values.” The company emphasized its commitment to conveying values such as care and connection through its characters.

Vivant, a popular spy thriller produced by the Japanese TBS network, features Masato Sakai as a salaryman who becomes entangled in international crime and espionage. In the 4 October episode, a Chinese agent is shown cutting off the fingers of a Japanese intelligence officer and stabbing him in the abdomen.

Chinese Outcry Over Portrayal

The backlash began this week when Chinese state media criticized the portrayal of Chinese agents using “ruthless violence” to torture members of a secret unit of Japan’s self-defence forces. The Global Times, a state-run tabloid, noted that the methods shown in the episode bear striking similarities to those used by Japanese troops against Chinese civilians during the second world war. The outlet accused the drama of distorting the truth by attributing these historical atrocities to modern Chinese characters.

Chinese media also highlighted the timing of the drama’s second season, which coincides with increasingly tense relations between China and Japan. In November last year, Japan’s conservative prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, sparked a diplomatic row by suggesting that Japan would deploy its self-defence forces if China attacked Taiwan.

Broader Implications for Sanrio

China is a crucial market for Sanrio, which includes characters such as My Melody and Cinnamoroll. According to Chinese media, the Tokyo-based company earned 781m yuan ($117m) from the Chinese market in the first half of this year, up more than 40% from the same period last year.

The backlash against Sanrio follows a similar incident involving French international footballer Kylian Mbappé, who was dropped by several Chinese brands after jokingly referring to Mao Zedong as a “dictator.” Mbappé later apologized for his remarks.

Sanrio said in a statement that it takes the feedback it has received regarding this incident seriously. The company added that it will strengthen its review processes for all future collaborative projects.