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Politics · Asia Pacific

Sanrio ends Vivant merchandise partnership after Chinese media criticism

Sanrio ended its merchandise collaboration with the Japanese drama Vivant after Chinese state media criticized the series. Sanrio said the collaboration contained expressions inconsistent with its corporate philosophy and said it would strengthen reviews of future partnerships.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 9 independent reports from 10 outlets · Article text read from 3 of 9 reportsHow it's made

View timeline · 12 entries
10 outlets3 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Center OnlyL 0 · C 9 · R 1
Updat3 graphic: China
Updat3 graphic · Map data: Natural Earth Natural Earth (public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Sanrio confirmed on October 29, 2026, that it is ending its merchandise collaboration with the Japanese spy drama “Vivant.”
  • Chinese state media accused “Vivant” of vilifying China.
  • The company said the collaboration content included expressions inconsistent with Sanrio Group’s corporate philosophy.

The brief

The criticism focused on the drama’s depiction of Chinese agents and the way it portrays China. Chinese state media accused the series of vilifying China; the Global Times argued that the show distorted wartime history and encouraged hostility toward China.

Sanrio’s decision followed that criticism, though the sources do not establish that the media campaign was the company’s sole consideration. Sanrio (Shanghai) International Trade apologized on Hello Kitty’s official Weibo account the day before Sanrio confirmed the end of the deal.

The company apologized for concern caused by the collaboration and described its content as inconsistent with the Sanrio Group’s corporate philosophy. Sanrio also said it would tighten review procedures for future collaborations.

The Global Times framed the partnership as a mismatch with Sanrio’s brand, writing, “Hello Kitty should not dance with Japan’s right wing.” The Straits Times reported that discussion of the cancellation was Weibo’s top trending item on Oct 29, showing the issue’s prominence on the Chinese social media platform.

The drama, produced by TBS, debuted in 2023, and its latest season began airing in July. Dimsumdaily described the criticism as centering on scenes in which Chinese agents torture a Japanese operative; the Japan Times characterized the criticism as accusations that the show vilified China.

Those accounts describe the controversy from different angles: one highlights a specific plot depiction, while the other foregrounds the broader accusation. The decision also touches a commercial relationship with China. The Straits Times reported that China has become a key growth driver for Sanrio and that the company has more than 60 stores there.

Sanrio’s stated changes to collaboration reviews and the continuation of its Chinese business are therefore concrete areas to follow, while the sources do not report any further action by the company or the drama’s producer.

Why it matters

  • Sanrio bears a direct commercial cost: it has ended a merchandise collaboration with TBS-produced Vivant following criticism of the show in China.
  • Sanrio’s Chinese business has a documented stake: The Straits Times says China is a key growth driver and Sanrio operates more than 60 stores there.
  • The company says it will strengthen future collaboration reviews, changing the stated process for evaluating partnerships.

What to watch next

  • Whether Sanrio implements the stronger review procedures it announced for future collaborations.
  • Whether Sanrio or TBS makes any further public statement about the ended Vivant merchandise deal.
  • Whether discussion of the cancellation continues to trend on Weibo after it was reported as the platform’s top trending item on Oct 29.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
10 source articles · 10 unique outlets · 8 distinct reports
Outlet political mix: Center Only· 9 Center · 1 Right
Where the outlets are based: Asia 50% · Europe 20% · Other 30%
Outlet political mix
Center Only
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
9 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
10 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among Center-rated outlets (9 of 10 rated sources); comparatively few Left-rated outlets have published on the event.
How we measure coverage

3 sources are from a wire service (AP, Reuters, AFP or Bloomberg), whose reporting other outlets often republish.

How outlets' accounts compare

3 framing differences · 1 uncorroborated claim · 2 information gaps
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 3 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 5 other outlets were checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • Dimsumdaily focuses on scenes depicting Chinese agents torturing a Japanese operative; the Japan Times describes Chinese state media accusations that the drama vilified China.
  • The Global Times frames the partnership as incompatible with Sanrio’s friendship-oriented image, while Sanrio’s stated rationale is that the content conflicted with its corporate philosophy.
  • Chinese state media made the accusations about Vivant; Sanrio described the collaboration content as inconsistent with its corporate philosophy.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • The Global Times wrote, “Hello Kitty should not dance with Japan’s right wing.”
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources do not provide sales figures, the financial value of the merchandise collaboration, or an estimate of the deal’s commercial impact.
  • The sources do not establish whether the Chinese media criticism was the sole factor in Sanrio’s decision.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Japan seized Manchuria after the Mukden Incident.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. Japan began a full-scale war with China.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. Japanese forces captured Nanjing.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. Japan’s surrender in 1945 ended its wartime rule and military occupation in China.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. Shintaro Tsuji founded Sanrio as Yamanashi Silk Center.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  6. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were normalized in the Japan-China Joint Communiqué of September 29, 1972.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China, signed August 12, 1978, established a further framework for bilateral relations.
    Background · from our historical context
  8. In 1982, controversy over Japanese history textbooks prompted official statements from Tokyo and Beijing about historical education.
    Background · from our historical context
  9. In 2005, protests in Chinese cities against Japanese textbook revisions and Japan’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council brought historical grievances into a wider diplomatic dispute.
    Background · from our historical context
  10. TBS’s drama “Vivant” began airing in Japan.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  11. Sanrio’s commercial exposure to China had also become substantial: in 2025, its sales there rose 83%, and China accounted for about 40% of its overseas sales.
    Background · from our historical context
  12. Discussion of Sanrio ending the collaboration was the top trending item on Weibo on Oct 29.
    Reported in this story's sourcesSource:The Straits Times

How we got here

TBS’s “Vivant” first aired in Japan in July 2023, running through September. Sanrio, founded in 1960, had built its business around character licensing and collaborations, while Hello Kitty first appeared in 1974. The sensitivities surrounding Japanese portrayals of wartime history have roots in Japan’s imperial expansion in Asia.

Japan seized Manchuria in 1931, after the Mukden Incident, and began a full-scale war with China in 1937. Japanese forces captured Nanjing that December; the killings and abuses that followed remain a major point of dispute in Chinese and Japanese public discussion of the war. Japan’s surrender in 1945 ended its wartime rule and military occupation in China.

Original sources

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