{"id":185953,"date":"2025-12-15T15:29:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T15:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/185953\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T15:29:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T15:29:14","slug":"china-japan-tensions-ripple-into-k-pop-as-japanese-members-sidelined-from-events-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/185953\/","title":{"rendered":"China-Japan tensions ripple into K-pop, as Japanese members sidelined from events in China"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEOUL \u2013 <\/p>\n

Tensions between China and Japan<\/p>\n

<\/a> appear to be affecting South Korea\u2019s music industry, as events in China featuring groups with Japanese members have either been cancelled or revised.<\/p>\n

One such event was K-pop girl group Le Sserafim\u2019s meet-and-greet event for their single Spaghetti (2025). Their Dec 14 Shanghai event was cancelled due to an \u201cuncontrollable factor\u201d with no further details given.<\/p>\n

Two of the girl group\u2019s five members \u2013 Sakura and Kazuha \u2013 are Japanese, and strained bilateral relations between the two countries are seen to have likely played a role.<\/p>\n

China-Japan ties have been frosty since November, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi\u2019s parliamentary remarks that Japan will be militarily involved if China puts up a naval blockade over Taiwan. China\u00a0views\u00a0Taiwan\u00a0as part of its territory to be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary.<\/p>\n

On Dec 6, K-pop boy band Close Your Eyes held a fan meeting in Hangzhou, China, without Japanese member Kenshin. No clear reason for his absence was stated.<\/p>\n

That same day, a fan meeting featuring trainees from Incode Entertainment was abruptly cancelled hours before starting. The line-up included two Japanese members, Masato and Sen.<\/p>\n

Incode cited \u201ca significant and unexpected force majeure situation\u201d that made it impossible to proceed with the event, despite efforts to explore alternatives.<\/p>\n

Since Seoul\u2019s 2016 decision to install the United States\u2019 THAAD missile defence system in South Korea, China has largely restricted K-pop concerts and related promotional activities. Smaller fan meetings and signing events without on-stage performances, however, have remained possible.<\/p>\n

The friendly and cooperative atmosphere established during the <\/p>\n

South Korea-China summit on Nov 1<\/p>\n

<\/a> had raised hopes of a lift on the unofficial \u201cHallyu ban\u201d. But the series of disruptions targeting teams with Japanese members has sparked fresh concerns in the industry.<\/p>\n

K-pop\u2019s global orientation means international members have long been a common feature of idol groups. <\/p>\n

Line-ups evolved from an early focus on Chinese members to feature artistes from a wider range of regions. <\/p>\n

With China\u2019s ban on South Korean entertainment lasting almost a decade, the industry has seen a particular increase in groups featuring Japanese members, as agencies seek to target both South Korean and Japanese listeners. Examples include Hybe\u2019s Enhypen, JYP Entertainment\u2019s Nexz and SM Entertainment\u2019s NCT Wish.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is too early to determine whether the conflict between China and Japan will be short-term or evolve into a structural constraint that further restricts K-pop activities in China,\u201d culture critic Kim Heon-sik told The Korea Herald on Dec 14. \u201cUntil then, the K-pop industry finds itself walking a precarious tightrope, as it watches how the situation unfolds.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added: \u201cHowever, as cultural exchanges between China and Japan stall, a well-calibrated response from the K-pop industry could turn this situation into an opportunity, not just to navigate the existing Hallyu ban, but also further expand its presence in the Chinese market.\u201d THE KOREA HERALD\/ASIA NEWS NETWORK<\/p>\n

K-popCelebritiesJapanChinaSouth Korea<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SEOUL \u2013 Tensions between China and Japan appear to be affecting South Korea\u2019s music industry, as events in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[146,85,46,409],"class_list":{"0":"post-185953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}