K-pop Faces Hurdles Amid China-Japan Tensions... Japanese Member Groups in Jeopardy

Fan Meetings and Signing Events Canceled Across the Board
Restrictions on Multinational Group Activities Becoming a Reality

As political tensions between China and Japan spill over into the entertainment industry, K-pop groups with Japanese members are increasingly facing obstacles in their activities in China. Some observers are even speculating that a so-called “Korea-Japan ban” may be materializing.

According to the music industry on December 13, there have been repeated cases where K-pop teams with Japanese members have had their fan meetings or events in China either canceled or have been required to exclude the Japanese members.

Girl group LE SSERAFIM canceled their planned first single "Spaghetti" fan signing event in Shanghai, China on the 14th. Photo by Source Music

Girl group LE SSERAFIM canceled their planned first single "Spaghetti" fan signing event on the 14th in Shanghai, China. The organizer, Makestar, announced via social media that the cancellation was decided after discussions with several relevant departments due to “force majeure” reasons, and that all previous payments would be automatically refunded. However, the specific reason for the cancellation was not disclosed. Analysts suggest that the fact that two of the five members, Sakura and Kazuha, are Japanese nationals may have played a significant role.

Not only LE SSERAFIM, but also other K-pop teams such as Close Your Eyes and trainees from Encode Entertainment have faced similar situations, with Japanese members being excluded or events being entirely canceled. Close Your Eyes’ Japanese member Genshin was unable to participate in a fan meeting in Hangzhou on the 6th, and a fan meeting for Encode trainees scheduled in Shanghai on the same day was abruptly canceled.

After the easing of the “Korean Wave ban” (Hanhanryeong), which was imposed in response to the 2016 deployment of the THAAD missile defense system by US forces in Korea, small-scale fan meetings had become possible again. However, with events involving Japanese members now being affected, tensions in the industry have risen. Since most K-pop groups have multinational members, repeated exclusion of Japanese members or full event cancellations could pose significant challenges for future plans.

Following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about possible intervention in Taiwan in the event of a contingency, tensions between China and Japan have reached a peak, resulting in a series of concert cancellations for Japanese artists in China. Japanese singer Maki Otsuki was forced to leave the stage during a concert in Shanghai, and Ayumi Hamasaki pushed ahead with a no-audience performance despite being notified of her concert’s cancellation.