, Columnist
China’s Push Against Japan’s Soft Power Will Backfire
A Chinese tour group Tokyo last month.
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
China has tried many tactics to isolate Japan over the past month, from letters to the United Nations to courting France and Russia. Now, it has taken to silencing some of Tokyo’s beloved cultural icons, from the Empress of J-Pop to the world’s top-selling manga.
Officials in Shanghai last weekend staged a dramatic cancellation of a performance by the singer Maki Otsuki in the midst of a well-known theme from the anime adaptation of One Piece. Video from the event showed the music and lights being cut mid-song before Otsuki was escorted from the stage.