Sanrio, the Japanese company behind Hello Kitty, has ended a merchandise partnership with the Japanese television spy series Vivant and apologized after the show drew criticism in China, BBC reported Thursday¹.

BBC said Vivant has been criticized in Chinese state media and on Chinese social media for depicting Chinese agents using torture on a Japanese operative¹. Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters, including My Melody and Cinnamoroll, appeared in merchandise dressed as characters from the series¹.

Sanrio said it ended the collaboration after finding it contained elements inconsistent with the company’s core values¹. In a statement late Wednesday, the company said it had taken the feedback seriously and would strengthen review processes for future collaborations¹.

BBC placed the dispute in a wider cooling of China-Japan relations after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in parliament last November that Japan could activate its self-defense force if China attacked Taiwan¹. BBC said Beijing has since restricted rare-earth exports, curbed tourism and moved to reclaim pandas¹. Takaichi told parliament earlier this month that she had recorded Vivant episodes and planned to watch them over the year-end holidays, BBC reported¹.

State-run Global Times criticized Sanrio on Wednesday, BBC reported, arguing the Hello Kitty character should not be linked to what it called Japan’s right wing and warning that collaborating with what it termed anti-China content could damage long-term trust¹.

BBC said Vivant follows a Japanese salaryman drawn into crime and espionage; its first season aired in 2023 in a fictional Central Asian setting¹. Reuters also reported that Sanrio cut ties with the television spy show after backlash in China; the full Reuters article could not be retrieved².