Sanrio issues an apology statement on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on October 28, 2026. Photo: Screenshot from HelloKitty_Sanrio's Weibo account

Japanese character company Sanrio's collaboration with Japanese TV drama Vivant, which has been accused of seriously distorting China's image, drew widespread attention after the company launched co-branded products with the series in July. Numerous Chinese and Japanese netizens criticized the company, saying the partnership contradicted the anti-war principles it has long promoted.

In an exclusive response to the Global Times, representatives from Sanrio said the company had determined that content related to its licensing collaboration with Vivant contained statements inconsistent with the company's corporate philosophy. It had therefore decided to terminate all collaboration projects, subsequent related arrangements and promotional activities, adding that it was swiftly implementing the necessary measures.

Asked whether it had conducted a comprehensive review of the relevant episodes of the drama's second season before entering into the partnership, Sanrio's representatives told the Global Times that the collaboration involved planning and approving co-branded merchandise featuring characters from the first season of Vivant and Sanrio's own characters, rather than jointly creating the drama's content with its producers.

"We did not participate in the filming or production of the TV drama and were not aware of its plot in advance," the company said, adding that it could not comment on the details of its review procedures.

Earlier, following widespread online backlash over the collaboration, Sanrio issued an apology statement on the Chinese social media platform Weibo on Wednesday. The statement drew further criticism from Chinese netizens, who questioned why it had not been posted on the company's overseas platforms and called for a broader public apology. 

On Thursday afternoon, the company published the same statement in Japanese language on its official website. Sanrio said it would take the incident as a lesson, sincerely consider the feedback it had received and further strengthen its review mechanisms for future collaborations.

"Taking this incident as an opportunity, we will re-examine our existing review procedures," representatives from Sanrio said, adding that Sanrio would conduct appropriate checks and take suitable measures based on the specific content of each project.

The controversy has also prompted criticism on Japanese social media. One netizen questioned whether China was included in Sanrio's corporate philosophy of "everyone living together in harmony," while another said they had long supported Sanrio as an anti-war company and were deeply disappointed by the partnership.