Music

Ayumi Hamasaki’s Shanghai Concert Canceled Day Before Schedule as Part of Beijing Backlash

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
China’s national flag

By Shotaro Demizu / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

12:43 JST, November 29, 2025

SHENYANG, China — Singer Ayumi Hamasaki’s Saturday concert in Shanghai has been canceled due to “unavoidable reasons,” the organizers announced, amid the worsening of Japan-China relations.

“All of sudden, we were asked to cancel my concert [scheduled for Saturday] this morning,” Hamasaki said in a post on her Instagram account on Friday.

Beijing has been stepping up its backlash against Japan over the remark that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made this month at the Diet that a potential Taiwan contingency could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan.

The cancellation of the pop singer’s concert, scheduled as part of her Asian tour, followed similar moves impacting events by other Japanese entertainers, including a concert by the duo Yuzu and shows by comedians from Yoshimoto Kogyo.

Prior to the cancellation, the organizers of Hamasaki’s Saturday concert had decided not to use pyrotechnics on stage, out of consideration for this week’s massive fire that engulfed high-rise condominiums in Hong Kong. They had also called for prospective spectators not to wear red when coming to the event.

Hamasaki’s gig in Beijing had been held as scheduled on Nov. 1.