Sanae Takaichi's remarks crash Japan's anime box office in China

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks regarding Taiwan caused significant economic damage to Japan's anime industry.

Two highly anticipated Japanese anime films, "Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers" and "Cells at Work," have announced the suspension of their releases in turn. Meanwhile, all other pending and unreleased Japanese anime projects aimed at the Chinese market have come to a complete halt.

Released on November 14, "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinite Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns" set a new record for the highest opening day box office of any Japanese film in China. However, amid the fallout from Takaichi's provocative remarks, the film suffered a sharp decline in box office revenue shortly after its release, with ticket sales dropping dramatically.

Before this, Japanese anime had been experiencing steady growth in the Chinese market. This year alone, titles like "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved" and "Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time" were successfully released, creating positive outcomes for both the industry and audiences. As one of the most important overseas markets for Japanese animation, the upheaval in China's market – caused by political provocations – has severely impacted box-office performance for both current and upcoming films. It has also disrupted the entire industrial chain, from derivative sales and commercial collaborations to theme exhibitions, shaking confidence across Japan's anime sector.