COMICUP Bars Japanese Anime as China-Japan Dispute Disrupts Fans, Artists and Cultural Events

Eight Days to Rewrite a Convention

COMICUP, China's largest comic convention, announced a ban on Japanese anime and manga content on December 19, just eight days before its scheduled opening in Hangzhou. The change affected an event planned for December 27 and 28 with approximately 7,000 booths, forcing artists, sellers and fans to reconsider preparations made over several months.

Organizers told exhibitors and attendees that COMICUP 32 would switch to a "New Chinese Style-only" format. The directive prohibited Japanese intellectual properties, including fan art, merchandise and cosplay, inside the venue. Intellectual property here means the original characters, stories and other creative material around which fans build their artwork, products and costumes.

The organizing committee cited the "current social environment and our cultural obligations" as the reason for the adjustment. Its notice did not explicitly name Japan, but the restriction on Japanese content was clear to the convention community.

COMICUP usually serves as a large marketplace for doujinshi, self-published works often based on popular anime, comics and games. It draws tens of thousands of visitors, bringing together creators who sell their work and fans who come to buy it, meet artists and celebrate shared interests.

The announcement came during a diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Tokyo that had already disrupted Japanese films, exhibitions and live performances in China. At COMICUP, that dispute reached beyond major entertainment companies to independent artists who had paid for printing, travel and accommodation before learning that their planned work could no longer be displayed.

Artists Lose Months of Preparation

Several dozen artists planning to exhibit Japanese themed content reported that their booths had been cancelled. The explanations they received referred to reasons "well-known to all" and "factors beyond control." With only eight days between the announcement and the scheduled opening, participants had little time to recover expenses or replace their stock.

A woman from Chongqing had spent five months preparing artwork based on the Japanese manga Let's Go Karaoke. Rumors about restrictions had circulated before the official notification, but she had continued to hope that she would be able to attend and meet other fans.

The artist, whose name was not given, described her disappointment:

"I am feeling utterly helpless and sad. I had been looking forward to this event for so long, hoping to meet everyone in person," the artist said.

Exhibitors had already invested in flights, hotels and merchandise production. Those costs made the change more than a programming decision: cancelling a booth could also leave an artist with unsold products and travel arrangements purchased for an event that no longer accepted their work.

Refunds and Withdrawals Reshape the Event

Industry reports put ticket refunds at roughly 12 percent of advance sales, or about 13,000 tickets out of 110,000. Those figures describe a substantial withdrawal of planned attendance following the announcement.

The Shanghai Anime Guild withdrew its entire schedule of 30 panels. More than 150 independent artists also chose to move their showcases to virtual platforms instead of attending the physical convention.

For those artists, moving online offered another place to present the work they had prepared. The shift also meant that the convention would lose some of the creators and activities that visitors had expected to find in Hangzhou.

COMICUP's scale made these withdrawals especially consequential. An event planned around approximately 7,000 booths depends on many individual participants making separate decisions about whether to exhibit, travel or buy tickets. The policy change disrupted those decisions shortly before the opening dates.

Japanese Content Faces Selective Restrictions

Exhibition areas featuring American and European content were reported to be unaffected. That selective treatment prompted speculation that the restrictions were a response to worsening relations with Japan, rather than a general move to exclude all foreign entertainment.

The convention floor had originally been planned around a mix of global popular culture. Panels titled Naruto Legacy, One Piece World Tour and Studio Ghibli Animation Masterclass were removed. Organizers inserted programming focused on "Future China" and "Silk Road Stories" in their place.

Chinese entities, including Tencent Animation and Shanghai Comics, consequently dominated the revised floor. South Korea, the United States and France accounted for a smaller part of the international presence.

The announced theme and the reported treatment of exhibition areas left an uneven picture: Japanese franchises faced removal, while some other foreign content remained. For a creator preparing a booth around a particular manga or anime, changing the theme meant changing the central subject of the work, not simply its presentation.

Taiwan Remarks Drive the Diplomatic Dispute

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks in parliament in November suggesting that an attack on Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan. Her comments implied possible military involvement by Japan's Self-Defense Forces, which Beijing viewed as a provocation.

China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and strongly opposes foreign interference in what it considers an internal matter. Takaichi's remarks connected a possible attack on Taiwan to Japan's own security, putting the two governments at odds over how Japan might respond.

Beijing increased pressure on Tokyo after the comments. Its measures included urging Chinese citizens not to travel to Japan, suspending seafood imports and postponing meetings between senior diplomatic officials.

Cancellations involving Japanese artists appeared to form part of that broader response. COMICUP's organizers referred to the social environment and cultural obligations rather than explicitly identifying the diplomatic dispute in their notice, but the convention change followed the wider disruption of Japanese entertainment in China.

How the Restrictions Unfolded

The dispute and the cultural cancellations developed over several weeks. For COMICUP participants, the decisive announcement arrived late in that sequence, close to the dates for which they had booked travel and prepared merchandise.

• November: Takaichi's parliamentary remarks about Taiwan intensified the diplomatic dispute between Japan and China.
• Early December: An exhibition devoted to Hayao Miyazaki's work was postponed in Guangzhou.
• December: The Chinese theatrical run of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle ended abruptly.
• December 19: COMICUP organizers announced the switch to a "New Chinese Style-only" format.
• December 27 and 28: COMICUP 32 was scheduled to take place in Hangzhou.

The December 19 notice gave exhibitors eight days before the first scheduled convention day. That short interval helps explain why the change affected both participation and spending: artists were already near the end of their preparations when the permitted content changed.

Films, Exhibitions and Performances Disrupted

Guangzhou's postponed exhibition focused on the work of Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli. Its delay in early December was one of several interruptions affecting Japanese cultural events.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle ended its theatrical run in China abruptly during December despite performing well at the box office. Regulators reportedly declined to grant the film a standard release extension, citing "unavoidable circumstances." A release extension would have allowed the film to continue showing beyond its existing theatrical period.

Screenings of Detective Conan: The Time-Bombed Skyscraper and the latest Crayon Shin-chan movie were postponed indefinitely. The live action adaptation of Cells at Work! was also delayed, with no new release date announced.

Japanese singer Maki Otsuki was escorted offstage during a performance in Shanghai. Concerts by Ayumi Hamasaki and live shows featuring Sailor Moon were also cancelled or faced disruptions at the last minute.

These incidents affected several different ways audiences encounter Japanese entertainment: cinemas, exhibitions, concerts and stage shows. COMICUP extended the disruption into a fan marketplace, where much of the activity comes from independent creators rather than the original producers of the franchises.

Cosplay Fans Face Reported Entry Checks

Unverified claims circulating on Chinese social media said that attendees dressed as characters from intellectual properties originating outside China would be denied entry. Staff were reportedly preparing to inspect people inside the venue for compliance with the "New Chinese Style" theme.

Those claims suggested restrictions broader than the removal of Japanese merchandise and panels. They concerned costumes based on any content originating outside China, while exhibition areas featuring some American and European content were reported to remain unaffected. The entry checks and inspections remained unverified.

Cosplay allows fans to dress as characters from the stories they enjoy. For attendees who regard it as personal expression, the prospect of being refused entry added anxiety to the uncertainty surrounding the convention.

The restrictions echoed a broader crackdown on cosplay that began in 2023. Chinese authorities cited the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security to restrict clothing that might "hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation." The law was not aimed exclusively at cosplay, but it had been used to target subcultures that authorities considered culturally inappropriate.

Hangzhou Faces a Possible Tourism Loss

Hangzhou's local businesses also faced potential losses from the convention's reduced appeal. Hotels and other businesses that depend on the influx of visitors for the event, held twice a year, were bracing for fewer customers.

A previous COMICUP edition held in Shanghai in October was projected to generate between 600 million and 1 billion yuan in cultural and tourism spending. That projection illustrates the scale of spending associated with the convention, extending beyond tickets and purchases at exhibition booths.

Analysts estimated that Hangzhou could lose roughly 200,000 potential tourist visits because Japanese content, historically a major attraction for part of the audience, had been removed. The figure was an estimate of potential visits lost, while the reported 13,000 refunds referred specifically to convention tickets.

Cancelled booths and the withdrawal of major international exhibitors were expected to reduce foot traffic and engagement. Fewer visitors would also mean less spending outside the venue by people who had planned to travel to Hangzhou for the gathering.

The revised event placed Chinese content at its center. Industry observers were watching whether that programming could sustain COMICUP's popularity, or whether the loss of Japanese media would weaken its standing within the international fan community.

The Bottom Line

• COMICUP announced restrictions on Japanese anime, manga, merchandise, fan art and cosplay on December 19, eight days before its scheduled opening in Hangzhou.
• The event was planned for December 27 and 28 with approximately 7,000 booths, before organizers switched it to a "New Chinese Style-only" format.
• Industry reports put refunds at about 13,000 of 110,000 advance tickets, roughly 12 percent.
• The Shanghai Anime Guild withdrew 30 panels, and more than 150 independent artists moved their showcases online.
• American and European exhibition areas were reported to remain unaffected, while major Japanese panels were replaced with Chinese themed programming.
• The changes followed a diplomatic dispute over Takaichi's November remarks about Taiwan and disruptions to Japanese films, exhibitions and performances.
• Claims of entry denials for cosplay based on content originating outside China and inspections inside the venue remained unverified.
• Analysts estimated that Hangzhou could lose roughly 200,000 potential tourist visits following the removal of Japanese content.