Item 1 of 5 A woman points to an advertisement poster for a cancelled concert by Japanese musician Yoshio Suzuki before the organisers’ interview with Reuters in Beijing, China, November 21, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
BEIJING, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Japanese jazz musician Yoshio Suzuki and his band were in the midst of a sound check for some long-awaited performances in Beijing when the venue was visited by plain-clothes police on Thursday afternoon.
“After less than one minute, the venue owner came to me and said the police told him all concerts with Japanese people are cancelled – and there is no discussion,” said Christian Petersen-Clausen, a German concert promoter and documentary filmmaker who has lived in China for 13 years.
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About a dozen concerts with Japanese musicians in major Chinese cities have been abruptly cancelled this week as diplomatic tensions between Beijing and Tokyo escalate.
The trigger was remarks this month by new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi who said a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan’s survival could trigger a military response from Tokyo.
Suzuki, an 80-year-old renowned jazz bassist and his quintet had undergone a months-long review process to obtain China performance visas.
“They were absolutely excited to come to China,” according to Petersen-Clausen, adding the band was “crushed” at the news.
On Thursday and Friday, music venues across China were warned by authorities that concerts with Japanese musicians for the remainder of 2025 may be cancelled, he said.
The venues were also told not to submit fresh applications for Japanese performers’ gigs next year and concert organisers are now banned from sending promotional texts to fans about upcoming gigs of Japanese artists.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CHINA WELL VERSED IN CULTURAL BOYCOTTS
Other abrupt cancellations include a Beijing concert by Japanese singer KOKIA on Wednesday evening, according to dozens of complaints from angry fans on social media.
“Everyone queued until the start time, but they still wouldn’t let us in. Afterwards, KOKIA’s team came out to tell us the band is ready, but the venue won’t let them perform,” read one post on the platform RedNote.
Videos circulating on X on Thursday showed a large crowd of angry fans outside the venue chanting: “Give us our money back!”
Japanese rapper KID FRESINO’s China tour was indefinitely postponed on Friday, according to a social media post by his Chinese tour promoter.
Beijing has been battling to boost spending on services this year amid a prolonged economic slowdown. Cancelling these concerts will be a further drag on growth, said Petersen-Clausen. He noted the knock-on effects of fans’ cancelled flights and hotel bookings and reduced shifts for Chinese support staff.
“We do see this kind of (anti-Japanese) sentiment sometimes online … but we don’t see it at these concerts,” he said.
“I’ve never, ever heard anybody bring politics into these moments.”
(This story has been corrected to say that Christian Petersen-Clausen is German, not Norwegian, in paragraph 2)
Reporting by Laurie Chen and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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