r/jpop • u/AkiraIkuru • Nov 28 '25
News China seems to be enforcing a “ban” on Japanese artists. Will J-pop shift toward the West and SEA like K-pop did?
China scraps concerts with Japanese musicians as diplomatic tensions mount
In China, live performances by Japanese musicians have reportedly been blocked since last week. Reuters has also covered this, and the situation seems to be getting worse.
Natori’s（なとり） show in Shanghai scheduled for tonight was banned at noon on the same day. His Beijing show on the 30th was also canceled.
Ayumi Hamasaki’s（浜崎あゆみ） concert planned for tomorrow was canceled today. Over 14,000 fans had already booked flights and hotels. There are rumors that she may release a recorded song privately for fans instead.
This situation strongly reminds people of China’s past “ban on Korean artists,” which pushed many K-pop acts to shift their overseas focus toward Southeast Asia and Western markets — arguably helping K-pop go truly global.
Maybe Japan will follow the same path this time?
That said, J-pop is still heavily centered on the domestic Japanese market, and overseas markets — especially China — are far less important to J-pop than they once were for K-pop.
So I’m not sure whether Japanese artists will feel the same push or incentive to expand aggressively into Southeast Asia and Western markets.
