Tokyo International Film Festival's "China Film Week" Canceled Amid Strained Japan-China Ties
The annual "Tokyo China Film Week," held alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival since 2006, has been canceled this year as tensions between Japan and China remain unresolved.
Photo: RFI (Radio France Internationale)
According to Japan's Kyodo News on Tuesday (September 15), the organizer—the nonprofit "Japan-China Film Festival Executive Committee" (Tokyo side)—announced that the annual "Tokyo China Film Week," normally held each October in conjunction with the Tokyo International Film Festival, has been canceled this year. The Tokyo International Film Festival will take place from October 26 to November 4.
On this decision, the report cited the organizer as saying that although preparatory and coordination work had been underway, after weighing the overall circumstances it ultimately concluded that holding the event this year would be difficult.
As an important platform for people-to-people exchange, the "Tokyo China Film Week" was founded in 2006 with the aim of introducing Japanese audiences to the appeal of Chinese cinema and promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding between the two countries through film. Last October marked its 20th edition, when popular Chinese actor and singer Zhang Yixing (Lay Zhang), among others, traveled to Japan to attend the event, drawing large crowds of fans.
Before the cancellation of the "Tokyo China Film Week" was announced, Chinese-language media had previously reported that the Beijing International Film Festival held in April this year and the Shanghai International Film Festival held in June had both canceled their "Japanese Film Week" events.
Earlier, Kyodo News reported in June that past editions of the Shanghai Film Festival had screened numerous Japanese films and animated works that were popular among Chinese audiences. Last year, related films were screened to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the broadcast of the popular animated series "Neon Genesis Evangelion," and "On the Sand That Summer," starring Joe Odagiri, won the Jury Grand Prize.
Japanese Film Week has been held in China almost every year since 2006 in conjunction with the Beijing and Shanghai film festivals. In Japan, the "China Film Week" had likewise been held as part of events such as the Tokyo International Film Festival. It continued uninterrupted even after the Japanese government nationalized the Senkaku Islands (which China calls the Diaoyu Islands) in 2012 and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Analysts note that the series of circumstances forcing the suspension of Japan-China film exchange events this year is linked to the deterioration in Japan-China relations following remarks about a "Taiwan contingency" made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a Diet session in November 2025.
Following Takaichi's Taiwan-related remarks last November, the Chinese release of the latest "Crayon Shin-chan" film was postponed. In addition, there have been a string of incidents such as the cancellation of a musical performance based on the popular anime "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon" and the postponement of manga events.
Source: RFI (Radio France Internationale) — https://www.rfi.fr/tw/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B/20260915-%E6%97%A5%E4%B8%AD%E9%97%9C%E4%BF%82%E7%B7%8A%E5%BC%B5%E6%9C%AA%E7%B7%A9-%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E5%9C%8B%E9%9A%9B%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1%E7%AF%80-%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E9%9B%BB%E5%BD%B1%E5%91%A8-%E5%81%9C%E8%BE%A6