The Japanese comedy Cells at Work! was expected to be released in Chinese cinemas on Saturday.
The live-action movie is adapted from a popular manga series and follows the slapstick adventures of cells inside the body of a Japanese teenager.
However, the movie’s launch date in China has been pushed back. Also postponed is the release of Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers, an animated film that was scheduled to hit Chinese screens in early December.
The delays come in the wake of a diplomatic row between the two countries – and more could follow, with calls online for boycotts of Japanese cultural exports and the spectre of further event cancellations.
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Why have Takaichi’s Taiwan comments sent China-Japan ties into a tailspin?
Why have Takaichi’s Taiwan comments sent China-Japan ties into a tailspin?
Many young Chinese have grown up with broad access to Japanese animation, comics and games as well as films and television dramas.
Among the most popular is the work of Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki, director of films such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.
