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| Maki Otsuki Pulled Off Stage Mid-Song in Shanghai as Japan–China Tensions Spill Into Entertainment (Photo: SETN) |
Japanese singer Maki Otsuki (52) faced an unexpected and rather surreal moment on 28 November when she was escorted off stage mid-performance at a Shanghai event, shocking fans both onsite and online.
Otsuki, best known internationally for “memories,” the first ending theme of One Piece, had just started performing the iconic track when the lights suddenly cut out, the audio dropped, and two staff members rushed up to speak to her.
Visibly stunned, she was then guided off stage. Multiple fan-shot videos of the moment quickly spread across social media.
The incident happened on the first day of the two-day Bandai Namco Carnival Shanghai 2025, which was scheduled to run until 30 November.
Shortly afterwards, organisers cancelled the second day entirely, with attendees reporting that all stage activities had been halted for the rest of the event.
Sudden Shutdown Leaves Fans Confused
Crowds at the venue were left in silence, unsure whether they had witnessed a technical failure or something more deliberate.
Reactions online were equally baffled:
“Can they actually do that?”
“At least let her finish the song…”
“This feels so abrupt.”
Chinese-language posts suggested that several Japan-related performances across the country had been cancelled on the same day, adding to the overall confusion.
Many netizens expressed disbelief at how abruptly the shutdown unfolded, describing it as “unnecessarily dramatic”.
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| Maki Otsuki Escorted Off Stage in Shanghai After Sudden Lights-Out Incident (Yahoo) |
Multiple Japanese Concerts in China Cancelled on the Same Day
Otsuki’s situation wasn’t the only shocker.
On 28 November alone, several Japanese artists’ shows and fan meetings across major cities were cancelled at short notice. Those affected reportedly included:
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natori
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SID
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Koh Maruyama
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Yu Wakui
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Kaf
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Shuka Saitō
NSE2025 (NMB48, iLIFE, NijiCon)
According to local posts, some performers had already landed in China or completed stage setups when they were told they could no longer appear.
Ayumi Hamasaki, who had a Shanghai show scheduled with over 14,000 tickets sold, shared a statement expressing regret, saying she only received the cancellation notice on the morning of the event. Her team of roughly 200 staff had spent five days preparing the stage.
On Japanese platforms such as Yahoo! JP, comment sections filled up rapidly as netizens reacted to the string of cancellations.
Many called the abrupt timing wasteful, while others hoped that artists impacted would be compensated for the last-minute decisions.
As for Maki Otsuki, fans are still waiting for an official statement from either the organisers or her management. Her website, makiotsuki.com, lists no updates yet about the Shanghai situation.
Source: Yahoo TW