The Japanese comedy Cells at Work! was expected to be released in Chinese cinemas on Saturday.
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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.
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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.