Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki has cancelled her concert in Macau next month amid tense diplomatic relations between Beijing and Tokyo, with the decision following the axing of her December show in Shanghai.
The singer-songwriter announced the decision on her Instagram page on Tuesday, saying she apologised to everyone hoping to see her perform in the gaming hub.
“My entire team and I will no longer be able to bring you the performance,” she said. “I sincerely apologise to everyone who was looking forward to it. However, I will never give up on the future. Our bond is eternal.”
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According to a statement released in Japanese on her page, the show in Macau on January 10 was to have been the final leg of the singer’s Asia tour, but had been cancelled following discussions between the concert’s organisers and her record label.
Last month, Hamasaki posted photos of herself performing at an empty venue in Shanghai.
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The singer at the time said that the concert, which was originally scheduled for November 29, was cancelled following a request by organisers “to call off the performance”.
Other artists from the country have encountered difficulties staging performances in mainland China amid an intensifying diplomatic stand-off over comments made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about a hypothetical conflict in the Taiwan Strait.