China Defence Ministry Rebukes Japan Drama VIVANT
Bastillepost · 2 SOURCES1 day ago2 MIN
Summary
China’s Ministry of National Defense on Saturday released a video titled “Who Is Reversing the Black and White of History?” criticizing the second season of the Japanese spy drama VIVANT, also known as Beppan, by name. The ministry said the production deliberately distorted history by transferring torture committed by the invading Japanese army against Chinese anti-Japanese fighters onto China. It said historical records and the suffering of those who fought in the war cannot be altered, and warned that the issue goes beyond television drama alone.
Key Points
- The ministry released its video on November 1 and directly named VIVANT’s second season as the target of its criticism.
- According to the ministry, the drama “swapped and inverted” historical facts by assigning wartime torture by Japanese invaders to China.
- The video said Japan’s 1931 to 1945 war of aggression against China brought profound disaster to the Chinese people
- It stated that Chinese military and civilian casualties in the War of Resistance against Japan exceeded 35 million people
- The ministry said archives, eyewitness testimony, and the bloodshed of martyrs prove the facts, and that truth must not be distorted.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong audiences, the dispute shows how historical memory in popular culture can quickly become a political issue when wartime narratives are seen as being recast. It also underlines that official scrutiny is extending beyond diplomacy and textbooks to entertainment content that may shape public understanding of the Sino-Japanese war