Ayumi Hamasaki’s Shanghai concert was cancelled on Friday afternoon, 28 November 2025. The cancellation came just one day before the scheduled performance. The concert organiser blamed “force majeure” for pulling the plug.
The 47-year-old singer learned about the cancellation on Friday morning. She posted on social media that she couldn’t believe what happened and struggled to find words for how she felt.
Hamasaki and her 200-strong crew—a mix of Japanese and Chinese staff—decided to perform anyway. They put on a full show in the empty 14,000-seater arena. The crew had worked for five days getting the stage ready.
The performance to the empty venue may have been recorded for future release.
Two days later, on 30 November, Hamasaki shared photos of the empty theatre on Instagram. She wrote that despite no audience being there, she felt “so much love” from people around the world.
After the cancellation broke, she had written: “I still firmly believe entertainment should be a bridge that connects people, and I want to continue building that bridge.”
Fans flooded her social media with praise for going ahead with the performance anyway.
Part of wider trend affecting Japanese artists in China
The cancelled concert fits into a pattern. Multiple concerts and events featuring Japanese performers have been called off or delayed in China over recent weeks.
The wave of cancellations started after Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae made comments on 7 November 2025. She suggested Japan might intervene militarily if something happened with Taiwan.
China hit back hard for days. Takaichi said she wouldn’t take back what she said.
Hamasaki’s Asia tour had kicked off in Hong Kong in 2025. After a major fire tore through a Hong Kong high-rise residential building, she posted: “Our prayers go to Hong Kong.”
