A singer was forced offstage in the middle of a song. Another was left to perform in front of an empty 14,000-seat theater. Comedy troupes and anime artists have had their engagements canceled.

一名歌手在演唱中途被强行请下舞台，另一位歌手对着1.4万个空座位完成演出；喜剧团体和动漫创作者的合约被取消。

To punish Japan for its expression of support for Taiwan, the Chinese government has already urged millions of tourists to avoid Japan, restricted Japanese seafood imports and increased military patrols in disputed waters.

为惩罚日本对台湾的支持表态，中国政府已敦促数以百万计的游客避免赴日、限制日本海产品进口，并在争议海域加强军事巡逻。

Now, Beijing is taking its fight to the cultural sphere, targeting prized Japanese exports like J-pop and anime.

如今，北京将这场争斗延伸至文化领域，瞄准日本流行乐与动漫等日本热门文化输出产品。

The Chinese authorities have in recent days halted the release of Japanese films, scrapped plans for anime-themed festivals and canceled concerts by Japanese artists.

近日，中国当局叫停日本电影上映、取消动漫主题节庆活动，并取消日本艺人的演出。

“There’s nothing we can do,” said Yu Sasayama, who manages Magmaz, an all-female rock band that recently learned its upcoming China tour had been canceled. “I’m frustrated that we are being influenced by the international political situation.”

“我们实在无能为力，”女子摇滚乐队Magmaz的经纪人笹山优（音）表示。这支乐队近期接到通知，原定的中国巡演计划被取消。“国际政治局势影响到我们，这让我感到很沮丧。”

China’s reprisals are part of a broader effort to penalize Japan for comments by its prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. She suggested last month that Japan could intervene militarily if China were to attack Taiwan, a self-governed democracy that Beijing claims is part of its territory.

中方这些报复措施是针对日本首相高市早苗言论的更广泛惩罚行动之一。上月，高市称，若中国对台湾地区采取军事行动，日本或将进行军事介入。台湾是一个自治的民主地区，而中国政府始终坚称它属于自己的领土。

China responded furiously, accusing Ms. Takaichi of crossing a “red line” and demanding a retraction.

中国对此表示强烈愤慨，谴责高市早苗的言论越过了“红线”，要求日方收回相关表述。

As China has taken aim at Japanese culture, Ms. Takaichi has expressed support for homegrown artists. She vowed on Thursday to help them access overseas markets, saying exports like anime and video games were almost as big as the semiconductor industry.

随着中国将矛头指向日本文化，高市早苗公开表态支持本国艺术家。她于周四承诺，将助力他们开拓海外市场，并称动漫、电子游戏这类文化产品的出口规模，已与半导体产业不相上下。

Ms. Takaichi, who took office in October, has sought to de-escalate the crisis. She said this past week that Japan’s position on Taiwan had remain unchanged for decades. Chinese officials quickly rebuffed her statement, calling it “far from adequate.”

10月就职的高市早苗近期试图缓和这场危机。她在本周称，日本在台湾问题上的立场数十年来从未改变。但中国官方迅速驳斥了这一说法，认为其表态“敷衍搪塞”。

Since Ms. Takaichi’s remarks last month, more than a dozen engagements by Japanese singers, instrumentalists, comedians and others have been abruptly canceled. The authorities halted the release of “Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers,” a popular anime film, and other movies. A touring musical, “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon,” based on an anime series, was also scrapped.

自高市早苗上月发表言论后，十多场日本歌手、器乐演奏家、喜剧演员等艺人的在华演出被突然取消。当局叫停了热门动画电影《蜡笔小新：灼热的春日部舞者们》(Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Super Hot! The Spicy Kasukabe Dancers)及其他多部日本影片；改编自动漫的巡回音乐剧《美少女战士》(Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon)的中国巡演也宣告取消。

上个月，北京某电影院外陈列着日本动画系列《蜡笔小新》的玩具。

China’s campaign has alarmed many Japanese artists, who have built devoted fan bases in China, an increasingly important market for them.

中方的一系列举措令许多在中国积累了大批忠实粉丝的日本艺人忧心忡忡。对他们而言，中国是一个愈发重要的市场。

Ayumi Hamasaki, a Japanese pop star, was told last Saturday that her concert that evening in Shanghai could not go on; the organizers cited “force majeure.” Ms. Hamasaki decided to go ahead with the performance anyway, singing to an empty 14,000-seat arena.

日本流行歌星滨崎步上周六接到通知，原定于当晚在上海举办的演唱会无法如期举行，主办方给出的理由是“不可抗力”。但滨崎步仍决定登台，对着这座能容纳1.4万人的空场馆完成了演出。

She said on social media that she did not want to let down more than 200 Chinese and Japanese workers who had spent five days preparing for the event.

她在社交媒体上表示，不愿令为这场演出筹备五天的200多名中日工作人员失望。

“I still strongly believe that entertainment should be a bridge that connects people,” Ms. Hamasaki wrote alongside photographs of the performance.

“我始终坚信，娱乐应当成为连接人与人的桥梁，”滨崎步写道，配上了此次演出的照片。

At another performance last week in Shanghai, the Japanese singer Maki Otsuki was halfway through the theme from “One Piece,” a popular anime series, when the stage went dark and the sound system was cut off. She looked startled as workers escorted her offstage, according to videos posted online.

上周在上海的另一场演出中，日本歌手大槻真希正在演唱热门动漫《海贼王》(One Piece)的主题曲，唱到一半时，舞台灯光突然熄灭，音响设备也被切断。从网上流传的视频来看，她面露错愕，随后被工作人员护送下台。

Chinese officials have declined to comment on the cancellations.

中国官方拒绝就这些演出取消事件置评。

China’s actions recall its attempts to punish South Korea in 2017 over its decision to allow a U.S. missile-defense system on its soil. China responded in part by canceling K-pop concerts and events featuring South Korean music and television stars.

中方此番做法，让人联想到2017年韩国决定部署美国导弹防御系统后，中国对韩国采取的反制措施。当时，中方的部分回应是叫停韩国流行乐演唱会，以及各类韩国音乐和电视明星参与的活动。

The Chinese government is most likely looking for ways to demonstrate to its nationalistic public that it is serious about punishing Japan for Ms. Takaichi’s comments, analysts said. Canceling artists is a favored option because it does not inflict major economic damage on China.

分析人士指出，中国政府很可能是在寻找方式向民族主义的公众表明，它正在严肃惩罚高市早苗的言论。选择拿艺人开刀是首选，因为这种做法不会对中国自身造成重大经济损失。

“They had to do something, and they picked a good target in celebrities and entertainers — something high profile that the nationalists couldn’t miss, and something extremely easy to put into practice,” said Jonathan Sullivan, an associate professor at the University of Nottingham in England who studies China.

“中方必须有所动作，而名人与演艺人员成了绝佳目标——这一群体关注度高，能吸引民族主义者的目光，且操作起来轻而易举，”英国诺丁汉大学研究中国问题的副教授苏利文(Jonathan Sullivan)表示。

He added that from Beijing’s perspective, “it’s much better to grab a celeb offstage than to impose harmful economic sanctions or have rioters in the street burning Toyotas.” (During another flare-up between China and Japan in 2012, violent protests broke out against Japanese businesses, including car manufacturers.)

他还说，在北京看来，“与其实施有害的经济制裁措施，或是放任暴徒上街焚烧丰田车，不如把明星赶下舞台。”（2012年的一次中日关系紧张期间，曾爆发针对日本企业的暴力抗议，汽车制造商也包括在内。）

2012年，中国发生民族主义抗议活动期间，苏州的示威者推翻一辆日本制造的汽车。

The Japanese entertainment industry has become increasingly reliant on China in recent years. China is the world’s second-largest market for anime, with fantasy films like “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Infinity Castle,” which was released last month, rising to the top of the Chinese box office.

近年来，日本娱乐产业对中国市场的依赖程度与日俱增。中国是全球第二大动漫市场，上月上映的奇幻电影《鬼灭之刃：无限城篇》(Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Infinity Castle)曾登顶中国票房榜首。

Japanese artists said they could probably endure any short-term turbulence. But they worry the dispute could drag on.

日本艺术家们表示，短期内的波动他们或许尚能承受，但他们担心，此次争议或将长期持续。

Magmaz, the Japanese band whose tour in the Chinese city of Guangzhou was canceled, has long worked to maintain a good relationship with the Chinese authorities, complying with requests to submit song lyrics for review.

被取消广州演出的日本乐队Magmaz长期以来一直努力维系与中国有关部门的良好关系，遵照要求提交歌词供审查。

With its tour canceled, Magmaz is now using social media to stay in touch with Chinese fans and assure them that the band will return.

巡演计划被取消后后，Magmaz转而通过社交媒体与中国歌迷保持互动，并向粉丝承诺，乐队终将重返中国舞台。

“We have to keep communicating with fans,” said Mr. Sasayama, the manager. “It’s not war. We just have to wait for the tensions to pass.”

“我们必须和歌迷保持沟通，”经纪人笹山说。“这不是战争，我们只需等待紧张局势平息。”