LE SSERAFIM cancels upcoming Shanghai fansign event, amid rising China-Japan tensions

LE SSERAFIM has just canceled their upcoming Shanghai fan sign, only 48 hours before the event was scheduled to take place.

The fan meeting's cancellation has occurred amid rising tensions between China and Japan, as Chinese officials have recently cancelled dozens of Japanese cultural events since late November 2025. The cancellations are tied to diplomatic tensions over Taiwan comments and history. In particular, concerts, movie releases, and anime events have been disproportionately affected by the cancellations.

LE SSERAFIM's fan sign cancellation may be related to an alleged proposal made by Chinese officials: to exclude Japanese members Sakura and Kazuha from the fan sign, instead having only Yunjin, Chaewon, and Eunchae participate. It's speculated that HYBE rejected that proposal, and instead chose to cancel the fan sign event altogether.

Officially, LE SSERAFIM's event organizer, MAKESTAR, only cited 'unavoidable circumstances' as the reason for the event's cancellation. MAKESTAR explained that after "careful discussion with multiple related departments", the event had been "inevitably cancelled". Full refunds are being issued to fans who paid to attend the event.

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