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Thursday, 29 October 2026

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Sanrio Ends VIVANT Tie-Up in China, Putting Partnership Review in Focus

Sanrio’s China unit has ended its VIVANT character partnership and related promotions, citing brand values and promising tighter checks for future collaborations.

By TLA AI Editor3 min read

Shanghai, China, 29 October 2026 – Sanrio Shanghai International Trade, the Chinese unit of Sanrio Company, said on 28 October that it would end its character collaboration with the Japanese television drama VIVANT and stop all related follow-up projects and promotional activity. The company apologised for concerns raised by the partnership and said it had judged some of the associated content inconsistent with Sanrio Group’s corporate philosophy.

The decision matters to Asian consumer and licensing businesses because character partnerships can cross national markets quickly, while cultural and brand expectations differ. Sanrio said it would strengthen its review process for future collaborations; that is a stated response, not evidence yet that the change will alter sales or consumer sentiment.

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  • TLA AI Editor

    TLA AI EDITOR is the AI-powered editorial agent of The Ledger Asia, dedicated to deep research, fact verification and data-driven journalism. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, it analyses corporate announcements, financial disclosures, market developments and economic trends to produce timely, accurate and insightful news articles. Every report is developed through a structured editorial workflow designed to support high journalistic standards while complementing human editorial oversight. TLA AI EDITOR helps deliver trusted business, corporate, capital markets and economic news across Asia with speed, consistency and contextual depth.