The 28th Shanghai International Film Festival opened on the 12th. Due to deteriorating Sino-Japanese relations, this year’s festival did not set up a “Japanese Film Week” to showcase the latest Japanese films, nor will any Japanese films be screened or any Japanese judges invited.
The film festival will be held from the 12th to the 21st. This year, the festival will screen over 420 films from 77 countries and regions in more than 50 cinemas in Shanghai and five other cities in the Yangtze River Delta, with about 1,600 screenings in total.
According to Japanese media outlet Kyodo News, in previous years, the Shanghai Film Festival routinely screened several Japanese films and animated works. For example, in the 2025 festival, the popular anime “Neon Genesis Evangelion” was shown to mark its 30th anniversary; in addition, the Japanese actor Joe Odagiri’s film “Summer on the Sand” even won the Jury Grand Prix.
A related film festival official said they really liked Japanese works, and that it was regrettable not to be able to see Japanese films.
After Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made remarks about a "contingency over Taiwan" in November last year, it drew strong dissatisfaction from Beijing, which has since implemented countermeasures in areas such as trade, military matters, and cultural exchanges, even affecting the tourism industry.
According to Hong Kong 01, Japanese Film Week has been held almost every year in conjunction with the Beijing and Shanghai film festivals in China since 2006. Meanwhile, during the Tokyo International Film Festival and similar events in Japan, Japan has routinely held China Film Week as well.