Amid tense China-Japan relations, a pet groomer from Jiangsu, China, used violence and anti-Japanese insults while grooming a Shiba Inu. The video footage went viral online, triggering an uproar and strong discontent among many Japanese netizens.
It is understood that the video, widely circulated on Chinese social platforms such as Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Bilibili, originated on the Chinese short video platform Douyin. It was posted by a pet groomer nicknamed “Chongchong” based in Jiangsu Province, whose Douyin account has nearly a million followers.
In the video, the Shiba Inu shows clear signs of resistance during bathing and grooming. Chongchong then forcibly restrains the dog's head and mouth with her hands, slaps and hits the dog multiple times, and even uses a stick-like object to hit the Shiba Inu’s head, face, spine, and other body parts. Reportedly, the owner witnessed the entire process.
Moreover, during the process, she used the Shiba Inu’s “Japanese lineage” as an insult, angrily scolding the dog: “You’re as out of touch as your ancestors,” “Are you crazy? Do you think you’re still in your country (Japan)? That country has already surrendered, do you understand? There’s no need for this. Resistance is useless,” among other remarks.
Chongchong stated that all the Shiba Inus she beat mercilessly, even with weapons, had the consent of their owners, and they had signed a “life and death agreement.” These uncontrollable Shiba Inus were all regulars on the blacklist of other stores.
On this, some Chinese netizens not only did not condemn her actions, but even expressed agreement with Chongchong’s words and deeds in the video: “See, everyone, you have to be fiercer than them when dealing with Japanese,” “I also keep dogs, as long as it’s not stabbing with a knife, I can accept it,” “Now I know why they call them dog men, same temperament, refusing a toast and accepting a penalty instead.”
The video was later translated and subtitled by foreign netizens and circulated on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and other social platforms, drawing condemnation from users in various countries.
Among them, a large number of Japanese netizens lashed out, criticizing that while the Chinese abused innocent animals, they still took the opportunity to spread anti-Japanese sentiment, describing the behavior as utterly inhumane and lacking any humanity: “Savage barbarians,” “Japanese people may dislike China, but that doesn’t mean we would abuse pandas,” “I would be happy to return your pandas right away, but I wish the Shiba Inus would be sent back to Japan,” “If Shiba Inus get treated like this, I wonder what will happen to Japanese people,” “Shiba Inu and Akita Inu are treasures of Japan, please don’t import them into countries that abuse animals!”
Other Shiba Inu owners, dog trainers, and pet groomers commented, pointing out that most Shiba Inus are naturally afraid of water and possess a difficult-to-control and somewhat neurotic temperament. If owners do not properly desensitize them when they are young, they often develop extreme resistance to bathing and may bite people when grown, hence frequently appearing on the rejection lists of pet groomers. They reminded that everyone should do their homework before getting a dog, not resort to sticks and beatings when problems arise.