Events canceled, postponed as Japan-China isle tensions escalate
Kyodo

The increasingly acrimonious row between Tokyo and Beijing over a clutch of Japan-held islets in the East China Sea has scuttled bilateral cultural events, further dimming prospects for any fanfare to fete the 40th anniversary of bilateral ties.

Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura on Thursday said his prefecture will call off an exhibition of artworks by Japanese and Chinese cartoonists that was to open Sunday in Nanjing, following a warning from Chinese authorities that there might be anti-Japan demonstrations near the exhibition site.

Kobe scrubbed a welcoming ceremony for about 3,000 Chinese visitors who arrived in the port aboard a cruise ship Thursday, acting on a request from Tianjin China International Travel Service, which organized the tour.

The city of Nagasaki on Thursday canceled plans to take part in a marine products exhibition scheduled to open in the Chinese city of Fuzhou on Saturday.

Japanese singer-songwriter Shinji Tanimura will postpone a concert scheduled for Sept. 25 in Beijing, his office said.

Tanimura has served as a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Chinese pop singer Sun Nan also canceled a concert that was scheduled to take place in Tokyo later this month.

Both concerts had been organized as part of events to mark the 40th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic ties. The Japanese school in Beijing said it will postpone athletic meets scheduled for Saturday to Friday next week.