Chinese social media steals Japanese women's videos! Randomly adds Chinese subtitles to promote: Ryukyu belongs to China

Japanese women and idol videos unauthorizedly added with Chinese subtitles, embedded with political messages claiming “Ryukyu belongs to China,” sparking concerns over media manipulation. The Japanese government has publicly and firmly opposed this.

Recently, some Japanese videos with unauthorized Chinese subtitles have appeared on Chinese social media, accompanied by confusing and guiding hints, causing worry among many Japanese citizens. According to Japan’s Nippon TV NEWS, these videos typically feature snippets of Japanese women’s daily lives, but the subtitles misleadingly label phrases like “I am a Ryukyuan,” “Ryukyu is Chinese territory,” and even include provocative statements such as “I come from Chinese Ryukyu.” This series of events has not only caused panic among the individuals whose videos were stolen but also attracted media attention in Japan, raising concerns that Chinese social media platforms might be attempting to influence the tense Japan-China political situation through manipulated videos.

Image source: 《Chain News》

Japanese women’s lifestyle videos altered with Chinese subtitles

In one altered video, a woman is walking on the street, with subtitles reading: “I am a Ryukyuan. If I could live in China…” This video clearly combines unrelated original content with politically charged subtitles, aiming to mislead viewers into believing that the woman supports or expresses the stance that Ryukyu belongs to China. Another video features the same woman, with subtitles saying: “I am not Japanese. I want to live in China.” These subtitles are obviously added later and are not part of the original footage.

These tampered videos are clearly intended to mislead the public, especially by linking Okinawa or Ryukyu to China’s political interests. Under the account of the video poster, the victim revealed that she does not understand Chinese and cannot comprehend the subtitles in the videos. When she saw these false labels, she felt very panicked and confused. She stated, “I really don’t understand why this video was altered like this, and so many people liked it. I’m worried about what kind of impact this might have.”

It is understood that the social media account of the video poster has nearly 80,000 followers. The account claims to be from Japan and describes itself as a “Ryukyu elementary school teacher.” The posting style combines Japanese language and kana. The videos posted frequently feature Japanese women, all with politically charged subtitles, none of which were authorized or approved by the original video subjects.

Image source: 《Chain News》

Japanese idol videos stolen and added with false subtitles like “Ryukyu return to China soon”

Videos of Japanese idols have also been stolen. Recently, on Chinese social media, an unauthorized video of Japanese idol Miyu Kishi was circulated with false subtitles such as “Hope Ryukyu returns to China soon.” Miyu Kishi’s management company was surprised and strongly denied adding such subtitles, expressing concern.

Implicit Chinese support on social media?

This kind of tampering with Japanese videos to mislead viewers appears to be tacitly supported by the Chinese government. In China, all social media platforms are strictly monitored and controlled by the government, making it hard to imagine these politically charged posts being publicly disseminated without government approval. A Japanese journalist based in China pointed out that the purpose of such incidents seems to be a political warning to the Japanese government. He mentioned that a Chinese government official once said that if Japan and the US treat Taiwan as a political bargaining chip, China would use Ryukyu as a card. Such remarks suggest that the Chinese government might deliberately use these social media platforms to intimidate Japan, implying that just as Japan claims Okinawa as its territory, Taiwan should also be part of China. This strategy appears to leverage Okinawa to exert political pressure on Taiwan.

Furthermore, for a long time, some Chinese media have questioned whether Okinawa (the Ryukyu Islands) belongs to Japan. These doubts have also attracted attention and discussion within Chinese society, with some social media comments seemingly aligning with this political propaganda, further escalating diplomatic friction between Japan and China.

Japanese Government Response

In response to the frequent appearance of unauthorized altered videos on Chinese social media, the Japanese government issued a statement on the 26th of this month, strongly condemning these actions. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated, “We believe there is no need to respond to reports from Chinese media because Okinawa is Japanese territory, and this is beyond doubt.” The Japanese government maintains that Okinawa belongs to Japan and emphasizes that such actions should not be ignored or regarded as minor.

These incidents of tampered videos not only challenge Japanese society but also draw more international attention. The operations on Chinese social media, whether intentional or unintentional, reflect the Chinese government’s strategy in handling territorial disputes—using social media influence for political propaganda and spreading false information to manipulate public opinion. The rapid spread of these videos has a significant impact on the victims and their images. Although the Japanese government has expressed a clear stance, concrete measures to prevent such incidents from recurring have yet to be identified.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: 《Chain News》
• Original title: 《Chinese social media steals and alters Japanese women’s videos with Chinese subtitles to promote Ryukyu independence and reunification slogans》
• Original author: DW