Online videos featuring Japanese women have been plagiarized and reposted on social media with false Chinese subtitles claiming that Ryukyu, or Okinawa Prefecture, belongs to China. This occurs amid worsening Japan-China relations and appears intended to incite anti-Japanese sentiment while promoting Chinese territorial claims. Similar false anti-China videos have also appeared on Japanese social media.
Amid deteriorating Japan-China relations, videos of Japanese women have been plagiarized and reposted on social media with added false Chinese subtitles asserting that Ryukyu, referring to Okinawa Prefecture, belongs to China. A Yomiuri Shimbun investigation revealed that in December 2025, a 10-second dance clip of two young women was posted on X with subtitles stating: “Ryukyu belongs to China, and Ryukyu is not called Okinawa. The Diaoyu Islands and Taiwan belong to China.” The Diaoyu Islands is China's name for the Senkaku Islands.
The original video was a promotional clip for a facility in the Kansai region, uploaded to the facility's official TikTok account in August 2025. A 52-year-old male official from the operating company expressed outrage, saying, “It’s outrageous that the video was used for political reasons without us hearing anything about it.”
The post came from a China-based X account created in 2023, which has shared about 15 similar videos since November 2025, following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on a potential Taiwan contingency. In another instance, a Japanese woman saying “otsukaresama” (meaning “take care” or “well done”) had subtitles referencing Ryukyu.
Maiko Ichihara, a professor at Hitotsubashi University specializing in international politics and public opinion manipulation, described the incident as “part of China’s influence operations, likely aiming to instill a territorial perception favorable to the Chinese government among young Chinese citizens, who have little interest in politics.” Similar content has appeared on Chinese platforms. A December 2025 report by U.S. research organization NewsGuard noted over 100 videos of one Japanese female influencer altered with pro-China territorial claims on platforms including Douyin, garnering 1 million likes total. The originals on YouTube made no mention of Okinawa or disputes. NewsGuard concluded that “pro-China accounts are attempting to reinforce China’s claims over territorial disputes.”
Previously, false information about treated water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant spread online.
In Japan, since November 2025, videos criticizing China with false content have emerged on social media. Posters sought help via crowdsourcing platforms for anti-China scripts and edits depicting fabricated nuisance behavior by Chinese people. A Tokyo-based video distribution company admitted to The Yomiuri Shimbun posting such ads and distributing a false video to YouTube, stating, “YouTube is for entertainment. The content doesn’t have to be 100% accurate.” The platform blocked the requests in early December for violating guidelines against content that misinterprets facts or manipulates perceptions.
Shinichi Yamaguchi, associate professor of social informatics at International University of Japan, warned, “This may undesirably stoke anti-China sentiment and promote xenophobia among Japanese people. Viewers who don’t know much about the nature of the internet especially need to verify their content by referring to other sources.”
