Chinese Influencer Sparks Controversy in Japan Over Restaurant Confrontation

Tokyo restaurant subjected to abuse and harassment from Chinese ultranationalists after refusing service to Chinese customers amid new respiratory infections.

A group of Chinese tourists walks through the Ginza district during the China's National Day holiday in Tokyo, Japan on Oct. 1, 2023. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

A Chinese influencer in Japan sparked online controversy over his aggressive tactics towards a restaurant owner in Tokoyo who refused service to Chinese customers due to China’s new wave of respiratory infections.

This follows three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused great damage to Japanese businesses, especially those in the restaurant industry. Now that another wave of mysterious respiratory infections has surfaced in China, the owner of the “Chuka Seitaigo” restaurant posted a sign on his eatery’s front door refusing service to visitors from China, which led to an aggressive confrontation with Chinese influencer “Youtou Siliufen” that was captured on video.

After the influencer’s video went viral online on Dec. 9, the situation escalated as more Chinese ultranationalists showed up to harass the restaurant owner.

Several Chinese influencers and netizens went to the restaurant to film and harass the store owner by rudely confronting him. Several Chinese influencers and bloggers were seen yelling at the restaurant, and since the videos went viral on Chinese social media, the restaurant owner received many threatening phone calls, leading to the restaurant temporarily shutting down.

The police in Japan have clarified that the owner’s decision to refuse service to people from Chinese due to the outbreak of another pandemic is not illegal.

To stop the harassment from the Chinese ultranationalists, the restaurant owner put up slogans such as, “Hong Kong Independence,” “Tibet Independence,” “Down with CCP,” and photos of tanks from the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Many Japanese customers dined at the restaurant to show their support.

When the Chinese influencer went to film again, he ended up accidentally capturing “Hong Kong Independence” and “Tibet Independence” in his videos. As a result, Chinese censors removed his videos from Chinese social media.

Local district councilor Makoto Matsumaru filed a police report and demanded that Japanese police fully investigate what occurred and prosecute those involved in making threats, intimidation, and disturbing the peace.

The police have reportedly launched an investigation targeting the movements of a wide range of anti-Japan Chinese nationalist groups in the country.

The incident sparked great concern in Japanese society. From Japanese politicians to even members of the Yakuza, people voiced their anger towards the Chinese influencer and supported the restaurant owner.

Mr. Mastsumaru said he resonated with many people in Japan who believe that the Chinese influencer and his followers were brainwashed by anti-Japan propaganda pushed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Mr. Matsumaru wrote on X on Dec. 14, “The person pictured with me is the manager of the restaurant Chuka Seitaigo, who has been fighting alone in the face of harassment by various Chinese individuals. Yesterday, after another round of harassment, the police installed surveillance cameras and advised the manager to either close the restaurant temporarily for his own safety or take down the sign. To prevent harassing calls in Chinese, the restaurant’s phone has been disconnected.”

‘CCP is the Problem’

Hayato Sato from the University of Tokyo told The Epoch Times, “The store owner was trying to protect himself and his family, and the global pandemic was truly caused by the CCP’s cover-up. So, in the end, the CCP is the problem.”

Mr. Sato said those Chinese ultranationalists understand very well that Japan has the rule of law and that they can hold anti-Japan views while living in Japan. They were educated by the CCP to hate, but they would not do anything outrageous like this in China, he said.

A woman hands out Chinese national flags during a parade celebrating China's National Day at Yokohama China Town in Yokohama, Japan, on Oct. 1, 2023. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Satoru Hagino, the director of a Japanese electronics company, told The Epoch Times that although those Chinese ultranationalists have left China, they still read the same news from the same Chinese-state propaganda outlets.

“Therefore, they are still influenced by the CCP. So whenever they see opinions that are not in line with the CCP narrative, they throw a tantrum and reveal their lack of understanding of a free society, democracy, and the rule of law,” Mr. Hagino said.

“Additionally, there are also those who are intentionally stirring up conflicts to get more views on social media from uninformed viewers in China. So when the restaurant owner puts up slogans showing support for Hong Kong and Tibet, they immediately stop filming,” he said.

“Through this incident, the Japanese people will better understand the draconian censorship and disinformation that the CCP has forced on its own people. This is a conflict between civilization and totalitarianism. I hope that Japan can also learn to separate the Chinese regime from the Chinese people.”