ChineseconsumersentimenttowardsJapaneseproducts,notablycosmetics,isundergoingadramaticshiftrecentlyduetorisingsafetyconcerns.

OneofthemaintriggersforthischangeisJapan’sdecisiontoreleasenuclear-contaminatedwastewaterfromtheFukushimapowerstationintothePacificOcean,12yearsafteritwaswreckedbyanearthquakeandtsunami,triggeringfearsaboutthesafetyofconsumerproductsandfoodstuffsfromthecountry.

OnceloyalusersofJapanesecosmeticslikeSK-IIandShiseido,manyChineseconsumersarenowboycottingbrandsorswitchingtoalternativesamidanxietyoverpotentialradiationrisks.

Socialmediaisapowerfulbarometerofpublicsentiment,andinChina,platformslikeSinaWeiboandXiaohong“blacklists”ofJapanesecosmeticbrands,d.

AwidelycirculatedlistonSinaWeibo,forinstance,flagged31majorbrands,includingindustrygiantssuchasSK-II,Shiseido,andMuji,iews,indicativeofthedepthofsentimentandthescaleofparticipation.

Someconsumershaveaskedcustomsautho,theShanghaiCustomsDistrictsaidinJunethatauthoritieswillstepupnuclearradiationdetectiononproductsfromJapanandtakemeasurestopreventtheimportofproductswithlevelsofnuclearradiationthatfailtomeetstandards.

ThebacklashhasledmanyvorsandrepresentativesofJapanesecosmeticsandskincarebrands,includingMuji,Kao,andSK-II,torespondandaddresstheconcernsraised.

Anemployeeatahigh-shoppingmall,SKP,inBeijingre,theyadheretoChina’sstringentsafetystandardsforimportedgoods.

Similarly,arepresentativefromShiseido,arenownedJapanesebeautybrand,stressedthebrand’scommitmenttomaintainingthehigheststandardsofproductsafetyandquality.

Asagestureoftransparency,SK-IIsharedacopyofaninspectionreportfromShanghaicustoms,emphasizingtheircompliancewithChineseimportstandards.

SK-IIrecentlylostitsspotinthetopfiverankingtoalocalbrandduringanmajoronlinesaleseventinChinaheldannuallyone-commerceplatformTmall,accordingtoaJune20notepublishedbyCitigroupInc.

Toputthesignificanceofthesedevelopmentsintoperspective,Japan,between2019and2023,heldthemostsubstantialmarketshareforcosmeticsinChina.

In2023alone,China’simportsofJapanesecosmeticsstoodatanimpressive$4.16billion,onlysecondintermsofmarketshare.

However,,%lastmonthfromayearearlier,%inJune,datafromChina'scustomsauthorityshowed.

Meanwhile,majorcosmeticsfirmShiseidosawitslargestweeklystockplungeinnearly10months,%.ItsrevenuefromChinaaccountsfor30%’slocalcompetitorsincludingPolaOrbisandKosealsodeclinedover3%.

Theboycottcouldbea“triggerforChineseconsumerstoswitchawayfromJapanesepremiumcosmeticsbrands,”ananalystforMitsubishiUFJMorganStanleySecuritiessaid.

ThereleaseofFukushimaradioactivewaterintotheseacouldspellmoreopportunitiesforChinesecosmeticsfirmsasthiswillaffecthowChineseconsumersperceiveJapaneseskincareproducts,accordingtoarecentreportbyTFSecurities.

Chinesehomegrowncosmeticsbrandsaresingshockwavesthroughthedomesticbeautyindustryastheybegintostealsharefromtheforeignplayers–likeEstéeLauderandLancôme–thatdominatethemarket.

Whetherit’stheriseofChina’smiddleclass,anincreasedsenseofnationalismorimprovedproductsthat’sdrivingthedemandfordomesticbeautybrands,thephenomenonislooseningforeignbrands’griponthesecondlargestcosmeticsmarketintheworld,behindtheUS.

China’sbeautyindustryhasundergoneyearsofrapidgrowthandevenmanagedtoreboundstronglyfromthepandemic.

Inrecentyears,–sharpeyebrows,linedeyes,royalredlipsandaporcelaincomplexion–ismorepowerwomanthanJ-beautyandK-beauty’sdoll-likelooks–andhasbeengainingtractionacrosssocialmedia.

YoungerandsavvierChineseconsumersarepushingbeautybrandstoinnovateandshowawillingnesstoembracedomesticbrandsoverforeigncompetitors.

Foronething,GenZChineseconsumlddominatedbyWesternaesthetics.

AsalargespinggroupinChina,,45%of“post-95”Chinesecons“post-90s”consumers(38%)aswellas“post-80s”shoppers(27%),indicatingthatthepopularityofChinesebrandsoverthepastcoupleofyearsisnoflashinthepan.

Moreover,thepowerofsocialmediaandlive-streamingmarketinghaslevelledtheplayingfield.

ChinesebeautyinfluencersoftenbuildacommunitybysharingtheirdailybeautyroutinesonWeibo,Xiaohongshu,entialamongyoungerpeople.

Onlinechannelshavealsoallowedupcominghomegrownbrands–whichcanlackthefinancialresourcestosecureshelfspaceintraditionaloutlets–%ofChineseconsumersbuycosmeticandskincareproductsonmajore-commerceplatforms,whilesalesthroughtraditionalbrick-and-mortarchannelshavecontinuedtodecline,accordingtoaresearchbyiimedia.

Chineseskincaregiantsloggedsu%surgeinfirst-halfnetprofitto301millionyuan,andProya’snetprofitsurged65%to490millionyuan.

%,haltingathree-monthslide,,%

DespiteC-beautybrands’rapidproductdevelopmentandmasteryofdigitalization,China’sbeautymarketisstilldominatedbyforeignbrands,sinceChineseconsumerbehaviorhastraditionallybeenheavilyinfluencedbyWestern,

AndunlikeJapaneseorKoreanbrandsthathaveadistinctivelure,C-beautybrandsneedtofindalong-termbrandingmodeltoconnectwithconsumers.

Brandsneedtoalsoexpectmorefragmentation—andfiercercompetition—fromfellowC-beautyplayers,giventhatfrom2017to2021theshareofthetop10C-beautybrandsincolorcosmeticsincreasedfrom15%to27%.Inthisever-changingbeautymarket,persistentbrandpowerandaccumulatedassetarecriticalandwillbetheindicatorforthelongevityofC-beautybrands.

Thebeautymarketisdynamic,andhomegrownChinesebrands–whichhaveanedgeoverforeignbrandsinunderstandingconsumerneedsandlocalnuances–’sguessifC-beautybrandscanseizetheopportunityandoutstriptheirforeigncounterparts.

8月24日，日本福岛第一核电站正式启动核污染水排海，“多家日妆品牌遭遇退货”话题登上热搜，“排雷”、不会对人类健康和环境产生负面影响，但这套单方面的说辞显然不足以服众。核污染水的排放已经让他们“不敢继续使用日妆”。浊流入海，收藏量达2万。珂润(Curel)、被卷入此次风波的日本化妆品品牌包括资生堂、芙丽芳丝(freeplus)等多个知名品牌，均在国内市场长期热销。引发全球热议。人们对日本进口产品的安全顾虑，在社交媒体平台上搜索“日本化妆品”关键词，排名靠前的也是“辐射”、国产化妆品能否把握住机会进击市场?

核污染水正式排海后，目前最热的几条帖子均与核辐射相关。而关键词分类中，风浪骤起，从食品波及到化妆品。芙丽芳丝等品牌。在 多位消费者将购买的日本化妆品退货，

在社交平台上，安热沙(ANESSA)、消费者似乎已经把更多精力投入充实“国货替代盘点”名单中。SK-II、

8月24日，

相比讨论“日本化妆品到底还能不能用”的问题，

虽然日本坚持说排放的核污水已经经过处理，“退货”、

据不完全统计，“国货替代盘点”。