Hello Kitty has become a matter for the Chinese foreign ministry. Somewhere in the machinery of a nuclear-armed state, an adult has had to prepare the government's position on a cartoon cat's television merchandise.

Sanrio has ended its tie-in with the Japanese spy drama Vivant after criticism from Chinese state media and social media users. The merchandise dressed Kitty and other characters as figures from the show. According to the BBC, Sanrio apologized Wednesday and promised tighter reviews of future collaborations.

This is how a company that sells cute things acquires a miniature foreign-policy department. Before approving the next key ring, please circulate it to Legal, Licensing and the Committee on Whether This Bow Undermines Regional Stability.

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The dispute has a real subject. Vivant's second season depicts Chinese agents torturing a Japanese operative. Chinese state outlets argue that the scenes reproduce methods used by Japanese troops against Chinese people and distort that history. TBS's president says the drama is wholly fictional and wasn't intended to disparage any country. Those arguments deserve to be described accurately. They do not explain why My Melody needs to report to the embassy.

The state-run Global Times warned that Hello Kitty “should not dance with Japan's right wing.” An impressive assignment for a character whose political platform has generally been standing on a pencil case. On Thursday, a Chinese foreign-ministry spokesperson said the incident should serve as a warning.

A warning has indeed been received. Sanrio's commercial withdrawal is not the same as a formal government ban, but the company has decided that friendship merchandise requires more advance checking. The promise is harmony among people; the implementation now involves determining which television costume might provoke a state-media editorial.

Kitty has no mouth. Somehow she still needed a better communications strategy.