A hub too far

SCMP reports the cancellation of Mega Fans Expo 2026 after 30 Japanese ‘adult-video performers’ are refused entry into Hong Kong…

Among nearly 30 guest performers – including Hibiki Otsuki, Rena Miyashita and Hikari Aozora – several took to social media to voice their shock. 

Otsuki said that despite obtaining the relevant visas in advance, immigration officers turned away her manager, crew and accompanying performers upon arrival.

“This is the first time something like this has happened; I was shocked,” she wrote, describing the situation as a deepening mystery with no clear reason provided.

Miyashita also told followers online that the entire contingent appeared to face compulsory repatriation.

….The abrupt mass turnaround has left thousands of MFE ticket holders in limbo, particularly those who had paid for premium add-on experiences, including official handprint sessions…

The expo has a glossy website – apparently crafted by the same people who do (or used to do) the ones for Macau casino junkets. You get the impression the target audience is on lower budgets, and perhaps even sadder. It says attendees can have their photo taken with a starlet in ‘one of three organizer-designated poses’.

The ladies look AI-generated – or have plastic surgery procedures left them looking so similar? They certainly don’t appear particularly appealing, or even real.

But why did the Immigration Dept reject them? Presumably they weren’t planning to engage in sedition or subversion, though we can’t rule out collusion with foreign powers. Was it because the authorities, which are usually so eager to boost Hong Kong as an international events capital, don’t want to be seen to endorse porn? Or was it because the stars of the show are Japanese and subject to special scrutiny, like aquatic products from certain prefectures?