A Japanese Airline has issued an apology over a commercial that is supposedly offensive to foreigners people living in Japan. I thought it was mildly amusing myself, but I'm posting it here because I'm sure someone will make it a debatable issue. http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-airline-sorry-over-39-racist-39-commercial-041244706.html <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2jgzAOCmWA0?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) said Monday it was modifying a TV commercial after apologising to customers who complained it used racist stereotyping, but insisted they had meant no offence. ANA started airing the new 30-second television advertisement on Saturday, aimed at promoting its beefed up schedule of international flights from Tokyo's Haneda airport in March. In the commercial, two Japanese men in ANA uniform discuss in English how they might boost the image of the airline as an international carrier. One of them says: "Let's change the image of Japanese people." "Sure," replies the other, who is now wearing a blonde wig and an improbably long rubber nose. White westerners are often believed in Japan to have big noses, blue eyes and blonde hair, characteristics generally thought desirable among Japanese. The ad caused a stir among English-language users of social media in Japan. "I've just seen the new ANA advert...Really? ANA think this is OK?!" Angela Fukutome said in a message posted on ANA's Facebook page. "If you are a foreigner and have planned to come to #Japan do not choose an openly racist airline like #ANA! Watch their Japanese commercial," tweeted @sibylleito on Twitter. ANA spokesman Ryosei Nomura said the carrier wanted to express the importance of the planned expansion of international services from Haneda and to call on Japanese to go out to see the world. "But we have received opinions different from the message that we wished to convey. We will modify part of the advertisement and will release the second version soon," he said. The original TV spot was initially aired for Saturday through Monday and has now been pulled for now, he said. Earlier, an ANA spokeswoman acknowledged the carrier "has received calls from customers, mostly foreigners, complaining about the ad." "We apologised to each of the customers for having caused uncomfortable feelings and also thanked them for bringing up the issue," she told AFP. Japan is largely racially homogenous, with relatively small immigrant communities.
If it alludes to a very specific image and stereotype about American looks, I can see Beatrix and Det. Conklin getting offended. They should have done it Tex Avery style with some banjo music in the background.
Big deal, the commercial is harmless, but wasn't there a thread posted many many years ago about an essay written by a teacher who took a job in Japan? I remember him writing that if a foreigner gets on a bus, all the Japanese will sit as far from them as possible, and they would make a wave around him as he was moving through crowds. And Japan still has some business that ban foreigners, at least they did a few years ago when I saw a video about it on youtube.
Doubtful. But even if it did happen, you won't get an honest answer from a culture that's prone to denial.
The Japanese are the most racist of the Asian countries but they would not do that unless you looked like you smelled. The Japanese are generally very polite and hospitable, they just think they are superior to everyone else.
I don't think there's such thing as a most racist, lol. You're either racist by nature or not racist at all. How is one more racist than others by being more blatantly racist than others? Maybe I'm not looking into a certain perspective angle because I don't fly overseas much and the farthest I've ever been outside of Houston is Boston. As for the superiority complex, I'd like to think so too since I'm an American. Why would it be any different for someone living in their own country?
Japanese are most racist against black people. A Japanese prime minister has once publicly made the remark that the intellectual standard in America is lower than the Japanese standard because of the blacks in the U.S. Can you believe the prime minister of a country would say something racist and outrageous like that in public?
I wouldn't say they are the most racist, but they are definitely the least accepting of people not from Japan. My parents lived and worked there for a while and said that Japanese always have this superiority complex towards other Asians like Chinese and Koreans. I also had a Chinese friend who went to school Japan in grade 4 and said foreign kids do tend to get really picked on throughout elementary and high school, all the way to work place.
It plays on stereotypes which gets into a discussion on whether all stereotypes should be considered negative when used or just the "bad ones". Japan's a nice place to travel. But to live and grow a career there? Much different situation.
white people are always fine to make fun of. Just stay away from the other groups or all hell will break loose
