Japan’s NHK Apologizes & Deletes Animation On Black Lives Matter Protests After Backlash
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Japanese public broadcaster NHK has apologized and deleted a video on the Black Lives Matter protests following criticism from viewers and diplomats.
The clip from Sunday’s edition of news show The World Now featured an animation of a musclebound black narrator, who described the economic hardships of African Americans in the U.S. without mentioning the death of George Floyd.
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The animation was part of a wider segment that discussed the context of the Black Lives Matter protests, but was tweeted out of context by an NHK Twitter account.
The clip has since been removed, and NHK said: “We at NHK would like to sincerely apologize for a computer animation clip posted on our Twitter account.”
It continued: “We have decided to take the clip offline after receiving criticism from viewers that it did not correctly express the realities of the problem. We regret lacking proper consideration in carrying the clip, and apologize to everyone who was offended.”
The World Now animation also prompted disapproval from Joseph M. Young, the interim head of the U.S. embassy in Tokyo. He tweeted: “While we understand @NHK’s intent to address complex racial issues in the United States, it’s unfortunate that more thought and care didn’t go into this video. The caricatures used are offensive and insensitive.”
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