Japanese cosmetics maker Pola says sorry for racist poster
26/11/2017 07:43
TOKYO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - A Japanese cosmetics firm has
apologised for a sign banning entry for Chinese people posted in
one of its outlets, highlighting lingering hostility to foreign
visitors from some in Japan as it strives to extend a
shopping-driven tourism boom.
Pola, a unit of Pola Orbis Holdings Inc 4927.T , said on
Saturday that images of an "inappropriate" poster were shared on
Chinese social media sites on Friday, without specifying the
contents or location of the offending item.
Photos of a sign handwritten in Japanese saying "Entry by
Chinese people prohibited" in a shop window were trending on
Chinese and Taiwanese social media on Sunday.
Pola, which has around 4,600 stores across Japan, apologised
for causing "unpleasant feelings and inconvenience to many
people" and said it had removed the sign.
"As soon as we confirm the facts, we will suspend operations
at the store and implement strict punishment," it said in a
statement posted at the top of its homepage in both Japanese and
Chinese.
Pola's mea culpa comes as Japan looks to boost a
Chinese-powered inbound tourism boom ahead of the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics - a policy championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
government.
Japan is weighing looser visa rules for tourists from China,
sources told Reuters earlier this year, as it looks to widen a
tourism boom and lend support to consumer spending. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1H73OR
Some 23.8 million visited Japan in the year to October,
setting it on course for an annual record. Visitors from China -
the No.1 source - climbed 13 percent from a year earlier to 6.2
million during the period, government data shows.
Many Chinese tourists have taken advantage of a weaker yen
and easier entry rules to visit Japan for shopping sprees dubbed
"explosive buying". Cosmetics are among the most popular items
for Chinese shoppers.
The Pola incident is not the first time this year a Japanese
firm has offended China. Tokyo-based hotel and real estate
developer APA Group came under fire this year over books placed
in its hotels that contained essays denying the 1937 massacre by
Japanese troops in the Chinese city of Nanjing.
Following street protests and calls for a boycott of the
chain by China's tourism administration, APA in June temporarily
removed the books from hotels hosting athletes for a sports
event - but said it would not do the same during the 2020
Olympics. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1IW0ZJ
(Reporting by Thomas Wilson; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)
((T.Wilson@thomsonreuters.com; 81-3-6441-1598; Reuters
Messaging: t.wilson.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: JAPAN CHINA/POLA