A Pokemon card game event planned for yesterday at a controversial shrine to Japan’s war dead was canceled following a backlash from China, as tensions between the two sides escalated.
The Yasukuni Shrine honors Japan’s 2.5 million war dead, including 30,304 Taiwanese.
Countries that were targets of Japanese aggression, especially China and the Koreas, see visits to the shrine as a lack of remorse about Japan’s wartime past.
Photo: AP
The event attracted a sharp response from Chinese state media, where editorials cited angry comments trending on social media. China’s social media environment is highly censored, and the government has a large role in what topics are allowed to trend.
“Brands that disregard history and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people will ultimately be abandoned by the market,” the People’s Daily said. “The relevant enterprises must accordingly take social responsibility and not make light of the heavy weight of history in the name of entertainment.”
The Pokemon Co, an affiliate of Japanese gamemaker Nintendo, issued an apology in Japanese and Chinese, saying the event had been privately planned by a certified Pokemon card player for children, but its information was shared on the company’s official Web site.
“It was an event that should not have been held to begin with,” the company said, adding that the notice was shared on its Web site “by mistake because of the lack of our understanding.”
The event has been canceled and its information removed from the site, it said.
The company pledged to be considerate to everyone.
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