Two Japanese comedians have been branded as racists after making a controversial joke about two-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka at a public event on the day she won the Pan Pacific Open title.
Murakami Ai and Kanou Aiko, who go by the name of A Masso, has prompted outrage whilst performing at a free event called “Omoide Yaro A Team presents Ura Tora Soul Picnic” in Tokyo. According to website Neo-Tokyo 2009, they were discussing pharmacies in relation to the former world No.1.
According to those attending, they asked “what are things Osaka Naomi needed to do?” Leading to a shocking reply from Aiko, who took a swipe at Osaka’s race. The 21-year-old is half-Japanese and half-Haitian.
“Bleach. Because she is a person that has too much of a tan.” Aiko said.
The fallout has triggered an official apology to be issued by Watanabe Entertainment. A highly prestigious and renowned entertainment conglomerate in the country. The apology was posted on Tuesday, two days after A Masso made the comments. The company has now said they will bring in legal expertise to ensure that no such incidents occur again.
“In regards to where a specific person’s name was given and a statement that did not consider the diversity, everyone from the Memories A Team, customers who watched the live event, we would like to apologize to all of those who felt uncomfortable about this matter and to all of those who were concerned and felt a great deal of inconvenience”. A statement reads.
Furthermore, both comedians have since apologised for their actions. However, neither of them made a direct apology to Osaka herself.
“I regret that it was the lowest thing to say. It was wrong to laugh about it. I apologize as a human being who performs for the public.” – Kano
“I misunderstood and I should have understood what was going on but what was said, it hurt a lot of people. I never thought that we could say something that would hurt people, but we did.” – Murakami
Earlier this year food company Nissin was accused of ‘whitewashing’ a manga drawing of Osaka in one of their promotional campaigns.
Osaka is referred to in her home country as a Hafu. A term describing a person who has both Japanese and non-Japanese heritage. She has made no comment to the incident related to A Masso.
