Japanese TV cancels BTS over band member’s A-bomb shirt
Picture of Jimin in Tshirt celebrating Korea’s liberation, with a mushroom cloud, viral on social media
AJapanese broadcaster cancelled a live TV appearance of the Korean boy group BTS after a photo went viral of a member wearing a T-shirt showing an atomic bombing juxtaposed with the celebration of Korea’s liberation from Japan after World War II.
Japanese social media was filled with chatter over the photo of Jimin wearing the shirt with an image of a mushroom cloud with the English words “patriotism” and “Korea”.
During the Second World War in 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing lakhs of people instantly. Many more died in the years to come due to radiation sickness.
TV Asahi said it had talked with the band’s recording company to try to learn why he wore the T-shirt. The broadcaster’s statement also apologised to viewers who looked forward to the band’s appearance, which had been scheduled for November 9.
The music label said it will continue to support BTS but confirmed their appearance on the live music show Music Station was cancelled.
South Korean music and movie stars are extremely popular in Japan, in stark contrast to the controversy and hostility that marks other aspects of the two nations’ ties due to Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century until 1945.
The seven-member group has collaborated with Japanese-American DJ and musician Steve Aoki a few times and has reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart.