BTS appearance cancelled
A Japanese TV station said it had cancelled a Friday television show with South Korean boy band BTS after news one member had worn a T-shirt that sparked anger on social media and was interpreted as commemorating the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
The hugely successful group’s Japan tour — its first after they reached the top of the Billboard 200 album chart in May — comes as ties between the two nations have frayed due to a diplomatic row over South Koreans forced to work for Japanese firms during World War Two.
Social media showed the T-shirt, which bore the words “Patriotism our history Liberation Korea” by a photo of a rising mushroom cloud.
Japan became the first nation to suffer an atomic bombing on August 9, 1945, at Hiroshima.
There was no mention of cancelling the Japan leg of their tour, which kicks off on Tuesday. — Reuters