BTS performance axed by Japanese TV show over atomic bomb T-shirt
Top worn by K-pop band member Jimin appeared to celebrate Hiroshima attack
A TV network in Japan has cancelled an appearance by the popular K-pop band BTS, after a photo emerged of one of its members wearing a T-shirt that appeared to celebrate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
The seven-member boy band, who have built a huge international following since they formed in 2013, were due to appear on TV Asahi’s flagship Music Station show on Friday evening.
But the broadcaster withdrew its invitation this week after a photo of Jimin wearing the T-shirt went viral.
The back of the shirt features several lines repeating the words “Patriotism ourhistory (sic) Liberation Korea”, a reference to the end of Japan’s 35-year colonial rule of the Korean peninsula.
It also carries images of what appears to be a mushroom cloud created by an exploding atomic bomb, and of Koreans celebrating their liberation from Japanese rule in August 1945, the month the US carried out nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Jimin, 23, was reportedly photographed wearing the shirt last year on 15 August, when Koreans mark the anniversary of the end of the Japanese occupation.
“We have seen news that a T-shirt worn by one of the members has set off a furore. After asking their record company about this, we made the decision to postpone their appearance on our Nov 9 show,” TV Asahi said.
BTS apologised for the cancellation but made no reference to the T-shirt. “We apologise for disappointing fans who were looking forward to this. BTS will continue their efforts to connect with fans on stage and also through music,” the group said.
The row comes amid a sharp deterioration in ties between Seoul and Tokyo that began when South Korea suggested it would revisit a 2015 agreement over Japan’s prewar and wartime use of tens of thousands of sex slaves, most of whom were from the Korean peninsula.
Japan then withdrew from an international naval review in South Korea after Seoul demanded that it remove the rising sun ensign from its warship. Many South Koreans regard the flag as a symbol of Japanese militarism and colonial rule.
Last month, the South Korean supreme court ordered a Japanese company to compensate four South Koreans it had used as forced wartime labour – a decision the Japanese government has called “unacceptable”.
The cancellation of the band’s TV appearance comes on the eve of their Japan tour, which begins in Tokyo next Tuesday, and five months after they became the first K-pop band to top the Billboard 200 album chart with Love Yourself: Tear. This week their ninth single in Japan, Fake Love/Airplane pt 2, topped the country’s Oricon daily singles chart.
The band, who are also known as the Bangtan Boys, performed in Paris last month in front of the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, with whom they later posed for photos. They have also played to huge audiences in London and New York.
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역사 배경이나 위안부 강제징용 언급도 있고
전세계 어린 아미들 세계사 공부 좀 되겠네 (물론 일본 아미들도)
BTS performance axed by Japanese TV show over atomic bomb T-shirt
Top worn by K-pop band member Jimin appeared to celebrate Hiroshima attack
A TV network in Japan has cancelled an appearance by the popular K-pop band BTS, after a photo emerged of one of its members wearing a T-shirt that appeared to celebrate the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
The seven-member boy band, who have built a huge international following since they formed in 2013, were due to appear on TV Asahi’s flagship Music Station show on Friday evening.
But the broadcaster withdrew its invitation this week after a photo of Jimin wearing the T-shirt went viral.
The back of the shirt features several lines repeating the words “Patriotism ourhistory (sic) Liberation Korea”, a reference to the end of Japan’s 35-year colonial rule of the Korean peninsula.
It also carries images of what appears to be a mushroom cloud created by an exploding atomic bomb, and of Koreans celebrating their liberation from Japanese rule in August 1945, the month the US carried out nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Jimin, 23, was reportedly photographed wearing the shirt last year on 15 August, when Koreans mark the anniversary of the end of the Japanese occupation.
“We have seen news that a T-shirt worn by one of the members has set off a furore. After asking their record company about this, we made the decision to postpone their appearance on our Nov 9 show,” TV Asahi said.
BTS apologised for the cancellation but made no reference to the T-shirt. “We apologise for disappointing fans who were looking forward to this. BTS will continue their efforts to connect with fans on stage and also through music,” the group said.
The row comes amid a sharp deterioration in ties between Seoul and Tokyo that began when South Korea suggested it would revisit a 2015 agreement over Japan’s prewar and wartime use of tens of thousands of sex slaves, most of whom were from the Korean peninsula.
Japan then withdrew from an international naval review in South Korea after Seoul demanded that it remove the rising sun ensign from its warship. Many South Koreans regard the flag as a symbol of Japanese militarism and colonial rule.
Last month, the South Korean supreme court ordered a Japanese company to compensate four South Koreans it had used as forced wartime labour - a decision the Japanese government has called “unacceptable”.
The cancellation of the band’s TV appearance comes on the eve of their Japan tour, which begins in Tokyo next Tuesday, and five months after they became the first K-pop band to top the Billboard 200 album chart with Love Yourself: Tear. This week their ninth single in Japan, Fake Love/Airplane pt 2, topped the country’s Oricon daily singles chart.
The band, who are also known as the Bangtan Boys, performed in Paris last month in front of the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, with whom they later posed for photos. They have also played to huge audiences in London and New York.
Since you’re here …
… three years ago, we knew we had to try and make The Guardian sustainable by deepening our relationship with our readers. The revenues from our newspaper had diminished and the technologies that connected us with a global audience had moved advertising money away from news organisations. We decided we needed to find a way to keep our journalism open and accessible to everyone, regardless of where they live or what they can afford.
And so, we have an update for you on some good news. Thanks to all the readers who have supported our independent, investigative journalism through contributions, membership or subscriptions, we are overcoming the urgent financial situation we were faced with. We are now supported by more than nine hundred thousand readers around the world. We stand a fighting chance and our future is starting to look brighter. But we have to maintain and build on that level of support for every year to come.
Ongoing financial support from our readers means we can continue pursuing difficult stories in the challenging times we are living through, when factual reporting has never been more critical. The Guardian is editorially independent - our journalism is free from commercial bias and not influenced by billionaire owners, politicians or shareholders. No one steers our opinion. This is important because it enables us to challenge the powerful and hold them to account. Readers’ support means we can continue bringing The Guardian’s independent journalism to the world.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, enjoys it, helps to support it, our future would be so much more secure. For as little as ?1, you can support the Guardian - and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
歴史背景や慰安婦強制徴用言及もあって
全世界幼いアーミーたち世界史勉強ちょっとなるのね (もちろん日本アーミーたちも)