NHK Offends With Stereotype-filled Animation of Black Unrest in the US

OK, so sometimes it’s not funny in Japanese. NHK, the publicly funded television station, found itself in a lot of trouble over the last few days because of a short animated sequence from their show "Kore de Wakatta! Sekai no Ima" (Now I Understand! The World Now). The segment (see below) tries to explain why the African-American community is upset. It makes the following points: Caucasians in the US on average have 7-times the savings of African-Americans and because of the coronavirus, 45% of blacks are currently unemployed or have had their hours reduced. If true those are certainly important points to bring up but many on social media and abroad were offended by the crude and stereotypical imagery use in the animated bit. The US Embassy even commented on the video, “It’s unfortunate that more thought and care didn’t go into this video… The caricatures used are offensive and insensitive.” (source) It should come to no surprise to those of us who have lived in Japan for a few years. The media has had trouble portraying minorities in the past and an issue as complex and explosive as what is happening in the US currently certainly needs a more sensitive and in-depth look than this crudely animated one minute and twenty-second clip can provide. In response to the backlash, NHK issued an apology in Japanese and English and removed the clip from their website. (Many thanks to Manzai Banzai on YouTube for saving it) Many on Twitter expressed frustration that the clip didn’t even mention the death of George Floyd as one of the root causes of the unrest. I just can’t believe that everyone involved in the process thought something like this was okay to air on any level. Disappointing, disgusting, but not surprising.