NHK apologized for the portrayal of a black man in an animated video clip of its news program, and deleted the clip from the program's official Twitter account on Tuesday.
The clip was aired during "Kore-de-wakatta Sekai-no-ima" (Now we know what's happening in the world) to explain the background of demonstrations in the United States against police brutality, sparked by the death of a black man in Minnesota.
The station said: "We regret lacking the proper consideration in airing the clip, and apologize to everyone who was offended," and also added it would pay close attention to respect for human rights and the production process.
The clip in question was an animation of about 1 minute and 20 seconds that was broadcast on the show Sunday. A muscular black man wearing a tank top appeared in demonstrations and explained in a loud voice that the economic gap with white people, as well as economic damage caused by the new coronavirus, was motivation for the demonstrations.
On the Internet, however, NHK received criticism from viewers stating that the portrayal of black people was biased.
The U.S. Embassy's Charge d'Affaires ad interim Joseph Young also said on Twitter that the clip was "offensive and insensitive."
According to NHK, the clip was designed "to show the hardships, such as economic disparity, that many African Americans in the U.S. suffer." However, the TV station "decided to take the clip offline after receiving criticism from viewers that it did not correctly express the realities of the problem."
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