A controversial commercial depicting tennis star Naomi Osaka with pale skin and light brown hair has been removed.
Japanese noodle company Nissin have taken the steps to remove the advert after a public outcry. The commercial depicted Osaka, whose father is Haitian and mother is Japanese, with pale skin and light brown hair, in the trademark style of Japanese manga.
Daisuke Okabayashi, a spokesman for Nissin Foods Holdings, confirmed that two animation clips - which went up earlier this month - were deleted from the company’s website on Wednesday.
"We as a company put human rights first, and our stance of valuing diversity is unchanged," he said in a telephone interview. "Whitewashing has never been our intention."
Okabayashi said the ads had prior approval from Osaka's agent.
Nissin became Osaka's corporate sponsor in November 2016.
Additional reporting by AP
