appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Julian Ryall

More than 103,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that K-pop girl group Aespa be banned from taking part in a New Year music event in Japan over an image posted by one of its singers that protesters claim depicts the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The petition, on Change.org, points out that the singer posted a picture of an “atomic bomb model light” on a social media site with the message, “I bought a cute light! What do you think?”
Even though the post was in May 2022, the petition says it is inappropriate for Aespa to be invited to perform at the annual “Kohaku Uta Gassen”, or the “Red and White Singing Contest”, aired by national broadcaster NHK on New Year’s Eve, as this year marks the 80th anniversary of the bombings and the end of World War II.
The debate has taken an added twist after South Korean media reported that the picture was posted by Ningning, the Chinese member of the group.
Quoting “observers”, an article on November 20 in the Korea Herald said the petition “reflects rising tensions between Japan and China” after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested earlier this month that Japan could deploy its Self-Defence Forces if mainland China were to attack Taiwan.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.

The report added that Ningning came from Harbin, which was part of Japan-controlled Manchukuo between 1932 and 1945, “suggesting she may have harboured anti-Japanese sentiments”.
The original petition does not name Ningning as being the poster of the image, however, and makes no mention of her nationality or the ongoing tensions between Japan and China. The petition claims that the image “trivialises a historical tragedy”.
“The atomic bombings are one of the most devastating and tragic events that humanity has ever experienced,” it adds. “Failure to understand this tragedy or belittling it is irresponsible not only to the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but to the people of all countries who wish for peace.”
The petition says failure to act would effectively condone that message in the only nation that has been the target of a nuclear attack.
“Therefore, we demand that Aespa be suspended from ‘Kohaku’,” it concludes. “They should be given time to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture and history and reconsider their actions.”
The petition has struck a chord with many in Japan.
“I normally listen to Aespa’s music, but as a native of Hiroshima, I find this post extremely offensive,” said one person who signed the petition. “NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen is … a precious time that I watch every year with my grandparents and my great-grandmother, who was an atomic bomb survivor.


“That’s why I hope they will properly face up to the issue and apologise, rather than making excuses like they were ignorant.”
Another added: “The very idea of thinking that something that evokes war is ‘cute’ should disqualify them from taking part in the Kohaku.”
Several other messages said it was “shameful” that Japan’s national broadcaster had invited Aespa to perform and that they had submitted complaints to NHK and would refuse to pay the annual reception fee.
Targeting pop culture
Min Seong-jae, a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University in New York, pointed out that Japan’s relations with its neighbours had been “quite contentious” for many decades and could be easily affected by what might otherwise be a relatively minor incident.
“The Aespa-Ningning case sits very neatly at that intersection of fandom, nationalism, historical memory – the atomic bombing imagery – and high politics all braided together,” he told This Week in Asia.
“We are seeing a growing trend of geopolitical and diplomatic tensions spilling into other domains: culture, media, trade, entertainment and people-to-people exchanges, with people boycotting each other’s cultural products,” he said. “And I think the arts and entertainment are prime targets.
Min said cultural products were “perfect instruments” to be targeted in a row between nations.
The other’s cultural products can be easily framed as ‘insulting our country’
Min Seong-jae, Pace University’s academic
“The other’s cultural products can be easily framed as ‘insulting our country’, triggering nationalist sentiment and becoming a natural outlet for public anger. When tensions spike, restricting or shaming the other’s cultural products becomes a highly symbolic way to show resolve without sending troops or torpedoes.”
Makoto Watanabe, a professor of communications and media at Hokkaido Bunkyo University in Eniwa, Hokkaido, said, however, that such tactics were less effective with today’s generation of globally connected young people.
“Youngsters in Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing or wherever share their pop culture like never before,” he said.
Watanabe said the “old criticisms”, whether from governments, organisations or institutions like traditional media, no longer had the same influence as they once did.
Referring to the many students from across Asia attending his lectures, he added: “These students are intelligent and they can see what is happening. If anything, these sorts of attacks tend to backfire.”

Min said it was likely the furore was part of the regular ups and downs in relations between Japan on one side, and China and South Korea on the other, with “flare-ups” triggered by disputes over territory, history or incidents at sea before pressure was applied by business interests and relations were “reset”.
NHK has said that it is aware of the controversy. According to Japanese media, the broadcaster is in contact with SM Entertainment, the agency representing Aespa, which has stated that the post is not intended to mock the victims of the atomic bomb attacks.
First broadcast in 1951, the four-hour Red and White Singing Contest pits the female singers from the red team and their male counterparts from the white team. While the show’s appeal has diminished in recent years, it remains an entertainment staple on New Year’s Eve.


Japan’s cut-price morgues cash in on legal loopholes as lonely deaths rise

Ukraine’s POW transfer reveal deals North Korea a propaganda blow

China-US ‘new joint arrangement’, CEO arrivals: what you missed overnight from Xi-Trump summit

Red carpet vs empty tarmac: Xi’s US welcome fuels debate over Takaichi’s no-show reception

Japan

Outrage in Japan over K-pop act Aespa’s singer posting atomic bomb image

Ningning, a singer from popular K-pop group Aespa. The group has been invited to perform at the annual “Kohaku Uta Gassen” singing contest in Japan. Photo: Instagram/ @aespa_official

Members of K-pop group Aespa perform during their 2024 live tour in Taipei. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

Ningning, a singer from K-pop group Aespa, attends a Versace show in Seoul. Photo: Instagram/@aespa_official

Japan’s renewed sovereignty push over disputed Liancourt Rocks irks South Korea, China

The Liancourt Rocks, called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese, observed from a Korean airline’s flight. Photo: AP

Japan’s National Museum of Territory and Sovereignty displays three separate sets of disputed islands including the Liancourt Rocks, known as Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean. Photo: Julian Ryall

South Korean troops holding an exercise to defend the contested Liancourt Rocks, known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, in 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE

Singapore PM hopes China, Japan ‘find ways to resolve’ Taiwan Strait row

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong during an event earlier this month. Wong has noted that Japan seems inclined to stabilise ties with China and not escalate matters. Photo: EPA/Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information

A Chinese tour group walks past a Shiseido store in Tokyo on Monday. China has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, with airlines offering full refunds to those who have bought tickets. Photo: AFP

What is oshikatsu? Nearly 50% of Japan’s young workers seek trend for fulfilment

Cosplayers dressed as Goku and a Gundam character at the Nippombashi Street Festa in Osaka. Such fan-driven events reflect the deep-rooted pop-culture communities that oshikatsu has helped bring further into the mainstream. Photo: Xinhua

A fan of the manga series ‘One Piece’ watches an episode at home in Ibaraki Prefecture. Long-running franchises like One Piece have cultivated devoted followings that feed into today’s broader oshikatsu culture. Photo: AFP

Is naval drill a sign that India, other Quad members can look past differences?

Ships from India, Australia, Japan and the US taking part in the 2020 Malabar naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. Photo: AFP/Indian Navy

Indian army fighter jets on the deck on an aircraft carrier during the Malabar naval exercise in the Arabian Sea in 2020. Photo: AFP/Indian Navy

Senior naval officers from Japan, Australia, India and the US speak with each other in Sydney as the four countries hold the Malabar naval exercise off Australia in 2023. Photo: Reuters

Japan considers fines for men who buy sex in major policy shift

An older man approaches a woman near a park in Tokyo’s Kabukicho nightlife district. Photo: Eric Fior

Men approach young women standing on a street corner in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Eric Fior

A man leaves after speaking to a young woman standing in the street around a park in Tokyo last year. Photo: Eric Fior

This Week in Asia

Lifestyle & Culture

News

Asia

East Asia

A petition has been filed calling for Aespa, a popular K-pop group, to be banned from taking part in a New Year’s Eve music event in Japan


A petition has been filed calling for Aespa, a popular K-pop group, to be banned from taking part in a New Year’s Eve music event in Japan.


Outrage in Japan over K-pop act Aespa’s singer posting atomic bomb image

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A petition has been filed calling for Aespa, a popular K-pop group, to be banned from taking part in a New Year’s Eve music event in Japan

A petition has been filed calling for Aespa, a popular K-pop group, to be banned from taking part in a New Year’s Eve music event in Japan