Newcastle United have been forced to apologise in a video that was used to launch the club’s new third kit. The Premier League club changed the kit release video after it included reference to a Japanese flag used in World War Two.
The Magpies have tweaked the video which they admit could “inadvertently cause offence”. The video, which featured Newcastle fan and singer Sam Fender, originally included two supporters displaying a black and white flag bearing the club crest and “NUFC Japan” text. Controversially the flag resembled the Rising Sun flag used by Japanese armed forces during WW2.
The Rising Sun Flag was previously used as the flag of the Japanese military during a period when they occupied other Asian nations.
It was then associated with the Japanese navy during WW2 and other Asian countries see the flag as a representation of war crimes and atrocities committed in the past.
It is still used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and in various cultural and commercial contexts.
After being made aware of the video’s potentially offensive element, the advert was deleted by the club on all its social media platforms and replaced with an altered version.
South Korea had campaigned to have the Rising Sun flag banned for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but organisers declined the request, claiming it was ‘not considered to be a political statement’.
Newcastle, however, removed the initial launch video and apologised for the scene that could “inadvertently cause offence”.
The club said in a statement: “The reaction to our new third kit with Adidas has been special, but the launch video contained a scene that could inadvertently cause offence. We apologise for that. We’ve removed the scene from the film to make sure that as many fans as possible can enjoy it.”