Japanese Cosmetics CEO Sparks Outrage After Using Racial Slur Against Koreans

Japanese Cosmetics CEO Sparks Outrage After Using Racial Slur Against Koreans
Ryan General
December 22, 2020
The chief executive of a popular cosmetics brand in Japan is under fire for using a term deemed a racial slur for Korean people. 
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Racial insult: In a statement posted on the company website, DHC CEO Yoshiaki Yoshida suggested the models used in the rival company’s ad would never match up to DHC standards.
  • “For some reason, the models hired for Suntory’s commercials are almost all Korean-Japanese. And that’s why they’re mocked online as ‘Chontory. From the celebrities we use, to everything else we do, we are a purely Japanese company,” he wrote.
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  • While Suntory is known for making beverages, it’s a competitor for DHC in the health supplement sector, BBC reports.
  • Calling its competitor “Chontory” earned backlash since “Chon” is used as a derogatory word for Koreans in Japan. 
  • Many social media users are now calling for a boycott of the company.  
  • Japanese Twitter users created the hashtags “I no longer buy products from discriminatory DHC” (#差別企業DHCの商品は買いません) and “Don’t sell DHC products at convenience stores” (#コンビニはDHC商品を置くな) to express their disgust over the comments.
  • DHC declined to respond when Japanese media sought a comment. 
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Repeat offender: Yoshida has embroiled himself in a similar controversy before when he made a statement discriminating against Koreans back in 2016.
  • In a message posted on the DHC website, the executive called Koreans staying in Japan as “pseudo-Japanese.”
  • He also suggested that they should return to South Korea.
  • Last year, the company faced a similar call for boycott after far-right politicians appeared on DHC TV and made racial comments against South Koreans.
Feature image via JTBC News and Arirang News
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