Japanese noodle firm removes "whitewashing" ad

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Japan's Nissin, one of the world's largest instant-noodle brands, has apologized and removed ads featuring a light-skinned cartoon of tennis star Naomi Osaka, after receiving overwhelming backlash from the public.

The company, which sponsors the Japanese tennis team, has been accused of "whitening" the mixed-race Osaka, who is half Japanese, half Haitian, in a manga drawing unveiled earlier this month by Takeshi Konomi, a well-known manga artist whose series “The Prince of Tennis” is popular in the region.

According to New York Times, Nissin spokesman Daisuke Okabayashi apologized in an email on Tuesday for “the confusion and discomfort.”

He said the characters had been developed in line with Konomi's anime series and that the company had communicated with Osaka's representatives.

“There is no intention of whitewashing,” he said. “We accept that we are not sensitive enough and will pay more attention to diversity issue in the future.”

The sketch of Naomi Osaka that can be found on cartoonist Takeshi Konomi's Twitter, Thursday. /VCG Photo

No videos or sketches of the ads can be found either on Nissin's website or on Konomi's social media as of Thursday.

Osaka will face Karolina Pliskova in Australian Open semifinal on Thursday, and has not publicly commented on the ad.