Coca-Cola Pulls Out Of Japan Torch Relay Event Amid Concerns

Coca-Cola Friday "canceled plans to sponsor a float in Japan's Olympic torch relay," one of the "first signs that the controversy following the torch event is causing sponsors to adjust their plans," according to Hiroko Tabuchi of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Coca-Cola's Japanese unit said that it had "planned to run a logo-embellished vehicle in front of the torch runners" at Friday's event. But a Coca-Cola spokesperson said that the company "changed its mind because of 'security concerns,'" and that the decision was "unrelated to politics." Coca-Cola said that it is "going ahead with all other Olympic-related campaigns in Japan," including special-edition Olympic design bottles, which last week went on sale. The withdrawal leaves the Japanese leg of the torch relay "with no visible corporate sponsors," as Samsung and Lenovo also have pulled out of the relay. Both Samsung and Lenovo said that their change in plans is "for logistic or budgetary reasons and unrelated to scuffles at torch events elsewhere" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/19).