Naomi OsakaGETTY IMAGES
Tennis player Naomi Osaka "downplayed" a dispute Thursday over the skin color of an anime character depicting her but "called for a consultation in a possible similar case in the future," according to KYODO. Osaka said, "For me, it's obvious, I'm tan ... I don't think they did it on purpose to be, like, whitewashing or anything. But I definitely think that the next time they try to portray me or something, I feel like they should talk to me about it." Osaka, 21, said that she talked to representatives for Nissin Foods about the anime issue and received an apology. She said, "I get why people would be upset about it. I mean, to be honest, I haven't really paid too much attention to this" (KYODO, 1/24). The AP's Yuri Kageyama reported Nissin took down its online ad campaign featuring Osaka that depicts her with pale skin "after it was criticized as insensitive." Nissin Corporate Communications Assistant Manager Daisuke Okabayashi said that two animation clips, which went up earlier this month, were deleted from the company's online site. Okabayashi said that the ads were "approved by Osaka's agent, but the company was later asked to take them down." He added that Nissin "continues to support Osaka and did not want the flap to be a distraction" (AP, 1/23).
