TOKYO (AP) — Japanese public broadcaster NHK has apologized for an animated video it produced trying to explain the ongoing protests in the United States that instead sparked outrage that its depiction of black Americans was offensive.
The animated clip featured a black man with large muscles wearing a white tank top and raising his fist on a street with fires burning and other black men and women standing nearby.
The man cited the wealth disparity between white and black Americans and the impact from the coronavirus as reasons for the protests.
The animation did not mention police brutality or George Floyd.
Social media users condemned NHK for lacking understanding of the issues and spreading racial stereotypes.