Sega Shop Removes Tails Hoodie with Offensive Symbol
The US Sega Shop has removed for sale a hoodie featuring Tails and symbolism reminiscent of Japan’s “rising sun” flag, TSSZ has learned.
The removal, which to this point has not been accompanied by an official explanation, came after some community members criticized Sega for the use of the derivative artwork.
TSSZ has made a decision to show you the design as part of our story header and again below, with context following, to help you understand why the symbol is considered offensive to some.
https://twitter.com/ClothingSonic/status/1263702702132998147
The rising sun was an imperialist symbol of Japan, having been used as its national flag for centuries leading into the 20th century. The Japanese navy then used the flag during World War II, as it occupied much of Asia, and committed countless atrocities during the war.
Those of Korean descent and nationality can be especially offended by the flag’s use in everyday life and especially consumer apparel. Japan’s history with the region goes back further, as this BBC story explains:
In 1905, Japan occupied Korea as a protectorate, and five years later as a full-fledged colony.
The Japanese rule was one of economic exploitation and hundreds of thousands of Koreans were pressed into forced labour to aid the Japanese expansion in other parts of Asia.
The brutal regime also saw thousands of girls and young women forced to work in military brothels set up for Japanese soldiers before and during World War Two.
Known euphemistically as “comfort women”, they were forced into sexual slavery. Aside from Korean victims, the Japanese army also forced girls from Taiwan, China and the Philippines into the brothels.
Many South Koreans associate the rising sun flag with a long list of war crimes and oppression – and see Japan’s continued use of the symbol as emblematic of Tokyo’s failure to address its past.
The flag became a point of controversy when organizers of the now postponed 2020 Summer Olympic Games elected not to ban its use during the competition to the objection of South Korea, claiming it “is not a political statement.”
Sega has not offered an official explanation on any of its public-facing social media channels as to why the article of clothing was removed. It is not clear what will happen to anyone who purchased the hoodie before sales were suspended.
This post was originally written by the author for TSSZ News.
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It’s not offensive
To YOU.
The article clearly states to *some*.
Did you read it?
If u go back in history, say, 1941-45, to native countries that Japan took over, and destroyed those countries, raped the women, and killed thousands of people to expand their land due to them running low on resources, the Red Sun flag is offensive to people who was taken over by Japan. Read your history before you can criticize. That’s not cool dude.
It is offensive to the people the nation’s were overran by Japan. Why don’t you read the history of those people to understand why they are offended. We know the United States did their dirt too, so we aren’t innocent, true, but you need to understand it brings back flashbacks, so you can stop acting like your nationality is squeaky clean, and like they would save a leaf falling out of a tree innocent. Show some respect, like you would want other people different from you would show you respect. Nobody’s perfect, so show some respect to those people! Sheesh!
Yeah, some people really like to make something out of nothing. USA has done plenty of messed up things throughout its history but folks dont ban the flag everywhere, so has every country for that matter
So then that mean the Confederate flag and the Nazi flag are just fine to you?
Confederate flag and the Nazi flag are defuncted as a nation and as a people, Japan is not, there are people offended by the Tibetan flag too but those people are the one’s consider racist.
Xiao who cares about what you think the world is fucked up deal with it. Japan, Nazi Germany, US, Canada Congo, Britain they all did genocides and still raise there flags high minus the Nazis but Neo-Nazi’s still around sadly and i hate em more than anything but when i look at it the world is just fucked up with us humans on it. We only know how to kill each other and cause wars.
“TSSZ has made a decision to show you the design…”
#BRAVE 9_9
SJWs find something vulnerable to “problematize.” Remember when corporations could see them for what they are and had no problem saying no?
My great uncle was killed fighting the Japanese in WW2. This is not offensive to me.
The US doesn’t find this offensive…
Try the Korea and China…
It’s not offensive to people who know nothing of the history of Japanese rule of Asia back in the early to mid 1900s. Learn history and try to understand from the side of the victims.
even then, it’s not offensive. it’s a Fing hoodie with a mascot logo and nothing more.
like with everything that offends people: you CHOOSE to allow it to offend you.
there is no word nor anything else in this world that is inherently offensive. people simply choose to and allow themselves to be offended. simple as that.
in the case of your comment, history is your excuse for choosing to be offended by this.
Love all the Americans saying “it’s not offensive” after a detailed explanation as to why most of Asia finds it offensive.
Why should I try to see this situation from any other perspective then my own?
As an American, I’m not offended by this, and that’s all that matters.
people need to learn that nothing is inherently offensive in this world. not words nor anything else. it’s a choice one makes as to whether or not they’re offended by something.
I think it is the equivalent of having the Nazi flag here in Europe.
Or, the closest thing in America would be the Confederate flag.
Like, the Japanese did some serious atrocities in Asia guys…
Your Confederate flag argument is invalid. No serious historian compares the Confederate flag to those of Japan and Nazi Germany.
Agreed this is problematic. Japan has not delt with it’s fascist roots very well. I love many Japanese games and companies but you can only see so many games or anime with German names, characters, places etc put in a positive light before you wonder “Hmm, do they still fancy Hitler?”
For those struggling to understand, It’s basically like having Tails’ smiling face beside of a swastika. And not to mention Japan refuses to acknowledge the atrocities, unlike Germany who apologized and denounced their past actions.
Oh no, a cartoon character with red lines is going to hurt me and my country very bad, please remove ʕ ಡ ﹏ ಡ ʔ
Did you know that it’s actually only recently that “certain Asian countries” started making this flag a problem? The trend began at a 2011 soccer match between Japan and South Korea when a South Korean player was criticized for an insulting gesture he made to a Japanese player, to which the South Korean player replied, “I got mad at the rising sun flag in the audience”. Before that, no one had ever protested that flag as a problem. As evidence of this, Japanese self-defense ships flying the Rising Sun flag came to South Korea in 1998 and 2008, but there was no criticism from South Korea. Furthermore, the Unification Church, which originated in Korea, used a sun symbol really similar to the Rising Sun Flag as a symbol mark until 1997. The Rising Sun Flag has been used in Japan since the 1800s for celebrations and such, and unlike the Nazi Harken Kreuz, it was not designed as a symbol of militarism. If the rising sun flag is a problem, so is the Japanese national flag. Because Japan invaded the colonies during WWII, flying the same Japanese flag as today. I’m not trying to justify Japan’s past war crimes at all, and it may be true that Rising Sunflag reminds some people of a disastrous war and what Japanese soldiers did to them but what progress can be made by rediscovering and revisiting the problems of past wars that have not been a problem before? Hypothetically, if Rising Sun Flag is the problem, do we need to ban everything with a similar design? If you look at Rising Sunflag’s Wikipedia, you’ll see that there are other flags around the world that are similar in design to Rising Sunflag. It’s the kind of design that anyone would have come up with had they tried to draw the sun in a cartoonish way. It might be easier just to accept their demands because their protests have been so successful, and their protests are so persistent, but I wish people would look into the legitimacy of their actions a little more. I hope you realize that you may be being taken advantage of by those who are trying to make Japan’s relations with other Asian countries worse.