E-Paper
Disney says sorry for 'insensitive' tweet on Nagasaki anniversary
Referencing the animated film "Alice in Wonderland", Disney tweeted about the movie's well-known "unbirthdays". However, the Japanese tweet's wording translated as "a day of nothing" and coincided with commemorations of the day the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
US entertainment giant Disney was criticised for being insensitive through one of its Japanese language tweets on Sunday when Nagasaki observed 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing on the city. Disney later apologised for the tweet and deleted it.
The company's Japanese unit, referencing the animated film "Alice in Wonderland", took to social media on Sunday with a message about the movie's well-known "unbirthdays". The original English tweet wished followers a "very merry unbirthday".
In Disney's original film, characters celebrate an "unbirthday" - every day of the year except their own birthday - during a party with Alice.
However, the Japanese tweet's wording translated as "a day of nothing" - and coincided with commemorations for the more than 74,000 people killed when the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
Following a string of online criticism, Disney quickly deleted the tweet on Sunday.
"We deeply apologise for using an inappropriate expression that could annoy people," it tweeted on Sunday. Company officials could not be reached for comment on Monday.
The attack on Nagasaki came three days after American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped a bomb, dubbed "Little Boy", on Hiroshima, the first atomic bombing in history.
The twin bombings were the final chapters of World War II, with Japan surrendering on August 15, 1945.
