Noodle company Nissin removes Naomi Osaka advert after whitewashing claims

Nissin Foods, a Japanese company specialising in instant noodles, has removed an advert featuring tennis star Naomi Osaka after being accused of whitewashing the 21-year-old.

Osaka was born in Japan the daughter of a Haitian father and a Japanese mother and has lived in the US since she was three years old.

In September 2018 she became the first tennis player of Japanese descent to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, beating Serena Williams in the final of the US Open.

In early January 2019, Nissin released an animated campaign featuring Osaka and fellow Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori titled “Hungry to Win”.

The advert quickly drew criticism for portraying Osaka as an anime character with lightened skin and hair and Caucasian facial features.

Author Baye McNeal commented on the controversy for the Japan Times, expressing his dismay over Nissin’s poor lack of judgement.

“Sure, anime fans aren’t used to seeing women of colour in the genre so… a few shades lighter on the skin here… a debroadening of the nose there… the de-exoticisation of her hair … and, voila! The perfectly palatable girl next door,” he wrote.

The advert was illustrated by well-known artist Takeshi Konomi, most famous for his creation of The Prince of Tennis manga series.

Nissin has since apologised for its depiction of Osaka, explaining that the company hadn’t intended on whitewashing the tennis player.

“There is no intention of whitewashing,” Nissin spokesman Daisuke Okabayashi told CNN.

“We accept that we are not sensitive enough and will pay more attention to diversity issues in the future.”

Okabayashi also stated that Osaka had been shown the advert before it was released, although McNeil questions how heavy her personal involvement would have been with regards to the finalisation of the campaign.

The advert has now been removed by Nissin following a request made by Osaka’s agent, broadcaster NHK reports.

This isn’t the first time an artist has been accused of whitewashing Osaka.

Following the final of the US Open in September 2018, Australian newspaper Herald Sun published a controversial cartoon by Mark Knight depicting Serena Williams throwing a tantrum on court, an illustration that was heavily condemned for being “racist” and “sexist”.

Osaka was drawn in the background of the composition pictured as white and blonde, despite her Japanese and Haitian heritage.

In a statement sent to The Independent, Okabayashi says that the drawings had been approved by Osaka and her team through her management company, IMG Japan.

However, Nissin was later informed by IMG USA that the campaign content had not been shared between IMG Japan and parent company IMG USA, and it was requested that the advert be taken down.

"The current situation creating social controversy is not what we had intended, and therefore have decided to stop the campaign. Furthermore, we cannot affect Ms. Osaka’s performance as an athlete," Okabayashi states.

"Going forward, we will continue to hold respect for diversity, and will carefully consider campaign contents."

Osaka has since commented on the controversy, stating that she doesn't believe the food company intentionally whitewashed her.

"I've talked to them, and they've apologised," the tennis player said during a press conference at the Australian Open. "I'm tan, it's pretty obvious.

"I don't think they did it on purpose to be whitewashing or anything, but I definitely think that the next time that they try to portray me or something, I feel like they should talk to me about it."