News Japanese rock band apologises for video deemed racist

"It contained expressions that lacked understanding of historical and cultural background," the company said. "Columbus" was written as a song for the Coke Studio campaign produced by the Japanese arm of Coca-Cola Co. After Universal Music Japan's announcement, Coca-Cola Japan Co. said it had stopped airing all advertising materials using the song. The beverage company said it had no prior knowledge of the content of the music video. "We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind," a representative of the company said in a statement. "We regret this situation." The band was scheduled to perform "Columbus" on an TV Asahi program on June 14, but the song will be changed, according to the broadcaster. Columbus has long been regarded as the "hero who discovered the New World." But in recent years, the Italian explorer has also been viewed as a bumbler who grossly violated the rights of indigenous people. Omori said in the statement that the music video was conceived from several keywords, such as "historical figures of different ages," "apes," "home party" and "fun music video."

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