Making Amends : Japanese Firm Hands Out Toys to Apologize for Racial Gaffe
Samud got a plastic gorilla pen, a bear-shaped eraser and an elephant coin holder for Christmas. Tritia got a necklace, some perfumed soap and fancy stationery.
They don’t have jolly old St. Nick to thank for their gifts. They have the Japanese.
The two fifth-graders were among about 500 children, most of them black and Latino, who gathered Thursday at a Los Angeles elementary school to accept presents and, in essence, an apology from Sanrio Inc. of Japan.
The company came under fire earlier this year after reports surfaced that it was marketing a line of “Little Black Sambo” toys in Japan. Sanrio, a leading manufacturer of novelty gift items, quickly pulled the racially offensive merchandise from its 3,000 boutiques after hundreds of Americans, particularly blacks, complained.
$600,000 in Giveaways
Many critics were satisfied. But not Sanrio, whose directors felt compelled to atone further by giving away $600,000 worth of gorilla pens, elephant coin holders and other kid stuff to Americans children.
The Japanese company, whose U.S operations are based in San Francisco, also suggested a U.S.-Japanese children’s exchange program and development of multiracial characters for a monthly magazine to be published by Sanrio.
“We were ignorant that people would be offended” by the Black Sambo line, Sanrio Executive Vice President Kurt Yonezawa said Thursday. “We want to do something to show our true mission, which is love, friendship, peace and sympathy for people.”
The Japanese historically have been homogeneous and insular, with limited exposure to other cultures. Consequently, their understanding of gestures, statements or symbols that might be perceived as racially offensive has been slow to evolve, many cultural experts believe.
Similar Plan for L.A.
Sanrio has already handed out more than $200,000 worth of gifts to San Francisco Bay Area schoolchildren. After meeting with state Sen. President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and U.S. Rep. Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton), president of the Congressional Black Caucus, Sanrio executives agreed to a similar giveaway in Los Angeles.
The school selected for Thursday’s giveaway, Crescent Heights Boulevard Elementary in the Mid-City area, is in Roberti’s district.
The significance of so sweet a political plum was lost, however, on the children who benefited from it. Few paid any attention to the beaming Roberti, whose presence was eclipsed by that of the incarnated Miss Hello Kitty, a cat-like cartoon character who has her own Saturday morning television show in Japan and also serves as Sanrio’s mascot.
Nor did the children seem impressed by their role in what amounted to an extraordinary international gesture of good will. Most, in fact, had never even heard of Japan.
“It’s on the globe, I think, but I’m not sure,” said 10-year-old Tritia Humphries.
“It’s in China,” insisted Samud Looney, also 10.
Began in July
The controversy that led to their good fortune erupted in July when the Washington Post reported that the racist Sambo image, a children’s book figure created in 1898 by British author Helen Bannerman, was being used as a mascot for a hot-selling line of Sanrio toys and beachwear. The items depicted both Sambo and his sister, Hanna, with very black faces, large white eyes and other exaggerated physical features.
Sanrio officials insisted that their intent was “friendly” and “humorous.” Still, dozens of people called the Japanese Embassy in Washington to complain.
Top Official’s Comment
The furor was fueled the next day when a top official of Japan’s ruling political party suggested that blacks do not mind going bankrupt. The comment was reminiscent of another racially derogatory statement made in 1986 by former Japanese Prime Minister Yashiro Nakasone, who theorized that blacks had reduced the intelligence level of America.
Dymally this week commended Sanrio, describing the company’s gesture as “rich and refreshing” but an aberration nonetheless. For the most part, Dymally said, Japan’s business leaders continue to exhibit little sensitivity toward ethnic minorities in America, which make up a large share of their consumer market.
“It’s very nice when some of them give away toys,” Dymally said, “but the problem is still there, and it’s frustrating as all hell.”
