WORLD : Face-Lift for ‘Nazi’ Tokyo Tavern

TOKYO — A Japanese company agreed today to remodel a popular beer hall and restaurant that has been criticized for copying the architecture of Nazi Germany.

Suntory Ltd., a brewery that designed the restaurant, made the announcement four days after receiving a petition signed by more than 60 people objecting to the “fascist motif” of Malt’s Stadium.

The beer hall opened three months ago in the chic Aoyama district of Tokyo. It was modeled after the Berlin stadium that was the site of the 1936 Summer Olympics. Adolf Hitler intended the stadium to be a showcase for what he considered German superiority. Four imposing columns line the front of the restaurant. The entrance is flanked by two statues made of Styrofoam, and the roof is decorated with a horse-drawn chariot. Statues of athletes dangle from the ceiling inside. There are no swastikas.