A family-run car dealership has been forced to issue a public apology over its own company name after an investigation by the advertising watchdog concluded it was likely to cause “serious racial offence”. Southampton-based firm Jap Car South apologised to “any members of the public” who were offended by the presence of the word “Jap” in its branding following a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The decision came after a single complainant contacted the watchdog to raise concerns that the car importer’s name contained a harmful racial slur. In addition to the name, the importer’s logo featured a stylised sun reminiscent of the Japanese Rising Sun flag, overlaid with the company’s name in bold text. Trading since 2020, the family business specialises in sourcing vehicles directly from the Japanese market, featuring listings for models from manufacturers such as Honda and Nissan.

Defending its branding, the company stated that “Jap” was intended solely as an abbreviation for Japan or Japanese. It stressed that it had never received negative feedback regarding the name in either the UK or Japan, had no intention of causing harm, and wished to avoid doing so in the future, according to GB News.

However, the ASA rejected the defence, clarifying that the absence of previous complaints was not “determinative of the likely effect on consumers.”

In its ruling, the watchdog stated: “We understood that the word ‘Jap’ became particularly associated with anti-Japanese sentiment during and after the Second World War.

“We further understood that it had a history of use as a derogatory term for Japanese people and people of Japanese heritage, and was widely recognised as a racial slur,” it added. “Because of those associations, we considered that its use in a marketing communication was likely to cause serious offence on the grounds of race.”

The regulator added that the inclusion of imagery resembling the Rising Sun flag heightened the severity of the issue, noting its association with Japanese military aggression during World War Two and the former Imperial Japanese Army. Asian countries, including South Korea and China, view the rising sun flag as an offensive symbol comparable to a Nazi swastika, with South Korea having previously called for it to be banned, accusing the flag of being a reminder of Japanese atrocities.

“In the context of its use alongside the term ‘Jap’, we considered that association was likely to further exacerbate the offence caused by the wording,” the ASA noted.

The watchdog has banned the advertisement from appearing again and ordered the firm to ensure future marketing communications do not cause serious offence on racial grounds. Modern Japanese car enthusiasts typically use the term “JDM” (Japanese Domestic Market) rather than the firm’s term.

As of September 23, the company has not changed its branding.

Source link