"YouTube Has Become Japan's Loudspeaker"... Rising Sun Flag Ads Invade Children's Viewing Videos

VANK "Overseas Koreans Report YouTube Rising Sun Flag Ads"
"A Trick to Prevent Past History from Being Revealed as Pachinko Gains Popularity"

Promotional video of the Rising Sun Flag produced by the Japanese government. It explains that the Rising Sun Flag is a traditional Japanese cultural symbol. Photo by VANK, Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] It has been revealed that promotional videos featuring the Rising Sun Flag produced by the Japanese government are appearing on YouTube, and advertisements featuring the Rising Sun Flag are being broadcast worldwide.

On the 16th, the cyber diplomatic mission VANK announced that they have recently received a flood of reports about 'Rising Sun Flag advertisements' from overseas Koreans in countries such as Canada and India.

It was reported that Rising Sun Flag advertisements have even been inserted into YouTube videos watched by children.

Reporters demanded that VANK protest, stating that advertisements continuously uploaded on YouTube promote not only the Rising Sun Flag but also the Japanese-style notation of the East Sea as 'Sea of Japan' and the safety of agricultural and marine products from Fukushima.

Cyber Diplomacy Delegation VANK's poster demanding the ban on Rising Sun Flag advertisements. Photo by VANK, Yonhap News Agency

Park Ki-tae, head of VANK, explained, "The (Japanese) Rising Sun Flag YouTube advertisements are related to the globally popular Apple TV+ drama 'Pachinko'." He added, "It is a trick to prevent the truth of history, which Japan tried to hide and conceal, from surfacing."

The drama 'Pachinko' contains depictions of Koreans oppressed during the Japanese colonial period, including the March 1st Movement, Japanese exploitation of Korean rice, forced labor of Koreans, and Japanese military comfort women, as well as the massacre of Korean immigrants in Japan during the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Park further criticized, "YouTube, which has a significant global influence, has become Japan's 'megaphone' that does not reflect on the invasion wars waged during the imperialist era."

VANK urged that Japan's blatant distortion of history must be made known worldwide and asked overseas Koreans residing in various countries to report if they find related YouTube advertisements in their countries.

Additionally, they requested participation in a campaign to ban the broadcast of Rising Sun Flag advertisements on YouTube and to join activities such as distributing posters produced by VANK on social networking services (SNS).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.