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controversy (Page 10)

Thai video claiming corruption at the 2014 Asia Games goes viral

Krista Rogers
Oct 8, 2014
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Readers in the West may not have heard much about it, but the 17th Asian Games were held between September 19 and October 4 in Incheon, South Korea. As the largest multi-sporting event after the Olympics, the Asian Games bring together athletes from all across the Asian continent only once every four years. By the end of this year’s competition, China had racked up the highest medal count, followed by host South Korea and Japan. However, this year’s Games were also plagued by rampant rumors of suspicious refereeing, fixed matches, and host country favoritism, leaving many nations with a bitter aftertaste upon their conclusion.

In response to the multiple stories of alleged corruption, one irate Thai viewer created a parody video to vent his frustrations. As of this writing, the video, with its scornful lyrics yet surprisingly bubbly nature, has been replayed over 2 million times on YouTube, despite having been published less than a week ago. Judging by the comments, it seems the rest of the world seems to sympathize with its message…

Global, Internet, Korea, SE Asia
(Asia • Asian Games • badminton • boxing • controversy • refereeing • scandal • soccer • Thailand • wrestling • YouTube)

South Korean One Piece exhibition cancelled due to Japanese flag art

Anime News Network
Jul 11, 2014

Seoul, South Korea’s War Museum announced on Thursday that it has cancelled a planned exhibition centered around Eiichiro Oda‘s One Piece manga due to protests of the Japanese flag appearing in art being displayed, among other reasons.

Korea
(Anime News Network • controversy • manga • One Piece)

Tonight vs Hotel Tonight – Did GREE just rip off one of America’s most popular hotel apps?

Angelina Lucienne
Jun 23, 2014

Smartphones and tablets improve almost faster than consumers can keep up with, and the apps designed for them change even more quickly. That means that there is a lot of opportunity for plagiarism. But surely sometimes it’s just a coincidence, right? It’s not out of the question that two developers could realistically be trying to fulfill the same need.

This week has brought us one more heated internet debate: Is hotel application Tonight by Japan’s GREE a rip-off of North American app Hotel Tonight, or are their similarities just coincidence?

Japan
(apps • controversy • copy • GREE • hotel booking)

US Ambassador Kennedy’s comment about pork irritates Japanese netizens

Krista Rogers
Mar 4, 2014

What’s wrong with a little bacon, you say? Pork is one of the most widely consumed meats around the world. But not all pork is the same, as was brought to light recently in Japan.

On a trip to southern Japan a few days ago for a US-Japan joint satellite launch, United States Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy commented that she would like to try a local pork delicacy famous to Kagoshima Prefecture. However, her comment became a hot issue, prompting many Japanese netizens to take their confused and even angry comments online. Keep reading to find out why this seemingly simple comment became such a big deal in light of recent events.

Internet, Japan, USA
(Berkshire pig • controversy • dolphin • US Ambassador)

South Korea protests Olympic figure skating result over biased judging

BUSINESS INSIDER
Feb 23, 2014

The South Korean Olympic Committee has filed an official protest of the result of the women’s figure skating event at the Olympics over ‘biased judging,’ according to the Associated Press.

Korea
(bias • controversy • figure skating • judges • Olympics • Pull Partners • winter • Yuna Kim)

Japanese gamers debate Red Cross’s call for virtual crimes to be punished

Scott R Dixon
Nov 10, 2013

The International Red Cross has recently been pushing for so-called “hyper realistic” video games to follow international humanitarian laws and penalize players for their in-game crimes, such as gunning down civilians. Last month, the organization on its Japanese site posted an explanation about why it decided to press for this. As expected, gamers had mixed reactions to the announcement with some decrying the “over-regulation” of their hobby, while many thought it was a much-needed change to the industry.

Japan
(controversy • Red Cross • video games • violence • war)

Infield Fly Controversy Mars Tension-Filled Baseball Grudge Match

Master Blaster
Jul 16, 2012

A recent first round qualifying game for the high school league national championship between rivals Nichidai Fujisawa (Japan University’s High School) and Buso ended in controversy after a botched infield fly ball was mishandled causing a Nichidai runner to steal home and earn a walk-off victory for their team.