Japan's Official Disinformed EPL Club Recruiting Korean Prospects, Pressed Its Head Only In ChinaI'm sorry to promote the Japanese war hero
Dec 04, 2025
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On the 29th (Korean time), The Sun in the UK had no choice but to apologize to China after Brighton's SNS post caused a 'large-scale public relations crisis'. As photos of an academy player and Kaoru Mitoma spread rapidly, Brighton had to post an official statement on X (formerly Twitter).
The photo on Brighton's official social media channel was shocking. At the time, Brighton posted a congratulatory post that the under-12 youth team won the Premier League (EPL) education project and went to the Christmas Truth Cup in Belgium.
It was a young prospect and Japanese superstar Mitoma who appeared in the picture. The content itself was not a problem because it was aimed at commemorating the performance of the youth team. The character card held by the two was the problem. The Sun 'The two people in the photo were seen holding cards depicting a Japanese imperial officer. The person is believed to be Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda, who served in the Japanese military from 1942 to 1974. Onoda was living in seclusion after World War II, but the Japanese government officially announced that he had died in 1959.
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When Lt. Onoda's photo was used for publicity, Chinese fans went wild, and Brighton deleted the post and posted an apology when it became controversial. 'The club sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused in China by the recent post regarding the participation of academy players in the Christmas Truth Cup. We value China's fans very much, and we never meant to offend them in any way. Brighton also reportedly apologized to Mitoma, who came under criticism as the controversy grew.
On the 3rd, The Athletic in the UK found that Brighton's intense global interest, which focuses on all movements and actions taking place in the EPL, requires meticulous attention to detail. 'After inadvertently using the image of a controversial World War II veteran in a promotional SNS post, it led to an apology to Chinese and club Japanese star Kaoru Mitoma'
According to a report by The Athletic, Brighton was only interested in the fact that Onoda was treated like a hero in Japan. The media revealed that neither the club nor the EPL panel in charge of screening the project were aware of the entire history of Onoda, a second lieutenant in the Japanese Imperial Army, and the fierce criticism that would be triggered in some parts of Asia.
A Brighton spokesperson "We accept responsibility. I also apologized to Mitoma. This is because he was unintentionally put in a difficult situation. This was a pure mistake. We have reviewed the process, and in the future, we will have protocols in place to ensure that similar content goes through additional verification processes." In addition, the club reportedly delivered a written apology to Southeast Asian fan organizations.
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Another reason why Brighton's controversy is hard to see as happening is related to Yoon Do-young, Korea's top prospect, who was hired in July. When Brighton announced the recruitment of Yoon Do-young, it introduced him in Japanese, not in Korean. When Korean fans protested strongly, they deleted the Japanese official without any apology and then posted the official in English again. If the historical sensitivity of Korea and Japan was properly considered, it was a mistake that should never have happened.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
