AT&T Wireless ad raises Asian ire
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Japanese mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo is a key shareholder in AT&T Wireless.
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NEW YORK (CNN) -- AT&T Wireless has outraged at least two Asian-American civil rights organizations with a full page ad that appeared in newspapers across the United States Wednesday, prompting an apology from the cell phone carrier.
The ad promotes the company's reduced international calling rates under the abbreviation JAP for Japan.
The company now agrees with its critics, who say it should have used the internationally accepted abbreviation JPN for Japan.
The civil rights groups say the company is guilty of reinforcing racial slurs, whether or not it was a mistake.
The ad shows a smiling woman of Asian descent above a listing of international phones rates -- including the JAP abbreviation and MEX for Mexico, among others.
CNN's Fred Katayama contacted the Japanese American Citizens League, whose Executive Director John Tateishi said: "I view it (JAP) as derogatory whether there was intent or not. AT&T (Wireless) should know better. I'm going to insist they change the ad."
And Guy Aoki, founding president of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans told CNN, "The abbreviation should be 'JPN.' It's reinforcing a racial slur."
AT&T Wireless spokesman Mark Siegal told CNN: "It's dreadful. I apologize. It's unacceptable. We've got to see how this happened and make sure this never happens again." He added, "Obviously, it's not intentional since we're trying to sell to Japanese customers."
The largest minority shareholder in AT&T Wireless is Japan's largest wireless carrier, NTT's DoCoMo, which had no comment on the ad.
Among the papers that carried the ad were the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
