PUBG Corp Apologizes and Removes Rising Sun Imagery

Recently, PUBG found itself in the midst of controversy due to its inclusion of a Japanese pilot mask featuring Rising Sun imagery. While the Rising Sun is still part of the Japanese navy’s official ensign, for many it remains a symbol of military aggression at its most violent and immoral level. Like all symbols, it’s not the imagery itself that’s offensive it’s the association. Often compared to Germany’s Nazi Swastika and America’s Confederate flag, the Rising Sun is associated with war crimes committed by Japan in WWII.

Toshiyuki Tanaka, a Japanese historian at Melbourne University, wrote a book detailing these events called Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes in World War II: focusing on atrocities in the “Australian territory and deep in the jungles of Burneo and Papua, New Guinea where thousands of Australian, British, Pakistani and Indian POWs were massacred, and some cannibalized.” The text addresses “five categories of Japanese war crimes and explores the broader social, psychological, and institutional culture, examining Japanese conduct within the context of dehumanizing institutionalized wartime brutality.”

All of which is to say that there’s a good amount of documentation from this era that can inform our understanding of why an image associated with the aforementioned ruthlessness would be upsetting to players. Especially when considering the lighthearted violence that PUBG, and many battle royale games, offer. The result is unsettling. In response PUBG Corp, has removed the item and issued refunds to any player who purchased it with a note saying it was due to “a previously undetected bug.”

PUBG Corp.’s official apology stated

We apologize for causing concerns over a pilot mask item. We will conduct an overall re-examination of our image production process to prevent such a recurrence. We will enhance procedures to scrutinize game items before their release and hold the person in charge responsible.

Assuming that this was an honest mistake, this adds to the narrative of how crucial cultural awareness and sensitivity is when working on video games. Moments like these should never discourage creators from including aspects from multiple cultures in their games but should serve as reminders to do so with thorough research and care. For more stories on cultural sensitivity and games, check out our recent news story on how Beyond Good and Evil 2 is raising concerns from Hindu activists.

[Source: Gamasutra / The Alliance for Human Research Protection]

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