French earthquake satire offends Japan

The show “portrayed workers at Fukushima in the guise of the Mario Brothers”.

Paris: Japan complained to a French broadcaster which made fun in a satirical show of the deadly Japanese earthquake and nuclear disaster, an embassy source in Paris said on Sunday.

The Japanese embassy wrote to private French television channel Canal+ complaining of jokes about Japan on Les Guignols de l`Info, its popular satirical puppet show, said an embassy source who asked not to be named.

He said the show displayed pictures comparing the atomic destruction of Hiroshima in 1945 with the devastation of the city of Sendai by a tsunami in the earthquake and that it joked that the Japanese had not rebuilt since the war.

“They were making fun of the current situation in Japan and Japanese viewers living in France complained to us. That is why we sent a letter complaining to Canal+,” the source said.

The disaster caused by the March 11 quake left 26,000 people dead or missing, and crippled the Fukushima atomic plant, raising fears of radiation.

The show “portrayed the workers at Fukushima in the guise of the Mario Brothers”, he added, referring to the heroes of the Japanese-created video game. “The workers in the nuclear plant of Fukushima are risking their lives.”

Bureau Report

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.