Chinese ice-cream store chain “Iceason” has released a controversial new ice-cream. That’s right, for the hefty price of 30 yuan [560 yen; $5], you can lick a Japanese war criminals face until it melts.
The chain’s Tojo Hideki ice-cream comes in five different flavors, and is on sale to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in China. Yahoo! and Twitter netizens responded to the news with a mixture of disbelief and disgust, but many remained pragmatic, pointing out that this is one expensive frozen treat.
Given the historical controversies and territorial disputes that still plague Sino-Japanese relations, maybe it’s not so surprising that such a product should appear. But is this a delicious way of commemorating the past? Or is it just in bad taste?
From AFP:
“Tojo Hideki Ice-cream” Goes on Sale In China To Commemorate 70th Anniversary Of Anti-Japanese Resistance
Tojo Hideki
[AFP=Jiji] An ice-cream store located in Shanghai, the commercial center of China, is selling ice lollipop in the shape of the face of former Japanese PM Tojo Hideki, who was executed as a war criminal, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of China’s successful anti-Japanese resistance during WWII.
The tagline for the lollipops in the shape of Tojo’s face, which are being sold by ice-cream store “Iceason” reads: “Eat a Japanese war criminal with 10,000 others”. On a poster displayed in the store’s central Shanghai branch, are the words “Don’t forget national disgrace” alongside a picture of the product itself, Tojo Hideki’s face in the form of a chocolate ice-cream lollipop, which even has glasses and a mustache.
Another branch in Shangai’s financial district started selling 5 different flavors of the “Tojo Icepop” (vanilla, blueberry, mocha, mango, and tiramisu) on September 2. However, at lunch time there were virtually no customers buying the lollipop, which sells for as much as 30 yuan (around 560 yen [$4.67]) a pop.
As relations between Japan and China are characterized by a tense mood due to territorial disputes and historical awareness over the war, the Chinese government is due to hold a military parade commemorating 70 years since the victory over Japan at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on September 3.
While online people feel about the “Tojo Icepop” that “it’s just an ice-cream. There’s no reason we shouldn’t eat it”, there were also users who thought that “making an historical situation into a food is inappropriate”.
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
pwr*****:
The idea of this is…weird.
cha*****:
I’m not sure of them as a people.
rei*****:
Commemorative ice-cream or not, I don’t think this thing is worth 560 yen.
Kinda seems to me that for 560 yen you could eat something much tastier in China.
mom*****:
It’s because they can do things like this that I think China is a horrible country.
non*****:
So childish, can’t even be bothered to argue against this.
chi*****:
And now I realize why we have the term “cultural standards”.
Ｒyu:
I reckon Haagen Dazs is much better than that.
ねこまんま:
560 yen for an ice-cream? What a bloody rip-off!
suz*****:
I mean, even if I were Chinese I wouldn’t find this funny.
ete*****:
The idea of it is childish, I’m just disgusted by it.
Comments from Twitter:
glacier:
560 yen is expensive! Did anyone actually buy this?
Angry_Animals:
So they’re so obsessed with Japan they’d go this far, huh ～～.
Good children. How about learning a bit more about the historical reality?
Yasuaki Madarame:
It’s no surprise these aren’t selling. They’re just way too expensive. This would be something like the equivalent 3000 yen [$25] for an ice cream in Japan.
たんぼ:
This is kind of awful…
切り開く青空人:
Come on, you can only call this trolling. What’s more, since there is often a contaminant mixed into food made in China, you’d probably get sick after eating it.
ユニフット:
I myself wouldn’t put anything as horrible as that in my mouth, but I guess they really love him?
ジャポニーズ:
Just what we’d expect of China. They’ll turn anything into food. Idiotic idea.
shimizu toshi:
So they dare to insult a former prime minister of our nation, eh?
They know absolutely nothing about the real story behind the Tokyo Trials, they’re just an uncivilzed nation that was made in the postwar period.
Baron Kaneko:
Hilarious w
ぐるぐる:
Every nation has its idiots.
