It’s a touchy subject that most of us westerners didn’t even know about – the rising sun image. It’s popular in Japan, and it’s image has crossed over into martial arts in a big way, with Pride tshirts, GSP’s gi and on and on, but did you know the Korean Zombie takes a huge exception to the image?
Learn more in his open letter to Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta below:
Hi, Korean Zombie here. I’m delivering this message on behalf of over 800,000 members of combative sport café, one of the biggest MMA blogs in Korea. We have decided to take the time to speak up for what we know is right, because we do believe this is something that UFC management should absolutely be aware of. Let’s get straight to the point.
It’s about ‘Rising Sun Flag’ outfits. And our point is that this design is the symbol of war crimes, and that every single item designed after this symbol of war crimes should be kicked out of the UFC, firstly for justice, and then for the company.
Let bygones be bygones? Get over it? Unjustified invasion, torture, massacre, military and sexual slavery, medical experiments on living prisoners of war and many other war crimes scarred too many people. It can never be forgotten. This is a tragic history for all of us. Furthermore, the Japanese government never gave a sincere apology, and is even trying to justify and distort their dirty, nasty history. Still to this day, so many victims are dying in pain, heartbroken, without being properly compensated.
…I was happy because I thought we have succeeded in educating a chunk of the world on a very important issue, and that we no longer have to see that symbol of war crimes, at least around the Octagon. But a few days later, another UFC champion and the symbol of WMMA, Ronda Rousey was seen in that ‘Rising Sun Flag’ outfit. Two UFC champions wearing the symbol of war crimes! Don’t you think this will be an awful example for our company, which actually does a lot of charity stuff for troops as well?
This sport, mixed martial arts, is growing very fast. And on the top of everything is the UFC. It’s been crossing borders with great ease. The event was a great success in Europe, Australia and Brazil, and now it’s time for Asia. As a fighter, I’m really excited and happy to see the sport growing, but I don’t even want to imagine UFC fighters in those outfits, especially in Asia. A lot of furious, heartbroken people will boycott the UFC, leading to a loss of a lot of (potential) fans, which will end up leaving a very bad impression on the Asian market. I mean, can you imagine our fighters in Nazi outfits in Europe? For us Asians, it’s nothing different.