Japanese comedians apologise for saying Naomi Osaka needs bleach

Japanese comedy duo 'A Masso' said that Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka needs some bleach. Their comments came during a live event, after which anti-racism activists around the world started criticising them. The duo has since issued a public apology for their comment.

During the event, A Masso said that Osaka was "too sunburned." The comment didn't go over well with tennis fans. It was alleged that the Australian Open title holder's brown skin colour was the reason behind such mockery by the Japanese duo.

The 21-year-old won her first Pan-Pacific Open title last Sunday in Osaka. She defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final, 6-2, 6-3.

Ever since the Japanese duo's remarks came in, they have been thrashed on social media sites. A Masso's management company, Watanabe Entertainment, said that their clients have been seriously warned because of their comments.

The female comedy duo reportedly apologised for making comments that could potentially hurt someone. Although they mentioned that they are sorry for making inappropriate and hurtful remarks about people, they never specifically mentioned the Haitian-Japanese tennis star.

According to BBC, one of the comedians, Ai Murakami, said, "We sincerely apologise for making the specific person feel uncomfortable, as well as for everyone else connected to the event." She further stated, "We also sincerely apologise for causing trouble. Though we should have thought about it, we made remarks that hurt many people, something we will never do again."

This is not the first time that someone in Japan has been involved in making racist remarks about Osaka. Earlier in January, a Japanese noodle company drew a manga portrait of the tennis sensation in which Osaka was painted white.

Activists and tennis enthusiasts expressed their surprise on how the Japanese can make funny and racist comments against someone who was originally born in Japan. Osaka moved to the United States at a very young age.