'Curry Police': A problematic music video leads to a problematic backlash

May 29, 2021 | News On Japan

May 29, 2021 (Japan Times) - It's not often that an embassy has to issue an apology to an entire country because of a video on YouTube.

Earlier this month, that’s exactly what happened when the Embassy of Japan in India posted a notice to its Facebook page, stating, “It was regrettable that this utterly inappropriate video had offended many Indian friends.”

The video in question was for a song called “Curry Police” by the group Candy Foxx. Japanese entertainers have long used stereotypes as the punchlines for jokes — remember the blackface Eddie Murphy impression or the JAL ad? — and it’s a style of humor Candy Foxx embraces in its other offerings, though those clips also poke fun at Japan.

The video for “Curry Police” has been taken down from the official Candy Foxx YouTube page but, because this is the internet, nothing ever really disappears and it has been re-uploaded to other channels.

The clip is set in the landscape of northern India, with bare-chested men in turbans and women wearing ghagra choli — a type of traditional Indian dress — taking part in a Bollywood-style dance sequence. In one scene, a man uses a piece of naan as his ticket to board a boat to Japan; in another, the owner of a curry restaurant is taken hostage by Japanese thugs, only to be led to a magic lamp that releases the Hindu god Ganesha (someone needs to let Candy Foxx know that the story of Aladdin’s lamp was an Arabic thing).

It’s worth noting that the footage of the thugs is recycled from a previous video, “Sushi Yakuza,” which includes a battle between Japanese criminal elements and a bunch of Indian cooks, with the yakuza coming out on top. That video is still online and has been watched over 47 million times.

The people behind Candy Foxx are no strangers to controversy. Two years ago, the same group went by the name Represent Earth and staged a publicity stunt that included fake claims of power harassment, ultimately landing the band Maximum The Hormone in trouble with its fans.

The “Curry Police” video has elicited thousands of complaints from both the Indian and Japanese community. Japan-based Indian YouTuber Rom Rom Ji put out a response titled “Indians Should Stand Together in Japan,” in which he cites previous instances of Indian stereotyping in Candy Foxx’s work and calls for a boycott.

Record Rain Triggers Level 5 Warning in Fukui

Record rainfall caused 19 rivers to overflow across Fukui Prefecture, flooding roads and homes, triggering landslides and temporarily forcing authorities to issue the highest-level heavy rain emergency warning from early Sunday morning.

Drones Deliver Supplies to Residents Cut Off by Landslide

Drones were used to deliver food and daily necessities to an isolated mountain community in Himi City, Toyama Prefecture, on August 30 after torrential rain triggered a landslide that cut off road access, while volunteers continued flood recovery work in neighboring Ishikawa Prefecture.

Typhoon No. 23 Overtakes No. 22 East of Japan as Both Head North

Two typhoons east of Japan were moving northward on August 30, with Typhoon No. 23 (Banlan) overtaking Typhoon No. 22 (Artau), although neither storm is expected to have a direct impact on Japan.

Nine-Minute Drone Video Shows Scale of Aeon Mall Damage

A 9-minute, 13-second drone video filmed inside Aeon Mall Kumamoto two days after the deadly explosion has provided a detailed view of the destruction, showing collapsed ceilings, heavy dust and widespread damage that may have affected between one-third and nearly half of the shopping center.

Conditions Ease as Typhoon No. 18 Passes Okinawa

Strong Typhoon No. 18 was moving northwest through the East China Sea on the night of August 26, gradually pulling away from Okinawa and the Amami Islands as lingering rain, strong winds and high waves were expected to ease. As of 9 p.m. on August 26, the typhoon was over waters north-northwest of Kume Island and moving northwest.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Three Students Swept Out to Sea in Kagoshima

Three teenage boys who went missing after being swept offshore from the coast of Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima Prefecture, on August 28 were found in the sea near the scene on August 29 and confirmed dead.

Foreign Cyclist Suffers Broken Shoulder in Shiga Hit-and-Run

A foreign man in his 30s suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car while riding a bicycle in Higashiomi, Shiga Prefecture, early on August 29, with police investigating the incident as a hit-and-run.

Bread Dumping Mystery Takes a Twist

A fake video apparently created with generative AI showing a large bear eating piles of sliced bread has spread on social media following a series of illegal bread dumping incidents in Tottori Prefecture, prompting the prefectural government to warn that misinformation could cause economic harm.

Teens Arrested for Spraying Fire Extinguishers at Police Station

Three youths, including a high school student and a junior high school student, have been arrested on suspicion of obstructing police duties after allegedly stealing fire extinguishers and spraying them toward a police station in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture.

Avant-Garde Artist Yayoi Kusama Dies at 97

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose obsessive dots, nets, pumpkins and mirrored rooms grew from intensely personal visions into some of the most recognizable images in contemporary art, died at a hospital in Tokyo on August 14, 2026, at the age of 97. Her death was announced on August 27 by companies representing the artist, which said she continued painting until her final days.

Bus Driver Crashes While Shooing Away Mosquito

A Toei bus crashed into a traffic signal in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on the morning of August 26 after the driver lost control of the steering wheel while trying to shoo away a mosquito, leaving two male passengers injured.

Don't Touch Paramedics' Shoes! Kanazawa Warns

Kanazawa's fire department is asking residents not to straighten or rearrange shoes removed by paramedics during emergency calls, warning that the well-intentioned gesture can delay the transport of patients by around 30 seconds and potentially interfere with medical care.

Luxury Watch Theft Carried Out in 10 Seconds

Two men who stole four luxury watches worth a combined 200 million yen from a store at Tokyo's Nakano Broadway may have carefully planned the 10-second theft, with one suspect renting an electric kick scooter shortly before the crime and investigators examining whether the other man's escape on foot was intended as a decoy.

< 2 3 4 5 >