Last Updated: 2012.09.21
Regarding a Sign Posted at a UNIQLO Shanghai Store, in Reference to the Senkaku Islands
FAST RETAILING CO., LTD.
UNIQLO CO., LTD
to Japanese page
We have received many inquiries regarding a photograph posted on the Internet, showing a sign in Chinese that read 'the Senkaku Islands belong to China,' attached to the display window at one of UNIQLO's stores in Shanghai. Below is a detailed explanation regarding this matter.
On the evening of September 14th, local police of the Songjiang district, in the suburbs of Shanghai, instructed Kaiyuan Dizhonghaiguangchang Shopping Mall tenants of Japanese origin, including UNIQLO, to "post a sign that reads 'the Senkaku Islands belong to China' to safeguard against large-scale demonstrations scheduled to take place from the 15th."
UNIQLO's policy is to not take any political stance or voice its opinion regarding diplomatic disputes, and as such the store manager of the UNIQLO Shanghai Kaiyuan Dizhonghaiguangchang store decided not to follow the instructions of the local police. There was no sign posted from the evening of September 14th to the morning of September 15th.
Initially, the said UNIQLO store was not scheduled to be closed on September 15th. However, the situation changed quickly and drastically that morning, including an increase in the number of local police officers, and the store was closed at short notice, at the store manager's discretion.
As the number of demonstrators grew rapidly (approximately 1,000 members) from morning to noon of the 15th, local police strongly requested the store manager of the said UNIQLO store to post the sign mentioned above for safety purposes. The store manager then decided, at its discretion, to post a sign that read 'the Senkaku Islands belong to China' at around noon, and took it down approximately 40 minutes later once the demonstrators had passed.
This incident did not take place under company instruction, nor has a similar incident taken place at any of our other stores. Since September 18, several cases have been reported where similar signs have been posted at our temporarily closed stores in China. However, these signs have all been posted by third parties from outside the stores, and we have taken them down as soon as we find them.
Both Fast Retailing and UNIQLO believe that a company shall not take any political stance or voice their opinion regarding diplomatic disputes, and deeply regret that such an incident has taken place at the said UNIQLO store in Shanghai. Going forward, we will strictly ensure that a similar type of incident does not take place again.
On Tuesday, September 18th when widespread demonstrations took place across China, 60 of our stores in China were closed and all Japanese employees, totaling over 200 individuals, were instructed to stay at home. As of yesterday, September 20th, 5 stores in China were closed. The Japanese employees are all now able to leave their homes, while ensuring their own safety.
As of now there have been no reports of damage to store facilities or products, or personal injury to employees and their families.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation in China and will report on any material developments as necessary.
