TWICE’s Sana posted a goodbye to Heisei, welcome Reiwa message on Instagram but was criticized by few Koreans

On April 30th, Sana posted a message on the final day of the Heisei Era on TWICE’s Instagram.

Sana wrote in Japanese, “I was born in Heisei and it is sad to see Heisei ending but I thank Heisei!  On the last day of Heisei, let’s prepare for a fresh start with Reiwa.  #Heisei thank you very much”.

 

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平成生まれとして、平成が終わるのはどことなくさみしいけど、平成お疲れ様でした！！！ 令和という新しいスタートに向けて、平成最後の今日はスッキリした1日にしましょう！ #平成ありがとう😊 #令和よろしく🥰 #FANCYもよろしく🤟❤️

A post shared by TWICE (@twicetagram) on Apr 30, 2019 at 3:00am PDT

While the end of an Era and switch to a new Emperor in Japan is a huge matter in Japan, one of the difficulties for the Japanese and also Taiwan members of TWICE is being careful of what you say and actions as cultural differences are no doubt sensitive.

For Taiwanese member Tzuyu, in 2015, she appeared in a TV appearance holding the flag of the Republic of China.  She was then accused by a singer from China of being a Taiwanese Independence activist.  This angered mainland Chinese who accused her of “profiting from her mainland Chinese audience while holding a pro-independence stance”.  The result, TWICE was banned from Chinese television and Tzuyu had to pull out of her endorsement by Chinese communications company Huawei.

As for Sana, Korean media reported about the Emperor and his connections to Japanese Imperial rule and a few Koreans criticizing her of her post.

One wrote in Korean, “I woke up and cried.  I was hurt and now I don’t like TWICE”.

Another wrote in Korean, “Really!  There is a problem in our two country’s history and that is why we are upset!”

One Japanese wrote, “It’s so stupid that even though her work is in Korea, she is unable to talk about her home country”.

Another Japanese fan wrote, “You did nothing wrong.  I was very happy about seeing your post”.

One wrote in English, “She loves her country but that doesn’t mean she is writing about historical issues”.