Interest

Haifuri Military Recruitment Poster Criticized

The navy-themed anime Haifuri collaborated with the Japan Self Defense Forces' Kanagawa Provincial Cooperation Office to design a recruitment poster for the Japanese military. Since April 10, this poster drawn by Naoto Nakamura, Haifuri's character designer, has adorned walls around Kanagawa Prefecture south of Tokyo.

"Seeking Ground, Sea & Air Self-Defense Forces!"

But not everyone's happy with military recruitment. This tag was spotted on the poster in Yokohama Station:

"It's an easy job; you just kill boy soldiers in South Sudan."

The tag refers to Japan's peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, which has lasted since 2012 and has been extended through October. The central African nation has been mired in civil war since shortly after it achieved independence in 2011, although there are renewed hopes for a peace agreement after rebel leader Riek Machar was inaugurated as vice president last month as part of a power-sharing deal. Both Sudanese sides have recruited child soldiers, including 13,000 to 15,000 in 2015 alone.

Other anime-related military recruitment efforts in Japan include moe mascots in Okayama Prefecture, Golgo 13, and soldiers drawn by ufotable,

Sources: Haifuri official website, My Game News Flash, The Japan Times, Al-Jazeera and International Business Times