A Tokyo hotel put "Japanese only" and "foreigners only" posters in front of its elevators in a bid to beef up anti-coronavirus measures ahead of the Olympics, but withdrew them after receiving criticism, the hotel management said.
According to one of the executives, Akasaka Excel Hotel Tokyu "had no intention of discriminating" against foreigners, and the posters were merely meant to segregate the flow of movements of visitors engaged to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games from that of general guests.
"We apologize for having caused a misunderstanding," the official said.
After posting posters separating the usage of its four elevators into two units for Japanese and another two for foreigners, the hotel was faced with a storm of criticism on social media that it was discriminating against foreign individuals.
OneTwitter user said: "Apartheid has been revived in Japan."
The move was based on recommendations issued by the Olympic and Paralympic organizing committees to limit the spread of COVID-19, according to officials.
Some Japanese guests questioned the hotel if they were allowed to use elevators labeled "foreigners only," according to reports.
Some participants in the games are scheduled to stay at the hotel, which is located close to the Diet building and the Imperial Palace.
Japan declared a state of emergency July 12 on fears an inflow of tens of thousands of athletes and officials during the Games, which run from July 23 to Aug. 8, could spread the coronavirus, which is already causing outbreaks in Tokyo.
Japan's vaccine rollout got off to a sluggish start, and while it eventually picked up, supply issues are forcing it to stall. Only about 28% of the population has had at least one vaccine shot.
