Japanese Snack Maker Is So Sorry About 9-Cent Hike

Video of apology is a smash hit
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 7, 2016 1:21 PM CDT

The price of a popular frozen snack in Japan is going up the equivalent of 9 cents, a small bit of news that is making headlines all over because of how the company announced it, reports Quartz. In a 60-second video, executives and employees of the company Akagi Nyugyo are seen executing a group bow of apology as type on the screen explains that the price of Garigari-kun bars is rising to 70 yen. It's the first price hike since 1991 for the ubiquitous brand, reports AFP. "We held on for 25 years," says type on the screen, "but ..."

The commercial first aired on TV and has now been viewed more than 1 million times on YouTube, notes the Asian Correspondent. "It was beyond our imagination that the video would be watched so many times," says a spokeswoman. A catchy song about rising prices plays during the video, but the apology is sincere, explains a post in Japan Today. "This type of behavior might seem unusual from other more litigious countries where a wholehearted apology is sometimes an admission of guilt, but in Japan, public apologies are both expected and scrutinized." (McDonald's had to apologize when its mozzarella sticks were found to be missing one vital ingredient.)

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