The Don Quijote Co. discount chain said Tuesday it will pull a Nazi costume from its store shelves after receiving a complaint from a Jewish organization in the United States.
The costume includes a black jacket with swastika armband and a sketch resembling Adolf Hitler on the package, with the phrase "Heil Hitler."
The outfit was on sale for about ¥5,000 in at least two outlets in Tokyo, including one in upscale Ginza.
Don Quijote said it would pull the product after being told of a letter from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish rights organization based in Los Angeles. The letter, dated Monday, demanded an immediate halt in sales, saying millions of Jews and other innocents were killed by the Nazis during World War II and that the swastika remains a "symbol of hatred."
"We want to fully respond to this letter from the center and are currently working within the company to do so," said company spokeswoman Kana Kasai in Tokyo.
Kasai said she didn't immediately know how long the product had been on sale or how many had been sold. The costume is made by a Japanese company called Aico.
The Nazi garb was on display in the store alongside dozens of other costumes, including one based on pop star Michael Jackson, as well as nurse and ninja outfits.
"This was meant purely as a joke, as something that would easily be recognizable. If we have complaints, we'll certainly stop sales," said Nasuzawa, the Aico spokesman.
