Tokyo-based Ryohin Keikaku Co. Ltd.'s business unit, Muji, became the latest company pulled by Chinese regulators over not complying with the country's territorial claims.
The National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation ordered Muji to destroy its furniture catalogs, saying the maps of its store locations on these catalogs had "serious errors." The map allegedly mislabeled Taiwan and failed to feature the Diaoyu Islands, a group of islands in the East China Sea also claimed by Japan as its Senkaku Islands, The Associated Press reported Jan. 31, citing the government agency.
"All foreign companies in China should respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
The catalogs were distributed around the Chinese city of Chongqing, the report said.
Meanwhile, Japan has criticized the order by the Chinese regulator. "There is no territorial dispute to be settled over the Senkaku Islands. We can by no means accept the measure based on China's unilateral claims," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga reportedly said at a news conference.
Previously, Marriott International Inc. had to shut down its mainland Chinese portal for a week after coming under fire for listing Taiwan and Hong Kong as countries on a customer survey. Industria de Diseño Textil SA subsidiary Zara, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Medtronic plc also received flak from regulators for calling Taiwan a country on their respective websites.
