Photo of South Korean Women's Volleyball Captain Sparks "Malicious" Reactions in Japan

A Japanese terrestrial television broadcast has sparked reactions online that it may have been "malicious" after using a photo of South Korea women's national volleyball team captain Kang So-hwi for a player introduction that looked vastly different from her usual appearance.

The controversy arose during the broadcast of the semifinals between South Korea and Japan at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held yesterday at Park Arena Komaki in Komaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Following the match, Japanese media outlet Nikkan Sports published an article titled "Voices of Doubt Erupt Over Profile Photo of South Korean Captain During Match Broadcast."

The outlet reported, "The profile photo of South Korea's captain Kang So-hwi, displayed in the lower right corner of the screen during Japan's TBS broadcast, looked significantly different from her usual impression," adding that "voices questioning the choice, such as 'I was shocked' and 'Isn't this a bit malicious?', followed one after another."

In fact, comments on the article included reactions like, "I was shocked because it captured a facial expression in a very malicious moment," and "Don't they usually use an official portrait?"

On social media, one user shared what appeared to be a photo they took of the broadcast screen side-by-side with Kang's photos posted on the official tournament website and the Korea Volleyball Association.

Another social media user shared the Nikkan Sports article and pointed out the photo used in the broadcast, writing, "I have to admit that this was malicious!"

On this day, the South Korean women's national volleyball team, led by coach Cha Sang-hyun, suffered a 0-3 defeat in set scores to Japan, failing to advance to the finals.

Today, the national team will face Thailand for the bronze medal, aiming for their first Asian Games medal in eight years.

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Kim Kihyun | Graphics by Lee Sumin | Produced by SBS Digital News | Source material: Nikkan Sports, Japan TBS, social media captures)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.