The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 1 minute and 56 seconds video commemorating the 80th anniversary of Liberation features scenes of Tokyo Station, sparking controversy.
The ministry explained that it is an 'artificial history' created by artificial intelligence, but the controversy is unlikely to dissipate easily, as the government agency's promotional video, coinciding with Liberation Day, contains images similar to Japanese history.
According to the ministry on the 18th, the video titled 'The 120-Year Railroad Retrieved by the People Along with Liberation' created by the ministry features scenes resembling the Shinkansen tracks at Tokyo Station, not Seoul Station.
When the video is enlarged, vehicles traveling on the left side of the road are visible in the upper right corner, clearly indicating that it is a road in Japan.
According to the ministry's confirmation, the video was produced by an outsourced company and is a virtual image created through AI, not an actual image.
A ministry official noted, 'It appears that the video, which was pieced together using various images of railways and stations, ended up including some features of Japanese stations.'
The video has been removed from online platforms.
Internet users reacted with comments like, 'Is it possible to use Japanese railway videos while incorporating Liberation?' and 'Is the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport out of its mind for using Tokyo Station in a video related to the 80th anniversary of Liberation and 120 years of railroads?' and 'It's absurd to call it just a simple mistake.'
In response, a ministry official said, '(The ministry) did produce the video,' adding, 'The video has currently been taken down.'