On 18 March 2015, the Tokyo based department store Lumine released an internet based video advert, as the first part of its series titled “Rooting for the Working Woman”. Within hours of the release, the video was subjected to intense criticism on social media for, as critics described it, promoting sexist gender roles. On 20 March, the retailer deleted the advert from its website, and issued a brief statement apologizing that some of the “expressions” in the video had “caused offence”.  

In the video, a working woman is subjected to snide comments on her appearance by what seems to be a senior at the company. The senior then compares her to another female colleague, suggesting that there are two types of women in the office: attractive women who are the subject of male desire, and not-so-attractive ones who end as “just friends”. The video ends with the woman realizing that she had not spent enough time on her appearance, and deciding that she needs to change.