A promotional YouTube video made by the city of Shibushi, Kagoshima Prefecture, featuring a young woman in a swimsuit who morphs into an eel has been pulled following a public outcry that it was sexist.

"We apologize for upsetting viewers with our release of 'Unaco,' " Shibushi Mayor Shuichi Honda said in a statement Monday, referring to the title of the two-minute video that was uploaded Sept. 21. "We made the video to convey the fact that our city's eels are grown in mineral water and with great care, in a stress-free environment where nutrition and rest are adequately provided."

The video, produced by ad giant Hakuhodo, has the feel of an idol video. It starts out with a scene of a girl in a black school swimsuit at a swimming pool where she utters the words "Feed me." The video shows the girl swimming, dozing off and looking ecstatic as she is splashed with water from a hose.