OSAKA -- The Universal Studios Japan theme park is in the throes of a cultural divide over the handling of negative publicity generated by a recent slew of scandals, with some local media outlets accusing American officials of dodging the issue.
One recent newspaper headline read, "American [USJ] Officials With Authority Don't Even Participate in Press Conferences."
Other newspapers reported, meanwhile, that American USJ officials initially opposed the utterance of any form of apology by USJ President Akira Sakata in his responses to a flurry of damaging revelations about the park, including that it was serving outdated food and untreated water was going to a drinking fountain.