Despite atomic bomb t-shirt furore, fans throng K-Pop band BTS concert in Tokyo

Tens of thousands of fans in Tokyo queued hours ahead of a concert by the South Korean boy band BTS on Tuesday (13 November), despite a furore in the media over the band's use of a photo on a t-shirt interpreted as commemorating the use of the A-bomb on Hiroshima and another believed to be Nazi uniforms.

A Japanese TV station cancelled last Friday's show with BTS after the news that one member had worn a t-shirt that sparked anger on social media and was interpreted as commemorating the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organisation, also condemned BTS in a written statement published on Sunday (November 11) saying the band was "mocking the past" after, according to Japanese media, previous photos surfaced of the group wearing hats with the Nazi SS death head logo and waving flags resembling the Nazi swastika.

However, for many of the thousands of fans who thronged the 55,000-seater Tokyo Dome, they believed the boy band had not done this intentionally.

Despite twitter chatter of possible anti-Korean protests, just one right-wing protester turned up to denounce the band, talking for over three hours ahead of the show and handing out leaflets. No large-scale protests were seen by the time the band's concert kicked off.

The seven-member boy band is planning to tour across Japan by visiting Osaka in November, Nagoya in December and Fukuoka in February 2019.