(Mainichi)

       TOKYO -- A hotel in Japan's capital came under fire after it labeled its elevators "foreigners only" and "Japanese only," the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.

       Akasaka Excel Hotel Tokyu in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward intended to separate lifts for those involved in the Olympic and Paralympic Games from those for general guests, but it took down the signs after they were criticized as discriminatory.

       According to the hotel, it designated two of its elevators as being for "foreigners only" and the other two "Japanese only," and posted signs in front of and inside the elevators on July 9 because it had reservations for overnight stays for people involved in the games. After it was pointed out that the signs were discriminatory and being asked, "Can't Japanese people use them (if they are designated for foreigners)?" the hotel later changed the wording to phrases such as "foreigners prioritized," but by July 11 it had pulled them down.

       A representative at the hotel commented, "We did not mean to discriminate, but we would like to apologize for a lack of consideration."

       The hotel staff are apparently considering how to respond to instructions from the Tokyo Games organizing committee to separate the lines for those associated with the games from those for general guests.

       (Japanese original by Kazuhiro Toyama, Tokyo City News Department)

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