TOKYO – The recent release of two American movies, collectively known as “Barbenheimer”, is fuelling a social media backlash in Japan, the only country to have experienced nuclear weapon attacks.

A meme combining Oppenheimer, a biography of the inventor of the atomic bomb, and Barbie, a comedy about the fashion doll, had already been trending on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Japanese users, who were already embracing the “#NoBarbenheimer” hashtag, were further provoked when the United States account for the Barbie film chimed in with a post saying: “It’s going to be a summer to remember.”

Aug 6 and 9 will mark 78 years since the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan marks the anniversary with solemn ceremonies and calls to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Although director Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has not been banned in Japan, it does not have a release date yet, even though it debuted in US theatres in July.

Posts in Japanese described the “Barbenheimer” meme as “terrible” and criticised images combining mushroom clouds and actors from the Barbie movie.

The uproar forced the Japan office of Warner Brothers, the distributor of Barbie, to respond.

It’s “highly regrettable” that the US-based account for the film engaged with the “Barbenheimer” movement in an inappropriate manner, said Warner Bros Japan in a statement posted on the official Japanese account for Barbie.

The firm said it is not connected with the meme or the movement, and that it is seeking “an appropriate response” from its US parent.

Dr Jeffrey J. Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies, said: “This movement went viral after Japanese Twitter users noticed that the official US Twitter account for the Barbie movie was responding to mushroom cloud ‘Barbenheimer’ memes in a positive way.

“If Warner Brothers’ American office takes this issue seriously and apologises, it will probably cause most of this backlash to die down.”

Barbie and Oppenheimer opened on the same weekend in the US, leading to a phenomenon where audiences watch the two films in one cinema visit.

It is common for Hollywood films to be released later in Japan, after the US premiere. Barbie will debut in Japan on Aug 11.

An official from Toho-Towa Co, which usually distributes films from Universal Pictures, said Oppenheimer’s release in Japan is yet to be determined.

The decision will be made by Universal Pictures, the official added. 

“Oppenheimer is likely to receive awards and when that happens, we can expect a wide release at theatres in Japan,” Dr Hall said.

“It is very common for Japanese film distributors to delay film releases up to six months or a year, and it rarely is politically motivated.” BLOOMBERG