Shibushi, a city on the south-western island of Kyushu, was forced to pull an online CM intended to boost the local eel industry following criticism that it demeaned women.

The two-minute video, set to gentle piano music, shows a teenage girl dressed in a black swimsuit, swimming in an outdoor pool and asking to be fed.

In other scenes, she is seen poolside playing with a hula hoop before the advertisement takes a bizarre twist. After apparently spending a year being fattened up, she dives into the pool and transforms into an eel, offering a cheery “Goodbye” as she swims away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb8VgJjNSW8

The male narrator, meanwhile, describes how he had vowed to do all he could to nurture her: “I fed her delicious food until she was full, and allowed her to get plenty of sleep.”

Seconds later viewers are treated to a close-up of eel being cooked on a barbecue grill. “We take great care when farming our eels,” says the narrator.

“This makes me think of a girl who has been kidnapped and locked up … it’s the delusions of a pervert,” commented one Twitter user.

The ad went viral before it was withdrawn. Do you feel it was sexist?

(via The Guardian)