A car import company called Jap Car South has issued an apology after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a UK watchdog that regulates advertising, ruled that the company's name could cause serious racial offence. The firm apologised to anyone who had been offended by the use of the word "Jap" in its name, following a complaint that the term was a harmful and offensive racial slur. The company’s website featured a logo with the text "Jap Car South Ltd" placed over a stylised sun, which resembles the Japanese rising sun flag, a symbol historically associated with Japan's military past. Jap Car South explained that it has been operating since 2020 and specialises in importing vehicles directly from Japan. The company stated that "Jap" was used as a shorthand for "Japan" or "Japanese" and that it had not previously received complaints in the UK or Japan about the name being offensive. It said the name was chosen to reflect its business of selling Japanese cars and that it had not intended to cause any offence, adding that it would not do so in the future. The ASA acknowledged that the lack of prior complaints did not determine how consumers would react. It pointed out that the word "Jap" became strongly associated with anti-Japanese sentiment during and after World War II, and it has long been used as a derogatory term for Japanese people or those of Japanese heritage. The watchdog concluded that using "Jap" in marketing was likely to cause serious racial offence. In addition, the ASA noted that the stylised sun image on the logo could reinforce the negative associations with Japanese identity. While the sun symbol is used in many aspects of Japanese culture, some consumers might link it to the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Army and Japan's military actions during World War II. Combined with the term "Jap," the image could further increase the offensive impact. The ASA ruled that the advertisement must not be used again and instructed the company to avoid causing racial offence in future marketing efforts.