US toymaker Mattel faces criticism for launching Olympic Barbie collection without Asian representation

Tokyo Olympics have come to an end, but the criticism hasn't. Recently, the US toymaker Mattel launched a special edition of Barbie dolls to commemorate the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but received criticism after being found to leave out Asian representation. Given the fact that Japan hosts this year's Games, this neglection is even more ridiculous.

The collection features five dolls representing new sports added to the Olympic program this year: baseball and softball, sport climbing, karate, skateboarding and surfing. However, these dolls have white or black skin, but Asian faces are not included. Some netizens consider this as another example of racial discrimination.

Japanese American, visual artist Drue Kataoka also tweeted that Mattel made this series of the "most diverse Barbie dolls in history", but rendered Asian Americans invisible, which is very disappointing.