The firm, which sells imported Japanese vehicles, issued an apology to “any members of the public” who were offended by the use of the word “Jap” in its name, following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
In its statement, the company said the term had been employed as a shortened form of “Japan” or “Japanese” and that it had never received feedback in either Japan or the United Kingdom indicating the name was offensive.
The business added that the name was chosen because it reflected the company’s focus on Japanese‑imported cars and that it had never intended to cause offence, pledging that it would avoid such language in future marketing.
The ASA concluded that the advertisement “must not appear again” and instructed the firm to “avoid causing serious offence on the grounds of race in future marketing communications”.
The regulator noted that, while the word may be used in everyday life in Japan, many consumers could associate it with the defunct Imperial Japanese Army and Japan’s military aggression during the Second World War, heightening the risk of racial offence.