The exhibition aims to showcase the county’s traditional art of indigo dyeing.

Japan’s Tokushima city and its prefectural government have been criticized for spending more than $2,800 on sex dolls to attract tourists. According to reports, this strange expenditure is part of the $18,900 “Awa Indigo Charm Promotion Project”, which aims to highlight the county’s traditional indigo dyeing art. Report from the Daily News. The project involves setting up a promotional area at Tokushima Awa Mai Airport and displaying the dolls there.

The decision sparked controversy, with many questioning the appropriateness of using public funds for such a sexually suggestive strategy. Critics argue it reduces the value of the county’s cultural heritage and raises concerns about how tourism projects will be funded. While the project was intended to promote Tokushima’s art of indigo dyeing, the inclusion of sex dolls belied the intended message and sparked public debate over the ethics of taxpayer-funded tourism.

The exhibition aims to showcase the prefecture’s traditional indigo dyeing art, with dolls wearing indigo-dyed summer kimonos, the Mainichi Shimbun reported.Initially, officials used a pair of less expensive mannequins at the June 2017 show, incurring rental costs of approximately $180, as Report from the Daily News.

However, in July of the same year, an unidentified male official decided to replace the mannequins with sex dolls. He later purchased the sex doll, believing it to be a popular item at the exhibit, according to an audit of the incident obtained by The Daily News. The decision to transition from mannequins to sex dolls has raised questions about the appropriateness of this choice in promoting traditional art and the use of public funds for this purpose.

according to daily newsAuditors concluded that the doll’s use was “grossly inappropriate in terms of social norms” and “violated local fiscal laws,” and urged the county to consider seeking compensation from the officers involved by June 19. Governor Goda Masjun released a comment saying, “Although this is a case before I became governor, as the person in charge of personnel appointments, I will take the audit results seriously and handle them strictly.”