Overview
- Prime Minister Petteri Orpo issued apologies to Japan, China and South Korea via embassy statements, saying the posts do not reflect Finland’s values of equality and inclusion.
- Japan’s chief cabinet secretary said Tokyo expects an appropriate response from Helsinki following images shared by Finnish lawmakers and the former pageant winner.
- The Finns Party’s parliamentary group plans to meet Thursday to consider sanctions for MPs Kaisa Garedew and Juho Eerola and MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen, with Eerola apologising and Garedew declining to do so.
- Finnair reported negative brand impact and boycott calls on its Japanese social channels and reiterated that the lawmakers’ posts do not represent the airline’s values.
- Miss Finland Sarah Dzafce was stripped of her title over the viral image, and runner-up Tara Lehtonen has been named the new titleholder.