'Sinful' frozen fish display in Japan

A Japanese skating rink has been forced to close after receiving a storm of criticism for having frozen 5,000 dead fish into the ice to create an "attraction never heard about."

The rink, which forms part of the Space World amusement park in the western city of Kitakyushu, opened the "Ice Aquarium" earlier this month in a bid "to give the feel of the ocean to the ice skating rink."

But rather than affording the intended piscine delight, the display appears to have offended many visitors, who gave voice to their outrage on social media.

'How sinful'

"An event on an ice rink with frozen fish... How sinful," wrote one customer on the park's Facebook page.

"This is no personal, but a social issue. They made food into a toy where children go and play," said another.

Among the features of the display were dead fish placed to spell out "HELLO" and others forming an arrow-shaped sign.

Memorial service

Responding to the criticism, Space World said it was "extremely remorseful to have evoked such unpleasant feelings," and closed the diplay on Sunday.

The park said the fish were bought from a fish market, and were dead before being frozen into the ice.

 The operator plans to hold a Shinto memorial service for the fish once they have been taken out of the ice, which could take about a week, as the rink first has to thaw.

tj/kl (AP, AFP)