As the Russian occupation of Ukraine approaches four months ago, a Japanese airline has announced that it will change the logo model due to passenger concerns that its current appearance may suggest it supports the occupation.

Tokyo-based Zipair - a low-budget subsidiary of JAL, Japan Airlines - has announced it will remove the "Z" from its planes from June 18, replacing them with a geometric stripe pattern.

The redesign was originally planned as a pre-invasion reconstruction to mark the easing of travel restrictions by Japan due to the pandemic, and was unveiled at a press conference announcing the new airline route from Tokyo to San Jose, California.

However, Shingo Nishida, president of Zipair, revealed at the press conference that customers have contacted airline officials several times, expressing their concern about the existing airline logo, which has been in use since 2018.

We emphasize that Russia is using "Z" as a feature in its occupation of Ukraine, reports

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The letter "Z" is written on Russian tanks and uniforms, and those who support the Kremlin used it to publicly declare their support.