Hey Kumo Fam,

Following our Instagram story, we wanted to talk about an experience that occurred at the end of our 2021 convention that should never have happened. Due to a miscommunication and how the situation was handled, it made a group of attendees feel discriminated against. We take full responsibility for the gap in training that facilitated this encounter. We do not tolerate racism or discrimination against anyone within our convention and are deeply sorry that actions of our staff had that effect on anyone within our community. Whether the act was intentional or not, the feelings of those affected are valid. Steps have been taken to reprimand and coach the involved staff member to prevent a situation like this from happening in the future.

As a convention that celebrates Japanese culture, hatred against the AAPI community is unacceptable. The fact that we let anyone think otherwise deeply saddens us, and we apologize for that as well. Something we have already been working on through the course of the last year is a committee to discuss Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within Kumoricon and how to improve training for our staff members in this regard. As we continue to expand this training within our organization, we hope that you will give us the opportunity to grow from this situation and show that we take these matters seriously.