TOKYO, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Quite a few local residents in Fukushima, Japan, were dismayed at a statue installed on Aug. 3.

The statue named "Sun Child" is a kid wearing a special suit with a counter on the chest showing "000," viewed as as representing the radiation level.

"The clothing looks like protective gear, but it is also armor to confront major issues and, being like a space suit, it also carries a futuristic image," its designer Kenji Yanobe has said.

Such explanations however were hardly satisfactory for local residents who are still living under the shadow of the 2011 nuclear disaster.

Netizens on social media criticized the statue for being unscientific, as radiation levels could be above zero even in non-affected areas due to natural radiation.

"There is also an inherent claim that the present Fukushima still needs protective clothing. This might bring unnecessary prejudice and discrimination against the land and its citizens," Twitter user JPN_LISA said.

Amid protests and demands for the statue's removal, Yanobe apologized on Friday for the 6.2-meter-high statue.

"I wanted to make a work that encourages people (in Fukushima) ... and made the statue of a child standing up bravely and strongly against any difficulties it faces," Yanobe said as quoted by Kyodo News.

In an online statement released on Monday, the mayor of Fukushima promised to consider the opinions of citizens and reexamine the handling of the statue. Enditem

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