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Japan's opposition party is mocked for new logo which appears to show a man groping someone's rear

Japan's Democratic Party's 'vibrant' new logo accused of obscenity
Party logo features two people arm in arm, shamed like the letter M
Critics say it looks more like the blue person is groping the red person

Published: 08:59 GMT, 20 May 2016 | Updated: 11:54 GMT, 20 May 2016

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Japan's main opposition party has come under fire after unveiling a new logo which critics claim looks like a sexual assault.

The Democratic Party logo's 'vibrant' design, is intended to look like two people standing arm in arm in the shape of the letter M - the initial for the party's name in Japanese; Minshinto.

However, their happiness has been shortlived, as the new logo was soon accused of 'obscenity' and plagiarism.

Controversial: Critics have said that the new Democratic Party logo looks like a stick-man groping another

Critics said the two stick figures in the logotype - one red and one blue - look like they are doing anything but standing arm in arm.

Subscribing to gender norms of blue and red representing a male and a female, they claimed it looks like a man sexually assaulting a woman.

Commentators on social media mocked the logo, saying it looks like the blue man is groping the bottom of the red woman.

The President of the Democratic Party defended the logo, saying it 'exudes a feeling of vibrancy and embodies the idea of progressing toward the future,' JapanTimes reports.

'It's a good logo,' Katsuya Okada told a news conference in Tokyo.Thursday morning.

Under fire: The Democratic Party President Katsuya Okada unveils the party's logo during a press conference at the party headquarters in Tokyo, Japan

Others accused the party of copying the logo of a popular confectionery company, which also uses blue and red in the letter 'M'.

The company, Imuraya, has since removed itself from the controversy, with a spokesperson telling the Japan Times that the company took no issue with the design and believes the logos to be 'fundamentally different'.

Japan narrowly dodged a recession in the first quarter of 2016, but an initial rebound in the start of the second quarter has not dispelled analyst concerns about a contraction.

Earlier today, a group of Japanese MPs urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to proceed with a planned sales tax hike next April and compile a supplementary budget to mitigate the impact of the tax on the sluggish economy.