Panellists accused of belittling Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived nuclear attacks on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

The BBC has apologised after complaints from Japan that comedy quiz show QI belittled a survivor of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Host Stephen Fry introduced Tsutomu Yamaguchi as the "unluckiest man in the world" in a segment about the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.

Yamaguchi, who died of stomach cancer last year aged 93, was on business in the city when the bomb dropped, killing 80,000 people instantly and another 60,000 in the months that followed.

After spending a night in Hiroshima, a badly burned Yamaguchi took a train back to his hometown, Nagasaki. That city was bombed on 9 August, killing an estimated 70,000 people.

Fry thought it "bizarre" that Yamaguchi, pictured on a large screen between two mushroom clouds, was able to travel by train so soon after the disaster, prompting panellists to poke fun at Britain's public transport.

Fry said: "Well, this man is either the unluckiest or the luckiest, depending on which way you look at it."

Panellist Alan Davies speculated that the bomb landed on Yamaguchi and "bounced off", adding: "He never got the train again, I tell you."

Fellow panellist Rob Brydon quipped: "Is the glass half empty, is it half full? Either way it's radioactive. So don't drink it!"

The Japanese embassy in London was not amused and sent a letter to the BBC this month accusing the programme of making light of the bombings, which are still a highly sensitive subject in Japan.

The BBC also received complaints from Japanese viewers who saw the clip on YouTube .

The BBC and production company Talkback Thames said: "We are sorry for any offence caused. QI never sets out to cause offence with any of the people or subjects it covers.

"However, on this occasion, given the sensitivity of the subject matter for Japanese viewers, we understand why they did not feel it appropriate for inclusion in the programme."

Yamaguchi's eldest daughter, Toshiko Yamasaki, who lives in Nagasaki, said the panellists had "looked down on my father just as the world is moving towards nuclear disarmament".

She told Kyodo News her family had joked about Yamaguchi's unlucky experience. "But it is a different story when [he] is treated in that way in Britain, a country that possesses nuclear weapons."

Yamaguchi had to wait until 2009 to be officially recognised as the first person to have survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Dozens of other people are known to have been exposed to radiation in both cities.

After the war, he worked as a translator for the US forces in Nagasaki and later became a teacher. He did not speak publicly about his past until the death in 2005 of his second son – who was six months old at the time of the Nagasaki bombing – from cancer, aged 59.

The QI clip drew a lively response on the blogosphere, with several people coming to the BBC's defence.

Some pointed out that Fry mentioned Yamaguchi's extraordinary longevity and the heroic status he achieved late in life. In his first public comment on the row, Fry today said on Twitter: "I'm coming to Japan the week after next as it happens, and I'll certainly let my regret known (if they let me in!)" [sic]

A Japanese blogger who has lived in England said QI had been insensitive rather than malicious. "The majority of the Japanese public is totally unaware of British comedy and what it's about."

A British resident of Japan wrote on his blog that the target of the jokes had clearly been Britain's rail service, and that "in no sense" did the panel poke fun at Yamaguchi.