Japanese Activists Held for Threatening Kim Tae-hee

Osaka police on Thursday arrested Hitoshi Nishimura, the head of a right-wing nationalist group, and three others for threatening a Japanese cosmetics company that hired Korean actressKim Tae-heeas an advertising model. The group, established in 2007, led rallies protesting against a flood of Korean TV programs on Japan's Fuji TV.

This screen grab from SBS shows Japanese protesters rally against a Japanese cosmetics company that hiredKim Tae-heeas an advertising model.

The group visited Rohto Pharmaceutical in Osaka on March 2 to protest against its hiring of Kim as the model of a cosmetics line. The group took issue with Kim and her brother, actorLee Wan, being named in 2005 as advocates of Korea's territorial sovereignty over the Dokdo islets, to which Japan lays a dubious claim.

Rohto had planned a press conference unveiling the new line featuring Kim on Feb. 21 but canceled the event due to safety concerns.