Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo apologized on Wednesday for racist social media posts by members of the right-wing Finns Party, a partner in the ruling coalition, saying racism and discrimination have no place in Finnish society.

The apology was shared on the social media accounts of the Finnish embassies in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, in response to offensive images posted by certain lawmakers. The posts showed individuals pulling back the corners of their eyes — a gesture widely condemned as racist toward Asians.

"These posts do not reflect Finland's values of equality and inclusion," Orpo said. "Our message in Finland and to all our friends abroad is that the government takes racism seriously and is committed to combating the issue."

The controversy follows an earlier incident involving Miss Finland titleholder Sarah Dzafce, who appeared in a friend's social media post, with her eyes pulled back, under the caption "eating with a Chinese person". The image sparked widespread backlash and led the Miss Finland organization to strip Dzafce of her crown on Dec 11.

In the aftermath, several right-wing Finnish politicians posted similar images online, arguing that the decision to revoke the pageant winner's title was disproportionately harsh.

The actions have drawn widespread criticism across East Asia. On Chinese social media, users expressed outrage, with many saying they were reconsidering travel plans to Finland. A Chinese PhD student in Finland wrote, "I can't believe that in a country that prides itself on equality, progress and antidiscrimination, such actions could still be seen."

Petition launched

A Japanese man living in Finland launched an online petition calling for an investigation into anti-Asian discrimination and improvement measures, which had garnered more than 33,000 signatures by Thursday. Chinese netizens have also begun similar petitions, demanding that the politicians involved publicly acknowledge the gesture as racist and formally apologize to the Asian community.

The relevant Finnish parliamentarians — Kaisa Garedew, Juho Eerola and European Parliament member Sebastian Tynkkynen — reacted differently to the controversy.

Eerola issued an apology, while Tynkkynen said the gesture was not meant to hurt anyone's feelings. However, Garedew told local media that she did not believe she needed to say sorry.

The Finns Party's parliamentary group was due to meet on Thursday to discuss potential sanctions against the lawmakers.

Agencies contributed to this story.