L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ office is working to contain backlash to her decision to remove Asian artifacts from City Hall to make way for an exhibit about the 2028 Olympics games.

Meetings have been called with community leaders after the mayor’s office was accused of acting without cultural sensitivity or respect to Asian Angelenos when it took down artifacts that had been displayed for decades in City Hall. They include a shrine gifted by the sister city of Nagoya, Japan, to protect Los Angeles and an intricate model of a ship used by Koreans to battle Japanese fleets — a gift from sister city Busan, Korea.

A meeting between the mayor’s office and Korean American leaders is scheduled for Thursday.

One invitee has refused to attend. Scott Suh is leading the charge to return the model of the Korean vessel — called a turtle ship because it resembles the animal’s shell — to its perch outside the mayor’s office.

“If we have a leader like that who doesn’t understand a multicultural, international city like the city of L.A., we need a new mayor,” Suh said.

The mayor’s office says that it’s meeting with community leaders to share updates about the planned restoration of the artifacts and to get ideas on how to better spotlight them.

But Suh questioned the need for restoration of the artifacts, which have been kept behind glass, or the cost.

Half a million dollars is being split between building the new exhibit, which will include displaying the Olympic and Paralympic flags, and restoring the artifacts and relocating them to the Convention Center — misspent funds amid a budget crisis, according to City Controller Kenneth Mejia.

A spokesperson for the mayor said it is Olympic protocol to display the flags at City Hall — as was done in Paris and Tokyo — but did not explain why the location outside the mayor’s office was chosen.

The controversy has produced a rare instance of Korean American and Japanese American community leaders joining forces.

Historic tensions between Japan and Korea, intentionally or not, have carried over to the diaspora, particularly among the older generation, said Ellen Endo of the Little Tokyo Business Association. But she said on the issue of the City Hall artifacts, leaders stood on common ground.

Endo said she couldn’t understand why the mayor’s office wouldn’t consult any community leaders or experts at cultural organizations about moving the artifacts, or how to properly handle them.

“Why couldn’t you ask somebody?” Endo said. “The Japanese community is right there. Little Tokyo is two blocks away (from City Hall).”

Endo was part of a group of Japanese American leaders who met last week with Deputy Mayor Erin Bromaghin, who works on international affairs.

Other community leaders agreed the mayor’s office could have done a better job of communicating their plans.

But James An, president of the Korean American Federation of Los Angeles, said the city was facing more pressing issues, such as homelessness and public safety, than a fight over artifacts. And the more he thought about it, he liked the idea of moving the artifacts to the Convention Center, which will host events during the Olympics.

“I was actually happy to learn that those gifts were being moved to a place that would be more visible so that people can just kind of share in the culture and the history of the turtle ship,” An said.

In addition to the shrine and turtle ship, a large cuckoo clock and bust of Mexican President Benito Juárez were also removed. Bass’ office said a meeting with Mexican American leaders is in the works.