In an interview with
The New York Times, the
director of the 1995 anime Ghost in the Shell Mamoru Oshii supported Johansson's casting, noting "The Major has a Japanese name, but she's a cyborg. Her age and background are unknown, just as much as her nationality.
I'm not trying to defend white-washing here but within the context of the movie it's not outrageous that the major is white, that's just her shell, she's a fukking robot, the outside could be anything, but her ghost is that of a japanese woman. Of course hollywood is going to attach some big name to a movie like this at an attempt to make more money, now whether that works or not is obviously up for debate since this bombed (probably would've bombed regardless of who was in it), but Scar Jo killed the role.