Did Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare just begin researching the effectiveness and safety of coronavirus vaccines, and did it announce it would take another three years to see the results? No, that's not true: According to the ministry, COVID-19 vaccines were approved in 2021 after rigorous evaluation of their effectiveness and safety in clinical trials. The claim appeared…

Did so-called directed energy weapons (DEW) using laser beam energy cause the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, and the Wajima post-quake fires in Japan because only blue-colored objects, allegedly not impacted by lasers, survived the catastrophe? No, that's not true: Both fires were caused by different events. Hawaii's power utility fanned by severe winds caused the fires that destroyed areas of…

Did the earthquake with a magnitude of MJMA 7.6 (Mw 7.5) that occurred in Noto, Japan, on January 1, 2024, result in the malfunctioning of all the radiation monitoring posts situated around the Shiga nuclear power plant in Ishikawa prefecture? No, that's not true: There are over 100 radiation monitoring posts surrounding the nuclear power plant, and only a few…

Is former Japanese Minister Heizo Takenaka an ethnic Korean with connections to the Chinese Communist Party? No, that's not true: According to Heizo Takenaka's family tree, he is of full Japanese descent, not Korean. Takenaka's political career and education also oppose CCP beliefs and values as he was a hawkish orthodox economist who privatized the Japanese postal service and adopted…

Is Japan a "biological weapons powerhouse," as it approved the world's first self-amplifying mRNA (sa-RNA) COVID vaccine, whose efficacy and safety have not been disclosed? No, that's not true. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) approved the sa-RNA vaccine for both initial vaccination and booster doses in adults 18 years and older in November 2023, after a rigorous…

Has the Japanese government announced plans to reduce the population to 80 million? No, that's not true: The claim is misleading and lacks context. The statement stems from the Population Strategy Council's recommendation, which suggests that by the year 2100, the current Japanese population of 125 million could be reduced to 63 million, due to population decline. In light of…

Is Japan the only developed country that shelters disaster victims in school gymnasiums? No, that's not true: the United States and many European countries also shelter people in gymnasiums. In particular, Japan does not shelter victims in school gymnasiums for long periods. Gymnasiums are used to shelter people during natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The government and municipalities…

Has influenza exceeded the alert level in Japan because 80 percent of the population have a weakened immune system due to COVID-19 vaccination? No, that's not true: One of the reasons for the high influenza level is a decline in herd immunity to influenza. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok on December 19, 2023, by user6144061382609. It began…

Were the houses shown in this video engulfed by the tsunami on New Year's Day 2024 in Noto, Japan? No, that's not true: The images used in this claim are from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on January 1, 2024. The captions in the video (translated from Japanese…

Does a video on TikTok show the aftermath of a New Year's day tsunami that caused severe damage to a town on Japan's Noto Peninsula? No, that's not true: The video of damage shown in the post is from tsunami damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. It's unrelated to the Noto earthquake that occurred on New…

Do diamonds have the effect of removing harmful sunlight, reflecting only the light that is good for the human body, thus making us healthy? No, that's not true: There is no scientific evidence that diamonds, both natural and synthetic, block harmful sunlight and "make the human body healthy." The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here), published on November…

Was the stranding of dead fish on the shores of northern Japan caused by radioactive water? No, that's not true: The claim was published by the UK's Daily Mail on December 8, 2023, and gained traction on social media. However, Hokkaido officials refute the information as untrue and according to experts, the fish and waters are tested regularly. The fish…

Did a whistleblower reveal the use of large quantities of diesel generators in wind turbines in a video on social media? No, that's not true: The combination of wind power and diesel power is not a top-secret matter; it is common knowledge. The claim appeared on a video (archived here) on TikTok on December 11, 2023. It began (translated from…

Do the colored squares at the bottom of toothpaste tubes tell the ingredients they contain according to a specific color code? No, that's not true: According to Colgate, oral care companies don't use any color-coding system. The color blocks on the tube help in the manufacturing process of the toothpaste tubes "by telling light sensors where the end of the…

Does a recent study prove that wearing a mask actually increases the risk of coronavirus infection? No, that's not true: While part of a study suggests that those who wear masks are more likely to get infected with coronavirus, its own authors describe their work as "observational" and urge readers to use "caution" when interpreting the results. The claim appeared…

Did the U.S. State Department issue a travel advisory to the entire world? No, that's not true: The U.S. Department of State has advised U.S. citizens overseas to exercise heightened caution due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations, or violent acts against U.S. citizens and interests. The claim appeared in a…

Can a bed bug infestation spread to Japan and become the cause of a pandemic? No, that's not true: Bed bugs do not carry infectious diseases, which means a bed bug infestation cannot cause an infectious disease pandemic. Pandemics may be declared when a disease spreads widely on an international scale between countries and regions of the world. The claim…

Do pharmaceutical companies add caffeine or other ingredients that make it difficult for people to stop taking drugs such as Loxonin? No, that's not true: Pain reliever Loxonin contains about the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. Caffeine is included in Loxonin because it has the effect of suppressing pain, and is not added to increase the…

Does the U.S. hold a patent for HAARP (the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) and would such a patent prove that artificial earthquakes can be created by HAARP? No, that's not true: HAARP is a research facility managed under the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and is not patented by the United States. Anti-HAARP activists used patents under American phycisist B.…

Is it true that linear motor cars cause cancer? No, that's not true: Studies conducted by experts concluded that passengers aboard a high-speed bullet train will not have their health affected by the electromagnetic exposure from power cables. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on November 20, 2023. In the video, a man named Shunsuke Funase claims…