FACT CHECK: Has Japan banned the use and shut down the production of microwaves? Find out the Truth

A viral message listing the harmful effects of Microwave oven is going viral on messaging platforms. The message claims that because of its harmful effects, the use and production of Microwaves has been banned in Japan.

Fact Crescendo Assamese received the same message on its 24×7 Factline number 904 905 3770 with a request to verify the information. Archived Link

Here’s the message:

“End of Microwave industry!!!!! Japan govt has decided to dispose of all the *Microwave Ovens* in the country before this year end.

Reason for this ban: University of Hiroshima's scientists researched and found that "radio waves" from microwave ovens cause greater harm to health over the last 20 yrs, than the US atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Sep 1945.

Experts found that food heated in microwave ovens has very unhealthy vibrations and radiation.

All the factories of "microwave ovens" in Japan are being closed.

S Korea announced plans to close all "microwave ovens" factories by 2021, and China by 2023.

A conference on cancer prevention held @ Kashira Cancer Center recommended:

1. No Refined oil

2. No Milk of animal origin (recommended soya milk)

3. No Food cubes (chicken broth spices like Maggie etc)

4. No Soda (32 pieces of sugar per liter)

5. No Refined sugar

6. No Microwave ovens

7. No mammogram before birth, except echocardiography

8. No Very narrow underwear and bra

10. Do not re-freeze thawed food.

11. Do not drink chilled water kept in plastic bottles stored in the fridge.

12. Avoid deodorants used after shaving or baths because they cause cancer.

The conference advise adding these to your diet :

1. Vegetables

2. Honey moderately used instead of sugar

3. Plant proteins (beans instead of meat)

4. 2 cups of water at body temp on empty stomach before brushing teeth

5. Food should be warm and not very hot

6. Aloe vera juice + ginger + parsley + celery + bromalin (Mix and drink on an empty stomach)

7. Carrot juice daily

8. Tomato, garlic onion with meals

Note : The American Physicians Association found the causes of cancer:

1. Do not drink anything hot in plastic cups

2. Do not eat anything hot wrapped in paper or cardboard or in a plastic bag (eg fried potatoes)

3. Don't eat in plastic or microwave dishes

Note:

When plastic is exposed to heat, chemicals that can cause 52 cancer types are released.

You must also avoid drinking all kinds of soft drinks such as "Cola, Pepsi, Av, Fanta and all concentrated juices because cancer feeds on sugar. Eat fresh pineapples and avoid pineapple mix. Don't eat heavy food after 7pm.

Drink more water in the morning and less in the evening. Do not take a horizontal position (lying down/sleep) immediately after eating.

*Share this with your loved ones please*”

It says that the Japanese government has decided to destroy all the microwave ovens in the country before the end of this year. The reason is that scientists at Hiroshima University have found that microwave waves have caused more damage to health over the last 20 years than the U.S. atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Experts have found that food heated in a microwave oven has a lot of unhealthy vibrations and radiation. All Japanese microwave plants are closed. South Korea and China have also decided to close all factories by 2021 and 2023. It also has a list of recommendations, including diet, that has been shared from a Kashira Cancer Centre.

Fact Crescendo found that the information in the viral message is False.

Fact Check Methodology

At first we researched about microwave radiation, microwave cooking, and microwave safety standards. You can read all about it below.

What is microwave radiation?

The website of the US Environmental Protection Agency provides information on microwave radiation. According to the website, Microwave ovens use electromagnetic waves that penetrate food, causing some molecules to vibrate and generate heat which is transferred throughout the food. The non-ionizing radiation used by a microwave does not make the food radioactive. Microwaves are only produced when the oven is operating. The microwaves produced inside the oven are absorbed by food and produce the heat that cooks the food. Microwave ovens are constructed to ensure the electromagnetic radiation does not leave the oven.

Microwave Safety Standards:

According to the U.S. Food and Drugs website , the FDA sets performance standards for power producers and ensures that radiation does not pose a public health risk. A federal standard limits the amount of microwaves that can leak from an oven throughout its lifetime to 5 milliwatts (mW) of microwave radiation per square centimeter at approximately 2 inches from the oven surface. This limit is far below the level known to harm people.

Are microwave radiation injuries common?

According to the U.S. Food and Drugs website , most of the injuries associated with microwave ovens are related to heat from hot containers, excessive hot food, or liquid. There are very few cases of radiation damage due to extraordinary circumstances or inappropriate service.

From the above, it is clear that microwave radiation is not a matter of concern.

So where did the viral message claim come from?

We searched Google using various keywords to find out where the viral claim came from. After a search, we found that the same claim was published on March 3, 2018, on a Russian website, Panorama . After reading and translating the article into English, we found that there was no difference between the viral message and the article. A disclaimer on the website says: " All texts on this site are grotesque parodies of reality and are not real news."

Following this, we checked online to see if we any information on the part of the message which states recommendations from a Kashira Cancer Centre. We failed to find anything that would substantiate this part of the claim. However, we noticed that Japan’s National Cancer Centre has a campus at Kashiwa in Chiba-ken region of the country.

We checked the official website for any such list of dietary recommendations but failed to find any such entry anywhere.

Conclusion

Our investigation has shown that there is no truth in the viral claim. The message was taken from an article published on a satirical website. The claim that Japan has banned the use and stopped the production of microwave ovens is False.