{"id":834,"date":"2020-04-28T12:25:39","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T12:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/?p=834"},"modified":"2022-02-21T10:03:22","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T10:03:22","slug":"fact-check-japanese-prof-tasuku-honjo-did-not-say-coronavirus-was-made-in-wuhan-laboratory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/srilanka.factcrescendo.com\/english\/fact-check-japanese-prof-tasuku-honjo-did-not-say-coronavirus-was-made-in-wuhan-laboratory\/","title":{"rendered":"No. Japanese Nobel Laureate Professor Tasuku Honjo did not say Coronavirus was made in Wuhan Lab… Here is the truth\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The novel Coronavirus has affected all parts of the world with over 3 million contracting the deadly virus as per latest information and accounting for more than two hundred thousand deaths to date. (Source: worldsmeter.info<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wuhan Bio-safety Laboratory located in Wuhan, where the outbreak of this pandemic started, was one of the most highly talked about topics by international observers as well as social media enthusiasts, ever since the start of the pandemic in China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this scenario, a viral social media post claiming Japanese Nobel Laureate Professor Tasuku Honjo has given a statement to media stating that Coronavirus was \u201cunnatural\u201d and manufactured in a Wuhan laboratory where he had worked for 4 years, is being shared among many WhatsApp users. The claim has also been translated into many languages and was shared in Sinhala language as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following is an extract from viral post in Sinhala<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201c\u0d9a\u0ddc\u0dbb\u0ddd\u0db1\u0dcf \u0d9c\u0dd0\u0db1 \u0dad\u0dc0\u0dad\u0dca \u0d9a\u0dad\u0dcf\u0dc0\u0d9a\u0dca……..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Below is a screenshot of post by Facebook user \u201cChani Warahena\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Link<\/a><\/td>Archived<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Below is a screengrab of the English version of the narrative shared heavily among WhatsApp users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJapan’s professor of Physiology or Medicine, Professor Dr Tasuku Honjo, created a sensation in front of the media today by saying that the corona virus is not natural. If it is natural, it wouldn\u2019t have adversely affected entire world like this. Because as per nature, Temperature is different in different countries. If it is natural, it would\u2019ve adversely affected only those countries having same temperature as China. Instead, it is spreading in a country like Switzerland, in the same way it is spreading in the desert areas. Whereas if it were natural, it would have spread in cold places, but died in hot places. I have done 40 years of research on animals and viruses. It is not natural. It is manufactured and the virus is completely artificial. I have come to the conclusion that since USA has all the 5 strains mutating at the same time, and there are millions of infections with some around still not tested, it is obvious, that the huge number of death lends credibility to the CDC of America\u2019s wrong classification of corona virus death in July to December 2019 to Flu diseases. Also a reported leak and closure of Fort Detrick, and strange Coronavirus death spreading in Italy and Iran in November, even before the Wuhan outbreak, lend credibility to the early outbreak from America. I can now said with confidence USA is the source of the original outbreak\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FB Link<\/a><\/td>Archived Link<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fact Check<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, we turned to Google<\/a> and tried a number of keywords searches including \u201ctasuku honjo\u201d, \u201ctasuku honjo wuhan laboratory\u201d etc. Results for all of those keywords searches did not result in any reputable or verified media organizations reporting the claim going viral on social media. Instead, we found some fact checking organization who had debunked the viral claims as false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Tasuku Honjo got Nobel prize for Medicine in 2018 along with Professor James P. Allison from the MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas according to Nobelprize.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with Nobelprize.org, at the time of accepting his Nobel prize, Professor Tasuku Honjo had mentioned about his areas of specialization as cancer therapy, genomic, immunology, which are quite different from virology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Link<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
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