"The pandemic is a lie" and "the world's masterminds want to control humanity with vaccines" are among the falsehoods about the novel coronavirus spreading on social media in Japan. Amid dissatisfaction and anxiety in the United States and Europe, the same kinds of conspiracy theories have been spreading since last year and have become a problem for society. As economic distress during the state of emergency is increasing, people in Japan also need to be careful not to be misled.
-- Information from internet
During the late-April through early-May Golden Week holiday period, a group of about a dozen people holding panels with phrases such as "Covid-19 is a lie" and "Let's take off our masks" were making speeches in front of JR Osaka Station. The organizer was a man in his 40s from Kanagawa Prefecture.
The man has been holding weekly demonstrations in Tokyo, Fukuoka and other cities nationwide. He said that if he makes an appeal on Twitter, people who sympathize with him will gather.
A leaflet he distributed to passersby included statements such as: "Coronavirus is just a cold. Capitalists around the world are manipulating governments and making the crisis up as they go along," and "The purpose of the vaccine is to implant microchips in humans."
Although the stories are baseless, the man said, "I learned the truth through my research on the internet."
A woman in her 30s from Osaka took her fifth-grade son to participate in the demonstration. She said that last year she had been repeatedly watching YouTube videos such as ones advocating a theory that a popular actor who committed suicide was actually killed by another person. Eventually, she began to watch and believe in coronavirus conspiracy theory videos.
"I heard that you will die in five years after getting the vaccine, which is aimed at reducing the population," she said. "I'm teaching my son about this."
-- Spread via online media
There are several other groups that spread similar conspiracy theories at demonstrations. Some of them post items on Twitter and YouTube every day, attracting tens of thousands of registered users. People who believe these theories might also spread them, and it is possible for anyone to see these posts.
Among the people said to be participating in demonstrations are restaurant owners whose shops have been subject to requests for closure or shortened business hours.
In western nations, the spread of coronavirus conspiracy theories has led to large-scale opposition to infection control measures such as the wearing of masks.
In February, Dr. Toshibumi Taniguchi of Chiba University Hospital started the website COV-Navi with a group of volunteer doctors. He started to send out accurate information about the COVID-19 vaccine, but he said that he received many messages criticizing the vaccine based on false information, such as saying that the vaccine is dangerous and that he should not lie about it.
"There is a possibility that people who are tired of the pandemic will be drawn to false information," Taniguchi said. "If this false information spreads further, it could hinder the containment of the infection, making for an extremely dangerous situation."
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