The media panic over the gyoza debacle has caused a tremendous amount of public relations damage to China. Now, there is a common perception that the “made in China” label equals “potentially lethal” and that anything made in that country poses a risk to the people of Japan.
Take, for instance, a program aired last night on the Asahi network. A feature about dentists in Japan revealed that recently, some tooth implants (fake teeth) are actually made in China as opposed to “safe” Japan. The presenters all reacted shocked stating, “With all the recent problems in China, it’s scary to think that something that is so close to you (i.e. tooth implants) is potentially very dangerous. Responding to the this, the dental expert, who clearly wasn’t briefed on what the public want to hear, quietly remarked, “Well, that doesn’t mean that all Chinese goods are dangerous.” The other presenters were forced to nod in agreement at this un-sensational, common sensical statement.
Before the gyoza scare, various whistle-blowing incidents were being spread across the media, featuring Japan-made produce. However, it appears that now, all that has been forgotten and China is the source of anything low quality or substandard. The media continue to portray the willful use of Chinese products as a death wish.
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