Hydrogen water appeared at the G20 Osaka Summit, sparking heated discussions about Japan’s official: no intentional promotion.
Original Title: Hydrogen Water appeared at the G20 Osaka Summit, sparking heated discussions about Japan’s official: no intentional promotion

According to the site map of the press center of the G20 Osaka Summit, the Japanese version of BuzzFeed

According to a report on the Japanese version of BuzzFeed, a Japanese-made hydrogen water product was revealed to have appeared at the just-concluded G20 Osaka Summit. This incident caused the Japanese government to be questioned on social networks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan responded, “It is not intended to promote, but mainly to limit the use of plastic bottles.”

Hydrogen water appeared in G20 and was accused of having no special effects.

It is understood that the word “hydrogen” means “hydrogen” in Japanese. The so-called “hydrogen water” is hydrogen-rich water, which is the product of dissolving hydrogen in water, which means that the water contains more hydrogen than ordinary water. Generally, water with a hydrogen content of more than 0.08 ppm can be called “hydrogen water.”

It is understood that the concept of hydrogen water can be traced back to a paper on hydrogen published in the famous scientific journal “Natural Medicine” in 2007 by Shigeo Ota of Japan Medical University. He mentioned in the paper: Experiments have proved that hydrogen molecules can remove harmful reactive oxygen species produced when organisms consume energy. In 2008, Itoen, a famous Japanese beverage company, quickly produced and sold “reduced” hydrogen water in Japan. In 2015, it launched “high concentration” hydrogen water.

Hydrogen water map on Japanese e-commerce platform according to BuzzFeed Japanese version website

In the slogans of some Japanese businesses, hydrogen water is considered to have magical effects such as anti-oxidation, weight loss, and physical fitness. Many entertainers and athletes spoke for him one after another, which once set off a wave of people drinking plain water in Japan.

However, the scientific community has questioned hydrogen water since its birth, and many Japanese experts have expressed that there is no clear scientific basis to support its miraculous effects. In addition, Japan’s National Institute of Health and Nutrition also issued a statement on its official website: “We have not obtained data on the effectiveness and safety of hydrogen water.” The Consumer Agency of Japan also issued a document in 2017: “There is no evidence that hydrogen water has health-enhancing effects.”

However, such a controversial product appeared at the G20 Osaka Summit. According to BuzzFeed’s Japanese version website, what appeared at the press center of the G20 Osaka Summit this time was Itoen’s 310ml can of “Healthy Hydrogen Water.” This product is a limited circulation product in Japan, and the price of 24 cans is 4444 yen.

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Not intended to promote

According to BuzzFeed’s Japanese version website, the news that hydrogen water appeared at the G20 summit venue quickly became a hot topic on the Internet, and most were criticizing it. Many people commented on Twitter, “It’s such a shame, ” “Please don’t promote it to the whole world, ” etc.

Why did you choose hydrogen water and put it in the venue of the G20 summit? Japan’s foreign ministry responded to BuzzFeed’s Japanese-language website. The answer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan is: “One of the major issues of the G20 this time is to reduce the use of plastic waste. From this point of view, we have formulated an environmental protection policy to reduce the use of plastic bottles. That is to say, whether it is natural For water, soft drinks, and alcoholic drinks, we must control the number of plastic bottles used for all beverages. We entrusted a third-party company to screen which products are used.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan further explained: “We have never had the idea or plan to promote hydrogen water. Since there are relatively few aluminum bottles and cans in Japan, a third-party company may have accidentally chosen hydrogen water when selecting products. “