Fact check: Does japan spray blue dye on rioters

1. Summary of the results

The claim about Japan spraying blue dye on rioters is definitively false. Multiple sources confirm that this never happened in Japan ^{[1] [2]}. The widely circulated image that sparked this claim actually shows Hong Kong police using water cannons with blue dye against protesters in August 2019, specifically outside government headquarters, as photographed by Anthony Wallace for Agence France-Presse ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual points need to be considered:

• Looting and rioting are remarkably rare in Japan ^{[1] [3]}
• While Japan doesn't use this tactic, blue dye water cannons are used in multiple other countries including:
• Hong Kong
• India
• Hungary
• Indonesia
• Israel ^[3]
• The academic research on conspiracy theories in Japan shows no historical precedent or discussion of such riot control methods ^[4]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The spread of this misinformation appears to stem from:

• Visual misattribution: People seeing the Hong Kong protest photos and incorrectly attributing them to Japan ^[2]
• Cultural misconceptions: The claim ignores Japan's notably low rates of civil unrest and looting ^[3]
• Context collapse: While the technique is real and used in several countries, attributing it to Japan demonstrates how easily protest control tactics can be misattributed across different cultural and political contexts ^[3]

This case demonstrates how visual evidence from one region (Hong Kong) can be misconstrued and misattributed to another country (Japan), leading to the spread of false information about law enforcement practices.