Hire actors to pretend to be Japanese craftsmen, domestic iron pot falsely claimed to be Japanese goods, fraud more than 30 million

One Plus claims that its iron pots and pans are made in Japan “by hand in the ancient way, with centuries-old skills passed down.” (Image source: Intercepted from One Plus Life sales page)

A company in Shanghai falsely claimed that its domestic iron pot was a Japanese “ancient handmade pot, a hundred years of skills inherited.” And hired mainland actors to pretend to be Japanese craftsmen to carry out false propaganda. As of December 2020, the total sales of iron pots exceeded 30 million yuan.

Land media reported yesterday (March 16) that One Plus Life, with its registered address in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, began selling iron pots on its e-commerce platform in the summer of 2019.

The iron pot’s handle is engraved with the words “Made in Japan” in English, and the product label indicates that the manufacturer is “Ito Manufacturing Co.

One Plus said, around 1892, the founder of the first generation of “Ito Hotaka” attracted by the charm of the casting, to learn the path of the master, followed by generations of people continue to develop the skills, in the century repeatedly won the “Japan Heritage Traditional Craft Award” “Osaka Cultural Award”, “Japan Handicraft Craftsman” and other honors.

In the promotional video of One Plus, the fourth generation of “Ito Hotaka”, “Ito Keita”, is wearing the usual Japanese craftsman’s clothes, smiling and talking in Japanese.

The iron pot is priced between 800 and 1400 yuan, several times higher than ordinary iron pot, but still hot.

At the end of 2020, One Plus’ iron pot was exposed on Weibo as being produced by a domestic factory, and the “Ito Huita” was actually the Chinese actor Huaiyuan.

An investigation by a land media reporter found that the photos of the so-called “first generation” founder and “second generation” inheritor of the iron pot in the One Plus promotional video were actually photos of Japanese novelist Naoya Shiga and sculptor Kotaro Takamura, respectively. Both were born in 1883.

At present, Shanghai One Plus related company’s products involved in the case have been seized.

According to conservative estimates of sales on e-commerce platforms, total sales of iron pots exceeded 30 million yuan as of December 2020.