TOKYO (TR) – Viewers of a television program that introduces mysteries of the world did a double take after an episode broadcast earlier this week claimed the moon doesn’t rotate, reports ITMedia (Apr. 6).
On Wednesday, the episode of “What’s This? Mysteries from around the World,” broadcast by Fuji Television, claimed that the backside of the moon can’t be seen because the natural satellite does not rotate on its axis.
“While the moon revolves around Earth, it doesn’t rotate on its axis, which is why it can’t be seen from Earth,” claimed the show, which is hosted by singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and comedy duo Ameagari Kesshitai.
The blunder drew immediate backlash from netizens who took to blogs and Twitter to claim Fuji TV should “do its research before airing the show,” as well as posting comments such as, “Hey, wait a minute.”
Other comments online included, “What do you mean the moon doesn’t rotate on its own axis? What’s not rotating is clearly the hosts’ heads, idiots,” and, “Even an elementary school student knows this.”
According to an explanation by JAXA, Japan’s space agency, the real reason the moon’s backside can’t be seen from Earth is because the planet and its natural satellite rotate in sync with one another.
ITMedia posted an apology by Fuji TV in which the station admitted it “mistakenly told viewers that the ‘moon doesn’t rotate on its own axis.’”
“We sincerely apologize to our viewers,” Fuji TV said in the message. “This was a mistake resulting from lack of confirmation on the part of staff, and a correction has been made on the program’s website. We will strive to prevent a recurrence.”
