A Japanese religious group known for its distinctive white garments and apocalyptic beliefs.
Founder: Yuko Chino
Founded: 1980s
Location: Japan
Offshoot of: Chino-Shoho (“True Law of Chino”)
Other Names: Pana Wave Laboratory, Pana Wave Syndicate
The Pana-Wave Laboratory, also recognized as a Shinshūkyō or new religious group in Japan, emerged from the religious movement Chino-Shoho, founded by Yuko Chino in 1977. Chino-Shoho integrated elements of Christianity, Buddhism, and New Age doctrines, with Pana-Wave later forming as its scientific arm focused on the dangers of electromagnetic waves.
This scientific faction of Yuko Chino’s followers believed in frequent communication with celestial figures including historical religious figures through Yuko Chino, saw her as a prophet connecting the heavens to Earth. However, they also developed an intense fear of electromagnetic waves, which they thought were causing environmental destruction and was used as a tool by communist forces aiming to assassinate Chino through scalar electromagnetic wave attacks. As a result, this group continually searched rural Japan for safe havens free from electromagnetic pollution and wore exclusively white clothing to shield themselves from these waves. Their concerns also led to the establishment of the Pana-Wave Laboratory in Fukui Prefecture, where research focused on the negative effects of these waves and strategies for protecting Chino.
The Pana-Wave Laboratory came under the public’s eye in 2003, following a series of notable incidents. One of their more curious endeavors was an attempt to capture Tama-chan, a bearded seal that had become a national sensation in Japan, under the belief that electromagnetic waves had led the seal astray and that saving it could somehow prevent an apocalypse. In April 2003, the group made headlines with a standoff against police in Gifu Prefecture, rooted in their belief that the imminent approach of an unknown 10th planet would lead to Earth’s pole reversal, causing cataclysmic natural disasters. This event and the group’s peculiar practices, such as covering everything in white, drew attention and concern, echoing the unease felt during the Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attacks. The predicted doomsday on May 15, 2003, passed without incident, leading to a decline in the group’s public profile after a brief spike in media interest, eventually fading into obscurity following the death of Yuko Chino in 2006.
Membership estimates for the Pana-Wave Laboratory have varied widely, with some reports suggesting numbers ranging from several hundred to over a thousand. Financially, the group was supported through the sale of Chino’s writings and donations from followers, amassing significant funds over the years. Their uniform white attire, intended as protection against electromagnetic waves, became a distinctive and symbolic feature of the group.
image via Japan Daily
