TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. said on Wednesday it would recall thousands of massage chairs for free tests and repairs, saying the chairs could catch fire.

The maker of Panasonic-brand goods said fires destroyed two massage chairs in December and January when power cords inside the chairs' motors emitted sparks.

Such fires would only occur in rare cases, said the maker of the chairs, Matsushita Electric Works, which is 51 percent-owned by Matsushita Electric.

The two incidents occurred in demo chairs after repeated use by customers, Matsushita Electric Works spokesman Yukio Kinashi said.

No one was injured in the two cases, he said.

" What's next exploding massage chairs ? That will be one hell of a massage"