Radioactive hotspots found in prefectures neighboring Tokyo

TOKYO (majirox news) — Radioactive hotspots have been found in prefectures neighboring Tokyo with levels of cesium rivaling those found in the least contaminated parts of Fukushima prefecture, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

MEXT released radiation maps of Chiba and Saitama prefectures, both of which neighbor Tokyo, as part of its plan to draw up a visual guide to radiation levels across all of eastern Japan in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis.

In a region covering about 10,000 square hectares (38 square miles) of Chiba prefecture and including cities such as Kashiwa and Abiko, levels of cesium 134 and 137 were found in the 60,000 to 100,000 becquerel range – about the same as the least contaminated parts of Fukushima prefecture. Cesium 134 and 137 are by-products of the radiation the core of a nuclear reactor produces.

Cesium 134 breakdowns relatively quickly, but cesium 137 does not, according to the Argonne National Laboratory. In the aftermath of the 1986 nuclear accident in Chernobyl, areas where radioactivity levels exceeded 37,000 becquerels were designated as contamination zones, according to the Asahi newspaper.

Areas around Kashiwa were confirmed as hotspots, where radioactivity is higher than places surrounding them, and cesium has been found in the soil. High levels of cesium in soil were also confirmed in an area south of the Saitama prefecture city of Chichibu.

MEXT believes these areas became contaminated as radioactive particles were soaked up by clouds, blown by the wind and fell to the ground with rain.

Tags: Chiba, Culture, Japan Ministry of Education, MEXT, radioacitve hotspots, radioactive, Saitama, Sports and Science

This entry was posted on 09/30/2011 at 7:37 am and is filed under NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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Servers, PC found tied to S. Korea cyberstrike

Two corporate computer servers and a computer owned by an individual in Tokyo may have been used to launch massive cyber-attacks on key South Korean institutions and government offices in March, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

The corporations owning the two servers and the Tokyo resident, however, are not believed to be behind the attacks, the agency said, adding this is the first cyberterrorism incident involving an individual's computer in Japan.

The servers and the PC were among several used to unleash denial-of-service attacks that overwhelmed the websites of South Korea's presidential office and the Ministry of National Defense, among others. The attacks allowed massive amounts of data to be accessed in a short period of time.

South Korean investigators believe that North Koreans were involved in the cyber-attack, according to investigative sources.

Authorities in Seoul have identified many of the Internet Protocol addresses used in the cyber-attacks, and four of them were traced to Japan, Japanese police said.

Domestic law enforcement authorities, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, tracked down the three servers and the computer at the request of Interpol.

One of the two servers and the computer of a Tokyo resident were found infected by several viruses, including one that allowed the machines to be remotely operated without the owners' knowledge.

No viruses were found in the other server, but it as well was found to have the potential for remote operation, the police said.

Since the two servers and the computer were using old operating systems and had no antivirus software installed, their lack of security made them vulnerable, the police said.

No evidence was found linking the third server to the cyber-attacks, they added.

With cybercrime a matter of national security, police will expand their information-sharing network with advanced technology firms, National Police Agency chief Takaharu Ando said in a news conference.

"It is necessary for both the public and private sectors to cooperate in the fight against cyberterrorism," he said.

National Public Safety Commission Chairman Kenji Yamaoka, who also attended the news conference, said the security of national assets is at stake, adding that he intends to "call on the entire government to seriously consider the issue."

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Most cesium in forests found 'on fallen leaves'

The Yomiuri Shimbun

As much as 50 percent to 90 percent of radioactive cesium on the ground in forested areas as a result of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident is concentrated on fallen leaves and branches, according to a measurement by experts.

The discovery indicates it is possible to reduce large amounts of ground radiation by removing fallen forest materials, and likely will become basic data for decontamination measures.

A research team led by Tsukuba University Prof. Yuichi Onda reported the results of the measurement, which was carried out between June and August, at a review meeting of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry on Tuesday.

The research team compared densities of radioactive cesium and its cumulative quantities at a coniferous cedar forest and a forest with ample broad-leaved beech trees, both in Kawamatamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, and within the government-designated evacuation zone.

The cumulative amount of radioactive cesium in living leaves at the cedar forest was found to be higher than in the broad leaf forest. However, in fallen leaves at the broad leaf forest, the cumulative amount of radioactive cesium was three times to six times higher than in fallen material at the cedar forest.

Of the cumulative quantity of radioactive cesium in the cedar forest, about 50 percent to 90 percent was found to be concentrated on fallen branches. In the broad leaf forest, more than 90 percent of radioactive cesium was found to be accumulated on fallen leaves, according to the research.

The result likely indicates that larger amounts of radioactive cesium contaminated ground covered with fallen leaves in the broad leaf forest because there were fewer living leaves in the forest in March, when the crippled nuclear plant began spewing large quantities of radioactive material.

Decontamination of forests has become a problem in evacuation zones in the prefecture. Onda said removing fallen leaves would be an effective way of decontaminating forests. "In addition to this, we want the government to consider trimming branches and cutting down trees as decontamination measures," he said.

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Suspected North Korean defectors found off Japanese coast - The Guardian

The boat was towed to shore by the Japanese coastguard. Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters

Coastguard officials in Japan are questioning nine suspected North Korean defectors after they were found drifting off the country's west coast, on Tuesday morning.

The group – three men, three women and three young children – were found by a coastguard helicopter 15 miles off the Noto peninsula, in Ishikawa prefecture, after a tip-off from local fishermen.

They were collected by a coastguard vessel and taken to Kanazawa for questioning. Their eight-metre boat bore Korean characters along its sides and was stocked with rice and pickled vegetables, Japanese media reports said.

A man claiming to represent the group told local media that they had come from North Korea and had intended to travel to South Korea. The man reportedly described himself as a member of the Korean People's army, and said the eight other people on board were his relatives.

They were fortunate to have survived the long trip east across the Japan Sea. The boat was not equipped with navigation equipment and none of the group wore a life jacket.

Japan is an unusual destination for North Koreans hoping to flee repression and poverty in the communist state. The coastguard has records of two other cases: in 2006, when four men and women drifted to the coast of northern Japan; and in 1987, when a family of 11 ended up on the country's west coast.

Most would-be defectors cross the border into China or drift across the Yellow Sea maritime border dividing North and South Korea. Cross-border tensions escalated this year after four of 31 North Koreans who sailed into South Korean waters refused to return home.

The South Korean foreign ministry said it expected Japanese authorities to share the results of its investigation. An official in Seoul told the Yonhap news agency: "If they are confirmed to be North Korean defectors and have a clear desire to come to South Korea, we will take all necessary measures in accordance with the law on handling defectors."

More than 21,000 North Korean defectors have entered the South since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean war, according to the unification ministry in Seoul.

The boat's discovery so close to the Japanese coast prompted speculation that it may have continued to drift eastwards after failing to make landfall in South Korea.

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Possible NKorean defectors found off Japan coast (AP)

By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA, Associated Press Tomoko A. Hosaka, Associated Press – Tue Sep 13, 4:30 am ET

TOKYO – Nine people who say they are from North Korea arrived Tuesday in a black wooden boat off the western Japanese coast in what authorities suspect is a rare defection from the communist nation to Japan.

A fisherman contacted authorities after spotting the unfamiliar vessel in waters near the Noto peninsula, which juts into the Sea of Japan.

The three men, three women and three boys found on the black wooden boat told Japanese coast guard officials they came from North Korea and wanted to go to South Korea. No one required immediate medical attention.

The vessel is about 26-feet (8-meters) -long and marked with Korean characters, said Daisuke Takahashi, a spokesman with the Japan Coast Guard.

The coast guard said the nine said they departed North Korea last Thursday. Although the boat's engine was functioning when found, the group had run low on rations. The coast guard found a small amount of rice, some pickled vegetables and snacks. The group had run out of drinking water.

The coast guard said it was towing the boat to the port in Kanazawa, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) west of Tokyo, where it will investigate further.

North Korean defectors typically cross over the North's porous border with China or drift in boats over the Yellow Sea dividing line between North and South Korea, but they rarely come as far as Japan.

In 2007, a family of four North Korean defectors — a couple and two adult sons — traveled in an open boat for six days to reach northern Japan. They were the first defectors from the country to arrive by boat in Japan in 20 years.

The four said they were trying to escape extreme poverty and asked for asylum in South Korea, where they were sent.

In 1987, 11 crew members of a North Korean ship arrived at a port in western Japan and later defected to South Korea via Taiwan.

Defections are a sensitive matter between the Koreas, which are still technically at war because their 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Earlier this year, North Korea lashed out at the South when four of 31 North Koreans on a boat that drifted into southern waters refused to return home. The North said the four were held against their will.

More than 21,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the Korean War, according to South Korean government data.

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Associated Press writers Malcolm Foster in Tokyo and Foster Klug in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

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Follow Tomoko A. Hosaka on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tomokohosaka

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Excessive cesium levels again found in Iwate cows

MORIOKA, Iwate Pref. — Radioactive cesium exceeding the legal limit has been detected in beef cattle in Iwate Prefecture for the first time since the ban on shipments in the region was lifted last month, officials said Thursday.

The amount of cesium found topped the government's allowable limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram in two of eight beef cattle following shipment, the officials said.

Cesium was first detected in the eight cattle in a simple test Tuesday, the officials said, adding that two of the eight were destroyed after further tests confirmed they had excessive levels.

The shipment ban was imposed following the discovery of beef contaminated with radioactive cesium from cattle raised in the northeast since the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 was triggered March 11.

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14 risky fault lines found near N-plants

The Yomiuri Shimbun

There are 14 potentially active fault lines in areas near the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and other nuclear-related facilities, the government has announced.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency announced the results of research undertaken by power utilities following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

The 14 faults discovered to be potentially active were previously considered unlikely to cause earthquakes.

According to the research, a magnitude-7.6 earthquake could occur on the potentially active Hatakawa fault line in Fukushima Prefecture, the largest magnitude earthquake estimated.

The agency said the intensity of any quakes from the fault lines would not exceed the level the facilities were designed to withstand. It also said there were no problems with the facilities' quake resistance.

Five of the 14 fault lines are near Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants.

The other nine are near Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 power plant and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's Tokai reprocessing plant in Ibaraki Prefecture.

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New works by Japanese artist Foujita found (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) – Nearly 40 previously unknown works by Japanese artist Leonard Foujita, who made a name for himself in pre-World War Two Paris and was an acquaintance of Picasso and Matisse, have been discovered by a Japanese museum.

Combining Japanese ink techniques with Western-style painting, Foujita -- a noted cat lover -- became especially known for his paintings of naked women and cats.

The Pola Museum of Art in Hakone, a mountain resort town just west of Tokyo, said the 37 pieces were part of a gift from a private collector within Japan but declined to name their nationality.

"These were completely unknown before, so we were quite surprised by the gift," said Yurika Hirata, a museum spokeswoman.

"It was previously thought that Paris was the main site of Foujita's work in his later years, but notes on the back mention that some were painted in other countries. It tells us new things about what he did."

The pieces are oil paintings on thick paper mounted on fibreboard and painted between 1956 to 1958.

Some appear to have religious themes, while others show children doing various kinds of work such as house cleaning or frying eggs and may be related to Foujita's "Little Artisans" series of paintings.

Foujita, born Tsuguharu Fujita in 1886, graduated from what is now the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music at the age of 24 and moved to Paris three years later.

Taking a studio in Montparnasse, he met artists such as Modigliani and is said to have studied dance with Isadora Duncan. His paintings, which initially sold well, drew comment for the milk white color of the skin of the women he portrayed.

After a stint working and traveling in South America, Foujita returned to Japan in the 1930s, where he produced propaganda art for the military. He eventually returned to France, where he converted to Catholicism and died in 1968.

The new pieces will go on display from Sept 6.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Honest Japanese return $78 million in cash found in quake rubble

The earthquake and tsunami that walloped Japan left much of its coastline ravaged, but left one thing intact: the Japanese reputation for honesty.

In the five months since the disaster struck, people have turned in thousands of wallets found in the debris, containing $48 million in cash.

More than 5,700 safes that washed ashore along Japan's tsunami-ravaged coast have also been hauled to police centers by volunteers and search and rescue crews. Inside those safes officials found $30 million in cash. One safe alone, contained the equivalent of $1 million.

The National Police Agency says nearly all the valuables found in the three hardest hit prefectures, have been returned to their owners.

"In most cases, the keyholes on these safes were filled with mud," said Koetsu Saiki with the Miyagi Prefectural Police. "We had to start by cutting apart the metal doors with grinders and other tools."

Determining who the safes belonged to, proved to be the easy part. Saiki says most kept bankbooks or land rights documents inside the boxes, containing their names and address. Tracking the owners down, was much more challenging.

Total of $78 Million Was Returned to Owners in Wake of Japan Catastrophe

"The fact that these safes were washed away, meant the homes were washed away too," he said. "We had to first determine if the owners were alive, then find where they had evacuated to."

Saiki says Miyagi police fanned out across the region, searching for names of residents posted at evacuation centers, digging through missing person reports at town halls, sorting through change of address forms at the post office, to see if the owner had moved away. When they couldn't find the documents, police called listed cell phone numbers, met with mayors or village leaders to see if they recognized the names.

The number of safes continued to increase as the clearing of tsunami debris led to more discoveries. Police stations struggling to find space for them housed the valuables in parking garages and meeting rooms.

Saiki says 20 percent of the 2,450 safes found in Miyagi turned out to be empty. But, the remaining 250 boxes contained much more than cash. Some included bars of gold, antiques, even crafted boxes containing a child's umbilical cord, a common memento of child birth. Police had to delicately comb through the keepsakes, since many of the items were damaged, after being soaked in seawater and mud for days or weeks.

The stashing of cash in safes isn't a unique problem in Japan, where many people prefer to keep their money at home, but Saiki says the number of boxes is especially high in the coastal region where fishermen make up a large part of the population. Fisheries companies prefer cash transactions, and keep employee salaries in safes, he said.

The number of lost items recovered has declined with every month, but Saiki says his department continues to receive a handful of safes a week.

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Head found in Osaka likely middle-aged male

OSAKA — A severed human head found at a park in the city of Osaka over the weekend in a suspected multiple murder case was of a man in his 40s or 50s who apparently died around June, a police examination has shown.

The head bore multiple wounds, but none appeared life-threatening, leaving the cause of death still unknown, police said.

The head and other body parts were found in three 18-liter metal containers, two of them in the city's Tennoji Ward on Sunday, and the third at a garbage collection site at an apartment complex in the city the following day.

The third metal container, from which a left ankle of possibly an adult woman was found, had been collected as garbage in the ward around Aug. 5 from the same area where the two other containers were later found.

A large label on the container bore the words "choline bitartrate" in Japanese, a chemical used to treat liver disease, police said Wednesday. Police are attempting to track the chemicals, which are only distributed to university laboratories and pharmaceutical companies.

The name of what is thought to be a pharmaceutical company also appeared on the label of one of the containers, according to the police.

Police say the remains, including a pair of hands and two right ankles, indicate there were at least two victims, whose identities remain unknown.

Judging from the cuts, several edged tools must have been used to dismember the bodies, according to the police.

A 41-year-old neighborhood man said he saw, one night in late July, a male in his 20s or 30s unload two containers from a whitish minivan in a parking lot near where one of the metal containers was later found.

The witness said that when he looked down at the car from his condominium, he saw a middle-aged woman in the passenger's seat and another person in the back seat.

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