Japan Investigates Online Posting of Obama Flight Plans - New York Times

TOKYO — Japanese officials moved to control the diplomatic damage after an air traffic controller was questioned here for posting secret American flight information on his blog that included the detailed flight plans last November of Air Force One.

The Transportation Ministry said Saturday that the controller, who works at the Tokyo International Airport at Haneda, could face charges of leaking national secrets. Japanese officials appeared embarrassed by the breach, which also included flight data of an American military reconnaissance drone.

Tokyo is apparently worried that the episode could raise new doubts in Washington about Japan’s ability to handle delicate information, following a scandal four years ago over the leak of American naval radar secrets. The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper, reported that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda may personally apologize to President Obama for the breach during a meeting this month in New York.

The ministry said the controller, who was identified only as a male in his 50s, posted the flight plan of Air Force One during President Obama’s visit to Asia in November. It said the blog contained two pages of detailed information about the flight, including numerical data and a map showing the plane’s route.

The flight details of Air Force One are usually kept secret to protect the president. The ministry said the blog contained no explanation of the numbers or images, which would have been largely incomprehensible to a layman.

The ministry said the controller was being questioned, after an anonymous caller tipped off the ministry last Monday. The ministry said the controller did not appear to act with ill intent, but had told the authorities that he posted the information to show his friends. It said the sensitive information had been removed from the blog.

The controller posted a total of 12 pages of sensitive information on his blog, the ministry said. He included the flight plans of an American military Global Hawk drone that was gathering radiation readings near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the ministry said.

For Japan, the episode is uncomfortably similar to the leak in 2007 of classified information about the American Navy’s advanced Aegis radar system, which is also installed on Japanese warships. A Japanese Navy officer was arrested for copying sensitive data about the radar onto CD-ROM disks and distributing them to classmates at a Japanese naval school.

That earlier leak raised doubts about Japan’s management of military secrets, prompting Washington to temporarily suspend shipment of parts for upgrading the radars.

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US online streaming site Hulu expands to Japan (AP)

TOKYO – U.S. online streaming site Hulu.com made its international debut Thursday by launching a subscription video service in Japan.

The new service gives users unlimited on-demand access to popular American television shows and movies on computers, televisions, tablets and mobile devices for 1,480 yen ($19) per month.

It is offering a one-month free trial in Japan, where those who register can watch — with or without subtitles — all six seasons of "Lost" or movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Armageddon."

"Today, we are taking a first, but important step to make good on our aspiration to serve customers all over the world," Senior Vice President for International Johannes Larcher said in a statement.

For the launch, Hulu signed licensing deals with major studios and TV networks including CBS, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox. It plans to later add content produced in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.

It also entered an exclusive mobile marketing partnership with Japan's biggest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo.

In a blog post last month, Hulu said it chose Japan because Japanese audiences are "passionate about premium video content" and because Japan is a "major producer of world-class TV and feature films."

The company added that Japan is a particularly attractive market for delivering video over the Internet because of its extensive broadband penetration and the ubiquitous presence of Internet-connected mobile devices.

Launched in 2008, Hulu is owned by NBCUniversal, News Corp., the Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners.

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Government's move to monitor online sparks public outcry

While the government defends its new monitoring program of online postings concerning the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to stem the spread of "inaccurate" information, critics say it harkens back to Big Brother.

The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy said tweets on Twitter and postings to blogs will be monitored for groundless and inaccurate information that could inflame and mislead the public.

The agency said it is trying to "track down inaccurate information and to provide correct ones instead."

But critics are skeptical about the agency's motive, especially because the government has been under fire for failing to provide an accurate picture of what has been occurring at the plant and the spread of radioactive contamination.

The cost for the project was earmarked in an extra government budget to finance the rebuilding of northeastern Japan ravaged by the March 11 disaster.

The agency announced details of the monitoring project in late June when it solicited bids.

An advertising company in Tokyo won the contract, which is estimated at 70 million yen ($913,000).

The project started this month and will likely continue until March.

The agency said the Internet is overrun by discussions that are often unsubstantiated. One example, it said, is a posting that recommended mouthwash containing iodine as a safeguard against possible exposure to radiation.

Upon identifying erroneous information, the agency will carry at its website "correct information" in a Q&A format after consulting with experts.

The agency will not demand that the original texts and postings be deleted. It will also not ask for the posters' identity.

But the agency's new project drew fire on the Internet immediately after it was announced.

Some blasted it as suppression of free speech. Others criticized the government for trying to weed out information that it deems unfavorable, at the same time it appears ill-equipped to send out information properly and in a timely manner.

The Japan Federation of Bar Associations denounced the project in a statement on July 29, arguing it threatens to infringe on freedom of speech.

"The government will likely restrict free discussions by unilaterally criticizing what it regards as 'inaccurate' and imperil freedom of expression," said the statement released under the president's name.

Kazuo Hizumi, a lawyer who compiled the statement, raised doubts about the legitimacy of government surveillance.

"Many people look to online information because they do not trust what the government says," he said. "Providing accurate information is what the government is supposed to do in the first place; not spending money on a project to interfere with circulation of information."

An official at the agency in charge of the undertaking acknowledged that the government had problems in regards to handling the information.

But the official said that many people appear to misunderstand the project.

"We are listening to public opinion and trying to sending out reliable information by showing grounds for it and making it easier for people to comprehend," the official said.

Shinya Ichinohe, associate professor of law on information at Keiwa College, said that the public outcry over the project is understandable, given how the government has handled information pertaining to the Fukushima crisis.

But keeping track of online texts and postings alone will not likely dampen discussion on the Internet.

"If the government gets an idea of how the public obtains information and tries to improve the way it sends out reports based on its findings, the undertaking will be rather positive," Ichinohe said.

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Tomari reactor first to go back fully online since 3/11

SAPPORO — A reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido became the first to resume full commercial operation since the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 plant after Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi officially gave her approval Wednesday.

The Tomari plant's reactor 3 is the first of the reactors undergoing regular inspections at the time of the Fukushima crisis to go fully online again.

However, because the reactor has already been generating electricity at full capacity under what is known as an "adjustment operation" in the final phase of the inspection, there will be effectively no difference in output as it shifts to commercial operation.

The reactor began undergoing a regular inspection in January and started the adjustment operation on March 7, before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the nuclear crisis in Fukushima.

The checks were supposed to end in early April, but Hokkaido Electric Power Co. applied for the final test of the inspection process only recently because it had to enhance its safety measures in response to the nuclear crisis.

In announcing her approval at a news conference Wednesday, Takahashi called on the central government to "act responsibly in taking all possible safety measures based on the Fukushima accident."

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry issued a certificate for the completion of the reactor's regular inspection following the governor's approval.

Earlier in the day, the prefectural government notified municipalities around the Tomari plant of the governor's intention to approve the restart. The municipal authorities gave their consent to the governor's decision.

The final test on reactor 3 ended Aug. 10, with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, which is under the wing of the industry ministry, confirming that there are no problems with the reactor.

Nuclear reactors that are suspended for regular checkups need to undergo certain stress tests before restarting operations due to the crisis, but the government has said that the case of the Tomari reactor is not considered a "restart" because the reactor is already activated.

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Tomari reactor to get official nod to stay online

SAPPORO — Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi was expected to announce Tuesday night her approval for resuming commercial operations of the Tomari nuclear plant's reactor 3, which has been running full tilt since March 7 but technically only in test mode.

The move would clear the way for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to issue a certificate for the completion of the reactor's regular inspection, which has continued for an unusually long period of five months amid the nuclear crisis in Fukushima. Tomari's reactor 3 would be the first to resume commercial operations since the crisis erupted.

Reactor 3 is already generating at full capacity under what is known as an "adjustment operation" in the final phase of the check, so there will be effectively no difference in terms of electricity output when it shifts to commercial operations.

As for the government-mandated stress tests to be carried out on all reactors nationwide, the unit will only have to undergo the second part — a computer simulation.

The Hokkaido government has taken a cautious stance about giving the go-ahead to commercial operations, apparently because no other reactors in the country have restarted since the Fukushima plant's triple meltdowns after March 11, heightening public concerns about the safety of nuclear power.

The Tomari reactor 3 began undergoing a regular inspection in January and started the adjustment operation on March 7.

The checks were supposed to end early April, but Hokkaido Electric Power Co. only applied for the final test of the inspection process recently because it had to enhance its safety measures in response to the nuclear crisis.

The final test ended last Wednesday, with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, which is under the wing of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, confirming that there are no problems with the reactor.

But METI chief Banri Kaieda, prompted by complaints from Takahashi to consider local sentiment, delayed issuing the certificate for the completion of the regular inspection until she consulted with local governments.

The Fukushima meltdown crisis prompted the government to require that all reactors undergo the two-stage computer simulation stress tests to gauge their ability to survive a severe accident.

But the government said Tomari's reactor 3 only needs the second part of the test.

Utilities must ensure that reactors that have been halted for regular checks pass the first-stage of the stress test. The second-stage test will be later conducted on all reactors, including those now in operation.

Kaieda told Takahashi on Aug. 9 that reactor 3 only needed the second test.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. is close to attaining its goal set for the end of August of increasing supply capacity to 56.10 million kw by boosting thermal power generation to make up for shortages amid its nuclear crisis, officials said Tuesday.

But the utility, which serves the Kanto region, where power demand reached its highest level this summer at 48.91 million kw on Aug. 10, is keeping an eye out for any unexpected trouble in light of the turbine failure that caused Kansai Electric Power Co.'s 400,000-kw thermal plant to shut down Sunday, they said.

Tepco, which must cope without its two nuclear plants in Fukushima Prefecture, has meanwhile managed to restore its tsunami-crippled thermal plant in the same prefecture.

It has also installed two of five extra high-output gas turbine generators it plans to run by the end of August, and has reactivated two generators at a plant due to be decommissioned in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.

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