Man arrested after breaking into Fukushima Daini plant premises
Man arrested after breaking into Fukushima Daini plant premises
An unemployed man from Tokyo was arrested Friday after allegedly intruding by car into the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant premises, near the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi plant in Fukushima Prefecture, police said.
Hikaru Watanabe, 25, from Shinjuku Ward, allegedly broke through the western gate of the Daini plant around 1:10 p.m. Thursday, before driving inside its premises for about 10 minutes, the plants' operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said, adding that no one was injured in the incident.
Watanabe was arrested on suspicion of unlawful entry and property destruction, the local police said, adding that he admitted to the allegations. The purpose of the intrusion remains unknown.
The police, who were alerted to the incident and went to the scene, asked the suspect to voluntarily go with them for questioning. The vehicle and the suspect underwent a radiation decontamination process before being taken to a police facility, they said.
About 50 minutes before the incident, the suspect's vehicle attempted to break through the front gate of the crippled Daiichi nuclear power plant, which is located about 12 kilometers north of the Daini plant, but he was blocked by Tokyo Electric Power employees, company officials said.
A Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency official said the Daiichi and Daini plants are both guarded, but the agency is confirming whether sufficient security is being maintained under radiation-contaminated conditions.
Many of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant are still in an emergency state after the March 11 quake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan, with radioactive substances likely to be continuing to leak into the environment.
The four reactors at the Daini plant are basically in a stable situation, as they achieved a so-called ''cold shutdown'' after the quake.
The agency said it ordered Tokyo Electric Power to take all measures to ensure security especially from the viewpoint of nuclear material protection.
==Kyodo
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