Japan Cops Probing Radioactive Mail

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Japan Cops Probing Radioactive Mail

TOKYO (AP) - Envelopes containing small amounts of radioactive powder 
were mailed anonymously last week to the prime minister's residence 
and other government agencies, officials said Monday. 

At least one of the envelopes, dated June 6, contained a message 
warning that radioactive materials were being sent from Japan to 
North Korea, a police official said. Another government official 
reported getting a letter containing a sand-like substance. 

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's residence received one of the envelopes 
last Thursday, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki. The envelope 
contained 3 grams of powder of about 1 micro-sievert of radioactivity 
- too little to harm humans, he said. 

The Science and Technology agency said the average person is exposed 
to about 1,000 micro-sieverts of radioactivity a year. 

Kyodo News agency reported that an initial examination indicated the 
substance may be ground monazite, a mineral containing thorium, a 
nuclear fuel material. The envelopes were postmarked in Tokyo. 

Nine government offices received the mysterious mail, and the 
government has warned ministries and agencies not to accept packages 
without the name of the sender, said Kazuhiko Koshikawa, a Mori 
spokesman. 

It was not immediately clear if the mailings were meant to injure 
anyone. The threat brought memories of the Aum Shinri Kyo cult's 1995 
nerve gas attack on subways in Tokyo's central government district, 
which killed 12. 

The Education Ministry received an envelope containing the mysterious 
substance with a letter warning that ``radioactive substance is being 
sent to North Korea and police should investigate because it is 
dangerous,'' said Hajime Kajiwara, an official of the Kojimachi 
police station near the ministry. 

Kazunobu Asada, an Education Ministry spokesman, said the envelope 
contained ``a very small amount of a sand-like substance.'' 

Similar envelopes were sent to the Home Affairs Ministry, the 
national police, defense and public security investigation agencies, 
as well as the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy, and the 
National Public Safety Commission, Kyodo reported. 

Yoshinori Inoue, an official at the Home Affairs Ministry, said the 
ministry received a letter dated June 6 but did not accept it because 
the sender's name was not on the envelope. 

Also Monday, a package bomb exploded at a lawyers' office in Tokyo, 
slightly injuring a woman's right hand, police said, refusing the 
release further details. The office was located near major government 
offices in Tokyo. 

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Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
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