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posted by CoolHand on Saturday April 25 2015, @11:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the we-glow-for-you dept.

A man who landed a small drone carrying slightly radioactive sand onto the roof of the Japanese Prime Minister's office in Tokyo has turned himself in to authorities:

Yasuo Yamamoto, 40, was protesting over the Japanese government's nuclear energy policy. He turned himself in late on Friday, police said. No-one was hurt. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was out of the country.

The drone landing triggered a security alert and raised fears of extremists using drones to carry out attacks. The small amount of sand in the drone - which was equipped with a small camera - carried traces of radiation. Police said the radioactive material was likely to be caesium but the levels were too low to be harmful to human health.

Yasuo Yamamoto said that he was protesting the restart of nuclear reactors across Japan. Prime Minister Abe is backing the restart of Japan's nuclear reactors, which have been offline since the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster in 2011.

Yamamoto claimed that the sand came from Fukushima Prefecture (福島県), and was carrying some of the sand and a drone controller when he surrendered himself to police. He faces a maximum of three years in prison if convicted of "obstruction of official business". The drone is said to be a DJI Phantom 2.

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Sunday April 26 2015, @01:02AM

    by frojack (1554) on Sunday April 26 2015, @01:02AM (#175208) Journal

    This is the new protest then?

    Wait till the executive is away, to avoid attempted assassination charges, then fly drones or ultra-lite aircraft toward government offices or official residences. Deliver letters or harmless sand, get arrested, get publicity, rinse, repeat.

    Can't see this ending well.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday April 26 2015, @01:06AM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Sunday April 26 2015, @01:06AM (#175211) Journal

    drone ban imminent:

    On Friday, police and ministry officials held their first meeting at the prime minister’s office on drone regulation and began exploring legislation to regulate flights above sensitive facilities. Plans under consideration include obliging drone buyers to register their name and address.

    “We need to immediately establish” legislation on drone usage, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at the meeting, which included officials from the ministries that oversee transportation, internal affairs, and trade and industry.

    The government is also expected to weigh the introduction of a licensing system, maintenance rules and mandatory insurance, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry.

    Suga described the incident as “a grave issue in terms of crisis management.” He said drones “could have a substantial impact on public safety and privacy protection, depending on how they are used.”

    Toshihiro Nikai, chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s General Council, said Friday that lawmakers need to submit a bill to prohibit drones from being flown above important facilities.

    Suga said the previous day that the government will consider legislation to regulate drone flights before the Diet’s summer recess from late June.

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  • (Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday April 26 2015, @03:36AM

    by sjames (2882) on Sunday April 26 2015, @03:36AM (#175256) Journal

    There's some fairly good strategy to it though. The more the authorities freak out, the more they prove his point. At the same time, the Prime Minister ivery badly wants to freak out because there's scary radiation in it (yes, minuscule, but freaking a=out about small amounts of radiation seems to be quite popular).

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 26 2015, @07:20AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 26 2015, @07:20AM (#175295)

    Will work only first time, then big B will just sweep it under the rug. Graffiti bot on the other hand.