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Heavy rain could cause decontamination waste leak

Mar 18 (NHK) - Japan's Environment Ministry says waste produced by decontamination work following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident could leak at 12 locations in case of torrential rain.

The ministry checked all the sites where the waste is kept after 91 bags were swept into rivers in Fukushima and Tochigi prefectures last year due to downpours caused by Typhoon Hagibis.

Of the 322 locations that are near rivers or in flood-prone areas, 12 sites in Fukushima Prefecture were found to be at risk of having bags of waste swept away or ruptured by mud flows.

The ministry plans to set up fences or move the waste to intermediate storage facilities to reduce the risk by the end of May this year.

Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters on Tuesday his ministry hopes to do the work as soon as possible because of the growing risk of sudden downpours in recent years.

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The relocation of Arimasu Tobiru, a distinctive architectural landmark on Hijirizaka in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, was carried out between August and October after nearly two decades of construction.

A Brazilian man has been arrested and indicted for smuggling cocaine into Japan by swallowing the drugs and concealing them inside his body.

Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for a man accused of killing three family members and seriously injuring another with a crossbow in 2020 in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture.

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A woman who had been in critical condition after being struck by a small car near JR Nagoya Station was confirmed dead on October 15th, according to Aichi Prefectural Police. The 49-year-old victim was among three pedestrians hit at an intersection in Nakamura Ward when the vehicle veered out of its lane.

Police arrested two people, including bar manager Maoya Suzuki, on suspicion of violating Japan’s Anti-Prostitution Law after allegedly forcing a female employee at a girls’ bar into prostitution while monitoring her movements through GPS.

A man wearing a ski mask attempted to rob a convenience store in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, in the early hours of October 14th, but fled the scene empty-handed after the clerk shouted loudly, according to local police.