Japan is definitely a country that takes government security very seriously. However, there was a security breach recently when a radioactive Phantom drone was found on the roof of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office. This is causing quite a stir among Japanese authorities as they scramble to find out how and why this happened.
Radioactive Phantom Drone
There was a radioactive Phantom drone, made by Chinese SZ DJI Technology Company, found on the rooftop of the office building of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier on Wednesday morning. The small drone, which was approximately 20 inches long, was carrying a container with a small amount of the radioactive material Cesium. This particular substance is soft alkali metal, and is only one of five chemical elements known to hold a liquid form at room temperature. It is a radioactive material that has been used for many years in small amounts for medical applications. However, should larger amounts be released into the environment, it could pose a severe health risk for people.
This particular event does raise questions as to the security measures that need to be in place in order to protect Japan’s government officials from would-be terrorist attacks or from disgruntled members of the Japanese community who would seek harm on the Prime Minister or the lives of other public officials.
Where was the Prime Minister?
Prime Minster Shinzo Abe was fortunately not at his office when the radioactive Phantom drone was found, as he was attending an international meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia. Interestingly enough, however, this incident took place shortly after the Kyushu Electric Power Company’s request to use nuclear reactors was rejected. There is no concrete evidence that the power company was to blame for this drone, but it does make for suspicious circumstances.
The Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, is at the forefront of this event while the Prime Minister is away, and has expressed great concern as to the actions that need to be taken on the part of the Japanese Government to ensure that no further drones are able to approach unseen in this manner.
Japan Takes Action
As part of the ongoing efforts to bolster security and protect Japan’s Government officials, Japan’s leaders have been looking into purchasing drones of their own, which would help to patrol the country’s borders as well as the outlying islands that are part of Japan’s territory. These particular drones would be from the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk company, and would help Japan portray both a reputable image to the world, and that Japan will not take actions such as this radioactive Phantom drone (as seen at the Northrop Grumman website) lightly, and will help the country’s efforts to hold onto its territory in the East China Sea as China has attempted to claim it as their own on multiple occasions.
Whether or not this radioactive Phantom drone was sent as a test for further ill will, or it was just an action on the part of nuclear energy activists, it has certainly raised the attention of Japan’s authorities, and there are sure to be changes in the laws surrounding unmanned aircraft in Japan’s airspace very shortly.
oAerial drones have been everywhere lately. Check out this video for relatively old-fashioned versions of aerial action:
https://youtu.be/iegV-J2PgHw
