31 January

Police in Japan are investigating the sale of radioactive materials suspected to be depleted uranium.

Investigative sources say officials at the Nuclear Regulation Authority notified Tokyo police in January of last year after learning that powder and solid materials claimed to be uranium were up for sale on an auction site.

Tokyo police identified the seller and buyers and confiscated the materials. An examination found that they were radioactive, with some of them likely to be depleted uranium.

The seller is reportedly telling investigators that the materials were purchased on foreign websites.

Trading of depleted uranium and other radioactive materials without a license is illegal.

Tokyo police are looking into whether the transactions violate the nuclear reactor regulation law.

NHK