A man close to the chief of an Education Ministry foundation is being questioned in connection with the mailing of radioactive material to 10 government offices last week, police sources said Wednesday.
Investigators suspect the man, a broker acquainted with the 84-year-old director of the foundation, was involved in the director's storage and sale of more than 10 tons of monazite, a radioactive substance. The man had recently argued with the director over money.
The director of the foundation, based in Tokyo's Taito Ward, has admitted storing monazite in locations in eastern Japan, including Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture, and Tatsuno, Nagano Prefecture, the sources said. He told Kyodo News that he imported the substance 20 years ago when he was running a trading company.