Cybersecurity

New hazard in Fukushima: Crippled nuclear plant crawling with Pokémon

As if leaking radioactive fuel and contaminated groundwater were not enough, a new health hazard is now coming out of the crippled Japanese nuclear site in Fukushima - and it goes by the name of Pokémon.

The virtual critters from the hit augmented reality game Pokémon GO have been spotted inside the two reactors damaged in the devastating 2011 earthquake. But hey - at least they're not creeping out to conquer the world (any more than they already have).

Japan's nuclear authorities are now worried that dedicated players might just wander into the kilometers-wide contaminated exclusion zone around the damaged nuclear plant to catch Pokémon. The threat is apparently considered high enough that the authorities have issued a special notice to energy companies about securing the perimeter of the site against virtual hunters.