"DIY Cesium Scanning Store May Be 'New Normal'"

In the Japanese community of Kashiwa, scanning your food and soil for radiation is the new normal.

"Kashiwa, about 30 km northeast of Tokyo, is known for its humble beginnings as a 1970s bedroom community for Tokyo workers.

The tranquil residential city of 406,000 in Chiba Prefecture rarely enters the national spotlight, except when Kashiwa Reysol, the local soccer team, is playing at home.

But on a street just six minutes from JR Kashiwa Station, the Bec-Miru facility that Motohiro Takamatsu opened in October is turning heads by offering residents a chance to scan their own groceries, garden soil and other items for radiation."

Jun Hongo reports for the Japan Times January 1, 2012 (First of five parts).

SEE ALSO:

"Report: U.S. Nuclear Renaissance Unlikely After Fukushima" (Los Angeles Times)

"Nuclear Decontamination Law To Go Into Full Force Sunday" (Mainichi Daily News)

"Japan Nuclear Disaster Panel Faults Preparation, Communication" (Reuters)

Fukushima Prefecture Plans Nuke-Free Future (Reuters)