Remember when Japan and Tepco lied it was in control of the Fukushima disaster recovery, when it lied radiation exposure was manageable (when concerned about radiation exposure, just raise the minimum safe dosage), or when it lied that it had any clue what it was doing when it proposed building an "ice wall" to freeze the radioactive ground water below the damanged plant? Turns out it also lied about the impact of Fukushima's radiation not only on locally produced food (which was served to a government official to "prove" its safety), but also on food as far as 20 kilometers away.

According to Japan's Asahi, cleanup work at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant in summer last year "may have" contaminated rice harvested from 14 locations in Minamisoma city, more than 20km north of the reactors, Asahi newspaper reports, citing examinations by the Agriculture Ministry. Cesium levels of the rice harvested in Minamisoma and 5 other locations last autumn within the 20km evaculation zone were above the benchmark of 100 becquerels/kg: Asahi.

Japan Times adds that "debris cleanup at Fukushima reactor may have contaminated rice crops"

Debris cleanup work by Tokyo Electric Power Co. at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may have led to the contamination of rice crops in nearby areas, agriculture ministry officials said Monday. Radioactive cesium exceeding the government limit of 100 becquerels per kilogram was detected in rice crops from Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, last year, including areas located more than 20 km from the crippled nuclear plant. Farm ministry officials said they could not deny the possibility that radioactive dust was stirred up when Tepco cleaned up debris at the No. 3 reactor last August and that the dust could have made its way north to Minamisoma. The ministry told Tepco in March to take measures to prevent dust dispersal, according to the officials. A Tepco spokesman said the company does not deny the possibility that its cleanup work is to blame but added it isn’t clear whether that was the direct cause of the contamination. The tainted rice was tested by the Fukushima Prefectural Government and never made it to market.

Because this time they are telling the truth. In the meantime, Japanese population continues to ingest rice and who knows what other irradiated food under the assumption that all is safe.

And to think that several years ago we joked (or so we hoped) that in order to fix its demographic bubble, in which Japan finds itself having the oldest average population of any country in the world, was merely to feed said population radiation. It appears that this "proposal" was taken a little too seriously by the local administration.