TOKYO — Worries over radiation are so rampant in Japan after last year’s nuclear meltdowns that the world’s first cellphones with built-in radiation monitors are going on sale.
Softbank Corp., the carrier for the hit iPhone and iPad in Japan, says the Pantone 5 mobile device, which shows the microsieverts-per-hour number on a display at a push of a button, will go on sale in July. Pricing was not announced.
The tsunami last March in northeastern Japan set off meltdowns and explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Areas near the plant are a no-go zone. But hot spots have popped up in many places, including Tokyo. Many Japanese are worried, especially families with children.
Softbank’s president, Masayoshi Son, publicly opposes nuclear power after the disaster and is an aggressive proponent of solar and other renewable energy.
The device, from Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp. works like a dosimeter. It measures the radiation in one’s surroundings in two minutes. It does not measure radiation in food or water.
People in parts of Fukushima are still being exposed to radiation higher than the 1 millisievert a year set as safe by Japan before the disaster.