A Japanese air traffic controller has been questioned after apparently blogging about the flight plans of the US president’s plane, Air Force One, reports say.The unnamed controller, who works at Tokyo International Airport, faces possible charges or disciplinary action.The information, including a map showing the route and altitude of Air Force One, was apparently published during a visit by President Barack Obama to Asia in November.Details about US drone flights near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant are also said to have been included.
Japanese media reports said the controller, in his 50s, took photographs of the information on computer screen images at work and later uploaded them onto his blog.Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was planning to apologise to Mr Obama when they met in New York in September, government officials have been quoted as saying by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.
The information, relating to the movements of Air Force One, is said to have included two pages of details.A non-specialist would not have been able to understand all the data, the Japanese ministry of transport was quoted as saying, as much of it was presented in numerical form.The ministry added that the man’s motivations had apparently been to impress his friends, rather than to cause any risk to Mr Obama.The information has now been removed.The exact timing has not been revealed, so it is not clear whether the blog was posted before or after Mr Obama flew from South Korea to Japan for the summit in November. – BBC
