One of the sharp metal objects found stuck into road guardrails at more than 27,000 locations nationwide

Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Satoshi Iwamura said that the presence of the metal pieces cannot be explained by vehicle crashes alone.

"Vehicle collisions may be one of the causes, but they cannot always be the explanation. It's not known whether someone is doing it with criminal intent," Iwamura said.

Metal pieces between about 3 cm and 30 cm long have been found stuck into road guardrails, some of which were protruding and have resulted in injuries to the public.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 11, 2005
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