Catania cancel Japan tour

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TOKYO, Jul 24 (AFP): Italian Serie A club Catania Tuesday cancelled their tour of Japan, blaming a powerful earthquake that caused a small nuclear radiation leak.
Concerns over the nuclear issue "were felt strongly at various levels of the club," said identical statements by J-League sides JEF United Ichihara Chiba, Yokohama FC and Jubilo Iwata, which were scheduled to play Catania.
"We were coordinating with public agencies to seek the club's understanding about their safety, but unfortunately it was decided to cancel the Japan tour," the statements said.
Catania was scheduled to tour Japan for the first time starting next week, playing three friendly matches against the J-League sides in July and August.
On July 16, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale hit Niigata prefecture, killing 11 people and destroying hundreds of homes.
Niigata, which was not on the team's itinerary, is home to the world's largest nuclear plant, which leaked a small amount of radiation.
Officials have said there was no public health risk but the operator of the Kashiwazaki-Karima plant initially underreported the leakage, fuelling public concerns.
Catania said earlier that their 19-year-old Japanese striker Takayuki Morimoto would take part in the tour, although he has been sidelined since surgery on his injured left knee in March.
Morimoto, who played for Japan in the 2005 World Youth Championships in the Netherlands, is the youngest player ever to score in the J-League, having found the net just days before his 16th birthday.
Major football clubs regularly visit Japan and other major Asian markets for friendly games. Premiership outfit Manchester United is currently touring the region and played Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds to a 2-2 draw.