Japan Nuclear situation 'grave and serious' (Irish Times)

Created by : Francis Goodwin View profile

Japanese prime minister Naota Kan at a news conference Friday. Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Mar 25, 2011 (Irish Times) -- The situation at Japan's crippled nuclear complex in Fukushima 240km north of Tokyo remains “grave and serious,” prime minister Naoto Kan said Friday.

In a televised address Mr Kan warned that “we are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every development with the utmost care”.

He apologised to farmers and business owners around the plant for damage caused.

Two Japanese travellers arriving in China today were found to have high radiation levels in the latest consequence of contamination from a crippled nuclear plant two weeks after the Asian nation's devastating earthquake and tsunami.