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Japan mulls closure of Fukushima nuclear plant
As Japan grappled with its worst atomic crisis in decades, Premier Naoto Kan on Thursday said the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant must be scrapped as radiation seeping into sea tested 4,385 times the legal limit, but authorities ruled out expanding the evacuation zone.
As Japan grappled with its worst atomic crisis in decades, Premier Naoto Kan on Thursday said the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant must be scrapped as radiation seeping into sea tested 4,385 times the legal limit, but authorities ruled out expanding the evacuation zone.
During a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Tokyo, the two sides agreed to cooperate in crafting new international nuclear safety standards by the end of this year, Kyodo news agency reported.
"Our country's experience of this nuclear accident is very painful," Kan said. "But to prevent a recurrence of this kind of thing, I believe that we are obliged to share this experience accurately with countries all over the world."
His remarks came a day after the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), said that it would scrap four stricken reactors at the facility.
