Japan to declare 20-km Fukushima zone off-limits
Fukushima, Japan (AHN) – Japanese authorities announced Sunday a plan to declare a 20-kilometer (12-mile) Fukushima Daiichi damaged nuclear facility area an exlusion zone. The move aims to have more government control over the danger area after reports that some residents have returned to the area.
With the declaration, the government could force anyone who enters the zone or returns to get things from the homes to leave immediately leave. The declaration of a 20-km. zone was proposed by the Fukushima Prefecture government.
Meanwhile, the government lifted the March 23 ban of shipments of raw milk from the Ibaraki Prefecture after three weeks of tests showed that milk from the area does not exceed the legal limit for radioactive materials. Similar drops in radiation readings have been recorded in the northeastern and eastern parts of Japan, while those in Gunma Prefecture had returned to pre-March 11 levels.
The Fukushima government said it will continue to monitor radiation levels next week outside the 20-km zone in compliance with residents’ demands.
As Japan observes the one month anniversary of the magnitude 9 tremor, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed to survivors of the killer earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear disaster that the government will not abandon them. He said Tokyo will do everything possible to help communities recover from the natural and nuclear catastrophe.
Among the promises of Kan were to provide houses for 150,000 tremor victims still living in temporary shelters and to help the fishing industry recover from the devastation caused by the release of radioactive water into seawater.
Fishing communities from Japan, Russia, China and South Korea criticized the release of radioactive water into the sea, prompting a demonstration against nuclear power in Tokyo on Sunday. Workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant have stopped releasing radioactive water, and instead will start moving highly radioactive water to a sealed area within the plant.
As of Sunday, 250,000 residents were still waiting for power after the magnitude 7.4 temblor rocked Japan on Thursday and damaged more electric lines. The death toll in the aftershock rose to more than two people, while injuries went up to 283 people.
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