Japanese authorities declare 20-km no-go zone around Fukushima RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED April 21, 2011 Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan visited the Fukushima prefecture as the 20-km evacuation area around the crippled nuclear power plant was officially declared a no-go zone on Thursday, Japan Today reported. The authorities officially banned all unauthorized entry to areas within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant starting from midnight local time. The prime minister was "to discuss the plans for strict enforcement of the evacuation zone" with local officials and evacuees during his visit, the news portal said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the move was aimed at preventing radiation exposure and looting. Until Thursday, police could not legally deny entry to evacuees, who returned to their homes after the evacuation announcement on March 12. Japanese officials plan to organize short trips for residents willing to collect their belongings in the near future. Despite growing concern of radioactive fallout on the Russian territory, the Russian emergencies ministry said that radiation levels in Russia's Far East remained within the norm and ranged from 11 to 19 micro roentgen per hour on Thursday. Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was seriously damaged by a powerful earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11. Fukushima's operator has since been struggling to stop radioactive leaks from the plant's crippled reactors. Almost 80,000 people living within the evacuation zone were forced to flee their homes. Topics: NPP Fukushima Daiichi Other news: Russia ready to finance Egypt first nuclear plant Russia confirmed its participation in a tender to build Egypt's first nuclear power plant and said it was willing to help finance the project. ARMZ acquires Australian uranium producer in $1.2 bln deal ARMZ will pay eight Australian dollars per share, which represents a 15.5 percent premium on the average market price for 20 trading days. Russia to start building Turkish NPP in 2013 Russia will start building Turkey's first NPP estimated at $20 billion in 2013, Russian ambassador to Ankara Vladimir Ivanovsky said. |
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