Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that was severely damaged by last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, is most likely to be closed, the top government spokesman said on Sunday.
”Looking at the situation objectively, this is clear,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a news conference in response to the question about whether the government planned to decommission the plant.
Fukushima was hit by a number of explosions following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands on March 11. Efforts are still underway to try to cool the overheating nuclear cores in the reactors in a bid to prevent nuclear fallout.
The Japanese government has evacuated all residents within a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima plant as well as the workers at the plant and announced a no-fly zone over it to avoid the spread of radiation.
Fears of a large-scale nuclear disaster remain high in Japan as the country continues desperate efforts to contain the looming crisis.
MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti)