bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Japan’s government was ramping up pressure on electric utility Tepco after a huge leak of radioactive water at Fukushima, with a ministerial visit to the wrecked nuclear site on Monday.
The trip by Toshimitsu Motegi, whose ministry supervises the atomic energy industry, comes amid growing calls for the government to take a greater role in the clean-up at the plant.

Critics accuse Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) of being incapable of dealing with the vast – and growing – volumes of radioactive water at the site.
Motegi arrived at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Monday afternoon for an on-site inspection, a Tepco spokesman said.
His second visit to the plant – the first was in January – comes after Tepco revealed around 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water escaped from one of the hundreds of tanks storing liquid used to cool the broken reactors.
The episode was dubbed the most serious since the plant went into meltdown in 2011 after being hit by a quake and tsunami.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in early August described as “urgent” the battle to stop contaminated water escaping into the ocean.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in Tokyo that Abe had ordered the industry minister to take “every possible measure”, including the use of reserve funds from the national budget.
“The leak of contaminated water from the tank was extremely regrettable,” Suga told a news conference.
“Failing to manage tanks properly is a big problem,” Suga said.
“As a government, we will do whatever we can do to resolve the problem.”
Inspectors from Japan’s nuclear watchdog who toured the plant on Friday declared water storage at the site was “sloppy”.
Tepco said on Saturday the tank that sprang a leak was one of three to have been relocated from its original spot because of subsidence.
The utility has not yet pinpointed the reason for the problem with the first tank but at the weekend began emptying the other tanks that were moved with it in 2011.
On Sunday, Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida visited Chernobyl in Ukraine, the site of a 1986 nuclear disaster, and was due to hold talks with his Ukrainian counterpart on Monday.
Kishida went on his fact-finding mission to Chernobyl with the aim of sharing experience in overcoming the consequences of nuclear disasters, a spokesperson said.
More than two years after the disaster at Fukushima, Tepco continues to struggle with the clean-up, a project expected to take around four decades.
A catalogue of mishaps, often accompanied by a perceived unwillingness to publicly reveal the extent of problems, is leading to a growing chorus warning of the need for outside experts to step in and take control of the operation.
While no one is officially recorded as having died as a direct result of the radiation released by the meltdowns, large areas around the plant had to be evacuated.
Tens of thousands of people are still unable to return to their homes, with scientists warning some areas may have to be abandoned.


Japan suspends restart of world’s largest nuclear plant hours after it began

Japan restarts first nuclear reactor since Fukushima under close scrutiny

Japan’s Tepco delays Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear restart after alarm glitch

Data fraud scandal hits Japan nuclear power plant in megaquake zone

Fukushima nuclear disaster and water release

Japan minister pledges help for stricken Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority members wearing protective suits and masks inspect storage tanks of contaminated water at at the Tepco Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Monday. Photo: EPA

Toshimitsu Motegi. Photo: Reuters

Fukushima inspectors ‘careless’, says Japan nuclear regulator

Toyoshi Fuketa of the Nuclear Regulation Authority speaks to the media after his inspection tour of Fukushima nuclear power plant. Photo: Reuters

Members of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority  inspect contaminated water tanks at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Okuma. Photo: AFP

Overseas help sought in battle to halt Fukushima radioactive leaks

Tepco chief Zengo Aizawa bows his head at a press conference after admitting the company is struggling to contain the leaks. Photo: AFP

Storage tanks at the crippled nuclear plant. Photo: EPA

Hundreds of tonnes of radioactive water leak from Fukushima

Highly radioactive water leaks from water storage tank at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Photo: EPA

Workers wearing protective suits and masks at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant. Photo: Reuters

Tokyo to take bigger role in 'urgent' Fukushima clean-up

Members of a Fukushima prefecture panel inspect construction of a shore barrier at the nuclear power plant. Photo: Reuters

Workers wearing protective suits and masks constructing water tanks are seen through a bus window at Tokyo Electric Power Company. Photo: Reuters

News

Asia

Japan’s government was ramping up pressure on electric utility Tepco after a huge leak of radioactive water at Fukushima, with a ministerial visit to the wrecked nuclear site on Monday.
