Japan baffled by alarming U.S. statement as embassies advise evacuation
TOKYO —
Japan expressed confusion Thursday over an alarming finding by the U.S. nuclear regulatory body on the ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, but admitted it was somewhat slow in passing information along to Washington.
‘‘There was a slight delay conveying to the U.S. side the information about whether or not there is water’’ in a pool holding spent nuclear fuel rods at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference.
His comment came in response to a senior U.S. nuclear official’s remark Wednesday in Washington that there was no water left in the pool at the plant’s No. 4 reactor, posing a risk of high-level radiation emission from the fuel rods exposed to the atmosphere.
Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told a congressional hearing, ‘‘There is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures.’‘
But a Ground Self-Defense Force chopper, which doused the overheating spent nuclear fuel pool with water Thursday morning at the No. 3 reactor, found that water is left in the pond at the No. 4 unit, according to the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Jaczko also told Congress that spent fuel pools at the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors are also developing problems. The NRC has dispatched experts to Japan to provide Tokyo with assistance.
Based on the NRC’s finding, the U.S. Embassy in Japan has asked American citizens living within an 80-kilometer radius of the Fukushima No. 1 power station to evacuate as a precautionary measure.
Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said it believes the U.S. evacuation recommendation is ‘‘not appropriate’’ and will bolster information sharing with U.S. authorities so as not to cause misunderstandings.
Edano said that after the NRC chief made the remarks, the Japanese government provided U.S. experts with more detailed data.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government on Thursday sought to allay concerns over the nuclear crisis.
Edano expressed ‘‘understanding’’ over the U.S. advisory, noting that the U.S. government made a ‘‘more conservative decision from the standpoint of protecting its citizens.’‘
Edano said that if an incident occurred abroad in which people were asked to evacuate, the Japanese government would likely do the same thing to protect its nationals especially as it would not be directly in charge of the situation there.
Nonetheless, Japan has, at this point, no plans to expand the evacuation area over the crisis that has hit the nuclear plant, Edano said, noting that its data, reported by the science ministry, shows that the radiation does not immediately pose a risk to human health.
The Japanese government is currently setting the evacuation zone as areas within a 20-km radius of the plant and advises those within a 30-km radius to stay indoors, after an enormous earthquake struck eastern and northeastern Japan last Friday and subsequently crippled the Fukushima plant.
Edano said the instruction to stay indoors is a precautionary measure.
Still, embassies are increasingly issuing warnings to their nationals to leave Tokyo or the country.
Britain has advised its nationals living in Tokyo and areas north of the Japanese capital to consider leaving, while the Russian Foreign Ministry has announced it will evacuate the families of diplomats working at the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, possibly from Friday.
The U.S. Embassy in Japan said in its advice issued Thursday local time, ‘‘We are recommending, as a precaution, that American citizens who live within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area or to take shelter indoors if safe evacuation is not practical.’‘
Conditions such as weather and wind direction will affect the area of radioactive contamination in a complex way, the embassy said, adding that low-level radioactive materials can reach areas more than 80 km away from the damaged nuclear power plant.
Australia and Germany also advised their citizens in Japan to consider leaving Tokyo and earthquake-affected areas.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, however, said its advice to Australians had nothing to do with the threat of nuclear contamination from the damaged plant. “We are providing this advice because of the continuing disruption to major infrastructure, its impact on the welfare of people on the ground and continuing aftershocks,” its notice said.
Germany’s Foreign Ministry advised its citizens living near the nuclear plant or in the capital region to either leave the country or move to the Osaka area. Ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said an estimated 5,000 Germans were in Japan before the earthquake, but now only about 1,000 are believed to remain in and around the capital. Germany’s embassy in Tokyo also has been “partly relocated” to the consulate general in Osaka, Peschke said.
France has urged its citizens with no reason to stay in Tokyo return to France or head to southern Japan. The government has asked Air France to mobilize aircraft in Asia to assist with departures.
Serbia and Croatia advised their citizens to leave Japan, while Croatia said it was moving its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka because of the nuclear crisis.
More than 3,000 Chinese have already been evacuated from Japan’s northeast to Niigata on Japan’s western coast, according to Xinhua News Agency. On Tuesday, Beijing became the first government to organize a mass evacuation of its citizens from the quake-affected area.
The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo told its citizens to follow advisories issued by Japanese authorities. It added, however, that Filipinos who are concerned about possible radiation exposure “may wish to voluntary relocate to areas further away, or depart voluntarily from the country using their own means.”
If relocation and repatriation become necessary, the Philippine government will defray the costs involved, the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
