TEPCO apologises to Japan, neighbours over radiation

A Japanese power company executive apologised on Saturday for spreading radiation into the air and sea as regulators said the pumping of radioactive water into waters off Japan from a crippled nuclear plant would end one day later than planned.
The apology from Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) came a day after China and South Korea expressed concern at the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant smashed by last month's earthquake, reflecting growing international unease over the month-long nuclear crisis.
"It is almost a month since the earthquake took place. I would like to apologise from my heart over the worries and troubles we are causing for society due to the release of radiological materials into the atmosphere and seawater," Sakae Muto, a TEPCO vice president, told a news conference.
"We caused worry and trouble for having made this decision without taking sufficient time to explain the matter beforehand to those involved, to the press, to the fishing industry and to people overseas, and we are sorry for this," he added.
Plant operator TEPCO said earlier it expected to stop pumping tainted water into the sea on Saturday, but work was interrupted by a powerful aftershock on Thursday. TEPCO is struggling to contain the worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl. Engineers say they are far from in control of the damaged reactors and it could take months to stabilise them and years to clear up the toxic mess left behind.
Nuclear reactor maker Toshiba Corp has proposed a 10-year plan to decommission four of the six damaged reactors at the plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, said Kyodo news agency. But the government has said it was too early to have a "specific road map" for ending the crisis.
Nishiyama said Japan would look into the electric power back-up system that had failed after the tsunami, leaving operators unable to cool the reactor. "Based on this experience, we need to review everything in the direction of safety," he said. The magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami on March 11 left 28,000 people dead or missing, and north-eastern Japan a splintered wreck.
More than 153,000 people affected by the tsunami and radiation are living in school gymnasiums and other evacuation centres, according to the National Police Agency. Several tsunami-damaged cities have begun moving families into temporary housing, NHK state television said.
Banri Kaieda, a minister whose portfolio includes the nuclear industry, said he hoped evacuees from the radiation zone in Fukushima could visit their homes as soon as possible. Japan has made evacuation mandatory for people living within a 20 km (12-mile) radius of the crippled reactor and urged those living between 20 km and 30 km from the plant to stay indoors.
"There were expectations among the evacuees that they could return to their homes for one night, but they will only be able to stay for a few hours to gather their personal belongings," Kaieda was quoted by Jiji news agency as saying in Fukushima. Several countries have restricted food imports from Japan over radiation fears as Japan's economy reels from the country's worst disaster since World War Two.
Food is a tiny part of Japan's export-oriented economy, but disruptions to its manufacturing and electronics supply chains are reverberating around the world. China will ban imports of farm produce from 12 areas in Japan, China's quarantine authority said. China said earlier it had detected 10 cases of ships, aircraft or cargo arriving from Japan with higher than normal levels of radiation since mid-March. Xinhua also reported trace levels of radioactivity had been detected in 22 Chinese provinces.