Japan seeks Russian help to end nuclear crisis

Japan has asked nuclear superpower Russia to send a special radiation treatment ship used to decommission nuclear submarines to help in its fight to contain the world's worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl, Japanese media said late on Monday. Japan has also asked Russia for radiation treatment ship, the "Suzuran", which treats radioactive liquids, Kyodo and Jiji news agencies said.
The ship, a joint venture between Japan and Russia, was designed to help decommission nuclear submarines in Russia's Pacific fleet in Vladivostock, ensuring radioactive waste was not dumped into the Sea of Japan, Kyodo said. But it could take months to stem the leaks and even longer to regain control of the power station, damaged by last month's quake and tsunami.