Friday 11 March 2011

Japan declares nuclear emergency

Japan has declared a nuclear emergency after a tsunami caused by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake swept its north-east coastline.

At a press conference Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said that the Tokyo Electric Power Company's number one Fukushima nuclear power plant had acted in order to cool the nuclear reactor in a safe manner. The emergency generator used to cool the reactor was unable to operate and according to the nuclear disasters special measures board they have declared a nuclear emergency situation.

No radioactive leakage at this moment has been detected and the government is calling for residents in the nearby area to exercise calm.

Currently nuclear counts for 34% of Japan's energy and is set to almost double by 2035, according to the International Energy Association's latest figures from 2008.

The Japanese government has nuclear fail-safe systems in place for earthquakes.