Japan's nuclear and humanitarian crisis stretched to three weeks Friday with radiation still leaking from a crippled nuclear power plant, thousands of homeless people struggling to rebuild their lives, and little hope of a quick resolution to either.
As Tokyo Electric Power Co tries to regain control of its stricken nuclear plant in the face of mounting public criticism and a huge potential compensation bill, the government was reportedly moving to take control of the utility.
The government said it had yet to decide on how to support the utility, which is grappling with the world's worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and may have to deal with compensation claims topping $130 billion according to one U.S. investment bank.
France – the most nuclear-dependent country in the world – called for new global nuclear rules and proposed a global conference in France for May as President Nicolas Sarkozy made a quick visit to Tokyo Thursday, March 31, to show support, AP reports.
France is a global leader in the nuclear industry, and Paris has flown in experts from state-owned nuclear reactor maker Areva to work with Japanese engineers. Other nations are also scrambling to help Japan.
The United States and Germany are sending robots to help repair and explore the damaged Daiichi plant. Kyodo said some 140 U.S. military radiation safety experts would soon visit to offer technical help. U.S. nuclear workers were being recruited to join the recovery teams at Fukushima and will begin flying in Sunday. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which says the situation at the Fukushima plant remains very serious, already has two teams in Japan, monitoring radiation levels.
