20-km area around Japan crippled nuke plant declares no-go zone

PanARMENIAN.Net - Japan declared a 12-mile (20-kilometer) area evacuated around its radiation-spewing nuclear power plant a no-go zone on Thursday, April 21, urging residents to abide by the order for their own safety or possibly face fines or detention.

The order, due to take effect at midnight, angered residents who fled their homes nearly empty-handed when they were told to evacuate after last month's tsunami and earthquake wrecked the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant's power and cooling systems.

Officials said the order was meant to limit exposure to radiation leaking from the plant and to prevent theft in the mostly deserted area.

Under a special nuclear emergency law, people who enter the zone will now be subject to fines of up to 100,000 yen ($1,200) and possible detention of up to 30 days. Up to now, defiance of the evacuation order was not punishable by law.

"We beg the understanding of residents. We really want residents not to enter the areas," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "Unfortunately, there are still some people in the areas."

The new ruling was not due to any particular change in conditions inside the plant, which appear to have somewhat stabilized. Even under the best-case scenario, however, the plant's operator says it will take at least six months to bring its reactors safely into a cold shutdown, the Associated Press reports.