Japanese PM: ‘Maximum Alert’ Over Fukushima Nuke Crisis

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said his government is in a state of maximum alert over high-level radiation leaked from the quake-wrecked nuclear power plant in the country’s northeast.

Speaking at the House of Councilors Budget Committee on Tuesday, Kan said the situation at the plant “continues to be unpredictable” and that the government “will tackle the problem while in a state of maximum alert.”

He gave the assurance to the parliamentary committee after traces of radioactive water as well as highly toxic plutonium were detected outside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.