Kan annouces no-entry zone
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Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan Thursday announced that areas 20 kilometers from the Fukushima nuclear power plant were designated as the no-entry zone during a visit to Fukushima Prefecture, Kyodo reported.
Japanese government said that people will be prohibited from entering these areas without government permission, Xinhua reported.
All roads and access routes into the area will be completely sealed off, said Chief Cabinet Officer Yukio Edano at a press conference.
He also said that the setting of the no-entry zone and last month's evacuation instruction are aimed at securing the safety of the people, Reuters reported.
Persons violating the new governmental directive, including evacuated residents who live within the no-entry zone, could face legal repercussions and will be forced to leave the zone, said Edano.
Previously the central government issued an evacuation directive but it was a voluntary one. Many local residents went back to their homes to collect items of financial and sentimental value, Xinhua reported.
The new government directive ruled that local residents will be allowed into the zone to collect items of value and other necessities under government supervision, according to Xinhua reports.
Between 70,000 and 80,000 local residents have been ordered to evacute from the areas within 20 kilometers from the plant due to the nuclear leaking crisis triggered by the devestating earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11.
Earlier the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that it will take about six to nine months to fix the troubled reactors at the plant.
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