People may be urged to move further from nuclear plant for convenience
TOKYO, March 24, Kyodo
The government is reviewing whether to continue its current directive for people living 20 to 30 kilometers away from a troubled nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture to remain indoors, with an eye on possibly recommending they relocate further away to make their everyday life easier over the long term, the top government spokesman indicated Thursday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano noted in a news conference that reconsidering the directive does not mean the risk of radiation leaks from the plant is increasing.
''We've been informed about the difficulty of supplies reaching them,'' Edano said. ''We're reviewing whether people can continue living under the current conditions given that they've been living this way for a considerably long period of time.''
He added that the Self-Defense Forces troops have been delivering supplies to the area, but those supplies may still not be sufficient.
People within the 20- to 30-km range have been inconvenienced by increasingly limited goods available for living such as gasoline, water and food, as trucking companies are shunning the government-designated area.
After the catastrophic March 11 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and caused radiation leaks, directives were issued for people living in a 20-km radius of the plant to evacuate and those in the 20- to 30-km range to stay indoors.
Edano emphasized that a revised order of the kind must be dealt with cautiously so as not to create a misperception that danger from the radiation leaks is spreading.
Opposition lawmakers have been pressing the government and ruling party during their meeting Thursday to address the concerns of residents who are being isolated in the 30-km range and called for their evacuation in the same manner as those within the 20-km range.
''The government must take full measures in addressing the situation where items for daily living are not reaching (people staying indoors),'' Sadakazu Tanigaki, chief of the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party, said at a news conference.
==Kyodo
Minimum radius is about ~ 30 kilometers from damaged reactors. Just like it took place in Chernobyl.