Japan says 20km Fukushima evacuation ring will be no-go zone

Japan will ban people entering the 20 km (12 miles) evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant as of midnight on Thursday.

The government had told people living within a 20 km ring of the facility to leave soon after it was struck by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and began leaking radiation.

Since then, some people have returned to their homes to collect personal possessions.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters that from now on people will only be allowed into the zone under government supervision.

More than 13,000 people were killed and tens of thousands lost their homes when the 9.0 earthquake and 15-metre tsunami hit Japan's northeastern coast. More than 130,000 people were in shelters at the start of this week, according to police figures

 

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