Tokyo: The Japanese government is in a state of maximum alert over the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said.
Plutonium was detected in soil at the facility and highly radioactive water had leaked from a reactor building.
Officials in China, South Korea and the United States have recorded traces of radioactive material in the air.
Earlier, Japan’s government strongly criticised the plant’s operator, Tepco, over mistaken radiation readings.
Kan told parliament the situation “continues to be unpredictable”.
The government “will tackle the problem while in a state of maximum alert,” he said.
Speaking on Tuesday about how the government might fund relief and recovery efforts, Kan said: “We need to pursue various possibilities.”
Scrapping a planned cut in corporate taxes was one option under consideration, he added.
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