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Published time: March 31, 2011 09:27
Edited time: March 31, 2011 22:31
Japan, Tokyo: French President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan (R) prior to their talks at Kan's official residence in Tokyo on March 31, 2011. (AFP Photo / Shizuo Kambayashi)
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While the operation to make the stricken Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant safe has been delayed in Japan, Nicolas Sarkozy is suggesting an international meeting on nuclear security.

­The French President announced his initiative in Japan, where he arrived on Thursday. He called for a meeting in Paris with the heads of atomic agencies of the G20 countries, to work out international standards of nuclear security. The talks could take place in May.

Sarkozy is the first foreign leader to visit Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the country on March 11.

Both leaders, President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Kan, agreed that nuclear power will top the agenda at the next G8 summit in Nice. France assumed the presidency of the G8 in 2011, and Sarkozy says the group is aiming to release a communique on nuclear issues, Kyodo News reports.

Meanwhile, Japanese workers are trying to cover the damaged reactors at Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant with a high-tech resin, designed to dry and harden, to prevent further radiation leaks. But rain is hampering their efforts.

The level of radiation in seawater near the facility is now 4,500 times higher than normal – the highest figures recorded in the sea since the beginning of the nuclear crisis. Experts think it may be caused by highly-radioactive cooling water leaking from the plant.

Japan's Prime Minister now says the plant must be decommissioned as a result of the damage caused to it by the quake and tsunami three weeks ago.

Comments (4)

morris wise 31.03.2011 20:02

Leakage of Caesium-137 of 547 times the normal level at the Dai-ichi nuclear plant is bad news, it has a half life of 30 years.  Experiments with dogs show that a single dose is lethal within three weeks and even a small dose can cause cancer in humans. The worst fear is that it will get into the food supply and affect fertility rates leading to the depopulation of the planet. The IAEA has stated that Caesium-137 is the isotope of choice in dirty bombs, the Dai-ichi leak has accidentally  made the dirty bomb a reality.

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PR101 31.03.2011 15:38

Dead or missing toll nears 28,000 in Japan “The death toll from Japan’s worst earthquake in modern history and the tsunami that followed it reached 11,532 on Thursday, according to NHK broadcaster. Police officials say 16,441 others are still missing. Many victims are believed to have been washed away by the massive tsunami. The largest number of deaths was reported in the most-devastated prefecture of Miyagi – 7,012 people. The authorities say the final number of victims of Japan’s worst crisis since World War II could continue rising. Rescuers halted search operations within the 20km around the damaged Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant on Thursday due to radiation fears after high levels of contamination were detected on a corpse in the town of Okuma.” This images speaks lies and more lies. The hastily arranged war on Libya was about oil and regime change but also it was ingenious attempt to turn the critical gaze of the world away from the disaster that was unfolding in Japan. Now, the facts of this disaster are being released slowly but these facts no longer shock the reading public.

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Barnabas 31.03.2011 12:15

Tomcat Sarkozy  is so compromised that no one cares on him. Together with an accomplice Cameron are a disgrace of decent people.

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