A protest has taken place at the gate of a Japanese nuclear power plant as it was restarted today – the first such facility to go back online since the country shut down all of its reactors for safety checks following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of the country’s 50 nuclear reactors switching off today, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol.

The Japanese government withheld information about the full danger of last year’s Fukushima nuclear plant disaster from its own people and from its key ally, the United States, an independent investigation has found.

A 6.0 magnitude earthquake has struck Japan today.

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 struck under the sea several hundred miles south of Japan today, shaking buildings in the capital, but officials said there was no danger of a tsunami.

The director of Japan's troubled Fukushima nuclear power plant is stepping down because of illness.

A strong earthquake registering magnitude 6.1 has shaken northern Japan, reports say.

A strong earthquake has struck Japan, near the nuclear power plant which was hit by a tsunami earlier this year.

A magnitude-6.6 earthquake has shaken the east coast of Japan off Honshu, the US Geological Survey reported.

Japan’s new prime minister has promised to restart nuclear plants following safety checks ordered after the crisis at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Former chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano has been named as Japan’s new trade and economy minister.

Japan’s trade minister resigned today after just eight days in office and apologised repeatedly for calling the evacuated area around a stricken nuclear power plant “a town of death”.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is to resign after almost 15 months in office.

Some people evacuated from around Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant may not be able to return to their homes for “a long time” due to projections that high contamination levels will linger, top government officials have said.

Japan's economy contracted for a third straight quarter as consumer spending and factory production continued to suffer in the aftermath of the March earthquake and tsunami.

Japan’s industrial production rose for the third straight month in June as the world’s third biggest economy stages a recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Sony sank to a 15.5bn yen (€138.94m) quarterly loss, hurt by the earthquake and tsunami in north-eastern Japan, a massive online security breach and plunging TV prices.

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 hit Japan’s north-eastern coast today, triggering a tsunami warning for the area still recovering from the devastating quake and killer wave four months ago.

Japan’s new disaster reconstruction minister resigned today after his widely criticised behaviour during a visit to the quake-devastated north east coast, where he refused to shake a governor’s hand, scolded the official and threatened to withhold aid.

The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant is preparing to open a door of a reactor building to allow workers to install a cooling system and equipment to prevent an explosion.

In Japan, a clean-up operation at the Fukushima nuclear plant has had to be abandoned after officials became alarmed by a jump in radiation levels.

President Akio Toyoda promised shareholders a revived Toyota despite the production disruptions from the earthquake and tsunami that decimated north eastern Japan on March 11, and first offered his prayers for those killed.

Japanese whalers caught two animals along the northern coast that had traces of radiation, presumably from leaks at a damaged nuclear power plant, officials said.

Car manufacturer Honda has forecast a 65% fall in profits, following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March.

Protesters in Tokyo are staging mass demonstrations against the use of nuclear power, as Japan marks the three-month anniversary of the powerful earthquake and tsunami that killed tens of thousands and triggered one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters.

UN inspectors criticised Japan today for under-estimating the threat of a devastating tsunami on its crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, but praised its overall response to the crisis as exemplary.

Residents living near Japan’s devastated nuclear plant have returned home for the first time since the crisis began more than two months ago.

A major international mission to investigate Japan’s wrecked nuclear complex began today as new information suggested that two more reactors suffered a meltdown in the aftermath of the tsunami.

The president of the utility behind the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl today announced he was stepping down in disgrace after reporting the biggest losses in company history.

Japan’s economy contracted sharply in the first quarter, veering back into recession as factory production and consumer spending wilted in the aftermath of March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan was to release a revised roadmap today for stabilising its stricken nuclear plant amid signs that three troubled reactors have suffered worse-than-expected damage from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

A third worker has died at Japan's troubled Fukushima nuclear plant, just 50 minutes after starting work.

One of the reactors at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant has been damaged more severely than originally thought, officials say.

Japan is scrapping plans to generate half its energy needs from nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

A vulnerable Japanese nuclear power station is to be closed amid safety fears.

Japan’s prime minister has ordered three reactors to be shut down in central Japan because of safety concerns in the event of a major earthquake.

An 6.1 magnitude earthquake has struck off the east coast of Japan.

Workers today entered the reactor building of Unit 1 at Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for the first time since just after the earthquake and tsunami which devastated the site.

Japan's parliament has passed a $49bn emergency budget for reconstruction following the recent earthquake and tsunami in March.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Japan’s north-eastern coast today, offering encouragement to residents who lost homes and loved ones in last month’s earthquake and tsunami.

Japanese farmers took to the streets in Tokyo today demanding compensation for radiation contamination to their crops and livestock from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Japan plans to send more than 20,000 soldiers into its northern disaster zone tomorrow in an intensive mission to recover the bodies of those killed in last month’s earthquake and tsunami.

Japan declared a 12-mile area evacuated around its radiation-spewing nuclear power plant a no-go zone today, urging residents to abide by the order for their own safety or possibly face fines or detention.

Authorities may for the first time ban access to the evacuation zone around Japan’s crippled nuclear plant today amid concerns over radiation risks to residents who may be returning to check on their homes.