Officials are racing to restore electricity to Japan’s leaking nuclear plant, but getting the power flowing will hardly be the end of their battle: with its mangled machinery and partly melted reactor cores, bringing the complex under control is a monstrous job.

A 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Japan's north-west coast today, killing at least five people.

A nuclear reactor at a power plant in northern Japan was shut down for repairs today after a high level of irradiated water was found to have leaked from a pump.