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.

A PAIR of thin robots on treads sent to explore buildings inside Japan’s crippled nuclear reactor came back with disheartening news: radiation levels are far too high for repair crews to go inside.

JAPAN raised the crisis level at its crippled nuclear plant to a severity on a par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, citing high overall radiation leaks that have contaminated the air, tap water, vegetables and seawater.

JAPAN has widened the evacuation zone around a stricken nuclear plant a month on from a huge natural disaster as another 7.1 magnitude quake and tsunami alert strained nerves anew.

Sombre ceremonies and moments of silence were planned today to mark one month since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan’s north east coast, killing as many as 25,000 people.

A MAJOR aftershock rocked north-east Japan yesterday and a tsunami warning was issued for the coast devastated by last month’s huge quake and tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant.

After notching a rare victory by stopping highly radioactive water from flowing into the Pacific, workers at Japan’s flooded nuclear power complex turned to their next task: injecting nitrogen to prevent more hydrogen explosions.

Workers at Japan’s tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant today finally halted a leak that was sending a tide of radioactive water into the Pacific and exacerbating concerns over the safety of seafood, the operator said.

Workers were pumping more than three million gallons of contaminated water from Japan’s tsunami-ravaged nuclear power complex into the Pacific Ocean today, freeing storage space for even more highly radioactive water that has hampered efforts to stabilise the plant’s reactors.

Seawater outside the crippled nuclear power plant in north-eastern Japan was found to contain 3,335 times the usual amount of radioactive iodine – the highest rate yet and a sign that more contaminated water was making its way into the ocean, officials said today.

Japan has promised to overhaul nuclear safety standards once it regains control of the wrecked Fukushima complex, admitting its current safeguards were not enough.

Japan was on “maximum alert” to bring its nuclear crisis under control, the prime minister insisted today.

Highly toxic plutonium is seeping from the damaged nuclear power plant in Japan’s tsunami disaster zone into the soil outside, officials said.

WORKERS discovered new pools of radioactive water leaking from Japan’s crippled nuclear complex as emergency crews struggled to pump out hundreds of tonnes of contaminated water and bring the plant back under control.

Highly radioactive iodine seeping from Japan’s damaged nuclear complex may be making its way into seawater further north of the plant than previously thought, officials said today, adding to radiation concerns as the crisis stretches into a third week.

Mounting problems, including incorrect radiation figures and a shortage of storage tanks, have stymied emergency workers as they tried to nudge Japan’s stricken nuclear complex back from the edge of disaster.

Emergency workers struggling to pump contaminated water from Japan’s stricken nuclear complex fled from one of the troubled reactors today after reporting a huge increase in radioactivity – a spike that officials later said was inaccurate.

Emergency workers struggling to pump contaminated water from Japan’s stricken nuclear complex fled one of the troubled reactors today after reporting a huge spike in radioactivity, with levels 10 million times higher than normal in the reactor’s cooling system.

Radioactivity in contaminated water in one reactor unit at a damaged Japanese nuclear power plant tested 10 million times higher than normal, forcing the evacuation of workers and again delaying efforts to bring the complex under control, the plant’s operator said today.

Shops across Tokyo began rationing goods including milk, toilet paper, rice and water today as a run on bottled water coupled with delivery disruptions left shelves bare, nearly two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami.

TOKYO’S water supply has been contaminated by the nuclear plant disaster and is unsafe for babies.

Power cables have been connected to all six reactors at Japan's damaged nuclear plant, a significant step in bringing the complex under control.

Japan's nuclear experts admitted today that the Fukushima reactor disaster was worse than anything they ever imagined could have happened.

Smoke billowed from two of the damaged Japanese nuclear reactors today, temporarily halting vital work to reconnect power lines and restore cooling systems to the complex.

TWO units at Japan’s stricken nuclear plant safely cooled down yesterday, though pressure unexpectedly rose in a third unit’s reactor and traces of radiation were found in more foods, further shaking an already uneasy public.

Two units at Japan's stricken nuclear plant safely cooled down today, though pressure unexpectedly rose in a third unit's reactor as scientists continued to wage a battle to get a handle on the crisis.

In the first sign that contamination from Japan’s stricken nuclear complex had seeped into the food chain, officials said today that radiation levels in spinach and milk from farms near the tsunami-crippled facility exceeded government safety limits.

Radiation levels in spinach and milk exceed safety limits following nuclear accidents at a tsunami-stricken nuclear plant, Japan’s top government spokesman said today.

SIRENS wailed along a devastated coastline to mark exactly one week since an earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear emergency, and the government acknowledged it was slow to respond to the disasters that the prime minister called a “great test for the Japanese people.”

Emergency crews are still battling to cool overheated nuclear fuel at a stricken nuclear plant a week after the devastating earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.

The Japanese government says it was overwhelmed by the scale of to the huge earthquake and tsunami, slowing the response to the nuclear crisis.

Japan reached out today to the US for help in reining in the crisis at its dangerously overheated nuclear complex, while the UN atomic energy chief called the disaster a race against the clock that demands global cooperation.

Japan has deployed military helicopters, high-pressure water cannons and fire trucks in an increasingly desperate attempt to cool overheating nuclear fuel at the wrecked Fukushima plant.

Military helicopters dumped loads of seawater onto Japan’s stricken nuclear complex today, turning to combat-style tactics while trying to cool overheated uranium fuel that may be on the verge of spewing out more radiation.

THEY are known as the Fukushima 50, the workers who stayed behind at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in order to prevent a meltdown in Japan.

Emergency workers forced to retreat from the wrecked Japanese nuclear power plant by soaring radiation levels were able to go back in tonight, but the delay could prove catastrophic.

Japan ordered emergency workers to withdraw from its stricken nuclear plant today amid a surge in radiation, temporarily suspending efforts to cool the overheating reactors.

A RADIATION cloud drifted from an earthquake-stricken nuclear power plant toward Tokyo yesterday sparking panic in one of the world’s biggest and most densely populated cities.

DANGEROUS levels of radiation leaking from a crippled nuclear plant forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors yesterday after an explosion and a fire escalated the crisis spawned by a deadly tsunami.

JAPAN continues to grapple with a potential nuclear catastrophe after a fire continued to blaze at the stricken Fukushima plant last night.

Dangerous levels of radiation leaking from a crippled nuclear plant forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors today after an explosion and fire dramatically escalated the crisis spawned by the earthquake and tsunami four days ago.