Japan PM seeks overseas help on Fukushima nuclear plant via The Sydney Morning Herald

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan is open to receiving overseas help to contain widening radioactive water leaks at the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima, with leaks and mishaps reported almost daily.
Abe made the comments in a speech at an international science forum in Kyoto in western Japan on Sunday.
“We are wide open to receive the most advanced knowledge from overseas to contain the problem,” Abe said in his English speech to open the conference on energy and environment.
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Officials have acknowledged that the ground water contaminated with radioactive leaks has been seeping into the Pacific since soon after meltdowns following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Recent leaks from storage tanks have added to public concerns.
Japan has been criticised for its perceived reluctance in accepting foreign assistance to fight the problems at the plant, where the ongoing water leaks are hampering decommissioning work that is expected to last decades.
Japan recently set up an organisation among major utilities and nuclear experts to discuss decommissioning, including several advisers from countries such as France and Britain and Russia.
The industry and trade ministry last month started accepting project proposals from private companies and groups to tackle the contaminated water problem, but English version was added only after criticisms that the Japanese-only notice signaled exclusion of foreign participation.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/japan-pm-seeks-overseas-help-on-fukushima-nuclear-plant-20131006-2v2e8.html#ixzz2gygp29zY

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