LOC18:48
15:48 GMT
(With photo)
TOKYO, Mar 13 (KUNA) -- Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Sunday
appealed to the public to unite in overcoming "Japan's worst crisis in the
postwar history of 65 years."
In his televised message to the public, Kan said, "This is the most severe
crisis since the end of World War II. Whether we Japanese can overcome this
crisis depends on each of us, and I believe we will be able to get over this
great earthquake and tsunami by joining together".
More than 1,350 people are confirmed dead from the devastating earthquake
and tsunami as of Sunday evening, including five people in Tokyo. In the
hardest-hit Miyagi Prefecture alone, the death toll is almost certain to
exceed 10,000, local police chief said Sunday. In addition, nearly 10,000
people in the coastal town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi, about 360 km north of
Tokyo, have not been in contact by anyone, according to the prefectural
government.
Kan also said he has approved for Tokyo Electric Power Co. to implement
scheduled power cuts from Monday to cope with severe electricity shortages in
the wake of Friday's M 9.0 earthquake that country's hit north and eastern
regions and shut down nuclear plants. To avoid a massive blackout, power will
be in cut in a rotating order for a fixed time in Tokyo Electric Power's
service area centering on Tokyo.
The announcement came as the government battled a feared meltdown of two
reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, 240 km north of
Tokyo after they lost cooling functions following massive quake. The
government is struggling to control the overheating reactors.
On Saturday, an explosion at the plant blew away the roof and the upper
walls of the building housing one of its reactors. Although the explosion did
not damage the reactor's container and that only a small amount of radiation
was released, the incident prompted authorities to expand the evacuation area
to a 20-km radius from 10 km for residents living nearby the Fukushima plant.
Kan said a total of about 12,000 people have been rescued so far. Earlier
in the day, the premier instructed the Defense Minister to increase double the
number of Self-Defense Force personnel sent to quake-hit areas to 100,000.
About 310,000 people across regions spend Sunday night at emergency shelters.
Electric power supply is suspended to some 2.5 million households in quake-hit
areas, while at least 1.4 million households in the region are without water
as of Sunday night. (end)
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KUNA 131848 Mar 11NNNN