Japanese workers on Tuesday began pumping highly radioactive water from one of the badly damaged reactor buildings at the Fukushima nuclear plant, beginning an essential first step before the plant's vital cooling systems can be repaired.
Tokyo Electric Power Company officials said 10,000 tons of water will be removed from the plant's number two reactor building over the next three to four weeks. An estimated 25,000 tons of radioactive water have accumulated in the basement of the plant's turbine building and an adjacent tunnel, making it impossible for technicians to proceed with repairs.
Similar amounts of water have collected at the number one and three reactors. Japan's nuclear safety agency confirmed for the first time Monday that fuel rods have melted down at all three units, though it could not say to what extent.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a press conference Tuesday morning that a total meltdown is not likely as long as temperatures continue to come down at the reactors.
Edano also appealed for Japanese to be more accepting of the tens of thousands of people who have been evacuated from areas around the plant. He said there are reports that a city in Ibaragi prefecture is asking the evacuees to submit to radiation tests, and noted that exposure to radiation is not infectious.
On a positive note, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that seafood sales at the main fish market in Tokyo have rebounded in spite of concerns that radiation from the Fukushima plant is leaking into the ocean. It said sales last week reached 746 tons, up from 448 tons three weeks ago.
The latest figures are comparable to levels in the week before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that knocked out the plant's cooling systems.
Kyodo also reported that eight schools reopened Tuesday in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, where whole towns and villages were washed away by the March 11 tsunami. It said many other schools are expected to reopen later this week.
In Tokyo, press reports said the government is considering a temporary three percentage-point increase in the national sales tax to help fund reconstruction efforts. That would bring the tax to eight percent.
Officials have said the total cost of the disaster could run as high as $300 billion.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.