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Japan called on the world not to impose "unjustifiable" import curbs on its goods as French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to arrive on Thursday, the first leader to visit since an earthquake and tsunami damaged a nuclear plant, sparking the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
In a briefing to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Japan said it was monitoring radioactive contamination to prevent potential food safety risks and would provide the WTO with quick and precise information.
"In return, Japan asked members not to overreact," said a WTO official.
Several countries have banned milk and produce from the areas near the damaged Daiichi nuclear plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, due to contamination fears. Japan has itself stopped exports of vegetables and milk from near the plant, which is leaking radiation.
Radioactive iodine in the sea off the damaged plant has hit record levels. The state nuclear safety agency said the amounts were 3,355 times the legal limit and highly toxic plutonium has been detected in the soil at Daiichi.
As operators struggle to regain control of the damaged reactors three weeks after the quake and tsunami, smoke was reported to be coming from a second damaged nuclear plant nearby on Wednesday, with the authorities saying an electric distribution board powering a water pump was the problem.
The Daini plant several miles from the stricken Daiichi facility has been put into cold shutdown.
"This incident will not cause any effect of radiation externally," nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said in a statement.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who chairs the G20 and G8 blocs of nations, will meet Prime Minister Naoto Khan to express support for Japan's efforts to end its nuclear crisis and rebuild after the quake and tsunami, which have left 27,500 people dead or missing.
France has already flown in two experts from its state-owned nuclear reactor maker Areva and its CEA nuclear research body to assist TEPCO. The United States has agreed to send radiation-detecting robots to help explore the reactor cores and spent-fuel pools at the stricken nuclear plant.
DECADES TO SCRAP DAMAGED REACTORS
Japan has ordered an immediate safety upgrade at its 55 nuclear power plants, its first acknowledgement that standards were inadequate.
A Reuters investigation showed Japan and TEPCO repeatedly played down dangers at its nuclear plants and ignored warnings, including a 2007 tsunami study from the utility's senior safety engineer.
Nuclear plants will now be required by mid-April to deploy back-up mobile power generators and fire trucks able to pump water, while beefing up training programs and manuals.
In a briefing to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Japan said it was monitoring radioactive contamination to prevent potential food safety risks and would provide the WTO with quick and precise information.
"In return, Japan asked members not to overreact," said a WTO official.
Several countries have banned milk and produce from the areas near the damaged Daiichi nuclear plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, due to contamination fears. Japan has itself stopped exports of vegetables and milk from near the plant, which is leaking radiation.
Radioactive iodine in the sea off the damaged plant has hit record levels. The state nuclear safety agency said the amounts were 3,355 times the legal limit and highly toxic plutonium has been detected in the soil at Daiichi.
As operators struggle to regain control of the damaged reactors three weeks after the quake and tsunami, smoke was reported to be coming from a second damaged nuclear plant nearby on Wednesday, with the authorities saying an electric distribution board powering a water pump was the problem.
The Daini plant several miles from the stricken Daiichi facility has been put into cold shutdown.
"This incident will not cause any effect of radiation externally," nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said in a statement.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who chairs the G20 and G8 blocs of nations, will meet Prime Minister Naoto Khan to express support for Japan's efforts to end its nuclear crisis and rebuild after the quake and tsunami, which have left 27,500 people dead or missing.
France has already flown in two experts from its state-owned nuclear reactor maker Areva and its CEA nuclear research body to assist TEPCO. The United States has agreed to send radiation-detecting robots to help explore the reactor cores and spent-fuel pools at the stricken nuclear plant.
DECADES TO SCRAP DAMAGED REACTORS
Japan has ordered an immediate safety upgrade at its 55 nuclear power plants, its first acknowledgement that standards were inadequate.
A Reuters investigation showed Japan and TEPCO repeatedly played down dangers at its nuclear plants and ignored warnings, including a 2007 tsunami study from the utility's senior safety engineer.
Nuclear plants will now be required by mid-April to deploy back-up mobile power generators and fire trucks able to pump water, while beefing up training programs and manuals.
