Radiation 1,000 times above normal was detected in the control room of one plant, although authorities said levels outside the facility's gates were only eight times above normal, spelling "no immediate health hazard".

The two nuclear plants affected are the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants, both located about 250 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of greater Tokyo, an urban area of 30 million people.

A total of 45,000 people living within a 10-kilometre (six-mile) radius of the No. 1 plant were told to evacuate -- raising the number from the fewer than 6,000 people within three kilometres told to leave Friday.

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan early on Saturday morning left on a helicopter ride to Fukushima to assess the situation at the plants operated by Tokyo Electric Power, and at other areas in the disaster zone.

When Friday's massive quake hit, the plants immediately shut down, along with others in quake-hit parts of Japan, as they are designed to do -- but the No. 1 plant's cooling system failed, the government said.

When reactors shut down, cooling systems must kick in to bring down the very high temperatures. These systems are powered by either the external electricity grid, backup generators or batteries.

This is key to prevent a "nuclear meltdown" and radioactive release.

When Japan on Friday received news of troubles at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, it dispatched around 160 military personnel there, sending its chemical corps and an aircraft on a "fact-finding mission".

The US Air Force, which has many bases in Japan, delivered coolant to a Japanese nuclear plant, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday, without specifying which plant.

Japan's nuclear safety agency early Saturday said it was due to issue an unprecedented order for Tokyo Electric Power to open a valve at the No. 1 plant to release pressure, which may emit radioactive vapour, Kyodo News reported.

On Saturday morning, Tokyo Electric Power said that its No. 2 plant was also experiencing reactor cooling problems, Kyodo News reported.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Japanese officials had kept it informed of their efforts to restore power to the cooling systems while monitoring a pressure build-up.

Kan had at first, on Friday afternoon, said no radiation leaks were detected among the country's reactors after the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck triggering huge tsunamis.

According to the industry ministry, 11 nuclear reactors automatically shut down at the Onagawa plant, the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants and the Tokai No. 2 plant after the strongest earthquake ever to hit the country.

Japan -- located on the "Pacific Ring of Fire," where several continental plates meet and create a string of volcanoes and seismic hot spots -- records 20 percent of the world's major earthquakes.

As an industrial powerhouse nation poor in energy resources, Japan also draws about 30 percent of its total power from its 53 nuclear plants.

earlier related report
High radiation in Japan nuclear plant, 'no health hazard'
Tokyo (AFP) March 12, 2011 - A Japanese nuclear safety panel said Saturday radiation levels were 1,000 times above normal in an atomic plant's reactor control room after a huge quake damaged the cooling system.

Public broadcaster NHK, quoting the safety officials, said there was "no immediate health hazard" to nearby residents from a possible minute leakage, and people were urged to evacuate the area calmly.

A total of 45,000 people living within a 10-kilometre (six-mile) radius were told to evacuate -- raising the number from the nearly 6,000 people living within three kilometres who were told to leave Friday.

The elevated reading was taken in the control room of the No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, said the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Kyodo News said the discovery suggested radioactive steam could spread around the Tokyo Electric Power facility, about 250 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of greater Tokyo, an urban area of 30 million people.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan stressed early Saturday that residents living within 10 kilometres of the plant must evacuate, before stepping onto a helicopter to head for the area for a personal inspection tour.

His government had on Friday declared an atomic emergency and told thousands of residents living within a smaller radius of three kilometres, to evacuate, warning a small amount of radiation could be released.

Trade minister Banri Kaieda had said authorities were nearing a decision to release radioactive steam from the reactor in a bid to ease a pressure build-up after its cooling system was damaged by the massive earthquake.

"Pressure has risen in the container of the reactor and we are trying to deal with it," a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power told AFP.

Kan had at first said no radiation leaks were detected among the country's reactors after the massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck triggering huge tsunamis.

The Fukushima nuclear plant shut down immediately after the country's worst quake on record -- as Japan's atomic facilities are designed to do -- but the reactor's cooling system failed, the government said.

The US Air Force delivered coolant to a Japanese nuclear plant, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday, without specifying which plant.

Japan on Friday had dispatched around 160 military personnel there, sending its chemical corps and an aircraft on a "fact finding mission".

Japanese authorities had told the UN atomic watchdog there had been no release of radiation from a number of nuclear power plants affected by the tremor, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday.

Earlier, the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre had said that the four nuclear power plants closest to the quake which occurred near the east coast of Honshu, Japan, had been "safely shut down".

According to the industry ministry, 11 nuclear reactors automatically shut down at the Onagawa plant, the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants and the Tokai No. 2 plant after the strongest earthquake.

A fire that broke out in the turbine building of Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi Prefecture had been extinguished, the government said. Operator Tohoku Electric Power said there were no indications of a radioactive leak.

Japan -- located on the "Pacific Ring of Fire," where several continental plates meet and create a string of volcanoes and seismic hot spots -- records 20 percent of the world's major earthquakes.

As an industrial powerhouse nation poor in energy resources, Japan also draws about 30 percent of its total power from its 53 nuclear plants.

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