Japanese PM Says Fukushima Conditions “Still Perilous"

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday that conditions at the Fukushima nuclear plant are “still very precarious.”

“We are working hard to make sure it does not get any worse,” Kan said during a press conference. “We are vigilant and we do not assume that things have come down.”

Added the Prime Minister, “I believe that this situation will go on for some time.”

The remarks coincide with reports that there was a breach in one of Fukushima’s reactor cores, a development that indicates significant radiation concerns. Japanese residents living within approximately twenty miles of the facility have been advised to evacuate, an upgrade from the government’s previous request to stay indoors.

The U.S. has advised Americans residing within 50 miles of the plant to leave and have authorized the voluntary departure for families of U.S. civilian and military personnel within the region.

The facility, located in northeast Japan, was hit hard by the tsunami that followed the country’s 9.0 magnitude quake earlier this month.