Tokyo, Nuclear Power Plant | featured news

Japan's prime minister ordered workers to remain at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear plant last March as fears mounted of a "devil's chain reaction" that would force tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo, a new investigative report shows.

Japan said Thursday it would ban anyone entering the 20-km (12-mile) evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant north of Tokyo, weeks after the tsunami-wrecked facility began leaking radiation.

The loss of two nuclear power plants means the Tokyo region will face the summer peak demand with a loss of about 20% of capacity, the plant's owner said Thursday.

Parents in Tokyo have been told that the city's tap water is not safe for babies to drink after radiation from Japan's earthquake-hit nuclear plant affected the capital's water supply.