Japan Institutes No-Entry Zone

BBC News reports:

Japan has made it illegal to enter a 20km (12-mile) evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactor.

People were urged to leave the area shortly after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami crippled the plant, but the order was not enforced by law.

Cooling systems were knocked out by the twin disasters and radiation has been leaking from the plant.

Brief re-entry will be allowed to the area's 80,000 former residents to collect belongings.

It is not clear how many people are still living in the evacuation zone, but reports said police had counted at least 60 families.

After the disaster the government also declared a wider 10km zone around the 20km evacuation area where people should either stay indoors or leave.

It later recommended that people also evacuate parts of that area as well.

"The plant has not been stable," said the chief government spokesman, Yukio Edano.

"We have been asking residents not to enter the area as there is a huge risk to their safety," he said. "Unfortunately, there are still some people in the areas."

"Today... we have decided to designate the area an emergency area based on disaster law."

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