Tokyo signals nuclear plant to be scrapped

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) - Japan's top government spokesman on Sunday signaled that the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant at the center of an ongoing crisis following a series of explosions would be scrapped.

The reactor cooling systems at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, located 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo, were crippled by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan's northeast coast on March 11.

A series of explosions and fires followed. Crews and emergency personnel have since worked around the clock to try to bring the temperatures down to avert a potentially catastrophic meltdown.

"As the government has (nuclear energy) authorities, it's difficult for me to say anything definite before following the appropriate procedures," the spokesman, Yukio Edano, told reporters.

"Looking at the plant from an objective point of view, I think it's clear in a way if the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) plant is in a state of being able to function or not," he said.

"I hope you can get it from the way I said it."