Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to accept assistance from the United States and France after failing to make significant inroads in resolving the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to accept assistance from the United States and France after failing to make significant inroads in resolving the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Both the United States and France apparently fear that nuclear power generation could suffer a significant setback if the crisis, now entering its fourth week, continues.
The United States has 104 nuclear reactors, the most in the world, followed by France with 59 and Japan with 54.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy flew into Tokyo on Thursday to discuss with Kan how France can help Japan bring the hobbled plant under control.
"I came to Japan to convey a sense of solidarity," Sarkozy told a joint news conference with Kan after the summit. "I believe Japan can definitely overcome this."
The president stressed France's stand on promoting nuclear power has not changed, despite the crisis.
Nuclear power generation is a core industry in France, supplying about 80 percent of the country's electricity.
France is apparently worried that the accident in Japan could fuel skepticism about nuclear power generation across the world, affecting its own nuclear power policy.
The country has offered dosimeters and protective clothes as well as nuclear experts to help Japan contain the crisis.
A senior official with the Japanese Foreign Ministry said, "France and Japan will very likely deepen their cooperation regarding the nuclear plant."
The United States is now the primary support for the Kan administration's battle to make the plant safe. However, this was not the case before, according to sources.
The United States had signaled its willingness to extend a helping hand to Japan in the early stages of the crisis. But when the U.S. governmental Nuclear Regulatory Commission arrived in Tokyo and asked for data on the reactors, only a few representatives from Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant, came forward to work with them, according to the sources.
The Japanese government established an official bilateral consultation framework on March 22 after it realized leaving TEPCO officials to deal with the U.S. team by themselves was a poor approach.
At a gathering also attended by the industry ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, NRC staff were outraged when TEPCO officials refused to disclose data on the status of reactors, the sources said.
TEPCO officials were quoted as saying that the gathering was intended only to exchange information.
The U.S. side has provided many kinds of assistance, including robots, expertise on shielding and remote control.