Japan nuclear plants ordered to beef up readiness

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TOKYO, Apr 16 (AP): An earthquake jolted Japan Saturday hours after the country's nuclear safety agency ordered plant operators to beef up their earthquake preparedness systems to prevent a recurrence of the nuclear crisis roiling the region north of Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of damage from the magnitude-5.9 quake, and there was no risk of a tsunami similar to the one last month that crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing Japan's worst-ever nuclear plant disaster. Japan has been hit by a string of smaller quakes since the magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit the country on March 11. On Saturday, the government reported that levels of radioactivity in seawater near the plant had risen significantly in recent days. The level of radioactive iodine-131 spiked to 6,500 times the legal limit, according to samples taken Friday, up from 1,100 times the limit the day before. Levels of cesium-134 and cesium-137 rose nearly fourfold. The rise could have been caused by the installation Thursday of steel panels intended to contain the radiation which may have temporarily stirred up stagnant waste in the area, Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told reporters. However, the increase in iodine, which has a relatively short eight-day half life, could signal a possible new leak, he said. Meanwhile, the newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported, without citing its sources, that a secret plan to dismantle TEPCO was circulating within the government. The proposal calls for putting TEPCO, the world's largest private electricity company, under close government supervision before putting it into bankruptcy and thoroughly restructuring its assets. Most government offices were closed Saturday, and the report could not be immediately confirmed.