Japan: UN to inspect quake-hit nuclear plant

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A team of UN nuclear inspectors arrived in Japan on Sunday to assess the condition of a nuclear power plant severely damaged in an earthquake last month, Japanese officials said. The July 11 magnitude-6.8 quake in Niigata prefecture (state) killed 11 people and injured more than 1,000. It also caused numerous malfunctions and leaks at the plant - the world's largest in terms of capacity - and raised concerns about safety at Japan's nuclear power stations. The International Atomic Energy Agency team, led by Philippe Jamet, Director of the Nuclear Installation Safety Division, plans to start examining the plant on Monday and will return to Tokyo on Friday for talks with Japanese nuclear safety officials, according to a statement by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The team will compile a report after the inspection.