日本首相：核電站形勢依然嚴峻
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says the situation at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant remains precarious, with new reports saying the reactor core of one of the units may have been damaged after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
In a nationally televised speech Friday, Mr. Kan said the country must remain vigilant as the prospect of an increased radiation leak grows by the day. The prime minister thanked the emergency workers he said are "risking their lives" in the effort to cool the nuclear plant.
Earlier Friday, an official with Japan's nuclear regulatory agency told reporters about the possible damage to the reactor core, which is located in Fukushima's number three unit. The unit was damaged by a hydrogen explosion three days after the twin disasters, and the new report raises the likelihood of greater radiation contamination to the area.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano urged residents still living within a 20 to 30 kilometer radius of Fukushima to voluntarily leave the area.
日本首相菅直人說，受損的福島核電站的狀況仍然危險。新的報告說，一個反應堆的堆芯可能在3月11號的地震及海嘯後受損。
菅直人星期五在一次全國性的電視講話中說，日本必須對輻射泄漏日益增加的前景保持警覺。菅直人對緊急應對人員表示感謝，他說，他們“冒着生命危險”努力冷卻核電站。
星期五早些時候，日本原子能保安院的一名官員對記者披露了福島核電站3號反應堆的堆芯可能受到的損壞的消息。這個反應堆在地震和海嘯雙重災難三天後因氫爆炸而受損。新的報告提升了這一地區受到更多輻射污染的可能性。
日本官房長官枝野幸男敦促仍住在距離福島核電站20到30公里內的居民自願撤離這一地區。
