TOKYO, April 23 (UPI) -- Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato says he will never allow Tokyo Electric Power Co. to resume operations at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Sato made his comments Friday in a meeting with TEPCO officials, including TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu, who indicated to reporters he would step down and take responsibility for the crisis at the appropriate time, Kyodo News reported Saturday.
The nuclear power plants were heavily damaged by the tsunami that followed the 9-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan March 11. The quake and resulting tsunami left more than 13,000 people dead, and many remain missing.
The Japan Times said Prime Minister Naoto Kan ordered residents of some areas around the crippled No. 1 nuclear plant to evacuate by the end of May. He said cumulative radiation levels might pose a health risk to residents.
"A resumption of plant operations must be impossible," Sato told Shimizu, who apologized for the emergency during their meeting at the Fukushima prefecture government office.
Kan's announcement came a day after the government declared areas near the plant a legally binding no-go zone. Unauthorized entry is subject to fines up to $860 or possible detention of up to 30 days under a special nuclear emergency law.
