U.N. nuclear inspectors to check quake-hit Japanese power station

An inspection team of the International Atomic Energy Agency is planning to make a five-day visit from Monday to check a Japanese nuclear power station that was hit hard by an earthquake last month, government sources said Thursday. The team is expected to comprise two anti-quake measures specialists from the Vienna-based organization's Nuclear Safety and Security Department and three experts from the United States and Europe, the sources said.


The team is expected to produce a report on its findings on Tokyo Electric Power Co's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, which reported minor radiation leaks after the magnitude 6.8 quake. According to the agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog proposed to Japan on July 19 that it participate in Japanese investigations with a view to sharing information, although it is aware that Japan is capable of conducting investigations on its own.