The government says an outside power source is unlikely to be available at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for some time, although electricity is urgently needed to cool the reactors.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said on Friday that the installation of power cables at the Number One and Number 2 reactors is expected to be completed on Saturday. The operation to add power cables at the Number 3 and Number 4 reactors is likely to end on Sunday.
The agency said, however, that it will take some time to confirm the safety of the damaged facilities.
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company have been scrambling to restore power at the plant to restart the cooling systems for the reactors.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/18_36.htmlTOKYO, March 18, Kyodo
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday that Japan's nuclear crisis still does not warrant optimism, but he believes the problems at the Fukushima Daiichi power station following last week's calamitous earthquake and tsunami will be resolved soon.
In a nationally televised address a week after the magnitude 9.0 quake, Kan thanked the public for acting calmly, despite the unprecedented scale of the twin natural disasters and great concern over the crippled nuclear plant.
http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/03/79442.html