Japanese govt. shrinks Fukushima maritime no-entry zone

The Japanese government will shrink the no-entry zone in the sea around the defunct Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It says the radiation levels are low enough. The government’s nuclear disaster task force decided at Tuesday’s meeting on a decrease of the restricted zone from the current 20-kilometer radius to 5 kilometers, according to (NHK World) website. The government has been reviewing the maritime entry regulations into the zone at the request of the fishing industry in the disaster-hit northeastern region. The fishing industry says they have to take longer routes to bring boats and other goods from southern areas of the country. The longer routes cost extra money and take more time. The task force says radiation levels are sufficiently low in the sea compared to land, where a large part of the 20-kilometer radius around the defunct nuclear plant is still off limits.