Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis deepens

Japan's nuclear crisis escalated to its worst level in two years on Wednesday, with its nuclear watchdog saying it feared more tanks were leaking contaminated water and China expressing its shock over the disaster, reports Reuters/Alertnet.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) has been criticised for its failure to prepare for the disaster and been accused of covering up the extent of the problems at the plant.

"The government will make every effort to halt the leak of contaminated water as soon as possible", Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular news conference on Wednesday.