Japan: Embassies Reopen As Radiation Fears Ease
By KUNA
Foreign diplomatic corps that left Tokyo due to radiation fears have largely returned and resumed normal operations, with many countries having lifted or eased restrictions on remaining in Tokyo and its vicinity or visiting Japan, Kyodo News Agency reported Wednesday.
The biggest reason for the change appears to be the situation surrounding the quake-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which has recently shown signs of stabilization, the report said.
Only four embassies remained closed as of Wednesday — Angola, Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic and Kosovo, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Most of the countries that shut down their operations in Tokyo, including Germany and Switzerland which moved their embassy functions to Osaka in western Japan, had resumed operations in the capital by mid-April.
A total of 32 countries, mainly African and central American countries, temporarily closed their embassies or relocated their functions elsewhere in Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which crippled the six-reactor power plant, 230 km north of Tokyo.
Most of their ambassadors and embassy staff moved to other Japanese cities including Osaka, but they began returning to Tokyo after a peak in the exodus in late-March, the report said.
Travel bans issued by countries including Britain, Russia and the US have been lifted.
Meanwhile, the US has kept in force its advisory for nationals to evacuate from areas within roughly 80 km of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Though Britain has reduced the extent of its evacuation advisory zone, it is still advising nationals to evacuate from areas located roughly 60 km from the nuclear plant.
