The incident was all the more shocking as Japan has strict standards. The world's second-largest economy endures 20 percent of the world's major earthquakes, and relies on nuclear energy due to a lack of natural resources.

Monday's 6.8 Richter-scale earthquake killed nine people and injured more than 1,000 more, making it the deadliest to strike Japan in nearly three years.

Some 12 hours after the initial jolt, the operator of the massive Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant said a small amount of radioactive water had leaked from the facility but that there was no risk.

The scare grew Tuesday as local authorities said containers used to hold radioactivity-contaminated clothing had become unsealed inside the plant.

While scientists dismissed fears of a Japanese Chernobyl, residents are clearly concerned.

Kashiwazaki residents as well as millions of television viewers were stunned when black smoke began pouring from the nuclear plant, located only nine kilometres (five miles) from the epicentre.

"The scariest thing is if there was a serious accident at the nuclear power plant," said Takumi Nakata, 38, a high school teacher who spent the night at a shelter.

"I hope what they're saying is true and that this accident was not problematic," he said.

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper called the leak a "great shock."

"What made us shudder was that a nuclear plant was hit by a bigger-than-expected earthquake," it said in an editorial.

Japan, which has virtually no oil or natural gas resources, relies more on nuclear energy than any Group of Eight industrial nation except France.

But plans for new plants frequently meet public opposition in Japan, which is particularly sensitive about nuclear leaks as it is the sole country to have suffered atomic attack.

Japan's nuclear reactors provide 35 percent of the nation's power and the government aims to boost the figure to 40 percent by 2010.

Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc., the world's biggest private power company, said the Kashiwazaki plant was to provide more than 11 percent of the 61.1 million kilowatts it needs this summer.

Japan last year revised 25-year-old anti-quake guidelines, which required nuclear power plants to be resistant at least to a quake of 6.5 on the Richter scale.

The new rules allow companies to set their own guidelines which are then subject to approval by the government.

The acceleration of the tremors in the latest quake was 2.5 times greater than the Tokyo Electric plant was built to withstand.

Industry Minister Akira Amari summoned Tokyo Electric's chief and gave him a verbal warning over the fire.

Amari also said the government would speed up ongoing studies to confirm that plants are "resistant to the various strengths and various scenarios of earthquakes."

But atomic power experts remained calm.

Nuclear power plants "are basically safe, as Japan has probably the strictest anti-quake standards in the world," said Koji Okamoto, a professor of atomic engineering at the University of Tokyo.

Okamoto warned against an obsession with foolproof safety, saying this was not the deadly leak in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl in 1986 which affected millions of people.

"If you pursue safety blindly, it would be like a heavy-set airplane with a huge engine that cannot fly," he said.

earlier related report
Japanese Nuclear Reactor Suffered Serious Damage In Quake
Tokyo (RIA Novosti) Jul 18 - Japan's largest nuclear power plant suffered significant damage in Monday's earthquake, the plant's operator said Tuesday. After initially reporting that the quake - which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale and killed at least nine in the coastal Niigata area of central Japan - had not seriously damaged the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) eventually admitted that multiple radioactive leaks had occurred.

TEPCO reported late Monday that about 1,200 liters of radioactive water had escaped from a reactor building. And on Tuesday it acknowledged that a damaged exhaust stack had accidentally discharged cobalt-60 and chromium-51, while barrels containing low-level radioactive waste had tipped over.

In all, the company said the plant suffered damage at 50 separate points, raising general questions regarding the safety of nuclear power plants in the earthquake-prone nation, and prompting a government order forbidding the plant from restarting until appropriate checks had been conducted.

Although the plant's emergency system automatically shut down the four power units operating when the temblor hit, a fire that ignited a short time later in the plant's third unit was not contained for three hours, with firefighters reporting inadequate water pressure to effectively combat the blaze.

Japanese experts and officials quickly raised concerns as news of the leak spread, because while it was discovered at around noon Monday, it took until about 6:00 p.m. for the company to confirm the water was radioactive.

The government was not informed until an hour later, and the public did not learn of the incident until nearly 10:00 p.m.

Japan's nuclear safety record is not entirely enviable, especially considering its heavy reliance on atomic energy to power its economy. The country has 55 working reactors, but most were built to laxer specifications, and are able to withstand earthquakes measuring just 6.5 on the Richter scale.

Coincidentally, a review had been launched last September with the aim of raising that standard to 6.9, but Monday's quake has already led some experts to demand the government set even stricter requirements.

Despite plans to rely on nuclear power for up to 40% of its energy needs by 2010, Japan's nuclear industry has been plagued by accidents and scandals involving safety cover-ups.

In 2004, a ruptured steam pipe at the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant in western Japan killed five workers and injured six, and in 1999 an accident at a reprocessing plant killed two and exposed hundreds to radioactive contamination.

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