TOKYO (Reuters) - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake struck northeast Japan on Friday and set off a tsunami.
- Japan PM Kan says radioactive levels significantly higher around the quake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, hit by new blasts on Tuesday. The risk of a nuclear leakage was rising at the power plant on the northeast coast, Kan says.
- People within a 30 km radius of the facility urged to stay indoors.
- Low-level radioactive wind from the nuclear reactor could reach Tokyo by evening, based on current winds, the French embassy says. Winds over the plant blowing slowly in southwesterly direction that includes Tokyo,but will shift westerly, a Japanese weather official says.
- Minute amount of radiation detected in Tokyo, Kyodo says quoting Tokyo government. Radiation levels were up to 9 times normal level briefly in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo, the agency says.
- Air China cancels flights from Beijing and Shanghai to Tokyo. - Nuclear plant operator says explosion at the No.4 reactor followed by fire. Calls Japan's self defence force and the U.S. military to put out the fire.
- China nuclear safety agency says closely watching Japan
crisis and strengthening radiation checks. Thailand says randomly test food imports from Japan.
- Death toll expected to exceed 10,000 from the quake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK says. About 2,000 bodies found on two shores of Miyagi prefecture, Kyodo news agency reports.
- Japan's benchmark Nikkei average plunges 14 percent after a drop of 7.6 percent the previous day as concern about the economic impact mounted.
- Earlier on Monday, a hydrogen explosion jolted the No. 3 reactor of the stricken nuclear power plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said 11 people were injured.
- Before the blast, officials said 22 people had suffered radiation contamination. Up to 190 may have been exposed.
- Nuclear safety agency rates the incident a 4 on the 1 to 7 International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, less serious than Three Mile Island, a 5, and Chernobyl at 7.
- Germany's ruling coalition is discussing suspending for three months its decision last year to extend the life of Germany's nuclear power plants, a coalition source says.
- Authorities have set up a 20-km (12-mile) exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant and a 10-km (6 mile) zone around Fukushima Daini.
- USGS raises the magnitude of the earthquake to 9.0 from 8.9. Strong aftershocks persist in the stricken area.
- About 450,000 people evacuated nationwide in addition to 80,000 from the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plants. Almost 2 million households are without power in the freezing north and about 1.4 million households have no running water.
- Reactor operator says rolling blackout to affect 3 million customers, including large factories, buildings and households. Blackouts affected 113,000 households on Monday, it says.
- Japan Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano says it is important to keep the Tokyo markets open and closing the market would have a big international impact.
- The Bank of Japan (BoJ) offers to pump a record $85 billion into the banking system.
- Credit Suisse estimates the loss at between 14 trillion yen ($171 billion) and 15 trillion yen just to the quake region.
(Tokyo bureau; World Desk Asia, Singapore)
