Ishiba to Visit Fukushima N-Plant on Sat.

Tokyo, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday he will visit Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima on Saturday.

It will be the first time for Ishiba to visit the meltdown-hit plant since he took office in October.

Speaking at the day's meeting of the House of Councillors Budget Committee, Ishiba expressed concerns about harmful rumors related to the March 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 plant and said, "I would like to make a careful tour (of the prefecture)."

He also indicated his intention to visit the so-called difficult-to-return zone set up due to strong radiation from the nuclear accident, as well as an interim storage facility for temporarily storing soil created by decontamination work.

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