An aerial view taken from a helicopter from Japan's Self-Defence Force shows steam rising from the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex in this handout taken March 16, 2011 and released March 17, 2011. Handout, Reuters / Tokyo Electric Power

5 April 2011 (Asahi Shimbun) – The government on Sunday acknowledged for the first time that it would take several months before radioactive materials stopped leaking from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Goshi Hosono, special adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan for the Fukushima crisis, told reporters: “We cannot allow radiation to go on being emitted. Yet while we have to resolve that problem as quickly as possible, it will likely take several months to achieve that goal.” Hosono is coordinating cooperation efforts with the United States to deal with the plant. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano also said Sunday, “It will take months to cool (the reactors) and to implement measures to prevent (radiation) from spreading.” At a Friday news conference, Kan also said the government would have to be prepared for a protracted fight to resolve the issue. The setting of a general time frame likely means that the government wants to show it has a long-term commitment to the situation, rather than merely haphazardly fixing problems when they arise. …

Radiation fallout from Fukushima plant will take “months” to stop