Koriyama:
Radiation continued to leak on Tuesday from a crippled nuclear plant in tsunami-ravaged northeastern Japan after a third reactor was rocked by an explosion early on Tuesday and a fourth caught fire in a dramatic escalation of the 4-day-old catastrophe.
Evacuees from areas around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant took refuge in the nearby city of Koriyama, where they were tested for radiation exposure, and bedded down in a huge convention hall given over for their use.
In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation had spread from four reactors of the plant, one of the hardest-hit in Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that has killed more than 10,000 people.
The government warned anyone nearby to stay indoors to avoid exposure.
Kan warned there are dangers of more leaks and told people living within 30 kilometers of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex to stay indoors to avoid radiation sickness.
Some 70,000 people had already been evacuated from a 12-mile (20-kilometre) radius and 140,000 remain in the zone for which the new warning was issued.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said in a statement, "It is true that irradiated materials which are not of a level that can cause harm to humans have been emitted but they are moving within limits, so there is no need for unreasonable worry and I think people should respond calmly."