New Aftershock Strikes Japan As Evacuation Zone Widens

Japan on Monday widened the evacuation zone around a stricken nuclear plant exactly a month after the crisis unfolded and as another 7.1 magnitude quake and tsunami alert strained nerves anew.

The latest aftershock caused buildings to sway in the capital Tokyo, shortly after the nation had observed a minute's silence to remember the 13,000 people killed in the March 11 disaster and the 15,000 who officially remain missing.

Another tremor of 7.1 on April 7 -- just one of thousands of aftershocks to hit the traumatized country -- killed at least two people and cut electricity across a huge area of northern Japan.

Workers battling to contain the crisis at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant were evacuated after the latest quake Monday, which briefly knocked out power to crippled reactors before electricity was restored.

People across the country had paused at 2:46 pm, the moment Japan's biggest ever recorded earthquake struck, setting off a chain of events that has left workers scrambling to tame runaway atomic reactors at the Fukushima plant.

It was the worst tragedy to envelop the country since World War II.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan promised Sunday he would "never abandon" tsunami survivors as he tried to focus attention on the future, despite the continuing high-stakes battle at the nuclear plant.

Kan, on only his second trip to the disaster zone in the month since the tragedy, said the government would "work as fast as possible" to house the more than 150,000 people still living in emergency shelters.

Underlining the threat of long-term health damage from radiation, the government on Monday said it was to widen the evacuation area around the atomic plant to include some towns outside the current 12-mile (20-km) exclusion zone.

Those areas were liable to receive potentially hazardous radiation levels of 20 millisieverts per year, top government spokesman Yukio Edano said, while stressing there was no deterioration at the Fukushima plant.

Engineers at Fukushima who last week sealed a leak spewing highly contaminated water into the sea have begun installing a "silt curtain" to try to prevent radioactive mud from spreading around the ocean.

But at the same time, plant operator TEPCO is deliberately dumping more than 10,000 tonnes of mildly radioactive water into the ocean to free up urgently needed storage space for highly toxic liquid.

Despite the on-going crisis, proposals are emerging to lift the shadow cast by Japan's disasters.

Tokyo's nationalistic governor, who was re-elected Sunday, said the vast city would bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics as part of efforts to boost recovery.

Shintaro Ishihara said Tokyo -- which lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the race to host the 2016 Olympics -- "can start raising our hand now" for the games.

Prime minister Naoto Kan on Monday placed signed adverts in some of the world's leading papers thanking people around the globe for their support in the month since a huge tsunami barreled into Japan.

The three-quarter page advert, entitled "Thank you for the Kizuna (bonds of friendship)" ran in international papers including the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and the International Herald Tribune.

"One month has passed since an earthquake of unprecedented scale struck Japan, taking thousands of precious lives," the advert said. "In the tsunami-devastated regions there was no food, no water, no electricity and the survivors had no communications. At that desperate time people from around the world rallied to our side bringing hope and inspiring courage.

"We deeply appreciate the Kizuna our friends around the world have shown and I want to thank every nation, entity and you personally from the bottom of my heart."

Countries including the US, Australia, Mexico, China and many European nations sent teams to help in the aftermath of the 9.0 magnitude quake and the huge tsunami it generated.

Many other nations sent donations or promised financial support to help the world's third largest economy recover. Support came from unusual places, with even poverty-stricken Afghanistan pledging $1 million to help in the rebuilding of one of its major donors.

In addition to national donations many charities have been involved in the relief effort and individuals have pledged cash to help people on Japan's northeast coast, where the towering tsunami crushed whole towns.

Action hero Jackie Chan and other Asian stars staged a charity concert in Hong Kong, raising more than $3 million.