Chief of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, arrived in Japan on
Friday to check the worsening nuclear crisis in Fukushima, as the death toll
of the March 11 powerful earthquake and ensuing tsunami rose in the country
amid a grave nuclear leak threat.

The photo released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. on March 16, 2011, shows No.3 reactor (L) and No.4 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The fire struck on early Wednesday at the building housing of the No.4 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

Amano said he would see
the situation himself and gather detailed information from the Japanese
authorities to learn how the IAEA could best help.

Amano was expected to
make a short stay in his home country before he returning to Vienna to discuss
Japan with the 35-nation IAEA board of governors.

Japan’s Nuclear and
Industrial Safety Agency said Friday that radiation has seen a steady decline
near the damaged Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant following water-dousing
measures taken Thursday.

According to
Measurements taken by the agency around 1.1 km west of the plant’s No.2
reactor, hourly radiation dose stood at 279.4 microsievert at 5 a.m. Friday,
down from 309 and 292 microsievert around the time when the Self-Defense
Forces (SDF) shot water at the reactor to cool down the overheating spent fuel
storage pool.

Agency officials said
that they will work to restore electricity for No.1 and No.2 reactors Friday,
and for No. 3, No.4 reactors Sunday, to chill down the malfunctioned reactors
and overheating storage pools.

The storage pools at the
power station lost their cooling function after the colossal quake and tsunami
hit northeastern and eastern Japan. It is also no longer possible to monitor
the water level and temperature of the pools of the four reactors.

On Thursday morning, two
SDF CH-47 helicopters dumped water in turn on the damaged No.3 reactor,
followed by five fire and rescue trucks equipped with high-pressure water
canons shooting around 30 tons of water at the reactor later in the day.

Japan Tuesday asked the
IAEA for assistance in monitoring the environment and assessing the impact of
radiation on human health, including sending IAEA specialists to Japan.

Amano noted on Wednesday
that the situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant was “very serious,”
adding that “it is not yet time to say that things are out of control.”

The National Police
Agency (NPA) said on Friday that the massive quake and tsunami had left 6,405
people dead and 10,259 others unaccounted for in Japan by 9:00 a.m. Friday
(0000 GMT).

Around 2,000 recovered
bodies were identified by 10 a.m. Thursday in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima
prefectures, of which 870 were returned to their families, while the number of
partially or completely destroyed buildings exceeded 75,000, the agency said.

Japan’s public
broadcaster NHK said that around 380,000 evacuees are now living in shelters
in eight prefectures, including the worst-hit Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate.

As a precaution, the
Japanese government has evacuated residents from areas within a 20-km radius
from the plant and advised those within a 30-km radius to stay indoors.

The radiation leak has
caused panic among Tokyo residents who rushed to empty the shelves of
supermarkets and convenience stores.