nuclear power plant has been opened to reporters

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been opened to reporters for the first time since the accident occurred 8 months ago.On Saturday, 36 reporters and cameramen from Tokyo and Fukushima and from other countries put on protective gear and full face masks, and accompanied nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono to the site of the accident.They stayed on a bus during the one-hour tour that started around 11 AM to minimize exposure to radiation.The crew saw reactor buildings that were severely damaged by hydrogen explosions and vehicles hit by the tsunami that remain on the site.A facility to clean contaminated water and a number of tanks to store cleansed water have been set up, and rubble has been removed from roads.However, the reporters could finally see first-hand the intensity of the explosions and the overwhelming power of the tsunami.The head of the plant, Masao Yoshida, told the reporters that he had thought he would die several times during the week that followed the accident.He said he had thought he would not survive when the No.1 and No.3 reactors exploded, and when his team was unable to inject water into the No.2 reactor.