Japan to evacuate pregnant women, children at risk of high radiation levels outside of evacuation zone

"Japan plans to ask pregnant women and children to move away from radiation 'hotspots' that were found far away from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the government said on Thursday, reflecting new anxieties about the spread of radioactivity," Reuters reports.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told journalists that the government will recommend evacuation on a household basis in areas up to 50 kilometers from the damaged Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant where residents could be exposed to radiation of more than 20 millisieverts annually, the news agency notes. "He also said that those wanting to evacuate, including adults and those who were not pregnant, would receive firm government support," Reuters writes. The government already enforces a 12-mile radius evacuation zone surrounding the power plant, which was damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in March (6/16).