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Japan says Obama offers support

US President Barack Obama has offered to give Japan any support that it needs as it grapples with a nuclear crisisi, Japanese government said.

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Source: AFP


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US President Barack Obama has offered to give Japan any support that it needs as it grapples with a nuclear crisis following a quake and tsunami, Japanese government spokesman Yukio Edano said.

Obama made the offer in a telephone call with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Edano told reporters.

"President Obama informed Prime Minister Kan that the United States was ready to provide further assistance including dispatching more nuclear experts and for mid- and long-term reconstruction efforts," Edano said.

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The White House said in a statement that Obama "promised that the United States will always stand by Japan, our close friend and ally".

Obama "expressed his extraordinary admiration for the character and resolve of the Japanese people, and his confidence that Japan will make a full recovery from this disaster," the White House said.

US Ambassador to Japan John Roos said Wednesday that 34 nuclear experts had already arrived in the country carrying equipment to monitor radiation levels near the Fukushima No.1 plant, 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

The experts are set to monitor the fluctuating levels from ground and air.

They join seven experts from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, two engineers and health hazards experts from the US Energy Department already in Japan in the wake of Friday's massive quake and tsunami.


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