Japan's government has clarified evacuation orders near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, while Japan's nuclear watchdog says the country may need another option to cool the reactors. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the evacuation time frame of one month set by the government is not based on immediate health threats.

Yukio Edano , Chief Cabinet Secretary, said, "I'm not necessarily saying that the location will be unsafe after one month from this particular date. We have decided on a specific plan and we will implement it as long as it is safe, and that is all there is to it."

The Japanese government announced on Monday that it will expand the evacuation areas around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant beyond the 20-kilometer radius, due to health risks from accumulative radiation, and asked residents to evacuate within one month.

This raised health concerns among the residents living near the plant as the government raised the crisis severity level from five to seven. Meanwhile, the Japanese nuclear watchdog announced that Japan may need an alternative plan to bring one of its stricken nuclear reactors under control. The slow progress in removing highly radioactive water has hampered work to repair critical cooling pumps.