(CNN) -- Japan's government and the owner of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are reviewing efforts to wind down a two-month crisis that has prompted the country to re-evaluate its plans for nuclear energy.
The Japanese government plans to rethink its plans for nuclear energy "from scratch" as a result of the disaster, Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said.
"Under the basic plan for energy in 2030, the proportion of nuclear energy and total electricity supply would be 50% for nuclear energy and 20% renewable energy," Kan told reporters Tuesday. "But with the occurrence of a major nuclear disaster, the basic plan for energy is going to have to be reviewed thoroughly, from scratch".
Alternative sources of energy like biomass, wind and solar "should be regarded as one of the major pillars" in a new plan, Kan said, and conservation efforts will be ramped up.
Work continues at the site as thousands of people who lived nearby await word regarding planned evacuations.
Plant workers are making step-by-step progress toward restoring normal cooling, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. On Wednesday, the company said, a new radiation leak was discovered outside Reactor 3. Surface radiation was detected as high as 1.5 msv per hour, the company said, but it cannot confirm if the radioactive water is leaking into the sea. CNN
