French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on Thursday for a reform of global nuclear standards by the end of the year during a first visit by a foreign leader to Japan since the earthquake and tsunami that triggered its atomic disaster.

G-20 chairman Sarkozy said France wants to host a meeting of the bloc

Japan ordered an immediate safety upgrade at its 55 nuclear power plants on Wednesday in its first acknowledgement that standards were inadequate when an earthquake and tsunami wrecked one of the facilities nearly three weeks ago.

Adding to the evidence of radiation leakages around the crippled nuclear complex, 240 km north of Tokyo, readings showed radioactive iodine in the sea off the plant a

Japan's government vowed Tuesday to overhaul nuclear safety standards once its radiation-leaking reactor complex is under control, admitting that its safeguards were insufficient to protect the plant against the March 11 tsunami.

The struggle to contain radiation at the complex has unfolded with near-constant missteps, including two workers drenched Tuesday with radioactive water despite wearin

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has set up a 10-member committee to examine if our 20 nuclear plants can withstand earthquakes and other external events such as tsunamis, cyclones, floods, etc. That includes checking if the arrangements are adequate to ensure safety in case of such events, both within and beyond the design.

The panel is chaired by AERB

New Delhi/ Tokyo: The Japanese government on Wednesday said this month