Japan declares nuclear no-go zone

The Japanese government has imposed a ban on entering an exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex.

The no-go zone extends 20-kilometres around the facility, and will be enforced from midnight on Friday (1500GMT on Thursday).

Residents fled the area after an evacuation was ordered on March 12, a day after a 9.0 earthquake and 15-metre tsunami critically damaged the plant's power and cooling systems.

Several of them have since returned for short trips to retrieve their belongings.

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reports from Tashiwazaki, Japan.