Japan declares Fukushima nuclear power plant stable

The crippled nuclear reactors at Japan's Fukushima power plant have finally been stabilised, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced Friday, accoding to BBC News.

Noda's declaration of a "cold shutdown" condition marked the stabilisation of the plant. The government says it will take decades to dismantle it completely.

An earthquake and tsunami in March knocked out vital cooling systems, triggering radiation leaks and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. Blasts occurred at four of the reactors after the cooling systems went offline.

Workers at the plant, which is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), have been using sea water to cool the reactors. Waste water has built up and some contaminated liquid has been released into the sea.

A 20km (12m) exclusion zone remains in place around the plant.

"The nuclear reactors have reached a state of cold shutdown and therefore we can now confirm that we have come to the end of the accident phase of the actual reactors," Noda told a news conference.

"We are now moving from trying to stabilise the nuclear reactors to decommissioning them.

"The Japanese government promises to clarify the roadmap from here and do our utmost, while ensuring we operate the nuclear reactors as safely as possible, to decommission them."

The "battle is not over", he said, adding that the next phase would focus on the clean-up operation, including decontaminating the ground around the plant.

With the reactors stable, Noda said the government would review the evacuation zones established in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

Earlier this year, the government said it was aiming for a cold shutdown by the end of the year.

More than 80,000 people had to leave the area, but radiation levels in some places remain too high for them to return home.

Earlier this week, the government said it could take up to 40 years to fully decommission the plant and clean up surrounding areas.