InsideJapan News Network

Japan's prime minister Naoto Kan has said that he will be taking a 66 per cent pay cut from next month until the country's nuclear crisis has been fully resolved.

Mr Kan made the announcement today (May 11th) as around 100 villagers returned briefly to the no-man's land surrounding the Fukushima nuclear plant where their homes once stood, AFP reported.

Exactly two months to the day after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and consequent tsunami crippled the power plant, the prime minister pledged to maintain his investment in nuclear energy, with a renewed emphasis on safety.

As well as admitting some of the responsibility for the nuclear leak, he said: "I have decided to give up my annual allowance as prime minister from June, until we can see the prospect of a solution to the nuclear accident."

Mr Kan will no longer be paid his monthly wage of 1.6 million yen (£12,000) for his role as the country's leader, but he will retain his basic lawmaker's salary of 800,000 yen a month.

Written by Susan Ballion