Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
12 November 2011

An official from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), wearing a protective suit and mask, uses a plastic covered megaphone to speak to fellow TEPCO workers and journalists as they drive towards the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in Okuma, Japan, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Conditions at Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, devastated by a tsunami in March, were slowly improving to the point where a "cold shutdown" would be possible as planned, officials said on Saturday during a tour of the facility. The nuclear reactor buildings were still surrounded by crumpled trucks, twisted metal fences, and large, dented water tanks. Smaller office buildings around the reactors were left as they were abandoned on March 11, when the tsunami hit. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

Japanese police man a checkpoint near the edge of the contaminated exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station near Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, Japan Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

A deserted street inside the contaminated exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from bus windows in Fukushima prefecture, November 12, 2011.

A deserted field and buildings inside the contaminated exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station are seen through a bus window near Okuma, Japan Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

An official from the Tokyo Electric Power Co., right, and an unidentified man, both wearing protective suits and masks ride on a bus as they pass by the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station, seen through the window, in Okuma, Japan, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

Officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Japanese journalists look at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station from bus windows in Okuma, Japan Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Media allowed into Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant for the first time Saturday saw a striking scene of devastation: twisted and overturned vehicles, crumbling reactor buildings and piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck more than eight months ago. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

A view of Tokyo Electric Power Co's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture November 12, 2011. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant's No.4, No.3, No.2 and No.1 (R-L) reactor buildings are seen from bus windows in Fukushima prefecture November 12, 2011. Reuters

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from bus windows in Fukushima prefecture, November 12, 2011. Reuters

The Unit 4 reactor building of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station is seen through a bus window in Okuma, Japan Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Media allowed into Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant for the first time Saturday saw a striking scene of devastation: twisted and overturned vehicles, crumbling reactor buildings and piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck more than eight months ago. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

The Unit 4 reactor building of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station is seen through a bus window in Okuma, Japan Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

Broken vehicles are abandoned outside Unit 4 turbine building at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station as they are observed from inside a bus in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011.

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant's upper part of the No.3 reactor building is seen from a bus window in Fukushima prefecture, November 12, 2011. Reuters

The crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station is seen through a bus window in Okuma, Japan Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Media allowed into Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant for the first time Saturday saw a striking scene of devastation: twisted and overturned vehicles, crumbling reactor buildings and piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck more than eight months ago. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from bus windows in Fukushima prefecture, November 12, 2011. Reuters

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from bus windows in Fukushima prefecture, November 12, 2011.  Reuters

Crushed piping is observed from inside a bus at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Media allowed into Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant for the first time Saturday saw a striking scene of devastation: twisted and overturned trucks, crumbling reactor buildings and piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck more than eight months ago. (Ikuro Aiba, Pool)

Makeshift storm surge barrier fortifies the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station as it is observed from inside a bus in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. Media allowed into Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant for the first time Saturday saw a striking scene of devastation: twisted and overturned trucks, crumbling reactor buildings and piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck more than eight months ago. (Ikuro Aiba, Pool)

Units five and six of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station are seen through a bus window in Futaba, Japan Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011. (David Guttenfelder, Pool)