Russia will evacuate families of diplomats and other officials working in Japan, which was hit by a devastating quake and tsunami last week, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry said it plans to evacuate families of officials of the Russian Embassy in Tokyo, consulates, trade mission and other organizations on Friday.
The ministry said there is currently no talk of evacuating diplomats or other officials, or any of the more than 1,000 other Russians now working in Japan.
A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami rocked Japan last Friday, followed by a series of aftershocks. The quake knocked out cooling systems of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, and blasts occurred in the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors on Monday, and in reactor No. 2 on Tuesday.
The government said on Wednesday that more than 13,000 were killed or are missing as a result of the disaster.
MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti)
