Japan can avoid turning the affected Fukushima Prefecture into a dead zone by immediately applying chemicals and planting radiation-absorbing plants at the contaminated soil, scientists said.

Radioactive soil in pockets of areas near Japan's crippled nuclear plant have reached the same level as Chernobyl, a report from the Nuclear Waste Management Organisation of Japan said in a research report published on May 24 and submitted to the government.

According to a related Bloomberg report, this should bring the Fukushima's area closer to the dead zone created at Soviet Union's Chernobyl incident 25 years ago. Nevertheless, early soil decontamination can be done to avoid this scenario, scientists with the nuclear wastes management office in Japan said.

"Soil samples in areas outside the 20-kilometer (12 miles) exclusion zone around the Fukushima plant measured more than 1.48 million becquerels a square meter, the standard used for evacuating residents after the Chernobyl accident, Tomio Kawata, a fellow at the Nuclear Wastes Management office in Japan said in the report.

Radiation from the plant has spread over 600 square kilometres (230 square miles), according to the report. The extent of contamination shows the government must move fast to avoid the same future for the area around Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Dai-Ichi plant as Chernobyl, scientists said.

Crops can also be planted in the area to absorb radioactive materials, allowing residents to return to their land and homes, Mr Kawata added.

Nikkei Survey: PM Kan Must Go

Japanese citizens are divided whether Prime Minister Naoto Kan should remain at the helm or should he be replaced soon enough as they remain uncertain of the ensuing nuclear crisis, a newspaper survey showed.

According to a survey of Nikkei business daily, seventy percent of Japanese voters surveyed want Prime Minister Naoto Kan to be replaced but nearly half think he should stay and oversee the initial stage of dealing with the March 11 disaster and ensuing nuclear crisis.

The opinion poll adds to growing pressure on the unpopular premier, who is under fire of his handling of the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years and is likely to face a no-confidence vote as early as this week.

Survey respondents comprised of residents and business organisations based in Tokyo said the government and the Tokyo Electric Power Corp.'s handling of the nuclear crisis has been poor and still no clear sign of abating since the crisis begun two months ago.