Kan promises to share lessons from nuclear crisis

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Kan promises to share lessons from nuclear crisis

The Associated Press Published Monday, August 8, 2011 8:44AM EDT

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, and Japan's Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto pose for photos as they shake hands at the end of a press conference in the guesthouse of the ministry in Tokyo Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. (AP / Hiro Komae)

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TOKYO - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says Japan has promised to share "invaluable" lessons from its earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crises.

Ban said Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed to share Japan's lessons about disaster management and nuclear safety with the world.

The men met Monday after Ban visited a shelter in Fukushima to offer support to people forced to evacuate their homes near the tsunami-crippled nuclear plant due to radiation leaks.

Some 80,000 Japanese left their homes when the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant suffered meltdowns, fires and radiation leaks in the worst nuclear crisis since Chornobyl. The March 11 quake and tsunami left 23,000 others dead or missing along Japan's northern coast.

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United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, delivers a speech next to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan at the end of their talks at Kan's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Toshifumi Kitamura, Pool)