U.S. government rushing to help Americans leave Japan

As President Barack Obama stopped by the Japanese embassy to pay his respects to those who lost their lives in the Japanese earthquake and tsunami crisis, the State Department was scrambling to help Americans evacuate northern Japan.

"Even as Japanese responders continue to do heroic work, we know that the damage to the nuclear reactors in Fukushima Daiichi plant poses a substantial risk to people who are nearby," Obama said on Thursday in the White House Rose Garden after returning from the Japanese embassy, where he signed the condolence book. "That is why yesterday we called for an evacuation of American citizens who are within 50 miles of the plant. This decision was based upon a careful scientific evaluation and the guidelines that we would use to keep our citizens safe here in the United States or anywhere in the world."

Obama authorized the voluntary departures of family members and dependents of U.S. officials working in northeastern Japan on Wednesday night. The State Department has deployed teams around northern Japan to help any U.S. citizens who want to leave.

Undersecretary Patrick Kennedy told reporters that the first U.S. chartered flight left Japan on Thursday morning, Washington-time, as part of the State Department’s new policy of aiding the departure of U.S. citizens. The plane took the citizens to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Embassy teams were at Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports sweeping for U.S. citizens who wanted to leave.

The U.S. embassy is also sending 14 buses to pick up Americans living north of the nuclear plant in Sendai province. This assistance was necessary in order to get them to the airport because of the lack of transportation in that area, Kennedy said.

Kennedy also defended the U.S. embassy’s Thursday advisory that citizens should stay at least 50 miles from the reactor, which is more aggressive than the 20 kilometer no-travel zone that the Japanese government has imposed. The Defense Department has authorized departure for families of service members for the entire main Japanese island of Honshu, but State hasn’t gone that far.

Kennedy said that, at present, there won’t be any authorization for non-essential State or DOD personnel to leave Japan, as they are needed to aid in the crisis response.

"It is our determination that all State Department personnel — and I believe, after some conversations I had with the Pentagon, which you can address direct to them — that they have also determined that all employees, service members in that case, constitute emergency cadre who are needed to carry out the national security and the assistance missions and the military missions that we’re engaged in," Kennedy said.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizens Services Jim Pettit said that, in addition to consular teams in both Tokyo airports, there are also consular teams searching for Americans in areas north of Tokyo, such as Miyagi, Iwate, and Ibaraki prefectures. But there won’t be any search efforts inside the 50-mile evacuation zone around the Fukushima reactor.

When asked if he thought that they would find Americans still inside the evacuation zone, Pettit said, "I would be surprised if we don’t."

Kennedy said that the United States had an agreement with the consular teams from Canada, Britain, and Australia to report to each other if they find another’s citizen in distress. To date, there are no confirmed deaths of American citizens.

He estimated there are about 90,000 Americans in and around Tokyo and about 350,000 Americans in Japan.

Obama spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Thursday night and pledged whatever support the United States could provide.

"In the coming days, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure the safety of American citizens and the security of our sources of energy," Obama said. "And we will stand with the people of Japan as they contain this crisis, recover from this hardship and rebuild their great nation."