Radiation levels reach new high at Fukushima nuclear plant TEPCO said all its systems at the plant were functioning normally after the 9.19 am earthquake on Wednesday, with "no abnormalities reported." The quake struck about 250 miles beneath the surface of the seabed some 360 miles south of Tokyo, national broadcaster NHK reported. The quake registered a level four tremor on Japan's seven-point scale along the east coast of the country, including at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Tom Snitch, a senior professor at the University of Maryland and with more than 30 years' experience in nuclear issues, said the Japanese government needs to take some very difficult decisions quickly. "They need to address the real problems, the spent fuel rods in Unit 4 and the leaking pressure vessels," he said. There has been too much work done wiping down walls and duct work in the reactors for any other reason then to do something. "They also need to decide where to store the waste - where they are going to put 1,533 spent fuel rods," Prof Snitch said. "All of this is really a political decision and not a technological issue," he said. This is a critical global issue and Japan must step up.