Japan - Nine months after Japan's nuclear disaster, Tokyo says dismantling the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will take 40 years.

The Japanese government released the prediction on Wednesday, saying use of robots is necessary for the decommissioning as melted fuel appears to be stuck to the bottom of the reactors' containment vessels.

The government had placed robots deep inside the reactors to gather information such as the level of devastation, the amount of the meltdown, how much material is needed to be removed and exact radiation levels inside.

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which runs Japan's quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, had previously said that a thorough cleaning of the contamination at the facility would take at least 30 years.

TEPCO issued a detailed roadmap Wednesday over fully shutting down the three reactors which suffered meltdowns after March double disasters of quake and tsunami hit the facility.

Meanwhile, TEPCO said Thursday that electricity bills must go up to cover costs of switching to other forms of energy. It did not give details on prices.

Earlier in October, the government estimated decommissioning the station may cost at least $14.8 billion.

The Japanese nuclear crisis broke out on March 11, 2011 after a 9-magnitude earthquake and a following tsunami hit Japan's northeast coast, where Fukushima nuclear power plant is located.

The tremor triggered the nuclear disaster by knocking out power to cooling systems and the reactor meltdowns at the nuclear power plant.

MSH/MA

Source: Press TV