http://www.prisonplanet.com/mass-evacuations-begin-from-north-east-of-japan-tokyo.html (shortened)
As the scale of the nuclear disaster unfolding at the stricken Fukushima’s nuclear plant begins to be finally realised, despite the Japanese government’s continued underplaying of the situation, mass evacuations are are underway with people fleeing Tokyo and North Eastern areas of the country in order to avoid a toxic cloud of radiation heading their way.
China became the first government to issue a mass evacuation order of all its citizens from the entire north east of Japan late last night.
Austria followed suit by announcing it would be moving its embassy from Tokyo to Osaka, over 250 miles (400 kilometers) away, due to radiation concerns. France and Finland have also urged their citizens to leave Tokyo and either move to the South of Japan or get out of the country altogether.
Inside Russia, in the Far East of the country, military units are reportedly preparing to evacuate towns on concerns of nuclear fallout, while residents are rushing to buy iodine pills.
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo has issued a warning to Americans saying they “should avoid travel to Japan at this time.” Several other European countries have done the same.
Airlines including Lufthansa have begun canceling flights to Tokyo.
Journalists, tourists and even residents are also lining up at airports to get away as soon as they can, according to reports.
Those that have stayed have emptied the shelves of grocery stores in Tokyo, which have practically all sold out of rice, noodles and bread and other items such as radios, flashlights, candles, fuel cans and sleeping bags.
The prevailing popular mood in the Japanese capital now seems to be that the public is not being told of the true scale of the danger they are in and the government cannot be trusted as a reliable source of information. Many have chosen to simply leave as quickly as possible.