It is a difficult and dangerous operation that has never been attempted before on this scale,<br /><br />But the removal of over 1,500 nuclear fuel rods from a damaged reactor is a crucial part of the clean-up at Japan’s crippled Fukushima plant.<br /><br />A robotic crane will pluck the highly irradiated rods from a storage pool at Reactor Number Four. If any are dropped or other mishaps occur, radiation could be released into the atmosphere.<br /><br />The scheduled start of work on Friday has been delayed for more tests, aimed at guaranteeing as safe an operation as possible.<br /><br />It is over two and a half years since Fukushima was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, causing meltdowns and explosions that sent plumes of radiation into the air and sea.<br /><br />Some 150,000 people were evacuated. <br /><br />A large area of surrounding land is off-limits because of radiation but one man never left. <br /><br />Former social worker Keigo Sakamoto, 58, continues to care for the 500 animals in his sanctuary.<br /><br />Authorities hope all residents will eventually be allowed to return. But with reactor operator, Tepco, struggling to stop radiation leaks, a Japanese ruling party official has said the government should identify areas that will never be habitable.
