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U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant posed ‘‘a substantial risk’’ to people nearby and pledged more support to Japan over the nuclear emergency and rescue efforts following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan last week.Speaking at the White House, Obama also said that a U.S. decision to ask American citizens living within an 80-kilometer radius of the quake-hit nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture to evacuate as a precautionary measure was ‘‘based upon a careful scientific evaluation.’‘
He also pledged to extend more support for Japan, saying, ‘‘The Japanese people are not alone in this time of great trial and sorrow.’‘
The United States is ‘‘aggressively’’ supporting Japan, with which it has ‘‘an alliance forged more than a half century ago and strengthened by shared interests and democratic values,’’ Obama said.
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