Amano, for his part, said the IAEA would continue to support Japan by way of offering its global nuclear expertise, including in areas such as decontamination of radioactive water and correctly handling melted reactors and spent nuclear fuel rods.

The IAEA chief told reporters after meeting Kan that the prime minister, while pledging to "fully cooperate" with the IAEA as the first phase of stabilizing the three of the six stricken reactors at the No.1 complex in Fukushima prefecture has been achieved, seeks to broaden the public debate on nuclear energy.

Kan on July 13, in a nationally broadcast news conference, said he envisioned a nation that was less reliant on nuclear power and he would seek to pave the way for new legislation to realize this.

But following a barrage of criticisms from senior members of both his own ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) and opposition party, Kan subsequently shifted his stance and stated that this was a personal wish, rather than impending government policy.

Amano, who visited the crippled Fukushima plant 220 kilometers north of Tokyo for the first time on July 25, told reporters that while nuclear power would proliferate in the world to counter global warming, the priority on the building of new facilities must be safety.

Amano on July 25 held talks with workers and executives at the Fukushima plant and heard first-hand accounts of the mishaps, conditions and loss of lives in the days and weeks following the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.