Clinton vows full support for Japan

TOKYO: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged full support for quake-hit Japan on Sunday as the operator of its stricken nuclear plant said it expects to achieve "cold shutdown" in six to nine months.

Japan's embattled Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) offered the timeline more than five weeks after a giant quake and tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has since leaked radiation into the air, soil and sea.

Clinton, on a brief, largely symbolic stop in Tokyo, voiced solidarity and vowed that the United States would "do everything we can to support you as you come through this time of trial".

"And we know you will emerge even stronger than before," she said after meeting Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto.

Since the March 11 disaster, US forces stationed in Japan and beyond have launched a round-the-clock relief effort bringing supplies to the battered coast -- dubbed Operation Tomodachi, which means "friend" in Japanese.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan later told Clinton: "We will never forget, and we will keep an enduring memory of the very robust support the United States has provided." (AFP)