IAEA's Latest update: To begin investigating Japan nuclear disaster

Experts from the Vienna headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday to study the nuclear situation in Japan's Fukushima Nuclear plant, IAEA said in a statement.

The IAEA mission consists of a team of nuclear experts from 12 countries who will prepare a report for the Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety at IAEA headquarters in Vienna on 20 to 24 June, it said.

For me, to maximize nuclear safety you must work on learning lessons and continuously improving throughout time. Therefore we'll use our opportunity here to come to Japan, gather information to see how the world can learn lessons from these unique events, Weightman said today following a meeting with Japanese Minister Banri Kaieda, head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The international fact-finding team is scheduled to continue its meetings on 25 May 2011 with senior Japanese officials. Later in the week, the team will also conduct site visits to nuclear power plants at Tokai, Fukushima Daini and Fukushima Daiichi, the IAEA said.

Mission team members are international experts in a number of disciplines including: safety assessment and defence-in-depth; the effects of earthquake, tsunami, explosions and after-shocks on structures, systems and controls; severe accident analysis and management procedures; external events assessment; emergency preparedness and response; spent fuel management under severe degradation; and radiological consequences, it added further.

The latest report from TEPCO has confirmed that there were meltdowns of fuel rods at the plant's No.2 and No.3 reactors early in the crisis.