Japan's government under fire in nuclear crisis

Patients exposed to radiation at Fukushima are moved -- authorities Friday encouraged voluntary evacuations in the buffer zone. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Kyodo poll finds government gets poor marks for handling the nuclear crisisNEW: IAEA chief says communication has improved NEW: Greenpeace warns of high radiation levels outside the evacuation zoneTraces of radiation are detected in China and Massachusetts Tokyo (CNN) -- Japan's government pressed the owner of the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for better information Sunday as it battled against criticism of its own handling of the crisis there.

Yukio Edano, the government's point man for the crisis, issued what he called "stronger instructions" to the Tokyo Electric Power Company to fully disclose as much as possible about conditions at the plant.

"Every piece of information must be provided accurately and swiftly" to Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Edano, the chief Cabinet secretary, told reporters. "Without this communication, it's very difficult for the government to (establish) proper safety measures."

Workers have spent more than two weeks trying to stave off potential meltdowns in three reactors at the six-unit Fukushima Daiichi plant, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Tokyo. The plant was damaged by the historic earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit northern Japan on March 11.

A poll by Japan's Kyodo News Agency found the government is getting poor marks for its handling of the crisis, with 58 percent telling pollsters that they disapprove. Though 57 percent of Japanese approve of how the government has moved to provide relief for victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the poll found, only 39 percent approve of how it has managed the situation at Fukushima Daiichi.

Edano said the government has done "everything possible."

"But we also realize that many of the people in the affected areas have been very inconvenienced, and they are in a very serious crisis," he added. "We understand that, and there may be more such difficulties ahead."

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