The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant began pumping highly radioactive water from the basement of one reactor's turbine building to a makeshift storage area today - a key step in stabilising the complex.

Removing the 25,000 tons of contaminated water which has collected in the basement of Fukushima Dai-ichi's Unit 2 will allow workers access to the reactors to restore vital cooling systems that were knocked out by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami which left more than 27,000 people dead or missing.

The step is one of many in a lengthy process to resolve the crisis.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) projected in a road map released over the weekend that it would take up to nine months to reach a cold shutdown of the plants.

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