The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said it has removed a 20-ton piece of rubble from a destroyed reactor in what it called a "major step forward" in decommissioning.
After months of planning, Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said it used giant cranes on Sunday to lift one fuel handling machine, which was destroyed when a quake-sparked tsunami sent some of the plant's reactors into meltdown in March 2011.