Yesterday the first U.S. government-chartered flight left Japan for Taipei, carrying about 100 family members of American diplomats. The State Department has urged American citizens to leave Japan due to the worsening situation at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Pentagon spokesperson Colonel Dave Lapan said, “these measures are temporary and dependents will return when the situation is resolved.” Among those heeding the State Department’s warnings are 200 American students studying at Temple University Japan in Tokyo. Temple will be providing them with a charter flight out of the country in the coming days. These students are a minority of Temple Japan’s 3,300 students, and they are leaving voluntarily. Many of the school’s students and staff are staying in Tokyo, including Temple University Japan’s dean, Bruce Stronach.
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