A leading Japanese daily says Tokyo is considering a special cover to encase reactors one, three and four of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, whose roofs were destroyed by explosions earlier this month.

The Asahi Shimbun said Wednesday that the Japanese government is mulling such a measure in order to prevent radioactive materials in the reactors from scattering and to facilitate efforts to restore the reactors' cooling systems.

The operation would require spraying a special varnish on radioactive materials in reactors one, two, three and four of the Fukushima plant in order to prevent the materials from entering the air before placing a special cover over them.

The government is also considering setting up a large tank along the coast in a bid to remove water contaminated with highly radioactive substances located underneath the turbine buildings.