Japan is expected to announce later this month that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has entered a cold shutdown.

Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Friday that the government will confirm during a nuclear disaster meeting on December 16th that the second step in the road map on the power plant's normalization has been accomplished. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is then expected to announce that the power plant has entered the cold shutdown.

A cold shutdown occurs when water used to cool nuclear fuel rods remains below its boiling point, in order to keep the fuel from reheating.

Following the prime minister’s anticipated announcement, Tokyo will reassess the scope of evacuation areas and begin to shut down crippled reactors.