Patrick Kennedy, under secretary of state, said the passengers were mostly families of US personnel and some other Americans. He said another flight was due to leave Japan Friday.
Kennedy also said that 14 buses had been sent from Tokyo to pick up Americans who were north of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant which was damaged in Friday`s massive earthquake and tsunami.
Earlier Thursday, the Pentagon authorized families of US troops and civilian employees stationed on the Japanese main island of Honshu to leave, one day after the State Department did the same for families of its employees.
US officials earlier had ordered all Americans within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to evacuate the area.
The US-recommended no-go zone goes far beyond the 12-mile (20-kilometer) limit set by Japan. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
