Some two liters of radioactive water were found leaking at TEPCO's plant in Kashiwazaki, 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Tokyo, during a routine inspection, said a spokesman for the world's largest private electric power company.

"The level of radioactivity (in the water) was so small that it had no hazardous impact on humans and the environment," the spokesman said.

TEPCO was forced to shut down all 17 of its nuclear reactors earlier this year for inspections after a scandal over the systematic cover-up of inspection data showing cracks in reactors. Of the 17 reactors, 11 remain shut.

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