The so-called Fukushima 50, the group of around 300 technicians, soldiers and firemen who work in shifts of 50, have been exposed repeatedly to dangerously high radioactive levels as they attempt to avert a nuclear disaster.
The mother of one of the men has admitted that the group have discussed their situation and have accepted that death is a strong possibility.
“My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary in the long-term.”
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said the world needed international safety standards on nuclear power by the end of the year as fears surrounding the extent of radiation leaks in Japan continued to grow.
Mr Sarkozy, on the first trip by a foreign leader to Japan since the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, said he would call a meeting of the G20's nuclear power watchdogs to discuss safety regulations. "We must address this anomaly that there are no international safety norms for nuclear matters ... We need international safety standards before the end of the year."
Meanwhile, Japan asked trading partners at the World Trade Organisation not to "overact" by unnecessarily restricting the import of food produce.
A growing number of international food companies are shunning Japanese products amid fears of contamination, despite government assurances of safety.
Nearly three weeks have passed since the disaster, which left 27,000 killed or missing, a quarter of a million homeless and critical damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Forecast as the world's costliest natural disaster, the government is estimated to require over £75 billion in emergency budgets to cover costs for disaster relief and the biggest reconstruction project since the end of the second world war.
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