Tokyo ( CNN ) -- The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company , the business at the heart of Japan 's nuclear crisis , apologized again Wednesday , a day after the situation there was designated a Chernobyl-level nuclear accident . Masataka Shimizu , the president of the power company , also said he is working with the government to create a plan to privide short-term compensation to the many affected by the nuclear crisis . `` I regret the fact we are inconveniencing all these people , I want to take this opportunity to apologize , '' Shimizu said . His speech comes after Japan 's prime minister vowed to wind down the month-long crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant `` at all costs . '' Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he wants Tokyo Electric Power Company , to produce a timetable for bringing the disaster to an end , `` and they will be doing that soon . '' Shimizu did not provide a detailed timetable during his speech Wednesday but said his company is working to stop harmful materials from going into the atmosphere `` as soon as possible . '' Japan declared the Fukushima Daiichi crisis a Level 7 event on the international system for rating nuclear accidents Tuesday , putting it on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union . The top-scale designation was based on the massive release of radioactivity since the accident began , particularly in its early days , and classifies Fukushima Daiichi a `` major accident '' requiring long-term countermeasures . `` At all costs , all the reactors and the spent nuclear fuel pools must be brought under control so that we can prevent a further expansion of the damage , '' Kan said . Tetsunari Iida , a former nuclear engineer-turned-industry critic , told CNN the declaration has no immediate practical impact on the crisis . But it 's a sign that Japanese regulators have rethought their earlier assessments of the disaster , said Iida , who now runs an alternative energy think-tank in Tokyo . Shimizu already issued an apology Tuesday for the disaster and the `` enormous anxiety '' it has caused after the Level 7 designation . `` We would like to stabilize the situation as soon as possible , and we are working on the measures and steps to cool the reactors and prevent the spread of nuclear substances , '' he said . `` While continuing to ask for the support and cooperation of the government , the ministries , and the municipalities , we would like to maintain close communication with them , and we will make the utmost effort to bring the situation to an end . '' Scientists believe the amount of radiation released is only a tenth of what was released at Chernobyl , said Hidehiko Nishiyama , the chief spokesman for Japan 's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency . But the levels for radioactive iodine and cesium that have been spewed into the air , water and soil around the plant are in the thousands of trillions of bequerels -- 15 times higher than the threshold for a top-scale event , according to figures released by the safety agency Tuesday morning . The crisis began with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northern Japan . The tsunami knocked out the plant 's cooling systems , leaving operators with no way to keep the three operational reactors from overheating after they shut down . Engineers are now pumping hundreds of tons of water a day into the damaged reactors to keep them cool , but Tokyo Electric said long-term solutions must wait until it can get the highly contaminated water out of the basements of the units ' turbine plants . In addition , more water is being poured into pools housing spent but still-potent fuel rods in units 1-3 as well as unit 4 , which had no fuel in the reactor at the time of the quake . The work has been complicated over the past five days by a series of powerful aftershocks that have forced workers to clear out of the units and seek shelter . Evacuation orders have so far covered about 85,000 people inside the 20-kilometer ( 12.4-mile ) zone , while another 62,000 within 30 kilometers have been told to stay inside , Fukushima prefecture officials told CNN . Japan 's government said it had no estimate of the number of people who would be covered by the new directives . Yukio Edano , the country 's chief cabinet secretary , added outdoor-grown shiitake mushrooms from 16 towns and villages neighboring the Daiichi plant to the country 's banned food list Wednesday . CNN 's Kyung Lah , Whitney Hurst , Junko Ogura , Matt Smith contributed to this report .
NEW : Tokyo Bank 's president announces he is developing a plan for short - term payments for victims . Japan 's prime minister vows to end the crisis ` ` at all costs '' The Level 7 designation puts the Daiichi on par with Chernobyl . The effort has been complicated by recent aftershocks .