With operations to pump out massive amounts of contaminated water at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant running into trouble, new ideas surfaced Wednesday to move the effort forward, including storing the tainted water in tankers and covering the reactor sites with fabric shrouds.

"To stabilize the situation at the plant and keep radioactive contamination at a minimum, we are asking experts to consider various" methods, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference.

While many ideas are under consideration, no concrete decisions have been made, he said.