Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday left open what the Japanese people and the international community most want to know -- whether the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant would be brought under control anytime soon -- effectively saying only that the government is putting all its efforts into preventing the situation from worsening.

In a news conference two weeks after the deadly quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, Kan explained that the government is now concentrating its efforts on the nuclear crisis, caused by the twin natural disasters, and relief and reconstruction measures.

Appearing before the press for the first time in a week, Kan was asked when he thinks the government would be able to take control of the grave situation at the 40-year-old nuclear plant. But he evaded answering the question.

Instead, Kan said, ''We are trying to avoid an aggravation of the situation. But I recognize that it is still not a time to predict what will happen.''