Radiation levels at Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have hit a new high. The latest figures show radiation levels of 2,200 millisieverts, an increase of more than 20 percent and the worst level in the plant’s holding tanks since an earthquake and tsunami caused a triple-reactor meltdown at Fukushima in March 2011. The plant’s operators say the higher levels are explained by improved detection equipment, not new leaks. The news comes one day after Japan pledged to spend around $500 million to stop the leaking of radioactive water. That announcement came in advance of the International Olympic Committee’s pending decision on whether to hold the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he will assure the IOC that Fukushima would not threaten the Olympics’ safety.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: “We understand that there have been people voicing concerns over the contaminated water issue in Fukushima. What I can say is the government is taking the lead here to completely solve the issue. And to do that, we are implementing drastic measures with firm resolve. I will be explaining to the International Olympic Committee that in seven years’ time it will not be a problem at all.”