The official English Twitter account of the Japanese prime minister office has gained over 16,000 followers after being set up on Wednesday.
The English-speaking Twitter account copies the posts from the Japanese one, opened on March 13, two days after the devastating 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami hit the northeastern Japanese prefectures.
Twitter is largely viewed as a new media power, spreading information dozens of times quicker than traditional online platforms. The micro-blogging system is considered one of the main tools used to trigger anti-government clashes in Tunisia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The Japanese premier's account delivers the latest statements from country's spokesman, Yukio Edano, as well as radiation monitoring results by the country's ministries.
On Wednesday, the account was disrupted several times because of the dramatic increase of users monitoring the current situation in Japan.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's website was also disrupted because the amount of traffic swelled 14 times over due to increased demands on the blasts-ridden Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
A series of blasts and fires damaged four of Fukushima's six reactors after the tremor struck off Japan, sparking a powerful tsunami and killing thousands.
The death toll from the disaster has risen to 5,429 people and 9,594 are listed as missing, police said.
MOSCOW, March 17 (RIA Novosti)
