KASHIWAZAKI, Japan - A top power official apologized for radioactive leaks and several other malfunctions that occurred at a Japanese nuclear plant after a deadly earthquake, but said the company's basic safety measures still worked.

Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture (State) is seen from helicopter Tuesday, July 17, 2007. [AP]

The comments came just moments after the mayor of the local city hosting the power plant ordered the facility shut down until its safety can be confirmed.

Tsunehisa Katsumata, president of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., toured the site Wednesday morning, declaring it "a mess." The previous evening, his company released a list of dozens of problems triggered by Monday's 6.8-magnitude quake.

"It is hard to make everything go perfectly," Katsumata said.

"We will conduct an investigation from the ground up. But I think fundamentally we have confirmed that our safety measures worked," he said.

While TEPCO says the quake was stronger than planned for, it has said none of the problems posed serious threats to people or the environment.