Tokyo - Smoke rose Thursday from a currently closed nuclear power plant in Japan, but the operator said there was no radiation leak and no one was injured.

The smoke emerged from the brake of the hoisting function of a crane in the turbine room of a shut-down reactor, the operator, Tokyo Electic Power Co (TEPCO) said in a statement.

The incident was reported and fire extinguishers were used to stop the smoke, TEPCO said.

"There were no injuries or any radiation leak," the operator said.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in the north-western province of Niigata suffered heavy damage in a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in July 2007, leading to the plant's shutdown.

During the quake, a fire broke out and a small amount of radiation leaked.

TEPCO is currently preparing to restart individual reactors.

According to media reports, some 10 fires have broken out in the plant since its shutdown.

There have been concerns over the facility's safety, as it is close to a tectonic fault-line. (dpa)