Tokyo (CNN) -- Japan's beloved emperor dramatically took to the national TV airwaves Wednesday and buoyed the spirits of his disaster-stricken citizens in an extraordinary address before a nation grappling with the aftermath of an epic earthquake and a devastating tsunami, and amid growing fears of a nuclear catastrophe.
"I truly hope the victims of the disaster never give up hope, take care of themselves, and live strong for tomorrow," said the dignified and understated Emperor Akihito, in a calm and poignant oration delivered from the Imperial Palace.
"Also, I want all citizens of Japan to remember everyone who has been affected by the devastation, not only today but for a long time afterwards -- and help with the recovery."
An address by a sitting emperor is usually reserved for times of extreme crisis or war. Emperor Akihito's direct appeal to the public is considered exceptional in Japan and marks the first time that he has spoken to the public amid such a crisis.
The 77-year-old ceremonial but deeply revered chief of state underlined Prime Minister Naoto Kan's earlier assertion that Japan is going through its worst crisis since World War II. It is not known whether he will visit survivors of the disaster, as he did in 1995 after the deadly quake in Kobe.
Nearly 13,000 people are dead or missing and several hundred thousand have been left homeless from Friday's earthquake and tsunami.
The emperor delivered his speech on the same day that white smoke and a new blaze at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant added to radiation fears.
"Currently, the entire nation is putting forth its best effort to save all suffering people. However, under the severe cold weather, evacuees are having a very difficult time because they lack food, water, and energy sources," he said.
"Also, I am deeply concerned that the current nuclear plant situation is critical. I truly hope that with so many people working together to help, the situation will not worsen."
The cloud of smoke seen Wednesday sparked fear there might have been a breach in the containment vessel in the nuclear plant's No. 3 reactor, government officials said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano at first said a breach in the steel and concrete shell that insulates radioactive material inside the reactor may have brought about the smoke. But he said later it is unlikely that the vessel suffered severe damage, the Kyodo news agency reported.
The smoke is presumed to have been vapor from a spent-fuel storage pool at the reactor, Edano said, in what Kyodo called a retraction of his earlier statement based on new information.
Officials asked workers at the plant to evacuate Wednesday after the cloud rose above the plant and radiation levels spiked. The levels later fell and authorities allowed the workers to return, the Tokyo Electric Power Company said.
Earlier in the day, officials spotted a fire in the plant's No. 4 reactor building. But 30 minutes later, flames were no longer visible, the Tokyo power company said.
Tests on tap water in Fukushima city, 80 kilometers (50 miles) away found radiation -- though at levels not harmful to the human body, and later tests showed no radiation in the water, government officials said.
Officials have been working to resolve cooling problems at four of Fukushima Daiichi's six reactors in the wake of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of the country Friday.
The latest concerns at the Fukushima plant came a day after another fire there and an explosion at the plant's No. 2 reactor.
Japanese authorities could not rule out the possibility of a meltdown at the troubled reactors. Workers have been pumping sea water into reactors in an effort to prevent further damage.
A meltdown occurs when nuclear fuel rods cannot be cooled, thus melting the reactor core and causing a release of radioactivity. In the worst-case scenario, the fuel can spill out of the containment unit and spread toxic radioactivity through the air and water. That, public health officials say, can cause both immediate and long-term health problems, including radiation poisoning and cancer.
Officials were also monitoring reactors No. 5 and 6 at the plant, where cooling systems have raised concerns.
"The temperatures are rising, but we are doing our best to cool (them) down," the chief Cabinet secretary said Wednesday.
The U.S. military said it has given Japan two water trucks to assist in cooling the reactors.
As the government and workers scrambled to stabilize the plant, the search continued for survivors from last week's cruel combination of natural disasters.
By Wednesday night, the National Police Agency reported 4,314 deaths. Another 8,606 people are missing and 2,282 were injured, the agency said. The number of dead is expected to go up as rescuers reach more hard-hit areas.
Public broadcaster NHK has reported that 450,000 people were living in shelters, where people grieved over lost loved ones and worried about relatives who are missing from villages and towns inundated by the tsunami waves off the east coast of Honshu.
Thousands of people packed Narita International Airport in Tokyo, with some sitting on floors.
"We just headed for the mountains directly away from the nuclear power station," Richard Struthers, who lives about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Fukushima plant. He said he is "taking no chances" with his baby son.
Boris Suban of Moriya -- about 210 kilometers (130 miles) from the nuclear plant -- decided to travel across the country to Hiroshima Prefecture -- a location he admits is ironic. U.S. planes dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
'We thought that the reactor is not safe and too near," Suban said. "Plus, if the panic spreads, we will be unable to leave Japan and get the full exposure sitting on our sofa."
Meanwhile, across the country, emergency workers from Japan, foreign governments and international aid groups continued to scour tangled and displaced piles of debris, searching for survivors. Scores of countries, regions and international organizations have offered assistance, according to the Japanese foreign affairs ministry.
The U.S. military is now giving potassium iodide pills to some helicopter pilots and crew members as a precautionary measure before missions flying into Japan, Pentagon spokesman Dave Lapan said Wednesday. Previously air crews had received the pills only after some missions.
Rescue work is being complicated by the hundreds of aftershocks that have rocked Japan since Friday's quake. Since the initial earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey has reported about 35 quakes with magnitudes of 6.0 or greater, and more than 200 others greater than 5.0...
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