Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says produce from the region around the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant is safe to eat, despite radiation leaks.
Mr Kan's reassurance comes as Japan has raised the severity rating of its nuclear crisis to the highest level of seven.
Officials say the decision to raise the rating reflects the total release of radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, rather than a sudden deterioration.
Level seven previously only applied to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, where 10 times as much radiation was emitted, the BBC reports.
In a news conference late on Tuesday Mr Kan said that people should live life as normal and not "fall into an extreme self-restraint mood."
He said that consuming products from the regions that have been affected is also a way to support the area.
A 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that devastated much of the north-east on 11 March and crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Workers have been struggling to prevent several reactors from overheating and officials warn it will be several months before the situation at the nuclear facility is brought fully under control.
NZ leaves travel warning in place
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Travel says the situation in Japan has not deteriorated and radiation risks have not increased.
New Zealand travellers are advised to keep out of an exclusion zone 80km around the Fukushima plant.
New Zealander Philip Bailey, a 26-year-old English language teacher lives 50km south of the Fukushima plant.
His school has been closed for three days since the last aftershock but he says will stay and is confident the problems at the nuclear power plant will be brought under control.
Environmentalist Michael Todd, who has two children living in different parts of Japan, is worried about the effects on radiation leaking into the food supply and the environment.
He is in Brisbane at present but plans to return in to Japan in June, though says he might be spending his time there "sparingly".
