hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, september 26th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. managers at fukushima daiichi have been trying to resolve a problem that has been hampering their work. every day more and more waste water accumulates at the plant

but the people in charge say they'll soon begin testing a system that could filter out most radioactive substances. officials with tokyo electric power company want to decontaminate the thousands of tons of waste water by march 2015. they say the advanced liquid processing system is the key to their plants. engineers had planned to begin using the system last month but they postponed their decision after they found water leaking out during a test run. they say chemicals may have corroded the system. so they've reinforced it with the corrosion-proof material. workers will begin tests again on friday. they hope to have the system up and running by november. the filters cannot remove all radioactive eye oisotopes. managers still expect they'll be able to treat 500 tons of contaminated water every day. tepco is struggling to resolve that buildup of radioactive water at fukushima. over the other side of the country it faces another problem. kashiwazaki kariwa is the world's largest nuclear power plant.

the utility is again trying to persuade niigata's governor to support restarting two of its seven reactors. tepco head naomi i had row say wants approval for a government safety check to reactors. the two men met on wednesday. in july, izumida criticized tepco for pushing ahead with the safety checks without local consent. he accused them of trying to install vents at the plant without informing the authority. hirose took a pile of documents to wednesday's meeting. the documents detailed the modifications being done at kashiwazaki kariwa to meet stringent new safety guidelines. >> translator: please take these documents to allow the installation of filter vents at the plant. >> the governor refused to take the documents in july. he accepted them this time but still showed he would be no pushover.

>> translator: i've asked this question before and i'll ask it again. which is more important for tepco, money or safety? >> hirose says, naturally enough, safety. struggling tepco is desperate to restart the number 6 and number 7 reactors of the seven reactor facility, but first they have to be screened under the government's tough new safety guidelines. governor izumida has questioned the use of new mandatory filter vents. the vents are supposed to relieve pressure in reactor containment vessels during an emergency. but he says the vents will end up releasing radioactive material. he says tepco failed to tell the prefectural government about their installation. hirose says tepco intends to install the vents to help limit any radiation release. he hopes the niigata prefectural authority will give its consent. >> translator: i want to establish once and for all, is tepco in a hurry to seek the government's safety screening?

>> translator: certainly. we need checks, first of all, by someone who is knowledgeable about the plant. >> the governor has signaled he's willing to look at the tepco documents, but he gave no indication he will consent to safety checks or to restarting reactors. the fukushima daiichi disaster has put tepco deeply in the red. the utility has learned it will have to find another $10 billion to deal with contaminated water and decommission the plant's daichi plant's reactors. tepco currently has to rely on thermal plants, which means big outlays in fuel costs. it hopes getting the reactors back online at kashiwazaki kariwa will give it some breathing space. members of the u.n. security council are struggling to find common ground on syria. foreign ministers from the five permanent members are trying to agree on a resolution demanding that syria eliminate its chemical weapons. the top diplomats from the u.s., britain, france, russia and

china met in new york with u.n. secretary-gen wral ban ki-moon. they discussed how monitors from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons would inspect and verify syria's stockpile. delegates from the u.s., britain and france want a resolution allowing for military action if the syrians fail to comply with the security council's demands. over the past week, u.s. secretary of state john kerry has met separately with all his counterparts but he's had a hard time convincing russian foreign minister sergey lavrov. russian leaders have long served as allies to the regime of bashar al assad and lavrov wants to avoid any threat of a military strike. u.n. beupons inspectors have returned to syria to resume their work. on their last trip they concluded sarin was used in an attack last month in a suburb of damascus. the inspectors are looking into more allegations about the use of chemical weapons. they've received reports that

such weapons were used at least ten times. president assad admitted earlier this week that his regime has built up a huge stockpile but the inspectors are looking into charges from russian leaders that opposition fighters were behind some attacks. time now for the latest in business news. americans are about to start a new fiscal year, but they have no budget and that's got politicians in a frenzy. ai uchida joins us now from our business desk. ai, good morning. so tell us what could go wrong here? >> the most immediate concern is no budget, no money, no operations, so it's potentially possible that the government is shut down but that's just one of many concerns. u.s. government finances are under threat again. time is running out to pass next year's budget and the government has to extend the country's borrowing limit or risk defaulting on its debt. the new u.s. fiscal year starts next month and the government is facing a shutdown if congress doesn't pass the budget soon. the republican-controlled house

of representatives has erected a road block. republicans agreed to pass the budget but only if the government postpones theedinsur barack obama wants. the democrat-controlled senate started intense discussions on the budget on wednesday, but they have separated the issue of health insurance. senators hope to pass a provisional budget that will allow the government to spend for a month and a half, then there's the debt ceiling. the treasury department has warned that unless the debt limit is raised by october 17th, the government will run out of money to pay its bills. congressional budget office officials predict the u.s. could default on its debt by the end of october if the limit is not raised. all this is weighing on investors' sentiment. overnight in new york the dow jones industrial average closed lower for a fifth day in a row. for more let's go to ramin mellegard, who is standing by at the tokyo stock exchange.

ramin, how are tokyo stocks starting the day off, given the concerns over in the u.s.? >> a little bit on a cautious side, ai, investors remain a little bit concerned about the events in the u.s. that you were just mentioning. let's have a look at the opening levels for september 26th, and as you can see there both indexes slightly in the negative, we'll see how that continues into the morning session but just to remind you the nikkei did end wednesday in the negative and besides its u.s. debt ceiling problems the weaker dollar trend against the yen was also a factor. we'll see if that continues today as well and that's despite data which showed in the u.s. yesterday on wednesday a bounce in durable goods orders as well as a rise in new home sales, so data is really being pushed to the side there, and we might see a little bit more hesitation here as well. we have seen some profit-taking in some of the key sectors which had gained earlier in the month specifically olympic related shares such as infrastructure,

construction, real estate and services. we'll see how those fare today. also key exporters have traded lower because of the slightly stronger yen or weaker dollar, if you will, and the latest mergers and acquisitions news in the semiconductor sector also may be a focus there, i'm talking about tokyo electron, of course, after agreeing to merge with its overseas rival, applied materials. so quite a few areas to watch out for. ai? >> and of course, currency markets remain a focus for stock investors, where do we stand this thursday morning, ramin? >> let's have a look. the dollar/yen playing a big factor how stocks trade, 98.46-48, trading in a little bit of a tight range compared to late hours trading here. we'll check revised u.s. gdp due out later today. american government shutdown is taking center stage, may outshine any data revisions in the gdp. yew row/yen 133.05-15, that may

re345i7b in remain in a bit of a range. many remain unsure about what the central bank may do to start reducing its monetary stimulus program, that of course has been a big focus in september, and will continue to see how it does into the year end. that's all from me. back to you ai. >> ramin, thanks a lot for that update. japanese housing equipment maker lyksol has agreed to buy groen, a german producer of bathroom fixtures. lixil looks to expand in europe. lixil recently agreed to buy most of the shares in the german firm from an investment fund. the amount includes groes' debts. lixil was in merger talks jointly from the development bank of japan. grohe makes and sells high-end kitchen and bath equipment. they are looking to expand

overseas. in august lixil bought out american standard for about $530 million. that's the latest in business. i'll leave with you a check on markets. at least 320 people have been confirmed dead after a powerful earthquake in pakistan. over 500 are injured. rescue workers are struggling with rough terrain and the

number of victims has been rising. nhk world's masaki suta reports. >> reporter: the magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck baluchistan province thursday afternoon. the quake was about 20 kilometers below the surface. it was felt across a wide area, demean cities hundreds of kilometers away. the pakistani government sent soldiers and helicopters to look for victims and deliver food and medical supplies. some of the worst affected areas are isolated. rescuers have been unable to reach some remote villages. settlements are spread over a wide area with poor road connections. the extent of damage caused by the quake remains unclear. most houses in the region are constructed using mud bricks without steel reinforcements.

past earthquakes destroyed walls, causing roofs to collapse. officials fear the number of victims from this disaster will likely continue to rise. masaki suda, nhk world, islamabad. emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty emboldened citizens still demanding democracy, the threat of violence, the push for peace, the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." japan's prime minister has told an audience in washington that japanese officials should review how they interpret their pacifist constitution. shinzo abe made the comments during a speech at a conservative think tank. >> i'm determined that it's legitimate to make my beloved

country a proactive contributor to peace. >> abe explained his intent to review the institution and the right to collective self-defense. his predecessors said the document gave no such right. abe gave a hypothetical example in which japan's self-defense forces see forces from another country get attacked during peacekeeping operations. he said for example that sdf personnel would not be able to protect u.s. warships. >> japan should not be the weak link in the region, in the regional and global security framework where the u.s. plays a leading role. >> abe dismissed claims that japan is leaning to the right. he did so by making an apparent reference to china. he said an immediate neighbor has increased its military expenditures by more than 10% annually for more than 20 years.

he said japan's defense budget has risen by less than 1%. the u.s. military has finished deploying 24 osprey transport aircraft to japan's southernmost prefecture of okinawa. deployment was delayed by a fatal u.s. air force helicopter crash. the last of the 24 ospreys left the marine corps iwakuni air station in yamaguchi prefecture on wednesday on its way to futenma air station. the marine corps will likely put the ospreys into full service shortly. deployment began in july but quickly ran into local protests. >> osprey out! >> osprey out! >> full deployment is expected to spark more anger and concern in the prefecture. fears about the aircraft's safety record were reinforced last month. an osprey crashed on landing during a training flight in nevada. government agencies and

major corporations store increasing amounts of confidential information on their computer networks. some have found that makes them targets for a cyber attack. the breaches can come from just about anywhere, and that's forced government officials in japan and elsewhere to shore up their defenses. nhk world's kurando tago reports. >> reporter: these technicians are playing out a conflict on a battlefield of servers and circuits. officials from the japanese defense ministry and four other government agencies have gathered in this facility. they're coordinating their response to a simulated cyber attack. >> translator: japan lags behind in dealing with issues of this kind. we need these drills to

significantly boost our ability to respond to cyber attacks. >> reporter: precise figures are hard to come by. one government-affiliated body says the number of reported incidents jumped to 4,500 in june, more than double the figure in january. it says there have been more attacks since a relationship between japan and china came under strain. hackers have targeted japanese government employees with an increasing number of e-mails with viruses attached. these technicians are simulating how they would respond to an attempt to penetrate their networks. participants are divided into teams of up to four people. they have to measure the scale of the attack, assess the damage, then find out where it's coming from. >> translator: we want to improve japan's information security and minimize leaks to show the world the safety of

operating in japan. >> reporter: earlier this month, japanese officials met with their counterparts from the association of southeast asian nations. they agreed to develop a new system to warn about potential dangers. government officials are learning more and more about the destructive potential of cyber attacks. they're defining strategies to neutralize new types of threats. they're hoping they can react and change as quickly as those who are attacking them. kurando tago, nhk world, tokyo. the manchu people of northeastern china were the last to rule end the qing dynasty rule.

much of the manchu culture has been lost but as nhk world reports, ethnic manchus today have begun a revival. >> translator: this word means hope. >> reporter: learning an endangered language, students young and old trying to pick up their native tongue. they are chinese citizens but this isn't chinese. this is manchu, and its characters originated from the mongolian alphabet. for the last five years, volunteers have been teaching this class once a week in an effort to keep their language and culture alive. >> translator: since i started studying the manchu language, i became more aware of my origin. i want to preserve our own

language. >> there will about 10 million manchu people lafg cross china. 600,000 live here in shenyang, a city in the northeast, a region once known as manchuria, but a tour around the city indicates virtually no sign of manchu culture. less than 100 manchus can speak their mother tongue now. but some are trying to preserve their ethnic customs. sai efan is a writer who lives in shanghai. almost every week she, along with fellow manchus and other friends, put on traditional dresses and practice traditional dancing.

stwrrgs r. >> translator: i enjoy dancing. the traditional dress lifts my spirit. >> reporter: until recently many tried to hide their ethnicity, fearing they'd be persecuted by chinese largest ethnic group, the han chinese but bai says ethnic attitudes are changing. >> translator: i think the society is becoming tolerant of ethnic minorities' cultures. china has pursued material wealth but now the people want spiritual richness. >> reporter: other manchus are rediscovering their culture by visiting historical grounds. 50 manchu men and women from across china joined this tour of jilin province, an area where manchu people founded a country called bohai more than 1,000 years ago. then then head for champai

mountain, where the manchu people are believed to have originated from. the group honored their ans r r reors ancestors in a traditional ceremony part of which was performed by a manchu shahman. >> i'm moved. i'm about to cry. >> translator: i want to strengthen the unity of the manchu and to keep our culture and tradition. >> reporter: so weather on a mountain or in a classroom a revival of manchu culture in china is under way. the ethnic group of the country's last great dynasty. are determined not to let their language, culture and traditions day. ryuta okatani, nhk world,

shanghai. it is time now for a check on the weather. powerful storm is affecting people in some areas of southern japan. meteorologist sayaka mori tells us more. >> a severe tropical storm is affecting the easter islands quite hard. it looks like it's going to move away from the islands but the stormy conditions will continue into this afternoon. we're expecting the high waves of about seven meters with gusts reaching nearly 130 kilometers per hour so very dangerous situation out there. and this system will likely head towards the northeast, moving away from mainland japan, because there's a strong air current in the upper atmosphere that suggests rain so pabuk is expected to move towards the northeast. after the system has clearer conditions and koocooler air wi be moving into mainland japan. pleasantly cool conditions throughout most of the country throughout the day. crystal clear skies for parts of

the korean peninsula, the mongolia, nice conditions to go out but wet weather still conditions for southern china. it's not good news. this area has been dealing with heavy rain due to the remnants of typhoon usagi. further down towards the south there there is a newly developed tropical depression and this one is strengthening the southwest monsoon providing very heavy rain for the western parts of the philippines as well as the eastern parts of the indo china peninsula. we're expecting about 200 millimeters of rain or more in some places, enough to trigger further flooding and landslides and this one will likely intensify to a tropical storm and also it's expected to linger over the same area, so more heavy rain day by day as we go into the next several days. temperatures are going to be as follows. you experienced a very chilly morning in beijing but warming up to 26 degrees during the daytime hours with the help of sunshine, and tokyo just on target with a high of 24

degrees. across the americas the coolest air of the season is plunging into the northwestern u.s. causing significant snowfall up in the mountains over the northern rockies. we're expecting more than 60 centimeters of snow to fall in the higher elevations, strong winds and snowfall are what cause low visibility. traveling is going to be very hazardous. the cold air is meeting one warm air from the south creating risk of severe weather from north dakota towards wyoming. severe thunderstorms are likely as we go into tonight and yet again heavy rain for the southern parts of the u.s., rain will likely heighten the risk of flooding across the florida peninsula as we go into the next couple of days. temperatures are looking like this, much calm across the east but towards the northwest, much cooler than seasonal. finally in europe, we talked about ongoing wet and windy conditions across the east. conditions are certainly looking

up, however, wet and windy conditions will continue across parts of western russia and parts of the scandinavian peninsula for the next couple of days. cool in the north and warm to the south, in between that, there's a risk of wet and windy conditions from the uk down towards the black sea region that, includes munich, where oktoberfest is taking place. some light rain is possible in munich with a high of 19 degrees, and very chilly up in the north. here's your extended forecast.

>> that is all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more at the top of the hour.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: after 21 hours, ted cruz stopped talking and the senate voted unanimously to move forward with a bill to fund the government. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. also ahead, the first detailed look at what premiums will cost under the federal health insurance exchanges starting next week. >> ifill: and we close with one poet looking back at the life of another. kwame dawes remembers his uncle, a renowned writer and diplomat from ghana, among those killed in the terror attack in kenya.