it's 10:00 p.m. in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. rescuers continue to search for people missing in western japan after tropical storm talas left 54 people dead and 53 people unaccounted for. in gojo city, nara prefecture, nine people remain missing after heavy rain triggered a mud slide over the weekend. some 200 members of the police and fire brigades and self-defense forces are conducting the rescue effort in the city. searches are also under way in

other affected areas. local residents were looking for their belongings in the wreckage of houses destroyed by landslides. >> translator: i hope to find photographs of my husband and grandchildren. >> the land ministry has begun surveying four areas where landslides have created lakes in nara and wakayama prefectures. there is concern that pooled water may overflow and cause damage downstream. the ministry will inform local governments of the results to help them decide whether or not to evacuate residents. it will also work with local authorities to study ways to drain the water. the storm left a trail of destruction across western japan including damage to the world heritage site in mie and wakayama prefectures. parts of an ancient stone paved pilgrimage route called kumano kodo were found covered with

mud. the nachi shrine was hit by rocks and covered by mud up to its floor. they're part of sacred sites and pilgrimage routes which were designated as a unesco world heritage site in 2004. local officials and people at the shrine plan to assess the extent of the damage and conduct rehabilitation work. now to this week's special series, jt japan six months on." the half year anniversary of this country's devastating march 11th earthquake, sue ma'ammy and nuclear crisis is this sunday. monday we brought you a story from the port city of miyako about a community. tonight we'll head to the town of namie in fukushima prefecture where we'll focus on one of the

biggest concerns in japan. the spread of radiation. the problem has sparked anxiety in northeastern parts of the country. japanese authorities are trying to limit the risk to children. some schools in fukushima prefecture restricted outdoor activities for students because of high levels of radiation. playing with sand in public places has been banned. precautions are also being taken in tokyo more than 200 kilometers from the nuclear plant. officials detected radiation exceeding the safety standard in sand boxes used by children. in some cases the sand was replaced. in others, the sand boxes were covered with plastic sheeting. nhk world's reporter joins us tonight from our studio in sendai with more on the radiation concerns in japan. hiroki, another problem caused by this country's nuclear crisis is food contamination. how has that affected farmers?

>> there have been losses since the accident at the fukushima daiichi. radiation levels above the safety limit were detected in some of their products. the japanese government ordered the suspension of shipments of milk and some types of vegetables in fukushima and neighboring areas. shipments of beef cattle from four prefectures was prohibited between july and august. farmers who worked within the evacuation zone along the fukushima daiichi faced even bigger difficulties. they were forced to give up everything including their animals. but some of them are risking their own safety to make sure their livestock doesn't starve to death. >> reporter: namie lies within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone that's been set up around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. a freelance journalist captured

these images in june and july of livestock living free after residents abandoned the town. for years, the main industries in the evacuated areas around fukushima daiichi were pig, dairy and beef cattle farming. before the march 11th disaster, roughly 3,500 cows and 30,000 pigs lived there. when local residents left their homes after the accident at the nuclear plant, they were forced to leave their animals behind. without food and water, many cows and pigs slowly began to die. in april, veterinarians in fukushima prefecture started euthanizing the animals that had survived but were weak. then in may the central government came up with a plan to cull livestock once their owners gave their permission. but many farmers opposed the

idea of simply killing the animals they'd raised with care. some are still visiting the evacuation zone to feed their livestock. 57-year-old cattle farmer yoshizama has been doing that for months. the local government gave him permission to feed his 330 cows once a week. but in doing so, he's taken a health risk. >> translator: i've been exposed to high levels of radiation, but i couldn't just abandon these cows. so i've continued bringing themg food for six months. i think i made the right decision. >> reporter: yoshizawa doesn't live with his family right now. he's rented temporary accommodations so he can continue to look after his

cattle. he makes no money but refuses to give up on his animals. the central government sent him a document requesting his approval to euthanize his livestock. >> translator: the cattle have no value because they've been exposed to radiation. they can't be sold. still, i can't approve of euthanizing them. >> reporter: yoshizawa went to tokyo in mid-august to launch a campaign to save the abandoned livestock in fukushima. he believes there could be a way to use the animals for research on radiation exposure. >> translator: he made an investment in buying his cows. losing that is a real shame.

>> reporter: veterinarians and humane societies are starting to show support for yoshizawa's campaign. >> translator: at some point i hope local farmers will be able to raise livestock again. >> reporter: people involved in the effort started up the fukushima farm sanctuary project. the group believes it is cruel to kill cows that are unfit for human consumption. its members want these animals to be kept alive and used for research on radiation exposure. >> translator: as a cattle farmer, i'll spend the rest of my life working to help these animals and working on the farm sanctuary project. >> hiroki, what does the future hold for fukushima farmers?

>> many farmers who worked close to fukushima daiichi are hoping to resume livestock and vegetable farming, but the prospects are weak because so much of the farmland in the area is contaminated with radiation. >> what about other people in fukushima prefecture? what's life like for them? >> about 56,000 residents of fukushima prefecture are still living in shelters because of the nuclear crisis. nhk surveyed about 190 of them. nearly 40% of respondents want the government to decontaminate or replace the soil in the towns and cities to restore the land to predisaster state. the government only recently started serious decontamination efforts so despite ongoing pressure from residents and farmers, it will be a while before people can even begin to

think of the day when they can actually return home or start working the land again. >> thanks, hiroki. nhk world's hiroki yajima from our studio in sendai. japan six months on will continue on thursday with our weekly segment, "nuclear watch." we'll look at how the japanese government and tokyo electric power company have dealt with the fukushima daiichi accident and its aftermath. plus our nuclear energy expert will tell us about the latest science behind how the nuclear crisis unfolded. and this just in. a passenger plane crashed near the russian city of yaroslavo on wednesday killing 36 of the 37 people on board. russia's state-run news agency says a passenger plane crashed

immediately after taking off from the airport in the western russian city of yaroslavl. it was carrying local ice hockey club members. a passenger plane crashed near the russian city of yaroslavl on wednesday killing 36 of the 37 people on board. the russian state-run news agency says a passenger plane crashed immediately after taking off from the airport in the western russia city of yaroslavl. the plane was carrying local ice hockey club members. an explosion in new delhi killed at least ten people on wednesday morning. indian authorities have blamed terrorists for the blast. the explosion occurred short ly after 10:00 a.m. outside the high court in the center of the city. local authorities say at least ten people were killed and 6 # others were injured. local media report about 100 people were lining up for permits to enter the court when the blast occurred just outside its gate.

>> i heard a loud bang. then i turned around after getting the consciousness and all. i found 60 people were lying on the floor. >> the home minister says the blast was apparently caused by a bomb concealed in a suitcase. he described it as a terrorist attack. the indian prime minister spoke to reporters in bangladesh. >> this is a cowardly act of a terrorist nature. we will deal with it. we will never succumb to the pressure of terrorism. >> in may a car bomb exploded in the court's parking lot. police are looking into possible links between the two incidents. a korean affairs magazine in myanmar has carried an article by pro-democracy leader aun sang

suu kyi. it's the first time she's been published in the local media since the government's crackdownon the demomsy movement in 1998. the article appeared on tuesday in the latest issue of the people's age, a weekly publication. in the piece ann sang suu kyi describes a family trip in july. she emerged from house arrest last november. the magazine's editor says a follow-up article in the next issue will include a call for the release of political prisoners. the military government was replaced by a civilian administration in march. an sang suu kyi's party is still barred from political activities. media censorship also continues. meanwhile, the u.s. state department said on tuesday its special envoy to myanmar is m e making his first visit to the country. derek mitchell is to hold talks with government officials and ann song suu kyi.

u.s. sanctions remain in place. the coming visit suggests the u.s. wants to hold dialogue with the new leadership to push for more democratic reforms. an international conference in tokyo on wednesday addressed the state of human rights in north korea. speakers gave reports of collective punishment and summary executions. the event was organized by a network of more than 30 groups from 15 countries. the goal was to eradicate human rights abuses in the country. about 150 people took part. they included defectors from north korea, people who were abducted by the north and lawyers specializing in international human rights issues. some of the defectors said they witnessed an entire family including a small child being sent to a labor camp as collective punishment. they said they heard that some detainees were executed just for complaining. another speaker was the american husband of a japanese woman who was abducted to north korea. charles jenkins reported that he saw lebanese and thai abductees and other women who appeared to

be japanese. jenkins said as long as the current regime stays in power, human rights abuses in north korea will continue. a broadcasting center featuring state of the art technology has opened in vietnam. the center was partially funded by loans from the japanese government. a ceremony was held on wednesday in the capital hanoi to mark the completion of the facility for the state-run vietnam television. the only station that broadcast nationwide. the vietnam prime minister and japanese ambassador attended the ceremony. japan extended low interest loans worth about $260 million to help fund the construction. >> translator: i appreciate japan's support. with this new facility, i want the station to start to work on improving the content and image

quality for the benefit of the vietnamese people. >> the five-story facility has a new center that can broadcast high definition digital images and will begin operating next year. vietnam has been criticized for information available to people living in urban and rural areas. high resolution photos of the moon's surface taken by a u.s. lunar probe show footprints and other marks left by apollo astronauts about 40 years ago. the photos released on tuesday were taken by nasa's lunar reconnaissance orbiter last month. they show the landing sites of apollo 12, 14 and 17. the crafts were launched between 1969 and 1972. images of the apollo 17 landing sites show the astronauts' footprints, tracks left by a moon buggie and the abandoned undercarriages of lunar vehicles. nasa says the track marks have remained intact because the moon

has no atmosphere and no wind on its surface. skeptics say the apollo missions were a hoax and that the astronauts' activities were filmed in a movie studio. nasa says the images should remind the american people of the glory of the apollo program. japan's central bank has decided to keep its monetary easing policy unchanged for now, even as the yen stays near its historic highs. bank of japan officials unanimously agreed to maintain the current policy at the end of a two-day meeting through wednesday. they say the country's economy is picking up steadily as industrial production has recovered almost to the levels seen before the march disaster. along with the ultra low key interest rate, the bank -- 50 trillion yen or about $650 billion.

assets for purchase include government bonds. the central bank also said it will carefully monitor how the japanese economy will be affected by the overseas economies and fluctuations in the currency markets. after the policy meeting, bank of japan governor masaaki kirazawa explained concerns that the yen may lead to a hollowing out of the domestic industry. >> translator: supply chains from the march 11th disaster are worsening. >> on european credit problems blamed as one factor for pushing up the yen, shirakawa said. the governor said the central bank will keep its eyes on whether deteriorating problems in europe could drag down the real economy and lead to a vicious circle. the japanese government tax

commission has resumed the debate on possible tax increases to fund the posed disaster reconstruction. >> translator: the burden of the financial sources for the disaster recovery must in principle be shared by the present generations. >> the prime minister instructed commission members. the commission plans to come up with details next week. these include higher rates for mainly income and corporate taxes and their duration. over the next five years, the government wants to implement rebuilding measures worth 19 trillion yen or around 2$250 billion. out of this mount, it hopes to cure up to 10 trillion yen or $130 billion from tax increases. here are the latest market figures.

time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by mcot thailand. thai prime minister shin watt on wednesday hitted flood hit areas in a province. the cabinet has approved a

special budget of about $30 million to help about 130,000 households affected by the flooding. the swelling river has flooded a vast swamp of land as dikes have given in. 30 provinces have been severely affected by the floodwaters since the storm nock-ten in july. eight central provinces are still inundated. 69 people have lost lives in flood-related accidents. iranian air force began massive combat maneuvers in a northwestern city on tuesday. a senior military official says the ten-day exercise is designed to test the country's preparedness to thwart any aggression or surprise attack. he added the fighter jets will under take tactical missions including night raids and low altitude flights. homemade missiles and bombs will be test fired.

china's preside hu made the the first. china currently had 196 million hectares of forest. the president also proposed improving forestry through investment and scientific innovation and spoke of the need to protect biodiversity. >> hi there. i'm mai shoji. time to check our weather. starting off with asia, let me start by talking about this tropical storm. this will keep its intensity and possibly move towards the okinawa islands of japan. but not directly affecting land yet. we will keep an update on this system. much of japan, though, looking pretty dry and sunny throughout much of the country.

hokkaido, even in that area, we had torrential amounts of rainfall. that rain will be tapering off into our thursday. we still have low pressure system that is going to be affecting much of southeastern russia with heavy rain and strong gusts. the korean peninsula looking very dry. central china looking very unstable. maybe chances of thunderstorms to be popping up here and there. the philippines, indochina peninsula and india is going to be affected by the southwest monsoon. especially in northern parts of india we're going to be seeing lots of rain, up to about 150 millimeters or more in some areas and pakistan is going to be affected with the southwest monsoon. pakistan, the southwest monsoon season should be ending normally in the middle of september after which winter will be coming. but rainfall accumulation is staggering in the next 48 hours there. tokyo, 30 degrees. seoul, we're looking at 25. beijing, 24. chongqing, we're looking at 25

degrees. finally that temperature has dropped. now we're looking at -- keeping focus on this massive clouds which has the potential of becoming a tropical storm in the near future. we'll definitely keep you updated. this is already a hurricane. this is katia moving in the direction of northwest. we'll be tracking just parallel to the southeastern coast of the united states and the eastern coast. it is going to be bringing swells to the united states. just please do stay away from those coastal area as possible. we still have that remnant of lee sitting in -- just under the ohio valley which will be moving towards the east. very extensive heavy rain will be seen just around new york and philadelphia. pennsylvania is going to be having that very heavy rainfall to be accumulated. here in texas the low humidity, even down to 10% the relative humidity, will fall down to. so we're going to be seeing that

fire weather still persistent. this is the high for houston. 32 degrees. but we may hit a record for the lows. so early morning you're going to be feeling very chilly there. new york at 23. washington, 28 degrees. here in europe, we've got a couple of systems that is disturbing the british isles. on and off showers will continue for several days there. scandinavian peninsula and this associated front just along it is where we're going to be seeing some severe weather to come for you. poland, we already have reports of hail destroying houses. today we're going to be seeing those gusts picking up to about 120 kilometers per hour in much of northern portions of germany. we're going to be having a hurricane force winds brought and associated from those storms. but to the south, dry and clear. and very hot. here are your temperatures. madrid at 33 as well as lisbon and rome, 28. cooler in london at 19 degrees.

here are your extended forecasts.

as we've been reporting, a passenger plane crashed near the russian city of yaroslavl on wednesday killing 36 of the 37 people onboard. russian state run navasti news agency says an aircraft went down immediately after taking off from the airport in the western russian city of yaroslavl. the plane was carrying local ice hockey club members. once again, the passenger plane crashed near the russian city of yaroslavl on wednesday killing 36 of the 37 people on board. russian state run navasti news agency says an aircraft went down immediately after taking off from the airport in the western russian city of yaroslavl. the plane was carrying local ice hockey club members. that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in

half an hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.