it's 10:00 p.m. in tokyo, welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima. japan's atomic energy commission is revising this country's policy. work to revise the policy started last december but was suspended after the fukushima accident. following the disaster, the commission added members who take a tough stance on nuclear power. >> translator: i decided to resume the discussion to

summarize everybody's views on nuclear power. >> some commission members called for shutting down all of japan's nuclear plants and promoting alternate energy sources. others said it's too early to determine long-term nuclear policy as the fukushima plant remains out of control. members advocating nuclear power noted that resource-poor japan must aim for a realistic energy policy. the policy on nuclear power use research and development was drawn up in 1956 and has been revised about every five years. it was last revised six years ago. it promotes nuclear power and calls for at least 30% relies on nuclear energy after 2030. the policy continues in effect despite accidents of at nuclear facilities and scandals that include cover-ups of accidents and other troubles. the commission will draw up a

new policy outline over the next year. attention will focus on how deeply the commission can discuss revision of nuclear policy. the fukushima municipal government plans to clear radioactive materials from all private dwellings in the city. this decision was made after high levels of radiation was detected in some areas. the city is located about 62 kilometers from the crippled fukushima daiichi power plant. some residents concerned about possible health risks have already moved out. fukushima plans to decontaminate all 110,000 residences over the next two years. the goal is to lower radiation levels in the air. >> translator: it's late to start decontamination. >> translator: i'm worried, because my child always wants to play outside. >> it has yet to be determined how the contaminated soil and other materials will be disposed of. a panel of ruling democratic party of japan has approved a tax increase plan to fund reconstruction of the region

devastated by the march disaster. the plan ok'd by the party's tax commission on tuesday, calls for raising the individual income tax for ten years, starting in 2013. corporate taxes would be increased for three years, beginning in 2012. the tobacco tax will go up for ten years from 2012. and the local tax for five years, from 20014. the ruling party plans will discuss the proposal with opposition parties in the near future. two subway trains slammed into each other in shanghai. city officials tell nhk about 260 people went into hospital. china's state-run "xinhua" news agency said the collision injured 245 people. it will happened tuesday on the number 10 subway line. transport officials say more than 500 passengers were on the two trains at the time. the transport authority says one train was running on reduced

speed because of equipment failures. the second train slammed into it from behind. nhk's reporter on the scene said ambulances, police cars and fire engines have gathered near the station close to the accident site. >> translator: the train was stopped due to mechanical trouble. people were sitting down and just waiting. i had no idea what happened. it was a massive impact. >> this is the latest rail accident in china. in july a high-speed train collision killed 40 people. in 2009 a fire at a construction site at the shanghai subway left one worker dead and six others injured. the shanghai subway network opened in 1995 and has been rapidly expanding since then. the number 10 line is the new extension that opened in april of last year ahead of the shanghai expo. the shanghai metro now runs over 410 kilometers and has overtaken

london's underground system in as the longest in the world. time to check stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by rtm malaysia. malaysian queen zarharira joined 300 children from orphanages to celebrate a muslim event in kuala lumpur on tuesday. the event was organized by the malaysian children's welfare council and other social affairs groups to spread happiness, joy and hope among the poor. and the queen presented donations worth $40,000, as well as pocket money, fruit and cookies for the children. people in various asian countries observed world tourism day on tuesday. 2,000 students from 150 schools in sri lanka created a one-kilometer-long painting. the art depicts what the

children imagine the city of colombo will look like ten years from now. the mission aims to promote international understanding by highlighting the cultural diversity around the globe. in afghanistan, a u.s.-led war on terrorism has brought misery to many of its citizens. the ten-year conflict makes finding a job close to impossible. it has also forced many afghans to flee from their homes. over 300,000 citizens classified by the u.n. as internally-displaced persons, now living in evacuation camps across the country. nhk world's mideki yui reports. >> reporter: this is a camp in kabul. more and more people come here as fighting intensifies between international forces and the taliban. most people here have fled from the south, where fighting has

intensified. >> translator: look at this. i got hit when a bomb exploded. >> reporter: even in the camp, some children die of malnutrition. this man lost his two younger children. >> translator: i'm very sad, the death of my sons is too much to bear. i really want these terrible conditions to be improved. >> reporter: the afghan government provides no help to evacuees in camps. they survive only on bread and soup from charities. this is 8-year-old sharif khan. his father, a construction worker, was killed in an attack by the international forces.

to escape the fighting, he and his brothers moved to a camp in kabul in july. along with their uncle's family. this man is his uncle. he is 18 years old. he looks for a day's work, but comes up empty. more and more evacuees stream into the city looking for jobs. on this day jumar cannot agree on the terms of a job. somebody else takes it. >> translator: so many people compete for one job. i have to find work to feed the children. >> reporter: the united nations says over 10,000 civilians have been killed since 2007, when the

fighting started intensifying. it warns that as more families lose their breadwinners, more families may lose their homes and become evacuees. >> we are unfortunately noted a high increase this year. in fact, in the first six months of 2011, the number of newly displaced persons in the, within the country has been as high as that of last year, throughout the 12 months last year. if the number of evacuees continue to increase, it is of course an indication of the fact that the instability in the country is also increasing. >> now we're linked up with our reporter, hideki yui in islamabad. as the fighting intensifies, more and more people in afghanistan are forced to live in evacuation camps. does this mean that security is degenerating even further?

>> reporter: yes, it's getting worse. u.n. data shows that the record 2,777 victims fell victim to fighting and terrorist attacks last year. for this year, from january to june, civilian deaths were up 15% from the same period last year. this sets a new record and can't be blamed on worsening security. but the u.s. government claims that taliban controlled areas are shrinking. however, even in the capital, which has better security than most places, a series of taliban attacks earlier this month killed 16 police officers and civilians. the u.s. embassy and the headquarters of the international security assistance force were among their targets. and in august, the taliban attacked the british council compound and their june strike against the russian hotel also caused heavy casualties.

so as far as afghanistan civilians are concerned, security has definitely not improved. >> but hideki, restoring law and order is a must before refugees can come back home. what is the outlook for peace? >> afghan president, hamid karzai has been seeking a negotiated peace with the taliban. he said law and order will be not be restored by military might alone. karzai has been calling on the taliban to disarm and take part in running the country. but the man leading peace negotiations with the taliban, a former president rabbani, was assassinated last week. so afghans think the chances of peace with the taliban has grown slimmer. >> translator: his death will make an impact on the peace process. he wanted peace in afghanistan, and sacrificed his life to help bring peace. afghanistan's enemies don't want

it, and they don't want the people to live in peace. >> reporter: rabbani's death could make the country in which many ethnic groups live, even more unstable. rabbani was a member of afghanistan's ethnic tajjic minority. karzai, like the taliban, is a member of the pashtun majority. the pashtuns are criticizing karzai for seeking a negotiated peace with the taliban. some are saying that rabbani's death will deepen the ethnic conflict. afghanistan appears to be sinking further into turmoil. >> reporting from islamabad, hideki, thanks. well china continues to enjoy strong growth, there is increasing concern that it may be affected by the economic uncertainty in the united states and europe.

nhk world's hirauchi reports from beijing. >> reporter: despite the growing specter of inflation and other challenges, china has managed to maintain its high growth rate and it remains the world's engine for growth. recently it has begun taking steps to gain a larger international role for is currency, the yuan. while also becoming more involved in shaping the world economic order. however, the economic doldrums and the credit crisis affecting both the u.s. and europe are starting to cast a shadow over china's economy, too. the daqing oil field in the northeastern province is the largest in china. work is being speeded up here to complete the construction of a major petroleum exchange by the end of this year. crude oil prices, along with infrastructure lagss s exchan

rates, by building its own oil exchange, china wants to gain influence over the pricing process for crude oil, which up to now, has been mostly dominated by the united states and major international oil companies. other energy-related exchange are also being built elsewhere in china. an exchange for natural resource commodities is due to open next month close to the gas fields in the east china sea. >> translator: the opening of the exchange will help underpin china's strategy to secure commodities. it will also enhance china's influence on the international pricing of commodities. >> reporter: china's growing concern about the current global economic uncertainties was evident at the annual

international trade and investment fair held earlier this month in the coastal city of xianen. >> translator: a new destabilizing factor is emerging as the world economy heads to recovery. let's give the global economy a boost by strengthening international cooperation and expanding cross-border investment. >> reporter: at this year's trade fair, the chinese government was making greater efforts than ever to attract investors. one booth set up by industrial parks and development zones across the country, was offering foreign companies a range of incentives to encourage them not to lose their appetite for investing in china. other incentives included help with the complicated paperwork required, which is often seen as an obstacle to starting up a business in china.

china's greatest worry now is that the economic problems in europe and the u.s. may lead to a downturn in investment by western companies. >> translator: the manufacturing industry is attracting less investment. we are now promoting our industrial park aggressively to attract investors. >> reporter: china is also worried that exports may also start to decline as these together with investment from abroad form the main pillar that supports its economy. up to now, there has been no discernible drop in chinese exports. in fact, in august they stood at $173.3 billion, the second highest monthly figure ever. in a year-on-year rise of 24.5%. even so, exporting companies along china's coast are still

worried. this seafood company is based in a province. in 2008 it was badly hit by the lehman shock and the ensuing global financial crisis and it has taken until this summer for sales to rebound almost to their precrisis level. now, though, it is starting to see a decline in orders. as the european debt crisis widens. >> translator: the global economy is contracting and demand for processed marine products has plunged. exporters are now under enormous pressure. >> reporter: now that china is the world's second-largest economy, it wants to have greater influence on the global market. the world is watching closely to see how china steers its economy

since its success or failure will now have a direct impact on the rest of the world. >> that was nhk world's yoesh taqa hirauchi in beijing. china and south korea have set up an international organization in seoul to promote stronger cooperation between the three countries. a ceremony was held in south korean capital on tuesday to mark the opening of the tri-lateral cooperation secretariat. there will be 16 officials working at the secretariat, including three diplomats from each country led by south korean secretary-general. the aim of the organization is to oversee the progress of a tri-lateral cooperative projects and meetings between the three countries. there are 50 cooperative projects and 17 intergovernmental frameworks involving the three countries. the new secretariat will coordinate those projects and play role in exploring new ones. >> we need your assistance, as

much as possible, in order to achieve our goal. we always welcome your council and advice. >> reporter: the secretariat is now planning to boost cooperation ahead of a symposium in october on disaster prevention. here are the latest market figures.

japan's volunteer firefighters are breaking down a gender barriers. local brigades serve an important reserve force for fire stations around japan. traditionally it was considered a man's job. but with manpower decreasing, a growing number of women are stepping in to fill the ranks. >> reporter: members of the ibaraki fire brigade head out on their beat. set up four years ago, all 41 firefighters in this unit north of tokyo are female. their talents were pressed into service after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. brigade members call on evacuees from the tsunami-hit areas. they check on their well-being and listen to any problems.

>> translator: i'm thankful they come around and ask if i'm okay. i can talk about everything. >> translator: we women have a natural tendency to be good listeners. i think we are cut out to do this kind of work. visiting houses where the elderly live and really listen to them. >> reporter: the number of women joining local firefighting groups has nearly doubled over the past ten years. last sunday, brigades in tokyo had a chance to show off what they had been practicing. one outfit that stood out was the kanamachi fire brigade. this year, they added eight new female members. women now account for nearly 20% of the 83-member brigade. one of the newcomers is yoko yoe sheeta, a mother of two. yoshita says since she was born

and raised in the area, she thought becoming a firefighter would allow her to take advantage of her community ties. >> she also lectures on disaster preparedness at local schools. >> translator: local residents naturally know most about the area they live in. when i went to a junior high school to tell them about how to use a defibrillator one of the students said, oh, it's your mother. you need that familiarity. >> translator: it's true that women now have a wider range of options for choosing careers. when they tell the elderly about what to do, they can be more soft-spoken and disarming than men. so that's one of the areas where female members are really valued. >> the fire and disaster management agency says it plans to raise the number of female brigade members to around 100,000, up from 19,000.

the current level is only 2% of the total. in comparison, female firefighters account for 5% of the in the united states and 7% in germany. hi there, and welcome back. let's talk about weather. well, the tropical storm haitang has downgraded into a tropical depression and it's over laos and into thailand, thailand is going to be affected by heavy rain to come for the storm for you. but the heavy rain storms will be tapering off. but this typhoon, nesat is going to be coming toward the same direction, now moving westly at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. and heading towards hainan as you can see. maybe making a secondary landfall, again on friday. now, this one is going to be affecting with high waves, also

rough sea conditions and it will be affecting luzon where there were very damaging situation continues there still. northern areas will be affected with much of the waves and stormy conditions. and south coast of china as well as eastern coast of china, hainan will be affected with similar conditions as well. this is the path for the 48-hour, you can see hainan is going to be very much affected with this very heavy rain. up to about 250 millimeters or even more to come. so further flooding is going to be a serious concern. heading back to the bigger picture, southwestern areas of japan will be seeing the ample moisture to be brought so showery weather, wet weather to be coming for you. but much of japan will be looking very sunny and dry, as well as the korean peninsula. a low just over northern china will be moving in towards

northeastern china and northern portions of china as well as central portions, maybe in shanghai we may see some showers and scattered storms around that area. ulan bator at 2 degrees for a wednesday high. the low is minus 4 degrees, very cold there overnight. tokyo at 22 degrees, seoul at 25, and manila, we're looking at 28 degrees. here in north america, this is hilary, which may be moving towards the baja california peninsula. no tropical storms or coastal watches just yet. here, the great lakes, we still see that meandering spiral over there. foggy conditions, as well as very showery conditions just over here, as well as this area. we're going to be looking at this cold front passing and that will be bringing very strong winds, gusts up to about 130 kilometers per hour in northern rockies region. montana will be affected with that stormy weather. as well as the gusty conditions. and fire weather is alerted

against montana area. the humidity is very low around that area as well. new york, 27 degrees, chicago 17 and denver at 28 degrees. here in europe, we've got a couple of things to talk about. it's very apparent as you can see, wet and cooler temperatures in northern british isles, as well as northern scandinavian peninsula. finland and western russia. on the other side of the jet stream, sunny and dry for you, please enjoy your weather. southern italy and northern africa, we're going to be looking at some isolated thunderstorms, which could be severe at times. temperatures are as follows, london at 26 degrees, paris at 28 and vienna, 22 degrees. here's our extended forecast.

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.