it's 10:00 p.m. in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima. tonight the japanese government is telling some of the people who fled their homes because of the accident at the fukushima daiichi, that it is safe to return. it lifted an evacuation advisory affecting five municipalities outside the 20 kilometer no-entry zone around the damaged nuclear facility. the municipalities are all in fukushima prefecture located between 20 and 30 kilometers from the plant.

the government's nuclear accident task force made the decision to lift the evacuation advisory on friday. all cabinet ministers attended the meeting. the task force noted the situation at fukushima daiichi has improved. it also pointed out five municipalities have drawn up plans to remove radioactive substancesrom local schools and hospitals and restore key infrastructure. >> translator: the government will do everything that it can in order to dispel concerns among residents who want to return home. >> this is the first time since thcrisis began at fukushima daiichi that the central evacuation-related designation. the government designated three types of evacuation zones after the accident at fukushima daiichi. the zone whose advisory was lifted on friday colored here in

yellow covers five municipalities located between 20 and 30 kilometers from the nuclear plant. residents were advised to evacuate voluntary or remain in doors in the event of another emergency. as a result, about half of the population, around 28,500 people decided to leave. two other areas remain out of bounds because of high level s of radiation. the no-entry zone that covers a 20 kilometer radius around the plant and five municipalities outside the perimeter color ed here in blue where cumulative radiation is expected to top 20 millisieverts per year. the government has not determined when people in these two areas will be able to return home.

japan's upper house has approved a bill to set up an independent panel of experts to investigate the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the upper house voted unanimously on friday to pass the bill. the ten-member panel of experts will operate independently from the government and carry out a one-year investigation to clarify the details surrouin the acdent. the panel will have the ority to summon witnesses and demand submiioof documents. the experts will submit an inrireporto e dietn abousimonths. the pal members will be leedy jot counl wmakers from t two chambers. the int council wi also assistheanel by exercing the diet's right to investigate state affairs.

japan's national police force is tightening measures to safeguard the country's nuclear power plants it's introducing radiation-proof vehicles that will allow officers to counter any attacks by terrorists. the national police agency decided on the move in the belief that theukushi cintas increased the likelihood that nuclear facilities could be targeted. the agency said it will deploy the new vehicles at nine police headquarters around the country. they will be stheehielded with . theehlewi pteofce fmad when confrontg rroristsr reuing the injured folwing be a attk at aarow dapes pic been deployed around the country's nuclear plants and related facilities around the clock since the 9/11 attacks in the united states in 2001. now tonight's "the road

ahead." this is where people in the disaster-hit area get away from it all. for a few hours they can sit back and enjoy the entertainment offered by this pop-up theater. we have a report from miyagi prefecture. >> reporter: after two hours of pumping air, this inflatable building comes to life. japan's first pop-up movie theater rises in the town of matsushima. over four days, the p-up cinemas showed locals 15 movies. the theater cost over $1 million to make. it seats 120 people comfortably. the seating is arranged so everyone in the audience has a clear view of the screen, no matter where they sit. thick fabric stops light from getting into the cinema. the audience can view the movie in almost complete darkness. the idea for the theater came

from a famous movie producer. he says he worried whether moviegoers would find it authentic. during his career, lee has produced many cinematic hits. one of his most famous films is "hula girl." a group of girls take up hula dancing to save their small mining village in, of all places, fukushima. last year, the recession forced lee to stop making films. but after the march 11th disaster, he felt he had to return to the industry. he heard from people in the disaster area where he had produced a movie. >> translator: i was so grateful for comments like, i was inspired by your film. they gave me a deeper

understanding of why i made films. i felt my role in life is to make movies. >> reporter: so now he's bringing movies to people in the disaster area. lee's career in the film industry is reborn he wanted lots of people to come to his pop-up theater. lee walked around the town, passing out brochures for his film festival. >> reporter: a 74-year-old restaurant owner shows interest. portraits of james dean decorate the blinds. sakari is a true movie buff.

when in his 20s, sakarai spent much of his monthly one day off at the movies. >> translator: i saw three movies a day, they helped during the tough times, because you can get fully immersed in the film. it was the only time i could forget my troubles. >> reporter: he moved to mats sheema and opened a restaurant. but the town has no movie theater. it had been eight years since he had gone to a movie. when sakurai saw the festival line-up, one film really excited him. it was the 1946 american film "it's a wonderful life." he had wanted to see this classic for years. the main character loans money to the local townsfolk, even if they're poor.

bad luck hounds him. eventually, he tries to take his life. >> you got your wish, you've never been born. >> reporter: but an angel appears and shows him how valuable life is. >> strange, isn't it? each man's life touches so many other lives. >> reporter: the night the film is screened. our movie buff is there with his wife. >> translator: i'm very excited. it's been a while. ever since i heard it was playing, i've been looking forward to it. >> reporter: at the film's climax -- >> get me back to my wife and kids! help me, terrence, please!

kids! let me touch you, are you real? oh! >> george, george! >> reporter: the film's main character sees how wonderful life is and he and his family break into song. >> translator: my heart is beating. it's important to keep moving forward. and i'm going to give it my best shot. the people of our town have to stay strong, and carry on. i was moved to tears. >> reporter: the audience laughed and cried throughout the movie. now lee is convinced the disaster area should have a movie theater. >> translator: i was reminded just how important films can be. they give us strength and hope for a better tomorrow. i do this because i want to hear people say, your film gave me

courage. for that reason alone, i'll keep going. >> the pop-up movie theater will travel around the tohoku region until mid november. time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item cc china. after ala thsd,china's first space lab module has successfully entered into orbit. 350 kilometers above the earth. during its first orbits, the tiangong 1 made an adjustment on friday to establish a near-secular path around the planet. during the past two years, the unmanned module well execute docking tests and work as a space experimental platform to pave the way for short sojourns of astronauts. the launch is considered an important step in cha' efrttostli a mne spe atn 20.

>> a three-da j.e.t.sian urm irrt thudayn banglash itim t promote trism in bangladesh and networking among asian countries. cha, india, and ten other asian nations are participating in the affair. it's the biggest event of its kind in bangladesh. local to operators, airlines and hotels have set up 190 stalls to showcase their services and cultural assets. about 30,000 people are expected to visit the fair. the earthquake that hit the state of sikkim in northern india on september 18 has severely hit tourism, the mainstay of the local economy. the 6.8-magnitude tremor killed over 110 people and severely damaged roads and scenic spots leading many tourists to cancel their plans. to revive the industry, the state government is planning new strategies, including a snow festival to be held in january or february.

the u.s. state department announced on thursday that the assistant secretary of state, kurt campbell, will visit japan and other asian nations next week. campbell is scheduled to arrive in japan on october 6th. he will also visit south korea, hong kong, brunei and thailand and will wrap up the trip in beijing on the 11th before returning to washington. his meetings in tokyo and seoul are expected to focus on how to cope with north korea's demand for an unconditional resumption of the six-part tks on the cotry's nucleaprram. noh rema td wn top nuclear envs of bh koaset in a beijing earlier th month. e u.s., japan and south korea maintain tt theor mt denu conet steps tard halting its uranium enrichment program before the talks can be resumed. campbell is also expected to discuss the trans-pacific partnership agreement during his visit to japan. the u.s. has,ed japan to

participate in the free trade pact to enhance economic cooperation and strengthen bilateral ties. territorial disputes over the spratly islands in the south china sea will be discussed as well when campbell meets vice foreign minister in beijing. the islands are claimed by china, the philippines, vietnam, malaysia, brunei and taiwan. the number of internet users in china has topped 500 million. the government is suggesting that it will tighten regulations on the internet use. the chief of state council information office revealed the number on thursday. 500 million is nearly 40% of china's population. the officials said people are expressing their opinions more widely in cyberspace. he said that information transmission order must be maintained, and national interests must not be endangered. observers say chinese officials are concerned that internet users could log on to direct

criticism toward the government, as corruption and income disparities are becoming serious social problems. a major business conference was held on friday in seoul, for south korean companies aiming to enter the japanese market. the conference was organized by business organizations of the two countries, and the south korean government. about 120 companies participated. they included south korean parts makers, as well as japanese firms thinking about buying components from south korea. utkoanaks pitched theiproduc, sayin the yen's strength and the weak yuan will make it easier for japanese companies to buy them. translator: many south korean firms are thinking about exporting to japan. to take advantage of the we yuan. >> translator: it would be good to do business with south korean make.

because thei cry is close to japan. >> due to the iact of th yes appriaon in e march dist, japanese manufacturers are stepping up efforts to buy parts and materials from south korea. japan has decided 20 set up its own more accurate version of the global positioning system or gps. it aims to have four satellites in orbity the end of the decade before bringing the total to seven in the near future. japan launched its first gps satellite in september last year. another three will be needed to improve the precision of the u.s.-developed system. the government's space development task force decided to approve the project on friday. it has concluded it will strengthen japan's industrial competitiveness and contribute to the disaster management. the government says that once the four satellites are in orbit sometime in late 2010's, it will aim to launch three more to decrease japan's reliance on the

american gps system. here are the latest market figures. a in normal times, there is plenty of butter available in japan's supermarkets. but these days, the pducts in short supply. next winut what's causing th shortage. >> reporter: supermarketare running out of butter.

this one used to carry three different brands, but in june, one producer stopped shipping. >> translator: we have no idea when it will come in. we're really running low. >> reporter: why is it so hard to get butterys reason is that japan is running low on raw milk. this dairy farm in chiba prefecture near tokyo has 400 cows. this year, something happened to them that the farmer had never seen before. >> translator: her udders aren't working properly. no milk comes out. last summer we tried artificial insemination, but we failed. >> reporter: after insemination, dairy cows usually give birth the following spring. after the calves are born, the

cows start producing milk. but last year's summer came with record-breaking heat. it lasted so long that cows became less fertile. in august last year, 34 cows were inseminated. but only one gave birth. so not much raw milk was produced. >> translator: when it's very hot, they don't eat as much. if they don't eat, they don't calf. >> reporter: another cause of the shortage was the earthquake and tsunami on march since apri tons lower than in the same period the year before.

the milk shortage has hit butter production the hardest. when raw milk is produced manufacturers give making fresh milk top priority because it sells for the highest price. the second-most important product is fresh cream. what's left over is made into butter. so if there's a shortage of raw milk, butter is the first product to be affected. when raw milk was in short supply last summer, butter production dropped 22% during eiclin h a plan for the winter season. demand for butter rises then because of the seasonal holidays. the plan calls for importing 2,000 tons of butter. the government fears that the chaotic enf threa ago will b peed

the w naw mk and butter disappeared from shelves. >> translator: anxiety breeds more anxiety. so ultimately, people try to hoard. we'll make an attempt to prevent that. we'll try to supply the amount of butter that's needed. >> reporter: despite the government's plan, cake shops that use a lot of butter are very worried. this shop goes through more than 40 kilograms of butter a month. it has only 900 grams left and the staff doesn't know how they will get more. >> translator: if we run out of butter, we won't be able to make anything. i don't know what to do and i'm very worried. >> following an increase in raw milk prices, two major manufacturers will raise their retail prices on saturday.

japan hit another hot summer this year and people are concerned that next year there will again be a smaller amountis say there m b hi there, time to get you updated on the weather as we head on into the weekend. it doesn't look good, unfortunately, in the tropics here. we do have a couple of storms still to deal wi. the first one i want to menon is tropical stm nesat. you'llemembethis was the one that blew through the northern philippines, making a second landfall in hainan yesterday and is now just movg inland through northern parts of vietnam. now it's reallylowed down, movi west-northwest slowly. the winds have come down, gusts still at 90 kilometers per hour. but they're not going to be the biggest problem. the biggest issue is going to be the ongoing rain as the system just inches further along. in the next 48 hours, some places picking up in excess of 150 millimeters of rain.

certainly parts of southern china as well as indochina will be suffering. hainan island still getting a lot of the rain, too, as parts of hainan island saw 250 millimeters in the last 24 hours. so when we add on to that, it could be a problem with flooding and landslides. then we have the northern philippines, once again getting absolutely drenched this time by typhoon nalgae which has intensified. it's set to make landfall tomorrow in eastern luzon, in the afternoon. and then just to move right across and following almost exactly the same path as the last storm did. maybe making landfall here in hainan. maybe in central vietnam. early on the beginning of next week. currently the wind gusts are 234 kilometers per hour. so this is a very intense system. damaging winds and also a lot of rain that's going to be falling on already-saturated, already-flooded land. so it doesn't look good, unfortunely. wel really be keeping an e on this thrghhe ekd. japan eing aitf a w

inch tern parts of hokkaido. tokyo looking at 24. as we head into north america, we have ophelia, another storm here this one a hurricane to deal with, a category 2 storm, which looks just set to move to the east of bermuda. there is a tropical storm watch in effect right now. it's moving 15 kilometers per hour at towards the north here. and actually it is going to be moving right up in towards newfoundland by the end o th benng ntwe. oblyha rutf st th, befity otr ortoee a en re the'pltyf weaer vi tou ete cada roh t nthstnnid at a we. he tofowre sts stmsllhe w anghi frt wnnowds xa noenghisreo ntheirng. heedlaarngor

pas eteexdrow humidity, and quite windy as well. 'lse ttrgin anre toerhe mos ay 'l s temraom wnengr in the northeast. so that will be you in new york city. already at 15 in chicago. winnipeg and vancouver as well. not so in ro. deeeno diethrghhesuer alstocbeutpes s, en thewe scotland and then overhe ridge of high pressure through in towards western russia that is. but have a look at the teeratures, 29 in london. 28 in ris. can't argue with that. even 25 for you in berlin. 16 in stkholm, so cooling down he. just 11 in moscow. unfortunately you're not getng any of the warmth. buif you are getting mns std the outeedoras

japanese researchers have won an eighth nobel prize, a parity of the nobel prize for developing the fire alarm that ells like wasa. the prize i aworded to innisesrc tt isls thmo h my humorous. wasabi is also known as japanese horseradish and has an extremely strong flavor.

it is typically grated into a nte served with sushi and other japanese dishes. the u.s. science magazine "annals of improbable research" inittedhe awards 20 yrs ago to mark humorous achievements. on thursday, the ceremony was he in haar a team of seven japanese researchers won the chemistry prize for inventing a fire alarm that emits the pungent odor of wasabi. the researchers said they made the system for people with hearing disabilities to failed to notice conventional sound alarms, especially while they are asleep. >> this prize is a gift from the subject in the examination room and had it been choked with the pungent smell with the tears and cough. >> do not spray on to sushi. and 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.