it's 10:00 p.m. in tokyo, welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima with the news at this hour. we've got a couple of stories now about the operator of the japan's damaged fukushima daiichi plant. in a minute, we'll give you the latest estimate on how much tokyo electric power company owes in compensation for the nuclear accident. but first, nhk on obtained documents that show tepco concluded three years ago, a tsunami higher than 10 meters could swamp the facility.

the utility informed the government, but only four days before the march 11th disaster. the government released the simulation report to nhk on monday. tepco based its analysis on the possibility that an earthquake could hit that would be similar to the one that devastated the area in 1896. it predicted waves of between 8.4 and 10.2 meters in height could swamp all six reactors at the fukushima daiichi plant. engineers only designed the facility to with stand a tsunami of only 5.7 meters. tepco told the government's nuclear safety agency about its prediction on march 7th, four days later, an earthquake and tsunami disabled fukushima daiichi. the report nhk obtained shows the utility planned to begin examining the plant's tsunami countermeasures in april of this year. it said it expected to deal appropriately with the matter by around october of 2012. >> translator: we did not feel

the need to take prompt action on the estimates, which were still tentative calculations at the research stage. >> a nuclear and industrial safety agency official says it's regrettable that tepco did not start work to make the plant more secure three years ago. now, to the tepco compensation story. utility's multibillion-dollar tab just keeps growing. experts on the government panel finished crunching the numbers. they tried to figure out if the company costs victims of the fukushima daiichi accidents would be able to get what they're owed. the panel submitted the report on its financial investigation to prime minister yoshihiko noda on monday. it says compensation payments up until march of next year will amount to about $47 billion. after that, tepco will likely have to make annual payments of nearly $12 billion. the experts say the utility should cut costs by more than

$32 billion over the next ten years. they suggest eliminating 7,400 jobs. they also say tepco should sell about $9 billion in assets. that includes real estate and stocks. that's about $1.3 billion more than tepco had planned to sell. the financial report also calls on the government to promptly review the utility's pricing system. it says tepco may have overestimated costs and overcharged consumers. >> translator: the problems are longstanding. we have revealed that the extremely problematic pricing standards have been neglected for a long time. we expect the company to work to improve efficiency in every way possible and restructure. three scientists whose work could help save people from cancer and other diseases have won the top award in their field. in the nobel prize winners were

announced on monday. >> the 2011 nobel prize in physiology or medicine shall be divided with one-half jointly to bruce beutler and jules hoffmann, for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity. and the other half to ralph steinman, for his discovery of the dendridic cell and its role in adaptive immunity. >> the nobel assembly said the winners' discoveries show how the two types of immunities known as innate and adaptive are activated. the scientists also developed studies on disease mechanisms, paving wait for prevention and therapy and infectious illnesses and cancer. the three will also share about $1.5 million in prize money. before this year, 196 individuals won the prize starting in 1901.

the demonstrations on wall street against the u.s. government's economic policies and high unemployment have inspired hundreds of people to stage protests in los angeles and other cities. >> no forensic evidence, no execution. >> about 400 people gathered in front of los angeles city hall on sunday evening to protest the federal government and financial circles. >> it's very important for americans to know that your money is being taken from you by these banks and i'm sick of it. i'm sick of it. >> i'm here to support people are ready to make a change in how things work in the economy so that one people don't have an advantage over another group of people. >> some of the protesters brought tents and spent the night on the street. another rally is scheduled for monday in los angeles. similar gatherings have been held across the country in cities including boston, chicago and san francisco. protesters are spreading the word through social networking

sites. politicians in tokyo are trying to cut the ties linking crime syndicates and businesses. a new by-law targeting the yakuza took effect on march 1st. it prohibits companies from helping gangsters or money. they're also in and out allowed to pay criminal organizations to make their troubles go away. it's a string of laws across japan aimed at gangs. tonight we'll look at the root of the problem and examine whether this type of legal action is the solution. >> reporter: people in japan rally against organized crime. the anti-gang sentiment in this country is on the rise. more citizens are vowing to stop the far-reaching syndicate known as the yakuza. >> translator: i declare that our community will eliminate crime groups. >> reporter: their elected representatives are behind them. >> translator: i need to talk

with the branch manager face to face. >> reporter: tokyo officials are trying to help companies understand the capital's new anti-gang by-law. >> translator: be rational. that's all i ask. >> reporter: they're teaching employees how the ordinance works. and the consequences of not following it. >> translator: it's important to reject all demands by gangsters. however trivial they are. >> reporter: the bylaw prohibits private businesses from helping crime groups turn a profit. authorities will issue warnings to companies that assist gangsters in any way, including paying for protection or help in resolving conflicts. serious violators will be identified in public. this type of bylaw is already in effect in other parts of japan. in one case, authorities warned a lumber business after it

knowingly did interior decoration on the office of a crime group. in another, they advised the business against letting local gangsters use a parking space for free. then, there's the case of the cemetery operator. authorities zeroed in on him for entrusting the management of his business to a company run by the head of a crime organization. finding links between businesses and yakuza might be the easy part. severing the ties will be much more difficult. this tokyo bar manager says he pays gangsters to act as bouncers. >> translator: i won't disclose the amount, but i'm paying them every month. i have a lot of trouble at my place. for example, fights or quarrels between customers. and that can hurt my business. i need their help to keep my bar running. >> translator: will you stop paying them immediately? >> translator: it will be rather difficult.

>> nhk world's senior commentator, reporter koji nish charact gaggi is covering the story for us. >> police believe now is the best time to tackle gangsters. the large crime syndicate in the country is the yakuza clan based in western japan. this is the emblem of the clan. the clan controls 44% of all gangsters in the country. it has 34,900 members and it's getting stronger. the head of the national police agency, takaharu endo is telling his officers to target the yamaguchi. >> translator: we're going to use every possible law to stop the gangsters. >> the current head of the yamaguchi got out of jail in april. police arrested the yamaguchi number two and three figures while he was in prison.

they also launched a campaign to expel gangsters from the world of sumo. japan's national sport. they found out that yakuza were going to the tournaments and taking up seats near the ring to cheer the head while he was in jail. police believe he's reorganizing his clan to launch counterattacks on police. >> so what is the aim of tokyo's anti-gangster ordinance? >> it's designed to cut off funding for organized crime groups, including the yak gucci clan. japanese gangsters became powerful and notorious in the 1980s, they profited from this country's real estate bubble. at the peak of the bubble economy, financial institutions belonging to major bank groups paid one crime isyndicate leade funds exceeding $1 billion. the gangster also tried his hand

at speculative markets. recently, one of the best-known tv personalities in japan retired after his ties with the head of a gang were exposed. this all started with when the gangster helped the celebrity deal with a right-wing political group. now mobsters are trying to figure out what kind of impact the ordinance will have on their activities. >> translator: i'd be lying if i said we won't be affected. but businesses such as real estate agents, money lenders and entertainment establishments cannot survive without our help. it won't be easy for them to sever ties with us. >> so how hard will it be to uproot the yakuza from japanese society? >> unlike italy, hong kong and south korea, it's not illegal to belong to a crime syndicate in

japan. it's been like that for decades. some mobsters work for authorities during the years that follow the end of world war ii. until recently, many crime groups in the region put up signs bearing the name on their buildings. they didn't bother to disguise themselves. the japanese government introduced an anti-organized crime law 20 years ago, after realizing more gangsters were involved in civil affairs. the law limits the activities of organizations where many members have criminal records. it also makes it possible for gang leaders to be liable for any damage or harm their subordinates cause citizens. japan's prolonged economic downturn has caused the ranks of some criminal groups to dwindle. but still the criminal, the crime syndicates are definitely not on the edge of extinction.

what is most important today, police say is that citizens turn their backs on the gangsters and create a society where they have no role to play as yakuza. >> nhk world's senior commentator. koji nikhigaki for us tonight. how widespread is the yakuza in japan? take a look. nearly 80,000 people are members of the criminal organization. as koji just mentioned, the biggest group, the yamaguchi, has about 35,000 members. every year, police arrest more than 20,000 gangsters. they charge them with crimes such as extortion, fraud and drug trafficking. 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. thailand's information and communication minister on monday confirmed reports that prime

minister-elect shinawatra's twitter account has been hacked. the post questioned the competence of the recently-inaugurated leader and accused her of cronyism. the minister said the government has some leads in the case. he added that the government will allocate more funds to improve internet security. malaysia's government says the country's information and communication technology or ict sector aims to account for 20% of gross domestic product by 2020. a government official made the comment while inaugurating the national itc month in kula lum pr on monday. he added the wider use of broadband, more emphasis on research and development and tighter cybersecurity will lead to the sector's growth. for the past few years, the contribution of the sector has been around 8% to 9%. so-called extreme balancing

artist s displayed a daredevil acrobatics in a province on monday. he performed his feat while hanging from one of the mountain's cliff faces. the feat performed without any safety equipment included ballet in the air, swinging in the irand riding a bicycle backwards. the impressive balancing chair routine brought the act to a heart-stopping close. here are the latest market figures.

hello sports fans, welcome to this week's sports report. we begin with golf, the japan's women's open is one of the biggest tournaments in the nation and japan's yukari baba has won it for the first time. on the final day, she and her partner were sharing the lead at the 18th. they were in the last group. baba made certain she would have no regrets. this is her second shot. >> jui is aiming to make par. but she came up short.

that gives baba a chance to end a two-year title drought. she sinked the putt to win her first major domestic tournament. >> the old men and the sea. hemingway covered the story a numb of years ago. but we found another candidate for the title. a sailor in his late 70s who circumnavigate the globe for the eighth time. a three-year journey was about to come it to an end in yokohama. at the helm was minaru saito, a man not shy about revealing his age.

[ applause ] [ laughter ] >> mr. saito, congratulations. how do you feel? >> very happy, very happy now. >> when saito was a mere youngster of 39, a friend taught him how to sail. since then, the wind and the sea have never been far from his thoughts. saito participated in numerous international races and crossed the globe seven times. in 2007, a prestigious yacht club in the united states named him the world's best sailor. he was the first japanese to receive the honor.

when saito became 50, he retired from business and sold his possessions. for nearly 30 years now, his boat has been his home. he lives on a modest pension. which part of sailing attracts you? >> translator: freedom. no one orders me around. and i order no one on the ocean. so i'm calm when i watch the sea. >> at the age of 74, saito said the time had come for him to circle the world again. for his eighth global voyage, he chose to sail west, a course of which only a few sailors had succeeded. the wind in the mid latitudes blows mainly from west to east. that meant saito was sailing against the wind and the tide in the roughest parts of the sea.

keeping the boat on court in that situation left almost no time for sleep. >> translator: i was holding the wheel 21 hours a day. i thought i was going to die with my hands on it. i can hardly believe i lived to tell about it. >> saito said the toughest point was off cape horn, chile. sailors call it an ocean grave because of the fierce gales that rage there throughout the year. >> translator: i came up against a violent storm. the waves swelled to about 15 meters. i had no choice but to confront it directly. i plunged in. watching the waves and hanging onto the wheel. >> weren't you afraid? >> translator: i couldn't let myself be afraid. once fear takes over, you're done for. all you think about is how to

ride over this wave and the next one. i knew that if i fell asleep, i would die. so i clung to the wheel for 30 hours. finally, i rounded cape horn. i was relieved and went to sleep. it was a serious error. the boat crashed into some drifting ice. i heard the sound -- bang! >> the sails and the propeller damaged and the ship could not continue in that condition. neither could saito. his body was bruised and battered. chilean authorities had to rescue him. >> you never thought about quitting? >> translator: i was determined to sail back. there was no other option. to me, quitting midway would have been a crime. a sin. >> saito initially planned to complete his voyage in eight months. but the delay for repairs set

the schedule way back. three years passed before his homecoming. [ cheers and applause ] >> the achievement earned saito two world records. the oldest person to circle the globe and the one who has done it the most. so of course he's thinking about what's next. >> translator: i want to risk my life to challenge the arctic ocean. i'd sail between mountains of ice. it's difficult, but going up against difficulty is what gets me excited. all of life is a challenge. a continuous challenge. quitting halfway, that's a sin. >> you know, i have the feeling

that in a few years we'll be talking about another of saito's achievements. the story of this old man and the sea has more chapters to be written. and that's all for sports. amazing, thanks hiro. mia shoji is up next with weather. hi there, welcome back, let's take a look at your weather conditions, starting off with asia. let's start off with this, severe tropical storm nalgae, moving at the speed of 10 kilometers per hour. a comparatively slow-moving system. moving towards hainan. it looks like it will be making landfall by tuesday evening on the southern tip of hainan. and then towards the northern vietnam it would go to. and as i mentioned, it is going to be a prolonged period of very heavy rain to come from this storm. and hainan, we've already got

reports of 148 millimeters in the past 24 hours. and an additional is going to be accumulation of 250 millimeters or even more. and not only it is directly affecting this area. but the ample moisture is all the way towards southwestern islands of japan and northern taiwan. in okinawa, we're talking about additional of 250 millimeters. so the total accumulation, and especially kabi in okinawa may add up to 400 millimeters. this is the path it will be taking. looking pretty messy in the next 48 hours, flooding, landslides, mudslides, these will be at high risk. high pressure dominates much of elsewhere in asia. the korean peninsula, japan looking pretty dry for you. though temperature up in northern japan, though, is going to be dropping significantly. we may see some snow accumulating up to about ten centimeters in higher elevations in hokkaido. tokyo, 22 degrees, seoul 20 degrees and shanghai at 22 and

taipei, 27 degrees. here in north america, let's first talk about ophelia, as you can see the clouds quickly passing through the newfoundland area, moving at speed of almost 70 kilometers per hour, this tropical storm ophelia. and it is going to be bringing tropical storm watches to much of newfoundland, along the peninsula. elsewhere in the states we have a low pressure system that will be moving towards the new england area. and it's going to be bringing some stormy weather towards you as it passes through. out towards the west, british columbia is going to be looking at very heavy rain as well as gusts up to about 100 kilometers per hour in some areas. vancouver, 15 degrees, toronto 13, looking at washington, at 14 degrees. here in europe, though, we've got no clouds whatsoever. just around this area as you can see, high pressure dominating, it's a ginormous high pressure system. this low pressure system over

there in the north is going to be bringing gusty conditions as well as very heavy rain in some areas, scotland will be seeing some showers as well. but otherwise, looking very warm out here. moscow cooler at 11 degrees and stockholm, 16. but vienna, 25 degrees, as well as rome and 22 in paris, madrid looking at 29 degrees. so a taste of summer coming back to you in europe. 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.