months ago, but the pain of japan's march 11th disaster is still fresh. >> translator: i come here on the 11th of every month. i don't want to be alone. >> people in the northeast offer prayers at 2:46 p.m. local time, the exact moment the earthquake struck. welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima in tokyo. survivors of japan's disaster

have face mord than their share of difficulties, thousands of them lost everything and spent months crammed into emergency shelters. now most are moving onto the next stage of their lives. cities across devastated northeast are closing evacuation centers. officials in ishinomaki, in miyagi prefecture shut their last shelter on tuesday. 15 survivors stayed to the end at one of the centers at a junior high school. on tuesday morning, they took their belongings out to cars and cleaned up. they had their final breakfast together. reminiscing over how they spent the past seven months. at one point, the city had 250 centers accommodating more than 50,000 resints. but temporary housing facilities were built, there were only centers left at the end. housing just over 200 people. >> translator: i have been getting up and going to bed at this shelter for such a long

time that i've almost forgotten what it was like before i came here. ee a ithis place savedy life. >>ranslator: it's still hard. but the only thing i can do is to do my bt. >> some survivors will now go do temporary housing. and others will return to their own homes. however, about 70 people have nowhere to go, except for four interim facilities set up in community centers. one of them is 84-year-old sato sijo, who has spent the last four months at one of the city's shelters. he now has to go it an interim facility because repair work at his tsunami-hit home has not been completed. >> translator: it's sad to leave, as people here were almost like family to me after seven months. i wish i could have stayed here for another two months until i can return home. >> even after the shelters close, city officials will still have to respond to the various

needs of the affected people. meanwhile, a day care center near the damaged fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant has reopened for the first time since the march disaster. the center is located in minamisoma some 20 kilometers from the plant. 18 children ranging in age from two months to five years arrived with their parents at the center on tuesday. the facility decided to reopen, after the japanese government lifted its evacuation advisory for the city late last month. before opening its doors again, the center reportedly took decontamination measures such as removing topsoil if its playground. >> translator: parents have different views about radiation. we have a lot on our plates. and we just have to do what we can. many northeastern japan are just doing what they can these days. tens of thousands of people are starting from scratch. no home, no job, few prospects. we met one woman in the

devastated tohoku region who believes she has found a way do get back on her feet. nhk world's hiroki yaj ma has her story. >> reporter: 50-year-old sakamoto has completed a trains course. she's now a home-based caretaker for elderly people. >> translator: i'm so glad to receive this certificate. i'm hoping to find a new job, even though it will be hard to do. now several months after the earthquake, she lives with her husband in temporary housing. old people living in temporary housing have to vacate there within two years.

before the tsunami, michiko owned her own home, had lived there for ten years. the tsunami demolished the house as well as the seafood processing plant she worked at for ten years. what's more, she still has to repay the loan on her house. >> translator: it's a terrible situation. everything has been swept away. and lost. tsunamis are a truly terrifying phenomenon. that's what i've learned. >> reporter: ofunato city has a population of 40,000. it was home to a thriving seafood industry. the tsunami killed 340 people and left over 100 people still missing.

the seafood processing company was located near the ocean, it was hit by the tsunami, michiko feared for her life. after talking with her family, she decided to look for a job where she could work far away from the coast. she decided to earn her degree and become a caretaker. in this area, the population is aging and the demand for home-based caretakers is expected to grow. michiko also liked the fact that she didn't have to worry about tsunamis, since care centers are usually located on higher ground. >> translator: here you go. is it all right? >> reporter: michiko is now taking on a new challenge. this is her first time pushing wheelchairs and helping the

elderly eat meals as part of her practical education. >> translator: it's hard. it's different from all the work i've done up until now. it's hard to get used to the elderly. >> reporter: today, michiko is determined to rebuild her life along with her husband. >> translator: i hope to find a job. and start working within two to three months. my dream is to work outside of this temporary housing. where we're stuck indoors all the time. >> reporter: armed with a certificate, she has finally received, michiko is doing her best to change careers. though she's blessing herself

for the daunting job-hunting process, she has already taken her first steps towards a new way of working. hiroki yajima, nhk world. politics is a tough business in japan. our latest nhk poll is proof of that. prime minister yoshihiko noda only took office a month ago. his approval rating is already slipping. nhk conducted a phone survey last weekend. the results suggest a little more than half of voters support noda's cabinet. 53% of respondents say they approve of noda's cabinet. that's a drop of seven percentage points from last month. the disapproval rating stands at 27%. an increase of nine percentage points. we also asked people about the government's propose the $120

billion tax hike to recover the cost of rebuilding northeastern japan over the next ten years. 44% say they approve of the proposal. 49% say they don't. our survey looked at the debate between the ruling democratic party and the opposition, over how long the maturity should be for that government reconstruction bonds. 48% say it should be ten to 60 years. 28% say it should be ten years. 7% say the bod mant turt should be 60 years. masayo nakajima is here with more. prime minister yoshihiko noda only became prime minister a a month ago and his approval rating has slipped, why is that in. >> when noda took office,s the japanese people considered him modest, trustworthy and steady. many believed he would be better than his predecessor, kanako

sachno on the other hand, noda has tried not to be a showman. however, after one month in office, voters have realized that noda has done almost nothing except for push for tax increase to cover the cost of reconstruction in devastated northeast japan. many japanese are beginning to have some kind of doubts about noda's leadership now. >> did the resignation of the cabinet minister in charge of nuclear policy kind of affect noda's popularity by any chance? >> i think it did. the economy trade and industry ministry controls japan's nuclear issues. nuclear policies. that cabinet portfolio became even more important after nuclear accident at fukushima daiichi. on march 11th.

minister yoe minister made inappropriate mas. he called the area arod fukushima daiichi, a town of death. and said the dirt he got on his sleeves could have been radioactive. his resignation took some shine off noda's administration. >> what about the trial of the former dpj leader, ichiro ozawa. is that affecting his leadership? >> i think so. ozawa is a powerful politician, he controls the biggest faction in the ruling dpj. so noda does not want to make an enemy of him. so he's not speaking out about ozawa's trial for falsification of political funding reports. he's also taking a cautious stance on the demand from the political parties for ozawa to testify under oath before the diet. that runs counter to what the japanese people really want. 59% of people surveyed say ozawa needs to explain his case before

the diet. some of the respondents might be even disappointed by noda's lack of leadership regarding ozawa's case. >> so what is noda doing to keep his approval rating from eroding any further? >> well, the prime minister is trying to show his leadership in other areas. noda abruptly instructed senior government official to make a decision as soon as possible on whether to join free trade talks on the trans-pacific partnership, or tpp. the former kan administration also wanted japan to get involved in the tpp. but it faced strong opposition from japan's powerful farm lobby. that could influence election results. noda visited rice paddies near tokyo to ease concerns among farmers that abolishing tariffs could hurt them. >> noda is japan's sixth prime minister in five years.

what kind of future is he looking at? >> well it won't be an easy one. the tpp is one issue. and the divided diet is another. the ruling democratic party controls the lower house, but not the upper house. so the government cannot pass bills without help from the opposition. but the opposition parties are playing hardball because of noda's pacifist stance regarding ozawa's political funding scandal. noda needs to balance his desire to keep his party united with his need to work together with the opposition parties. sooner or later, the prime minister will have to realize that he won't be able to survive if he tries to be everybody's friend. >> all right. nhk senior commentator, masayo nakajima reporting for us tonight. thank you. massive damage from thailand's worst flooding in half a century is getting even worse. the capital, bangkok, is on high

alert as heavy rain is forecast to continue for at least a few more weeks. 260 people in thailand have lost their lives since july in the heavy monsoon rains and floods. four-fifths of the country and over 2.4 million households have been affected. the meteorological department predicts heavy rain through the end of the month posing a hire risk of severe flooding in bangkok. in central attahaya province, hundreds of factories were forced to stop production because of the rain. a a government source places the initial cost of damage to industrial estates in that province alone at around $1 billion. earlier on tuesday, the thai cabinet announced a two-year cut in corporate incox taxes. the tax rate will be decreased to 23% for the 2012 fiscal year. the cabinet also resolved a special budget of around $2.7 billion to deal with damage caused by floods.

in neighboring cambodia, at least 207 people have been killed in flooding alone. along the mekong river since early september. >> translator: my children are sick. they have rashes on their hands and feet. i'm begging the government and international groups to help. >> cambodian authorities said nearly 230,000 families have been affected with many being forced to flee to higher ground. japan's consumer confidence improved in september for the first time in two months. amid continuing business recovery. the cabinet office said on tuesday that the consumer confidence index stood at 38.6, up 1.6 points from august. the index is based on the office's monthly survey of over 6,700 households nationwide. the rise in september is attributed to continuing

recovery in industrial production after the march 11th disaster. the office says consumers are less concerned about their work, lifestyle or income. on the basis of latest survey results, the cabinet office upgraded its assessment of consumer confidence. it said confidence is recovery instead of being on a recovery trend. though in a ser situation in the previous month. that was the first upward change in three months. japanese economic cabinet ministers have begun debating whether it take part in negotiations to join the trans-pacific partnership or tpp. on tuesday, the ministers decided to hold dialogue with the public before making the decision. they also agreed to hold local meetings and webcast debates. the original tpp agreement went into effect in 2006, among brunei, chile, new zealand and singapore. five nations, including the united states and australia have already started talks to join the partnership. the tppework elimites

tariffs and customuties a pruc. japan's farming, forestry and sheries industries are afraid that cheaper imports would wipe them out if the country joins the tpp. prime minister yoshihiko noda pledged on tuesday that he will overcome the many challenges he faces so he can decide on japan's direction next month. his administration is hoping to come up with a decision before a meeting of the asia-pacific economic cooperation. that gathering is scheduled for november in hawaii. competition is hot enough between international airspace groups to supply japan's next mainstay fighter jets. 40 to 50 new aircraft are needed to replace japan's current f-4 fighters and the contract will be worth several billion dollars. the short list has been whittled down to three candidates. 9 u.s.-made fa-18, the f-35 being developed jointly by nine countries, including the united

states. and the euro fighter which is being developed by four european countries. allhree gups he sare news conferences inok last week to extoll the virtues of their anes. the fa-18 was touted by boeing. >> this is the baseline for our proposal to the government of japan. a very modern, very capable and very advanced airplane. >> the sales pitch for the euro fighter was made in japanese by britain's ambassador to japan. nd the f-35 whts touch-screen assimilation technology was introduced by u.s. firm, lockheed martin.

>> very easy do fly by your fingertips. it almost feels like an extension of yourself. it lightens the pilot's workload. >> the defense industry was tasked with the pricing and capability of each plane and take into consideration what role that japan ghees companies can play in design and maintenance. time to check on stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by rtm malaysia. in what it bills as a health carnival, malaysia's government will soon kick off a national campaign to cut average waiting times for surgeries to three months, from eight. the malaysian health minister said on sunday that the ministry is pooling available surgeons to conduct mass surgeries in a nationwide drive beginning next month. speaking in kuala lumpur, he added that the government has

already extended hospital operating hours on weekdays and some hospitals have been allowed to conduct surgeries on saturdays. in bangladesh, new technology has been introduced to modernize the port of chitagong in the northeast of the country. on sunday trials began on a container management system to improve efficiency in the port. containers unloaded off to ships from singapore became first cargo to be trackedsing the new technology. thsyems exptedooo efficicy in the port by about 50%. the 12th asi ouwechina's ongqing mucipalities on moay. nely3,000 fmor an 3 countriesnd regions are showcasing their skills in various fields, including dancing, drama and fashion during the ten-day event. the festival aims to promote understanding and harmony on the continent. the event coincides with the commemoration of 20 years of dialogue between china and the

association of southeast asian nations. on a lighter note, here are some pictures of giant panda cubs from sichuan province in china. the cubs were all born in the last few months at this research center. this is their first public appearance outside. the 12 cubs are all strong and of course, healthy. what a sight for so eyes. and here are the latest market figures.

now pore stories making international headlines tonight. we start with egypt. u.n. secretary-general, ban ki-moon has expressed sorrow over the loss of lives and the resurgence of violence in egypt. clashes on sunday were the deadliest since the collapse of hosni mubarak's government. at least 25 people were killed and about 300 injured. ban appealed it all egyptians to unite and preserve the spirit of the country's historic changes. anti-government protests are intensifying in many parts of syria. the latest unrest follows a murder of a leader. security forces killed 18

demonstrators on sunday alone. massive arrests have led to even more women and children joining the protests. japan's coast guard has commissioned a new patrol ship to tighten security around the disputed senkaku islands in the east china sea. the new vessel is equipped with a helicopter landing pad and a 30-millimeter cannon. it is deployed in ishigaki, okinawa prefecture, the base closest to the islands controlled by japan, but claimed byin >acl rgon is up next with weather. hi there, time f the ather oncega. ete as, aew srm t ta oune tt' fme t e east. th o iny,t lks like it's going to be heading up towards luzon, moving through the philippines. and bringing some very heavy rain as it goes.

we've seen storm after storm move through the philippines and yet we have another one late. it's moving west-northwest at 15 kilometers per hour. the winds are at 65 kilometers per hour and the gusts up at about 90 kilometers per hour. it's going to be bringing a lot of rain. maybe even as much as 30 millimeters in the space of one hour. when we talk about 24 hours, as much as 150-plus along this eastern coast. anywhere you're seeing in the red. a lot of this land is already saturated. and or even already flooded. as you remember, we've had a lot of flooding problems throughout the philippines. and as the system makes its ai gngo prdiou so di,ndidnd mulis ryigis he. anhear t wch etm, awe as la. weavrocadeesonoopil deitngoheea. anthats gngo riin a lfs doin elwhe,e' g se sherdeloping as tydsheasrn

in also a bit o f obm. that cldeally drin soo tcat dnfa,t'uiououth east and down in through the sout as we head up to ngolia, this isy going to be shows. but some of itl be falling as eet. it's getting very cold. 11 degre for the high in ulan bator on wednesday. your lowsre aund aut frzing or even jt dipng below. 20 degrees ineijing at's al going to be the low 20s in seoul, tokyo and chongqing. staying in the in manila and taipei and bangkok. let's talk about our major storm jova getting ready to make landfall on the southwestern coast of mexico. it should be happening on tuesday night, local time. so fairly soon now. north-northeast is moving nine kilometers per hour. the sustained winds are at 185 kilometers per hour so we're going to see much stronger gusts with that. and the wind is really going to be very big problem. flooding also is going to be a huge issue.

not just the rain that falls, but also the storm surge. so low-lying areas are at high risk of flooding and we have the atngheoarecastmgsates josd wlleeeng a cse wt hpe i t nt 2 to8 ur aywedy cd he. anth o tar t as wavet ath lo d is oneas beenriin hey inarcurl ang eas th'soi teeoip attltioa iowds e nohet. we sulsethgs srtg t corn eouea b weesy aeronti. dre in vco as well. in seattle, we're keeping the heat down towards the south in miami as well as inhouston. alrit weead io eop no it qtepl towds t rtt'gog bve ssan auay ry wiy. anhe youan see fm e ith iesig tou rtrnar ogeany an landnd iowds northwte russiryer nd

d en orainfa. thiss intoe owper foyoin noay do tards the south, generally calm, w have qui a potent low which is going to intensify across turkey during the overnight hours tuesday into wednesday. but it's still summer in iberia. lookt th, 30 dre i dr a 31 i lisbon. he'souexnded 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.