i'm michio kijima in tokyo. coming to light, a picture of multimillion dollar fraud by a japanese corporation. this is "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. japan's olympus corporation may have been manipulated its accounts for a decade. olympus was recently found to have covered up losses from investments during the economic

bubble era. a third party panel investigating the wrongdoing is said to have found olympus started resorting to illegal accounting around 2001. 2001 is the year when a new set of accounting standards were introduced for japanese corporations. the new standards are known as the market value accounting. before the revision, the value of a company's stocks and other assets was recorded on the account settlement documents in terms of the price paid to acquire them. this is what's known as the book value. however, under the new standard, th value is given in terms of a market value at the time of the account settlement. take a case where stocks require for 100 million yen, but their market value has fallen to 60 million yen at the time of the account settlement. under the old system, the stocks would listed as 100 million yen and no losses would appear on the books. however, under market value

accounting they are listed at their current market value of 60 million yen. this results in a visible loss of 40 million yen. market value accounting is aimed at accurely reflecting the increase and decrease of assets that companies could previously keep concealed. >> translator: after the bubble burst, there was a big discrepancy between the original price and the current market price of assets. as a result, japan's accounting system had to change. >> they believed the economy would pick up again some day. >> translator: companies found it hard to adjust. some firms thought they could keep losses hidden, believing that future profits could make up for them. >> olympus had made massive loss that uld come to light unr mket vuecoting. the compa is saidoave beguillega aouinecause of this.

is happened in 20 whe former president tsuyoshi kikukawa took office. they expect cue ckikukawa and t others were illegally involved in the practice. a third panel party including an attorney plans to interview those who were involved in the illegal practice and file a report by the end of the month. the olympus president in the mid1990s spoke to nhk on wednesday. olympus is now suspected of having started covering up losses around 2000. he was the company's chairman through 2001, but said he does not recall such a practice. >> translator: i never imagined anything like this would happen. so i'm very surprised and disappointed. i feel sorry for the employees.

he has this to say about the former president kikukawa who is said to be involved in the wrongdoing. >> president kikukawa was eloquent. he was active and he was good at business. i think he was a good president. but he may have gone too far in some areas. >> and the tokyo stock exchange on wednesday, there was a rush of sell orders for olympus, pushing the share price down to the 20% daily limit. the stock price closed at 584 yen, down 75% from its level before the scandal. the japanese government has instructed tokyo electric power company to draw up a timetable by the end of this year for decommissioning the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. nuclear crisis minister goshi hosono and industry minister

yukio edano gave the news to the president and the head of two government agencies on wednesday. the ministers requested the removal of the used fuel rods from storage pools at four reactors to begin within two years. this is one year ahead of what the atomic energy commission called for in its report that came out earlier on wednesday. the government also requested the removal of melted fuel rods from the reactors to begin within ten years. >> translator: nuclear decommissioning work should not be affected by the financial conditions of tepco. the government is at the forefront in shaping the timetable. >> translator: the goal set for our company is extremely difficult, but we are aware that it has to be accomplished in order to regain public trust in our activities. >> they said tepco will work with all parties concerned to come up with the clear technical plan and find ways to fund the process.

developers of some of the world's leading high tech companies are showing off their projects at the international robot exhibition in tokyo. models used in disaster areas are drawing a lot of attention after the march 11th earthquake. nhk world has more. >> reporter: robots like this one are hilyecmended by the promoter of this exhibition for use in disaster areas. such robots are being used in the restoration work at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. this one is being shown to the public for the first time to give a better understanding of the usefulness of robot technology the power of this robot attracts a crowd. it uses rollers to go over bble and can stay upright. it is the most powerful crawler

robot in the world. so workers at the fukushima daiichi reactor are using silamol aesth trk. th o c even take pictures by detecting obstacles in the dark. researchers started working on the robot after two disasters struck japan in 1995. the great earthquake and the g attack on the tokyo subway system. researchers at tohoku university and the sheba institute of technology and international rescue system developed the technology together over ten years. >> translator: this robot could be used to probe volcanoes, locate fires and handle dangerous objects in factories. the technology will keep

evolving along with the needs of society. >> reporter: the accident at fukushima prompted a computer chipmaker to devel robot technology of its own simonths ago. taiwan too relies on nuclear power. developers use these tips to make a miniature of the robot and then test its abilities. >> we can take information back to t base and see what happened there and transfer the information back to the headquarters or the head office and then for them to decide what next should be go. >> reporter: researchers at kanazawa institute of technology developed a robot to check levels of radioactivity. imagine if they used it before

people had entered a nuclear plant. the robot moves its arms up and down to detect radioactive substances. if it senses trouble, it sounds an alarm. levels of radiation show up on the screen. the robot monitors what's around it and moves away from obstacles. >> translator: it is a challenge to satisfy all the requests from companies such as medical supply makers and robot manufacturers. nuclear power creates a lot of hazardous waste and i think robots should it safely. >> reporter: for the robot makers and the research institute, about 50% of the

event participants have come here from korea, taiwan, germany, the u.s., and other countries to promote robot technology. since the march 11th disaster, the world has been paying a great deal of attention to the development of disaster robots. nhk world. next we go to patchari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. the battle to contain thailand's record floods continued on wednesday. the prime minister has insisted her government is making progress in efforts to handle the crisis. but the situation for residents of bangkok remain severe with still no end in sight. nhk observed the depth of floodwaters in the capital had increased again on wednesday. but the water flow appeared to

have weakened and the flood remained about five kilometers from the city center. even so, people's daily lives are severely disrupted. inundated roads forced many residents to get around by boat instead of by car or motorcycle. people are anxious for the floodwaters to recede. >> translator: i'm concerned about more water reaching bangkok. i just want to know when the water level will go down. the floods keep rising. >> the prime minister visited a water treatment plan on wednesday. the floods had polluted the capital's tap water supply with mud and trash. but japanese experts dispatched there say chemical sanitizers have successfully improved the quality of the water. and next, we continue our two-part special on the spratly

islands. countries throughing the philippines and kwlin lay claims to the islands in the south china sea and tension has been rising as china's military influence spreads. nhk world took a rare trip into the disputed zone on board a philippine navy vessel and filed this report. >> reporter: a journey with a philippine navy. the ship enters an area where the chinese military is increasingly active. in february, a chinese war ship fired warning shots at a philippine fishing boat. >> we should be very watchful, vigilant. >> reporter: this footage from

june last year shows an indonesian patrol ship investigating a chinese fishing boat near the southern edge of the south china sea. an armed chinese fishery surveillance vessel suddenly appears. >> do you have a map in this area? because our map shows this is our area. an exclusive economic area. >> reporter: southeast asian countries face a difficult situation in the south china sea. the philippines decided to beef up its bases in the area. work is under way to build a new facility to protect this tiny island, which is about 400 meters long and 30 meters wide. small islands like this are susceptible to waves and strong winds. the military personnel stationed there are cut off from their

families. living in such an environment puts them under a lot of strain. >> translator: if i see their pictures, i'll just be sad. that's why it's better if don't have any pictures of them with me. i just read to keep my mind off them. >> reporter: on some islands, civilians play an important r e role. this is the second largest among the spratly islands. nine families, a total of 53 people, live on the island. the philippine government asked them to live here. it pays them a monthly allowance of $130, an average salary in a provincial city on the main land. it also provides them with free rides. residents keep livestock and ow farm produce.

they're ry aware of their role protecting the island. >> translator: it would be very difficult for china to take this islandecause many civilians are living here. we'll continue protecting this island. >> reporter: no matter how hard, for the people it is about living for free and for the government sustaining it. all these pains for what they claim is theirs in the disputed territory. nhk world, in the spratlies. the south china sea issue will likely be on the agenda at the upcoming asean summit in bali. that will wrap up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >> thanks. italy's ruling and opposition parties are having tough time reaching a political consensus. this could delay the formation of their new government.

prime minister silvio berlusconi announced on tuesday that he would step down after the parliament passes urgent economic reform bills by the end of this month. his approval rating is at a record low. many feel he has not handled the country's serious debt problems well. some italians feel relieved by berlusconi's resignation announcement. >> translator: it is about time he resigned. we need a more honest leader. >> translator: his resignation will make the country's economy better and life will become easier. >> president giorgio napolitano will begin work to form a new cabinet. he reportedly wants to set up a caretaker government made up mainly of econoc experts. some members of parliament want the new prime minister to be chosen from among the ruling parties. otrs are demanding a speedy dissolution of parliament to allow for a general election.

the deeply indebted country needs to establish a stable government, implement austerity measures and promote economic recovery. next, the power of grandmothers. we talk one on one with a social entrepreneur who helps them light up india. india still has work to do in bringing electricity to all of its people. but it made real progress thanks in part to a project that trains older women, many of them with little formal education, to be the solar engineers of their communities. a small farming village in india. electricity has reached it for the first time thanks to solar power. >> translator: this light lasts longer than kerosene. >> reporter: village women who once lived in poverty installed the solar power units.

theyeolengineers. they trained at a college run by an ngo in talonia. toe egi f training, you must be a poor and it lll laite woman and live in a village with no electric power. most are grandmothers. in just six months, they learn how to put together and install solar lamps and panels. they're also trained to repair and maintain the system. when they return to their home villages, they install a solar power generation system for each household. so far, the engineers of the college have provided sar er t 1300 ppl i me an 600 vlages ross di this moued the ngo after seeing many people suffer and die in the 1965 famine in northeastern india.

the experience motivated adult indispensable for helping rural india's poor become self-sufficient. >> translator: before i became a solar engineer, i didn't do anything. but now i'm a respected person in my community. >> reporter: solar lamps also light up communal facilities like schools. the women have brought big changes to people's lives. the founder of the college is with us today. thank you very much for coming. >> thank you for calling me. >> it's quite an accomplishment, training people, the older women to become solar engineers and in just six months as well. >> you should never underestimate a grandmother, never. never. you have this -- they're so gutsy. they come out of a vlage for the first time, they're onhe plane for a first time, the come to a stran land, strange people, strange food, can't

eak the language for six months, illiterate and on top of that you become a solar engineer. how much guts do you need for that? >> and what's wrong with men, young men? >> men are usually unainable. they are restless, they're ambitious, they all want a certificate. the moment you want a certificate, you want to leave the village within days looking for a job in the city. you actually lost them. >> and how does this system help these women to become financially independent? >> the community has to make a decision in how much their willing to pay for the solar l, the solar unit. they usually pay the amount that they already pay for kerosene candles. $5 to $10 a h. this is put into a village committee and the committee manages this fund. and the 30% of the total contribution goes into the salary of the ma gndth sorenne. so she is supposed to look after about 100 houses and she gets paid by the community for

looking after these 100 houses. so she's financially independent. these are the first technically and financially self-sufficient solar electrified villages in the world where you don't depend on any engineer from outside. we asked a woman what is the benefit you had from solar energy and she thought for a moment and said it is the first time i can see my husband's face in winter. and it is minus 40 outside and they are with candles for six months of the year because it is so cold and they have no lights. so the light has been a blessing for them. it has been a total blessing. we have found that if you use solar light -- solar electrified village, you find the population going down. there are other things to do other than producing babies. they have income generation has improved. the quality of life has pred the children have improved. they read at night. they can read at night, they can do homework at night. we found some of the children who have gone through schools,

their performance is better in scols. solar light has been a great bo. you make it sound like everything has been very successful. but for the last 40 years, you've been working on this project, it must have been very difficult to begin with. for people to understand what you're doing. >> always learning all the time. you're always exposed to new ideas that come from the field all the time and it makes eminent sense when you listen to the people and you're speaking to them. it comes up at some incredible ideas which are innovative, fundamentally different. you should never call anyone unucated. just because illitete, doesn't mean they don't know what is happening around the world around them. really the people on the gun o may not reason right, but just because you c't read and write, you can become an engineer or you can become an architect or you can become an communicator. the college is exploding myths. >> fascinating story. thank you very much. bunker roy, founder of the college.

>> thank you very much. the approach has now spread well beyond india. grandmothers in over 30 developing countries are lighting up their villages.i sh weather. >>hihe te talk abou ouweather. starting off with asia a few high pssure system in eaern tal asia. mongolia, la in a then ouowds ntheastern china as well as t kea mu ojan an s tt 'soio ryndal howeve by trsy eng, isysm oio utkoael as sohwtesldsfap ansohe pf-rnalf ofpan, i shoul sa d isourier swe atou heavy localt ve thccule tgg 20miimerkiwa

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to cstaloong wch i a ve hh concern as well hey snfa, peal i interior seawa peniul m s tsenowfall accumula upo 4 ctite eas. and bliard cditions are going to be vy c f treling and outdr activies as we're going to eeg sili nr zero in some ples. winds are going to be strong, bo gustsf 113 kph in ea no wre gng to be looking at the storms to weaken and move towardshe north. but keep a very close eye on this system for you. as i move away, we do want to keep a close eye on this system as well. this is tropical storm shawn moving in a 6 kph, a very slow moving system, almost stationary. it will be lingering around a similar area toward the end of the week, but it will be moving towards bermuda. we do already have tropical storm watches in bermuda. and it will be bringing swells

to southeastern coast of the united states. this storm may even target new england as well as atlantic canada. we want to keep a close eye on this one. winter storm here in the great lakes will be moving towards eastern ontario. as it pulls in cool air, rain will be changing into snow in some areas, especially in higher elevations. those snow could accumulate to 15 centimeters in some areas. tailing cold front is weakening. we won't be seeing severe weather there, but still there are chances of thunderstorms. r ashere, dry for you.

that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. i'm michio kijima. thank you for watching. bye-bye.