sky-high scare. the power of the march 11th earthquake gave buildings in tokyo a violent shake. now japanese experts are trying to come up with an early warning system in an effort to keep people safe. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." people working for japan's meteorological agency are discussing how to issue warnings about something called long period ground motion. the phenomenon often occurs during powerful earthquakes and causes high rises to shake violently.

some experts say the warnings would help ensure building safety. others say it would create confusion among the public. long period ground motion caused towers in tokyo's district to sway slowly but forcefully on march 11th. the city is about 350 kilometers away from the epicenter. ceiling and wall panels fell in an prefectural office in osaka. now that city is about 8 00 kilometers from the epicenter. meteorological agency experts started a panel to talk about ways to prevent disasters immediately after earthquakes. they're trying to determine if the magnitude of long period ground motion should be made public right away. they released a draft proposal on monday. it calls for issues long period ground motion notices separately from the regular data of intense major earthquake. vibrations would be classified into several categories such as strong enough that people cannot

walk without holding on to something, and strong enough to make wheeled furniture move. alerts would be issued in tokyo in a kboia, osaka and other large cities. but some panel members say people could be confused by the new information. the meteorological agency already gives various warnings after major quakes. for example, on march 11th, it started by issuing an emergency quake alert. then came an announcement that the cake had an intensity of 6-plus on the japanese scale. while a minute later, the agency revised that to 7. then issued major tsunami warnings and other information less than five minutes after the quake. the proposed long period motion warning would include data on quake intensity in affected area s and heights of buildings. people would have a lot of information to deal with at one

time. some panel members say a simple warning of long period motion would be enough for the general public. >> translator: we don't think it's necessary to provide certain detailed information to the public. what's important to us is selecting the information. >> the meteorological agency plans to study what the public should be told and how the next time a major earthquake hits. the latest nhk poll has found that the support rate for prime minister yoshihiko noda's cabinet has fallen by eight points from last month to 45%. nhk polled 1,620 randomly-selected adults nationwide over three days, ending on sunday. 1,056 people responded. the cabinet's approval rate stands at 45%.

down eight percentage points from nhk's october survey. the disapproval rate is up three points, to 30%. respondents were asked about the government's decision to revise a proposed period for paying out the cost of rebuilding after the march 11th disaster from 10 years to 25 years. by raising income taxes. 49% say they approve the plan. and 43% said they disapprove. respondents were also asked about the noda's announcement that a recent international conference, that he plans to submit to the diet by next march a bill to raise the consumption tax rate to 10%, incrementally over the next few years. 45% of respondents said they approve of the way he announced this. while 48% say they disapprove. doctors and nurses in fukushima have begun visiting areas in the prefectures to give children thyroid checkups to help assess the health impact of the nuclear accident.

239 children were checked at a health center in the town of kawamata on monday. their parents will be notified of the results in about one month. thyroid checkups for children were only available at fukushima medical university. the prefectural government decided to help family s living far away from the university. >> translator: i think it's very good. i'll feel better after i get the results. >> the tests will include about 360,000 children in the prefecture who were 18 years old or younger on april 1st. this was about 20 days after the accident. radioactive iodine released from the nuclear plant could accumulate in the thyroid glands of children and raise their risk of developing cancer. children in the prefecture will undergo checks every two years until they turn 20. after this, the checks will be once every five years.

japanese prime minister noda is being cautious on committing to talks on the trans-pacific partnership. so far he's just consulting with the nine nations already on board. that includes the united states. noda spoke about the tpp at the asia-pacific cooperation summit in hawaii. >> translator: we explained japan's decision to start consulting with countries involved with the tpp. and some economies welcomed our offer. we will begin consultations by trying to get a sense of what each country is looking for, and discuss the issues at hand. we'll make our final conclusion based on the national interest.

>> nhk conducted a survey about the tpp last weekend. more than 1,000 people responded. about 34% say japan should join the tpp talks. a little more than 20% say they should not. nearly 61% of those surveyed say there wasn't enough political discussion in japan about the tpp issue. only 4.6% say there was. the u.s. government has welcome ed japan's decision to start consultations towards a tpp agreement and stress its hope to reach an agreement next year. by boosting exports through tpp, the u.s. intends to create jobs to get out from an economic downturn at home. nhk world's raiko sukurai has more. >> the united states and our eight partners reached a broad outline agreement on the trans-pacific partnership, and today i'm pleased that japan, canada and mexico can now

express an interest in this effort. this comes on the heels of our landmark trade agreements with south korea, panama and colombia, which will support tens of thousands of american jobs. >> reporter: the u.s. believes that the addition of the world's third largest economy to the framework should significantly expand the free trade zone effectively led by the u.s., and help increase the country's presence in asia. but washington's goal is to remove all tariffs in non-tariff barriers in what it calls the trade pack for the 21st century. to join the tpp, japan will need to secure the consent of all countries taking part in the negotiations, including the u.s. this will be a tough process as the u.s. side is expected to bring to the table its pending demand for the reform of japan's post and the liberalization of

financial services, along with some progress in the talks about u.s. beef imports. japan has to clear some big hurdles if it wants to join the tpp. whether it can do that remains to be seen. reiko sakurai, nhk world, honolulu. on the other hand, a world on the other hand, a world growing economy in the region. china has been paid a lot of attention to. china is not joining as a member of the tpp, but has a big influence on japan to caution too much inclination towards the u.s.-led free trade bloc, as it hopes to play a leading role in world economy. nhk world's atsushimia auichi reports. >> reporter: china's presence is increasing. during his visit to hawaii for the apec summit, chinese president hu jintao addressed business leaders from the

asia-pacific region. he expressed china's desire to play a leading role in crafting a free trade framework. >> translator: china will speed up a free trade strategy and strengthen the economic collaboration with its main trade partners. ♪ >> reporter: last year a free trade agreement between china and the asean came into effect. on top of this, china aims to conclude this similar trade year with japan and south korea and is conducting a joint study with them. despite these efforts, china has long been worried about trans-pacific partnership, of which the country is not a member. at the joint news conference, china warned of the u.s.-led

talks designed to set tpp rules for liberalizing trade and investment. >> any original integration like tpp or some other forms, should be inclusive, open and transparent. >> reporter: china also issued a caution to japan, which is poised to launch consultations with tpp member states with the view to fully entering into negotiations on it. china said japan should avoid commit ing itself to it u.s.-led free trade bloc. for the sake of domestic stability, china puts top priority on maintaining economic growth. the country is expected to watch u.s. moves over the tpp. >> atsushi miyuchi, nhk world.

in italy, newly-appointed prime minister mario monti began talks with the ruling and opposition parties aiming to form a new cabinet amidst concern about the country's debt crisis. worries about italy's credit standings stem from government debt which reached 120% of the gross domestic product as well as from the country's slow economic growth. the new cabinet expected to work with the european union and the international monetary fund on fiscal and structural reforms. italian government bonds are rebounding from last week's declines following monti's nomination. the yield on the ten-year bond has dropped to around 6.3% from 7% last week. the head of the international monetary fund, christine lagarde says russia and china have expressed willingness to strengthen the ims capital base and resolve the euro zone debt problems. she made the remark if an exclusive interview with nhk in

tokyo. >> they want to participate in fund resources increase, if and when it is needed. i think they all also made it clear that the fund is available for the entire membership, and is not an institution dedicated to supporting the euro zone. lagarde also says she wants to seek assistance from the other developing countries, saying all nations involved believe that the imf's financial stability is vital. members of japan's national soccer team are traveling somewhere they haven't been in more than two decades. they're heading to pyongyang to play north korea's squad on tuesday. it's the third round of the asian qualifying matches for the 2014 fifa world cup finals. members of the national squad left the beijing airport on monday. they trained in the chinese capital for two days before taking off.

the japanese team has already secured a place in the final asian qualifier equalifiers, it tajikistan on friday, but still has two games to play. devoted soccer fans and supporters left japan to watch the game in pyongyang. the japanese government gave them special permission. it has usually asked people to avoid travel to north korea, since the country launched ballistic missiles in 2006. the north korean football association says fans are ohibited from bringing drums, microphones and national flags to the stadium. the country's travel agency banned cell phones, magazines and telephoto lenses. the japanese government is telling travellers to avoid purchasing any souvenirs, because of trade restrictions. >> translator: i'm excited and nervous, because there's little information about north korea. i was also told to refrain from making any eye-catching movements. >> tuesday's match will take place at kim ill sung's stadium.

north korea has been already been eliminated in the qualifiers. still, state media says this game will be fierce. and that a strong attention at home and abroad. next, we go to dhra dhirakaosal in bangkok, to find out what's going on in the region. >> myanmar's pro democracy leader, aung san suu kyi, has expressed a positive stance on the country's bid to chair asean in 2014. but she called for greater action towards democracy and approving the nation's economy. aung san suu kyi gave a speech to her supporters in yangong on among. it marked the first anniversary of her release following seven years of house arrest under the former military government. >> translator: the most important issue is not myanmar chairing asean. but whether or not the citizens

feel their country is improving. if the people feel that their country is developing, and their lives are improving, then this is a great thing. this is much more meaningful than any chairmanship. >> in august, the president held his first meeting with aung san suu kyi. it was an apparent effort to improve ties with the pro democracy movement. the government wants to show the world it's ready to play a bigger international role. chairing asean is said to be a major goal for myanmar's government to promote its come baghdad to the international arena. the issue will be on the agenda at the asean summit scheduled for thursday, on the indonesian island of bali. here in bangkok, floodwaters started to recede from some parts of the city on monday. it looks like the center of the capital will escape the worst of the crisis. yet, residents of other areas continue to fight the floods and

their battle may be a long one. the force of the floods seems to be easing. water levels are subsiding in some areas of bangkok. traffic is again moving along some main roads. residents say they've been a significant difference. >> translator: for the past five days i kept a record of the water level. it's receded 17 centimeters at my house. >> aerial footage shows the extent of the crisis to the north, east and west of the capital. more evacuation advisories are still being issued every day in other districts. meanwhile, three japanese automakers resumed operations in thailand for the first time in about a month. the floods have forced them to halt production mainly because of a shortage of components. but operations at other manufacturers remain suspended. and supply chain disruptions

look set to continue for some time. thai authorities say at least 562 people have died nationwide. 22 out of 77 provinces and a total 5.1 million people are still affected by the floods. the human costs from the thai floods is high. but other animals are suffering, too. and that includes some of the country's most exotic wildlife. nhk world's satumi aso reports. >> it should be a safari. but it looks more like a cruise. this flooded zoo is along one of bangkok's major tourist attractions. but half of the 80-hectare park has been under water for more than two weeks. rhino, deer and zebra, most of the animals are gathered on a small patch of high ground.

zoo keepers fight the floodwaters around the clock. they are trying to save the precious dry land for the animals. they also built an extra fence, three meters high. it should have stopped dangerous animals, including 300 crocodiles from escaping into surrounding neighborhoods. usually, this is the highlight of the safari world, where visitors feed giraffes. but now, it is a lake. water covers the zoo as far as the eye can see. the park has been closed since the 1st of november. but the cost of animal feed is about $100,000 a day. some animals are surrounded by the water. in places, it's up to one and a

half meters deep. all 120 giraffes are trapped. a giraffe can eat 20 kilograms of feed a day. together, they need a daily supply of about three tons. their handlers wade or even swim through the dirty water to bring them their food. >> we are not expecting, you know, the water to go down that fast. we think that you know, it's difficult to open within november. but we are hoping that you know, the situation you know, will be better come december. because it's the high season. >> more than three months have passed since the flood crisis began. and still, nobody knows when the suffering will end. satomi aso, nhk world, bangkok.

>> and that wraps up our bulletin, i'm dhra dhirakaosal in bangkok. dhra, thanks. hiro more ito is up next with sumo. in the final grand sumo tournament of the year in southwestern japan, newly-promoted ozeki championship, kyoto showingi got off to an impressive start with an opening day on sunday. here's how he did on day two. kotoshogiku hope does retire in the footsteps of recently retired ozeki kaio. goeido gives it his best shot, but the new ozeki hardly moves, kotoshogiku overwomens him by charging forward, kotoshogiku makes a strong impression.

yokozuna hakuho is vying to win his fourth championship of the year. remarkable, considering the march tourney was canceled due do a fight-fixing scandal. the grand champion makes quick work of okinobi. one athlete to keep an eye on at this tournament is sekiwake seveno sato. he's working hard despite the fact that he's still trying to overcome his stable master's sudden death on november 7th. senosato's late stablematter nar ruutu said raising him to the rank of ozeki was his highest aspiration. with this in mind, senosato badly wants to make the ranking. kisenosato keeps his composure and calm by defeats his

russian-born opponent. kisenosato is on the right track. finally, gagamaru, his mother who lives in georgia is suffering if a kidney ailment and gagamaru says he dedicates every bout to his mom. when you weigh 200 kilograms, this is how you succeed. big gagamaru keeps his opponent's speed and agility from counting by keep many him right in front of him. a picture-perfect sumo bout from the georgian-born titan. on day three, the highlight battle will feature two undefeated grapplers. kisenosato and tamanoshima. team team has taken down two ozeki, so kisenosato may bring his a game to come out on top. thanks, hiro. rachel ferguson is up next with weather. dry and fine across much of eastern asia.

as we head into tuesday. that's going to include much of china. mongolia as well as the korean peninsula. however we're seeing a wintry pattern. we usually see around this time of year. and through the season, for japan. now we see the winds carrying picking up the moisture from the sea of japan here. and bringing that across that turns to precipitation. it's going to be about 80 millimeters of rain for hokkaido, seeing about 20 centimeters of snow, rather than rain. so really starting to see things cool down here. now to the south it's going to stay much warmer. and we have plenty of rain. this time across the philippines as well as eastern indochina. let's see what's going to be happening if we fast-forward into the next few days and see what the forecast holds. once again, it's going to be central vietnam. so the area around da nang is going to be picking up heavy rain, as well as the northeastern portion of the

philippines. so eastern luzon getting maybe 150 millimeters of rain into the next 72 hours. maybe a little bit more than that. we've already seen about 100 millimeters for northern parts of mindinao. so a possibility of flooding and landslides in the next three days. 24 for taipei, 19 for shanghai, 16 for chongqing and we'll probably see that figure in tokyo for the high. and 12 in seoul and beijing and minus 2 in ulan bator. snow is going to be in the card for you in the northwest. we're talking about cascades as well as the northern rockies. it will be fairly light snow, but very consistent. so it will start to pile up. maybe about 10 centimeters on the upper elevations. the rest of the west is looking very dry here. but you can see this precipitation spreading in across northern portions of mexico. and then joining up with another front that's coming down. through from the midwest and in towards texas. you can see where the very heavy

rain is going to be. possibility fof flash flooding as well as thunderstorms here. and then up into new england, that heavy rain will go as well. so we will see a bit of a soaker here on your monday. ahead of the front, it is going to remain a little bit warm, 17 degrees in new york city. 20 in d.c. but cooler behind, 13 for new chicago. just 3 degrees for winnipeg, 9 in vancouver and a very toasty 29 in houston, texas. all right, and we go into europe. and this looks likes it's going to be a lot of cloud across the british isles, but actually we're not seeing anything in the way of precipitation here. that's some good news for you. down across iberia, very, very stormy here. we will see thunderstorms across iberia as well as spain as well as portugal i should say. accompanied by very strong gusts. now elsewhere across the continent, looking pretty good. it will be snow for you in western russia. and that will be moving south down in towards ukraine. and then as we head in towards the southeast, we have another

system there. which is going to be bringing some snow in the upper elevations. here are your temperatures. and i'm going to leave you now with your 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.