asia pacific push. u.s. president barack obama shifts his country's focus east as china's influence in the region grows. >> after a decade in which we fought two wars which cost us dearly in blood and treasure, the united states is turning our attention to the vast potential of the asia pacific region. welcome to "newsline". i'm michio kijima in tokyo. tonight barack obama outlined his nation's new security and

cooperation strategy. the u.s. president spoke before the australia parliament. his message, the united states is a pacific power that's here to stay. >> as the world's fastest growing region and home to more than half the global economy, the asia pacific is critical to achieving my highest priority, and that's creating jobs and opportunity for the american people. >> obama said the u.s. is moving out of a long period of conflict in iraq and afghanistan. the policy shift is aimed at keeping china in check. the chinese government is building up its armed forces. its number one objective is said to be developing the capability to defend itself against the u.s. military. the country is believed to have strengthened its submarine forces and deployed missiles that could attack u.s. military staging points. it's also said to be working on the world's first ballistic missile capable of sinking an aircraft carrier.

china's military and patrol ships have become more active in the resource rich south china sea. territorial disputes have intensified between china and other countries in the region. >> the united states will continue our effort to build a cooperative relationship with china. we will do this even as we continue to speak candidly to beijing about the importance of upholding international norms and respecting the universal human rights of the chinese people. >> china is watching the united states' strategic shift closely. >> the united states has turned >> translator: the development of ties has taken into consideration the other countries in the region, as well as peace and stability. >> the united states has turned to australia to help put pressure on china.

australian prime minister, julia gillard is allowing about 250 u.s. marines to be stationed in her country starting next year. that number will eventually rise to 2,500. obama's asia pacific strategy is winning praise in japan. chief cabinet secretary, osamu fujimura, spoke in tokyo about the u.s. president's announcement. >> translator: i welcome the plan to step up u.s. military capabilities in the asia-pacific region, as it will insure greater security in this area. >> fewer mu >> fujimora indicated the agreement will not involve the realignment of the u.s. bases in japan. let's take a look now at why the united states decided to build up its military ties with australia. american forces in asia are currently stationed in japan and south korea as well as the u.s. territory of guam. china's ballistic missiles have a range of about 3,000 kilometers. now, that means they can reach all three of those places. but australia is out of range. the united states has decided to

deploy forces in the country's north. the u.s. military will keep an eye on the south china sea and the western pacific as well as the indian ocean. president obama is now in bali. he's on the indonesian island to attend the east china summit this weekend. he spoke about the meeting before leaving australia. >> and i'll be proud to be the first american president to attend the east asia summit. together i believe we can address shared challenges such as proliferation and maritime security, including cooperation in the south china sea. >> obama is trying to ensure cooperation by taking part in the multinational talks on the south china sea. a number of countries, including japan, are locked in a territorial dispute with china in the region. leaders from the association of southeast asian nations meeting in bali have rewarded myanmar for its reform efforts.

they promised the country a key leadership role in the bloc. pachari raksawong is in bali with more details of the asean meeting. >> now the ten leaders of asean are meeting here in bali to discuss several important issues for this region. myanmar took the spotlight today, and its military-backed government is now officially set to become chair of the regional bloc. asean leaders unanimously agreed on thursday that myanmar would chair the organization in 2014, the high-profile role would give international recognition to one of asia's most isolated and authoritarian states. myanmar was originally in line to take the rotating chairmanship in 2006, but asean decided to skip myanmar's turn out of consideration for human rights abuses, by its former military leaders. after the meeting, myanmar's information minister welcomed asean's decision.

>> translator: we seek harmony at home and abroad and will push for democracy. >> current asean chair, indonesilso held a news conference explaining the group's intention. >> we are in agreement of the fact of significant changes, significant developments have taken place in myanmar. we are trying to insure that the process of change continues. the momentum is maintained. >> myanmar held a general election last year, ending decades of military rule. the civilian-led administration of president tian senh was organized in march. it even held dialogue with pro democracy leader, aung san suu kyi and released some political prisoners. aung san suu kyi earlier this week gave a cautious welcome to the prospect of myanmar chairing asean. although she called for more progress toward democracy. the united states has indicated that it may be ready to improve

ties with myanmar, and that could include the lifting of sanctions, dependant on continued reform such as release of more political prisoners. and now our reporter from nhk's jakarta bureau joins us with an analysis. is the asean leaders' decision to award myanmar the role of chairman, a sign that they approve of its progress towards democratization? >> most asean nations have been positive about myanmar taking the chairmanship of the bloc from the outset. they just postponed the decision, taking into consideration opposition from the united states and europe. but recently, myanmar has taken steps to promote democracy, that enabled asean to give it the chairmanship with confidence. there's also a sense of crisis among asean members, they believe that myanmar cannot remain alone on the lowest

economic rung of the bloc. asean are working to achieve regional community by 2015. they fear that myanmar could hold back their progress towards that goal. with that in mind, asean is now ready to take responsibility for myanmar's democratizations. >> and how might taking the chairmanship role at asean affect myanmar's internal situation? >> well people in myanmar have expressed hope that it might help them advance towards their goal of a better life. >> translator: it's great, now we can expect reliable electricity. better internet connections, better phone connections and a wider network. all up to the international standards. >> translator: as the chair country of asean, the government will have to work within the international community.

that will benefit the country. >> now the decision is likely to be a key test for myanmar to return to the international community. is myanmar up to the challenge? >> well, becoming chair of asean was a long-held wish of myanmar. now the government faces another major challenge -- that is, getting economic sanctions imposed by the u.s. and european countries lifted. the government of myanmar apparently wants to revitalize its economy by resolving this issue. western countries are also eyeing the lifting of sanctions and are seeking ways to improve ties with myanmar. the country is likely to find itself a focus of international attention as an untapped market because of its long history of military rule. >> thank you very much. now the president of the united states, barack obama, has arrived here in bali. and on saturday, he'll attend the east asia summit.

a first for a u.s. president. and on friday, asean leaders will hold separate meetings with each of their counterparts from china, japan and the united states. they'll likely discuss disputed islands in the south china sea claimed by some asean members as well as china. so please join us again tomorrow for an update on those delicate discussions. i'm pachari raksawong, reporting from bali. wish her well, pachari. unesco has begun a survey of the flood damage to the ancient ruins and buddhist towers in the thai city of ayutthaya. >> this is one of the world heritage sites in ayutthaya. the color of bricks become paled because they were under floodwater. >> unesco officials were able to visit the ruins with thai researchers on thursday, now that the floodwater has finally receded after more than a month. >> it's still early to assess, you know, what actual damages have been. probably the main concern is

damage to foundations. because of the water that under which they've been submerged. >> the ruins stand in low-lying area and have been flooded in the past. but they have never been under water for such a long period of time. later this month, unesco plans to start a detailed analysis of the damage and will undertake repairs with the help of specialists from japan, italy and other countries. the japanese government on thursday ordered fukushima prefecture to suspend rice shipments from one district of the region. radioactive cesium higher than allowable levels have been detected in rice grown there after the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. >> translator: i told the fukushima governor to ban shipments of rice harvested this year in the onami district of fukushima city.

>> the government on monday announced it detected radioactive cesium in rice. the permissible level is 500 becquerels per kilogram. fujimura noted that the levels were detected in preshipment price and no levels have entered the market. he added he asked the governor to determine the cause of the contamination and strengthen inspections of rice in and around the onami district. fujimura said he would consider lifting the sanctions as soon as the tests confirm the rice's safety. this is the first ban imposed on rice shipments since the fukushima accident. we're going it take a look inside a place only a select number of people have been over the last eight months. the fukushima daiichi nuclear

power plant has held our interest ever since the disaster. on tonight's "nuclear watch," we go inside three dozen journalists toured the plant last saturday. nhk world's yoshihiro nemura was one of them. we'll provide simultaneous interpretation. >> translator: it's been eight months since the accident and the site was opened to the media for the first time. but isn't it too late? >> well, yes, we've been asking since immediately after the accident to open the site to the media, to the japanese government and to tepco, but we were not allowed to, because we were told that we may obstruct the works and also the radiation was very high. but eight months have passed, and the cooling of the reactors have stabilized. and we were able to accompany the minister in charge of the nuclear accident. >> could you explain the route you took? >> yes. along with other media people, i

boarded the bus and went through the main gate. first we went to the main gate, and then we went to through the higher ground road, and went through the purification facility, and went through the seaside route and then went to the living quarter. and in discovering of this site, we had to limit the radiation level to the 100 microsieverts, so both the time and routes were limited. >> so this is before the departure. in order to go inside the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant site, you have to wear the protection gear. and you have to also wear a very special mask so that you would not take in air inside. it's quite stifling, but it's very hot for people who would have to work for long hours.

and this is the front base of the workers is called j village and it's 20 kilometers away from the nuclear power plant. >> after we entered the site, the first thing that came to us or of interest that i saw was the tanks, there were a lot of tanks there. this is to contain the decontaminated water and still 200,000 tons worth of tanks are being installed every month. and now the accident site. eight months have passed since the accident. and the media was able to enter to the site for the very first time. and it's completely destroyed. this is the place where we can have a view of the entire accident. and the radiation levels were 50 microsieverts per hour.

the fourth reactor was seen on the righthand side, and everything was completely destroyed. it's totally destroyed. i have been covering the nuclear power plants for a long time, but it was really frightening to see such strong concrete buildings could be destroyed easily. then we went to the seaside road. and the radiation level gradually increased. and on the righthand side, you can see the bags with rubble inside, this is temporary sea wall and the highest part was four meters it means that 40 meters above the sea level. everything on the seaside is just completely damaged and devastated. everything was washed away because of the tsunami. and the radiation reading is 300 microsieverts per hour. and the bus is accelerating.

and this is from number four reactor to number three reactor. and the radiation level is still quite very high. it reads about several thousand microsieverts per hour. and then we saw number five reactor, number six reactor and lastly, we went to the living quarters. and dosimeters are handed out here. immediately after the accident, it was so confused and not every worker was able to have a dosimeter. but now everything is managed with bar code and each person can have dosimeters. this is a place where you undergo screening. immediately after the accident, everything was so confused that you didn't even have a place to sleep or eat. but now things are much better.

but mr. yoshihita says still the situation is very tough on the ground. >> translator: the radiation levels remain high. so when it comes to working every day, there is still danger. it's a huge challenge to maintain worker safety. and to secure enough workers for the future. >> after visiting the site, what did you think is the most needed to bring the situation under control? >> well, the important thing is to secure enough number of people eight months have passed. and 3,000 people have been working to settle this accident. and without their efforts, we have not been able to achieve this recovery. however, people well versed with plants tend to be exposed with high radiation. and so it's important to develop the robots.

but very minute work such as connecting pipes or closing the valves will have to be done by people. and assess that it takes more than 30 years to decommission the power plant. so it's really important to create an environment where workers can work with ease. >> in any case, it's important to settle this accident as soon as possible. and also restore fukushima, that we know of. and this is our common goal. and for that, it's important to assemble all the wisdom inside and outside of japan and accelerate all the work and also create the opportunities such as to open up for media and do the work under information disclosure. >> thank you very much. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th we have two

segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi nuclear crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." murray johnson is up next with sumo. >> here's we're back with sumo and recap of day five from the kyushu tourney. five co-leaders were in the mix going into the day and they did what they had to do. time for action. rank and filer, tochinoshin is winless after four days and kakuryu has an unblemished start. hes takes the georgian straight back to the rice. tochinoshin tries to dig in at the edge, but the resistance

ends in vain as the sekiwake forces him out. the almost forgotten ozeki wannabe wins his fifth. he's only met kotomitsuki three times but he has a win. the new ozeki has a strong opponent here and will be patient. left hand in, right hand out, that's what kotomitsuki wants to do to beat okunomi. he blocks the right hand of the ozeki. patience is a virtue as kotomitsuki seizes to get it and work his stomach to take the fighter out. it's impressive fifth win. a terrific start for the new ozeki. throughout the day, two of the early co-leaders lost. takekaze and kisenosato, and yokozuna hakuho needed a win to maintain a share of the lead.

hakuho has a 21-2 edge over veteran kuyokuteno who lass defeated hakuho in 2005. hakuho's preferred right hand inside left hand out makes little difference, he's still able to counter and rock kuyotkutno. a clinic for the yokozuna who remain undefeated. the highlight bout on day six the clash between two sekiwake, the third highest rank. kisenosato will be determined to bauns back from his day five loss and kakuryu wants to keep a share of the lead. rachel ferguson is up next with weather. weather. held. hello there, we'll head into eastern asia, we're seeing some

heavy rain moving into the korean peninsula and also into western japan here. a big surge of moisture coming up from the south. it's going to bring some very significant accumulations, too, parts of kyushu will see over 100 millimeters, maybe about 120 in the next 24 hours. now, ahead of that system coming in, there's going to be a rush of warm air from the south as well. and that's really going to boost temperatures here in tokyo. saturday is going to reach up into the low 20s once again. having said that by sunday, a very icy blast will come from the north and that will set temperatures right back down where they should be. it's also going to be turning this precipitation coming across from northeastern china to snow once it reaches hokkaido. but that's not going to be until sunday. so heavy rain also moving into parts of southeastern and eastern china here. we've got a couple of systems, one off hainan island, another one south of the korean peninsula helping to enhance all of the rainfall. unfortunately, it's not going to be letting up too much for taiwan and the philippines, the

rain has been ongoing for the last several days and it will be continuing. heavy at times. for the next couple of days. temperatures down to the south, 33 in manila, 34, hot and steamy in bangkok. 25 in hong kong and we're looking for 17 in tokyo, as well as chongqing, with 16 in seoul. we'll see the temperatures come down into the weekend. 11 in beijing. minus 11 in ulan bator. you can see the dark purples where the icy blast is coming in now. all right. into north america, many of you seeing a clear, sunny day across much of mexico as well as the heart of the u.s. here. and up into central canada, but out towards the east, i want it start here. just getting rid of the last of the storm system and the long front draped along the atlantic coast now. starting to move out. we will see some showers for you in florida. and also, up the northeast coast here, in towards atlantic canada that's going to be turning to snow. and out here in the northwest, we have a lot of snow as well. we've been talking about this

very windy system coming in. this big snowstorm. and it's going to be quite far-reaching as well this is where we're going to be seeing it move right along in towards the great lakes region. and it will be accompanied by some very strong gusts. that means blowing snow, reduced visibility, really do need to be careful if you're out on the roads. snow might be drifting as well. so be on the watch there if you're going to be traveling. 7 degrees in winnipeg for the high. we've got 4 forecast for chicago. with 6 in toronto. and 9 in new york city, 8 in d.c. these temperatures are about ten degrees below what they were for your wednesday. so notice the big drop. into europe we go. high pressure again keeping hold of much of the continent here. but we will see some, a rain coming in now from the atlantic. and spreading right across the british isles. now as for ireland, you're going to be seeing some very heavy rain, maybe about 80, 90 millimeters in 24 hours, accompanied by strong gusts that could exceed 100 miles per hour.

a little more stable in the central mediterranean and we'll see the snow ongoing for eastern parts of turkey. temperatures low, in the single digits, but just getting above the freezing mark across the east. six in berlin. and one degree for vienna. 14 for madrid and a warm 18 for you in rome. here's 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.