>> starting over. olympus is a fantastic business. it's a fantastic business. it's got strong cash flows. and if we stop doing all the mickey mouse and nonsense -- >> the former president of olympus is calling on the company's board of directors to quit. for the sake of the company. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. the former head of olympus says

it's time for the company to move on from its financial scandal. he says the only way to do that is for the board of directors to step down, michael woodford. the optical equipment-maker is in trouble for covering up huge investment losses for years. woodford attended his first board meeting since october 14th, the day he was fired. he fell out of favor because he questioned accounting irregularities. although he is no longer ceo, he is still a board member. >> and i'm not at liberty to discuss the detailed content. we had a constructive and honest exchange. >> woodford's brief successor as ceo, tsuyoshi kikukawa and two other figures did not go to friday's meeting. they resigned from the board of directors on thursday.y. is sus a hand in the losses. they inflated the purchase prices on acquisitions among other thing. current ceo takayama is dismissing the suggestion that

the board resign and be replaced by a new management team. he doubts that would help olympus overcome the crisis. woodford, though, is standing firm. >> there is also an understanding that these people cannot continue as directors and that there will come a point, hopefully in the near future, that they will stand down, allowing olympus to move forward. >> woodford suggested the company's strong endoscope and camera businesses will help it survive. right now, it's facing the possibility of being delisted from the tokyo stock exchange. >> olympus is a fantastic business. it's a fantastic business. it's got strong cash flows. and if we stop doing all the mickey mouse and nonsense, get that out of the way, focused on our life science business, if the banks are supportive, which i believe they would be, then i believe olympus could survive as an independent entity. very much so.

>> woodford said the board agreed its top priority is to avoid delisting by presenting financial statements for the six months until september. the deadline is december 14th. olympus spokespeople released a statement about the board meeting, saying directors exchanged views on the cover-up. and there is about to be a major change in imperial succession. the head of the imperial household agency visited the prime minister on october 5. he said the number of imperial female members is declining. female members must abandon their status when they marry

commoners. the kurn law states that the heir must be a male. >> no boys have been born to the imperial family in 40 years but a bid was put aside when one

became pregnant and eventually gave birth to a son. the debate faded away. he said it relates to the basics of the nation. >> now to the yop going territorial dust off between japan and the south korean government. the south korean government is planning to build more facilities on the takeshima islands in the sea of japan. the japanese government claims sovereignty over takeshima based on historical facts and international law. the south korean side disagrees. it calls the islands dokdo, and it has coast guards there. officials with south korea's ministry of land, tranceport and maritime affairs say they will build a break water with a

210-meter pier. the structure will be capable of handling 5,000-ton passenger liners. the ministry says it will also construct an underwater observatory and a wave energy power plant. the estimated cost, $340 million. work will happen between 2013 and 2016. a pier to accommodate smaller vessels already exists. south korea seems to be building the new pier to encourage more of its citizens to visit the islands. the dispute over this territory has been going on for decades. in march, the south korean government criticized japan for approving school textbooks describing the islands as "inherent japanese territory." this new project could heighten diplomatic tensions between the two nations. egypt's military has built a concrete wall along a major road

in cairo ahead of a massive rally planned for friday. the move comes after 41 people died in clashes between protesters and security forces in the past week. demonstrators had been occupying tahrir square in central cairo and demanding that the military council hand over power immediately. the council has promised to speed up the process of introducing democracy. it says it will hold a parliamentary election for monday, as scheduled. the military council appointed kamal ganzouri after president essam sharaf resigns, but protesters oppose the choice, as he used to serve prime minister under ousted president hosni mubarak. a major challenge is how to

dispose of the massive debris. heavy chunks of concrete are most difficult to deal with. they cannot be easily eliminated or recycled. using a rather unorthodox method. >> professor specializes in concrete engineering. he is trying to think of ways to use the big concrete chunks. >> it is better to use everything that is available.

>> it's better to use everything that is available. it is such a waste to just news this material for landfill. >> reporter: but the problem is that the concrete debris was soaked in sea water and the salt quickly erodes the material. hisada became interested in a new technology developed by a major construction company. >> translator: let's pour in the sea water. >> reporter: the technology, which uses sea water to make concrete was considered to be unworkable because the salt in the sea water was thought to be concrete's greatest enemy. gravel and other particles contained in concrete tend to swell when they react with salt. as a result the material develops cracks and breaks apart. after a series of experiments, the construction firm discovered a solution -- mixing cement made up of less alkaline components with a special agency can limit its reaction to salt. the company also found that the use of sea water can actually increase the strength of concrete. the needle shaped materials are created when concrete reacts with salt.

they fill in tiny spaces, adding strength to the material. on the right is made with sea water and on the right is fresh water. the concrete made with sea water is 1.4 times stronger. >> translator: i never thought sea water would work better in concrete. it's a product of chance. >> reporter: then another challenge arose. rust on the reinforcing rods. the steel would swell and the concrete would break apart. so the researchers it issed to coat the rods with a special resin. they confirmed that the coated rods remained resistant to rust for a long time and drew up a plan to put the technology into practical use. hisada visited sendia city where

the clean up is underway. he thinks breaking the debris into pooss about four centimeters in size and using it has gravel will result in a new type of concrete. >> if we make use of this technology we won't need to worry about finding dump sites for the debris. >> a senior city official promised to cooperate in the research. local governments think the new technology will be used in break walls and levees. transportation and other costs can be reduced because most of the necessary material can be collected on site. >> demand is very high. my priority is to help the effected areas accelerate and deal with the massive amount of

the debris. >> hisada plans to carry out experiments in projects as early as next year in sendai. >> hisada hopes to take what he learns to other areas in recovery from the disaster. >> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings you insight and information of the impact and the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. egypt's military has built a concrete wall ahead of a massive rally plans on friday.

>> hi, michio. today we begin with pakistan, which is conducting military drills with china. the media has been given access. nhk world's hideki yui explains why the two nations are trying to strengthen their military ties. >> reporter: china's people's liberation army and pakistani's military conducted joint drills in eastern pakistan over the last two weeks. more than 500 servicemen took part. troops in helicopters raided a building on thursday. the building in the scenario was used as a terrorist hideout. >> translator: pakistan's army is constantly fighting terrorists on the front lines. our military has a lot to learn from them. >> reporter: hou says military drills are instrumental in

tackling islamic extremists fighting for the independence of china's xinjiang uighur autonomous region. pakistan's army chief warns that the islamist movement is operating in his country. >> those elements who are operating in the border areas of pakistan and afghanistan, even close to the operation. >> reporter: he also says the two countries will step up their information-sharing. neighboring india is increasingly worried about this cooperation. but pakistani leaders stress the military alliance is not directed at any particular country. but the military cooperation

between the two countries is not limited to antiterrorism measures. pakistan is also negotiating to purchase the latest chinese-made fighter jet well as the submarines. the united states is pakistan's biggest donor and ally in the fight against terrorism, but relations between the two countries have soured. pakistan hopes that china will help it procure the latest weapons and equipment. hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. delegates from 18 nations that met for last weekend's east asia summit have compiled a chairman statement that considers an expansion of the asean framework for talks on maritime issues. the move is seen as an attempt to deal with the growing rifts between china and other claimants of territorial sovereignty in the region. the statement includes a japanese proposal to expand the

asean maritime forum to cover a wider area of east asia. the annual forum was set up to discuss maritime cooperation and security issues, such as the south china sea dispute. the statement calls for promoting dialogue on maritime issues by parties, including the east asia summit members with the asean maritime forum as a basis. it also recommends establishing a multinational framework for discussions on territorial disputes involving the east china sea and south china sea, but china opposes multilateral talks and may express reservations about the idea of an expanded maritime forum. people who have fled conflicts or persecution are often unable to return home. instead, organizations like the unhcr can help them relocate to a safe third country, normally, the united states or another western nation. last year, japan launched a three-year pilot program to

accept refugees from myanmar, becoming the first country in asia to sign up. but one year on, the project faces some hurdles. nhk world's masaki arai reports. >> reporter: he came to japan last year. he spent six months learning japanese before coming to this farm for occupational training. so cho sein struggles with the language barrier. daily conversation is difficult, not to mention the complicated farming vocabulary. as a result, he receives only simple tasks. >> translator: i want to work hard, but i don't understand the language at all. when i get instructions about work, i don't understand what's

been said. it's very hard. >> reporter: the six-month training period finished at the end of september. so cho sein hopes to continue working in japan, but he's worried about what the future holds. >> translator: i heard back at the refugee camp that good things are waiting for me in japan, but i found out that it was harder than i thought. >> reporter: the reality of life in japan has gradually become known to people in the refugee camp. some people due to relocate are getting anxious. the group, for the second year, is about to leave, but two of the six families decided not to

go. this woman is one of them. she recently found out that she was pregnant and is concerned about becoming a financial burden on her family. >> translator: i heard that my husband's earnings will not be enough to make a living in japan. we have been preparing for the move, and i don't know what to do. >> translator: refugees are worried about whether there will be a system to support the lives of their families, so we hope to build a framework for various organizations, including local and central governments, as well as nongovernmental organizations, to work together and help the settlers. >> reporter: the refugees departed for japan with feelings of uncertainty. japan needs to formulate a comprehensive support plan if these new residents are to

achieve a life free of worry. masaki arai, nhk world, northern thailand. >> that's it from bangkok. i'm cholaphansa narula. thanks for watching. >> thanks. sumo is up next. at the kyushu grand tournament, yokozuna hakuho had a comfortable three-win lead over the five runner-ups after 12 days of action. friday was his first chance to clinch the championship. one more win would give hakuho his fifth consecutive title in kyushu. kotooshu is hoping to snap his

11-bout losing streak against hakuho. hakuho goes in hard! the yokozuna keeps up the pressure, but kotooshu doesn't give in. hakuho gets a double inside grip and is now in command. he skillfully ducks underneath kotooshu's arm pit and takes him down, becoming the kyushu champion.

>> congratulations to hakuho for capturing his 21st top division championship. now, let's shift our attention to kisenosato. the sekiwake must rise to the occasion in the final three days to rise to the next rank. to earn the promotion to ozeki, kisenosato has to win two of his three remaining bouts in fukuoka. today he faces a tough opponent in baruto, as the estonian came out on top in the five most recent confrontations. baruto absorbs the initial charge. kisenosato goes after baruto aggressively, but the estonian fights back! baruto now turns the tables and drives kisenosato back. kisenosato resists but is

finally out-muscled. a costly defeat. the title race is over, but there is still a lot to watch in the basho. hakuho will attempt to finish the journey a perfect record, while kisenosato fights to keep his promotion alive, so don't miss this weekend's action. >> hiro, thanks. united states is dealing >> rachel ferguson is up next with weather. hello, again. as we head on into the weekend, we'll see winter weather starting to depart from japan. we've got a low pressure here just making an exit to the north and east. so, we should be a lot calmer across much of the country as we head into saturday, and actually, temperatures will be on the rise into sunday and monday as well. there is another small area of rain here just pushing across north korea, and that's going to be arriving in hokkaido on saturday night. not too intense in nature. you can see looking clear here across much of the continent. down towards the south we'll find continuing downpours across hainan island and vietnam and

the rain is ongoing the last several weeks. through the weekend, an increased risk of flooding to occur and also with that landslide. here your temperatures. looking for 14 in tokyo. 10 in seoul. 9 in beijing. these temperatures are set to drop into the beginning of next week. there's going to be a pronounced difference as a cold blast makes its way down through mongolia and into northeastern china, too. and all the higher in shanghai and 22 in manila as well as bangkok. north america, many are making your way home from your thanksgiving festivities. in the pacific northwest, snow on the roads. please, be careful. as we head into saturday. high pressure moves that away and things will be a lot clearer for you. there is another system, though,

down towards the south. this one will be developing, spreading up through the plains and into the midwest. this one bringing thunderstorms to the front of the system. rain and behind the system it will be changing over to snow up towards the north. it is very, very cold, and windy air, wind is coming in behind that system. so dropping temperatures by about ten degrees and very, very gusty for you as well. and to the east, still looking good for the next couple ever days. and here are your temperatures. 9 in vancouver. 1 for the high in winnipeg. 13 in denver, 0 in los angeles. 18 in oklahoma city. and low 20s and mexico city out to the east. 16 in new york city and another warm day in d.c. at 19. all right, as we head now into europe, this is the big storm that's really going to be dominating the northern third of the continent. storm-force winds, super stormy for scotland and in the mountains snow as well.

much of the rest of the precipitation will be rain. snow for the northwestern portions of norway. you can see the winds making its way down across northern poland as well as germany and into western russia here. now, below that things are looking much more settled and clear. a weakening system just to the south of italy is going to continue just to dissipate over the next 24 hours or so. here are your temperatures. outside to the east, just 1 in moscow. 4 in kiev as well as warsaw. in berlin. 14 in athens. and 10 in paris and 12 in london. 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.