asking to pursue democratization. >> the united states is willing to match actions with actions. >> a rare shot in myanmar. the u.s. secretary of state meets the president of myanmar, the first visit of its kind in more than five decades. >> welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima in tokyo. hillary clinton is providing more proof that myanmar's long

period of isolation is coming to an end. she met president thein sein. pachari raksawong joins with us more on clinton's historic visit, pachari? >> hello, michio. u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, described her talks with the president of myanmar as candid and productive. she met president thein sein on thursday and called on myanmar to continue to move towards democracy. thein sein welcomed clinton's visit. it's the first time an american official of her seniority has traveled to the country in 56 years. clinton reportedly spoke about the u.s. position on myanmar, including the need to accelerate reforms and free all political prisoners. clinton said thein sein pledged further reforms. myanmar's ultimate goal is to see the end of economic sanctions. clinton spoke saying the discussions had been productive.

she said the u.s. would consider lifting sanctions if myanmar keeps progressing with reforms. >> we want to see political and economic reform take hold and i told the leadership that we will certainly consider the easing and elimination of sanctions as we go forward in this process together. >> nhk world's jun kobayashi is there covering this story. jun, why is clinton undertaking this visit at the time and why has her meeting with president thein sein achieved? >> reporter: clinton welcomed sign s of democratization in myanmar. but she stressed this was just the beginning. she indicated the united states would consider lifting sanctions if the reform efforts continue. clinton's visit shows the

importance that the obama administration places on the asian pacific region. at the same time, china is expanding its presence in this part of the world. myanmar is a step towards democracy has provided the united states with an opportunity to re-engage with the country. from myanmar's side, it has a strong desire for more productive relationship with the united states. it sees this as a way of growing its economy. myanmar has been a closed country and is one of the poorest in the southeast asia region. myanmar has a lot of resources, including natural gas, as well as a cheap labor force. for the government of myanmar, democratization is a means of getting sanctions lifted and

encouraging investments from overseas. on friday, clinton is planning to meet with pro-democracy leader, aung san suu kyi. the meeting will be a high profile chance for aung san suu kyi to talk about her cause. she will likely want to move in step with the united states to put pressure on the myanmar government to continue the reforms. the momentum towards democracy is being driven by both international and domestic forces. it is becoming increasingly irreversible. >> that was jun kobayashi reporting from myanmar's capital. back to tokyo now. >> thanks, pachari. and we spoke to a specialist on southeast asia and policy and about what clinton's visit to

myanmar might achieve. professor david steinberg of georgetown university says the visit is aimed at the move towards democracy in myanmar. >> meeting president thein sein will reinforce his ability to do reforms. basically, what the u.s. is saying in my view is that we are trying to strengthen the reformers and this will mean it will be more difficult to cut off these reforms. the more people, the more organizations inside myanmar that are in favor of and supportive of these positive changes, the more difficult it will be to change them back. >> steinberg says making headway in myanmar will help boost the obama administration's profile on international issues. >> certainly, the obama administration would like to

have a foreign policy success. it's not going to happen in iran. it is unlikely to happen on the west bank palestine issues. syria looks like a real problem. egypt is a problem. a moderate government with reform and reasonable relations with the u.s. and stable myanmar, that would be desirable and something the obama administration could point to and say, yes, we did this. china has been urging the united states to lift sanctions against myanmar. it has close ties with the southeast asian country. foreign ministry spokesperson hong lei commented on clinton's visit to myanmar. >> translator: all countries concerned should lift sanctions against myanmar and try to promote its stability and development.

>> hong lei also stressed the importance of maintaining china and myanmar's relations. >> translator: both china and myanmar want to increase this strategic cooperation and doing so will contribute to peace and stability in the region. >> myanmar is becoming strategically vital for china to meet its skyrocketing domestic energy demand. china has been financing port construction projects in myanmar and it also plans to build pipelines in the country, so it can import crude oil and natural gas from the middle east and africa. the former chief executive of olympus is resigning from the company's board of directors. and michael woodford wants the remaining members off the board

as well. he's calling on the shareholder vote to change the management of the scandal-plagued company. he wants to lead the comeback. olympus dismissed woodford as president and ceo in october. but he remained on the board. now, woodford is asking management to call an emergency shareholders' meeting and said he will prepare a new slate of directors in a proxy fight. >> sometimes in life you have to try to do the right thing. there's no guarantee. i'm not guaranteeing that that would be, you know, it's the choice of the shareholders. but i want to try to do what i think is right for the company. >> olympus lost more than $100 billion yen in investments. company leaders used a series of corporate buy-outs to cover up the shortfall. toyota motor and bmw group say they have agreed to form a partnership in eco-friendly technologies. >> we have not worked in partnership with japanese car

companies before. and this is why today's announcement is so special. in future, the bmw group and toyota motor corporation will work together in what is designed to be a long-term technological partnership. >> we think that this collaboration will allow for development of next-generation batteries to be faster and to a higher level. >> the representatives of japanese and german automakers announced the tie-up on thursday in tokyo. bmw will supply diesel engines to toyota. and the japanese automaker will install the engines in some of its cars for the european market starting 2014. toyota does not have many diesel models and its sales in europe have been falling. the two sides will also conduct a joint research on lit yum ion

battery, a key component for electric and other eco-friendly vehicles. the japanese government is planning to free up more money to help people get their lives back together following the march 11th disaster. it's drafting another multibillion-dollar supplementary budget. the fourth for this fiscal year, which runs through march 2012. prime minister yoshihiko noda told finance minister, jun azumi, more money is needed to help people who are in debt. in the disaster areas. he says they need new loans on top of existing ones. the new funding is expected to total at least $26 billion. it will mark the first time since 1947, that japan has drawn up a fourth supplementary budget. the money will help smaller enterprises pay off their cre t credit creditors. prime minister noda is expected to decide on the supplementary budget in mid december at a cabinet meeting. a combination of euro zone

debt crisis and domestic policy is affecting the production of goods in china. manufacturing slowed in november for the first time in nearly three years. china's national bureau of statistics say the index fell to 49 in november, down 1.4 points from the previous month. a reading above 50 means an increase in output in orders received. below 50 indicates a decrease. it's the first time in two years in nine months the index dipped below 50. the spread of euro zone debt crisis has fuelled concerns over china's exports. europe is the country's largest trading partner. the chinese bank's tight monetary policy to stop rising inflation is also believed to be a factor in the decline in manufacturing. on this week's "nuclear

watch," we're looking at japan's expensive and risky fast breeder reactor program. it was once dubbed a dream reactor. but it's become something of a nightmare for the government, or a headache at least. some people have been calling for the project to be scrapped. and those calls have grown louder since the march accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the government has been working on the development of fast-breeder reactors since the late 1960s. it says the reactors can produce plutonium from used uranium. plutonium is a key element in the generation of nuclear power. the plant began operating in 1994 and a sodium leak shut it down. the public questioned the future of this next-generation reactor, named after a buddhist saint of wisdom. last month, some members of the government's panel said it would be difficult to win the backing of citizens for the resumption of operations at monju.

>> nhk world's hajimi, why does japan need fast breeder reactors? >> mostly because it has limited resources, securing long-term energy sources has always been an issue for japan. last year, 14 years after the accident at monju, the experimental reactor resumed operations. but more accidents led to a decision to shut it down again. the monju project was the foundation of this country's plan to put fast breeder reactors into practical use. but nothing has been decided on its resumption. >> what's prompted public calls for the project to be discontinued? >> well, concern about the safety of atomic energy has grown since the fukushima

daiichi accident. the government is reviewing its nuclear policy. in november, nuclear crisis minister, goshi hosono, suggested the future of the monju project should also be reviewed. >> translator: some of the equipment is obsolete. and various troubles have delayed the start of its full-fledged operation. i think the project has now reached a turning point. >> so will this project eventually be scrapped? >> a decision on its future is expected next summer. there are a couple of things to consider. one, is the extended delay in the schedule. according to the original plan, fast breeder reactors were supposed to go into use between 1985 and 1995. but that timetable has been

drastically revised. now, the start-up date is 2015. another factor is cost. the japanese government has already spent about $23 billion on the research and development of the fast breeder reactors. some people say spending more on this project would be a waste of money. >> thanks, hajime, nhk world's hajime okada reporting for us tonight. "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 dish nuclear crisis. and t"the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline."

the fukushima government has asked fr assistance from the central bank or central government to carry out emergency checks on rice for radioactive materials. prefectural vice governor masumoto visited senior agricultural vice minister tutsui on thursday it make the request. the fukushima government will check the crops of 24,000 rice farmers, more than one-third of the total in the prefecture. the request comes a few days after recently-harvested rice there was found to be contaminated by radioactive cesium above the state limit. masumoto asked the central government to lease devices for measuring radiation, dispatch personnel to expedite the inspections and shoulder the cost of the operation. tutsui said the government would do all it can to offer the necessary support. >> translator: we nude thorough checks for radioactive materials in the rice, i will consult with all parties to encourage them to

operate on the matter. >> a deadly attacks continue in iraq as u.s. troops prepare to complete their withdrawal from the country within weeks. police in the town of khalis, north of baghdad, say a car bomb exploded in a crowded marketplace on thursday, killing at least ten and wounding more than 306789 the bloodshed came after u.s. vice president joe biden and iraqi prime minister, al maliki, confirmed in baghdad on wednesday the withdrawal of u.s. forces at the end of the year. on saturday, a series of blasts in central iraq left many dead and wounded. three bombs exploded in central baghdad's market, kill eight while two bombs near the town of abu ghraib, west of baghdad killed seven. hundreds of u.s. soldiers have been leaving iraq every day, with the last units expected to withdraw on december 31st, nearly nine years after the u.s.-led invasion. the recent spate of violence has heightened concerns about iraq's

security after the u.s. pull-out. the president of israel says that united front is the only way to deal with iran. shimon perez is urging the international community to coordinate sanctions against the country. and he made the comments in an exclusive interview with nhk. >> they want to have nuclear bombs and threaten the rest of the world. iran is the greatest danger to the rest of the world and the greatest danger to the middle east. >> the united states and britain recently announced new sanctions against iran. they made the decision after a report last month by the international atomic energy agency, the iaea said iran conducted high explosive testing needed to develop nuclear weapons. >> economic sanctions, political sanctions, do everything before you try something that nobody wants to do. >> perez said iran would give up its nuclear program under increased pressure. a long line-up of people is waiting to catch a photo op with

a plant known to set world records. the titum arum looks like it's straight from a science fiction film. nhk world takes us to tokyo's jendai botanical gardens to show us this rare flower. >> translator: i've been living a while now, but this is a first for me, it's wonderful. >> translator: i'm so happy i was able to see it in japan. >> reporter: it's a sight these people have waited seven years to see, but can only enjoy for a few days. they're here to get a glimpse of that huge plant in full bloom. it's the amorpha phallu amorpha phallus titanum. this flower is one of the largest unbranched in the world. many people consider the whole plant one flower, but technically, there are hundreds of small flowers inside.

>> translator: every year, the leaves grow. and the plant undergoes photo synthesis, in our case, the plant repeated that about seven times. after it stored enough energy, it finally bloomed. >> reporter: the flower is not native to japan, it's originally from the rain forests of sumatra, indonesia. but staff at the jindai botanical gardens try to make this plant feel at home. the temperature doesn't go below 21 degrees celsius. that helps the titan arum grow and bloom even in the winter. but the extraordinary thing about this plant isn't just its size, it also has an extremely strong odor. some people compare it to the smell of a decomposing animal, and that's led to the nickname corpse flower. >> translator: it releases this smell to attract insects for pollination.

>> reporter: while the smell may keep some people away, others say, it's just another reason to experience something rare. >> translator: gosh, the smell. just something else. >> reporter: this is the seventh titan aram to blossom in japan. botanists say the flower will be blooming until the weekend. nhk world, tokyo. the corpse flower holds another unique ranking -- britain's royal horticultural society named it the world's ugliest plant. the competition was based on the horrified reaction people had when they saw it. the arrival of december in japan brought a blast of winter to the eastern and northern parts of the country. people are bundling up and trying to keep warm without cranking the electricity. the japanese are being told to cut back on their power use because the country is dealing with an emergency energy shortages.

>> trains equipped with charcoal heaters kept passengers snug and warm in aomori prefecture. the temperature fell below freezing, but people still enjoy the scenery of the sugaru plains. the noern city of sendai saw the season's first snowfall. temperatures hit lows not usually seen until late december. the daytime temperature in tokyo dropped 11 degrees celsius from wednesday. >> translator: it sure feels like winter. >> it's freezing. i don't want to catch cold. >> translator: i love to eat something warm. >> december began with a call from the government, and utilities to save energy. japan is still dealing with power shortages following the march 11th disaster and nuclear accident. municipal workers in the city of matsumoto in nagano prefecture are doing their part, they're not using some elevators and

turning off one-third of the lights in their buildings. the temperature will be capped at 18 degrees celsius or lower. some employees are using blankets or extra clothes to cope with the chill. if that's not enough, how about a hot water bottle? that's how this woman is dealing with the winter. >> translator: it's very warm. i hope to make it through the winter with this. >> people in tokyo and other parts of japan will see another cold day on friday. let's go to rachel ferguson with the world weather forecast to find out how long this cold snap will last. >> well, to answer your question, it's not going to last very long. another day here in japan. of those cooler temperatures. we will see temperatures rising up beyond seasonal temperatures once again. it will be a dramatic change for friday, again into saturday.

but let's talk about friday first. it is going to be very clear once again across the korean peninsula as well as mongolia and china here. mainland eastern asia. also up towards the north of japan, showers are moving away now. it will be very cool across much of the region. now down in japan we are going to see still more showers to come especially along the pacific edge of the country. and those temperatures will be low before they start to come back up into the weekend. heading further south it is going to stay on the warmer side showers starting to clear out of southern china here but it will be clinging on to that southeastern edge of indochina and continuing across the philippines as well. 17 degrees in hong kong. a little bit on the cool side for you this time of year. 18 in taipei. we have 11 in shanghai. just into the double digits there. that's a big drop for you, too. minus 13. in ulan bator. 4 in beijing.

we are looking for 8 in tokyo. let's head no into north america. more winter weather here in north america. western canada, this will be bringing showers into coastal british columbia but bringing snow on the mountains, too. it is going to be a windy system bringing warmer air across central canada ahead of the system. temperatures rising to give you an idea. winnipeg's highs about minus 7 today, and as we head into friday, it's going to be above the freezing mark, up to about 2 degrees. still a very chilly day if you ask me. down into the four corners we have another winter system here. this one also a windy one. blowing snow, snowdrifts and low visibility and icy roads are also being said to think about if you are going to be in the vicinity of the storm. in fact, further out towards the west where it's going to be a drier affair, you're still going to have to deal with those strong er winds which could affect driving and also the low humidity could be a good recipe for fire weather as well. towards the east a few snow showers dashing across the great

lakes region. elsewhere looking fine and calm. here's your temperatures for thursday. 15 in atlanta. 11 in d.c. just 9 in new york city. 7 in chicago. minus 4, very, very cold in denver. that's your high as well. minus 7 in winnipeg. 5 in vancouver with 6 in seattle. warm day in l.a. 19. and down towards mexico and mexico city, 23. let's now go do europe. things looking very messy across much of the west. we have storms moving in right across from portugal, spain, through france and low countries. coming in scandinavia as well. new system coming in from the atlantic, too. it is going to meet another round of storms here in the british isles for friday afternoon. here are your temperatures. looking into the single digits now across london, paris, vienna, 4 degrees for you. still the freezing point for the high in moscow. 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.