failing grade. an independent report says the operator of fukushima daiichi and the japanese government made mistakes before, during and after the march nuclear accident. members of an independent government panel have spent more than half a year trying to figure out what went wrong on march 11th. tsunami predictions ignored, emergency procedures bungled, communication insufficient. the panel says tokyo electric power company and the government

both made mistakes, leading to the accident and subsequent meltdowns at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the ten-member panel released its interim report on monday. the investigation started in june. the members interviewed 456 people, including tepco workers and government officials. the report describes at length how tepco had predicted in 2008 that a tsunami higher than 10 meters could hit the plant. they failed to take action to toughen up anti-tsunami measures. the report says that that ultimately failed to prevent meltdowns at fukushima daiichi. panel members also criticized tepco's initial response to the accident. they say fire trucks should have been dispatched earlier to pump water into the reactors. that may have lessened the damage to the fuel rods, thereby reducing the release of radiation. the report also found the government's handling of the crisis problematic. a computer system that predicts how radioactive materials spread in the event of a nuclear

accident was not used when evacuations were planned, and evacuation orders were not precise, so they failed to promptly reach the affected municipalities. a japanese nuclear expert is calling for further investigation. >> translator: it should be clarified whether the prime minister's office took effective action while the accident was in progress and the situation remained volatile. the investigation should access the crisis management system and comment on the matter in their final report. >> nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa joins us with more details. tepco issued a report earlier this month. now there's a new report from a government panel. how do the probes differ? >> well, the report was drafted by specialists hand-picked by the utility, but the government report comes from an independent committee, so it could be seen as more objective. tepco's report did touch on how the meltdowns occurred, but it

failed to clarify the root cause of the accident. for the first time, this new report clearly states the japanese government played a role in making the crisis worse. this says the government wasn't prepared for three disasters -- a big earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear accident. it says communication was insufficient between the prime minister's office and the crisis management center, which was responsible for gathering updated information on fukushima. >> what about tokyo electric power company? what does the report say about tepco? >> well, it explains in detail the errors tepco workers made right after the earthquake and tsunami hit fukushima daiichi. they were late to respond to the problems with reactor number 1. they fell behind in their attempt to cool down the reactor. they failed to use the only workable system called the isolated condenser, after the plant lost its major power sources. the condenser uses steam to cool

it down, but neither workers, the task force on the site, nor officials at headquarters knew how to operate the condenser at the time of the emergency. the report says, as the operator of a nuclear plant, tepco's lack of knowledge was extremely inappropriate. it says there could have been ways to slow down the pace of meltdowns and lessen the leakage of radiation outside the plant. >> so, it is the next step to get to the bottom of what happened at fukushima daiichi? >> well, the independent government committee is scheduled to finalize this report by the summer of 2012 after interviewing officials and ministers who were in charge during the time of the accident. the committee is calling for fundamental and drastic changes to nuclear safety and disaster response policy. >> nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa. reporting for us tonight, thank you, appreciate it. japan and myanmar will start negotiating a bilateral

agreement to promote japanese investment in the country. japanese foreign minister, koichiro gemba. met myanmar's president on monday. gemba is the first japanese foreign minister to visit myanmar in nine years. in the meeting, gemba said political freedom must be insured in the parliamentary by-election next year to deepen the process of democratization. thein seine said that economic development is essential for myanmar's democracy and said the country is expecting japanese investment. earlier in the day, gemba held talks with his counterpart. gemba said japan is willing to propose economic ties to myanmar and develop economic aid to the country. both foreign ministers agreed to begin negotiations to conclude a bilateral investment agreement. next we go to cholaphansa narula in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region.

>> monday marked seven years since the indian ocean tsunami of 2004. some 220,000 people were killed or went missing. one of many member yorial servi were held in phuket. many vacationers were among the victims, including 29 japanese. this year, japan also suffered its own deadly tsunami on march 11th. making the occasion especially poignant. >> hey! >> one day after christmas 2004, a tsunami swept around the coastline of the indian ocean. from southeast asia all the way to east africa. in phuket, 8,000 people were killed or went missing. on monday, about 50 japanese friends and relatives of the

victims attended a memorial service. [ chanting ] >> translator: as japan suffered the march 11th earthquake this year, the indian ocean tsunami overlaps, making this year particularly special. i can never forget what happened, but i don't want it to be tied to the past. >> in japan, which experiences frequent earthquakes, there is a saying, a disaster strikes the moment a person forgets. reconstruction is progressing in phuket, tourist numbers are back to five million a year. but family members of the victims hope that lessons learned from the tragedy are reflected in measures to prevent future disasters all around the globe. the indian ocean tsunami was triggered by a massive earthquake off the coast of indonesia. the province of aceh, near the

epicenter was devastated. seven years on, life is still far from normal. reconstruction of homes and infrastructure has progressed. but has nhk world reports, the harder challenge is rebuilding communities. >> reporter: the massive tsunami left over 160,000 people in aceh province dead or missing. seven years later, reconstruction of most roads and residences is complete. in one village on the outskirts of the provincial capital, banda aceh, over 80% of residents died in the tsunami. even so, survivors audaciously chose to rebuild their lives near the ocean. >> translator: in the past,

fishing boats were seen making a line out at sea. at 8:00 in the morning. returning across the ocean. >> reporter: before the tsunami, around 1,000 people lived here. almost everyone made their livelihoods from the sea. survivors banded together and made their own plans for reconstruction. they pooled their land and built wider roads to serve as evacuation roads in the event of another disaster. but the character of the village is starting to change. new commerce have moved into places that have been evacuated since the disaster. they now make up more than 40% of the population. the convenient location near banda aceh is one of the attractions.

it draws people working in commerce, agriculture and construction. very few new residents are interested in fishing. >> translator: i can never become a fisherman, since i get seasick. >> translator: i'm better suited to construction. >> reporter: with diverse lifestyles, villagers are losing their sense of community. and there is also visible in the environment. please take a look to her, full of garbages. not like before, the feeling of unity in this village is fading away, so it is difficult to gather people and the village-cleaning activity can only be done once a year. it's becoming increasingly difficult to get residents of the village to work together.

even something as important as a tsunami evacuation drill has only happened once. community leaders regret the changing characters of the village. the village chief is trying to build a new sense of community, but one that reflects the different lifestyles of its new residents. >> translator: i cannot tell someone with a different profession to quit their job to become a fisherman. i will listen intently to the people's wants and needs. >> reporter: seven years has passed since the devastating tsunami. reconstruction is making progress, but rebuilding communities is more complicated. people are starting to realize that the road to recovery bill be longer than expected.

nhk world, aceh province. that wraps up our bulletin for today, i'm cholaphansa narula in bangkok. an article in north korea's state-run newspaper suggests that kim jong il moved the levels of power even after his death. "rodong sinmun" reports that he issued orders shortly before his died. his son, jeongen had them carried out the following day. "rodong sinmun" said kim issued an order on the evening of december 16th. he wanted the government to provide cod and herring to the residents of pyongyang. north korean authorities announced that kim died the following morning. however, political analysts in south korea suspect kim may have died earlier than was formally announced. they say the article is an effort to reply to such speculation and emphasize that kim worked hard for the peo right up until his death. they say the article aims to underscore kim jong un

legitimacy as a successor to his father, by creating an impression that he has been governing the country based on his father's instructions. a group of south korean civilians has met with north korea's new leader, kim jong un. and are visiting pyongyang to transmit condolences. the south korean government gave the group permission to make the trip to the north. the 18-member group includes former first lady, the widow of the late south korean president, kim dae jung. as president, he held a landmark summit in 2000. another group member is a chairwoman of the hun dae group, her company runs a joint venture for tourists in the north. the south declined to send an official delegation to offer condolences to the north. >> translator: we hope our visit will lead to improving ties between the two koreas. >> the group crossed into the

demilitarized zone on monday, the group will return home on turs. politicians from around the world are trying to figure out what's next for north korea. the leaders of japan and china have agreed to communicate closely on their response. japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda and the chinese president hu jintao met. in beijing. noda said kim jong il's death should not have a negative impact on the korean peninsula. he said the role of china is important as the north's strongest ally and as the chair of the six-party talks. hu said not only china and japan, but also the rest of the world wished for peace and stability on the peninsula. he said china will work to restart nuclear talks and bring an end to the north's nuclear program through dialogue and cooperation. noda already met with chinese premier wen jiabao and spoke about this. 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 crisis. and the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and t"the road ahead" on "newsline." hiro morita is up next with sports. hello, sports fans and welcome to the last sports report for 2011. the bidding among major league baseball teams was intense for the opportunity to bring pitcher yu darvish overseas. under the posting system, a japanese team gets paid if it allows one of its players to move to the big leagues, but only if it signs a contract. the texas rangers won the right to try to make that happen.

darvish is arguably the best pitcher in japan these days. his earned run average has been less than two for five straight years and he's just 25 years old. the rangers reportedly offered $51.7 million to darvish's team, the nippon fighters, more than the boston red sox bid to negotiate with daisuke matsuzaka. the rangers have made it to the world series two years in a row, but didn't win. >> well we're hopeful. you know, that's why we got into this process. was with the goal of signing the player and making him a ranger and hopefully helping us win a championship. >> fans think he would be a good fit. >> he seems to be very good. i'm excited about it. we need some good, a good pitcher. so go rangers. >> we're one strike away last year. you know, i think he's the missing piece. we just need. >> the rangers have until the

18th of january to work out a contract with darvish. now sumo. kisenosato flexed his muscles as an ozeki for the first time in the national sports arena. the occasion was an official practice session in anticipation of the new year tournament in members of the yokozuna delegation council were there to watch. kisenosato was promoted to the second-highest rank at the end of november. he's 25 years old. the practice session included bouts with many of the top rikishi, kisenosato ended up with eight wins and five losses. earlier, i sat down with him for a good talk. oh, kisenosato-ozeki, congratulations object becoming an ozeki.

>> kisenosato hasn't had any lack of aggression in the ring so far. he's earned the reputation hakuho's arch rival, he stopped his record win streak at 63 and he's the ohm one to beat hakuho three times in the past six fights. what do you think makes you such a formidable opponent for hakuho? >> whenever i was able to use all my strength, i defeated him. maybe i was just lucky to have that kind of moment three times. >> just lucky? >> yes, it's really hard to use all your strength against him. he is the yokozuna, after all.

>> the bout-fixing scandal of 2011 thinned the ranks of competitors. 25 rikishi and stablemasters were fired or forced to resign. for the first time in history, a tournament was canceled. because of a scandal. >> translator: the scandal has left the largest stain on sumo in its long history. the revelations took a toll on attendance. only eight of the 90 days of regular tournaments were sold out. fans waiting to see how the sport would clean up its act. what do you think needs to be done to revive the popularity of sumo? >> translator: the most important thing is to do everything sincerely. sumo fans like pros can sense that. trust is easy to lose, but hard

to gain. so i don't expect to see sumo fans come back quickly. i think it will take time. and the accumulation of lots of hard work. >> shortly before the november tournament, kisenosato had to contend with the death of his mentor and stablemaster, nar outo. when i visited naruto three years ago, he had prepared a zen proverb for his up-and-coming trainee. >> translator: stay calm and unmoved like deep seawater, remain unstirred. be this way, no matter what happens. and how unsettled things might be on the surface.

>> do you remember this? >> translator: of course. in fact that's whey told me in the practice room on the day he died. he said, don't show your emotions. no matter how hard or frustrated you may find things in the ring, never show it. those were his last words to me. >> for 2012, kisenosato is committed to reaching a goal that no rikishi born in japan has achieved for the last six years.

kisenosato gets his first opportunity to show his ozeki spirit in the ring on january the 8th. that's when the new year tournament begins in tokyo. that's all for sports. mai shoji is up next with weather. >> hi there and welcome back, let's talk about weather now, starting off with asia, yes, the wintry pattern looks like it's going to be continuing here in japan. let's take a look at some of the pictures coming up from toyama prefecture, in the past 24 hours, snowfall of 67 centimeters have fallen here, you can see this lady using the umbrella as a cane, it's very slippery and hard to work in the pedestrian lanes. we also see in yamagata prefecture, this is coming up

from yamagata actually, we see the snowplows very busy today. snow depth has piled up to 162 centimeters. now we also have reports in aomori prefecture, where 220 centimeters, that's two meters and 20 centimeters of snow that have been observed today. heavy snow is expected still in the sea of japan, coastal areas through tuesday. so it looks like he's actually having fun with that snow, but, yes, it's going to continue here across much of the japan area. the western seaboard is looking messy with high wave warning alerts, which is going to be picking up about five meters. we're talking about very strong winds. so blowing snow, blizzard, conditions, very, very dangerous for driving conditions. up to 50 centimeters of additional fresh snowfall to be expected in much of the tohoku region and up to about 30 centimeters in some other areas. and up to 40 centimeters even in

kanto region. now, the pacific side actually looks like it's going to be very dry. in fact, the tokyo area has been seeing very dry days for 11 days consecutively. we do have fire risk warnings in effect. the korean peninsula, mongolia as well as china looking dry as well, but wet and windy here in the philippines. especially the eastern seaboard affected by eastern monsoonal flow. as for temperatures, manila and bangkok, a pair of 30s. we're looking at ulan bator, the high for tuesday, minus 15, and 8 degrees for the tuesday high, chilly for us tomorrow. let's head over to north america and talk about this potent frontal system that will be disturbing this pacific northwest area for the next several days. i'm talking about coastal heavy rainfall as well as gusty situations.

gusts could actually build up to about 100 kilometers per hour. heavy snow is not going to be seen in the central area, but gusts also very strong. this could actually also reach up to 100 kilometers per hour and sustained winds. we're talking about 50 kilometers per hour in some areas. so even if the snow is not too significant, that can combine and become blowing snow and blizzard conditions. now, here, gulf moisture. there's enough of that to bring you showers in the gulf states, which could be heavy at times. you see that heavy part, the pink area, that is moving through. heavy rain could even turn into snow in the overnight hours. chilly as it moves fairly quickly toward the mid-atlantic regions. the central mississippi valley region, alabama, louisiana, mississippi, you maybe have to deal with very heavy rain, which is could trigger flash flooding and floodings.

oklahoma city at 8 degrees. chicago well above average temperature at 8 degrees, also in new york, we're talking about 8 degrees, but lots of sunny spells there. and lots of sunshine here in los angeles at 22 degrees. here's our extended forecast.

giant pandas are a symbol of friendship between china and japan. chinese leaders first gave pandas to japan in the 1970s to celebrate the reopening of the diplomatic ties. people have flocked to see the animals. now some giant panda twins are getting atension of their own on their fifth birthday. ♪ happy birthday to you >> mae and ai had a fifth birthday party. their caregivers gave them cakes and 400 guests sang "happy birthday." japan has 11 giant pandas and it will soon have two more, chinese pren mere, wen jiabao said he'll send them to tokyo. a token of help for northeast japan to get back on its feet after the earthquake and tsunami. that's our broadcast for "newsline."

back with more news in half an hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.