[ chanlting ] return to sender. protest nrs okinawa block delivery of a key report on relocation of a u.s. military base. representatives of japan's central government say a final step in the plan to move the futenma air station is complete. still, opponents in the southern prefecture of okinawa say fair fight against the plan is only just beginning. government analysts finished an environmental assessment. but they're having trouble delivering the documents. the japanese and u.s. governments agreed to move the u.s. marine corps air station in futenma to a site offshore of

okinawa's nago city. the prefectural government is scheduled to receive the 7,000-page environmental assessment. it details the effect of the proposed base will have on local ecosystems. governor hirokazu nakaima says he will accept the report and submit an opinion on minimizing the environmental impact. he's long been opposed to the relocation of futenma. nhk world's hiromitsu nagano tells us what's slowing the delivery of these important documents. >> reporter: the government has sent the documents. but the prefectural government has yet to receive them. because a van carrying them has been blocked by protesters. under the government's plan, the u.s. marine air station would be moved to hanoko district of nago city. it calls for reclaiming coastal

land to build a runway. the report sent on monday is the final step in the assessment procedure. the delivery van carrying the documents has made two attempts since tuesday morning to enter the parking lot of the prefectural government building. but members of citizens' groups and labor groups opposed to relocation plan within okinawa surrounded the vehicle and blocked it. the prefectural government has asked the protesters to let the van through, to no avail. hiroji yamashiro, the leader of the protest group is vowing to make the government give up the relocation plan. >> translator: the document should have been submitted in

person by an appropriate official. but they sent it by courier. it's completely ridiculous. >> reporter: okinawa governor, hirokazu nakaima, says he will accept the report and submit an opinion on minimizing effects on the environment. but the governor says he has not changed his mind about moving the base to nago. >> translator: i'm supporting the relocation outside the prefecture. my position will not change. >> reporter: nakaima says the government will eventually have to drop its plan to relocate the base to nago. this is hiromitsu nagano, nhk world, okinawa. >> nhk world political commentator, masayo nakajima

gives us his analysis. >> the report is will determine the impact of the u.s. futenma station relocation. it's supposed to move things along. but it may not do the job. the japanese government is now planning to file a land reclamation request with okinawa's governor. but that is likely to inflame local opposition to the noda administration's plans. the noda administration ordered the environmental assessment before the prime minister met u.s. president barack obama in november. in order to show that it's making some sort of progress. the futenma relocation deal was signed in 2006. the years of delay have irritated the u.s. government. it's believed that the u.s. president barack obama wants to see as many obstacles removed as possible before next year's presidential election. with the stalemate over futenma has stalled the restructuring of whole u.s. military forces in asia. because you know, moving the

base is an essential part of washington's overall plan. that includes moving about 8,000 marines from okinawa to guam. the u.s. pacific territory is set to become a crucial regional hub for the american military. japan also needs u.s. help to counter the chinese military's growing influence in asia. china has taken an increasingly bold stance on territorial issues in japan's southern waters. on top of all this, the japanese government does not want north korea's new leader to take advantage of the stalled negotiations. "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 crisis. and "the road ahead" examines

japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." south korea's intelligence agency says north korea's new leader, kim jong un will soon become the country's supreme military commander, succeeding his late father, kim jong il. south korea's national intelligence service chief gave the news at a parliament committee on tuesday. north korea's ruling workers party. the paper used a title of supreme commander of the armed forces. the intelligence chief said this suggests that kim jong un will follow the instructions left by his father and move along the path of military-led revolution. whan said the title of the leader had been used for kim jong un immediately after the death of his father. he added that this suggests that young kim is making an effort to hasten his power transition. the title of supreme commander

was not bestowed on kim jong il until six months after the death of his own father, kim il sung. whan pointed to kim jong un's visit to the palace where his father's body is lying in state. he said the young leader was accompanied by the country's top officers from the central military commission, the national defense commission, and the korean people's army. whan said that kim jong un wanted to show he had gained control over the party and the military mpblt. the eldest son of the late north korean leader, kim jong il. is not expected to attend his father's funeral on wednesday. observers say he wants to avoid giving the impression that he has ambitions to join the country's leadership. kim jong nam had been seen as his father's likely successor. but he reportedly fell out of favor ten years ago, when he was caught trying to enter japan with a fake passport. he's now believed to be based in beijing and macao. there have been no reports that

kim jong nam has flown out of china bound for north korea since his father's death was announced monday last week. diplomatic sources in beijing say it appears that kim jong nam has not returned home since his younger brother, kim jong un, made a public appearance as kim's heir apparent in september 2009. japan's forestry agency has collected cedar cones in fukushima prefecture to test for radioactive cesium ahead of pollen season. it found that radioactivity from airborne pollen will not pose a health hazard. cones were collected from late november to early december. officials detected extremely high radiation levels of 253,000 becquerels per kilogram in cones from the town of namie. in the no-entry zone about 11 kilometers from the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. 29 other locations saw levels exceed 10,000 becquerels. but the agency says if people

are exposed to the pollen of these cones for four months, they would breathe in only about .5 microsieverts per radiation. the agency points out this is only about ten times what a person would be exposed to from normal background radiation in central tokyo. next we go to cholaphansa narula in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> a major foreign car maker badly affected by thailand's flood crisis has publicly scrapped a fleet of damaged vehicles. the show of destruction by honda is an apparent attempt to reassure consumers about the quality of its products. the japanese automaker's plant in ayutthaya about 100 kilometers north of bangkok is still idle following the worst floods in thailand in 50 years. honda on tuesday destroyed more than 1,000 vehicles at the ayutthaya plant in front of the media the vehicles were dismantled into engines, tires and interiors with everything destined for the scrap heap.

honda apparently wants to convince consumers they don't have to worry about receiving damaged goods. floodwaters entered the industrial park where the plant is located in early october. at one point, the water was over two meters deep. submerging vehicles at the site. a honda official said the company wasn't able to defend itself against the crisis of this magnitude and would ask the thai government for support. >> translator: i think it's difficult for companies to control floodwaters in an event like this. so i hope the government will take appropriate action for further disasters. >> the factory is still being cleaned. under normal circumstances, did has the capacity to churn out 240,000 vehicles a year. other japanese car makers operating in thailand already resumed production in november.

now next to myanmar, it's considered one of southeast asia's poorest nations. but new economic opportunities are starting to emerge at last. u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, suggested during her historic visit this month that the united states might consider lifting sanctions, if myanmar continues to move towards democracy. now foreign investors are getting increasingly confident that the reclusive country's fortunes may be about to change. nhk world's jun kobayashi has this report from yangon. >> reporter: the lifestyles of people in myanmar are changing as their country becomes more democrat. ic. >> the price of used cars is dropping, attracting more customers. the previous military regime is said to have raised funds by imposing a tariff of about $13,000 on imported cars.

the new administration abolished some of those fees. as a result, prices of some secondhand cars halved over the last three months. >> translator: the models that i couldn't afford to buy before, have now become affordable. >> myanmar's power capital, is about $600. it was set to be the poorest country in southeast asia. among its economic reforms, the new administration introduced laws to promote foreign investment. the changes have made some people rich. at this car dealership, a chinese mobile sales brought in $13,000. that's about 200 times more than the average monthly salary for

workers in yangon. even though 1,000 cars were sold in just a few days. this man has just bought his very first car. >> translator: it's good. i'm satisfied. >> reporter: more foreign companies are opening shop in myanmar. they are targeting its population of 60 million. that was until recently virtually shut off to outsiders. investors believe consumers' spending power will increase if western countries lift economic sanctions. japanese companies are among those preparing to make inroads into myanmar. although they lack rivals from

china and south korea. japan's trade promotion agency recently held a food fair in yangon to see how people would respond to the taste and price of japanese food products. >> translator: children love this product because it's sweet and has chocolate inside. >> translator: i'm sure it will sell well. it's delicious. and not too expensive. >> translator: many japanese companies are keen to do business in myanmar, considering the country's population and buying power. they think myanmar has great potential. >> reporter: myanmar is set to be the last remaining frontier in the asean region abroad. their country is attracting close attention from foreign investors. as it sets out on a path to economic reform and democratization. jun kobayashi, nhk world, yangon.

that wraps up our bulletin. i'm cholaphansa narula in bangkok. >> all right, thanks for the report as always. people in indonesia are trying to keep some difficult memories alive. a tsunami washed through the archipelago in 2004. seven years on, some residents are unaware of the dangers. nhk world's daisuke azumo reports from banda aceh, indonesia. >> this pole serves as reminder of the dangers out in the water. a tsunami wave about six meters high rose over this area seven years ago. the pole indicated the wave's height at the time it hit and its distance from the coast, two kilometers. the locals built it with support from japan.

residents have put up several such poles throughout the area. they preserved this tanker, too. the tsunami picked up the ship and dropped it about five kilometers inland. it's one of many reminders of what happened here. >> translator: there's nothing we can see to remember it. so the tanker is one of the historical reminders of the tsunami. >> translator: it's to keep the memories alive. for our children, and grandchildren. >> translator: we don't really remember what happened in the past. our memories are fading. >> reporter: memories seem to be fading all across the archipelago. the village lie ace long the

coast. residents held a memorial service this week for the victims. this man lived here with his wife and four children. the tsunami swept them away. >> translator: there were so many houses here. but they're all gone. it's close to the coast. so the tsunami washed them away. >> reporter: the tsunami engulfed people, homes and countless other things. still, many of the residents stayed. some make their living by fishing. others are attached to the land they call home. many live in free housing. people started moving into the area after the disaster.

and they just kept coming. now one in every four people here is a newcomer. >> translator: i moved here because of my current financial situation. the rent is cheap. >> translator: disasters are god's creations. they're not afraid, if they were, they wouldn't have rented houses here. >> reporter: a tsunami alert sounded again in april last year. most residents fled to higher ground by motorbike, on foot, however they could. those who didn't live through the tsunami stayed. as a result, there was an evacuation shelter nearby. this woman was one of them.

she settled down here two years ago, attracted by the cheap rent. and until recently, she had never participated in evacuation drills. she had no idea how she was supposed to leave. so she didn't. >> translator: in the past, i didn't know that there were any evacuation drills. if i knew, i would join them. >> reporter: she says residents should use their circumstance. >> translator: with support from various organizations, our community organizes study sessions to teach people how to evacuate to safety, fleeing to a nearby community building, for instance. >> reporter: an old japanese saying suggests, a natural

disaster holds on you when you have forgotten about it. many here seem to have forgotten. but they will continue to be reminded by their neighbors. dice kaik azuma, nhk world, banda aceh, ind niecia. now to other stories we're following here on "newsline." starting with the situation in syria. arab league monitors are in syria to keep an eye on government troops. president bashar al assad allowed them in. he's been using force to stop protests against his administration. the demonstrations began in march, more than 5,000 people have died. assad is being criticized at home and abroad. the arrival of the monitors is a first instance of direct international intervention in syria. still, the violence has not stopped. government forces went after demonstrators tuesday in homs. a human rights group said more than 20 people died. international observers are concerned the government won't disclose the full details of the

situation to the arab league monitors. a shia bloc in iraq's ruling coalition wants parliament to be dissolved so new elections can be held. the demand is the latest step in the growing conflict between the country's shia and sunni muslims. the anti-u.s. cleric, muqtada al sadr, leads the bloc. he joined the ruling coalition a year ago. before that he led shia militants against u.s. and iraqi forces. the latest conflict between shia and sunnis started this month after judicial authorities issued an arrest warrant for tareq al hashemi, who was accused of terrorism. baghdad has been hit by a series of bombings in the past week. sunni militants are believed to be behind the attacks. the people in charge of tokyo electric power company say the utility needs more money. they've asked for an additional $8.8 billion from a government-backed fund. the request follows the government's decision to offer

compensation to people who voluntarily left their homes because of the crisis at tepco's fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the utility has received $11.5 billion in public money. the government will review tepco's restructuring efforts before deciding on whether to give additional funds. one of the joys of winter is playing in the snow. but in fukushima prefecture this year, worries about radiation are keeping many kids indoors. to remedy that, about 30 children from iwaki city trofled to a popular ski resort about 200 kilometers away from their homes. since march, a lot of children have not been allowed to play outside because of fears from radiation leaking from the fukushima daiichi crippled power plant. the kids made up for lost time.

frolicking in the snow for hours. mai shoji is up next with weather. hi there and welcome back. let's take a look at your weather conditions. let's first start off with india. has a threat of facing this cyclone. this is just over bay of bengal right now. let's look at this cyclonic system. by wednesday, local time, it looks like it's going to be strengthening. and keeping and maintaining its strength. it will be making landfall in india. most likely and wind speed as of now is 65 kilometers per hour. we're talking about sustained winds of 50 to 60 kilometers per hour. already affecting much of the andaman and nicobar islands.

and this very pink will be traveling in the next few days. making landfall just in the north of chennai. definitely will be monitoring this system for you in towards the end of the week. now as for japan, where we had stormy weather, and very heavy snow to be piling up just in the sea of japan side, western half of the portion, especially in northern japan. now that's going to be tapering off as you can see just a little bit there. well this low pressure system is going to be developing, it's going to be bringing chilly rain and snow in the korean peninsula, that will be approaching japan overnight wednesday. so another round of stormy weather to be coming on to our thursday. but as for the next 24 hours, it's going to be tapering off here in tohoku, that's going to be good news. the pacific side we still haven't seen any kind of precipitation in some areas. so we do have risks of fire weather. eastern continental asia looking

pretty dry in much of the area. but very wet here in the philippines. and also eastern indochina peninsula, as well as bangkok. the winds are picking up just around this area, so we may see some waves that are going to be high, about three meters high. compared to last week, it's not too bad, but we want you to stay away from the coastal areas if possible. tokyo at 9 degrees, staying in the single digit, seoul as well at 3 degrees. talking about in the tropics, manila at 29, and bangkok at 30 degrees. now let's head over to north america and talk about what's happening here. we've got a trio of frontal system just one after another actually. so people in the pacific northwest, it looks like 2011 you're going to be ending on a wet and stormy note there. gusty conditions, coastal heavy rain and mountain snow to be seen there. out towards the east, this is what we're talking about. well severe weather here,

atlantic coast. carolinas and georgia. you may be seeing some isolated thunderstorms. wherever you see the green is all going to be rain, coastal moisture is surging up here. heavy rain to be seen just from ohio valley in towards southern quebec. also this is the tuesday outlook for you. now heading over to europe. in the north it's going to be messy out there. new atlantic system approaching northern uk, gusts maybe reaching up to about 130 kilometers per hour. that could definitely set a significant stage for travel disturbance. very wet and windy just around the scandinavian peninsula as well. but as i step out, you can see how clear much of the other continents is in europe. london, 10 degrees, paris at 8, berlin not bad at 10 degrees and moscow, minus 1. 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.