tv Newsline 30min KCSMMHZ January 13, 2012 6:00am-6:30am PST
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the incumbent and the challenger. voters in taiwan weigh relations with china and the economy as two main candidates vie to be the island's president. saturday is election day in taiwan. people are deciding whether to give the president another term in office or take a chance on his opponent. the incumbent wants to continue
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strengthening tyings with china. his main challenger is pushing to narrow the gap between the island's rich and poor. >> reporter: the election mood is heating up with candidates giving that final push to voters in their campaign rallies. now it's up to the people in deciding whose policy they want to trust for the next four years. there are three contenders in the election, but it's effectively a contest between the incumbent and the challenger from the largest opposition democratic progressive party. ma has stressed his determination to retain power. >> we now see the coming problem of the european debt. only an experienced leader which have led taiwan going through the financial tsunami and economic downturn to properly handle the situation. >> reporter: he is stressing the
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need for change. arguing that ma's policies cannot improve living standards. >> translator: our income is diminishing and the wealth gap is widening. resources are not being distributed fairly. i promise that a new government of the economic progressive party will distribute resources fairly. >> reporter: i asked some voters to give their views on the upcoming election. >> i want ma to lead taiwan for another four years to give him a chance. >> many people are unployed. tsa's election promises will be very effect i have in creating jobs. >> reporter: eric is an assistant professor at the national university. we asked him to evaluate the candidates and explain how the election result will affect taiwan's relations with china. who do you predict will be the next president of taiwan from
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may? >> that's a really tough question. and up to now i think it's neck to neck and the only thing that i can -- i can think of is the margin would be thin. ma will keep focussing on relations. the dpp tenz to focus on social justice or essential inequality. so we do think that it's kind of two parties try to emphasize their strength and try to -- try to sell their ideas on different issue dimension to voters. if he look at the domestic issues from cross relations and then he might want to make some kind of adjustment on the
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relations because the fast pace create more domestic problems. she didn't say much about relations at this point. she will try to build up something. that in the long run that should be a stable relationship. i don't think taiwan will become a -- taiwan will become a new problem in this asian country. we already know how to deal with the chinese government. it's still i think no matter who got elected, who gets elected, i think it won't create some factor -- >> reporter: yu said that even
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if ma wins the margin will be small and he'll face a completely different situation from four years ago when he won a landslide victory. ma will have to do something for the people who feel they haven't benefitted from the improved relations with china. yu said if tsai wins she'll have to craft china policy taking economic ties into consideration. some analysts think the election result could trigger increased tension between china and the u.s. which is keeping a close watch on the communist country's military buildup. voters in taiwan will begin casting their ballots on saturday. now to the political story that's playing out here in japan. prime minister nodda is trying to get his team in top shape. he's reshuffled his cabinet. he terminated two ministers who had fallen oout of favor.
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the emperor appointed five new ministers friday at a ceremony at the imperial palace. it's the first time noda has reshuffled his cabinet. later in the day the prime minister said the shakeup is expected to care are you out reforms. noda wants to overhaul japan's social security and tax systems. he called the upcoming session crucial for this country. lawmakers will discuss a proposed increase in the con sumpg tax. noda says the state needs sta sources to maintain social security. he added his government should not shy away from decisions that might seem unfavorable to voters. instead it should push on while appealing for understanding. the head of japan's largest business group has expressed hope the new cabinet will resolve serious issues that are facing the nation. >> translator: i'd like to see the new cabinet exercise strong leadership. i'm hoping that it will quickly
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and decisively settle important issues including the planned integrated reform of the tax and social security systems. >> he urged both the rules and opposition parties to hold constructive discussions to speedily implement measures to deal with these and other issues. the utility that operates japan's damaged fukushima daiichi plant has been hit with another big bill. tokyo electric policy company insurance policy runs over sunday. tepco had to hand over a $1.5 billion deposit to the government. utilities operating nuclear plants in japan are legally to be insured for 120 billion yen. tepco is losing its coverage from the japan atomic energy insurance pool. 23 nonlife insurers established the organization. the group decided last august it would not renew the company's contract. the utility deposited the funds
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friday with the tokyo legal affairs bureau. the science and technology ministry says the payment is the first of its kind by a power company. tepco says the utility is still seeking coverage from private sector insurers. next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. in myanmar dozens of political prisoners have been released as part of an amnesty by the government another sign the country the moving tentatively towards democracy. it could encourage western countries to consider lifting economic sanctions against southeast asia's most reclusive nation. myanmar says 651 prisoners were included in the presidential pardon. and nhk correspondent outside a jail confirms that political
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detainees were among those released. freed inmates were reunited with loved ones and supporters. organizations that campaign for the rereese of political prisoners say dozens of them were fried on friday. >> translator: i'm grateful, but i want all political detainees released. >> former prime minister was also freed from house arrest. he was removed from his post in 2004 following a power struggle with the then military leader. >> translator: i'll not be involved in politics, but i'll do something that would benefit the people. >> on thursday, myanmar's government signed a cease-fire agreement with one of the nation's largest ethnic rebel groups after more than 60 years of fighting. the series of recent moves by the civilian led government is
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seen as a message to the united states and european nations to encourage them to lift economic sanctions. nhk has spoken with one of the people recognized as being the brains behind myanmar's reforms an advisor to the president. we wanted to know how sincere the government is about demock raitization. he interviewed him. >> in the past we were under the socialism for 26 years. and again, 23 years under the military regime. two governments didn't make the country to be developed. >> reporter: this doctor is a special advisor. in may last year he submitted a
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report to the president that set out strategies for making myanmar more democratic. the report itself hasn't been made public. but he sat down with nhk to talk about its contents and the motives behind the government's decision to embark on the road of reform. >> i would say the secret things between us, i've written on these prosays. in short the capitalism, the free market. the economy and the political, you know, democratic ways. these are only the -- with these -- the combinations -- this is only the way to develop the country.
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>> reporter: he set a goal in the report of reaching the final stage of his dmokization plan within five years. after we've seen the report, he began a dialogue with prodemocracy leader. he says even though some members of the government are concerned the changes are too fast, they are united about the goal. >> some people, you know, they want to get a change with speed. some people are a little bit cautious. just want to go slowly. that's all. different point of view. different idea, that's all. the mission is there. they're all convinced we have to
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go there. this is the way. >> he's a businessman who own several hotels. he says the government is rushing the reforms because of the country's poor economic state. myanmar's per capita gross domestic product is the lowest in southeast asia. the country receives support from china during its rule. no but now he says it's eager to open its doors to western countries. >> whatever we received, there would be no problem. the matter is who will give us more benefit. we have to welcome to the investment from the west. >> reporter: the doctor seems to suggest that the myanmar government will continue to maneuver for economic cooperation from the western
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countries and china. >> and that will wrap up our bulletin. crews in northeastern japan have been working almost nonstop over the last ten months, removing rubble, repairing buildings and putting up new structures. the march 11th earthquake and tsunami did not only wreck infrastructure. it put national treasures at risk. it's proving to be a difficult job to salvage these treasures. >> reporter: this man is a cur t curator.
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the town government has a makeshift office outside the zone. he has been trying to raise awareness about the body of assets for many years. but the problem is that no one knows for sure the extent of the damage. municipal authorities haven't even been able to salvage some of the items. the survey was conducted last november to gauge the situation. people throughout the museum are now discussing how to move the cultural treasures out of the building. a water leak has caused mold on the ceiling. the excess moisture is making
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the situation worse for preserving the artifact. there are broken fragments of ancient earthen ware that are about 5,000 years old. the temperature control has not been working because of a power outage. ancient documents and other invaluable assets may be damaged. they will have to be removed immediately. he and his survey team couldn't stay long enough to move them due to high radiation levels in the area. >> translator: cultural assets represent our regional history. they should be passed on to future generation and preserved to serve as a bond for the
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community. >> reporter: meanwhile another town has managed to pick up the culture assets but is facing difficulty. >> translator: you can see the tsunami damage here. >> reporter: the tsunami devastated the culture center. the center was home to over 100,000 regional artifacts. the items were recovered from the -- but now the challenge is organizing them. sadly, the tsunami left some cultural center employees missing. it also washed away the catalogs. a fresh endeavor is now underway to put items in order. thanks to a local printing factory about 3,000 cultural assets are being stored there.
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work is also in progress to catalog them. >> translator: we're making a new catalog. it will help curators in their research and restoration work. >> reporter: the goeft plans to collect the items that are being kept at various locations across the country and put them on display again. >> not just a year or two, it could take several years. reconstruction from the disaster won't be completed until the cultural assets have been restored. >> we have sumo up next. at the new year's sumo
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tourney three ozeki remain perfect after five days. that hasn't happened since the 2007 may tournament. let's see if they were able to keep their momentum on day six. baruto has found himself in danger of losing a couple times, but has been able to recover and win in the end with a never say day at constitute. the wily veteran comes in large, but can't budge him. the ozeki has an easy time sending his foe with a slap down. with the recent arrival of two new ozeki kotooshu looks motivated to show his pride. he is 5-0 for the first time since the 2010 september bashu. kotooshu takes the match by using his long reach and nailing his opponent to the deck. late last year there was surgery to remove a boil in his buttocks. he looks to be in good shape. he comes in low and takes
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advantage. he gets a double inside grip and lifts his opponent and carries him out of the ring. he loads for the first time. and let's not forget the top dog hakuho. he's the other undefeated after five days. goeido fails to show any of his feistiness in this bout. hakuho marches without any trouble and blows his opponent away. here are the current standings after six days. hakuho and a couple of ozeki baruto and kotooshu are at the top with perfect records. on day seven the top division highlight bout will feature one of the leaders baruto taking on his opponent. baruto can't afford to lose if he wants to capture his first title. join us again to find out the
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result of the exciting matchup. >> residents of okinawa have re-affirmed their opposition by the japanese government to advance a plan to relocate the military base on the island. a majority of assembly members voted for a resolution criticizing the government. it comes after the delivery of a controversial environmental assistant report on a candidate site for the u.s. marine corp. air station. >> translator: the government delivered the report before dawn and at the end of the year. what it did was unprecedented. >> the government took the measure because protesters had blocked delivery of the report during the day. they say it reflects a subordinant attitude of the administration towards the united states. it also says the local people cannot accept the government neglecting their wishes. many want the base moved
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overseas. a nationwide manhunt for a convict who escaped from a prison in western japan on wednesday is over. police recaptured the chinese national on friday. he was found on a street near an elementary school in the afternoon only two kilometers from the prison. police say he was carrying a knife. the 40-year-old man was sentenced in 2006 to 23 years in prison for attempted murder. he has served about three and a half years of his term. lee escaped by climbing skaflding set up beside the prison wall that is under repair. he was arrested after being stopped by police. he said he had not eaten in several days. lee has been taken to the central police station for questioning. we have weather up next.
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hi there. welcome back. let's take a look at your weekend weather forecast. starting off with japan we have been experiencing heavy snow in the north japan region. we have a video coming up. in the past 24 hours we've already seen 50 centimeters of snow fall. today it's very busy. snowplows are busy people are very busy clearing the snow. actually more than 65 people are reported injured while engaging in clearing the snow. avalanche danger is high. advisories are posted. temperatures will be biting cold on friday and saturday staying just around the freezing point for the high. which means that there's a risk of a layer of ice forming very rapidly, very dangerous for driving conditions as we pull back we can see that snowfall totals are exceeding three meters high. 330 centimeters. that's the current condition.
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all the way down towards 233 centimeters. and the video coming out still here at 285 centimeters. this wintry pattern looks like it's going to be intensifying. more heavy snow to come. and we're talking about 50 to 60 centimeters in the next 24 hours. especially in -- pacific side will be remaining dry. here very windy condition will be continuing and also waves could be picking up reaching up to about four meters high in the western seaboards. now let's take a look at a broad view of asia. now here sunny and dry weather will be prevailing in much of the eastern continental in the north, but just here in southern china this heavy downpour could be pretty heavy. localized flooding could be triggered from this heavy rain
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moving towards taiwan and then targeting the southwestern islands of japan in the end of the week. we're talking about very heavy local downpours in southern philippines. waves are going to be high reaching up to five meters in some coastal areas. and localized downpours could be triggering further landslides and mudslides in this region. southern thailand looking very messy and unstable for the next couple of days. tokyo at 8 degrees. cold surge -- cold weather surging in the -- the low is actually about 3 degrees. seoul at 3. beijing at 4. staying warm in the tropics. let's head over to europe. the winter storm very massive clouds as you can see is making a spiral in the eastern continent. this is all going to be snow. widespread showers of snow and also very windy condition that
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could also be blowing snow dangerous for driving conditions there as well. towards the west, dry. the iberian peninsula this arthritic system coming in towards you by sunday. please enjoy your nice weather. lisbon at 14 degrees. london staying cold at 5. paris at 7. moscow at minus 1. here's the extended forecast.
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before we wrap up, we wanted to show you how students in japan are preparing for high school and university entrance exams. they're doing plenty of studying, but they're also doing plenty of wishing. this tunnel of wishes has been set up at the shrine north of tokyo. about 30,000 tablets are on display. people write their wishes on wooden plaques and then hang them up. they're looking for all the help they can get. i hope to pass the exams, this says. japanese students write their tests to get into high school or university starting this weekend. that's our broadcast for this our on "newsline."
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