a pirs hand look. the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant has been shown to the media. tokyo electric power company has given the media act soesz to the fooud plant for the first time since the government declared in december that the reactors there were in cold shutdown. the utility gave reporters a bus tour of the facility. the visit coincides with visits

by the japan nuclear safety agency. reporters were allowed to get off the bus on a hill near the number four reactor and see the damage rocked by a hydrogen blast firsthand. during a previous media tour. reporters had to stay inside their bus. radioactivity levels on the hill are now 50 micro receivers per hours. the bus passed by cooling systems. workers have swathed pumps with sheathing and wrapped pipes with insulation materials to prevent leaks. >> translator: we will work the make the plant stable and safe so we can assure people that the plant will not release anymore radioactive substances.

>> it is expected to take about 40 years to completely decommission the damaged reactors. tokyo electric officials faced a challenge of ensuring safety throughout this long process. 40 years after the first human set foot on the moon, the earth's only satellite is attracting a new generation of explorers. private companies and organizations are vying to develop the moon's rare metals and other resource. rapidly industrialized nations such as chi nap and india are also getting on board. but all this raises a fundamental question. who owns the moon? >> reporter: the world's largest search engine google recently announced an unprecedented race. it's been organized by the internet giant and a private foundation. >> until recently, space was off limits to the public. the google lunar x prize is challenging free enterprise to reach much further.

to the moon. >> reporter: the race is called the lunar x prize. teams are competing to be the first to probe the moon and provide observational data and images within three years. the winners stand to receive a total of $30 million. 26 teams have joined the race. they represent companies and universities from around the world. the teams are developing their own technology and methods to reach their goal. >> once you prove that you can do that affordably and repeatedly, i can assure you your telephones are going to ring. >> reporter: mankind's first race to the moon was drichb in part by cold war politics. today's lunar explorers are driven by the quest for natural resources. recent studies have found the moon is much richer in resources

than previously thought. one of the most sought after of these resources is a rare metal titanium. this map shows rich titanium deposits are widely distributed on the moon. moon rocks have been found to contain molecules of water, which is essential for sustaining life. the presence of water on the moon makes it more feasible for people to remain for long periods of time. >> right now is a more attra attractive time than ever before. different people are going to have different ideas. >> reporter: technology is one of the company's participating in the race. the team is trying to mine platinum, a particularly pricey rare metal. its efforts are mainly focused on the development of a special shovel designed for digging into the moon's surface. >> in our case it would be people prospecting for the best

places to mine the water or might be the metals that could be shipped back to earth. we would love the be the leading edge of the moon rush. >> reporter: some countries have banned the utilization of the moon resource as part of their public policy. five years ago china launched the first lunar exploration satellite. the country is aiming to land an unmanned probe on the moon in 2013. india has also launched a spacecraft to study the distribution of lunar resources fuelling the competition among nations. this aggressive pursuit of resources is raising alarm in the united states. a republican presidential candidate has said the u.s. should put more effort into

lunar exploration. >> we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be american. >> reporter: nasa also issued a report last year in an effort to check moves by other countries. the report is titled "how to protect and preserve the historic and scientific value of u.s. government lunar artifacts." it maintains that sites explored during america's apollo program must be declared off limits and no fly zones. the u.s. is claiming exclusive access to areas of the moon since it's the only country to have explored it. >> and now we're coming into an age of exploitation. not just exploration. and these are questions that were unthinkable 40 years ago, but because of the changing environment and the use of space and much more use of space by

other groups, that we're beginning to think about. >> reporter: who owns the moon? the question is still up in the air even as the computation between governments and businesses for its riches intensifies. >> china has revised its projection for this year's economic growth below the 8% level it has main taked since 2005. the country's economy has been slowing due to europe's credit problems and austerity measures. chinese vice president now visiting ireland said in an interview with a local newspaper that its country has set its gdp growth target lower than 8%. it's not clear, however, what the new target is. xi says china's likely to cut economic growth targets from this year on. he notes that will help relieve problems on inflation, energy, natural resources and the environment. china's president in waiting

said the chinese economy will not see a significant slow down this year. he called on the international community and investors not to overreact to china's decision. the accident at fukushima daiichi has triggered debate about the country's energy future. as the government considers the mix of energy resources, citizens are actively campaigning to influence energy policy. they're also looking seriously at their own energy consumption. >> reporter: japanese are more conscious of their energy consumption since the fukushima daiichi meltdown. on the outskirts of tokyo, this man has started measuring how much electricity each of his home appliances use. >> translator: this chandelier used to consume 300 watts. now it's only 24 watts.

>> reporter: he has done everything he can think of to save as much electricity as possible hoping to wean himself off depends on nuclear generated power. >> translator: the nuclear accident displaced a lot of people from their hometowns. even in areas far from the plant. if we don't change energy sources now, we'll leave all these problems for our children and grandchildren. >> reporter: saving on his own electricity consumption is not the only thing he is doing. he's also formed a study group with his friends to discuss energy issues. the group wanted to change their town's only source of electricity that is tokyo electric power company, the operator of the fukushima plant. the group made a proposal demanding the town use other

providers for public facilities. last december the assembly announced the idea that the town have competitive bidding starting next year. >> translator: i want this town to start making changes where it can. >> translator: the only way to make change is to start with ourselves. with what each individual can do. >> reporter: at the same time, a grassroots movement has emerged seeking government policy that reflects the citizens' views. the group of about 100 women gathered in tokyo last month to debate energy policy issues. >> translator: i'd like to choose my electric company. different companies should handle electricity production and transmission. >> reporter: they wrote down what they consider the key words and inside in energy policy.

these are future, local self-sufficiency, the freedom to choose one's energy resources and life. >> translator: this meeting reminded me that i have to express my views publicly. >> reporter: this woman is a journalist who covers environmental issues. she arranged this gathering to convey women's views to the authorities. on this day a committee meeting was held at the economy ministry. she is a member of this committee that drafts the basic policy on japan's future energy sources. only four of the 25 members are women. she reads out the concerns and opinions of the women who attended their energy policy meeting. she poses a question to ministry

officials. >> translator: how do you intend to hold a dialogue with the public? after the disaster, more people believe they should think about energy policy themselves, but the decision making process hasn't changed. the ministries and industry groups set energy policy. the challenge is how to reflect the public's growing awareness and concerns into government policy. >> reporter: this committee will recommend the best energy mix. the government is to make an important decision by summer on whether japan will still continue to depend on nuclear energy or the country can both return towards alternative sources. >> next, we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> thailand's economy shrank a

massive 9% in the october to december quarter of last year. the figures reflect severe damage caused by record floods that displaced workers and forced factories to close. >> reporter: the tie government said on monday the country's gdp dropped 9% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. it blamed floods that hit the central province and areas near bangkok. seven industrial zones that house many international companies were damaged. that caused thailand's industrial output to drop 21.8% from the previous quarter. four months since the flooding crisis began, the effect is

apparent. for example, less than 40% of japanese companies in thailand have resumed operation. thailand's labor ministry says 45,000 people lost their jobs because of the flood. even so, the government is projecting the economy will grow between 5.5% and 6.5% this year. some businesses are withdrawing or downsizing their operations in thailand since the floods. it remains to be seen whether the government and operators will succeed in counting damage already inflicted on the country. >> next we move off to india where the competitive kite flying marks the arrival of spring in one western city.

that might sound like harmless fun but it's coming increasingly controversial and damaging to the environment. >> reporter: schools of kites fly in the sky. this is a festival to celebrate the advent of spring. kite flying is a long loved tradition but also a competitive game. the goal for kite fliers is to try to cut the kite strings of the opponents. the pink kite battles against the blue one, but its string is severed and it falls towards the ground. one family has prepared 400 kites for the festival.

relatives gather for the event every year. >> this is the importance of the time we get together and fly kites and loud music and we all party together. this would obviously get the family together. >> reporter: special strings are used in competitive kite fighting. this white powder is finally crushed glass. it is dissolved into liquid and applied to the strings. when they dry they become sharp enough to cut opponents' strings. strings produced through this procedure are called manja. there is a high demand for stronger and sharper manja by cut flying competitors. i have a glass coated thread in my hand, this can very easily

cut the cotton thread. but abandoned gla coated strings are causing serious damage to wildlife. every year more than 1,000 birds are injured or die a few days before and after the festival. to reduce bird casualties an ngo and a group of veterinarians are working to protect them. this year the local government helped to set up centers around the city. 120 vets take turns treating injured birds. this center received a phone call from a concerned citizen.

an indian vulture was perched on a tree unable to fly. the species is on the brink of extinction. the rescue workers carefully brought the bird back to the center. it survived after undergoing an operation. >> and that wraps up our bulletin. >> a fermented soybean is a traditional food that's little known outside of japan. it has a powerful pungent aroma and texture that can be off putting for some people.

now one company is putting it to use in a way that everyone can appreciate. >> reporter: these blocks look as though they're intend for use in the garden or on construction sites. but they have a very different use. dropped into polluted water they can purify it in two or three days. it's the idea of a small concre concrete book manufacturer. with fewer public construction projects in japan, demand for concrete blocks has been sagging. this company realized it had to get creative. one area with good potential for growth is in the environmental field. >> translator: if concrete blocks can help to clean up contaminated water, they could become an important help these days. >> reporter: cement formed into concrete blocks has the power to draw in pollution from water.

that was the starting point for the company's research. the next step was to mix in bacteria to break down the organic matter in polluted water. tests were done on various types of bacteria. lactic acid bacteria were tried first and then yeast. but they didn't survive in the cement's alkaline environment. >> translator: the bacteria's activities are weakening. and will soon stop completely. >> reporter: after much trial and error, the company found that the bacteria in this fermented food worked best. even when mixed in cement, the bacteria break down the solution and they remain active for more than five years. >> translator: i really wondered if it would work. but everything's gone well. >> reporter: the company sees great potential for its blocks

in vietnam. rapid economic growth there has resulted in many environmental problems. waste water from factories and housings drain into rivers polluting them. >> reporter: it was clear that this is a situation where the blocks could help improve water quality. last month an environmental business conference was held in hanoi. >> translator: inside of these blocks is nato. >> reporter: many of the vietnamese participants were keen to try out this new approach. >> translator: this is the first time i've heard of this product. i'm very impressed. i think it will really help improvement the environment in

vietnam. >> translator: we had quite a good response. there are more people concerned about water quality in vietnam than i'd expected. >> reporter: water pollution is an issue in many other countries. this small company in western japan sees plenty of potential for growth and next, it's looking to china and india. >> more news in brief from around the world. a prison riot in mexico has left at least 44 people dead. authorities in the northern state said fighting broke out early on sunday between inmates belonging to two rival drug cartels. it took police two hours to restore order. the country's prisons are running out of room after the government launched a crackdown on organized crime and drug trafficking. an independent panel will issue a final report in november on the collapse of a building in

last year's earthquake in cristchurch, new zealand. steven mills a member of the informs gait toiv panel made the announcement two days before the first anniversary of the quake. mills said several factors may have contributed to the collapse and pledged to determine who is responsible. the earthquake killed 185 people. 115 of the victims died when the television building toppled to the ground. taiwan has shown to media new safety measures introduced at one of its nuclear power plants since march 11th accident in fukushima. media personnel visited the plant near taipei on monday. officials say they installed stainless steel walls and doors as part of an emergency cooling system so prevent tsunami damage to the facility. six reactors are currently in operation in taiwan and two more are under construction. all of them are near the densely populated city of taipei. rachel ferguson is up next with

weather. >> it's been quiet start to the week for much of oorn asia. we have a powerful and small low pressure system moving across and it has the front line extending down as well. up here we're going to be seeing some snow. most of the heavy stuff is going to be coming down across parts of hokkaido. an extra half meter of snow. very strong winds with this system as well. waves will be high at the northwestern coast. much of the southern half of the country enjoyed sunshine and dry weather. it is going to be changing as showers move in from eastern china. these aren't going to be too heavy, it will be bringing wet weather. it will be bringing in some warmer winds from the south. that will mean temperatures rising into the next couple of days. it's not looking too bad at all

temperaturewise. we see more wet weather down across tie wand and the philippines. some of this is going to be quite heavy into the overnight hours monday to tuesday. some pretty intense thunderstorms to be hitting the philippines. we should see that begin to subside by tuesday morning. we're looking for 31 degrees in manila on tuesday. 21 another warm day in taipei. 12 in shanghai. we'll see that rising further as well. 12 for tokyo and 7 in seoul. we usually see about 4. that's a few degrees above average and minus 8 is not bad for this time of year. as we head into north america a couple of storms here. one up here in the pacific northwest. in fact, it's bringing some rain down across much of the coastal areas from b.c. right down into northern california. some inland snow as well. it's this front just sitting offshore at the moment that's going to be bringing some very strong winds. it's not there just yet. you'll see the precipitation

continuing into your tuesday night. but tuesday night is when that front hits it will be bringing some destructive winds along with it. then we have a couple of lows and front extending across central canada and down in towards the southern plains. towards the north it will be a smattering of snow showers for the dakotas in towards minnesota and the great lakes area. for the lower mississippi valley probably some rain, some thunderstorms as well. it's moving fairly quickly, but it is going to be quite wundy across areas like oklahoma. and then along the cold front that extends down across texas you don't see any precipitation here. it will be windy and dry and that could lead to some fire danger. out towards the east we're looking high and dry. in fact, the temperatures are going to be rising ahead of that system coming in as well. your monday's chilly. single digits in new york as well as d.c. these will be rising into double digits about 11 for new york city. a 14 in atlanta. rising to 18 on your tuesday. 16 in oklahoma city.

a windy day for you. 8 in seattle. you'll be seeing showers coming in and on tuesday as well. into europe generally settled across central location. but very wet and windy across the northwest. that's moving into northern poland and northern germany and more scattered thunderstorms for central locations across the mediterranean. temperatures will be improving further into the middle of the week. we're warming up to 16 degrees in london by thursday. here's your extended forecast.

that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." thank you for watching. bye-bye. . .