steering the world's second largest chi. -- economy. chinese lawmakers have kicked off their annual meeting. the premier says china will trim its annual target for growth. china's leadership is getting a shake up this fall. and the power struggles are playing out at this year's national people's congress. attend dees at the parliament's annual meeting discussed polici for the coming year.

the president and premier are trying to cement their legacy. china is the world's second largest economy. and the country's prowess keeps growing. that's why people will closely watch the policies the congress addresses to the nation's problems. >> reporter: those problems you mentioned include corruption, income disparity and environmental pollution. they are all by-products of china's growing economy and they won't go away on their own. the focus of this congress is whether the present government will be able to come up with effective solutions. this is a great hall of the people where the annual conference of the national people's congress is taking place. about 3,000 delegates from all over china have gathered here in

beijing. the premier used a two-hour speech on the first day of the congress toe outline the government's policies for the coming year. he said, china's leaders will put the brakes on their speeding economy and shift from growth to stability. >> translator: the target for this year's economic growth is to increase gdp by 7.5%. we hope to make economic development more sustainable and efficient so as to achieve higher level, higher quality development over a longer period of time. >> reporter: chinese officials had kept the target at around 8% for the past seven years. he also frankly addressed some of the other issues facing the government. >> translator: problems concerning land expropriation, housing demolition, workplace

safety, food and drug safety and income distribution are still very serious and the people are still very concerned about them. >> reporter: many chinese people are frustrated with corruption or local bureaucrats for neglecting their duties. the government seems to be trying to maintain social stability to ensure a smooth power transition this fall by placing priority on people over economic growths. the shifting policy is not the only thing attracting public interest. the conversation is alsoon occasion to speak on the leadership change that's expected at the community part's convention this fall. the nine-member standing committee effectively controls china. a country that's been ruled by one political party since 1949. the committee's getting an

overhaul. several members will likely be replaced by younger leaders at this fall's convention. vice president gin jinping is expected to assume the post of general secretary. putting him on track to become president of china next year. the vice premier will likely become his premier. this man is widely expected to join the standing committee. right now he's a secretary of the communist party's economy. it's currently involved in a controversy. we learned just before the congress opened that one of his close aides is being investigated on corruption and other charges. he seems to be trying to show things are business as usual. he's attending the meetings at the congress. but some observers say the serious developments may have some impact on china's change of

leadership. the power struggle over top posts appears to be accelerating. there's a lot of speculation here in beijing. people in china and other countries are closely watching the congress to see what party leaders will do. >> thank you keng, kengo. >> putin is getting his old job back, president of russia. the central election commission says he won the country's election. that mean he's renewed his grip on power for another six years. but opposition groups claim there was electoral fraud. putin denies their accusations.

>> election workers have counted most of the ballots. the election commission reports putin has a significant lead with more than 64% of the vote. putin is 59. he served two terms as president between 2000 and 2008. he spent the past four years as prime minister under current president med vef. he managed toim prove his support in latter stages of the campaign by pledging stability for russia. despite putin's victory will is widespread voter dissatisfaction. tens of thousands of people have started protest. but few strong leaders are emerged to spearhead the

opposition. >> reporter: the protests over the last several months suggest support for putin has waivered. still, the results of the election suggest a majority of voters saw him as the best choice available. a number of groups opposed to putin participated in their protests but opposition candidates failed to get those groups together. many russians still remember the turmoil to have 1990s after the collapse of the soviet union. they do not want to see similar situation with this change of government. many voters saw thought the situation was get worse under another leader other than putin and he benefit from the kind of passive support. >> governments around the world followed the russian election closely. officials in japan are watching, too. they want to explore ways to work with the new putin administration to resolve a territorial dispute with russia.

the countries have been arguing over a group of four islands off northern japan for more than 60 years. soviet troops seized the islands immediately after world war ii. japanese officials have been requesting they be returned ever since. japanese government officials welcome putin's victory. they say he understands the importance of a dispute and is willing to resolve the conflict. some foreign ministry officials remain skeptical. they say russian officials are unlikely to make con educations is. they want prime minister nodda to meet with putin in a summit in may in chicago. next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> pakistan has asked interpol to issue an arrest warrant for its former president mush raf. the one time military ruler is living in self-imposed exile. pakistan's current leaders appear determined to prevent him from returning to politics.

>> reporter: pakistani law enforcement officials told nhk they have taken steps under international law to arrest president mus raf. he's wanted in pakistan over the assassination in 2007 of expremier ben sooer bu toe. he's been accused of failing to provide her with adequate security even though he was aware of plans for her assassination. he lives in self-imposed exile in london and dubai. even if interpol does issue a warrant for his arrest, it's up to each country to decide whether or not to detain him. he has expressed the desire to retire to pakistan and even run for office again. but experts point out the country's current leaders will

do everything they can to stop him from returning to politics. >> the malaysian football team used to be one of the best in asia. it played at the munic olympics in 1972 and earned a bronze medal at the asian games. according to the latest fifa rankings malasia has slipped to 148th in the world. a major effort is now underway to groom a new generation of players. >> reporter: futbol is hugely popular among young malaysians. but you wouldn't know it from the country's domestic league. the stadiums are almost empty. malaysians prefer the english premier league. fans gather to watch the games.

>> translator: the level of futbol in malasia is too low. it's not interesting to watch. >> reporter: one of the factors behind the decline of malaysian futbol and it's lack of ethnic diversity. malasia is -- indians, and chinese co-exist. ethnic chinese make up a quarter of the population. but they don't have a single player on the national team. at its peek, malaysian futbol included several chinese players including a local hero aun. but playing futbol isn't always an appealing career. malaysian chinese are often highly ambitious. they prefer to go into business and make money rather than play

sport. observers say the lack of ethnic chinese players is limiting the potential of malaysian futbol as a whole. a new initiative aims to reverse this trend. many pupils at this elementary school are ethnic chinese. the coach from a local futbol team comes to teach them twice a week. >> translator: i participate because it's a good way to train myself. >> translator: sometimes my teachers called me during class because i can't stop thinking about futbol. >> translator: if our three minorities manage to come together, malasia will be strong again like in the 1970s. >> reporter: this 11-year-old shows promise. he signed up to train with the

futbol squad. he's practicing his skills to get along with the children. >> translator: i'm really happy to play in this team because the other kids around me are so talented. >> reporter: malasia hopes that bringing together its ethnic minority will reward its futbol growth. the goal has been set. but it will take a few more years before the country can once again score big on the international stage. >> and that wraps up our bulletin. >> south korea says it expects an upcoming nuclear security summit in seoul to send a message to north korea and other countries that they should give up their nuclear development programs. south korea is to chair the two-day summit in its capital starting on march 26th. top leaders from 53 countries including the united states and china are expected to discuss

measures against nuclear terrorism and for international management of nuclear materials. south koreans foreign minister said the summit will include intensive talks on how to promote safe management of highly enriched uranium and plutonium that could be used for nuclear weapons. >> translator: the summit is aimed at minimizing the use of nuclear materials such as highly rich uranium and plutonium. the talk wills send a message to north korea that it should abandon its nuclear development. >> kim also says south korea wants to discuss nuclear security measures as a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant could lead to a serious accident. a group of tokyo electric power company shareholders has sued the utility's former and current executives over huge losses stemming from last year's nuclear plant accident. they're seeking about $68 billion in compensation. 42 shareholders filed a class action lawsuit at the tokyo district court on monday.

they're suing 27 people who held top executive posts at tepco after 2002 when a government panel warned that a huge earthquake could hit the area from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is located. the shareholders say the executives were negligent and the utility failed to take measures to protect effects from earthquake and tsunami. >> translator: japan's corporate culture will not change unless individual managers take responsibility for problems. the shareholders want to correct a system of collective irresponsiblity in the nuclear industry. >> tepco declines to comment on the lawsuit. the company is expected to post a net loss of about $8.6 billion in the business year that ends this month. >> now to our series, lessons of

march 11th, one year on. we're looking back at last year's magnitude nine earthquake which triggered a tsunami and crisis. more than 15,000 people died. about 3,300 others are still missing. we'll be bringing you reports this week from the hardest hit prefectures in japan's northeast. we're starting off in miyagi will nearly 300 people remain unaccounted for. we met one man who struggled with a difficult decision after the disappearance of his son. >> reporter: on a cold day in february, this man shows us where he once lived. >> translator: there was a bathroom here and my son's house was over there. >> reporter: a house that sheltered generations of his

family. now just a foundation. but he lost much more on that day. his son -- >> reporter: the march 11th tsunami hit the town. his son was at the local control center helping with rescue operations. the water started to flood the streets and building. the officials ran to the roof. but the tsunami swallowed the

structure whole. it swept away the man and about 30 others. >> translator: he was honest, sincere, and modest. >> reporter: he could be called courageous as well. he wasn't even supposed to be at the disaster center. he would be in the hills conducting the forest survey when the quake hit. he descended immediately and went straight to the disaster control center. he wanted to help any way he could. >> translator: he probably felt responsible as a town official. but i believe he shouldn't have run toward the tsunami. >> reporter: he along with other families searched daily for any

information on the whereabouts of the missing after march 11th. >> translator: i read the inquiries of about 5,000 people. soon i was overwhelmed. i felt helpless and finally gave up. >> reporter: he gave up but he still hopes to find his son's body. however, months passed without any news. so in february, he made the difficult decision to hold a funeral. he wanted to honor his son ahead of the first anniversary of his disappearance. his wife put soil and letters written to him by his children in an urn in place of his ashes.

>> translator: how depressing to honor my son i have to hold a funeral without his ashes. but if i don't, i feel my son cannot rest in peace. >> reporter: so he said good-bye to his son. but he's still waiting for closure. >> translator: i am hoping dna tests identify my son soon. i'm expecting that will happen. i cannot wear to think my son's body is lying somewhere unattended. >> reporter: he, like many others in the northeast will continue to do what they've done for months now, wait and perhaps reflect on all that they lost

one year ago. >> he's one of about 3,000 people still considered missing in japan. their families are hoping to find at least the remains of their loved ones to hold funerals to say good-bye. an earthquake that jolted a nation. a tsunami that swallowed a coastline. a nuclear plant that spiralled out of control. japan marks the first anniversary of the march 11th disaster. what lessons have been learned? find out on our special program lessons of march 11th one year on, sunday, 2 p.m. japan time only on nhk world. >> here's some news in brief relating to iran. israeli prime minister is so visit the united states for talks with president barack obama. they're expected to discuss how

to stop iran from acquiring nuclear weapons when they meet on monday. he told reporters he welcomes obama's determination to prevent iran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions. the israeli government has threatened to attack iran's nuclear facilities. iran's uranium enrichment will be the focus of a board meeting of the international atomic agency on monday in vienna. it voiced concern over a possible link to nuclear weapons. iran refused to allow inspectors to enter the suspected nuclear facility when they visited the country back in january and february. iranians prayed for the reconstruction of northeastern japan devastated by last year's march 11th disaster. photos of the affected areas and drawings by children were displayed. iran like japan, is a quake prone country.

a major quake hit eight years ago killing more than 40,000 people. we have weather up next. >> welcome back. taking a look at our weather in japan. a storm system is going to be sweeping across much of northern japan today. dumping heavy snow specially in the eastern coast we're expecting about 50 to 60 centimeters of accumulation in the next 24 hours. winds are strong and high waves in the eastern coastal area about six meters high. that's something to be aware of. the storm system will dump heavy rain in the area as it passes through. but will be tapering off by overnight tuesday. as this system exits another system will be moving in towards northern japan. just a short break for everyone out there in northern japan.

this is what we're talking about in northeastern china the system is developing. is winter storm system and descending down towards northern korea and next taking aim to north japan. dumping about ten centimeters of wet snow in north korea and also in northeastern china. showers lingering here. starting tuesday evening southerly flow will be creating another rain band that could persist in toward the end of the week. thing could get nasty. hong kong 23. 6 in seoul. 17 in tokyo. that's a jump. 11 degrees jump from what we saw monday for the high. it's going to be definitely difficult for our bodies to cope with. let's head over to the americas.

last week severe weather created some tornado outbreak. that winter storm is dpienlly exiting the eastern coast of the united states. high pressure will then be dominating the area. snow showers in the mid-atlantic area that's going to be tapering off. one goes away another comes in from the pacific northwest. the system is going to be impact aing majority of the country. the system as of now will be descending from the pacific northwest from california to the next couple of days with gusts reaching up to 100 kilometres per hour. sustained wind as much as 50 kilometres per hour plus some snow accumulation in the valleys. five centimeters and up in the mountains about 15 centimeters. that combined will bring you blowing snow reduced visibility, very hazardous for driving conditions. also some heavy dumps of snow all the way towards manitoba. some places you can see 20 centimeters of snow accumulation there. vancouver and seattle a pair of 7 degrees.

los angeles at 24. oklahoma city very windy at 21 degrees and toronto minus 1 looks frigid out there. you'll be having a lot of sunny spells. let's head over to europe. we have this weakening low pressure system just pressing over france. that's going to be tapering off with snow showers that accompanied with it. here though, it's a system that's going to be troublesome. it could bring some thunderstorm activity and winds are going to be very strong in the coastal areas. so high waves could be picking up as well as heavy rain. wet and mixed precipitation will be creeping from the southern balkans and in towards turkey. so that will be on the increase. out towards the west we'll see this potent system moving in from the northwest. scotland, northern island, you'll be seeing some wet and windy conditions. snow could accumulate in the higher elevations. england and wales you'll remain devoid from any precipitation.

here's your temperatures looking like this. moscow minus 5. still very chilly here. here's the extended forecast.

that's our broadcast for this our on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye. . .