washing out the poison. workers are carrying out a full scale cleanup around the fooud nuclear power plant trying to rid the area of radiation. japan's nuclear accident has forced thousands of people to tlooe their homes and live elsewhere. the country's leaders want to make it possible for them to go back. to do that they're going to reclassify some areas in the

evacuation zone around fukushima daiichi. places with relatively low radiation will be redesignated as preparation zones so residents can return home as soon as possible. the evacuation zone around fukushima daiichi is 20 kilometers. residents left the area in mid march. the town of naraha is the first to get a cleanup. workers are focussing on roads and public facilities that are vital for daily life. they're using power washers to decontaminate what they can. they say this can reduce radioactivity by 80%. in another town workers checked radiation levels around sections of an expressway ahead of the operations. >> translator: we should face the fact that the procedure will be slow. but we have to speed things up so troubled residents can return home as soon as possible. >> it is feared any homecoming

is still a long way off. decontaminating private homes may take until this summer to start. the job requires the permission of each home other than and there are ongoing challenges restoring water and electricity as many lines remain damaged. it has been almost a year since nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. only two of japan's 54 nuclear reactors are currently running, but even these are to be shut down by late april. an nhk survey has found that nearly 80% of muns plities near nuclear plants are wary of resuming operations of those reactors. the survey covered 20 prefectures. each municipality is within 30 kilometers of a nuclear power plant. 14% said they would now or

eventually give the go ahead for resuming reactor operations. but 75% said they would not allow a resumption for the time being or could not yet decide. and 4% said they would never allow resumption. the municipalities expressed concerns about the effect i haveness of safety measures at the reactors and complain that had the central government is not doing what it should. we asked about what is important when deciding to restart the reactors. 63% replied a satisfactory investigation into the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. 59% cited understanding by local residents and 58% said new safety regulation. only 17% cited stress testing which is what the government views as a prerequisite to resume nuclear operations. we're bringing you stories leading up to the first anniversary of japan's disaster in our series, lessons of march

1 19, one year on. more than 15,000 people died and about 3300 others are still missing. our coverage this week comes from the hardest hit prefectures in the northeast. tonight, we have a story on the city of koriyama in fukushima. the accident released radioactive material into the air, sea and soil. people evacuated nearby areas. but contamination is still an issue farther away from the plant. parents are limiting the time children can play outside. that's prompted officials to get creative. >> reporter: i'm standing outside a new indoor playground. it's a place where parents can let their children exercise and have fun without worrying about

radiation. this town is 60 kilometers from fukushima daiichi. workers are continuing to decontaminate the city. but readuation levels remain relatively high in some areas. so instead of going outside, children are coming to play here. the building was a vacant supermarket before the park opened at tend of last year. now 19,000 square meters space is home to more than 20 kinds of plequipment. children can jump, roll, and run. this is just what parents have been looking for and what doctors say kids need. now this woman and her two sons moved to her parents' house in western japan soon after the meldown at fukushima daiichi. they returned home to the town last summer.

but she couldn't find any of his friends many the parks they used to visit. that's when she started keeping her son inside most of the day. something other parents in the city were doing. >> translator: i spent most of the time inside with my son playing with toys, watching dvds and reading books. but he sometimes rushed out of the house because he wanted to be outside. >> reporter: city workers have finished cleaning up a park near her house. but she's still not convinced it's safe. when they do go outside, it's for no more than an hour. >> translator: kids from a nursery used to come here and play with my son. since the accident, i haven't seen them or anybody else here.

>> reporter: this doctor researched the impact the nuclear accident has had on children. the pediatrician found some kids -- others complained of headaches or shoulder stiffness caused by a lack of exercise. the doctor pressed the city government to open the indoor playground. >> translator: the great majority of children in the city are losing physical strength because they're not getting the exercise they need. we can't leave them alone. we have to do everything we can before it's too late for children who are still growing and developing. >> reporter: now she's thankful the city took the doctor's advice. she and her son go to the may ground almost every day.

she says her son sleeps and eats well after a good dose of jumping, running and laughing. >> translator: i made my decision to stay in fukushima, but i've been worried that my son could not exercise enough. this facility has alleviated my concerns. now i feel more confident about hanging on here and enjoying life. >> reporter: more than 70,000 people have visited in two and a half months. it seems to be filling the demand here. perhaps the biggest draw is this huge sand box. kids love to play with sand. but they've had to stop because of concerns about soil contamination. this is one of several indoor parks now open in the city. the fukushima government is planning to build more so kids can play in a radiation free environment and parents can feel

re-assured. 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 in our special program, lessons of march 11th, one year on. sunday, 2:00 p.m. japan time only on nhk world. next, we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> in myanmar it has emerged that a convoy transporting democracy leader came under attack. she was unharmed, but two of her bodyguards were injured. we have the report.

>> reporter: the national league for democracy told nhk that the convoy of the party leader was hit by a ball of fire. the shot was potentially lethal. the incident happened about 7:00 on tuesday evening on the motorway some 140 kilometers north of a town. she was on her way back from campaigning in the capital. the window of her vehicle two cars behind hers was broken. two of her bodyguards were wounded. in total four seats are up for grabs in the upper and lower houses of parliament.

and local assemblies. she has generally been welcomed across the country by enthusiastic crowds. but there have also been incident of hostility such as the sabotage of campaign posters. western nations have called the upcoming vote a potential turning point. >> nine pacific rim countries that make up the transpacific partnership are currently holding trade negotiations in australia. the talks began on march the 1st and include the united states, australia, new zealand and six other countries. some nations see the tpp as a way to counter the economic

influence of china and as nhk world reports from vietnam, there is a growing sense of urgency. >> reporter: vietnam is one of the country's taking part in the tpp negotiations. it also shares a border with china. china and asean launched a free trade agreement two years ago. within that year, china had become vietnam's largest trading partner. vietnam's primary exports to china are commodities such as grains, meat and seafood. >> translator: our exports to china are growing. that's because vietnamese products are cheaper. >> reporter: but vietnam now

imports more from china than it exports. a semiabled or processed goods such as consumer electronics still made in china are feeding the deficit. >> translator: there's a constant stream of household electrical appliances made in china. >> reporter: vietnam fears its entire economy is becoming reliant on china. it's urgently looking for new trading partner. >> translator: we have the advantage in the fields of food and agriculture products. vietnam is in the process of joining the world economy. we're targeting the markets of other tpp countries. >> reporter: as the tpp discussions continue, each country at the negotiations table has its own agenda. for vietnam, that agenda is to

protect its rapid economic growth. but without being so dependent on china. >> thailand is currently suffering from a severe shortage of rain. just months after the country experienced record flooding. 21 provinces mostly in northern thailand are officially in a state of drought. the situation started in early february and has affected many areas. the river is normally seven meters deep, but the water level has dropped to just one meter. the river is a major source of irrigation for agriculture. more than ten irrigation pumping stations along the river are out of action. the situation may deteriorate

further unless the only dam in the district can be fixed. >> translator: the dam was badly damaged in a severe flash flood last year. if it can't be fixed by the end of march, we'll see lore levels of water. people who need water for their crops and daily lives will be affected. >> summer in thailand usually lasts until early may. people here look set to face several more months without adequate supplies of water. thursday marked international women's day designed to highlight the rights of women around the world. but in afghanistan, many observers fear the situation for females many the country is getting worse and not better. a proposed code of conduct drawn up by a council of clerics would allow husbands to beat their wives under certain circumstances.

now it encourages segregation of the sexes and women would not be allowed to travel without a male guardian. president karzai has supported the code of conduct. he denied it would endanger afghan women. >> on the streets afghan women expressed alarm at the proposals. >> translator: we as women have economic problems and need to help our families. so this announcement by the clerics council will create problems. >> the president's public backing led activists to fear that afghan laws protecting

women may be scrapped. that's going to wrap up our bulletin. >> a storm originating from the sun is pounding the earth's magnetic field. it's the largest of its kind in five years and is expected to affect satellites and airplane traffic. researchers at the u.s. national oceanic and atmospheric association say two solar flares earlier this week triggered a storm. gas filled with charged particles is racing away from the sun essentially expanding like a giant soap bubble. the storm travels at nearly seven million kilometres per hour. the charged gas is colliding with the earth's magnetic field. nasa says that could stir up a geomagnetic storm that's not harmful to people. but it could drubt high frequency communications, global position systems and power grids. some planes might have to alter their routes.

people in mid altitudes such as new york might be able to spot vivid auroras. the sun's activity rises and falls in an 11-year cycle. the peak is expected in 2013. that could mean for solar flares will affect the earth. in a show of faith in the country he loves, a noted american professor has changed his nationality. japanese literature scholar donald keane made a decision after the march 11th disaster. today he officially became a japanese citizen. >> great applause welcomed keane as he visited tokyo. the 89-year-old professor emeritus of columbia university has dedicated his life to japan. the quake and tsunami came as an

enormous shock to the seasoned scholar. he made the decision then to spend the rest of his life in japan and sought japanese citizenship. >> translator: if i can do something good, it should be for my fellow japanese not for myself. >> many around the world have asked themselves how they could be of help to people who are still recovering from the march 11th disaster. a group in boston has come up with an idea that's part of american tradition. it's a gift that is warm, handmade and heartfelt to say the least. >> reporter: parts by parts a quilt takes shape. traditionally americans have given them as wedding gifts or for presents for newborn babies. sometimes families or neighbors get together to make a quilt.

it's an expression of their close bonds. in boston, some japanese and their neighbors are making a quilt for an elementary school in fukushima. this woman came up with the idea. she moved to the united states 18 years ago and runs a variety store in boston. every time she saw news about the earthquake and tsunami, she felt helpless. she was too far away to help. >> translator: handmade quilts hold the love of the people who make them. we're all frustrated living so far from the disaster area. so we're making this quilt to express our feelings and of course, our heartfelt support.

>> reporter: together with her five employees, she started the project last november. word spread quickly and now more than 200 people have pitched in. >> for me to take a single stitch with a needle i think of all of the thousands of steps that the families and the people there have had to take on their own. so, i think each little stitch is a little bit like that. >> reporter: one of the participants is actually a native of fukushima. she married an american four years ago and moved to boston. looking at pictures of her hometown taken before the disaster makes her nostalgic. nowadays it doesn't seem like

the town she grew up in. close friends tell her they're leaving fukushima because of the disaster at the nuclear power plant. >> translator: we could only imagine what was happening in fukushima. i wonder what i would have done if i'd been there. that's why i really want to support my friends. >> reporter: with each stitch, she sews, she hopes another friend or neighbor returns home soon. >> translator: lots of people are involved in this project. and they put a lot of themselves into the quilt. the residents of fukushima are always on our minds. i believe our feelings put a special kind of energy into this quilt. >> reporter: soon after the last

stitch has been sewed, the two women will embark on the next step of their mission. they will deliver the gift themselves to an elementary school in fukushima. >> let's get a check of the weather. should me brace ourselves for more cold weather in tokyo? >> it seems as though spring was heading our way, but looks like it's taking steps back from japan. wet and cold weather is going to be persisting in towards our weekend. we have rain clouds overcasting much of the pacific side. and then that's going to be moving up towards the north. the precipitation is going to be turning goo snow. very short break here in hakaido. another winter storm and snow

persisting over the weekend. southeastern china lingering showers are going to be continuous in the weekend and that's going to be covering much of an area, taiwan and the southwestern islands as well. things could get heavy just south of shanghai and eastern coast the waves are going to be high as well. strong winds there, too. inland china will see some mountain snow making appearances. and also in the china peninsula. chance of thunderstorms are going to be skirting across much of the area. sometimes heavier downpours could be seen in the south. bangkok and manila a pair of 34 degrees temperaturewise and hong kong you'll be seeing some fog in the morning hours. 9 in seoul and 7 in tokyo for the friday high. yet again another cold day for us. let's head over to the americas. things are going to get nastier toward the east here.

ontario towards labrador that's going to be blowing snow considering the snow showers and strong winds. ahead of that system freezing rain. snow will make an appearance in four corners and that's going to persist through the weekend. cold temperatures there as well. then very intense cold front will be scraping across the area all the way up from new england down towards the southern plains. the primary threat is very heavy intense showers. 80 mull meters or more could be seen in and around the arklatex region in and around louisiana. and that could possibly trigger some flash flooding. also tornados not even ruled out of the question here. so severe thunderstorm activity there. the very unseasonal temperatures in the east. new york 20 degrees for thursday's forecast. that's what we see mid may. toronto 13 that's well above arch as well. these temperatures are going to be dipping down to normal territories. 11 on friday in new york. and 5 in toronto.

memphis 20 to 14. here in houston 26 down to 18 on friday. so that's going to be difficult for the bodies to cope with. here in europe, the snow shoirs here in the central areas are going to be diminishing. up towards the north the snow's going to get heavier in norway and then in the mediterranean sea area same picture. thunderstorms could be a possibility of chances there. and here northern algeria as well as tunisia upper disturbance. lisbon 21 degrees temperaturewise. a pair of 12 in london and paris. up towards the east still very wintry. moscow at minus 6 despite the sunny spells. i'll leave you now for the extended forecast.

and we're going to leave you this hour with one of the best views in japan. nhk's camera at the new toke owe sky tree is up and running. the broadcasting tower measures 634 meters in height. it's the tallest structure in the country and one of the

tallest in the world. thank you for watching "newsline." we'll be back again at the top of the next hour. . .