hello, you're watching "newsline." i'm shery ahn. the u.s. government says it will scrap plans to give food aid to north korea if the country goes ahead with what it says is a satellite launch next month. the announcement talks about a satellite launch. however, as we know, it requires the use of missile technology to launch a satellite, and it's the use of the missile technology that is an explicit violation of

u.n. security council resolution 1874. >> north korean state media say the country will launch a satellite between the 12th and 16th of april. >> translator: to mark the birth of kim i will sung, we will launch a satellite made with our power and technology. it will inspire citizens and troops striving to create a strong and prosperous nation. >> the u.n. security council adopted resolutions in 2006, demanding north korea halt its ballistic missile program. they told negotiators they froze launch missile testing. ban ki-moon urged them to comply with u.n. security council

resolutions banning any launch using ballistic missile technology. japanese foreign minister also expressed concern. >> a launch would threaten peace and stability in the region. it would be unacceptable. >> japanese government officials say they'll work with the united states and south korea to press north korea to drop its launch plans. japan is struggling to deal with millions of tons of rubble left by the earthquake and tsunami last march. prime minister yoshihiko noda asked local authorities around the country to help dispose of it. noda told regional officials disposing of debris is the first step toward reconstruction. he said authorities in areas directly hit by the disaster are overwhelmed by the task. the disaster created more than 22 million tons of debris in the three worst hit prefectures alone. less than a tenth has been

incinerated or buried. some local authorities outside the disaster area are already helping. the government will tell them what kind of debris they need them to handle and how much. engineers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant have taken their first look inside one of the crippled reactors. they used an underwater camera to see what was left after a hydrogen explosion last march. the engineers sent the camera into the number four reactor. the images show what appears to be wreckage in the bottom of the reactor vessel and large amount of floating material in the water. the camera showed similar floating material in the spent fuel pooling of the reactor building. engineers say visibility in the pool dropped significantly since last month. engineers want to start removing fuel rods from the pool by december, next year. they say they can't remove the fuel rods unless the water is much clearer. they plan to find out where the

floating material came from. police in india say they identified the suspects in the bombing of an israeli diplomat's car in new delhi last month. they say they have arrest warrants for three iranians. the bomb wounded four people, including the diplomat's wife. police are questioning an indian man who they say helped the bombers by observing the israeli embassy. police officials asked the interpol to put the suspects on an international wanted list. they say they're investigating whether the bombing was connected to a ss of explosions in bangkok last month. officials at the indian foreign ministry asked the iranian authorities to help them capture the bombers.

east timor will have an election. 11 candidates are running against the president running a second term. we are following the campaign in a country that's trying to become economically independent. >> reporter: heated campaigning began on february 29th for the second presidential election. the incumbent president is seeking a second term. he was elected east timor's second president five years ago, taking advantage of his recognition as a nobel laureate. his pledge for the campaign was maintaining peace. his new slogan is fighting poverty. >> translator: our country has

serious problems of malnutrition and a lack of education, and these are becoming more serious. >> reporter: east timor became independence from indonesia ten years ago. the current administration has focused on public projects using the profits from the country's abundant oil fields. this is helping east timor to maintain a high growth rate of 6 to 12% every year. but only a limited number of people are benefiting from this economic growth. east timor has an employment rate of 40%. inflation is another problem, as the country is heavily reliant on imported foods and goods. last year, the inflation rate reached 13%, making the people's lives more difficult. >> translator: everything is so expensive. it has a big impact on my life and family. >> translator: i can't afford to buy anything. the government should do

something about it. >> reporter: another candidate is gaining support from people who are dissatisfied with the current situation. he was commander of the rebels who fought against indonesia to achieve independence. the campaign pledge of this national hero also focuses on antipoverty measures. >> translator: we achieved independence, so we can achieve development as well. >> reporter: he is 35 years old. in the previous presidential election, he voted for ramos. this time he is supporting -- >> translator: ramos hasn't kept his promises. many of us are disappointed, so we support matan dr. ruak.

>> reporter: he gets his income from construction sites, however, he said the chance of actually getting a job is very low. on this day, he worked for the first time in two months. he only earned enough money to give each member of his family just one serving. he is surviving on the support of his parents and friends. >> translator: life is very tough. >> translator: that's the reality. >> reporter: many are living in poverty and are being left behind economically. there are not many differences in the candidates' campaign pledges. but the popularity of the hero of the independent movement is a sign of severe economic situation. nhk world. didi.

here is now your extended weather forecast. that's all for now.

i'm shery ahn. i'm shery ahn. thanks for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com six months after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami, a song was dedicated to its victims. ♪ to bring happiness. an elementary school music teacher who experienced the 1995 kobe earthquake wrote it 16 years ago. ♪

the song sung by children encouraged people affected by the earthquake. he still teaches music at an elementary school in kobe. what kind of feelings does he put into the songs? ♪ to find out, we visited him in his classroom. the municipal elementary school is on a major road near the harbor.

>> translator: good morning. >> he shakes hands with his students every morning. >> he's taught music in elementary school for 29 years. he's never missed a day. in the morning, the music room is crowded with sixth graders whose annual concert is scheduled for november. almost all the sixth graders come to the music room voluntarily to practice. >> attention.

>> wow. wasn't that ending just cool? >> translator: in europe, visitors experience a glamorous atmosphere when they enter concert halls. i want my students to feel they're somewhere special, too, so i decorate the room and keep it neat. >> his originality extends to his class, too. this is a tune for entering the music room. students sing song written by azui. ♪

♪ >> translator: look at your finger. >> his class doesn't rely on textbooks. it's more like a music hall. ♪ >> translator: i thought the tune was interested because it's accompanied by strange gestures, but i didn't feel like doing it at first, but eventually i got used to it and decided i wanted to be good at it. after that, i always enjoyed performing it 100%. >> translator: i'm thrilled whenever i open the door. i wonder what kind of class

he'll teach. >> translator: his songs have lyrics that make us feel like they're written for ourselves, so i like his songs. >> translator: he teaches us how to express feelings. >> translator: he has his own way of scolding, too. ♪ >> translator: don't forget again. please don't. >> he was born and raised in kobe. he majored in music at an arts music university in osaka. he wanted to become a pro singer/songwriter and took part in various contests.

but he couldn't turn professional. after graduating from university, he became an elementary school music teacher. he found themes for his songs while spending time with children whose days are full of emotions. he decided he wanted to make songs to help children remember their school days. he's written more than 300 songs. the great earthquake on january 17th, 1995. azui's home was in ruins. the quake left kobe, his hometown, in tatters.

>> translator: my house was destroyed and my school was turned into an evacuation center. i was shocked when i saw sonomiya which was no longer the town i had known all my life. it was as if kobe had entirely disappeared. >> the thought that he lost his hometown devastated him, but just as he was almost giving up hope, some words came to him and he jotted them down on a piece of paper. >> translator: it was 16 years ago. i wrote the words on the back of a drawing my cousin's child did. with a pencil. >> he also wrote music to go along with the lyrics. "take one step forward to bring yourself out of sorrow." and so the song to bring happiness was born.

"have a strong heart that won't give in to the quake and cherish each day for those who perished." azui wrote this with a determination to revive his hometown. ♪ children sang the songs at evacuation centers. the performances encouraged those affected by the quake including azui, himself. the song spread across areas stricken by the great hanshin earthquake. it's still performed annually as a song that symbolized reconstruction. >> translator: it's not a kind

of song that children can hum casually or sing for fun. given its lyrics, i believe this song should only be played on certain occasions. i don't think i'd teach this song so often. >> late september, azui visits miyagi prefecture which was hit by the march 11th disaster. a local chorus group asked him to teach them the songs to bring happiness. >> translator: when i wrote the song after the great hanshin earthquake, i hoped it could reach as many people as possible, and now 16 years later, people affected by the great east japan earthquake want to sing the song.

i'm glad, and i feel grateful. >> how are children who just experienced a disaster, themselves, sing the song? children from towns that were hit by the tsunami were waiting for azui. >> translator: hello. nice to meet you. >> translator: nice to meet you! >> translator: i hope this song can help those affected by the disaster regain their peace of mind. let's work together. >> translator: thank you for coming.

♪ ♪ >> translator: you're doing great, but it would be better if you could sing some parts more powerfully. the part "won't give in" and "strong" for example. when you say the words "won't give in" in conversation, don't you sound more determined? i want you to sing those parts with a strong determination not to give in, to have a strong heart, especially at the beginning. >> what azui taught the children was not about how to sing the song, but what kind of feelings he'd put into it.

>> translator: after the catchy part, don't look down. tilt your head up a little. it's easy. open your hands under your chin and you get a flower blooming on your face. let's try. open your hands imagining how your face brightens up when a cool breeze touches it. okay. let's try it once again. let's get a flower blooming on your faces. keep that image in your mind and give the song depth. there's a part that goes, "won't give in to the quake" but i wonder if we can change it to "won't give in to the tsunami" in the second verse. is that okay? >> translator: sure. the true feelings of people affected by the disaster should be respected. i don't see any problem with the change.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> one high school student caught azui's attention.

>> translator: he just told me they had junior at the after school club. she can't help but cry when the song comes to the part "for those who perished." >> translator: the lyric is quite straightforward. some victims of the kobe earthquake were able to accept the song only after six or seven years. so if it's tough for you to sing this now, i think you'd better wait until you become able to come to terms with your loss. after all, this is a song of hope, but even i didn't know it, myself, at first. i couldn't figure out what kind of song this was. in fact, there was one music teacher in kobe who got too emotional to teach it to children.

but as time passed by, i began to understand that the song was about hope. what i wrote down was the hope that it had emerged in my heart. and that's how i see the song now. so when you see this song, i want you to keep that in your mind. it might be difficult for you now, so i think you'd better sing the song when you're able to see it that way. >> translator: thank you. there's a part that goes, "let's bring our hometown back to how it looked before." i really want to rebuild my hometown, but the town i used to live in was devastated by the tsunami, and coastal areas have been designated as an uninhabitable zone.

i can't keep my mind away from the thought that my hometown will never be restored to how it looked before the disaster. then the next part goes, "a hometown that's reborn from the rubble." we've lost a lot of things and people, but still, our hometown will be reborn into something new. if so, i want to move forward. remembering what was lost in the disaster. >> translator: i wish you the best. >> translator: thank you very much.

>> it's been 29 years since azui started teaching elementary school music. during these years, he's met numerous children. to bring happiness, azui wants to go on believing in the power of songs. >> translator: music and people's hearts are both invisible. there's one phrase i like in the novel "the little prince." "the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen." it's what the prince says. i think people look and see human emotions through music, are happy all through their lives. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com