>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." . people have gathered to appoint their next generation of leaders. china's national people's congress is under way in beijing. over the next two weeks, communist party members will fill key positions in the new government. now barring any major surprises, these two men will lead that government. xi jinping is set to replace wen jiabao. li keqiang will likely become premier. as part of our special series "china change and challenge," james tengan is reporting from beijing.

james, in addition to these political appointments, delegates are also discussing a range of issues, one made international headlines has been the air pollution. what's the air been like since you arrived? >> reporter: well, it's only my third day here, gene, but i've already seen a huge contrast in the air quality. on monday the sky was blue and the air seemed clean but this morning it was hazy and i could actually taste the pollution. you know, this is one of the most visible side effects of china's rapid development over the past 30 years. a leading chinese specialist in respiratory diseases said last month the air pollution here is

more dangerous than sars because nobody can escape it. smothered in soot, a thick haze engulfed beijing just days before the opening of china's most important annual political meetings. swirling around the smog are fine particles called pm2.5. chinese weather officials warned last week that levels of the hazardous pollutants were 10 to 20 times higher than world health organization safety standards. >> translator: i can't breathe well and my throat is sore. i feel like i'm not inhaling oxygen but poison. >> reporter: the u.s. embassy's pollution reading right now is 222, considered very unhealthy for humans. you can see the haze and it seems like i've got chalk in my mouth. but most people consider today a relatively good one because back in january the readings went up to 1,000. the worst in living memory. that's prompted even life-long beijing residents to take

self-defense measures. they're flocking to pharmacies to buy face masks that are supposed to filter out pm2.5, but the supply can't seem to keep up with the demand. the pharmacy we visited only had children's masks in stock. >> translator: we've seen this fog-like weather quite often this year, so people are paying extra attention to their health. i think that's why demand for masks has surged. >> reporter: so people shopping around are shopping online. face mask sales on this website catering mainly to foreigners in china jumped eight-fold between january and february. >> because they don't know necessarily where to buy these pollution tested products and there's a trust issue as well. they want to know the products are safe, therefore they're going to do what they say on the box. >> reporter: people in china have gone online to vent about the bad air. many are demanding action from

government leaders. authorities have put some measures in place. they're restricting the number of vehicles on the road and developing more sources of clean energy. but clearing the air permanently will be a long and arduous process. so, in the meantime, days like this are likely to continue across china for some time. and masks will continue to sell. >> james, tell us about what mpc delegates are planning to do about the pollution. >> reporter: you know, gene, during the 2008 summer olympics, the beijing government had some success in clearing the skies. it passed strict regulations that took half the vehicles off the roads on any given day and shut down factories before and during the games. mpc members are looking for long-term solutions. they're talking about improving laws to prevent air pollution.

they say they'll strengthen supervision to make sure people abide by those laws. plus, they want to drop specific control measures on major pollutants and vehicle emissions. in january china's environmental protection ministry set a timetable for major cities to meet the national air quality standard by 2030. but over the weekend, one chinese official urged speedier action. he said people cannot wait that long for clean air. >> air pollution is one of the major issues mpc members will be discussing. their meeting opened today. how did things start off? >> reporter: outgoing premier wen jiabao outlined the accomplishments in the past decade and the challenges that lie ahead. i went to the great hall of the people to listen in. officially it was the government work report. but this was also wen jiabao's swan song, the last time he would greet the national

people's congress. >> translator: we see it as necessary and appropriate to set this year's target for economic growth at about 7.5%. the goal we will have to work hard to attain. >> reporter: wen addressed public frustration with china's widening wealth gap and corruption. >> translator: we are keenly aware that we still face many difficulties and problems in our economic and social development. in particular, unbalanced, uncoordinated and unsustainable development remains a prominent problem. >> reporter: observers say wen jiabao's biggest move was shifting the government's main

priority away from economic growth and refocusing it on improving people's lives. wen said people face serious pollution in air, water and soil. and he said leaders should adopt effective measures to prevent and control environmental degradation. mpc members considered other business on day one of their congress. they went over china's annual budget, defense spending increased by more than 10% to about $120 billion. it's seen double-digit growth almost every year since 1989. but this was premier wen's day

and he set the tone for the year ahead. now china's new leaders face the challenge of achieving the goals he laid out. xi jinping is widely expected to be confirmed as president next week. that would give him the top three posts in china. leader of the government, the military and the communist party. wen is likely to pass the job of premier to current vice premier li keqiang. our beijing correspondent joins us. you were on hand at the mpc. premier wen talked about pollution and set goals for economic growth. what other points did he touch on? >> he looked back over the past decade and out lined the government's achievements. one he said making china the world's second largest economy. >> translator: china's productive forces and overall national strength have improved significantly.

people's living standards and social security have made remarkable advances. our international status and influence have also improved significantly. >> but as we heard, wen says chinese leaders need to address a number of challenges moving forward. >> reporter: premier wen is seen as a supporter of political reforms. did he make any references to that? >> wen has spoken about political reform in the past but he didn't today. instead he focused on corruption and said government leaders must change. however he has raised questions about how he has behaved as a politician. a next times investigation last year suggested corruption during his time in office. they recognize the allegations. >> reporter: what about the increases in defense spending, how are the chinese leaders justifying that? >> they intend to boost the capability of their navy to protect china's interests at sea, including shipping lanes and maritime resources. they say chinese leaders are trying to modernize their armed

forces. that includes development of a new fighter jet. government officials insist their defense quality is based on peaceful and defensive approach and that it should not be perceived as a threat to other nations. some experts point out, however, that both the breakdown of the defense budget and the objective of this increase in spending remain unclear. this spending comes as china continues to increase its presence in the east china sea and the south china sea. the country is involved in territorial disputes with japan and a handful of other nations. government leaders in asia are keeping a close eye on china's defense budget.

>> reporter: thank you very much. delegates to the national people's congress are already discussing the issues premier wen raised and the budget plans for this year. on wednesday we'll hear from several top departments, including the national development and reform commission. that should give us a better idea of the direction the xi jinping administration could take. there are concerns about air pollution in china affecting the southwestern part of japan. officials in kumamoto prefecture have issued a health alert for the first time. the officials said the level of pm2.5 rose to 100 micrograms per cubic meter, higher than the government's daily safety standard of 70 micrograms. officials warned residents to stay indoors unless they have an urgent reason to go outside. some kindergartens were keeping children indoors. >> translator: we're not going outside today, okay?

>> translator: boring! >> officials said many residents are asking how to check pollution data. several cities in near by yamaguchi prefecture have noticed high levels. cradle of culture, economic powerhouse, many enjoy the fruits of prosperity along the path to a new china. but millions are still missing out. and public discontent is growing. against that backdrop officials are choosing a fresh slate of government leaders. "newsline" correspondents will bring you full coverage of incoming president's new administration. don't miss "china, change and challenge" at 8:00 p.m. japan time. north korean military leaders are raising stakes in their on going show of defiance against south korea and the u.s.

they're vowing to scrap the arm sift signed in 1965 that ended the korean war. they're responding to joint south korea-u.s. military drills that are currently under way. a senior military official with the korean people's army made the announcement on state-run tv. the statement denounces the joint drills which began last friday and will last two months. it says the armistice will no longer be in effect as of march 11th. it also says north korean representatives who are stationed at the demilitarized zones dividing the two koreas will spend their activities as liaison officers. the statement says authorities in pyongyang are willing to take substantial measures against the south korea-and u.s. drills. the korean warm ended with an arm stist leaving them technically in a stast war. government officials in venezuela say president hugo chavez's condition is worsened. he is fighting new complication

after cancer surgery. he has a weakening immune system. supporters are praying for his recovery at a chapel in the hospital. the president underwent his fourth operation in cuba in december. he returned home last month. protesters took to the streets raft weekend providing the government provide information on the president's health. chavez was re-elected in october. his inauguration ceremony was scheduled for january but has been postponed. panasonic is planning to use money from the sale of their building to strengthen their financial base. panasonic signed an agreement to sell 294-story building to two tokyo based companies for about

$530 million. it plans to remain in the building under a lease contract. the company is expected to post a net loss of over $7 billion in the current fiscal year that ends this month. this will be the second straight year for the firm to report such a loss. sony also said recently it will sell its u.s. headquarters building in new york. it suffered losses for four consecutive years. the company announced sale in the stake of dna, a operator of game web sites for mobile phones in japan. japan plans to shoehost a conference with african nations in may to discuss developments of natural resources like rare earth. it is to provide a stable supply of natural resources. economy traded industry minister says ministers responsible for the development of natural resources in 15 african nations will gather in tokyo. these countries include south africa and mozambique that are

rich in natural resources. the participants will consider issues such as how japanese firms can help increase infrastructure investments in africa. they also plan to discuss measures to train experts in the field. government officials know this is the first time for japan to host a conference of this kind to discuss natural resources development as major topic. now, the outcome of the conference will be reported to the tokyo international conference on african development, which will be held in june. people who have trouble walking may be getting some help from robots. japanese doctors have developed a robotic suit for patients are weak legs. researchers will begin testing the suit on wednesday. 30 patients are muscular dystrophy and other chronic muscle or nerve diseases will wear the device. motors connected to leg braces help the wearer stand and walk.

the motors are activated by sensors that detect signals on the brain. >> translator: we hope to confirm the suit is safe and effective for helping patients become able to walk again. >> similar suits for the elderly are already in use in japan. prosecutors arrested a japanese real estate tycoon who once appeared on "fortune" magazine's rich list. the authorities say the man owes more than $9 million in taxes. he owns and rents dozens of businesses in entertainment and shopping districts in tokyo. prosecutors said he hid $30 million in rental income over three years. he denies allegations of tax evasion. "fortune" magazine listed him as a billionaire after he bought property after property in hawaii. he still has substantial real estate holdings in the u.s.

in japan people are slowly people are reminded daily of what they experienced in 2011. the tsunami took away homes, loved ones, entire communities. survivors are moving ahead but they still face obstacle tez damaged nuclear plant and all along the pacific coast. "newsline" will bring you their stories. don't miss "path to recovery: two years on." efforts to decommission crippled reactors continue at the fukushima deeaaiichi plant. nhk reporters are the first media staff to enter areas previously off-limits. >> reporter: we're near the number one reactor. debris and shattered glass lie as they film.

hoses used to fight the fires also remain. the decommissioning of all the damaged reactors is scheduled to take 40 years. the high radiation keeps delaying the work. we entered the control room to purify the contaminated water. employees are now allowed to work without masks here. they have to monitor radioactive water around the clock. as it continues to build up in the basement of the damaged nuclear reactors. contaminated water increased by 400 tons a day as groundwater is sleeping into the buildings.

these tanks are designed to store the water. each is 11 meters high and can hold 1,000 tons. but it takes only 2 1/2 days to fill it one time. experts say space will run out in 2 1/2 years. we then visit the number four reactor. work is under way to prepare for the removal of over 1,500 spent fuel rods from a damaged storage pool. tepco engineers plan to start the removal of the rods in mid-november as a first major step of the decommissioning process. a tepco executive says they face

many challenges. >> translator: we will have to resolve a number of technological issues before we can start removing a large number of spent fuel rods and extracting the melted fuel. we need to develop remote controlled robots that can work where humans can't because of extremely high levels of radiation. >> reporter: the japanese government has targeted the decommissioning process to end within 40 years. but the high levels of radiation and the damage still left by the tsunami and hydrogen explosions are making it unclear what lies ahead. in japan people are slowly getting rid of their down jackets. it's warming up in other parts of east asia as well. rachel ferguson is here with the weather. >> hi, gene. looking pretty good over the

next few days. dry skies lots of sunshine and considerably warmer. warm winds coming up from the southwest will be impacting japan as well as northern china and the korean peninsula. take a look at the next few days. highs, we have 18 degrees on wednesday in tokyo, but moving up to 20 oiday. now if we actually do get that forecast high of 20 that will be a record breaking temperature for march 8th. beijing reaching 20 on friday and 16 for you in seoul. now i should mention as well that along with these warmer temperatures while it's pleasant we can also see the dangers of avalanche and flood and that's because the snow pack will be melting just as quickly as we see that warm up. there's also some very strong winds coming in, and the yellow

sand we see at this time the year that comes across the gobi desert moves from china into mongolia then japan. it's on its way right now. if you have respiratory issues could it be a problem for you so take those precautionary measures. now into the u.s. we have a storm which is moving into the western coast. this one will be bringing you maybe 60 centimeters of snow into the cascades and nevadas. watch if you're on the roads or flying in and occupant of the area check your flights before you head off to the airport. high pressure is giving these nice and clear, lots of sun as well all the way in through the central plains there. but out east you can see snow to the north and then thunderstorms here to the south. some of these storms are going to be pretty severe, there's even the potential of tornadoes touching down and of hail as well to develop. to the north it's going to be snow and we have the slow moving system.

that's pushing into northeast. new york city, snow coming to you on wednesday. so watch out for that. certainly is going to be another dose of winter before you see any spring like conditions out east. all right. temperatures then, 9 degrees in oklahoma city. even far down here to the south we're seeing a little bit of a cooling trend. houston 21. not bad but it's quite a drop from your monday. all right let's head now into europe. again, spring is really trying to burst through here. we're seeing a great temperature rise here over the next couple of days. but down towards the southwest we have a couple of lows moving through. this is a pretty well developed storm system bringing hail to northern portions of africa as well as to southern portions of the iberian peninsula. that will be skirts towards italy. thunderstorms come urge way and gusts reaching up to 90 kilometers an hour. watch out for that. a second system just offshore beginning to impact the british isles as well as bringing

another dose of windy and wet weather to the iberian peninsula. 10 degrees in london. 14 in paris rising up to 18 degrees in lisbon and 15 in vienna. check out what's happening in warsaw. double figures. moscow around the freezing point but that's a big improvement and just in the space of 24 hours. should be feeling the benefits of that. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast. >> north korean military leaders are raising the stakes in their ongoing show of defiance against south korea and the u.s. they are vowing to scrap the

british police have gotten some help from a comic super hero. a man dressed as batman handed over a criminal suspect then vanished without revealing his identity. police say the man showed up in the wee hours of the morning last week at a police station in the central city of bradford. he brought in a man suspected of theft and fraud. the super hero is a bit chubbier than the batman of legend. police say the caped crusader told them i've caught this one for you and then disappeared into the darkness. we're back in 30 minutes with more of the latest. i'm gene otani in tokyo.