glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, march 28th. i'm catherine kobayashi in rushio. brazil, russia, china and south africa are the brics group and ended a summit in south africa and reached a deal to create a development bank. >> we have decided to enter

formal negotiations to establish a new development bank based on our own considerable infrastructure needs. >> they agreed to launch a new mechanism to mutually provide funds and protect themselves against currency crises. until now such arrangements have been run by the united states and other developed countries through the international monetary fund and the world bank. but the economic foundations of western countries have been rocked by the credit crisis in the eurozone and the global financial meltdown triggered by the collapse of lehman brothers in 2008. china's new president xi jinping attended the summit and called on other brics members to step up cooperation with african countries. china is increasing its ties with developing nations as part of its strategy to strengthen its position in the international community. nhk world reports from the brics conference on xi jinping's

diplomatic agenda. >> reporter: talks suggested the emerging economies may be scaling back on developed nations. there are various reasons for this. the financial crisis and the european debt tumult have given emerging economies a shared grievance. emerging economies to want to lessen their exposure. to these shocks. for china's new leadership, stability at home tops the stability at home tops the agenda and key to achieving that will be stable growth. the country xi has just visited are rich in natural resources, essential for china's industrial development. chinese leaders have pursued closer ties with africa in recent years and xi is expected to reinforce that strategy.

but it is not all about business and investment. china is recruiting allies for strategic reasons. a key concern for leaders in beijing. washington says it wants to take a more active role in asia-pacific region. winning more friends in the developing world will give china a stronger hand on the international stage making the use of his country's best wealth, xi has shown he's ready to lead that effort. nhk world, durbin, south africa. joye mitsubishi motors says it may have found why a battery short circuit. and may have occurred during production of the battery. the company has suspended

production they found a battery in a new car overheated and partly melted and they making a mass recall and urged their owners not to overcharge the battery. they found metal and other chips in the batteries and they have a joint venture with the battery maker and they may have occurred during production and passed inspection unmarked. they want to boost sales of hybrid consideration and wants to increase their shares of the total output by more than 20% by the end of the decade. the company says it's trying to identify the problem within two weeks to minimize the problem on that plan. seven workers died before they could be paid from chemi l

chemicals. paying out to 16 current and former employees in the city. the workers raging in age from their 20s to 40s developed cancer in the duct that connects the liver to the small intestine. they all spent at least three years cleaning ink off printing machines. a panel was formed to study the issue after receiving applications for compensation insurance last year. the experts say earlier this month the pile duct cancer rate was 12 times the national average. the cleaning agent was to blame. 48 similar applications for compensation have been filed by employees of other printing firms or by their relatives.

researchers have found that the death rate nearly tripled among vehicles from the facilities for elderly people near the fukushima daiichi power plant. the research group from the university of tokyo and a city-run hospital tracked 328 senior evacuees from five facilities within a 30 kilometer radius of the power plant. they found 75 of them had died within one year. this is 2.68 times higher than the average annual death rate for elderly people staying at the facilities for the five years before the accident. >> translator: people need to consider the risk associated with evacuation. in the wake of disasters such as a nuclear accident. >> the group's leader points out the death rate has nothing to do with the distance the seniors

had to evacuate. he says changes in their nursing care and living environment had adversely affected the evacuees' health. >> many people have reported medical problems since the fukushima daiichi medical disaster began. here's another problem. a nursery school reports a sharp increase on children with flatfoot and blames the restriction on outdoor play. they examined about 60 children aged between 3 and 5 last april a year after the meltdown at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. it says 43% had developed flat feet triple the original number. it affects the foot's capacity to absorb impact. outdoor activity was restricted ever a the crisis began. many schools and nurseries keep the restrictions over persistent

concerns over radiation. this nursery school says it allows children to play within its outdoor playground now that the whole compound has been decontaminated but children are banned from walking outside the compound because the de-con nomination is not complete. this professor says the sharp fall in outdoor activities has damaged the children's feet. >> translator: it wouldn't be a problem if kids could experience a variety of fun indoor activities to make up for the missed exercise. everyone has to be creative to achieve that. >> the nursery school says it has shifted focus to indoor exercise. but the latest check-up earlier this month shows the rate of those with flat feet remains high at 32%. after the disaster at fukushima's nuclear power plant, a lot of mothers living nearby made a difficult decision. they took their children and left their homes.

they were concerned about local radiation levels but it meant being separated from their fathers who stayed behind to work. about 10,000 mothers and children moved to nearby yamagat. now some mothers are rethinking their decision. nhk reports from yamagat. >> reporter: this woman moved here with her two sons in july 2011. their father stayed behind to work. she decided to come here because she felt the children were stressed out by living in fukushima. after the move, the children seemed happy again. but last fall the younger boy, leo, started behaving differently. he often bursts into tears calling out for his father. the problem started after the father had to stop visiting

every weekend. he was too busy working so leo only saw his father once a month. and it's time for one of those visits. the children can't seem to get enough of their dad. >> translator: previously, they didn't say daddy so much. but now they often feel the need to say it. it makes me feel sad. i blame myself when i leave and see them in tears.

>> reporter: afterward, he became even more distraught. any time day or night he would burst into tears. being separated from his father was too much to bear. it was hard for her to tell which was more harmful to the boys. the risk of radiation exposure or the stress of living away from their father. for a whole week, he carries two coins that his father had given him. they're only worth about a dollar, but for rio it is the sentimental value that counts. they're a link to his father. she had seen enough. at the end of the month they rejoined their father in fukushima. >> translator: when i moved

here, i did it for the good of my children. but through their behavior, they are telling me that what they really want is to be with their father. so i will honor their wishes. >> reporter: mothers took their children away from fukushima to protect their children's physical health, but some youngsters are paying a high price in emotional health. now mothers like makiko are forced to make a tough decision. n "nhk world" yamagat. radiation levels in most parts of fukushima where people live are roughly the same as elsewhere in japan. but many residents remain concerned. thousands of people waiting to go home. tons of debris waiting for

disposal. vast tracts of land awaiting to be restored. overcoming the challenges of japan's 2011 disaster won't be easy, but step-by-step, people are moving forward. find out how on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." communication between north and south korea has never really been easy but according to leaders in pyongyang, it'snous non-existent. they say they shut down a key hotline both sides control and that means all inter-korean communication has been cut off. state run media reports north korean officials inform their counterparts in the south. telephone and fax lines between military liaison offices on the western korean peninsula are being severed. both use the hotlines to communicate as hundreds travel back and forth to the keson

complex in the north. they cut off another hotline this month in the demilitarized zone. this latest statement in the military say there's now no dialogue between the south korea and the united states. a government official in seoul says this will helped hinder the complex and urged the north to reconsider the decision. nhk has made a threats in recent days. south korean's new unification minister says if they change their attitude he's ready to reward them with humanitarian aid. he took office earlier this month and says the president wants to build trust by promoting dialogue and aid. if park puts her principles into action he expects officials to in pyongyang to do their part. he says humanitarian aid for infants and exchange among non-governmental bodies will lead to official north-south talks. media in vietnam are trying to let the pictures tell the story of a confrontation at sea

between their country and china. state-run tv released video of a partially burned fishing boat a chinese vessel allegedly attacked near islands both nations claim. officials in beijing accuse the vietnamese of making it all up. broadcaster vtv showed what it called the charred remains of the ship's cabin. the crew was unharmed. vietnamese government authorities say the clash happened about a week ago near the paracel islands in the south china sea. they say the vessel chased the fishing boat and they say it fired five shots, causing the cabin to catch fire. in china, the state-run xinhua news agency quoted a navy official as saying the chinese crew fired two warning flares into the air. it reported that the flares never hit the boat. the incident comes ahead of a summit of the association of southeast asian nations. leaders of the ten asean nations will meet in april.

they are expected to discuss the territorial dispute in the south china sea. other asean members have conflicting claims with china on different groups of islands. soldiers have marched through the streets of myanmar's c capitol. they were marking armed forces day. the opposition leader watched them pass and sat alongside some of the generals who kept her under house arrest for nearly 20 years. we report. >> reporter: for more than half a century, the military regime cracked down on democratic freedom. the current commander in chief affirmed wednesday that the military is now fully behind democratic reforms being read by the government. >> translator: today, the army is actively collaborating with

the stability and development program laid down by the government under the leadership of a president elected by the people. we will work toward peace and development of the nation through democratic practices. >> reporter: opposition leader and nobel peace prize laureate aung san suu kyi was in the front row of dignitaries watching the parade. now a member of parliament, she said she's eager to build better working relations with the military. in spite of myanmar's return to civilian rule in 2011, the military is guaranteed one quarter of all parliamentary seats, meaning it still wields considerable influence. that means aung san suu kyi needs the military's cooperation if she is to push through her promised constitutional reforms

after the general election due in 2015. her appearance at the celebrations was widely broadcast on myanmar state television. to date, aung san suu kyi has seen huge support across myanmar, but the impact of her attending the parade, and effectively endorsing the military, remains to be seen. jun kobayashi, nhk world, naypyidaw. entrepreneurs from across the region have jumped in to look for new opportunities. one tea merchant from japan is brewing up a plan to reawaken his business. nhk world has the story.

>> reporter: the trade fair in singapore is exhibiting tea and coffee from around the world. booths are lined up to introduce coffee, tea, black tee and oolong tea from different countries. among them is a booth exhibiting japanese tea. a sixth generation of a tea wholesaler established 130 years ago. he's taking part in the trade fair to try to develop markets in rapidly growing economies in southeast asia. mori is serving a type of tea which most people in japan would consider a quality brew.

>> reporter: most first-time drinkers overseas find japanese tea a little bitter. and compare it to fermented teas such as black tea and chinese tea, people think japanese tea lacks flavor. >> translator: japanese tea has a weaker aroma than other kinds of tea. i have to concede that chinese tea and black tea smell better to most people overseas. >> reporter: keen to push the virtues of his products, mori met with an importer who is interested in japanese tea. genuine japanese tea comes in a wide variety of flavors. so mori decided to create original blends according to the preference of each customer. observing customers' reactions, he blends together tea leaves of different sweetness, aroma, and bitterness.

mori uses over 100 kinds of tea leaves every day, in his quest for the right kind of flavor. >> this is a profile that i think singaporeans will like. >> translator: i think i got the right balance. but i think i can make it even better. >> reporter: this importer decided to continue discussing business with mori. how can he sell the appeal of japanese tea to more people? >> welcome, welcome. thank you. thank you for coming. all right. >> reporter: mori met six leading chefs in singapore. after the chefs tasted different kinds of japanese tea, they showed interest in using it as a food ingredient. highlighting the bitterness from the tea leaves.

one of the chefs came up with a recipe to mix used leaves with mango. and add that to sauteed scallops. the scent of tea, sweet fruit and salty seafood mixed together turned out to be a winning combination. >> translator: i want people to know that japanese tea isn't just for drinking, and that there are other possibilities. it might be a challenge, but i think this could be a great opportunity to popularize japanese tea. >> reporter: beyond just drinking it, mori believes using tea as a fine food ingredient might just help people across asia learn to love japanese tea. mark ho, nhk world, singapore. now, take a look at the

market figures. our meteorologist joins us for the latest in world weather. people in southern china are dealing with heavy rain. >> yes. a system of low pressures has been creating rain and heavy weather across southeastern china when cold air is colliding with warm air across this area. an additional 150 millimeters or

more is likely in the guangdong province and a wide enough area, enough to cause further flooding as well as landslides and should reach taiwan within the next 48 hours, not good news because this area was hit by a big earthquake on wednesday. the ground has loosened. i want to show you media coming out of taiwan. and earthquake of magnitude, 6.1 hit taiwan wednesday killing one of and causing heavy damage. numerous shops and homes were destroyed, more than 80 people were hurt. a rock fell on a car croushing t completely. a patter by rescued the driv driver -- passerby rescued the driver. the rain could hamper recovery efforts here. snow will be tapering off in

northeastern china and light rain. precipitation will be rain today because we are going to be seeing a significant warmup. double digits for the first time this year but the warmup could cause avalanches here and to the south, 17 degrees in tokyo, 7 degrees higher than yesterday and towards the south, baking hot in bangkok with a high of 39 degrees. in north america, a major winter storm dumped historically heavy snowfall in the midwest has pulled away but still hovering over the atlantic producing ongoing heavy seas and storm surges across the underneath coast and stronger northerwestey winds inland across the underneath and parts of canada and heavy rain and the winds also causing heavy snow across the appalachians. still, an additional 15 centimeters is possible the next few hours.

it continues friday and out west, wet weather for washington and oregon, california and snow showers in the northern rockies may go down for the south and the rest of the u.s. and canada, looking good. and it is lowering temperatures and we have freeze warnings still posted across the southeast. temperatures may go down sub-freezing during the overnight hours. during the daytime hours, temperatures will go up, 14 degrees in atlanta, double digits in washington d.c. and new york. still on the chilly side here, marred across the west. finally, in europe, a risk of severe weather still continues across the south and yet another system will be moving to the west coast by thursday evening with rough seas and high rains and heavy rain and thunderstorms and strong winds. to the north, avalanche risk remains across norway. temperatures on the chilly side

but slightly warmer than wednesday. that's it for now and here's your extended forecast.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.