hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's monday, may 27th. i'm kathrcatherine kobayashi in tokyo. li keqiang delivered a speech and called for the return of all territories he claims the japanese had stolen from china. he said no one should be able to violate the peace achieved after

world war ii. allied leaders met in 1945 to discuss the end of the war. japanese leaders' acceptance of the statement was an achievement the chinese earned through enormous sacrifice. >> translator: we must not allow anyone to destroy or deny the post war peaceful order. >> chinese and japanese have been locked in a dice put in the east china sea. both the chinese aese and taiwa have claimed ownership of the islands. a convoy carrying a group was ambushed i i i i i i i i i

rally. the assailants are believed to . at least 25 people, kluge reasonable nal leaders were killed. and more than 30 oththth maoists say they're trying to protect mountain people and poor farmers. the indian government is deploying security forces to root out the insurgents. indian prime minister said the ambush was despicable and an attack on democracy. he said his government will take firmer action against the insurgents. a japanese adventurer is trying to keep his feet on the ground after summiting to the top of the word. he is 80 years old. last week he succeeded once again in climbing mt. everest. he said reaching the summit was a wonderful gift.

>> translator: in life, we dream about something. and if one never gives up, the dream will come true. i envisioned being on the top of mt. everest in my mind. and i carried it out. >> he began his ame th oldest person to reach the world's highest peak. he reached the peak twice before in 2003 and 2008. but he says he has no intention of climbing the summit again. medical health professionals have checked workers at the site of an accident at a japanese nuke clear laboratory. they say 30 people there were exposed to radiation. and they still have to check six others. researchers were conducting an experiment on thursday at a lab

northeast of tokyo. they are bombarding gold with a proton beam to generate particles, but something went wrong. spokespersons say 28 men and two women were exposed to radioactive substances. but they say the health of thoso what happened. they're finding out why it took more than a day to report the accident. prime minister shinzo abe has arrived home after shoring up relations with the promising trading partner.hehe's back fro myanmar where he $2 biionnnnnnn extended more help.

he met with president thein sein. he said people will support myanmar as they move toward democracy. they agreed that leaders there will continue to work through economic reforms and the welfare of their people. the japanese planned to supply aid. some of the new investments will support an industrial zone japanese firms are developing near the commercial capital. abe is the first japanese leader to visit myanmar in 36 years. he sent a clear message that the japanese want in on opportunities there. nhk reports. >> reporter: prime minister shinzo abe says he will be the nation's top salesman in

overseas. he had representatives of about 40 firms with him. he toured apanese fms spearhead this development. >> translator: the japanese government and the entire private sector will support the development in myanmar. we believe that such assistance will also contribute to the growth of the japanese economy. >> reporter: with a population of over 60 million, myanmar is one of the fastest growing markets in southeast asia. business people from japan and please t to achihihihihihihihihihihihihihih. top japanese executives hope they will improve the investment environment. >> translator: we need the cooperation of the japanese government. this place has the potential to

be a key base, because it's located next to thailand. the hub of southeast asia's manufacturing industry. >> reporter: china deepened its economic ties. myanmar was hit by severe sanctions imposed by western countries. myanmar is now trying to reduce its dependence on china. the country hopes to attract more foreign investment. the united states and the european nations are treading into myanmar's markets as new opportunities open up. prime minister abe is not the first member of a g8 country to visit. he is interested in stepping up japan's ties with myanmar. he stressed many times during

his visit that japan's public and private sectors are ready to support myanmar's growth. nhk world. a boeing 787 aircraft was used for a a the first time in four and a half months. 787 services were suspended in january after a series of problems with the battery system. the all nippon dream ways airliner flew to tokyo. the transport ministry decided in late april to approve the resumption of 787 flights if the battery system is repaired. ana and japan airlines repaired their planes. the two airlines say they are managing the battery system from the ground. they're posting information on flight conditions on the internet to help restore

passengers' trust in the aircraft. the plane from hokkaido arrived on schedule. they will resume full-services with the 787 next saturday. world bank president says he would like to find a way to link governmental assistance with private sector investments in developing africa. he attended the international

conference on i spoke to nhk and travelled with u.n. secretary-general. >> official assistance is only part of the solution. african governments have to do their parts. we realllllllllllllllllllllllllt links officicicicicicicicicicic assistance with private sector investment. >> he stressed the importance of increasing investments in africa by cooperating with the private sector. >> one of the things that we need to do isod to >> u.n. secretary-y-y-y-y-y-y-y japan has been contributing a lot to african development. he expressed hope the upcoming conference will lead to more development. japanese people seek out cool diversions in the summer,

and not many places are cooler than the limestone cave in western japan. but visitors don't go there just to explore the cavern. half the fun is getting there. >> reporter: the limestone cave is one of japan's more unusual experiences. the cavern extends for some 200 meters. the adventure starts at this small l l l l l l l l l l l l l mountain. parked unside is this small train. it's a miniature monorail that was once used for transporting lumberjacks and their equipment. now it works just as hard, but as a tourist attraction. >> translator: the people who come here from the city, it's a novelty. as soon as they see it, they all go wow! >> reporter: visitors come from

all over japan to experience the ride up for a start, everyone hasasas pt on a helmet. we going there? no way! >> reporter: at its steepest point, the incline reaches 35 degrees. >> translator: you've got to be kidding! >> reporter: the monorororororo forest. if you're lucky, the driver may stop to let you take some snaps and to give a little lecture on the scenery.

>> translator: okay. here's the best photo spot. those moss covered shapes are limestone. they turn like that due to erosion from the rain. >> reporter: they carry on, up to the cave. the magical formations are created by nature. when it's time to head home, another surprise awaits. >> translator: we're traveling backwards? >> translator: we go back down facing the same way we came up. it's not good for people to do everything facing forward. sometimes you just have to go backwar backwards.

>> translator: it was so scary. you can't see where you're going. >> translator: it was exciting, and the cave is a mysterious, wonderful place. very energizing and filled with power. it's a great deal. >> reporter: the ride only lasts five minutes, but the monorail offers visitors both trtrtrtrtrtrtrtrtrperfecttt c c life of modern japan.

scientists have carried out survey after survey to monitor the impact of the nuclear accident at fukushima daiichi. the studies on land around the damaged facility give a relatively clear picture of the damaged aishas, but tracking radioactive fallout in the ocean is much more complicated. nhk has given exclusive access of the research efforts. first, here's a snapshot of where things stand at say. >> reporter: the fukushima daiichi plant is located on the pacific coast. after ththth scientists estimated that most of the falloutnded up in the ocean. but now radiation levels in seawater near the plant are found to be l l l l l l l l l l. it's thought that the dispersed. in fact, in areas over 1

kilometer from the plant, radioactivity is almost undetectible. the japanese government is lifting bans in waters off fukushima. this april, the zone was reduced to 5 kilometers by 5 kilometers off the plant. but people are still concerned. local marine life is still showing high materials. a fish was caught near the seafloor. the percentage of marine samples exceeding the limit remains above 10% of the total caught off fukushima. fishing in waters off the prefecture is still restricted. japanese and american scientists have started a broad survey of those waters.

they let nhk world join them on their first field excursion. >> reporter: 36 researchers from japan and the u.s. embark on a 10 day survey of the fukushima coast. their goal was to find out why fish retain high-levels of radiation. >> it's very mysterious thing. the radioactivity level in marine organisms should be much lower. >> reporter: the group started work at a point 40 kilometers from the nuclear plant. it then went to 20 kilometers. and to the edge of the off limit zone. we are just 5 kilometers from fukushima daiichi nuclear power

plant. you can see the plant there in the distance.s facility by sea since t t t t t t t t t accident. the researchers took samples of water, mud from the sea bottom, plankton and other marine organisms at 15 points aro a a n the area. this device consists of 24 cylinders. scientists sank it into the ocean and remotely controlled each cylinder individually in order to collect water samples at different depths. the company responsible for fukushima daiichi says no radioactive materials are entering the ocean from the crippled plant. the scientists say if that is the case, fish must be accumulating radioactivity

through the food chain. to test this, researchers collect marine life living in and on the marine seafloor. they also gathered plankton from different depths. >> translator: we want to study possible routes of contamination by checking organisms near the seafloor and also the fish that eat them. >> reporter: the scientists use a device known as a mud core to gather samples from the sea bottom. they cut the samples into 1 centimeter slices to analyze each layer. the next step will be to study the connection between these data from different samples and different locations. examining sample after sample, the scientists will map determrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmrmr.

there is another dimension to the study. one researcher from the u.s. is looking for traces of an element called radium. it's a radioactive isotope that will mark the presence of ground water. hundreds of tons of groundwater are seeping into the nuclear plant every day. >> we want to use the radium isotope in the coastal sea to quantify how much ground water is coming into the ocean. and we think groundwater i i i contamination from the fukushima site. >> reporter: the group worked day and night gathering the samples. they view this as a rare opportunity to find out the mechanism of radioactive contamination in the ocean and contribute to the environmental safety to the region.

they collect every sample possible during the mission. >> this accident is quite a, quite a unique accident in the past history of radioactive pollution in the ocean. we do not have much experience in the past. so we need to collect data and preserve it for future. >> there are amer the pacific looking across to what's happening on this side. so it becomes international very quickly. i think every ocean question, almost by its nature is international. because the waters move across boundaries. they don't care whose water they are. so i think we need to be involved. >> reporter: the result of the survey are expected by the end of the year. the scientists say this is only the beginning.

they say their work must continue for years to come so people around the world can understand the true impact of one of the world's worst nuclear me n n n n n n n n n n n the weather, our meteorologist joins us now with the latest. peoplelelelelelelelelelelelelel dealing with severe weather conditions. can you tell us more about that? >> yes, severe weather has been landslide occurred in one of the provinces. big hailstones battered a town and 190 millimeters of rain fell in another place. conditions are quite critical across eastern china. the severe weather may continue ross thisssssssssssssssssssssss afternoon. the most severe areatorm, hail,

damaging winds and very high waves. parts of the korean peninsula may get as much as 150 millimets get as m 250. becausee clclhhhhhh sunny skies, but rainy weather will affect this area starting wednesday. across the west, it l looks like the rain will continue for the next several days. here is your highs, 35 in bangkok. extremely hot out there. and tokyo looking at 27 degrees, a couple degrees higher than seasonal. on wednesday, things will turn quite wet. now across north america on your memorial day weekend.

things are severe from texas up to saskatchewan. heavy rain has caused floods in many areas. of san antonio, texas on saturday. several millimeters fell in several hours. unfortunately, there's more rain to come for the next couple of days. we'reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee e t colefffffff condndndndndndndndndndndndndndn across the same area. today the heaviest rain will be found in iowa. now back behind it, very wendy and very hot. so conditions are ideal for drifting into the northwest once again providing wet and windy conditions. as the system moves through, temperatures will go down.

going up to 23 degrees in new york. nice and pleasant. 20 degrees for you in toronto. and over 30s in oklahoma city a. all right. f finally, in europe then, a new system will be creeping in. parts of france will turn wet withinininininininininininininig central europe, producing a risk of hail, thunderstorms and damaging winds as well as heavy rain, but especially for of germany. towards the south, scattered rain may ease in the iberian tatarting monda central parffreeseseses f for y. that's 10 degrees lower than seasonal. here's your extended forecast.

we'd like to share one more story before we leave you. solar powered light bulbs were released in tokyo for the firefly festival. members of the organizing group and preregistered people released about 100,000 of the ball shaped lights into generated by solar panels. the sky tree was also lit up in blue and white for the occasion. >> translator: theheheheheheheho pretty. >> translator: i prayed that a family will be happy. >> the lights were collected and

will be reused in future events. and that wraps up this edition of news heine. i'm catherine kobayashi in