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an-gernment protesters by tea g. former president decided not to run for the chairman ofexperts. the hard liner was chosen for the post in tuesday's has supported reformist campaigners but faced accn of corruption. they are calling for protest ut se of their main leaders have been placed in detention. t. china's biggest political meeting of in full swing in beijing. leaders at the national people's congress are laying out their plans for the year ah discussin

country's rapid growth and the price of development. k' lisa comb yea is covering the story in beijing. >> chinese politician and officials are talking about everything from the country's t fltohe rise in the elderly population. corruption and the widening gap between rich and poor are issues up forte public discontent is mounting because citizens are becoming aware of their fnt rights. development often trumps the rights of the poornd werls. translator: residents were threatened by a group of armed men. they were surrounded by police cars andeoehoood like police officers, but n of them were willing to intervene.

the local government is planning a real estate developntnhe farmland. and is trying to forcibly remove the residents. when some of the residents secretly film the lal veme's activities, a scuffle broke out between them, and e gangsters, who may have been sent by the government. thncenle many people injured. many people say they were forced out of their houses with violence and not given eug compensation or new places to live. forced evictions byoc authorities and developers have been seen in many parts of china where real estate development is beingomed a high-speed railway is under construction in the town where the scuffle occurred. this man usedo lehere, but his house was demolished by the local authorities last year. he says it's because he rejected

th ectneqst as the local government did not show any alternative sites. he's now living in a barn, where he keptis anne animals. translator: the government has not provided a single bed. we are completely neglected. rr:un 30 houses in the community were also destroyed by the government. the family -- the fils e living in tents. wu ming was forcibly removed from his house two yrs ago. he rejected an offer of compensation claiming it was too low. the families are living with retis t time being. wu worked for the local government before he quit his job about ten years ago. he was in charge of the section thatcctsetitions from residents. in china, both the central and local governments have sections

where people can lodge compin. nyf them are about land-related disputes, corruption involving government officials, or problems inaily life. the service was supposed to function as an alternative means for resolving problems after the policend jicial authorities failed to come up with solutions. wu has visited the local government office many tes to lodge a petition about the forced eviction, but he has been completely ignored. frustrated with the unhelpful petition system, wu decided to work with local people, who have similar problems. translator: they only push around petitioners without trying to resolve their problems. >> reporter: wu intends to petition the central government in beijing. he hopes the more powerful

authorities can offer a solution. translator: the local government is so corrupt that it doesn't work for the residents. this town is filled with darkness. >> reporter: the chinese are increasingly frustrated with the reality of being forcibly removed from their homes for real estate projects, and a petition system that doesn't work. chinese premier wen jiabao said in his policy speech at the opening of the national people's congress the government will do work to handle the petitioners letters and visits but in reality it is difficult for the rural region's voice to reach the central government. china's stability will depend on what the government will do to keep the citizens unhappiness from boiling over.

>> nhk world's lisa komiya in beijing. we will have coverage on this in the coming days. a powerful earthquake has shaken northeastern japan. the tremor occurred at around 11:45 a.m. on wednesday. the quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.2 and was centered off the coast of northeastern japan. the depth of the quake was 10 kilometers. japan's meet lodge cam agency issued a tsunami adviser along the coast of northeastern japan. once again, a powerful earthquake has shaken northeaster japan. the tremor occurred around 11:45 a.m. on wednesday local time. them quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.2 and was

centered off the coast of -- in northeastern japan. the depth of the quake was estimated at 10 kilometers. and japan's meteorological agency issued a tsunami advisory off the coast of northeastern japan. japan has a new face for dip lomascy dipcy. -- diplomacy. he will replace serjei maehara who resigned over a political donation scandal. takeaki matsumoto became state tear. he is said to have expertise in financial, fiscal and security policies. takeaki matsumoto resigned for accepting political donations from a foreign -- it dealt another blow to the naoto kan administration. he chose takeaki matsumoto to give priority to the

continuation of diplomatic policies at a time when japan faces such issues as the four russian held islands. derogatory remarks by a u.s. government official about the people of okinawa have increased the difficult ty of relocating the station in the prefecture. they are outraged by kents made by kev kev, a u.s. state department official. maher described them as masters of manipulation and extortion in their negotiations with the central government within okinawa's local government, anger is rising over the remarks. >> he served as a council general in okinawa for several years. it's rather pathetic that, as a diplomate, he has such a poor understanding of the situation. it makes the futenma issue more

complicated. >> they voted unanimously in favor of a resolution urging maher to retract his comments and apologize. translator: maher's remarks trampled on the feelings of the okinawa people. the remark he made were mocking, disparaging and inexcusable. >> reporter: in a phone conversation on tuesday, japan's chief cabinet secretary launched a statement saying if true the comments were introept. in response roos said expressed his regrets that the controversial statements have caused offense. japanese government officials say maher has cancelled a trip to attend talk on thursday. the japanese government is hoping the u.s. ambassador's apology will put the controversy to rest. the two nations are trying to schedule a meeting of foreign and defense ministers in late april or early may to decide on a formal relocation plan for the

futenma base. the british broadcasting corporation has sent an e-mail apoll jiedsing to nagasaki for featuring a double bomb survivor in a comedy program. fanlists were aused -- accused of mocking the victim. . the program aired in a december. it intruced him as the unluckiest man in the world. the city says it received an e-mail of apology from mark thompson. he survived the bombings of her row sheem ma and nagasaki and he died in january of last year at the age of 93. nagasaki city launched a complaint about the program. they sent a dvd of the program giving nagasaki 's version of what happened on that day and asked the bbc to tell the true story. in the e-mail the bbc chief

apologized for the incident. he wrote that he understands how people in the bombed cities must have felt and he will take to heart what he saw in the dvd. the director of the nagasaki atom tick bomb museum says the bbc's response to the protest seems sincere. he was disappointed there was no mention of the comments in the documentary and says he will take this opportunity to raise awareness of the plight of atomic bomb survivors. in business news, corporate bankruptcies in japan declined in february for the first time in two months due to rising exports to emerging economies. private credit research firm says 884 companies went out of business last month. that's down 8.5% from a year earlier. the drop was attributed to a recovering in the manufacturing sector that benefitted from a

pickup in exports to asia, but many small companies remained in trouble accounting for more than half of the business failures in february. the research firm says the bankruptcy number may yet rise again as soaring oil prices are likely to hurt japanese firms across the board. the deadline to submit bids for rapid transit system in the u.s. state of california is getting close and a japanese railway company says it wants to bid for the project. the president of east japan railway company or jr east made the remark at a news conference on tuesday. he said it is an opportunity for the company to promote the bullet train technology. the california state government says companies wanting to take

part in the project must submit applications by march 16th. the obama administration plans to construct rapid transit lines in 13 statements amounting to 13,700 kill lomer thes. not everyone agrees with the idea. the governor of florida abandoned a plan to build a line in e the state saying it would be too costly. central japan railway competed with european and asian rivals to compete for the florida project. here's the latest market figures.

a series of comics about mountain climbers has caught on in japan. in fact it is responsible for the increasing number of people taking to the sport. the artist compares mountain nearing to the challenge -- mountaineeing to the challenges of life. and though he stress the dangers he also points to its ties. we spoke to the -- artist one on one. >> i'm fine. this is so fun. >> he discovered the fun of

mountaineering while studying the united states. he became an artist. his stories sold 2.5 million copies, being translated in south korea and they are about to become a movie in japan. his characters are ordinary people, retired couples, middle-aged office workers and young students. he says there is a similarity between mountain climbing and life. both are filled with accidents and challenges. and you have to make choices for yourself. >> reporter: i take it that you write, draw, sort of an invitation for climbing. >> right. >> reporter: are we all invited? >> yes. that's my main thing. it is very simple. i like climbing, how about you. why don't you come to the mountain. >> you want to introduce to readers the fun of climbing.

>> it's a fun sport, more like sports. >> reporter: i see. when i read your stories, many people do make mistakes and they fall off the cliff, get lost and sometimes people die. and the drawings in there are very vivid. don't you think that would scare people away from the mountains? >> i don't think that people get scared because it's a reality. every day we have a choice. we have to choose. and many sections we are surrounded by many selections. so we have to choose. and in mountaining it is more dramatic. >> reporter: life and death? >> right. so, i want to be there and if i were there, how i chose.

i try to imagine. >> reporter: many who are reached mid life or beyond have taken up mountain climbing. at the same time, the number of alpine accidents has increased in japan. those who survived, face public criticism for their mistakes. but in his stories the young rescue volunteer never blames the climbers. he always says, okay. you have done your best. come back though mountains. >> people don't like mistakes so people tend to -- people who make mistakes but in my -- one of the things i want to tell is if there is 50% chance, choice. i wish people take to try

challenge. >> reporter: whatever the cause, an accident can have devastating consequences, not only for the climbers but for their family and the loved ones. >> right. that's a difficult question. so i'm asking myself, why those things happen. and how the family reacts to that. so i like myself mistakes. >> -- it is not a failure but you are learning something. >> exactly, learning. >> reporter: why do you like mountains? what's so good about mountains? >> i don't know. that's what i like to draw. the coffee is good, friends smiling was good. they are always laughing. >> reporter: the feeling of -- >> the feeling of tiny things gathered. >> reporter: but not climbing to the top and reaching the goal. >> that's another good point. there are so many things that i

like in mountain. so i want everybody to feel that kind of stuff. >> reporter: thank you very much. >> thank you. >> how about some clean air to add to that? that was the manga artist speaking to nhk. here's the forecast. hi there. time for the world weather update. we have a winter storm in place for the northern half of japan bringing plenty of snow and strong winds. there will be some thunderstorms to contend with. we are looking at snow accumulation of up to 40 centimeters in the next 24 hours. in the country along the pacific side things will remain settled and quite mild. across the korean peninsula, dry conditions will really continue to prevail across the region.

high pressure system is firmly in control for the northern tier of china, as well. across the south, we are going to be dealing with chilly precipitation, heavy bouts of rain, including that for central and southern portions of china and for the philippines, too, more showers to come. a lot of thunderstorms and heavy downpours, especially in the southern sections of the country. we've got 18 degrees in hong kong. 12 in shanghai. 11 beijing. not too bad. average here. and chilly 5 in seoul. now for the americas. a major storm system is moving across the central portions of the u.s. this is going to be bringing widespread snow again across the midwest and is separate system across the pacific will be spreading plenty of snow across the pacific northwest. so british columbia, canada looking at 15 centimeters of snow and also across the great lakes looking at significant snowfall again.

now, further to the south, things are going to be severe here. winds are strong. looking at the threat for severe thunderstorms, tornados not out of the question and do watch out for damaging winds as well as large hail in louisiana and also mississippi. now, all of that precipitation then heads toward the eastern third of the country. we've already had reports -- numerous reports of minor flooding in the region along the mississippi valley and also in the northeast due to the recent rainfall and the snow mount. as that precipitation heads to the eastern third of the country that's going to be raising the flooding risks here as well. we've got 15 in atlanta today. 28 in miami. 21 in houston. and 25 in los angeles today. now, we head in to europe where we starting to see that frontal system beginning to slide in to central europe today. so that will be bringing rain to parts of germany. looking wet and windy across the

british isles today and again for norway. we will be contending with heavy, blowing snow. winds will remain pretty strong across much of skand knave ya as well. but across continental europe for the most part it will stay dry. the southwestern corner, looking at the stagnant low pressure center, the center is off shore but it will be triggering showers and strong thunderstorms in isolated areas. not much change for the eastern mediterranean. looking gusty again across this region. a lot of cold air aloft producing plenty of inland snow for turkey. athens is going to be five degrees, rather chilly with snow flurries to start off the day. one degree in moscow. 11 in berling and looking mild toll the west again. here's the extended forecast now.

an earthquake has shaken northern trp jp. the tremor occurred 11:45 a.m. on wednesday. it had an estimated magnitude of 7.2 and was centered off the coast of -- in northern japan. the depth of the quake was estimated at 10 kilometers. japan's meteorological agency issued an advisory along the pacific coast of northeastern japan. once again, a earthquake has shaken northern japan. the tremor occurred 11:45 a.m. on wednesday. the quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.2 and was centered off the coast of -- in northern japan.

. we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.