march we'd like to finish necessary work, preparation. >> tokyo -- after smoke was seen rising from the number 2 and 3 reactor buildings. tepco says they confirmed smoke rising from the buildings on tuesday morning. the company adds that the radiation level at the plant briefly increased after the smoke was detected but later

fell. tepco says it judged the smoke would not be a problem for the workers in the plant. external cables have been installed and are ready to supply power to the number 1 and 2 reactor buildings. success in supplying power to the central control room in the number 2 reactor building should clear the way for restoring the reactors' cooling systems. the company can then monitor the temperature and water level of the reactor as well as the stored fuel storage pool under electric lighting. tepco also says workers finished laying electric cables to the number 3 and 4 reactor buildings on monday. at the number 5 reactor building power has been restored with a view to resuming normal operation. radioactive substances have been detected in sea water samples taken near the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the nuclear and industrial safety agency says a further test will be carried out to determine the effects on marine life and sea water in the area.

tokyo electric power company checked the levels in samples taken from an area 100 meters south of the plant water outlet at 2:30 p.m. on monday. it said that water contained higher than permissible levels of radioactive materials. iodine 131 was 126.7 times higher than the legal level. cesium 134 was 24.8 times higher. and cesium 137 was 16.5 times higher. cobalt 58 was below the legal limit. >> translator: considering the use of the area, we do not consider this is going to pose any immediate threat to human bodies. concerning the result of measurement, currently the cabinet minister, the safety commission is assessing the data currently. this is the superior body to the

safety agency. so far the samples taken from only one location and this may not be sufficient to draw any appropriate conclusion. there was an announcement earlier by the science ministry that there is going to begin monitoring of the ocean and tokyo electric power company continued to survey. tokyo electric power company has resumed work to bring electricity to the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant as part of efforts to regain cooling functions. by monday workers had attached power cables to all six reactors, but with the number three and number four reactors still being sprayed with water monday it may be some time before the electricity can be switched on. >> translator: we are now joined by nuclear expert showita iwata of the university of tokyo.

thank you very much for coming. first of all, what is the progress to -- of the effort to restore power? well, yesterday we've seen smoke. we still need to be very careful. some events still continue. however, generally speaking, the direction of the events are that we are -- things are becoming under control. the biggest difference we have from chernobyl is that the chain reaction shut down immediately after the event. therefore, it is not going to be a major accident, as we have seen in chernobyl. so temperature and substances are the subjects of control that needs to be controlled, and hoping that we can find solutions to this problem. >> translator: how about the

water spraying operations? it's really important to fill the spent fuel with water. the water temperature has been down to 62 degrees centigrade or 42 degrees centigrade, relatively low. there has been no evaporation, and certain levels of water apparently has been kept. and the release of radioactive substances by covering the material with water has been released. so i think there has been progress. >> translator: for water spray, with the water spray and restoration of electricity, do you think that the situation, the worst situation has been avoided? >> translator: well, the chain reaction is controlled. so the situation is under

control. it will not lead to the worst situation. the caution is now necessary about exposure of the workers and the aftercare of the exposed workers. that is going to be important. and by having the power supply restored, cooling operations will begin to go smoothly and the monitoring of temperature or the radioactivity levels, the measurements will become possible. so the current status of the reactor will be -- the data will be available for the reactor once the power is restored. >> so there is a concern about the radiation exposure to workers, and the sampling has been done, which showed the radioactive -- higher levels of

radiation. what do you think, particularly on the impact of human health? there's been quite wide distribution amongst various the measured figures. the figures are recorded depending on the geographical conditions of the monitoring sites. chief cabinet secretary mr. edano has been issuing appropriate instructions. and if you are interested in raw data, you can always refer to these reported figures by the ministry of science. there has been no concern. thank you very much. that was shuichi, iwata, professor at the university of tokyo. the head of the international atomic energy agency, yukiya amano, says he's starting to see some positive developments in japan's efforts

to stabilize the crippled nuclear power plant. amano made the remark in an emergency iaea board meeting in vienna on monday. the meeting opened way silent prayer for victims of the great east japan earthquake. amano told participants that he and prime minister naoto kan agreed last week that japan will speed up information about the crisis at the fukushima daiichi plant. amano said the situation at the plant remains very serious but some positive developments have been seen. officials later briefed a working-level meeting on how the crisis developed at the plant and their plan to restore cooling systems for reactors. >> one of the issues that have been discussed is that this is some -- the safety standard is not mandatory, voluntary, but there is some also argument or views that this should be

mandatory. >> the iaea has already sent a team of experts to japan. the organization plans to send more nuclear and radiation experts on japan's request. the death toll from the quake and tsunami has risen to more than 8,800. the national police agency says that 8,805 deaths have been confirmed so far and more than 12,600 people remain unaccounted for. some appear to have been swept away by the tsunami. debris and severed roads are hampering the search and relief efforts. over 237,000 people are living in shelters across japan in the three hardest-hit prefectures of miyagi, i watta, and fukushima, that border the tsunami. people are taking refuge at shelters. many of the evacuees are suffering from shortages of food, water, and other essentials.

we have chief cabinet secretary yukio edano way news conference now. >> translator: thanks for waiting. there is a cabinet meeting. i'd like to report to you the outcome. there are two general issues. one issuance of low and personal changes. starting today we are going to have a meeting for the support of the people in the evacuation shelters. the activities of the meeting, in order to have a smooth operation, we have decided to establish a meeting, a liaison meeting to support evacuatees. we will have close contact and confirm and follow up all issues that are necessary to support the victims. mr. matsumoto is the head. mr. katayama, mr. sengoku, mr.

hirano are the members of the special meeting. they will serve as the vice chairmen. and the deputy ministers of different departments have attended this meeting. and every other day starting today from noon the meeting will be held. and if you have any questions, please contact the secretariat of the meeting. the defense ministry announced yesterday about high level of cesium that was detected in both areas. what is the assessment of the government? and do you plan to expand the evacuation areas? any plans to change the plans? >> is this about cesium, about the discharged substances?

well, the highest level was -- well, depending on the area where the highest level is detected, the experts have made the analysis of what they mean. the -- assuming the person stands in the area with the highest level, 120 microsieverts of the radioactivity will be the exposure. and this is little more than a half of the exposure one would experience in an area from new york to japan. that's 1.43 millisievert is the -- is 1/5 of one ct measurement exposure. this is the level that needs to be monitored with close attention. however, even these areas with

high level, it will not pose immediate threat to human body and we do not expect any long-lasting effect on human body. >> translator: near the nuclear power plant the radioactive substances were detected in the sea water in the plants. what do you think of the impact on the fishery's activities and do you have any plans for further survey for fisheries operations? the standard level of radiation was detected and announced. restriction or standard level. even though this contaminated

sea water is taken by humans for a year, there should be no health hazard. this is the criteria on which this government standard was set up, though there should be no immediate health impact. if this situation continues for a long period of time, some impact can occur. authorities and agencies will continue sea water monitoring. and this instruction has been issued. there's been no detailed assessment and analysis to be conclusive, but we can also say today that the regulation level was exceeded, so monitoring and

analysis will continue. with the possibility that there is similar suspension of shipment of marine products will be order ed? today such an action is inconceivable. but we will continue collecting data, relevant data, and expert analysis will be contacted. sankay. the smoke was detected from the unit number 3 over the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. give me the update, please. >> it's really difficult to see the inside of the reactor unit. it's very difficult to know the direct cause of the smoke.

investigation and analysis will continue. and the irradiation level and the condition of the spent fuel storage fuel will be monitored in order to identify the cause of the smoke. >> kobayashi of tv asahi. about the government -- provisional government restriction level, this level was exceeded but no impact on human health. and what is the meaning, relevance of this government standard, government level? do you think this level should be kept? >> we now have this nuclear accident, and we are now required to control this situati

situation. the radiation, release of the radiation must be constantly monitor monitored. so therefore, we have decided that the monitoring and the survey should be initiated if at certain levels of the radiation was detected. so potential impact on the human health will be monitored on an ongoing basis. but even though this situation doesn't occur, it's really difficult in this -- in general, it's really important to conduct ongoing monitoring of radiation and if certain levels is -- certain level exceeded, then the

necessary action should be taken. that is why such government regulation level has been established. and this time this figure exce exceeded. so the action has been initiated. and the suspension of the shipment of spinach and other necessary actions have been initiated accordingly. we acknowledge that this situation has caused anxiety amongst the general public in jap japan, but even if a nuclear accident hadn't happened we will take necessary action, including monitoring and analysis, should be taken. if this government very conservative standard is exceeded. >> kogetsu of zhe-zhe newspaper.

i have a question about the new meeting you have initiated, you announced earlier. can you tell us the objectives of this group? >> the specific activities and coordination to support the victims is going to be carried out under this new group. and i want to make sure that all the government agencies are aware of what is happening as required and whether they are providing proper information. this is going to be vital for the people who have evacuated. there should be no problem in the stream of information and the provision of support. that is why like the responsible personnel of each government agency to be able to make sure

that things are going smoothly. so that the effect of the new group can be maximized. that is the intention. that means there were problems in the past in the efforts by the agencies. that is why now you have to establish a new group, new committee. there are different phases that we had gone through. the crisis management center have members who are directors of agencies and they held meetings and i attended many of them. so immediately after the event instructions must be given and things must happen. so that was one phase. but then there is another phase where we need to begin to give

support to the people. so we are changing, we're shifting the phase of our efforts. so the volume of instructions, the number of agencies needed to be coordinate d is now changing from the initial phase immediately after the event. so in order to make all the instruction thorough and more sound we will establish this committee. >> you have been listening to chief cabinet secretary yukio edano on the news conference. he's been speaking that today there will be a meeting to support the evacuees will be held with personnel in charge. also concerning cesium that was detected with high level, experts' analysis has been going on that with 120 microsieverts that was recorded, it is the half of exposure in air flight from japan to new york.

so it will need to be monitored but does not cause direct and immediate human body effects. and concerning sea water that was above standard, radiation was recorded, again he said that it will not cause immediate direct impact on human body. and whether there will be further suspension of shipments on marine goods, there is possibility, but relevant data and analysis should be conducted in order to do so. and concerning the smoke of the reactor chief cabinet secretary said that inside of the reactor is impossible to see so he cannot be sure of what's happening, but the radiation is being monitored, analysis is being continued. you have been listening to chief cabinet secretary yukio edano. now, after a long weekend stock markets in japan are

showing a positive response. for more we go over to keiko kitagawa at our business desk. keiko. tokyo stocks surged on tuesday morning. the nikkei average started trading at 9,403. that's up almost 200 points from friday's close. after major issues started trading the key index picked up steam and broke the 9,500 level. this is the first time in about a week that tokyo stocks have traded at these high levels. the nikkei closed the morning session at 9,477.49. that's up 270.74 points, or 2.94%. overseas the dow jones rallied above 12,000 for the first time in 12 days on a monday. european stocks were also up overnight. efforts to fix the fukushima plant's cooling systems are continuing. this is easing concerns in the market. on the tokyo foreign

exchange the dollar is lower against the yen on tuesday morning. the dollar is currently at 81.02-06 yen. while the euro is at 115.16-21 yen. participants are selling the greenback to lock in gains. that follows the dollar's rise, triggered by friday's market intervention by the g-7. the yen is getting an extra boost from japanese exporters that are bringing back their dollar holdings at the business year end. but the up side is capped as many players are worried by further actions by the g-7. now here's a look at the latest long-term irpt rates. this is the yield on the benchmark 10-year japanese government bond. in other asian markets, hong kong's hang seng is up 0.04% at 22,694.6. the shanghai's key dimension for major blue chips fell 0.64% at

6,665.51. and in shenzhen the sse composite is down 1% at 1,272.83. now, japan's central bank has provided another 2 trillion yen, or about $24 billion to the short-term money markets on tuesday morning. commercial banks have been keeping extra cash on hand since the earthquake. the bank of japan says it has supplied a total of 40 trillion yen, or about $490 billion, over the past six business days. the central bank says it will continue to provide extra liquid ity as long as necessary. the world bank says damage from the disaster in northeastern japan could reach $235 billion. this far cheeds the losses from the kobe earthquake back in 1995. the estimate comes as the devastating earthquake and tsunami have disrupted theation's production networks

in the auto and i.t. industries. the problems at the fukushima nuclear plants and the economic impact from rotating power cuts are not factored into the calculation. the damage is more than double the $100 billion caused by the kobe quake in western japan 16 years ago. the world bank says japan's past experience suggests an accelerated reconstruction effort and the slowdown will likely be temporary. meanwhile, the bank calls for a close watch oh the whole east asian economic region as the disaster could slow japanese exports of semiconductors and auto parts to other asian nations. japanese automakers have also been hit hard by the quake. toyota motor has decided to delay the restart of its production in japan to beyond wednesday. the carmaker initially planned to reopen its 235rk9ies on wednesday but it says it cannot get enough parts. toyota said that the unresolved problems at the fukushima

nuclear power plant are preventing some of its suppliers from restarting production. the automaker is considering procuring some supplies from alternative sources and switching emphasis to models that have sufficient parts. now here's a recap of the latest marke