hello there and welcome. you are watching nhk world. this is "newsline." for april 1st, 11:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. they may postpone low priority work at the daiichi power plant because it doesn't have enough radiation monitors for workers. earlier it was found the company had broken government rules by not providing each worker at the plant with a radiation monitor. tepco says many of its monitors were damaged in the quake. >> this is the reactor building for unit four. the picture was taken on the

24th of march. this footage was newly released by tepco. this aerial photograph was taken on the same day. next to the reactor building of unit four, you can see this long arm. that is for the water spraying vehicle. and this footage was taken from a camera attached to the end of this long arm. as water is injected, more steam rises indicating that the water is getting into the spent fuel pool. at fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant, many were destroyed in the quake and there were not enough for everyone. in some work groups, only one member of the group wore a personal dosemiter and there was

not adequate control of exposure in place. tepco last night indicated that of the 5,000 that they had on site, all were destroyed except for 320 and that as many as 280 workers were working in high radioactivity areas without wearing dosimeters. they say from now they will change the work plans and postpone some of the low priority work so as to make sure every worker wears one. the tepco official says that everyone should wear an automated personal dosimeter from now, and if there isn't a personal dosimeter for everyone, then they will reduce the number of workers in the controlled areas. they might also borrow some from other nuclear power plants. high concentrations of

radioaction continue to be found in samples taken of the area. of the discharge outlet, 180 becquerels per cc was found at -- was found wednesday afternoon. that is 4,385 times the national limit for iodine 131. and around the northern discharge outlet, the reading was 1,425 times the national regulation limit and the highest ever. tepco had this to say about the sea water contamination. the tepco official says that they have not been able to pinpoint the source of leak yet. and therefore, they are not in a position to implement any countermeasures yet.

nisa, or the nuclear industrial safety agency, says they will reinforce their network to make sure they can trace how the contamination is being diffused in the sea water. this is footage from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant as of now. according to the meteorological agency, the wind is moderate from east to west or from the land side to the sea. in the day, there will be southeasterly winds prevailing. >> radioactive substances that leaked from the fukushima daiichi plant have been detected in tap water in tokyo and other parts of the konto area. we look at how those substances reached konto and the measures taken by the government to prevent radiation getting into the water supply. >> this is professor hirom hiromi yomozama who analyzed the

situation. according to his analysis, radioactive substances leaking from fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant seem to have reached konto area at least twice, though in very small quantities. radioactive substances first reached konto area after the hydrogen explosion of the number three reactor at fukushima daiichi nuclear plant on march 14th. specifically from march 15th through 16th. there were traces of radioactive substances from fukushima daiichi seems to have been carried southward on wind blowing from the north. gradually, dispersing from northern konto to southern konto. it started having higher disposition. radioactive substances reached konto again when a similar wind

pattern prevailed from march 20 through 21st. as they were carried along the coastline southbound, measurements in mito and chiba prefecture first rose. when the wind direction changed to northwestern, figures in tokyo and maebashi city as well. on that day, it also rained in a wide areas in konto settling radioactive substances in the atmosphere on to the ground. according to professor yamazawa this rain water flowed into the river ending up in water purification facilities at different locations. when raining roughly put radioactive substances settle on to the ground 100 times more efficient. thereby promoting the contamination in the areas having precipitation. ministry of health is now advising that water works take measures against increase in radioactivity caused by the rain. mat su ro purification plant is

taking measures already. as soon as it starts raining, operators in the monitoring room at the plant remotery shuts down the intake ware at the up stream of kinugawa river. they also use grains of activated charcoal to absorb radioactive substances in the water. koshiwawa water plant in chiba is considering the suspension of water intake from the source on rainy days. at the plant in kawamata town, sedimentation basins are covered with sheets to prevent rainwater from flowing in. this official of kawamata town says that we are taking every measure possible to prevent contamination and we monitor the quality of water. professor yamazawa says if the current situation persists, we may have a similar weather

pattern. but the level of contamination and those were so low is far from the source of the leak that you need not worry too much. >> nhk has found new video footage of the powerful tsunami that hit a coastal say in iwate prefecture immediately after the march 11th quake. the tsunami was more than 20 meters high. the tallest on record so far that was caused by the quake. >> translator: the tsunami gushing into the area. this footage was taken by a local resident who had found safe ground at a hill close by. you can see sometimes the waves climb up the cliff.

and then the incoming waves and the receding waves also clash with each other. this is actually an inlet deep inside the bay. and after the -- comparing the two footage, the two pictures, you can see how the water levels had risen during the tsunami. and if you actually put a person there, you can see the scale. professor shinji sato of tokyo university analyzed this footage. and the result was that the tsunami wave height went to over 20 meters, and that would be the highest ever confirmed. professor sato says that this is a v-shaped bay and, therefore,

the incoming waves are reflected on both sides and amplified in the middle. and because of the complicated way that the wave forms interfere with each other, such detruction could easily happen. previous surveys have revealed signs of tsunami reaching areas at an altitude of 30 meters above sea level. and this footage also supports that. professor sato says he wants to continue to further analyze the footage to see more details about the local behavior of tsunami and how that travel pattern affected the destruction of buildings and houses in the area.

>> as of friday, three weeks have passed since the great east japan quake. people in the affected areas are doing their best to put their lives back in order despite the extreme hardships they are facing. >> this is kisennuma city. the town is still buried in a lot of debris. this was -- this is a cherry tree which was struck by a tsunami. the trunk has been broken. however, on the tips of some branches, there are signs of new buds. the disaster generated more than 2 million tons of debris and rubble in kisennuma city, and work is going on to remove the debris.

yesterday a new deposit site for debris was set up in kisennuma city. and people or individuals can bring in debris from private homes and privately owned land to this deposit. his house is surrounded by debris. so it is a relief to be able to dispose of some of it. this is rikuzentakata city. the first batch of provisional housing was completed in a playground of a junior high school. 36 houses were built. it has two 4 1/2 mat rooms and a bath and a toilet and a kitchen. and within this week, people will draw lots to see who can

enter. a construction official says that he wants to complete the build houses as soon as possible, and with the cooperation of many people, the first batch of houses have been completed. kamaishi city in iwate prefecture suffered severe damage from the tsunami. a moment of silent prayer is being offered for the people who died. the first session of the city assembly was held after the earthquake. and the assembly passed supplementary budget which will be used to support disaster victims and reconstruction. the mayor says that the city is no longer what it used to be so great resolution is required to.

many schools were damaged by the disaster. this is a graduation ceremony at an elementary school in miyagiyo district of sendai city. the schoolhouse was severely damaged by the tsunami so yesterday the graduation ceremony was held at a different municipal facility. many of the students are still living at evacuation centers, but all of the students of this school were safe and all 27 sixth graders were able to graduate. ♪ this girl says that she really believed that there would be no graduation ceremony so she was very happy to have the ceremony.

her mother says that she wants her daughter to grow strong. the move to encourage the survivors is spreading throughout japan. toyama city nursery school students hoisted the carp streamers. the carp streamers are hoisted to wish for the sound growth of children. and to encourage the people in the disaster zone. the carp streamers were hoisted earlier than usual. ♪ >> and now let's take a look at

the latest in business news. ai joins us. >> welcome to newsline business. i'm ai uchida. japan's central bank says sentiment among major manufacturers has improved for the first time in six months. however, the bank of japan is cautious about the view on the current business situation as many firms responded to the quarterly survey before the major disaster on march 11th. the central bank released its tonkan survey of short-term business confidence on friday covering about 10,000 firms. the index for large manufacturers stood at plus 6 points during the first three months of the year. that's a 1-point increase from the previous survey. the first improvement since last september is due to growing exports to emerging economies in january and february that helped boost corporate output. but the latest results did not reflect the impact of the devastation across the northeast and rolling power cuts in the

tokyo area as 72% of the firms had responded before march 11th. because of this, the central bank says it will take an exceptional measure by counting the replies received after the disaster date. the bank will release the results of these replies early next week. japan's leading business lobby is proposing temporary tax increases to fund rebuilding efforts in the disaster-hit northeast. they put together a proposal on thursday. it suggests raising corporate and income tax rates for a limited period and issuing emergency government bonds if a budget revision fails to set aside enough funds. the plan also includes setting up a government agency to oversee reconstruction efforts. the proposed bureau would also take counter measures for unfounded rumors on radiation risks of various products. meanwhile, the japan chamber of commerce and industry calls for

all-out efforts to help smaller enterprises recover. it suggests financial institutions should cancel interest payments for certain borrowers and provide interest-free loans for others. the chamber also proposes preferential tax treatment for quake-hit areas and a sales tax hike from fiscal 2012 or beyond so everyone can share the increased costs. the chamber's chairman tadashi okumura said it's important to clarify how much the government can help the survivors. he added it's also necessary to boost economic activities in other regions. now time for the markets. tokyo stocks moved within a narrow range on friday morning. investors held back from active trading to see how the recent disaster and ongoing nuclear crisis will affect the japanese economy. the nikkei ended the morning session at 9,744. that's down 10 points or 0.1%

from thursday's close. the central bank's business sentiment survey for the last quarter showed the first increase in six months, but market players are largely shrugging that off as the figure does not reflect the impact of the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. on to the tokyo foreign exchange, the dollar is gaining ground. the greenback is now trading between 83.55 and 58. sources say that players are selling the yen against the dollar. this move follows comments from the u.s. central bank that hint at a review of its quantitative easing policy. the dollar marked a month and a half high against the yen at one stage. now the euro is currently between 118.33 to 37. the yen weakened against the euro as participants speculated that the european central bank may raise its interest rates at its april meeting to curb inflation. now here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark 10-year japanese

government bond. and in other asian markets, we're seeing hong kong and mainland chinese markets higher. shanghai's key index for major blue chips now up over 0.75%. the earthquake has created an urgent demand for portable light. more than 17 million homes and businesses in the tokyo area are facing rolling blackouts. and many survivors in the disaster zones are without any electricity at all. in response, makers of flashlights and other emergency items are cranking up their assembly lines. >> reporter: flashlights. an essential item that's hard to come by. this factory in miya prefecture central japan makes electrical appliances. at the time of the quake, they had 750,000 flashlights in stock. a five-month supply. but all units sold out in just three days.

for the past ten years, the company has been outsourcing production of its flashlights to factories in china. but because it takes close to two months for shipments to arrive, the firm decided to start making them on site using older molds that were in storage. the factory has been operating around the clock. they are now turning out flashlights as fast as they can. >> translator: few companies in japan can manufacture flashlights. we must deliver products to those who need them. we'll continue our emergency measures until late april when stock arrives from overseas. >> reporter: batteries used in essential appliances are also in short supply. this batterymaker in osaka, western japan, has been operating 24/7. it is pumping out 1 million batteries a day. over 50% more than usual in an effort to meet demand.

>> translator: all of a sudden, we had sky-high demand for our products and the supplies used to make them. it's a challenge securing enough materials, but we're doing our best to get batteries out there. >> reporter: the blackouts have also rekindled demand for old technology. the candles made here in shizuoka were mostly used in buddhist services. but since the earthquake, a new throng of customers has seen the light. its top-selling products are now its loine of longlasting candle, some of which burn up to 24 hours. the firm used to sell 600 of the so-called emergency candles a year. since march 11th it has shipped 4,000. the factory is working to clear a back log of another 4,000 orders streaming in from the disaster zones as well as the

tokyo area. >> we are asking our customers to try and wait two to three weeks. we are short on materials now and are responding to orders as supplies come in. >> that's all for now in business news. back to the main news with catherine. >> thanks, ai. britain says the defection of libyan foreign minister moussa koussa is a severe blow to moammar al gadhafi. british prime minister david cameron urged the libyan leader's entourage to follow suit. >> it's a decision by someone right at the very top and it tells a compelling story of the desperation and the fear right at the heart of the crumbling and rotten gadhafi regime. >> koussa is a long-term aide to gadhafi. he arrived in britain on wednesday and informed the british government that he was resigning from his post. in a news conference in tripoli,

libyan government spokesman musa ebra ham confirmed moussa had resigned but played down the impact saying it was koussa's personal decision. the commander of nato's libya operations announced on thursday that nato has assumed full command of international military operations over libya. the transfer of authority was strongly requested by the united states and britain which had led the allied operation. nato is dispatching more than 200 military aircraft and 20 vessels to take part in the operation. and welcome back to your weather update. we're taking a look at conditions across japan. and we will be talking about a lot of sunshine this morning. really sunny skies that will continue to spread across the country. even from hokkaido and then down

into the kyushu area. to spread over the course of today and into the afternoon. a little more clouds start gathering, especially in the north. then for hokkaido and parts of the tohoku area, a front will swing through and bring a couple of showers, maybe even flurries for those upper elevations. otherwise, a really dry picture. elsewhere. and it should stay nice into the weekend. current temperatures across northern japan, not too bad. 8.8 in sendai. 6.5 in morioka. up to 5.5 in yamagata. much more milder temperatures this morning compared to the past couple of days. already 10 degrees in onahama and it's just going to get warmer for the most part as we head into the afternoon hours. highs are expected to reach 11 in morioka, 13 in sendai, even 17 in fukushima. really a nice spring-like day. great way to start off april. now winds will remain in a southerly direction into the afternoon. really all along the pacific coast here.

and that will also help push up those temperatures. in towards the evening, they turn more in towards westerly direction heading offshore. they should look much calmer, though in the evening hours. two-day outlook for northern cities, miyako, sendai and onahama will look at dry skies for friday and saturday. it's going to be warmest on friday. highs reaching 12 to 13 degrees. it gets a little cooler on saturday. 10 for your high in miyako and 11 in sendai. onahama with a high of 17 expected. now those morning lows, though, still on the cool side, especially miyako at 3 degrees. it's only going to get colder into sunday and into the new week. watch out for that. people in those evacuation shelters. definitely health problems could be a common issue. all right. so that's a look at your weather conditions for now. and here is your three-day outlook.

tokyo electric power company may postpone low priority work at the daiichi power plant because it doesn't have enough radiation monitors for workers. earlier it was found that the company had broken government rules by not providing each worker at the plant with a radiation monitor. tepco says many of its monitors

were damaged in the quake. this footage of the troubled power plant was taken friday morning local time from a helicopter 30 kilometers away. we will continue to give you updates and a live stream of our broadcast on the nhk world