japan's trade strategy at a crossroads. farmers are concerned about a trans-pacific partnership. they fear it could flood this country with cheap products and put them out of business. good evening, you're watching "newsline," i'm michio kijima in tokyo. the trans-pacific partnership, or tpp could unite countries and eliminate tariffs, but it's a devisive issue here in japan. most farmers are against it. business is for it. then there are the politicians, talk of even taking part in talks on the tpp is creating debate within the ruling

democratic party. the democrat's tpp party met for the first time. some members expressed concerns about the free trade initiative. japan's business community is calling for an early decision to join the talks. a number of democrats remain opposed to taking part in the tpp discussions with other nations. among them are lawmakers with ties to the agricultural lobby. >> translator: we should gather information and consider this carefully. it's not something we can set a deadline on. >> translator: once we decide to join the tpp and unite our economies, we've got to move on. we can't say we are worried about agriculture or other fields of interest. >> the dpj leadership wants to reach a partywide decision by early november. that would be ahead of a meeting of the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum in hawaii. japan's foreign minister said asia's oceans must remain

free. koichiro gemba wants to discuss maritime conflicts at next month's east asia summit. the growing china reach and influence is a growing concern among nations. nhk world's takuma yoshioka reports. >> reporter: koichiro gemba met marty natalegawa on friday in jakarta. it was the last leg of his trip to three southeast asian countries. gemba said he wants an upcoming summit in bali to address freedom of navigation, and anti-piracy measures in the region's waters. marty said the indonesian government understands japan's position and wants to continue consultations. gemba argued it's not just the regional issue, but a global one. >> translator: the ocean is public property.

and a matter of interest to the association of southeast asian nations and the international community. we should draw up the rules for the region through open talks. >> reporter: gemba says it's necessary to keep the asia-pacific region stable. japan and other nations are concerned about china's maritime activities. gemba says the japanese government will increase cooperation with countries in the region. on maritime security and other issues. the east asia summit and asean-related summits are scheduled for november. takuma yoshioka, nhk world, jakarta. next we go it our burg in bangkok. we have the latest on what's going on in the region.

bangkok is bracing itself with a threat of possible severe flooding over the weekend. authorities are racing against the clock to boost defenses and prevent the thai capital from being submerged but citizens are prepared for the worst. our reporter has more. >> reporter: the thai capital is being squeezed by a double threat -- floodwaters are closing in from the north while the javia river is already swollen by a spring tide that arrived on thursday. along this river in bangkok, as you can see, the water has already broken the bank. some residents have seen their homes flooded. >> translator: i've never seen the river rise so high. i'm astonished. >> reporter: bangkok is crisscrossed by waterways as

suggested by its nickname, the venice of the east. but these channels also make it easier for floodwaters to penetrate the city. around three kilometers from the city's northern limits, local residents raced to fill sandbags to reinforce flood barriers and prevent water from entering the capital. in the central business district, transit officials have sealed off some entrances to the subway network. to the east, workers have strengthened the 23.5 kilometer--long earthen dike which surrounds the international airport. they also raised its height from 3 to 3.5 meters.

but in some areas, the flood has already arrived. homes near the airport are under water, 67 meters. >> translator: if the floods get worse than this, i don't know what i'm going to do. i guess i'll have to evacuate. >> reporter: the bank of thailand has estimated the cost to the economy from the ongoing crisis at no less than $3.3 billion. residents of bangkok are waiting nervously to see what will happen to their city this weekend, amid thailand's worst floods in 50 years. for nhk world, bangkok. myanmar's president has made a rare overseas trip to india

seeking closer ties with its neighbor. the visit is drawing extra attention coming just two days after he pardoned more than 6,000 prisoners including some high-profile political detainees. thein sein received warm welcome from indian prime minister, manmohan singh, on friday. they held talks on border security and economic development. the president aims to ramp up engagement with india to counter sanctions imposed by western nations. for its part, india has an eye on myanmar's natural resources. investors also regard its population of 50 million as a potential source of efficient labor. the two sides are expected to sign trade and investment agreements during the visit.

>> but they face pressure over the release of political prisoners. groups of exiles from myanmar staged a rally on the sidelines of his visit saying the prisoner release did not go far enough. >> most of the city and political leaders and prominent people are still detained in jails. >> the government began to release more than 6,000 prisoners on wednesday, but according to the national league for democracy, only 218 political prisoners were amongst them out of a total number of 2000. comedian and activist zarganar was amongst those political prisoners freed under the president of myanmar's amnesty. in an exclusive interview with nhk, he cautioned it was too soon to be optimistic about recent signs of change. zarganar had been sentenced to

59 years in prison. he was critical of the government for rejecting international aid after a cyclone hit the country in 2008. more than 130,000 people died in the disaster. zarganar was considered a symbolic figure among myanmar's political prisoners and told nhk he has mixed feelings about his release. >> translator: i felt sad for the people remaining in prison more than i felt happy for myself. my heart goes out to them, that reduces any feelings of happiness. >> myanmar's government recently has shown signs of concessions. the thein sein president held talks with pro-democracy leader aung sun suu kyi and the government canceled a dam project opposed by pro-democracy groups citing possible environmental damage. but zarganar said he was

skeptical about the government's overtures. >> translator: just one day before my release i was convinced by what suu kyi said that myanmar was changing, but when i was set free from prison i came to feel doubts. the government has not been so generous. so i was doubtful that is true. >> looking ahead, zarganar said he would continue his fight for democracy in myanmar and also struck a tone of caution. >> translator: we have just climbed on the first step of the ladder for the multiparty democratic system that we have fought for. i want to achieve it completely. now is just the dawn. everything is covered in mist. i want to get a clear vision. >> and that wraps up our bulletin from bangkok. now let's take a look at some unique autumn foal yak.

about 30,000 kokia bushes were planted in a sea side park. branches of kokia have been used to make brooms. >> translator: kokia is beautiful. >> this colorful scene can be viewed until the end of next week. experts from the international atomic energy agency have advised the japanese government on how to effectively remove radioactive material created by the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. on friday, the team of radiation experts submitted 12-point report to japan's environment minister, hosano. the iaea recommends decontaminating areas where high levels of radiation have been

detected. since their arrival a week ago, the 12 experts have inspected decontamination work in fukushima prefecture, being carried out by central and local governments. >> translator: as a whole, japan's decontamination efforts are progressing in the right direction. >> he added that ongoing clean-up operations will incorporate recommendations from the iaea report. now after submitting their report, the iaea team held a news conference. and they touched on the japanese government plan to decontaminate areas where annual radiation exposure reaches one millisievert. >> the one-millisievert guideline is a real challenging criteria. but it will be achieved. thonly thing is that you need time to do that. >> the expert also said most of the soil removed by the decontamination work contains low levels of radiation and the possibility of human exposure is

low. he suggested there is no need to be overly concerned about radiation exposure. now, "the road ahead." in this report, we focus on the bonds that keep a community together after its inhabitants dispersed following the nuclear accident. the 74 households that make up the district of kawabusa, some 15 kilometers from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant have scattered. with no clear prospect of returning, the community members manage to carry on, thanks to newsletter published by one of their own. >> reporter: kawabusa press is a newsletter published by the inhabitants of the town. after the evacuation, the newsletter began so that community members could keep track of each other. 16 editions have been printed

since april. 73-year-old noritada nakazato publishes the newsletter, he now lives with his wife in saitama prefecture, some 200 kilometers from home. kau busa is a district surrounded by mountains. nakazato said the people of the town are like one big family. always helping each other. nakazato publishes the letter from composition to delivery. messages from community members poured in, letting him know how they are doing. >> translator: after the evacuation, there was nothing to do except eat and sleep. i've lived on the land for 85 years, and let me tell you, it was a rough time. >> reporter: the words of

toshi koroki no now lives with her daughter in saitama prefecture, like nakazato. born and raised in kawabusa, she enjoyed working the fields and chatting with her neighbors. >> translator: it's really sad, believe me, i have shed a lifetime of tears. >> reporter: the first edition of the kawabusa newsletter reached her on the day she turned 85. >> translator: i found this in the late afternoon. i didn't know the newsletter was being published. i was so happy to receive it. >> reporter: the news letter lifted her spirits. she started taking walks to make sure she will be strong enough for her return to kawabusa.

>> translator: well 4.5 microsieverts per hour, that's the level of radiation i found in my garden when we returned home briefly on july 31st. >> reporter: as a farmer who grew rice and pears, yoshitomo yokota is in a quandary. when he temporarily returned home to collect personal belongings, he discovered that his pear orchard was in terrible condition and the radiation level he measured was still twice the official limit for compulsory evacuation. yokoto is now working for a gardening company. he is hoping that this will help him start his business again after his return. at this point keeping track of fellow residents after receiving the newsletter inspires him to carry on. >> translator: i know they're working hard to overcome obstacles, so i think i also

need to keep pushing myself. >> reporter: since april, the newsletter has carried four obituaries. to nakazato, these letters symbolize the plight of the evacuees. >> translator: to leave like that, while away from home, it's just beyond words. >> reporter: every single day, nakazato makes a point of writing down impressions. >> translator: failing to return to kawabusa would be a defeat. we must demonstrate to those responsible for the nuclear accident that we are determined to return to kawabusa and restart our lives. >> reporter: scatter aid cross

japan because of nuclear radiation, the people of kawabusa have not given up. thanks in part to the messages of hope carried by their newsletter. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss in which wach and "the road ahead," on "newsline." the european debt crisis will likely dominate the discussions at a meeting of group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers that will start in paris later on friday. the officials will be discussing plans to reinforce the european financial stabilization facility or efsf, it's designed to provide assistance to any euro

member facing financial trouble. they also plan it consider recapitalization of banks in the region, youings public funds to insure their stability. japan is sending finance minister, jun azumi and the central bank governor, shirakawa. >> translator: japan has a bitter experience of failing to dispose of nonperforming loans in time. i want to talk about the need for establishing a major framework to shore up financial institutions. that will include the european financial stabilization facility. >> the meeting will last for two days, the outcome of the discussions will be announced in a communique'. now, here's more news from around the world. an armed group kidnapped two spanish aid workers on thursday from a refugee camp in kenya. the two women worked for medecins sans frontieres near the border with somalia.

>> translator: we energically condemn this attack. msf is in contact with the authorities and doing everything we can to insure the quick return of our colleagues. >> kenyan police suspect an islamic group based in smaly of staging the attack. but their motives remain unknown. a bus plunged into a deep valley in nepal on thursday, leaving at least 41 people dead and 15 injured. the accident occurred on a very narrow portion of a mountain road. police say the bus was overloaded with 60 passengers, instead of the maximum 40. and the driver may have lost control. many of the victims were returning to work after celebrating the hindu festival. firefighters held annual drills in the tokyo bay area on friday, to prepare for major earthquakes. the exercises were based on the scenario that a magnitude 7 tremor hit the japanese capital. the firefighters practiced putting out fires, emergency workers also simulated

extinguishing burning oil spills in tokyo bay caused by a cargo ship accident. rachel ferguson is up next with weather. >> hi there, time for the weather. we'll head into eastern asia. more heavy downpours, unfortunately across indochina as we can see, plenty of cloud here and below it is going to be a lot of wet weather. very unfortunate. there's a critical flood situation here in across thailand as well as parts of cambodia as well. so unfortunately, not any relief coming this weekend. and those terms. we also have tropical storm banyan here. it's a tropical depression at the moment, but it looks like in the next 12 do 24 hours it is going to become a tropical storm once again. this is the same system that crossed the philippines earlier this week. so it's going to get a little more energized as we head on into the weekend, bringing more downpours across not only the northern philippines and also into taiwan. taiwan is also being affected by

this front which is getting ready to leave eastern china. move up towards japan. it is going to be a very wet and stormy weekend for many of us across japan and in terms of the accumulation of the rainfall, this is what we're looking at in the next 24 hours. anywhere you're seeing in the red here down towards the south and particularly along the pacific edge, 250 millimeters in the next 24 hours. and maybe even about 150 here in eastern tokyo. these are going to be, we can add to the totals in the next 48 hours as the heavy rain makes its way up towards the north. not only that, but after the rain pulls away, there's going to be a separate system moving across into hokkaido, so sunday into monday it's going to be wet towards the north as well. though it probably won't be quite as severe. 25 degrees in tokyo with showers tomorrow. 17 in seoul, 20 in beijing. cooler in ulan bator, just eight for the high. shanghai looking at 23. a little bit cooler in taipei, still hot at 27 and 31 in manila as well as as in bangkok.

in central america and southern mexico were definitely worth a mention here, very heavy downpours are continuing, likely to result in some floods. perhaps landslides, mudslides as well. very high risk here as the heavy rain continues in towards the weekend. towards the north, though, it does look very dry here across much of now southeastern parts of the u.s. much of canada and the u.s. as you can see out towards the west looking very dry and settled. strong high pressure. but out towards the northeast is a completely different story. eastern canada is going to be seeing some very heavy rain. maybe even up to about 100 millimeters in the next 24 hours. strong gusts as well. maybe about 95 kilometers per hour gusts. and the heavy rain also pushing into in new england. so possibly seeing some flooding problems here, it's going to be a little bit cooler as well. 17 in toronto on friday. comes down to about 13 on saturday. already very cool in winnipeg at seven degrees for the high.

13 in seattle and vancouver, different story down here in the southwest. los angeles, 31 degrees, it should be back down to about average on your saturday. so coming back to the mid 20s for your high. as we head into europe, we have this big massive cloud coming down across the british isles, i think the wet weather is going to start probably by your friday night you can start to see the showers coming in. the rest of western europe, central europe, northern europe, too, looking not too bad. at the moment you can see the showers coming into western norway for the time being. high pressure is in control. we will see the storms continuing to the southeast. heavy rain coming into you in greece and precipitation out to the east. probably falling for you as snow in ukraine as well as belarus, we're looking for single-digit highs, moscow, four for a high in the middle of october. 17 in london, a lot better than you had through most of the summer months, and a little cooler but still well above average in iberia. here's your extended forecast.

giant patchwork quilts carrying messages from canadian kids to young survivors of the march 11th disaster are on display at the canadian embassy in tokyo. two giant quilts combining about 850 pieces of white cloth carry messages and drawings by canadian children aged between three and 17. some painted the national flags

of both countries. others attached their photos or wrote messages in japanese, saying never give up. also on display are thank you letters from the japanese kids. the quilts were the ideas of a linda ohama, a filmmaker and third-generation japanese-canadian. >> i think the general message from both sides, from canada and japan from the young people is that they care about each other. and they want to see everyone have, you know, recover. the children are expressing care for each other. >> the quilts have also been shown at evacuation centers and temporary housing communities in disaster-hit areas in northeastern japan. that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline," we'll be back with more news in half an hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo.

thank you for watching, bye-bye.