contaminated waters. eight months after the disaster, the struggle to clean water, for clean water continues. welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. japan's environment ministry says downstream radiation levels have risen in some rivers in fukushima prefecture. the ministry has been monitoring radiation levels in rivers near the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant to assess the impact of the accident there. officials took sand samples from two rivers in september. the upstream radioactive cesium

levels were over 3,000 becquerels per kilogram in itate. the downstream levels of the same river in an area of soma city were 13,000 becquerels. the upstream levels had fallen to one-fifth of those observed in may, but the downstream measurements had tripled. cesium levels near the mouth of another river in soma city where were nearly 30,000 becquerel. they have doubled since may. kinki university hideo yamazaki says radiation levels should be monitored near river mouths as radioactive substances in riverbed sands are probably moving downstream. a survey team of the international atomic energy agency has drawn up final recommendations on how to remove the radioactive substances released from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the team handed the report to the japanese government on tuesday. the 80-page report is based on the team's visit to fukushima prefecture last month.

the report urges central and local governments to find final disposal sites for contaminated topsoil and other materials so they won't cause health problems. the experts say the decontamination work should start from locations where high levels of radiation are detected. they advise that much of the radioactive waste in urban areas can be treated at existing disposal facilities because the radiation levels are low by the iaea safety standards. the team asks authorities to set up road signs to warn people they are approaching the evacuation zone around the troubled plant. the iaea says it will provide technological support according to the japanese government's requests. in other news, kendo is the traditional martial art of sword fighting. at the national kendo championship held earlier this month, one of the competitors was a police officer who has

been deeply involved in the search for missing people since the march 11th disaster. for him, taking part in this competition was not just a test of his swordsmanship, it was a challenge with a deeper significance. >> reporter: competitors from all over japan gathered in tokyo, each with the aim of becoming the top kendokai in the country. 27-year-old kenji kanazewa is a police officer in the miyagi prefecture. this was his first appearance in the national championship. >> translator: i'm here to show that miyagi will not be overcome by the disaster. >> reporter: more than eight months has now passed since the devastating earthquake and tsunami. >> translator: there are still

many missing people here in onagawa. our knjob is to find them. >> reporter: even now, local police forces are continuing their search in the disaster area. kanazawa has been part of the operation since day one. he's seen numerous bodies and many tragic sights that still haunt him to this day. >> translator: it's impossible to put it all into words. i just want to return as many bodies to their families as possible. while i'm searching, i can't think about kendo. >> reporter: for three months after the disaster, the kendo training center was used to house police officers who arrived from all over japan to help.

all kendo sessions were canceled but kanazawa continued to train by himself in the little spare time that he got. he says he has drawn inspiration from the resolute way the survivors picked up their lives following the disaster. >> translator: just like swings a sword, you can't waste a single second. you have to make the most of every moment. >> reporter: his approach to kendo has changed as well. before, he used to fight more defensively, but now he goes on the attack, fighting fearlessly. this year he won the prefectural kendo competition and for the first time, he qualified for the national championship, which he'd always dreamed of. in his first round bout, kanazawa was up against a fighter from hiroshima.

right from the start, he attacked relentlessly. however, his opponent took advantage of a momentary opening in kanazawa's defense. although he was unable to win, he says he will try to retain the "never say die" spirit he gained from working in the disaster area. >> translator: i wrote "dreams don't run away." it was my dream to make it to the nationals and i did. never give up. >> kanazawa says he's continuing to practice hard and has his eyes set on making it to the nationals again next year.

"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 "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." ai uchida joins us now for the latest in business news. european bonds are being sold heavily >> that's right, catherine, investors dumping the italian and spanish bonds tuesday, that's on concern that problems may further spread. italy's ten-year bond yields rose above 7%, a level that raises a red flag over whether the debt-ridden country can carry out fiscal reconstruction

on its own. spanish bond yields sur passioned 6.3%, nearing their highest levels since the country's introduction of the euro. italian bond prices were sold amid anxiety that the incoming prime minister may have difficulty forming a new cabinet. investors sold spanish bonds after the country began offering high yields for the short term issues. the european union imposed tougher regulations on major credit agencies, the move comes amid criticism their assessment of sovereign debt is what is spreading credit worries in the union. the market commissioner michel barnier said it poses considerable risk to the market. to improve transparency barnier says further information is needed on the rating of government bonds. specific measures under consideration include a complete disclosure of underlying data

and as well 24-hour advanced notice to governments when debt ratings are being changed. u.s. retail sales rose in october for the fifth straight month as americans spent more on electronics, autos and building supplies. the commerce department said on tuesday that october retail sales were nearly $398 billion. that's up 0.5% from the previous month. sales of electronics products jumped 3.7%. buildings materials posted a 1.5% increase and automobiles and auto parts 0.4%. personal spending is seen as the driving force of the u.s. economy, amid the gloomy job situation. analysts say sustained growth in retail sales is the key to a full-fledged recovery. all eyes are on the christmas and new year shopping season when retailers earn a majority of their sales. and this piece of news also from the united states. new york police detained more

than 140 anti-wall street protesters on tuesday, after they resisted eviction from a park used as a campaign base. several hundred officers were mobilized to evict protesters from the park near the financial district. they had been camping in the park since mid september, campaigning against economic inequality. new york mayor michael bloomberg explained the protesters had become a health and fire hazard to themselves and the local community. hundreds of people responded by marching in several places in the city. they're likely to continue trying to use the park, despite the authorities' ban. leaders of the world's major exporters of natural gas are calling for a fair price for the fuel. the gas exporting countries forum or gecf issued a declaration on tuesday, after its first summit meeting in qatar. the forum's 12 members,

including russia, iran and qatar, stressed the need to reach a fair price for natural gas on par with oil. natural gas prices have been lower compared with those of oil, despite increasing demand for the fuel. consumer countries are concerned that gas producers group could become an international cartel. >> this is not intended to manipula manipulate, raise prices. it sees its role as a stabilizing factor for the gas markets. >> the gecf member nations hold nearly 70% of the world's natural gas reserves. tokyo stocks are moving in a narrow range this wednesday morning on persistent concerns over european debt. the nikkei is currently trading higher by just about 0.2%, currently at 8,558, the topix moves sideways currently at 731.

skepticism remains over the new italian prime minister's ability to implement a fiscal reform, due to his lack of political clout. many investors are holding back from active trading to see if credit worries spread to other debt-strapped nations like spain. on the tokyo foreign exchange, the dollar is moving in a narrow range against the yen this wednesday. market players are selling the euro against the yen over concerns of possible are spreading of europe's debt crisis to other areas. the greenback is at 77.01-09 yen, the euro at 104.13-15 yen. let's take a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-year government bond. also let's get you a recap of the latest market figures.

that's the latest from business. now it's back to catherine >> thanks very much, ai. japan's emperor akihito will remain hospitalized for the time being for a persistent fever. doctors at the university of toke row hospital held a news conference on tuesday to brief reporters on the emperor's condition. they said he had a mild fever and bronchitis when he entered the hospital on november 6th. he was scheduled to leave last friday but the fever returned. doctors said the emperor's temperature is still high and he's lost his appetite. they also said he may be developing bronchitis again or have a new respiratory infection. they're now giving him other types of antibiotics. the medical team did not specify how much longer the emperor will

have to stay in the hospital. they said that even if he can be discharged in a week or so, they want him to rest until the end of the month. luton has donated to japan two rare swallow-tailed butterflies native to the himalayan. the buton swallowtail is the size of an adult's palm. its wings have dark red markings and three tails. one such butterfly was spotted in august for the first time in nearly 80 years by researchers from japan and buton. the male and female swallowtails were given to japanese experts by a delegation, accompanying the king of buton, who is visiting japan. importing and exporting the butterfly without permission is banned by the convention on international trade and endangered species. tuesday's donation was possible after buton conducted official export procedures.

>> translator: we hope research on these rights will help us study the evolution of wildlife in the himalayan mountains. with 1.3 billion people, china is the most populous country in the world. for the past three decades it has managed to keep its population in check by imposing a limit of one child per couple. however this strict one-child policy is having profound repercussions on chinese society today. nhk's kszutoshi yushi reports. >> reporter: this demonstration held in hong kong last month drew about 400 people, including a number of pregnant women. they were protesting the growing

number of mainland women coming to give birth in the country. the demonstrators were demanding that the hong kong government curb this practice. >> translator: there's no room in hong kong hospitals for local women to give birth. all the places are booked up. >> reporter: china's rapid economic growth has led to growing unrest and since couples are only allowed to have one child, they are prepared to spend as much as possible to provide a better future for their children. it can cost $6,400 to $16,000 to give birth in hong kong, but many couples are prepared to pay that much, because children born in the territory of eligible for special privileges such as visa-free travel to more than 140 countries.

>> translator: 60% of the babies at our hospital were born to mothers from the mainland, and the number has grown in the past few years. >> reporter: this chart shows china's population by age group. in 1980, soon after the one child policy was introduced, young people were in the majority. but 30 years later, the number of children has plummeted. by 2050, the younger generation will be far outnumbered by the elderly and will be unable to support them. the situation is particularly acute in rural areas with young people moving away to find work

in the cities. 65-year-old rishu jo lives in a mountainous area of fujian province in southern china. his wife, li sichui is 60. they both used to work but since retiring five years ago say they live on their pensions. >> translator: this is our daughter when she was 8. >> reporter: their daughter, sao, was born around the time the one-child policy was introduced. they doted on her and expected her to look up to them the way they had taken care of their own parents. sao decided to enroll in the university in beijing. after graduating, she found a job in the capital and got married. she has never returned home.

this summer, rinshudo was injured when a thief broke into their house. >> translator: i was cut right here. >> reporter: fortunately it was a light injury but the cost of the medical treatment was more than he could afford on his pension. he and his wife are worried about what will happen to them now that their daughter is living so far away. >> translator: things are all right now while we are still in good health. but i don't know what would happen if one of us falls ill. >> reporter: while the one-child policy helped to prevent population explosion, it reached to the erosion of ancient

tradition of children supporting their parents. now china is facing major challenge stemming from its rapidly aging society. kazutoshi iishi, nhk world. all right, now let's take a look at the latest in sumo with murray johnson. >> time for our recap of sumo action on day three of the kyushu tournament. the crowd numbers are down as usual in fukuoka, but the sumo in our highlight bouts is up, so let's get to it. kisenosato is poised for a run at ozeki promotion. started in great form. toyonoshima has beaten two ozeki in the opening two days. kisenosato starts strong with his thrusting attack. and toyonoshima wants to get inside but he cannot. constant movement has the smaller man on the defensive. kisenosato is a man on a mission and delivers blow after blow to thrust his way to victory to

begin with a perfect start. homasho has reached his rank of komosubi after 32 tourneys. he looks not a bit nervous in his debut as an ozeki. kotoshogu gets straight inside. he delivers a thrust that stirs the local crowd into a frenzy with the hometown man undefeated after three days. yokozuna hakuho looks in great form as usual, and on day three was taking on a rank and filer he's never lost to. it proved an exciting finish to the day. hakuho has slimmed down since the last basho and looks terrific. goeido likes to fight low but has yet to beat the yokozuna. goeido attacks, gets the hit inside and it looks a close call. the replay shows hakuho glancing across to make sure goeido hits the dirt first. calm and collected, hakuho wins

again. the only downside despite the small crowds at the arena is once again the poor starts by three ozeki who already have losses. we hope they turn things around from day four tomorrow. we'll see you then. >> all right our murray johnson there with the latest in sumo action. it's a chilly and windy wednesday morning in japan. let's see what's in the forecast for the country and the rest of the world with saiaka mori. hello and welcome to your weather update. starting off with japan, cool air is covering most of the country bringing the coldest air of the season. morning lows dropped in the single digits even in the tokyo area. now the southern portion of the country is looking at dry conditions, but the northern half is seeing sea effect snow. actually we have some wintry scenes coming out of asahikawa,

hoe qaeda this morning. six centimeters were seen in asahikawa. they will continue to see on and off snow showers throughout wednesday, reduced visibility will be a concern with the wintry weather. temperatures will slowly recover into a seasonal level as we head into friday. as for china, the inland and the northeastern portions are looking at some light precipitation and down towards the south the northern and central philippines as much of taiwan are continuing with ongoing heavy rain. the ground is already very well saturated to additional rain could trigger landslides as well as flooding here. for the indo china peninsula, it should stay largely dry, excluding vietnam, the central portion also see rain developing over the course of today. as for highs, we're expecting

only 15 degrees in tokyo, despite the sunshine, and 14 in seoul, staying a seasonal 10 in beijing and 16 in chongqing, and you may see snow in ulan bator is only minus 2 degrees. heading over to the americas then, a long rain band is extending from texas all the way up to new england. underneath the clouds you're seeing heavy rain especially stormy across the southern plains and the lower mississippi valley, the threats of severe thunderstorms, hail, damaging winds and even tornadoes will continue into tonight here. the stormy conditions will move eastward and will target the southeast corner of the u.s. in the next 24 hours. the southern plains will see drier conditions on wednesday. up towards the north a mix of rain and snow can be found in central canada and the northern plains and that will affect ontario, you may see strong winds here on wednesday. meanwhile, a low pressure system is approaching the west coast of

british columbia, bringing heavy mountain snow and coastal rain for the northern portions, and the vancouver area as well as the pacific northwest will start to see a mix of rain and snow, as well as freezing rain in the next 24 hours. as for wednesday's highs, we're expecting 13 deg toronto and 5 degrees in chicago, and only minus 2 degrees in winnipeg, but the east coast is on the mild side at 16 in new york and 17 in washington, d.c., and it's going to be a summer-like 28 degrees in houston. all right, that's it for me now and here is your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, japan's environment ministry says downstream radiation levels have risen in some rivers in fukushima prefecture. the ministry has been monitoring radiation levels in rivers near the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant to assess the impact of the accident there. officials took sand samples from two rivers in september.

the upstream radioactive cesium levels were over 3,000 becquerels per kilogram in the river in the northern village of itate. downstream levels of the same rirve in an area of soma city were 13,000 becquerels. they had fallen to one fifth of those observed in may, but downstream measurements tripled. cesium levels near the mouth of another river in soma city were nearly 30,000 becquerel. they have doubled since may. kinkeo university professor says radiation levels should be monitored near river mouths as radioactive substances in riverbed sands are probably moving downstream. that's all for this hour of "newsline." do stay with us and we'll have more news at the top of the next hour.

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