taking center stage. southeastern asian leaders meet with the u.s. and china about territorial disputes and maritime security. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. >> leaders from the association of southeast asian nations are pulling together to confront a long-standing issue. a dispute over who controls the south china sea.

they met face-to-face today with chinese premier jiabao and talked to president barack obama. patchari raksawong is in bali with details of the asean meeting. >> reporter: the ten leaders of asean held separate meetings friday with the u.s. president and chinese premier. topping the agenda, of course, the south china sea. jiabao was first to meet with asean friday morning telling the bloc they can begun to work out a code of conduct, or coc, for handles disputes in the south chine that sea. he responded china intended to join that process and would continue negotiations and added outsiders should not get involved in the south chine that sea issue. the foreign minister of indonesia currently chairing asean welcomed china's position. >> there's an open line to begin the process of negotiation through discussions on theoc. >> reporter: the meeting with u.s. president barack obama took

place on friday evening. obama said the united states shares asean's position on the south china sea issue. obama had indicated that he will raise the topic of maritime security at the east asia summit on saturday when china will also be in the room. the islands and reefs of the south china sea are potentially rich sources of oil and gas. some asean members have clashed with china over rival claims to that area. china says it holds sovereignty over almost the entire south china sea and its vessels there have become increasingly assertive. now we are joined by a man from nhk's bureau and as well, from the beijing bureau. how did asean fare in the latest rounds of meetings and what has it achieved so far? >> the ten members of the association wants to urge china

to agree to regulations to bring stability to the south china sea. the first participation of u.s. president barack obama at the east asian summit on saturday giving asean efforts and a boost. a note of conciliation from wen jiabao, discussing a plan. >> reporter: what about the effort to adopt these binding rules? >> yes. the chinese premier wen jiabao accentuated his stance. he said foreign powers should not meddle in measures relating to the south china sea. that is the united states and japan. those countries have been trying to work in concert with asean nations to introduce regulations in the waters.

china wants to maintain leadership over the issue. the country did not make any compromise on its stance that the disputes must be settled between talks between the parties concerned. china is cautious about any binding code of conduct. it stops short of making any pledge on either the negotiations or the potential regulation. >> reporter: back to you. how is asean likely to approach chine 45 from now on? >> it's really to talk about the issues. so asean will work hand in hand with the united states. namely, the great power of china with a seat at the negotiating table. >> reporter: thank you both very, very much indeed. now, in a fresh development in myanmar, the opposition led by pro democracy leader aung san suu kyi decided to reregister as a political party to prepare for

a bye election probably later in the year. the league for democracy or nlb indicated its leader is likely to run for the election herself. the decision was made when the nlb held a meeting of representatives across the nation on friday. aung san suu kyi apparently aims to take an active part in myanmar's move towards democracy. the nlb was discovered by the military government after it boycotted the first general election in myanmar in two decades last november. parliament allowed aung suu kyi to participate. united states president barack obama said he would send secretary of state hillary clinton to myanmar next month. >> we want to seize what could be a historic opportunity for progress and make it clear that if burma continues to travel down the road of democratic reform, it can forge a new relationship with the united states of america.

>> reporter: obama talked with aung san suu kyi by telephone a day earlier assuring her they must move towards democracy and told her of clinton's planned visit. clinton will likely meet with government officials as well as sang san suu kyi. he visit is seen as a test by the obama administration of myanmar's reform and whether they should warrant re-assessment of sanctions. they will take the spotlight here in bali. asean leaders joined by counterparts including the united states and china. barack obama will become the first u.s. president to attend the summit. chinese premier wen jiabao will also take part. obama in recent days vowed to strengthen ties with the asian-pacific as part of his national security policy.

attention will be focused on political dynamics, the u.s. and china both trying to expand influence over asean in terms of the south china sea territorial dispute and, of course, myanmar will also be on the agenda. so join us again tomorrow for updates. i'm patchari raksawong reporting from bali. >> thanks, patchari. sure we will check with you on that. >> former philippine president has been arrested on electoral fraud charges. arroyo was arrested for results in an election in 2007. the president then also accuses her of corruption during her two terms in office. the former president denies wrongdoing and instead accuses the government of political persecution. on tuesday authorities prevented arroyo from leaving the country to seek medical treatment in singapore.

she was arrested and friday while recovering at a hospital in manila. fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. a new survey shows the number of births in fukushima prefecture in the three months following the nuclear power accident fell by 25%. it looks like many expectant mothers have chose to move away from the prefecture to give birth over concerns of radioactive contamination. the japan association of obstetricians and gynecologists surveyed more than 700 medical institutions handling deliveries between april and june. the number of births per institution came to 67 down from

90 in the same period last year. this means they are worth 1,000 fewer deliveries in the prefecture during the three-month period than a year earlier. meanwhile, some prefectures there were more babies born than a year earlier. professor akihito nakai who took part in the survey said the baby boom was due to the arrival of the fukushima mothers. he is calling on authorities to work out measures to deal with the heavy psychological births. people who live in fukushima prefecture walk a road to recovery along different paths. many try to rebuild their homes. others, their businesses. some struggle just to get up every day. this week, on "the road ahead," we meet some people that have taken some steps, many steps to regain their pride. every one of those steps went up. >> narrator: poets first wrote about this mountain centuries ago. hikers have been climbing it for just as long. mount atatana rises 1,700 meters. things have changed. at the foot of the mountain, 3,000 people live here in temporary housing. they moved here after the disaster in march. yuko kato lost her house in the tsunami. she lost her husband two years

ago. kato says she felt overwhelmed. then, she learned about a program here just for evacuees. she wanted to climb a mountain for the first time in her life. >> translator: i have to change my frame of mind and keep my chin up. i want to let bygones be bygones and use this opportunity to make a fresh start. >> reporter: she made this opportunity happen. she grew up here in fukushima, thou she made her name somewhere else. she was the first woman in the world to reach the summit of mt. everest. she climbed many other peaks too. she said she wanted to help people in fukushima restore their pride. >> translator: when i told some people i was from fukushima, they took a few steps back.

it was shocking. so i want to take the initiative in letting the world know about the charms of fukushima. >> narrator: 19 people joined her at the base of the mountain. some lost their families in the disaster. others lost jobs they have done all their lives. each set off for the summit with their own challenges. >> narrator: yoko kato started fall willing behind one hour into the climb. >> take a deep bret and exhale. keep going. >> narrator: kato kept moving one step at a time toward the peak. an hour later, they saw something encouraging. that's the peak. it is in the gas. >> narrator: some of them stumbled, all of them struggled but in the end, every one of them made it to the summit. >> miss kato, that's the summit.

that's the peak. it is in the gas. >> narrator: some of them stumbled, all of them struggled but in the end, every one of them made it to the summit. >> miss kato, that's the summit. we are almost there. we did it! let's give ourselves a hand. just a few more steps to go. let's take a picture together. >> translator: these are happy tears. i joined this event to leave my loneliness in the mountains. as i kept climbing, i noticed

the mountain was invigorating me. >> translator: invigorating and exhausting. they will all keep the pictures of their climb and the memories of what they conquered. >> the decision comes before a ruling on another former cult figure.

the cult was responsible for a series of crimes including the 1995 gas attack on the tokyo subway system that killed more than a dozen people and left more than a thousand sick. this video shows him showing his 1-year-old son on the seat of a swing. and this is footage of his wife. one month later in november, 19789, the three were killed. their bodies were buried separately. he was involved in the tokyo subway system gas attack. the tokyo district and high courts both sentenced him to death. it was said he was hallucinating when he committed the crimes. the appeal was rejected. presiding justice said he played

an important role in all of the cult's killings and making the chemical for the tokyo attack. the court rules that the defendant bears an extremely grave responsibility and should not escape the death penalty. 11 have had their sentences finalized. this includes cult founder. this woman's husband was killed in the gas attack in tokyo. she was not surprised with the court ruling. >> translator: i was able to confirm the court decision with

my own ears. it's no wonder i'm not surprised at all. >> he is a spokesperson for the new name taken. he says he will follow the court cases and there is nothing more

to say. also known as. the cult founder instructed him to take part in a number of crimes. he quit working a year later. the medical training made him a valuable member of the cult. he helped manufacture the group of nerve gas. admitted his involvement in almost all of his crimes during his trial. he described things in a letter he mails before the supreme court's ruling. >> i feel the reasons behind the incidents have not yet been fully disclosed. i wish he had provided a full explain nation because there are many things that only he knew. i hope from the bottom of my heart that ins tents like the ones we caused will never happen again. >> this man has devoted his life to figuring out why these members killed their daughter sor. he and many others wondered. >> noble experiences before he

joined. he said he saw white light climbing up his body. this forced him to think about quitting his job. >> i was drawn to him like a moth to a light. >> he joined the cult when he was a student. he describes how the leader attracted people. >> a person with a psychological physical illness would visit.

if he or she was able to overcome the sickness by following his instructions, that person was driven to have faith in him. >> that same faith drove him to commit vicious crimes. >> i have produced the chemical many times and inhaled the gas. the possibility of creating an atomic bomb he would activate on his own. >> he recognizes the complexity of the crimes committed. their motives remain unknown. >> translator: the defendant claims he is not to blame because he merely followed orders. even if he was trifen to commit the crimes, it's his own responsibility to protect himself. believing religion was all to blame is a sin. >> sumo is up next. sumo. we look at the situation after six days of action from the kyushu basho. three tied for the lead and seven run off the paces how it

was going into the day. let us begin our recap with the king of the ring, yokozuna hakuho. he was first fought in 2009. hakuho is chasing his 21st title and looks on track. but it is not going scripted as aran forces hakuho to go to plan b. now, it is plan c. hakuho pulls out the stops and finally forces out the russian. it wasn't his best work but he is still undefeated. kotoshogiku is having a fifth time as the new ozeki.

gagamaru is big and will take some to be beaten. right away the ozeki gets his favorite grip and takes the georgian to the edge. normally, he would use his stomach pushing his way to

victory. instead, he does this, a perfect start. the feature bout of the day was kakuryu and kisenosato. a win by kakuryu would keep him at the top of the leaderboard. kisenosato can't afford too many losses if he wants to become an ozeki. kisenosato can thrust or fight. kakuryu gets in the first hit. he takes an angle pushing attack. kakuryu is no match as he is pushed out and suffers his first loss. kisenosato is back on track. day seven next and the weekend. so we hope to see more fans inside the fukuoka arena. hakuho and kotoshogiku should win but you never know what will happen. join us tomorrow for a recap from kyushu. >> before we move on let's have a look at very cool animals as they get light exercise. >> these are king penguins at zoo in nagasaki, southwestern japan. they take walks outside for exercise when the weather begins to cool down. these kings of the world will continue their stroll until early may. rachel ferguson is up next with weather. all right. time to see what the weekend has

in store weatherwise around the globe. we're going to start in eastern asia. specifically with japan. very heavy rain is starting to make its way from west to east across the country. already in nagasaki, very, very snificant rainfall. that's going to continue and it will move right up towards the north as well. to give you an idea of accumulation we're expecting in the next 24 hours, look here. you can see anywhere in the red up to 250 millimeters of rainfall is likely. heaviest along the pacific coast here, contrary and including tokyo, maybe seeing 150 millimeters with up to 100 towards the north. in itself, a very significant totals we're looking for. on saturday, we're going to see

all the heavy rain and temperatures are going to be above average as well. we've got this warmth surging up from the south. so temperatures way above normal. it will start to come down into sunday, monday, when we see the system pull away and then the usual wintry pattern continuing across japan, which we'll see effect snows for hokkaido. high pressure pushing out the showers from the eastern coast of china and still have another 24 hours. those showers across taiwan, really hit hard this week by the heavy rain, but by monday, we should see a much drier picture. certainly something to look forward to there. 24 degree, forecast for tokyo as we start the end of november. that's not what we usually see this time of year at all. 13 degrees in seoul. 9 in beijing and minus 11 in ulan bator, part of the icy blast making its way down here into sunday and then into monday. all right. head now into north america. out towards the east and the south, nothing too much brewing, but we have a very big snow event making its way across western locations. right along the u.s./canada border, expanding up into eastern canada. so widespread snow.

it's not going to be far too heavy. the darker shades, maybe 20 centimeters or so accumulating, but widespread up the coast and rain, of course, but turning over to snow quickly as the system moves inland. minus 4 for the high in winnipeg. 5 in seattle as well as vancouver and out to the east as well, single digit highs. 26 in miami and 22 in houston, texas. all right. as for europe, starting to look very unstable indeed here down towards the uthwest.

showers across the british isles. the heavy stuff will be here in portugal and spain. both sides actually the iberian peninsula and southern france. we see a system developing here which could turn a little nasty. storms, gusts, thunder and lightning. even out towards the east you can see strong high pressure is keeping things very clear. we'll see snow moving across the north ear. temperatures will reflect that wintry precipitation. 7 in stockholm. 2 for the high in moscow. 8 in berlin. 3 in warsaw. mid teens in nassau and london not bad at 13 degrees. here's your extended forecast. as we've been reporting

as we've been reporting tonight, former philippine president gloria arroyo arrested on fraud charges. arroyo was arrested for results in an election in 2007. the president then also accuses her of corruption during her two terms in office. the former president denies wrongdoing and instead accuses the government of political persecution. on tuesday authorities prevented arroyo from leaving the country to seek medical treatment in singapore. she was arrested and friday while recovering at a hospital in manila. fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. that's our broadcast.

i'm michio kijima, thank you for watching. bye-bye.