starting over. olympus is a fantastic business. it's a fantastic business. it's got strong cash flows. and if we stop doing all the mickey mouse and nonsense -- >> the former president of olympus is calling on the company's board of directors to company. welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. the former head of olympus says it's time for the company to move on from its financial scandal. he says the only way to do that is for the board of directors to step down, michael woodford.

the optical equipment-maker is in trouble for covering up huge investment losses for years. woodford attended his first board meeting since october 14th, the day he was fired. he fell out of favor because he questioned accounting irregularities. although he is no longer ceo, he is still a board member. >> and i'm not at liberty to discuss the detailed content. we had a constructive and honest exchange. >> woodford's brief successor as ceo, tsuyoshi kikukawa and two other figures did not go to friday's meeting. they resigned from the board of directors on thursday. the trio is suspected of having a hand in the cover-up they inflated the purchase prices on acquisitions among other thing. current ceo takayama is dismissing the suggestion that the board resign and be replaced by a new management team. he doubts that would help

olympus overcome the crisis. woodford, though, is standing firm. >> there is also an understanding that these people cannot continue as directors and that there will come a point, hopefully in the near future, that they will stand down, allowing olympus to move forward. >> woodford suggested the company's strong endoscope and camera businesses will help it survive. right now, it's facing the possibility of being delisted from the tokyo stock exchange. >> olympus is a fantastic business. it's a fantastic business. it's got strong cash flows. and if we stop doing all the mickey mouse and nonsense, get that out of the way, focused on our life science business, if the banks are supportive, which i believe they would be, then i believe olympus could survive as an independent entity. very much so. >> woodford said the board agreed its top priority is to avoid delisting by presenting

financial statements for the six months until september. the deadline is december 14th. olympus spokespeople released a statement about the board meeting, saying directors exchanged views on the cover-up. a view of creating separate families headed by married female members of the imperial family. the head of the imperial household agency visited the prime minister on october 5th. he said the number of imperial female members is declining. under current imperial house law, female members of the imperial family must abandon their status when they marry commoners. will include members of whom 15

are female of six approaching a marriageable age. the heir to the throne must be member. however, created after marriage, this could pave the way for their possible succession. currently a 5-year-old prince is third in line to the throne after his uncle, the crown prince, and his father. the prince is the sole heir of the next generation. in 2005 a private panel of then prime minister studied whether the imperial household law should be revised. the discussion was prompted by the fact no boys have been born into the imperial family in 40 years. but a bill to revise imperial household law was put aside when the prince became pregnant and eventually gave birth to a son. the debate faded away. chief cabinet secretary said on

friday the government cannot afford to leave this issue untouched. but neither should it hold a hasty debate. he said a stable imperial succession relates to the basics of the nation and reveal the law should be conducted while taking account of the issue. now to the ongoing territorial dispute. the south korean government planning to build more in the sea of japan. the japanese government claims sovereignty on historical facts and international law. the south korean side disagrees. it calls the islands tokto and has coast guards there. officials with south korean ministry of land transport maritime affairs say they will build a break water with the 210-meter pier. it will be capable of handling 5,000 ton liners. also construct an underwater

observatory and a wave energy water plant. the estimated cost more than $340 million. south korea appears to be building to encourage more visitors to the island. urged south korea to cancel the project. met friday with the first vice foreign minister. he said his country regards as inherently japanese. he added south korea's new plan, if true, is unacceptable. insists the islands belong to south korea, but he said the government has not decided anything yet regarding the project. egypt build a road. the move comes after 41 people died in clashes between

protesters and security forces in the past week. demonstrators have been occupying tahrir square in central cairo and demanding that the military council hand over power immediately. the council has promised to speed up the process of introducing democracy. will hold a parliamentary election for monday as scduled. the military council appointed as the next prime minister after prime minister resigns. the protesters oppose the choice as his move to serve as prime minister and ousted president hosni mubarak. a major challenge in areas devastated by the march 11 disaster is how to dispose of the massive debris. estimated at 22 million tons, the equivalent of ten years of garbage normally produced in

those areas. heavy chunks of concrete are most difficult to deal with. they can't be easily eliminated or recycled. in our weekly segment of "the road ahead" using a rather unorthodox method. >> translator: professor of tohoku university specializes in engineering. he's trying to think of ways to use the big concrete chunks in rebuilding efforts. >> translator: it's better to use everything that's available. it's such a waste to use this material for landfill. >> reporter: but the problem is that the concrete debris was soaked in sea water at one point. and the salt quickly erodes the material. he became interested in a new technology developed by a major construction company.

>> translator: let's pour in the sea water. >> reporter: the technology, which uses sea water to make concrete, was considered to be unworkable because the salt in the sea water was thought to be concrete's greatest enemy. gravel and other particles contained in concrete tend to swell when they react with salt. as a result, the material develops cracks and breaks apart. after a series of experiments, the construction firm considered a solution, mixing cement made up of less alkaline components with a special agent can limit its reaction to salt. the company also found that the use of sea water can actually increase the strength of concrete. the needle shaped materials on the screen are created when concrete reacts with salt. they fill in tiny spaces adding strength to the material. on the left is a piece of concrete made with sea water.

and on the right is one made with fresh water. the concrete made with sea water is 1.4 times stronger. >> translator: i never thought sea water would work better in concrete. it's a product of chance. >> reporter: then another challenge arose. rust on the reinforcing rods. when the rust developed, the steel would swell and the concrete would break apart. so the researchers decided to coat the rods with a special resin. they confirmed that theoated rods remain resistant to rust for a long time. and drew up a plan to put the technology into practical use. he visited a city in miyagi prefecture where the sorting of debris is underway. he thinks breaking the debris into pieces about four

centimeters in size and then using them in place of gravel will result in a new type of concrete. >> translator: if we make use of this technology, we won't need to worry about finding dump sites for the debris. >> reporter: a senior city official promised to cooperate in the research. local governments think the new technology will be most useful in the reconstruction of break waters and levees. transportation and other costs can be reduced because most of the necessary materials can be collected on site. >> translator: demand for re-using debris is very high. my priority is to help the effected areas accelerate their efforts to deal with the massive amount of debris. >> reporter: he plans to carry out experiments and

reconstruction projects as early as next year in sendai. >> he hopes to take what he learns in sendai to other areas recovering from the disaster. "newsline" is the place to turn to post march 11. we have two unique segments offering perspectives on the fallout of the earthquake and tsunami. "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead." next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> today we begin with pakistan, which is conducting military drills with china. the media has been given ax. hideki yui explains why the two nations are trying to strengthen the military ties.

>> reporter: china's people's liberation army and pakistani's military conducted joint drills in eastern pakistan over the last two weeks. more than 500 servicemen took part. troops in helicopters raided a building on tuesday. it was used as a terrorist hideout. >> translator: pakistan's army is constantly fighting terrorists on the front lines. our military has a lot to learn from them. >> reporter: military drills are instrumental in tackling extremists fighting for independence of china's region.

pakistan's army chief warns that the movement is operating in his country. >> those elements were operating in the world. even then we had close cooperation. >> reporter: he also says the two countries will stepup their information sharing. neighboring india is increasingly worried about this cooperation. but pakistani leaders stress the military alliance is not directed at any particular country. but the military cooperation between the two countries is not limited to anti-terrorism measures. pakistan is also negotiating to purchase the latest chinese-made

fighter jet, as well as submarines. the united states is pakistan's biggest donor and ally in the fight against terrorism, but relations between the two countries have soured. pakistan hopes that china will help it procure the latest. hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. delegates from 18 nations met for last weekend's east asia summit have compiled a chairman statement that considers an expansion of the framework for talks and maritime issues. the move is seen as an attempt to deal with the growing risk between china and other claim mants of territorial sovereignty in the nation. the statement includes a japanese proposal to expand the maritime forum to cover a wider area of east asia. the annual forum was set up to discuss maritime cooperation and security issues such as the south china sea dispute.

the statement calls for military dialogue by parti including the east asia summit. it also recommends establishing a multi-national framework for discussions on territorial disputes involving the east china sea and south china sea. china opposes multi-lateral talks. >> people who have fled confl t conflicts in persecution are often unable to return home. instead, organizations like the umhcr can help them delegate to a safe third country, normally the united states or another western nation. last year japan launched a three-year pilot program to accept refugees from myanmar, becoming the first country in asia to sign up. but one year on, the project faces some hurdles. nhk world reports.

>> reporter: came to japan last year under the resettlement. spent six months learning japanese before coming to this farm for training. he struggles with the language barrier. daily conversation is difficult. not to mention the complicated vocabulary. as a result, he receives only simple tasks. >> translator: i want to work hard, but i don't understand the language at all. when i get instructions about work, i don't understand what's been said. it's very hard. >> reporter: the six-month training period finished at the

end of september. he hopes to continue working in japan. but he's worried about what the future holds. >> translator: i heard back at the refugee camp that good things are waiting for me in japan. but i found out that it was harder than i thought. >> reporter: the reality of life in japan has gradually become known to people in the refugee camp. some people get to communicate are getting anxious. the group for the second year is about to leave, but two of the six families decided not to go. this woman is one of them. she recently found out that she is pregnant and is concerned about becoming a financial

burden on her family. >> translator: i heard that my husband's earnings will not be enough to make a living in japan. we have been preparing for the move. and i don't know what to do. >> reporter: refugees are worried about whether tre will be a system to support the lives of their families. so we hope to build a framework for various organizations including local and central governments as well as nongovernmental objections to wo organizations to help the settlers. >> reporter: the refugees are feelings of uncertainty. need to have a support plan if these new residents are left to achieve a life. nhk world.

northern thailand. that's it from bangkok. thanks for joining. thanks. sumo is up next. at the grand sumo tournament, hakuho has a comfortable three-win lead after 12 days of action. friday was his first chance to clinch the championship. one more win would give hakuho his fifth consecutive title in kyushu. he's hoping to snap his winning streak. hakuho goes in hard. he keeps up the pressure, but coche

doesn't give in. hakuho gets a double inside grip and is now in command. he skillfully ducks underneath becoming the champion. >> con kbrat congratulations to

hakuho for capturing his 21st championship. now let's turn our attention. must rise to the final occasion in the next three days to rise. to earn the promotion to ozeki, he has to win two of his three remaining bouts. today he faces a tough opponent as he came out on top in the five most recent confrontations. he absorbs the initial charge. kisenosato is aggressive. baruto fights back. baruto now turns the tables and drives kisenosato back. he resists but is finally outmuscled. a costly defeat.

promotion alive. so don't miss this weekend's action. thanks, hiro. rachel ferguson is up next with weather. hello, again. let you know what the weekend has in terms of weather. things look like they'll clear up across japan here. we have a low pressure system just making an exit. and in its place will be high pressure. mostly clear and fine. there is a small low pressure system now making its way across north korea. that is going to reach hokkaido by sunday, but it's not going to be too intense in nature. you can see it's looking very clear here across much of the continent. down towards the south we will find a continuing downpours across hey nan island and vietnam. and the rain has been ongoing for the last several weeks.

unfortunately into the weekend there will be an increased risk of flooding to occur. and also with that landslides. here are your temperatures. 14 in tokyo. 10 in seoul and 9 in beijing with minus 8 in ulaanbaatar. these temperatures are really set to drop into the beginning of next week. there's going to be a very pronounced difference as a cold blast makes its way down through mongolia and northeastern china too. 20 in chongqing also shanghai tomorrow. 24 taipei and 32 for manila as well as bangkok. into north america. many of you are making your way home today from your thanksgiving festivities. in the pacific northwest, friday is going to be bringing still a little bit of snow on those roads. please do be careful. as we head into saturday, high pressure moves that away and things will be a lot clearer for you. there is another system though down towards the south. this one will be developing spreading up through the plains and into the midwest. this one bringing thunderstorms

to the front of the system rain, and behind the system it will be changing over to snow up towards the north because very, very cold and windy air -- wind, is coming in behind that system. that will be dropping temperatures by about ten degrees and it will be very, very gusty for you as well. out to the east still looking good for the next couple of days. here are your temperatures. we have 9 in vancouver. just 1 for the high in winnipeg. 13 in denver meanwhile with 20 in los angeles. 18 in oklahoma city. and we're in the low 20s for houston as well as mexico city. out to the east 16 in new york city and another warm day in d.c. at 19. all right, as we head now into europe. this is the big storm that's really going to be dominating the northern third of the continent. looking at some storm-force winds. it's going to be super stormy, actually, for scotland, particularly. and up in the mountains we'll be seeing some snow as well. much of the rest of the precipitation will be rain. snow also for north western portions of norway. you can see that wind really now

making its way down across northern poland as well as germany and into western russia here. now, below that things are looking much more settled and clear. a weakening system just to the south of italy is going to continue just to dissipate over the next 24 hours or so. here are your temperatures. out to the east 1 in moscow. 4 in kiev as well as warsaw. and 14 in athens. upper teens in rome as well as lisbon with 10 in paris and 12 in london. here's your extended forecast.

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.