failing grade. an independent report says the operator of fukushima daiichi and the japanese government made mistakes before, during and after the march nuclear accident. a panel of investigators says people who run nuclear power plant need to forsee the unforeseen. the japanese government appointed the panel to point out what went wrong at fukushima daiichi. its interim report blames tokyo electric power company and the government for their mistakes. the investigation started in june. the ten members of the panel interviewed 456 people, including tepco workers and

government officials. their report describes how tepco predicted in 2008 that a tsunami higher than ten meet cores hit the plant. they failed to strengthen their measures. the report says that in action ultimately failed to prevent melt downs at fukushima daiichi. panel members also criticized tepco's initial response to the doesn't. they say fire trucks should have been sent in earlier to pump water into the reactors. that may have lessened damage it fuel rods thereby releasing release of radiation. the report also found problems with the government's handling of the crisis. a computer system that predicts how radio active materials spread in the event of a nuclear accident wasn't used when evacuations were planned. and evacuation orders were not precise. so they failed to probably reach the affected municipalities. an expert is calling for further investigation. >> it should be clarified

whether the prime minister's office took effective action while the accident was in are gres and the situation remained volatile. they should access the crisis management system and comment on the matter in their final reports. >> the panel is expected to release its final report next year. now nhk world read the interim report and spoke us to earlier to tell b to tell us about some of the highlights. >> specialists hand picked by the utility but the government report comes from be a independent committee so it could be seen as more objective. tepco's report did touch on how the melt down's occurred but failed to clarify the root cause of the accident. for the first time this new report clearly states the japanese government played a role in making the crisis worse. this says the government wasn't prepared for three disasters, a big earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident.

it says communication was insufficient between the prime minister's office and crisis management center, which was responsible for gathering updated information on fukushima. it explains in detail the errors tepco workers made right after fukushima daiichi. they were late to respond to the problems to reactor number one. they fell behind in their attempt to cool down the reactor. they failed to use the only workable cooling system called the isolated condenser. after the plant lost its major power sources. the condenser uses steam it cool it down. but neither workers, task force on the site, nor officials at at headquarters, knew how to operate it at the time of the emergency. the report says as the operator after nuclear plant, tepco's lack of knowledge was extremely inappropriate yit. it says there could have been ways to slow down the case of

melt downs and lessen leakage of radiation outside the plant. the committee is expected to finalize the report by summer 2012 after interviewing officials and ministers in chge during the time accident. the committee is calling for fundamental and drastic changes to nuclear safety and disaster response policy. tokyo electric power company says it'll use an industrial endo scope to look inside a damaged reactor inside the fukushima daiichi plant. the utility says the ten millimeter long device will be used next month. it measures temperatures and other temperatures inside the containment vessel at the number two reactor. the endo scope will provide the first opportunity to see the inside of a containment vessel at the plant since nuclear fuel melted down in march. the nuclear fuel is believed to have melted through the wall of the pressure vessels and accumulated on the bottom of the containment vessels. the government announced on

december 16 that all reactors have been brought under control. but there is little information on the conditions inside the reactors containment vessels. farmers have been among those hardest hit bit nuclear emergency. the government is planning another relief measure. our business desk has more on that. >> katherine, last month the government ordered a ban on rice sales in eight districts and now the agriculture ministry has decided to buy up all of the rice in these districts. are the ban was imposed after right recorded levels of 500 per kilogram. safety standards have been lowered to 100 per kilogram. the ministry says it will buy up all of the rice under the eight districts as well as any other crops shown to be contaminated under the new standard. the ministry will ask tokyo electricower company the operator of the fukushima plant

to pick up the bill. it estimates that it will have to buy about 4,000 tons of contaminated rice. the japanese government is also set to sign a currency swap deal with india. it is another move to prevent europe's credit turmoil from harming asian financial markets. sources say japan's prime minister will agree to the swap at a summit with his indian counterpart. the two leaders meet in new delhi on wednesday. the swap agreement is expected to help shore up the rupi. the indian currency weakened as foreign investors pull their capital out of country. the deal provides india with a source of foreign currency in the event after financial crisis. japan is offering o to provide up to $10 billion to stabilize india's currency markets. cash-strapped small and midsize japanese companies are getting some breathing space. the financial services agency

has decided to extent a law which calls on financial institutions to allow those firms to defer loan payments. the law went into effect in december 2009 to help struggling smaller companies cope with the impact of the yen's strength and economic slow down. it is now set to expire at end of march but will be extended by one year. in making the decision, the agency says tough conditions still continue. they include the strong yen, effect of the disaster in march and debt problems in europe. this is the second time for the agency to extend the law. as of the end of september, financial institutions have changed 2.25 million repayment schedules and other terms of loans under the law. and although tokyo stock market trading is thin this tuesday morning, the nikkei is trading at 8,444 p.

that is down 4/10 percent. sources say investors are on the sidelinees a as they way to see the mood on the overseas markets. exchange in u.s. and europe were closed on monday for holidays. let's turn to the currency market now. trading volumes are also light here on the tokyo foreign exchange because of the holidays. the dollar yen currently at 77.94298. the euro yen at 101.76-282. investment sentiment is expected to remain subdued until the market opens later in the day. let's take a look at longest long-term interest rates. there is the ten-year japanese government bond. japan's leading mobile carrier is getting into the hardware business. they want to design its own semi conductors for smart phones and has started talks with some major electronics makers.

demand continues to grow for smart phones. domoco wants it lure customers by having higher performance models. the carrier reached with sam sung and is ne negotiating with few jit sue and dec. the mobile chip mark set currently dominated bay u.s. manufacturer. domoco's move is seen as an attempt to win a slar of the business while lessoning its dependence on the chip supplier. let's take a look at market figures once again.

that's all for now in business news. back to catherine. >> think much, ai. >> angry protest is the latest obstacle for a planned relocation of a u.s. marine base in okinawa. the japanese government has taken the unusual step of mailing a key report on the key location. >> the japanese and u.s. agree that the air station should be moved to an off-shore area near nago. the government completed an environmental assessment report last week. it studied the impact the base would have on local economy and the anticipated level of aircraft noise. the assess many has to be submitted to the governor in order to move the relocation plant forward.

opponent of the plan protested in front prefecture government building. some staged a sit-in inside. the national government wanted to avoid inflaming the tensions so it decided to mail the 7,000 page report rather than deliver it personally. okinawa governor has 45 days to submit his views on the report. it is considered unlikely that governor will approve the relocation plan. the japanese government is expected to announce new guidelines on the experts of arms. it will officially announce new rules on tuesday following a cabinet meeting on national security. guidelines will allow japan export any defense according to peace building. japan will cooperate with the united states and other companies to develop equipment if the deals are seen as helping peace making or national security interests. the japanese government will have to improve any arms shipments to third party countries. under the new rules japan's

self-defense forces will be able to provide host countries with heavy machinery and protective gear for peace-keeping operations. japan's foreign minister has invited myanmar's leader to japan. the nobel peace lauerat expressed gratitude for the offer. speaking to reporters after their meeting in myanmar's large et city on monday night. >> translator: i'm looking forward to visit japan in the near future so that she can see that our country has recovered from the earthquake and tsunami of march 11. >> pro democracy leader says she is grateful for the invitation and is excited to visit japan as she hasn't been for a long time. japan wants to support myanmar as much as possible.

he wants to solidify in cooperation with the united states. calling on the japanese government to spotlight of plight of ethnic minorities in myanmar. she said japan must understand the importance of this issue in building a solid democracy. a group of south korean civilians has met with north korea's new leader, kim jong-un. they are visiting to offer condolences over the death of his father, kim jong-il. the group had permission to make the trip. the 18-member group includes former first lady, the wid yost late south korean president, kim de jung. another group member is chairwoman of the hyundai group.

her company runs a joint venture for tourists. seoul declined to send an official delegation it offer condolences. >> we hope our visit will lead it improving ties between the two koreas. >> the group crossed into the demillterized zone by car on hundred monday. two groups have taken to the streets to express their opposing views on whether seoul shld offer its coolces. poce prented a pro northkorea c innocencin >> athkoan shouted that seoul s1

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construction. theyanan built wider roads to serve as a roads even in another disaster. but the chact of the villag is starting to change. w commerce has moved into the places of the disaster. owe u more than 40 of the populatio eonnient location is one of the one of the attraction it draws ppl wkin commerce, agriculture and very few new resident ar interested in fishing. >> translator: i can never beme fheanin i get sea sick. >> translator: i'm better suit to construction. >> with diverse lifestyles,

viag a ling their sens of community. an tres soislen vinmt. please take a look to her, full ofarge noli before, the feeling of unity in this village is fin away so it is difficult to get tynlbeonon village cleaning ar it is becoming increasingly difficult to get residents of e village to work together, even onomething as important a tsumi ecuio dll happened only once. community leaders regret e changing characters of the village. the village chief is trying to build a new sense of community, but one that reflects the differenlistesf s sint >> translator: i cannot tell

someone with different profession to quit their job to become a fisherman. >>ralar: wl liste intently to the people's wants and needs. >> seven yea has past since the devastating tsunami. construction is making progress. but rebuildingomni ior complicated. people are starting to realize that the road to recoveryil beonr anxpte that wpspur bulletin for today. a lot of people here in tokyo and eewrere weathering the cold. let's go to the global weather forecast.

and let's get a look at conditions across the global stti o i east asia where things are largely dry, albeit on the chilly side, for much of china as well as the queen niul wereeengike it is heading into winter here. as for japan too, likely dryer skies for at least southern eas as well as pacific side. some of that snow we have been seeing will be on the easing trend over the course of today gradually din ou but there will still be a clans of snow for the morning hours. you want to continue to watch out for that. looks to remain unsettled throughout tonight as well. for the southeast, looking once again across the philippines for ntlnd southern areas and looking at this area of rain starting to develop that is actually a cyclonic storm st. it has slowly been strengthening over the past day or two. looks like it will strengthen further as it gradually veers in

and aims for the east coast of india. we will keep an eye on progress for now. it is largely over open wer isndpiinupn e outer ridges. as for highs on tuesday, across the board expecting 8 in tokyo. 2 in seoul. n beijing. 19 in hong kong and 30 for bangkok. heading over into europe, it is il wdy and gusty picture for much of northern europe. we have been hearing very strong gusts reported in the area. mainly across tcandinavian region. also for the uk as well. and in fact let's get a look at what some of these areas have been peenngsome very gusty conditions we do have footage here starting in norway early monday morning here. looking songus wppg the region bringing down signs and even some of the buildings here. also high waves being recorded along coastal areas.

also black-outs. now later on monday, it did get windy for people here to too. along the coastline, that means very high waves. can you see the ferry tinto ge through rough sea conditions. it's been causing quite a few problems. right now we are seeing the same set up continue. these lines sced cse together across the region. denoting very strong winds. and it is going to be easy. lookg at songusts to pass the peak. but you do want to watch out for strong winds, really for the rest of this week. now precipitation wise,ooks like rain will be moving through finland and aiming for western wsh getting widespread here in the next 24 hours. meanwhile norway too looks to stay wet. especially for northern regions and the south should dry out. a the very heavy rains are starting to ease. for the british isles, coming in tuesday and scotland too feeling that wet weather as well.

temperatures over all, though still staying on the mild side. london expecting 11 and berly we berlin well above freezing and plos could you up to warmer than seon nal averages. let's look at your weather conditions for now and here is your two-day outlook.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline."

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo, thanks for joining us.