looking into the nuclear crisis. video shows the interior of the disabled reactor at the fukushima nuclear plant. the operator of the fukushima daiichi power plant has released a video clip showing the inside of one of the reactors. this was the first footage shot inside the reactors since the accident last year. utility recorded a half-hour video on thursday by running an

endscope in the hole through the number two reactor's containment vessel. the opening leads to the containment vessel. as the endscope reaches the interior white dots caused by gamma rays appear. reddish brown walls and pipes are visible, although most images are blurry. condensed vapor from cob dominated water a peers as white lines in the clip. the video will be used to determine the depth of water that has collected on the bottom of the vessel. another hole appears in the video lead the yulity toy to cite that the contaminated water is less than four meters dope. for more on the images released by tepco we interviewed an expert on nuclear reactors. the professor first noted the white horizontal lines presented vapor from con dominated water falling from above.

>> translator: some of the vapor from con dominated water has cooled and returned to a liquid state. but water inside the pressure vessel appears to be leaking freakily. water that has been poured into the reactor to cool t spent fuel rods is leaking from the damaged stress elt like rain. >> the professor singled out that corrosion that can be observed on the inner walls. a factor that could in his opinion undermine the durability of the vessel. >> translator: the rust does not pose an immediate threat at this point, but we need to keep an eye on possible vulnerables the if the corrosion continues to advance. i think we'll have to monitor the situation on a long-term basis. >> tepco is surveying the plant's underground areas for radioactive water. the utility said it has found five tons of nuclear reactive water. the water was found in pate.

the pit has a valve which is used for pumping in sea water. the water contained radioactive contamination. the highest level of substances fond in this month's survey. the utility also found 600 tons of water contained 860 beck reals in a pit near the number three reactor. it means radioactive water is unlikely to have leaked into the ocean. the company will look into the how the contaminated water got into the pit. four dand indicates are making their final appeals ahead of saturday's primary. each one is trying to show their best suited take on president barack obama in this november's election. former massachusetts governor mitt romney, former house speaker newt gingrich and two other contenders took part many the televised debate thursday.

romney is a successful businessman with personal assets of more than $250 million. his opponents say his tax rate is lower than that of ordinary americans because much of his earnings come from investments. gingrich said he disclosed his tax records. he demanded romney do the same. >> if there's anything in there that is going to help us lose the election, we should know it before the nomination. if there's nothing in there, why not release it? it's a very simple model. >> i'm not going to apologize for being successful. i didn't inherit money from my parents. what i have i earned. i worked hard the american way. >> romney indicated he will release his records in april. romney won the new hampshire primary last week. he was initially declared the winner of the iowa caucuses. but a recount overturned the decision and gave the victory to former pennsylvania senator rick santorum. the latest opinion polls shows

gingrich has overtaken romney. still romney's rivals are increasing their criticism of him through the media. texas governor rick perry dropped out of the race hurz and endorsed gingrich. >> next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> malaysian prosecutors say they filed an appeal friday against the acquittal of anwar ibrahim on charges of sodomy. anwar was found not guilty earlier this month after a long trial that had threatened to derail his political career. malasia faces elections expected to take place within months in which anwar will challenge the ruling coalition of the prime minister. the opposition seems to have good momentum ahead of the poll amid frustration within the business community about policies that favor ethnic malaise. the appeal process in malasia takes a long time.

observers say it's unlike toy to prevent anwar from taking part in the elections. thai prime minister has announced new flood control measures she hopes will repair the nation's tarnished image as a regional, industrial hub. but some observers are already expressing doubts. >> at a news conference attended by both local and international media, the prime minister outlined plans to control future floods along the river, the main source of last year's disaster. the measures include planting trees along the upper stretches of the river to improve water restengs in the soil.

in bangkok, and other heavily populated areas the plan calls for a quick strengthening of river banks and the creation of canals to better drain water from the swollen river to the sea. defenses and drainage pumps will also be upgraded at seven industrial parks. the government will make available low interest loans for businesses to invest in flood controls. many of the companies affected by last year's disaster are still struggling to get their businesses back on track. with the rainy season looming in may, some people are already questioning whether the new flood control measures can be implemented in time. and next some flash news on a series of stories from indonesia and first up, an idea to tackle the nation's rice shortage that some people are finding hard to

swallow. the trade minister is quite simply urging indonesians to eat less rice. the 240 million people eat more of the staple food than the country can produce. indonesia is the world's third biggest rice producer but surging demand means it now has to import extra quantities of the grain. the eat less rice campaign is already being rejected by many consumers. they insist a meal without rice just isn't a meal at all. and next to banton province in western java where children currently have to risk their lives to get to school. they climb carefully over a bridge that was severely damaged by recent floods. if they take a different route, it would add an extra five

kilometers to their journey. so many of the youngsters say they have no choice but to put fear aside and tackle the 162 meter long bridge if they want to make it to class on time. the area already lacked adequate infrastructure. and concerned parents are calling for faster action fm the local government to repair the crossing before one of the children is injured. and finally, ecstatic scientists have just released time lapse images that confirm a type of monkey thought to be extinct is still alive in a remote corner of the world. the monkey was photographed in an area where it was not previously known to exist. scientists hope that the surprise discovery will paf the way for laws to protect the unusual animal.

and that is going to wrap up our bulletin. >> japanese who survived the march 11th earthquake and tsunami now struggle with different crisis. their communities barely exist. more than 260,000 people live in temp rafer housing. many have lost friend and family or been cut off from them. but it's not all bleak. in one neighborhood two shop coopers, a husband and a wife have thrown out a lifeline. >> reporter: in this part of the city 106 families live in temporary housing. a convenient store sits on a corner of the housing block. >> reporter: this man and his

wife own it. the convenient store they operated before march 11th was washed away by the tsunami. but in july they were back in business in this 30-square meter store. >> translator: since opening day they have been taking pictures of the customers. >> translator: people smile when they face a camera. they put on a nice face. it's better to have a good memory from a picture than carrying around bad memories with you. >> reporter: the photos reflect the gradual changes taking place in the residents' lives. when they lived in the shelter no ice cream was available. now this youngster is making up for lost opportunities. in autumn some women make use of

the sunshine in fro of the store. everyone in the temporary units held a festival. at the moment the couple have about 1,000 photos. inside, we find changes in what customers want. when fall arrived, the couple responded to requests like that and stocked locally grown vegetables. before christmas, they brought in a new product that customers had been asking for. it's a sign that customers now enjoy more than the basics. >> when people come in asking for things like this, i felt that life was returning to normal.

>> reporter: it's been about five months since the couple opened the store. some of their regular customers stop by every day. one of them is this 4-year-old girl. she, her parents and baby brother live across the street. after moving into her temporary home, she and other children didn't have as much time to play with their friends. now they can meet and play at the convenient store. >> translator: she's very nice. >> translator: these children give us a reason to go outside. they lift our spirits.

>> reporter: it's more than ten months since the natural disaster offended people's lives. now residents slowly get things back in order. this couple are helping by selling goods and taking pictures of the recovery. >> why na is home to 41 unesco heritage sites. one is a major sanctuary of buddhist art and culture. the site is under threat from the surrounding desert. great effort is being made to preserve is historical record by protecting the site from erosion. we have more. >> reporter: the kafs extend

over a 1.6 kilometers stretch along the dune's eastern cliffs. construction of the caves began in the late fourth century. the site is made up of 735 individual grottoes. inside one of them is a statue of bu ddah more than 30 meters tall. there are 2,100 other statues and 45,000 square meters of murals. if caves have survived under a succession of dynasties and conquere conquerers. in 1987 unesco declared the area a world heritage site. since then, it has become an increasingly popular with tourists. the number of visitors last year reached 700,000. >> translator: i've always wanted to visit. i was extremely moved. the caves are interesting from both an educational and cultural

standpoint. >> translator: the caves demonstrate the continuity of thousands of years of chinese culture. the heritage is well preserved and can be passed along to future generations. >> reporter: people in china have been fighting against the wind and sand blowing from the desert to conserve the caves. this 73-year-old is a director of the academy. she has been involved in work to preserve the caves for half a century. >> translator: we've been taking a variety of steps to prevent the sand from blowing into the caves. these include firming up the sand, holding it in place, and covering it. >> reporter: the group is now turning its attention to protecting the artwork inside the grottoes.

thesealls and statues are made of mud and grass. they are vulnerable to erosion. >> translator: cultural artifa t artifacts inside a museum can be moved. temperatures and muhammadity can be adjusted indoors. but we cannot control these things in nature. we have to fight against it. >> reporter: since the 1980s fan has embarksion of preserving the site by using digital technology. she finally got hold of a camera especially made for the purpose in august last year. th focus can be adjusted more than seven millimeters. so it can take 2,500 photographs of the same subject. then it automatically analyzes the images and complies them

into a single photograph. here's a photo. the contrast ratio is more than 300 times of that of commercially available cameras. such photographs can produce the subtle texture of murals and statues so the details seem almost three dimensional. >> translator: we hope the caves will last forever. even if they disappear, at least this digital project will preserve the exact images. we plan to record the historical materials to convey the value of the caves to future generations. >> reporter: with the help of the latest technology and the passion of people like fan, the ancient caves continue to offer one of the world's finest examples of buddhist art. the number of foreign visitors to japan posted a record drop in 2011 in the wake

of the march 11th catastrophe. japan's tournamentism agency says the number of visitors are down 28%. >> reporter: people from all around the world come to this neighborhood to shop and see traditional japanese style architecture. rain or shine this temple attracts more than three million foreign visitors every year. >> in general we like to fan out even if it was just one week. >> my family encouraging me to come here. that's okay for me. and i like japan. >> reporter: but 2011 proved to be a difficult year for the people who run the shops at this outdoor market. statistics show the number of tourists dropped sharply after japan's nuclear accident. and so sales dropped, too. >> translator: it was terrible. there were no customers and the

store was empty. >> reporter: however, ten months after the disaster things are slowly improving. >> i've always been a fan of japan. i've come here numerous times. obviously i looked up sort of the websites and all this on the nuclear scare. it seems they've done a pretty good job with cleaning it up. it wasn't really an issue for me. >> do you know why he proposed to me last year? is after disaster. we saw that the disaster is so terrible. so many people died and we are still living. >> translator: business is getting better, but we haven't seen a full recovery. sales are probably around 80 to 90% of they used to be. >> reporter: shop owners say they look forward to seeing the usual flow of customers in the near future. >> we have sumo up next.

on day 13 of the new year's sumo tourney, ozeki baruto came in the day with a chance to clinch his first divisional title. hakuho had no more room for any set backs if he were to pull this one off. the tournament leader baruto got a huge advantage over second place hakuho as the estonian held a two-win lead over him with just three days remaining. the attack. baruto shows a firm resistance. while he keeps up the relentless offense, baruto lifts him up and slams him down to take the match. baruto gets one step closer to his first championship. with baruto's victory, hakuho must win here to keep his championship hopes alive. the moment he loses to kotooshu

the emperor's cup will end up in bruteos' hands. kotooshu gets his grip on the left outside and has hakuho on the run. kotooshu's intense attack doesn't stop and the bulgarian keeps charging forward. kotooshu overwhelms hakuho from start to finish. and scores his first victory over him since the 2009 may tournament. and with hakuho's defeat, baruto clinches the new year's basho championship. >> congratulations to baruto for capturing his first title.

the title race is over, but he'll be fighting with a lot of motivation in the final two days as the big estonian tries to put icing on the cake by finishing the tourney with a perfect record of 15 wins. make sure you keep watching newsline sumo summary until the very last day of the competition. >> rachel ferguson is up next with weather. >> welcome back. let's take a final look towards the weekend starting in eastern asia. we're finally getting that rain we've been looking for here on the pacific edge of japan. one low pressure system is pulling away right now. that means portions to the south will be recovering, but this region including the capital tokyo will have some steady precipitation in through saturday and sunday. and unfortunately for some who have been enjoying the snow today it is going to be turning over to rain as temperatures are on the rise. we'll also be seeing some rain toward the south of china here that turns over to snow to the north. not only the north, actually,

but even in shanghai region sk look for wintry precipitation as temperatures drop. an icy arctic blast comes down already tomorrow we're seeing 6 for the high in shanghai. that's likely to come down further into sunday. seoul 5 for you. i expect that figure to come down as well. men while tokyo is warming up to 6 degrees. not quite as warm as we thought it was going to be. certainly an improvement on today's frigid cold. into north america, we've been seeing a weakening today of that big snowstorm that swept across the pacific northwest. there is another storm on its way. you can see it already starting to move inland here. this one is going to be bringing more heavy rain. more strong wind i should point out right here as well. in terms of the rainfall another 100 millimeters or so is expected anywhere you're seeing popping up in the red. from california to oregon and into british columbia the potential for some troublesome rain here. we've had reports from coastal

flooding in some communities really impaired there. there is going to be snow with this system as well. maybe even as much as about a meter, 90 centimeters forecast for the cascades. lower lying areas probably going to be seeing any snow turning over to rain, freezing rain, sleet as well because those temperatures come up. i'll show you those in just a second. let's head over to the east because there's something else going on here. mostly rainshowers maybe moderate rain to the south. if it is cold enough to support snow, you might see about ten centimeters of it piling up by the great lakes and into towards new england as well. those temperatures then 8 degrees in seattle. 5 in vancouver. that's a big improvement. denver at 12. saturday up to 14. then the cold frigid air is going to be shifting further towards the east. minus 18 in winnipeg. minus 6 in chicago. 2 for the high in new york city. as we head to europe, storms are going to be the call of the day here as well.

the british isles really getting hammered by this big front moving through, a low pressure sitting off to the northwest. scotland's going to see some snow with this a prirt windy system as well. otherwise it's rain and rain moving across the continent as well. the alpine region is going to see snow, but very wet snow companied by gusty winds and that is a potential for avalanches. down towards the southeast a return to thunderstorms that's moving east towards turkey and some hefty mountain snow piling up as well. north of the black sea you're likely to seeing some snow. temperatures will be indicating that. minus 6 in moscow. 1 in warsaw. 0 in kiev, a few degrees warmer than average. out in the iberian peninsula i think ifs are fairly summer like here. hot and dry. lisbon 18 degrees for you. let's leave you with your extended forecast.

s. that's our broadcast for

this our on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye.