crisis response. >> it's a very important historical record. >> american nuclear regulators review the days after march 11th to find their way forward. the head of the u.s. nlear regulator is sharing some of the lessons learned from fukushima. gregory yatzko is the chairman of the nuclear regulatory commission. his agency released transcripts last month revealing how members responded to the accident last march at fukushima daiichi.

he said those involved need to share information throughout a crisis. >> i think it's an important historical record. to have an opportunity for people to tell us ways to do our job better. >> the commission released more than 3,000 pages of transcripts. they cover meetings over ten days after the accident in northeast japan. the documents show u.s. officials struggled to get accurate information. he told nhk it's important to put protocols in place so that nuclear regulators in the u.s., japan, and elsewhere share what they learn. the commission approved a plan last month to build the first new reactor in the u.s. in 34 years. he was the only one of the five members to vote against. >> i think that's a commonsense approach given the severity of the accident in japan. we certainly don't want a new plant to start up with known

deficiencies and known weaknesses relative to the accident in japan. >> he said commission members would provide support and advice to their japanese colleagues on decontaminating water and any other challenges. japanese government officials have just released, about an hour ago or so, several key economic indicators. ai uchida from the business team with important trade data. >> i'm going to start off with credit account balance, money made from exports minus imports plus any foreign investment japan may have. japan's been in surplus for a while on a month basis. it's been shrinking steadily and in january the country posted the largest current account deficit on record since 1985. the finance minister said the figure in january showed a deficit of about $5.4 billion. the current account deficit was mainly due to a trade deficit and service balance deficit

combined which stood at slightly over $18 billion. exports tumbled 8.5% as europe's debt crisis slowed down the global economy. meanwhile, imports surged over 11% due to rising demand for natural gas after the nuclear plant accident in march of last year. higher prices of crude oil also boosted imports. now, i also have gdp for you. japan revised up its economic growth to minus 0.2% in the period from october to december 2011. that's compared to the previous quarter. in annual terms that translates into a 0.7% drop. this is up from the 2.3% decline given in the preliminary report last month. the cabinet office said that the adjustment to the gross domestic product is due mainly to higher corporate capital spending. the investment in plant and equipment posted the first increase in three quarters, compared with levels in the

previous year. capital spending by manufacturers increased as auto plants and refineries hard-hit by the march 11th disaster were rebuilt. tokyo share prices are rising. they're taking their cue from an overnight gain over in new york. the nikkei average up by 1%. 9672 currently. the topix up about the same amount, currently 831. sources say that u.s. job figures released wednesday were better than most analysts had expected. this raised expectations for a u.s. economic recovery. japan's record-high current account deficit for january, that's weakening the yen prompting investors to buy export-related issues. let's take a look at currencies. on the tokyo foreign exchange, the dollar is gaining ground against the yen. the dollar/yen at 81.25. your owe/yen, 106.76 to 81 yen.

taking are selling their yen. here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. apple has launched a new ipad tablet computer. it has a sharper screen and faster data processing than prior versions. >> today, we're announcing the new ipad. and it is amazing. >> the company says the tablet's display has been upgraded. this will allow users to enjoy images as sharp as those of high-definition television. apple says the new model is compatible with the next generation of high speed communications which is called the long-term evolution network. these can process video data faster than 3g networks used by i hoof pads up to new.

the new model will go on sale for just about $500 on march 16th in the u.s., japan, and eight other countries. apple says it will introduce more new products throughout the year. environmental pollution in china has become serious as the country's economy has grown rapidly. a large international exhibition for environmental protection products is now under way in shanghai. about 750 firms from over 30 countries and territories, including japan, are taking part in the event that opened on wednesday. a chinese government official said in the opening ceremony that china's environment industry has been growing at 15% to 20% a year and will continue to expand. the chinese government designates environmental protection as a key industry which it supports. it expects investments to be just about $450 billion over five years. about 20 japanese companies are

displaying their products. they include machines for disposing of waste water and sludge or that of shred wood waste from demolished buildings. >> translator: we want to sell a unique environmental technologies. when chinese firms don't have yet. >> companies in germany, south korea, and other countries also aim to make inroads into the chinese market. the nikkei and the topix are higher in tokyo. let's take a look at other asian stock markets.

all right, that is the latest from business. back to catherine. new research suggests a possible future earthquake centering on tokyo could be as devastating as the one that hit northeastern japan last march. japanese seismologists say an expected powerful tremor in northern tokyo bay would have a toke focus shallower than earlier estimated. they say such a quake would register a maximum 7.0 on the japanese seismic scale. the scientists released their report after a five-year study commissioned by the government. they analyzed the underground geology of the kanto area. results show that the focus of the point where the philippine sea plate descends beneath the japanese continental plate is about ten kilometers shallower than expected. typically the shallower the epicenter the greater the jolts on the surface. the government had previously

estimated the maximum intensity of the quake at 6-plus, a full rank lower than the new study predicts. the group plans to further analyze its work and publish a final report by the end of march. seismologists often look to the past to try to give projections about the future. many of them have been studying the march 11th earthquake. a researcher in kyoto now says it triggered about 80 separate tremors. one of them was as far as 1,300 alcohol te kilometers from the original epicenter. mizawa is an associate prop soar at kyoto university's disaster prevention research institute. he analyzed data from hundreds of seismographs across japan immediately following the earthquake. the results showed about 80 separate jolts occurred within about 15 minutes of the original quake. the red here indicates the areas that were shaken. we can also get an idea of the size of these tremors.

many of them were small with a magnitude of around 2.0. but seismographs also measured a quake with a magnitude of 4.7, which is considered relatively strong. the earthquake that was 1,300 kilometers from the epicenter of the march 11th tremor was observed in southwestern japan. a giant earthquake off sumatra island in 2004 is also known to have triggered smaller quakes. but researchers say the ones that happened on march 11th were unprecedented in scale and number. people are getting ready for the first anniversary of the disaster that changed life across the country. we're bringing you a series of stories called "lessons of march 11th one year on." the magnitude 9 earthquake

triggered a tsunami and nuclear crisis. more than 15,000 people died. about 3,300 others are still missing. we have coverage all week from the hardest-hit prefectures in the northeast, iwate, miyagi, and fukushima. survivors from ishinoyaki are staying in temporary housing but many of them are having trouble getting around. now some transportation services have stepped in to help. nhk world's yuko otani explains. >> reporter: there were homes, schools, hospitals and businesses, all the elements of a community were right here linking residents to one another. since last march, the people have been dispersed with limited opportunity to stay in touch. before the disaster, 160,000 people lived in ishinomaki. but many of them lost their homes in the tsunami. altogether, 60% of the dwellings were damaged. almost a year later, many of them still face the

inconvenience of temporary housing. 130 complexes are scattered around the city. some live far from basic services like shops and schools. people without cars find these places hard to walk to. old people can become isolated, some even die without anyone knowing. >> translator: my legs are weak, so i take a taxi to the supermarket. >> reporter: she lives in a temporary home far from the city center. for 40 years, she's cooked ramen noodles in a shop attached to her home, but the tsunami swept the building away. this is all that's left of her business. she now lives with her 90-year-old mother, her younger sister who used to take care of the mother, perished in the disaster. hino also lost her car. now she's stuck in a small, temporary home.

>> translator: after i prepare meals for my mother, i have nothing to fill my time. i can't even get to places i want to go to. >> reporter: but not for long. a mini bus zips along the city streets. it's called the omnibus, because it shuttles passengers all around the city. it takes them to places where public transportation, hobbled by the disaster, doesn't go. so people can use the omnibus to get to shops, schools and hospitals. on this day, it heads to a supermarket known for its wide selection of food. shoppers can stock up on fresh vegetables and meat. living far away is no longer an obstacle. the omnibus has no set route or schedule. volunteers ask residents where they need to go and when. then they draw up an itinerary.

a support group operates the service. it was miri okashima who got the omni bus going. even though she runs an ad agency in tokyo, she spends most of her time here. she's motivated by the plight of survivors she met volunteering after the disaster. >> translator: people had so many different needs. often we could help, but many needs couldn't be met easily, like transporting people here and there. >> reporter: now kashima wants to create job opportunities to give people more motivation to use the bus. hino was one of the people she helped. on this day, hino buses to a food court scheduled to open at city hall. with kashima's help, she'll soon start cooking noodles there.

it will be the first time in a year that she's back in action. she can hardly wait for a new shop to open in march. >> translator: thanks to everyone's help, i got my dream and energy back. i could not have done this on my own. >> translator: communication depends on people getting around. then business starts to flow. as people communicate with each other, the energy builds, and the area is revitalized. >> reporter: the omnibus gradually connects people and shattered communities, taking back what the disaster took away. nhk world, ishinomaki.

an earthquake that jolted a nation, a tsunami that swallowed a coastline, a nuclear plant that spiraled out of control. japan marks the first anniversary of the march 11th disaster. what lessons have been learned? find out on our special program "lessons of march 11th, one year on." sunday, 2:00 p.m. japan time, only on nhk world. south korean military leaders are threatening they'll get their revenge from any attack from the north. defense minister made the warning while inspecting a military unit on yeonpyeong island. it sits along a disputed border in the yellow sea. north korean forces shelled the island in 2010, killing four people. kim said northern troops have been conducting shelling drills in waters near the border. he said he expects more provocations as the leadership in pyongyang tries to shore up

power under kim jong-un. last month, the north korean leader inspected the military unit that shelled yongbyon. earlier this week north korean soldiers fired at targets bearing the name of south korean president bak. the soldiers were responding to reports of a poster found in a south korean barracks. the banner contained slogans threatening kim jong-un and his late father, kim jong-il. enjoys from the united states and north korea have yet to agree on much, except extending talks to finalize details of a u.s. food aid program for the north. after more than six hours of talk in beijing, u.s. special envoy robert king told reporters they will continue their talks on thursday. >> we've discussed a number of the issues. we've made progress. we still have issues to resolve. >> during the talks, the u.s. is believed to have demanded the north to accept western

officials to monitor the food shipments. the measure will ensure the aid reaches the most needy people and is not diverted to the military. the two nations agreed last month that the u.s. will provide north korea with 240,000 tons of nutritional supplements. in exchange, the north will suspend its uranium enrichment and missile launches and allow international nuclear inspectors into the country. japan will, for the first time, join the united states and the philippines in their annual joint military drill next month. japan and other asian nations will drill for a major natural disaster. the philippine military and the u.s. embassy in manila said on wednesday that the 12-day joint exercise will start on april 16th on the western philippine island of palau wan in the south china sea. japan and other countries will join computer-simulated

exercises in the manila. the partners will practice rescue operations and aid operations in the disaster. japan's self-defense forces will take part along with indonesia, malaysia and other nations in the south china sea region. in myanmar, pro-democracy lead are aung san suu kyi's motorcade has been attacked during an election campaign tour. the attack injured her bodyguards, but left her unharmed. the national league for democracy says a bullet from a careful caid was fired at the motorcade on tuesday night. the cars were driving on an expressway about 140 kilometers north. they were on the way back to the country's largest city after campaigning in the capital. the league says a window was

broken and two bodyguards wounded in a car following aung san suu kyi's vehicle. myanmar will hold bi-elections for the upper and lower houses as well as local assemblies on april 1st. the national league has recently reregistered as a political party and is fielding candidates for a total of 48 seats. aung san suu kyi is gaining wide support across the country. but she's also faced some sabotage including destroyed election campaign posters. britain's defense ministry says six british soldiers are believed to have been killed in an explosion in afghanistan. the ministry says the explosion hit an armed vehicle while it was patrolling in the southern province of hell land. british media say that a roadside bomb or land mine laid by taliban militants is likely to have caused the blast. this is the second heaviest death toll for british soldiers in afghanistan following a

fighter jet crash in 2006 that killed all 14 troops on board. british prime minister david cameron expressed his condolences to the families of the soldiers. >> this is a desperately sad day for our country and desperately sad of course for the families concerned. it is a reminder of the huge price that we're paying for the work we're doing in afghanistan. the sacrifice that our troops have made and continue to make. >> britain has the second largest number of troops in afghanistan after the united states. the country plans to totally pull out its combat troops from afghanistan by the end of 2014. but the latest incident has shocked the nation. it could trigger public calls for an earlier withdrawal. time now to take a look at the world weather forecast with sayaka mori. >> south beach in australia has been contending with a serious flooding situation. in fact, parts of now south

wales has experienced the wettest week on record. let's go to some video coming out of wagawaga, the largest inland city in new south wales. many areas of southern australia remain on flood alert today. evacuated residents in wagga wagga were allowed to return to their homes. however, communities downstream are being warned to take precautions as the floodwaters head west. people have stacked sandbags to protect their homes and businesses. you can see a lamb there being rescued by a farmer, so a lot of rain here has battered here. let me show you what's going to happen over the next 24 hours. it looks like rain is starting to move out of wag ga wag ga so even sunny weather will come back here but the area will continue to see torrential rain by this evening. weather conditions are looking

up, however, the risk of flooding will remain extremely high because again this area has experienced record amounts of range over the past several days. let's go to east asia. heavy thundershowers and strong winds are impacting the southern half of the indochina peninsula, as well as much of the may le pen minutes la. as you can see, pink showing up, meaning very heavy rain in cambodia. up towards the north, the southeast coast of china is still dealing with a lot of rain. the risk of flooding is dangerously high here. meanwhile, stays dry across the korean peninsula and similarly dry across much of japan. however, as you can see showers will develop across the pacific side. now, temperature-wise, getting up to 23 degrees in taipei. but cooling down to 7 in seoul. tokyo, 5 degrees lower than yesterday with 11 degrees. and it will drop to single digits from tomorrow. now, heading over to the

americas, we are looking at a long frontal line stretching from eastern canada all the way down to the southwestern u.s. a wintry mix to the north and rain in parts of the midwestern states and the central plains and winter storm conditions in the central rockies, up to 50 centimeters is possible in the next 24 hours. and behind the system there's a lot of cool air. so as the system pushes on to the southeast, it will meet with much warmer air from the gulf of mexico, producing seemp weather. particularly in the lower mississippi valley. we're talking about severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds and even tornados on your friday. the exceptional warmth will continue in the east, getting up to 19 degrees in new york which is about 10 degrees higher than average. d.c. coming in at 10 degrees, which is feeling more like mid-may. but behind a front, much cooler areas are flowing in. only 7 degrees in denver.

and cooling down to a seasonal 8 degrees in chicago. all right, that's it for me now. and here's your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour. the head of the u.s. nuclear regulatory is sharing some of the lessons learns from fukushima. gregory yatzko is chairman of the nuclear regulatory commission. his agency released transcripts revealing how members responded to the accident last march at fukushima daiichi. he said those involved need to share information throughout a crisis. >> i think it's an important historic at record to see how we went about our response. to tell us ways we can do our job better. >> the agency released about 3,000 pages of transcripts.

they covered about ten days after the accident in north eastern japan. the documents show u.s. officials struggled to get information. they told nhk it's important to put protocols in place to share what they learn. the commission put together a plan to' prove the first reactor in the u.s. in 34 years. he was the only member on the panel to vote against. >> i think that's a common-sense approach given the severity of the accident in japan. we certainly don't want a new plant to stop up with known deficiencies and known weaknesses relative to the accident in japan. >> he said commission members would provide support and advice to their japanese colleagues on decontaminating water and any other challenges. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.