welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. a japanese envoy visiting north korea has received some praise. the north's second highest ranking official said they he appreciates the efforts by an officer to the prime minister shinzo abe. this is being seen that the mission is held in high regard. ijima held talks with the president of the supreme people's assembly leader. the state-run korean central news agency released a short video clip of the meeting on its website. >> translator: we know that mr. ijima has been making an

effort and we highly appreciate it. >> a north korean interpreter quoted kim as saying ijima is visiting pyongyang once again on a very important mission. kim and ijima are believed to have discussed the abduction of japanese nationals by north korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. ijima accompanied foreign former prime minister minister koizumi on his two trips to pyongyang in the early 2000s. in tokyo, chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said prime minister abe is serious about wanting to resolve the abduction issue. >> translator: japan's position is that it wants to resolve the abduction issue as well as north korea's nuclear and missile development comprehensively. the abduction issue is the abe administration's top priority. >> suga said the government is working hard to bring the

abductees home. ijima spoke to reporters in beijing on his way back and called the talks sincere and said the japanese government will need time to analyze their significance. for more on this story, we spoke to hajime izumi, an expert on korean affairs at the university of shizuoka. >> the main purpose of the visit is to create a dialect, channels of communication with kim jong-un and his associates. i think that's the most important one. because now abe administration, upon the assessment of now kim jong-un government is quite stable. if he had this purpose of negotiations, therefore, i think that this time, the japanese government did not prior

notification of both u.s. and south korea. of course, in the long run, the north korean government has some intention to improve relationship with japan. especially with the abe administration. so they are very much hoping to make progress with the abe administration. i believe that, well, in the short run, that their purpose of having the visit to the country and revealing his visit, is to make some pressure on south korea. i think this time, ijima's visit is a good opportunity for all of the three countries, japan, the u.s., south korea, to repromote our very close consultation mechanism among the three countries. all three countries, it's much easier to get together, to talk about how to deal with north korea, especially on the denuclearization issues.

some u.s. military personnel in the japanese prefecture of okinawa will soon be relocating. commanders in okinawa are taking their first step to honor an agreement to close facilities and return the land to the japanese. japanese and u.s. government officials believe they will start by returning a one hectare plot. officials with japan's foreign ministry say u.s. military personnel will leave as early as august. japanese and u.s. leaders agreed last month on a timetable for the return of six facilities. soon drawing criticism there once more. getting ready to address lawmakers in taiwan. he campaigned against the

forced abortions. he escaped house arrest last april and fled to the united states. members of a human rights group in taiwan say officials have given chen permission to visit from late june to mid-july. they say he plans to go there with relatives. chen plans to give a speech in the legislature and meet researchers and university students. analysts say government officials in china are making life harder for chen's relatives there. myanmar president, thein sein, pardoned 23 political prisoners on friday. patchari raksawong has more for us. it is likely a move by sein to emphasize his pro-reform stance. it applied to prisoners held in eight prisons. supporters were waiting to greet 11 people released from the

prison. the facility is notorious for harsh treatment of detainees under the former military regime. >> translator: i don't think the president, because he's just doing good things to create a good image for himself. we're released now, but it's intentionally done before his visit to the u.s. president. it's only a means of exchanging political interests. >> a separate pardon by the myanmar government was made just before obama visited the country last year. yet another was granted last month after the eu lifted most of their economic sanctions on myanmar. next week, thein sein will become the first myanmar president to visit washington in 47 years. the powerful cyclone mahasan dissipated quickly after affecting bangladesh and myanmar, but it left casualties in its wake. and now residents are going back

to their homes. afp says the storm killed at least 15 people in bangladesh, authorities evacuated one million people, especially from vulnerable low-lying areas. populous areas were spared major damage. across the border in myanmar, displaced residents started to return home after the storm passed. in the western state of rakain, over 100,000 people were living in camps dotting low-lying areas in the country. many of them are muslims who have fled conflicts with buddhists. u.n. officials warned last week that a humanitarian catastrophe could develop if people were not evacuated. the booming economies of southeast asia have created personal wealth for people who are eager to travel abroad and countries are trying to lure them. as the yen slides against the dollar in asian currencies, japan is emerging as a favored destination.

nht world reports. >> reporter: this travel agency in kuala lumpur receives many calls a day from malaysians asking about trips to japan. using the falling yen as leverage, the agency is able to offer a 15% discount on a tour to hokkaido, a popular destination in northern japan. the agency has seen a 20% increase in japan by customers over the same season last year. >> now because of the low currency, we can see the new customer totally they've never been to japan before. >> reporter: this march, the combined number of tourists traveling abroad from six southeast asian countries topped 100,000. there's 150% increase since last year. the highest numbers came from malaysia, thailand, indonesia and vietnam. the japan tourtryi to take adva

conference in tokyo for more than 100 travel companies from six southeast asian countries. at the event, representatives of japanese travel companies attended a seminar on how to welcome customers from islamic countries. it covered topics such as islamic lifestyle rules and hallah food. >> malaysia, there is an increase to japan. more people would like to go to japan. >> at the moment, it is increased, it is becoming increased because of the yen is cheaper now. >> reporter: due to tense relations between japan and china, fewer chinese tourists are visiting japan. japan is trying to offset the trend by attracting more

visitors from southeast asia. the tourism industry of southeast asian countries are calling on japan to ease their regulations, so as to not miss a golden opportunity caused by the weakening yen. tuan earn yee, nhk world, kuala lumpur. >> and that will wrap up our bulletin. i'm pachari raksawong in bangkok. people who had to evacuate their houses near the fukushima nuclear plant have been waiting for the day they can return home. some of them may have to wait longer. an nhk survey shows workers have succeeded in cleaning less than 5% of the designated area. after that work is completed, radiation levels in many places have not fallen to government standard. the town hirono lies 30

kilometers south of the plant. workers have almost finished cleaning up residential areas. the government's safe limit for radiation is 0.23 microsieverts per hour. >> translator: it's 0.39. >> translator: the radiation level is not falling. >> residents are calling for another round of decontamination work. >> translator: the radiation must drop to a level that we feel safe to live with. otherwise, we can never rebuild this area. >> the workers are washing down roads and roofs and scraping off the topsoil in gardens. the town officials say it's difficult to remove radioactive substances from tiny gaps. the work is demanding and it takes a lot of time. in winter, the task is hampered by heavy snow. workers are also having problems finding places to temporarily store the contaminated soil.

one expert suggests it's time to review the clean-up plan. >> translator: radiation levels over the long term are expected to drop below the standard. only in some of the areas. in the high-level areas, officials should allow residents the option of moving out. >> officials in the central government say they will re-examine the decontamination plan later this year. municipal official in north eastern japan are hoping some new technology will give people peace of mind. they are using it in communities surrounding the damaged nuclear plant in fukushima. they believe the device will provide reliable information on levels of radiation in areas that have been decontaminated. >> these workers are looking for a danger that cannot be seen or

felt until it's too late. they're using a device called a gamma camera. it detects the source of radioactivity and displays it as a visual image. objects emitting radiation are shown in red. the readings are being taken in gsz kawauchi village. the village lies in the evacuation zone site near the daiichi power plant. in some areas, radiation levels are still too high for people to live. work to clean up radioactive contamination started in november 2011. decontamination of residential areas finished in march. village officials hoped that would encourage former residents to return, but less than half have done so. radiation fears are still running high. >> translator: we ask each other if radiation levels are really safe, but i guess all we can do is believe what the village says. >> reporter: to assure residents, reliable information

on decontaminated areas is crucial. usually that data is collected with a geiger counter. this device measures radiation coming from all directions. it gives a reading for the immediate vicinity, but it cannot tell you where the radiation is coming from. the gamma camera has overcome this shortcoming. the camera only reads radiation coming from the direction it is facing. the camera's field of view is 43 degrees. this means it can measure an area eight meters high and eight meters wide from a distance of ten meters. it usually takes 20 minutes to produce an image. if radiation levels are high, the results will appear sooner. the gamma camera can detect the exact source and strength of radiation. it superimposes this data on a video image to clearly show where radioactive materials exist.

gamma cameras are already used for medical and other purposes, but these devices only function in a tiny range, spotting tumors in the brain, for example. decontamination workers are looking for a device with a wider spectrum. something that could detect pockets of radiation in the field. this is the model used in fukushima. the five centimeter cube assures higher resolution than conventional medical scanners. it is also smaller and lighter, making it more portable. the developer saw a way to use it in fukushima, but he had to work on a tight deadline. >> we wanted to make the new gamma camera as quickly as possible. the time constraint was the toughest condition in making the developing the device. >> workers used this camera to check this house after

decontamination. they found a number of radiation sources in the backyard and other places. >> you can see some radioactive materials are left. radiation levels are higher in the back of the house. the levels will go down even more when the hill is decontaminated. some spots in the field also need to be cleaned. >> translator: now i can tell where radiation sources are because they showed it to me in color. it's great because usually you can't see radiation. >> translator: i think the gamma camera will be an effective tool to promote the village's decontamination and to convince the residents that the village is safe to return. >> reporter: the village plans to use the gamma camera in areas where the decontamination work is already finished. the work will continue through november, mainly in residential areas. village officials will ask the

central government to do further clean up in places where radiation levels are still high. japanese and american scientists are sailing off the coast of fukushima in japan and studying the sea. they're checking whether radioactive material from the nuclear disaster two years ago is still affecting the ocean. nhk world's yoichiro tateiwa reports from o on board the research vessel. >> reporter: the team of scientists sailed out of tokyo on monday. they will spend ten days testing the waters of northeastern japan. on friday, they approached to about five kilometers off the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the team members are collecting water and marine species from various depths and taking soil from the seabed. they're aiming to find out whether the release of

radioactive materials is still affecting the environment. and whether there have been any further leaks. kim leads the americans on the team. he says they want to shed light on the medium and long-term effects of the accident. using the technologies of both the u.s. and japan. the scientists will be taking samples at various locations until next thursday in hopes of getting answers. yoichiro tateiwa, nhk world, off the coast of fukushima. >> and yoichiro will have more on this in next week's edition of "nuclear watch." prime minister's shinzo abe's efforts to revive the japanese economy have so far been centered on aggressive monetary easing and government spending. business leaders are waiting for

him to deliver on the third pillar of abenomics the prime minister unveiled part of his vision on friday, ahead of the official announcement next month. abe delivered a speech entitled "winning in a global market." he focused on growth and structural reform ranging from innovation to farming. >> translator: i want to support companies that promote innovation. we need to deregulate to help them meet that challenge. i'm ready to travel to any country in the world and take the lead in promoting japanese businesses. >> abe hopes to triple the value japan's infrastructure import by $300 billion by 2020, that includes power plants and bullet train technology. the prime minister singled out education as another key sector. he said the government and the private sector will join hands to make it more affordable to

study aboard. abe also set out his vision for the agricultural sector. he said regrouping scattered farm land into large plots and increasing exports of produce could double the income of farmers within ten years. inchts. visitors to the cannes film festival are checking out the ultrahigh resolution system and the pictures it produces. the 8 k video format has 16 times the resolution of current high definition tv. multichannel sound makes content more realistic. staff showed visitors a camera and explained its technology and potential. they screened the first narrative film in the new format, beauties ala carte, set in a french restaurant. they experienced the unprecedented clarity on 220-inch screen and came away

impressed. >> when you look at some of the details in the glasses and in the food, it looks very realistic and i was very impressed by the color reproduction which was obviously something which is a little bit difficult in this kind of thing. >> researchers at nhk are leading 8k's developments in hopes of bringing it to a wider audience. check out the latest market figures.

but some still miss their daily routine, that prompted a business in osaka, sends residents to care facilities to look their best. >> reporter: a couple of hair stylists visited a home in osaka. and set up a temporary beauty

salon. each day they make the rounds of various nursing homes. they check each client's hair and suggest a style. cuts take 15 minutes and cost about $18. customers pay extra for coloring and perms. most clients have problems getting around on their own, so the hair dressers help them. >> we are grateful that the visiting stylists help our residents so carefully before and after the hair cuts. even though the elderly might not leave the home all day, they still want to look good. like this 78-year-old.

she used to look forward to her monthly visit to the hair salon, but two years ago leg problems made it difficult to get there. >> translator: i used to go to the hair salon by taxi a roundtrip, but since coming here i've become less independent. >> reporter: it's seto's turn. >> please cut it a little shorter at the neck than it is now. so your neck would look over. can you style my hair to give that effect? >> i do my best. >> as well as a shorter cut, she asked for more body on the top. miss seto's hair -- i look

younger, don't i? >> yes, you do. you look good. >> it feels good. and it's a bit different from my usual cut. >> hair dresser's company specializes in service for the elderly. employees are trained to understand the physical limitation -- >> they often don't see or hear well. as the staff experienced these limitations themselves, they understand how to take care of customers. employees are even trained how to shampoo and cut the hair of bed ridden people. >> translator: by being in tune to our clients this way, i think we can get a better idea of what they really need.

>> over 1,000 nursing homes use the service and the number increases every year. the hair service let's nursing home residents keep in touch with the outside world and they take satisfaction in knowing their confinement is no barrier to looking their very best. >> up now, the weather forecast for the weekend.

that is all this hour on "newsline." thank you for watching and have a good day.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> welcome to "skyweek." let's see what's happening in the sky from monday, may 13, to sunday, may 19. center stage in the south, once the sky is fully dark, is the planet saturn, with slightly fainter spica to its look below tm o faly bright stars that don't fit into

familiar constellations. these are the northernmost stars of the huge ancient constellation, centaurus. but you'd need to be in hawaii or the florida keys to see all of centaurus... including alpha and beta centauri... the most spectacular star pair in the sky. this is tony flanders from "sky & telescope" magazine, wishing you clear skies and great views. download our free skyweek app for more information. >> "california's gold" is produced in association

with kcet los angeles and is seen statewide on california public television. this series is endorsed by the california teachers association, the california school boards association, and the california library association. >> is it possible to drive a car and still have a clean environment? to refine a cleaner gasoline? to build a bridge from oil to renewable energy? could business go further and be a force for good? can 100,000 people in 100 countries come together to build a new brand of progress? we think so. bp is proud to bring you "california's gold." beyond petroleum: bp. >> okay, this is going to be exciting. i've never had my name on a theater marquee before,