hello and welcome to "newsline." u.s. president barack obama has been trying for more than a week to rally support for an attack on syria. he's tried to persuade lawmakers alone and in group privately and publicly. now he has won the backing of some of the most influential

politicians in washington. obama met with 16 republican leaders in the house. he wants to convince them to approve the military strikes against bashir al assad. >> i think it's appropriate that we act deliberately but i think everyone recognizes the urgency here and we have to move relatively quickly. >> the republican speaker of the e of representatives has opposed obama's policies since he took office. but john boehner said u.s. forces need to act. >> i'm going to support the president's call for action. i believe my colleagues should support this call for action. >> u.s. media reports suggest more than 7 out of 10 lawmakers have yet to decide or have not made clear whether they will support a strike. israeli and u.s. forces have added to tensions in the middle east.

they did not announce the launch ahead of time. the israeli defense minister released a statement saying the test of the defense missile system had been successful. it's designed to intercept missiles. they fear if ugs forces strike syria, syria troops will re retaliate by tracking them. he said they should not play with arms and missiles in such a volatile region >> the japanese government is trying to dispel concerns regarding the situation at fukushima daiichi. prime minister abe has approved a $470 million budget to deal with the accumulation of hundreds of thousands of tons of

contaminated water at the plant. the funds will enclose a site behind the barrier of frozen soil, a method whose effectiveness has yet to be demonstrated. >> reporter: an estimated 1,000 tons of groundwater is flowing from nearby mountains towards the plant every day. about 400 tons sweep into the basements of the damaged reactors, where the water becomes highly contaminated. tepco engineers are trying to stop the inflow of groundwater into the plant. but the company has been struggling to control the situation. experts say about 300 tons of contaminated water ends up in the ocean every day. in addition, several leaks have been detected in storage tanks. the japanese government has decided to intervene. >> translator: we've drawn up a basic plan to solve the problem

of contaminated water. instead of reacting to each new problem as it arises. >> reporter: engineers plan to freeze the soil around the site. crews would bury pipes underground. they would then circulate coolants at a temperature of minus 42 degrees celsius. the frozen soil would act as a dam to prevent groundwater from seeping into the plant. but the effectiveness of this method remains unclear. it has never been used on such scale in japan, nor tested over long periods of time. local people have been briefed on the government and tepco's measures to deal with the contaminated water. many fishermen voiced their frustration at the way the situation is being handled. >> translator: enough already. which do you think is most important, your company or the japanese public?

>> reporter: the chairman of the nuclear regulation authority says there may be no alternative to releasing some of the water into the ocean after filtering out radioactive particles. the government and the expert panel are trying to restore trust with the fishermen and locals, but they admit that it may take some time. >> workers at the plant have been taking a closer look at tanks used to store contaminated water. they say some of the seams appear to have failed. workers detected high levels of radiation over the weekend near the bottom of three tanks. the readings were highest where steel plates are bolted together. workers later noticed that resin from inside the tanks had pushed to the outside. the resin is used to seal the seams. it expands when soaked with water. officials with tokyo electric power company believe the resin broke down through wear and

tear. they say there's no sign that water has leaked, and radiation levels on the ground beneath the tanks are not high. last month, workers found 300 tons of radioactive water had leaked from one tank. they have been monitoring radiation more closely ever since. people in fukushima are angry with the way tepco has handled the leaks. three people have filed a criminal complaint against the company and its top management. >> reporter: tepco's management feared bankruptcy, and kept putting off the necessary measures. such negligence went on for about two years, resulting in the current situation. and the company didn't tell the government that conditions were critical. >> he says his clients accuse tepco and 30 executives of violating anti-pollution regulations. the company's president is one of the people named in the suit.

the plaintiffs accuse him of failing to take adequate protection measures because of the high cost. they say tepco's management approach didn't change even after the nuclear accident. tepco officials declined to comment. thaws of residents are waiting to go home. and more than half fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt. people? japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster but step by step, they're moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on "the road ahead" right here on newsline. a pakistani teenager shot by the taliban after speaking out for girls educational rights says education will bring peace to the world. the 16-year-old was shot in the

head on her way home from school in pakistan last october. she was air lifted to britain for treatment and is now attending school in birmingham. now i will challenge myself. i will read thousands of books. and i will empower myself with knowledge. books are the weapons that defeat terrorism. >> she repeated her message from the speech she gave in july. one book, one pen, one child an one teacher can change the world. library officials gave her a book about philosophy as a momento. a woman who attended the ceremony praised her speech.

>> insurgents in afghanistan are increasing attacks on police with deadly consequences. since march the now interior minister said 1,792 police were killed in the last few months. that's the same in the entire 12 months before. st of the dead policemen were killed by roadside bombs. but militants have been stepping up attacks ahead of the writ drawl and potential election scheduled for next april. chinese premier says disputes are not a problem between china and the association of south eastern

nations only with specific countries and an apparent reference to philippines. he was speaking at a ceremony to launch the expo on tuesday. premier lee and several southeast asian leaders attended the opening of the expo in the southern chinese city of nonning. lee used his opening remarks to stress china's stance on american disputes. >> translator: we believe the debate over the south china sea is not an issue between china and asean. it should not be allowed to take over our chinese undertakings, and we believe there is no possibility that it will. >> the philippines are in talks with the united states to expand military activity in the south china sea to counter china's growing presence. china's president initially planned to attend the opening of

the expo with other chinese leaders. the chinese side propose he stay away. vietnam has a dispute with china but its prime minister did attend. filipino officials say they're feeling the pressure. they say china appears to be building a concrete structure on the disputed shoal in the south china sea. officials of the phillipines defense ministry reported their findings about the scarborough shoal at an assembly session. they said a navy aircraft took photos of the structure on the outcrop on saturday. officials say the photos show a concrete foundation and about 30 blocks along with a steel gate. three ships, including a chinese patrol vessel were patrolled nearby. the shoal is about 200 kilometers west of the philippines luzon islands. the shoal is within the country's exclusive economic

zone. china has stepped up its claim over the wreath in recent years. it's been sending more surveillance vessels. >> translator: i got the report. we had this sent to the department of foreign affairs. it would allow me to complain. >> flipino officials came ownership. >> the 16-year-old was shot in people across china are awaiting the verdict in the case of a rising star who fell from grace. they don't know when a decision may come. the people deciding his fate are weighing more than legal arguments.

>> reporter: a popular leader has sent shock waves through the city. we came to find out whether the trial has affected his popularity. this was the scene in february last year before he fell from power. people gatter in this square almost daily to sing their songs. economic prosperity has created a wide gap the socialist i doles as a way to ease public discontent. they accuse him of creating a

political movement but the people seem to love him. today visitors can hear popular songs. the public displays revolutionary are over. >> translator: almost no one comes these days. >> reporter: his trial began last month. prosecutors accuse him of bribery, embezzlement of public funds and abuse of power. he has strongly denied it, admitting only to mistakes in judgment. he claimed he was evading the truth. the communist party has total

control in china the trial was meant to showcase his alleged crimes and end his popularity. if that is their purpose, our visit suggests that the leaders may be disappointed. one of bo's initiatives was to order the building of more housing for low income earners. the government keeps the rent for those apartments low. the construction projects continue, and so does the praise for bo. >> translator: the buildings around here with affordable rent were constructed when bo was the top man here. after bo took over, there was less crime. everyone who lives here knows that. >> bo's crime-fighting politics included higher police presence on the streets. this is one of his more visible

legacies. bo's popularity is a reflection of public dissatisfaction. people saw him as a man willing to tackle social problems. leaders in beijing will likely take those feelings into account when they determine his fate. nhk world, chongqing. >> the chinese premier says the prime minister has been keeping people guess iing. he says he will make the final decision early next month. he made the comment during a meeting with an economic administration. he plans to make up his mind

after studying the business confidence of japan coming out on november 1st. more than 70% of 60 experts who expressed their views at hearings came out in support of a tax hike in april. interest is heating up in using the northern sea routes. a business seminar to promote the route was held in tokyo. last week a japanese chemical company imported products. they the cut travel distance between europe and asia by one-third. melting ice from climate change is making it possible. most of the sea lane is along the country's arctic coast.

>> translator: it's a good way for us to save time. but the route can only be navigated for a limited period. >> russian officials say they expect 50 vessels to cross the arctic ocean this year. a senior japanese official says the government will step up efforts to export some of its technology. officials are keen to sell the maglev train to the united states. central japan railway company began test runs of a prototype of the train in august. the firm hopes to put a maglev into service in 2027. the train will travel at speeds of up to 500 kilometers per hour. the technology could transform the way people travel.

>> translator: the maglev train technology is the only kind of train technology in the world, and it will be a powerful product for japan's infrastructure exports. >> the government wants to export the technology to the u.s. which has plans for high-speed rail projects. here are the latest market figures. the three-way race for hosting the 2020 olympics is almost complete. tokyo is competing against istanbul and madrid. delegates from all three cities

have arrived in buenos aires. that's where members are casting secret ballots to decide their winner. they'll announce their decision on saturday. tokyo lost its bid four years ago, and some japanese business owners are hoping that history doesn't repeat itself. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: soon they're hoping to see another kind of competition. >> i very much want tokyo to win its bid. i'm eagerly awaiting that moment. >> reporter: business owners here say they see olympic athletes all the time. the men's gymnastics team won a silver medal at the 2008 olympic games. this woman has won three olympic crowns in wrestling. >> i'm eager to see the olympics play out in tokyo. i want athletes to show us their

courage. >> reporter: it's not only that athletes like the shops and restaurants here. the street is close to the national training center, a facility built to nurture athletes. these handball players are hoping to compete in 2020. >> translator: i hope the olympics will be held in my bitter place of japan. >> translator: we want to give our best performance on our home turf. >> reporter: four years ago, merchants were hoping tokyo would win its bid for the 2016 games. they planned to celebrate by cracking a symbolic gold medal, but things didn't turn out as

they expected. now shop owners are back at it, creating something else to break open in celebration. this man is the head of the merchant's association. he was a junior high school student the last time tokyo hosted the olympics. he worked as a volunteer at the games. olympic organizers gave him a medal as a memento. he says he can still remember meeting and making friends with athletes from other countries. >> translator: i want young people to feel moved by participating in the olympics. as i did. if tokyo wins its bid, everyone in this neighborhood will celebrate. >> reporter: the merchants can't wait to find out whether their olympic aspirations will come true. some think the race may already be won. nhk world, tokyo. here's the weather forecast

a storm has made landfall in western japan. how is that affecting residents there? >> people in western japan are dealing with the storm system. i think they will be working on the flooding auation for quite some time. this is dumping heavy downpours and the stormy conditions are still affecting the area. let me first show you a video from the district. severe topical storm has been dumping very heavy rain. it made landfall at 3:00 a.m. this morning. 96 millimeters of rain in one hour. over 250 millimeter has fallen over the past 24 hours. that's more than the monthly average for december. public transportation has been disrupted. this is still maintaining the intensity as severe tropical storm status.

this is quite a fast moving system, but it's making a very erratic movement. it will be staying in japan for quite some time. packing up 126 kilometers per hour in the center of this. 122 kilometers per hour gusts have been reported already. and that's likely to continue. so the rough sea conditions as well as the tropical moisture is included in here and associated with a stationary boundary, which means that the storm system, the tropical moisture, the stationary band and cold air aloft will all make it a very unstable condition. we're talking cats and dogs for a few days. but this will be bringing more heavy rain on top of 400 millimeters that we've already

had. but on top of that, 300 millimeters is possible just into thursday morning in the area. a lot of the areas are seeing more than 100 millimeters. any additional amounts could trigger flooding, landslides, mud slides. it's going to be a very high risk. so a lot is happening here. so due to the cold air aloft, quite a diversion today. so that will make it quite unstable, which means severe thunderstorms will pop up across much of the country here today again and the tornadic activity cannot be ruled out. cats and dogs conditions today in japan. low pressure system over southern china is dumping heavy rain as well. about 200 millimeters have been found in the province. additional amounts could top as much as 100 millimeters. looks like it's going to be a rinny and thunderstormy event

atrosz the tropics. tokyo is down to 29 degrees. it's a nice day in seoul with plenty of sunshine at 28 degrees. now to europe, the main focus is the east dome. but we do have a rain band coming in. this is the atlantic system that will be swinging by the british aisles with the cold front that will be dropping temperatures dramatically. take a look at this. dublin at 23. london at 2 into thursday. but a huge drop. a 90-degree drop into your friday. so that's going to be very difficult for your bodies to cope with. do watch out for that. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of newsline. thank you very much for joining us

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>> good evening. as president of the american bar association, it's my pleasure to welcome you today to this special law day program entitled constitutional equality for women in the united states. i'm especially pleased to be here because i have a vested interest in the topic. this is our 12th annual public program to commemorate law day and our fourth year connecting us here at the woodrow wilson in