some of the water may have made its way to the pacific ocean. they began dismantling the tank this week. they discovered five bolts holding steel plates together at the bottom of the tank were loose. they say that probably caused the leak. still, they plan to check rusty plates and deformed resins in case the water also escaped there. fukushima daiichi has more than. 300 tanks all holding radioactive water. but they say they can't check or re-enforce them or replace them all at the same sometime.

the governor of to goy is not so sure everything is under control. >> translator: prime minister abe said that the this situation is under control but that's not necessarily the case. the important thing is that the prime minister expressed his determination to deal with the problems. >> governor says the prime minister's assessment helped allay concerns about the leaks and he said he expects the abe administration to do all it can to solve the problem. government officials have highlighted yet another concern about fukushima daiichi and other nuclear facilities nearby. they analyzed the results of health checks and workers and say they've seen an increase in abnormalities. most reportedly work at the

power plan. minister officials say 4% of those workers have health problems like high white blood cell counts, four times the proportion that had health issues in 2010 before the accident at fukushima daiichi. still, the officials say they can't easily compare the old and new results. they say the managers of the nuclear facilities have replaced 70% of the staff over the past three years. workers with health problems had to undergo more detailed tests or have treatment. the 'officials plan to conduct the survey to learn more about the impact of radiation. industry ministry staff have been wrestling with the challenge stemming from the decades of power generation and they proposed a plan to deal with nuclear waste. about 1700 cylinders of the waste are stored in facilities at a village in northern japan. government estimates suggest all the nuclear waste in the country

would fill 25,000 cylinders. the waste is highly radioactive and would kill a person within 20 seconds of exposure. it will stay toxic for tens of thousands of years. the government plans to encase each cylinder in cement and bury them roughly 300 meters underground. but the japanese scientists warn it's difficult to find a proper location because of the risk of earthquakes and volcanic activity. industry ministry staff are suggesting putting the waste underground and retrieving it if concerns arise about its safe city and they say it will be held up if technology is developed that could reduce the toxicity. government leaders in syria appear to be coming clean about the chemical weapons program. they have started giving information on their arsenal to officials with an international watchdog. they're honoring an agreement

brokered by leaders in the united states and russia. the syrians sent an initial declaration to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. officials there say experts are reviewing the information. some analysts think syrian government forces have about 1,000 tons of chemical weapons including sarin and mustard gas. opcw board members postponed a meeting to discuss how to dismantle that arsenal. they had been scheduled to gather this weekend. when the watchdog executives have agreed on a plan, u.n. security council members will vote on a resolution to endorse it. analysts and investors are struggling to figure out when fed policymakers might scale back their economic stimulus measures. fed chief surprised market players this week by announcing

they'd continue their bond buying program. so what factors could make them taper that program and how might a budget battle in congress affect their timing? here's the view from ryan wang at hsbc securities in new york. >> in explaining the fmoc's decision not to taper at this week's meeting, bernanke laid out four factors. he described the mixed economic data over the past month. he pointed to the low rate of inflation. he mentioned the tightening of financial conditions over the past several months. and also he pointed to near-term fiscal policy risks. so i think those are the four factors that will -- that the fmoc will be looking at in determining whether to taper their qe program later this year. washington must pass budget legislation by the end of this month to authorize spending for the new fiscal year. there's additional concerns because congress must also raise the debt limit on u.s. borrowing.

probably by sometime in mid-october. budget dramas have had a negative effect particularly in 2011. this time around, there's uncertainty, i think most likely washington will find some resolution to these issues in the end. they're just a few days away, and right now the path forward is not yet clear. here's your forecast.

that wraps up this edition of nhk. thank you for joining us.

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com