hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. >> she joined representatives of global royalty in belgium at the funeral of the dowager queen, fabiola. she died at 86. she was the widow of the king who reigned for 42 years. the empress joined the congregation at a cathedral in brussels. 1300 royals and ordinary citizens attended the service. the japanese imperial house and

belgium royal family have long had close relations. they attended the funeral of the king in 1993. drivers in myanmar's biggest city are reaching destinations more smoothly, enjoying the benefits of computer controlled traffic signals designed and made in japan. officials turned on the power to new lights at the congested intersections. more and more people across the country are getting vehicles and drivers get stuck in jams because of a shortage of signals. the new lights change automatically. officials are thinking of getting the government to help them install more. police and local media are looking forward to seeing tailbacks disappear. officials in china's defense ministry are defending flight drills that prompted japanese planes to scramble.

they say they'll conduct the same kind of exercises again. japanese officials say they saw five chinese military aircraft from saturday to thursday near the southern islands of okinawa. they say self-defense air force scrambled four times. the chinese flew between the main island of okinawa and island of miyako, traveling between the pacific ocean and the east china sea. chinese defense ministry officials said their naval drills in the west pacific are part of this year's training. they said their forces act in line with international law and customs and they said they'll conduct drills again over waters where every country has the right to navigate freely. america's new chief nuclear envoy says washington and beijing have identical goals in their north korea policies. kim said both want to see a nuclear-free korea. he was visiting china for the first time since he was appointed special representative for north korea policy last month. kim spoke after meeting with the

chair of the six-party talks on north korea's nuclear program. the talks have been stalled for six years. the u.s. government has been urging chinese leaders to pressure the north to come welcome back to the bargaining table. >> china, obviously, has a very important role to play. and we will continue to work closely with chinese authorities to make sure we are coordinating closely and doing the best we can -- best effort we can. >> kim said north korea should take tangible steps to give up its nuclear ambition. he said the u.s. would welcome an opportunity for dialogue but leaders in pyongyang are showing no interest. kim has also met his counterparts in south korea and japan on his first asian tour. participants at the u.n. climate talks in peru spent last three days trying to draft a global deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but they are struggling to find common ground.

they're divided over how much industrialized nations should help developing nations. delegates from more than 190 countries gathered in lima for the conference known as cop20. they're trying to agree on a climate change deal to replace the kyoto protocol. it would take effect in 2020. but they're hitting a familiar roadblock, the question of whether industrialized countries should bear more responsibility for cutting emissions than developing countries. participating nations have to submit their emissions cut targets in march. u.s. secretary of state john kerry urged developing nations not to choose the energy sources of the past. >> today more than half of global emissions, more than half, are coming from developing nations. so it is imperative that they act too. >> kerry said the united states and china announced their targets last month. he called on all countries to

make concessions at the lima talks. the conference is scheduled to close at noon on friday. experts in the field of medical response after natural disasters are discussing how to work better together. people from japan and southeast asian countries have gathered in phuket, southern thailand, an area hit hard by the indian ocean tsunami ten years ago. patchari raksawong has more. >> doctors and disaster management authorities joining the symposium are working out the details much a cooperative response system in the asia-pacific region which suffers a large share of natural disasters. they decided their first step would be an investigation into the medical response capabilities of each country. they agreed japan would send experts to southeast asian countries to perform on-site inspections.

jica is sponsoring the event. >> translator: we want to support local efforts so they'll be able to manage after disasters in their region. it would be great if japanese know how and emergency response can be used to help victims in other countries. >> in december of 2004, a massive tsunami hit several nations across the indian ocean and left more than 220,000 dead or missing. while asia is an engine for global economic growth, the region is also highly vulnerable to natural disasters. in november of last year, typhoon haiyan hit, leaving more than 7,000 people dead or missing. many survivors have yet to return to their normal lives. coming between the first anniversary of haiyan and tenth of the indian ocean tsunami, it symposium serves as a reminder of the importance of international cooperation after

a massive disaster. they say sport brings people together and that's especially true in afghanistan. soccer has quietly become something of a national obsession. not to mention a welcome distraction from daily concerns about security. afghanistan now has its own soccer league and the team has scored impressive victories. one young player has come to japan to nurture his talents. nhk reports. >> reporter: a first year student from afghanistan, attending high school in japan. a former player for the afghan national under 17 team, he's a first student his country has sent to study soccer abroad. >> translator: i'll try my best to be a good soccer player. i want to be a part of the afghan national team as soon as possible.

>> reporter: many afghans struggle every day with worries about security or the economy, but not these youngsters. their only concern is scoring goals. the national team won a historic victory last year in the south asian soccer championship. he remembers how people from different ethnic groups celebrated together. >> translator: when our national team won, the entire population celebrated together for the first time in years. it convinced me that soccer can unite people. >> reporter: the afghan football federation decided to send students to japan to develop a new generation of skillful players. japan has one of the top soccer teams in asia.

>> we want to be one of the elements to bring peace in afghanistan and try to unite the people in afghanistan. we want to share the professional football management knowledge into afghanistan. >> reporter: he lives in a dormitory with his japanese teammates. apart from his family back home, he receives strength as he gets used to an unfamiliar culture. >> translator: hi, dad, how is everybody? >> translator: hi. are you well? >> translator: everybody is rooting for you. we all believe you can make a bright future for yourself and have all your dreams come true. >> reporter: he plays in a practice match.

connecting passes is what he does best, but this time he is disappointed by the way he played. he is keen to learn what he could have done better. >> translator: were there problems with how i played? >> translator: you need to listen to what players around you say and think more about your position and defense. >> reporter: immediately he texts his coach back in afghanistan what he learned. >> translator: i think we can improve if we master this coordinated style of play. >> translator: that sounds good. i'll put it into practice right away. >> translator: i want to relay everything i learn in japan back to afghanistan.

i want to pay society back by becoming someone who can help my home country in the future. >> reporter: he hopes that if he keeps his eye on the ball he will reach his goals not only for his own future, but also for his country. nhk world. >> that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant have been struggling to decommission the reactors that were crippled in the 2011 disaster. but before they start dismantling the structure, they must first deal with radioactive contaminated groundwater. the head of japan's nuclear watchdog has visited the plant to see firsthand what the workers are up against.

nhk world has more. >> reporter: the chairman of the nuclear regulation authority on friday made his third visit to the crippled plant. sunichi tanaka gave the workers a much-needed pep talk. lot of potential risks associated with fukushima daiichi. i want you to tackle each problem in a way that local residents and other people around the country can see progress. >> reporter: tanaka saw tanks storing contaminated water. he then went inside the turbine building to see the contaminated water. since the accident three years ago, highly contaminated water has been flowing into a maze of tunnels from the damaged

reactors and turbine buildings. experts believe it's mixing with groundwater and then seeping into the ocean. workers initially hoped to build a wall of ice to block the contaminated water. they then planned to pump out all the water, but the plan failed. so plant officials decided to adopt a new method using cement. workers have started pouring cement into tunnels and pumping out the contaminated water. tanaka observed their efforts. >> translator: removing the contaminated water from the tunnels has been our top concern for more than a year. now we finally see that progress is being made toward completing the work. >> reporter: workers plan to

finish removing the contaminated water from the tunnels by march. tanaka said regulators will keep an eye on the utilities' work to ensure the decommissioning is carried out safely. chie yamagishi, nhk world. authorities have also been struggling to find a place to store all the radioactive debris from the nuclear accident. now they're one step closer after leaders of one fukushima town approved a plan to build intermediate storage facilities there. japan's government wants to store the debris near the damaged nuclear plant. they've earmarked a 16 square kilometer site in the towns of okuma and futaba. members of the okuma town assembly voted to accept the plan. they said they had no choice if they wanted to speed up reconstruction from the disaster. >> translator: i think it's time we came to a decision about this town. >> translator: there's no choice

but to accept the plan. they're not going to be able to take the waste anywhere else. >> translator: i think the government has to take care of the land owners. they didn't want to give up their land. >> the government still needs futaba officials to give the green light and they need the approval of the land's owners. politicians in japan don't have much time before the campaign for a general election comes to a close. voters will cast ballots on sunday to choose lawmakers for the lower house. prime minister abe and his liberal democratic party framed this as a referendum on his policy, known as abenomics. our special coverage, japan decides, has focused on the key

issues all week. rebuilding the northeast is top of mind for many voters. the tsunami changed the lives of people in three prefectures. people in fukushima place more complex problems, with the fallout from the nuclear plant accident. nearly four years on, there has been progress. for some people, it isn't happening fast enough. nhk world reports. >> reporter: much of the area around the fukushima daiichi plant is still an evacuation zone. high levels of radiation have made it unlivable. government leaders are trying to keep up the pace of decontamination work so residents can one day go home. many feel time is dragging on. >> translator: i don't want the government to slow down. reconstruction needs to continue steadily. >> translator: i know government

officials are trying hard, but it's not enough. >> reporter: radiation released from the damaged plant affected large swaths of land, ones used to produce rice, vegetables and fruit. some farmers have been able to restart their work following decontamination. the crops have cleared government standards for radiation levels. but field after field still needs to be cleaned up. production in fukushima was about $2 billion a year before the accident. while there has been some progress, what they bring in now remains about 13% lower than it was in 2010. fishing industry workers are in a similar bind. what they can catch must be screened for radiation. they stopped fishing soon after the accident. a little more than a year later,

they were back in the ocean. they could bring in three species from waters 50 kilometers north of the nuclear plant. they gradually expanded the area. now they can go almost everywhere except close to the damaged facility. they can catch 56 species. but they are still concerned. >> translator: we definitely want to see the nuclear accident and the radioactive wastewater leaks settled quickly. we can't do business if those problems aren't tackled first and thoroughly. >> reporter: the government and plant operator, tokyo electric power company, know that. they're trying to stop contaminated water from leaking from the plant. workers are cleaning up the site itself. the decades long decommissioning effort is already behind schedule.

politicians say there will be no revival of japan without fukushima's reconstruction. voters are certain to hold them to their words. tur -- kurando tago, nhk world. don't forget, we'll have extensive election coverage for you on sunday. japan decides begins at 7:40 p.m. in tokyo. the polls close at 8:00, and that's when our decision desk will study nhk's exit polls and other information to project the winners. "newsline" will have the latest results and analysis. the tokyo district court has rejected a suit over a cabinet decision to reinterpret the constitution. a citizen was trying to have the decision allowing japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense nullified. 75-year-old tokinao chindou is a retired civil servant for the

mie prefectural government in central japan. he says the change would open the way for japan to fight other countries in the name of self-defense. he says it clearly violates war-renouncing article nine of the constitution. the presiding judge ruled the cabinet's decision on national security policy does not automatically limit tokinao chindou's rights. the judge said the plaintiff and cabinet have no specific dispute over rights and obligations. >> translator: the cabinet decision has a major impact on people's rights and obligations with regard to national security. >> he indicated he will appeal the ruling. a cartoonist in china is getting laughs and making waves. he's made a name for himself

poking fun of life in china. some accuse him of being a traitor. >> reporter: the independent media in hong kong held a ceremony last month to recognize journalists who have contributed to democratization and social progress. one of the awards went to wang liming. works under the pen name, rebel pepper. >> translator: i am very honored to receive the best cartoon award at this time. >> wang's cartoons satirizing modern chinese society evoked a huge response. wang left his home in beijing and now staying in japan. in china, wang became known for his cartoons exposing social problems which he posted on the

chinese social media equivalent to twitter. in november, world leaders gathered for the apec summit. the skies over beijing are shown as clear blue, that's because president xi jinping depicted as a spider is restricting traffic and closing factories that are the source of the city's chronic pollution. at one point, attracted as many as 900,000 followers in china. >> translator: instead of expressing stereo typical anger, i try to make fun of the situation. exposing the reality behind the government's image as being virtuous, that is the power of cartoons. >> reporter: since last year, the xi administration has been

cracking down on people who express their opinions over the internet. wang did not escape attention. he was questioned by the police on several occasions then in late july while he was visiting japan, his webo account was suspended and was at warning. and when a tweet by wang drew attention to japan's post war passivism, he was accused as being a traitor on the communist party's newspaper. >> translator: this says that related agencies need to conduct an investigation under the law and punish him. when i saw expressions escalating like this, i was worried i would be arrested if i went back. >> thanks to the help of supporters, wang and his wife were allowed to extend their

stay in japan. >> translator: i am very perplexed. i started crying as i discussed things with my wife. it seems to me that i'm a man who has been abandoned by my own country. it's not that i don't want to go back. i can't go home. >> reporter: wang is now broadening his style as a cartnist being studying the many different genres of japanese manga. >> i don't think my cartoons have the power to change china, but even so, they have the potential to change the thinking of some people. >> reporter: wang has now reached a crossroads on his journey as a cartoonist who wants to express himself freely.

now the latest market figures. we move onto the weekend weather forecast.

before we go, we would like to show a holy cleanup, shinto priests in the japanese city of niko spruced up an iconic part of their shrines for the new year. the bridge is a unesco world heritage site. a priest recited prayers then the group used bamboo brooms to sweep away the dust of the past year. lots of visitors will see their handiwork as the bdge leads to two famous shrines. >> translator: we put our hearts and souls into the work to get a fresh start in the new year. >> that's all we have this hour on "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. thk you for watching and have good day.

this week on "moyers & company" -- >> john roberts gets it so deeply wrong in his understanding of history and he gets it so deeply wrong in a way that has really hurt us, because he keeps striking down campaign finance laws. >> this corruption is an american issue and we can find a way to unite us against a fight that nobody on the merits can defend. >> announcer: funding is provided by anne gumowitz, encouraging the renewal of democracy. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide.