welcome to "nhk newsline." it's tuesday, september 11th. many japanese can't believe it's been that long since that day. a magnitude nine earthquake struck the northeast 18 months ago. that strtriggered a tsunami.

nearly 16,000 people died. about 3,000 went missing. there was a meltdown at the nuclear plant. workers have been struggling ever since to bring it under control. decommissioning the plant will take about 40 years. the biggest challenge is how to remove spent fuel rods from the reactor pool. the operator aims to start extracting melted uranium. employees have to locate tracks in the containment vessels to fill them with water and cool down the fuel. they are using endoscopes and robots to do the job. a hydrogen reactor damaged number four. workers have been performing tests in order to remove the rods in december next year. debris se still scattered in the

pool and that could slow down the operation. managers have had a tough time attracting workers. they say they will run out of help in five years unless they can fi way to reduce workers exposure to radiation. officials are struggling to clean up contamination. the central government is responsible for decontaminating the evacuation zone around the plant. the cleanup has been slow to start. the government has taken time to classify the zone according to levels of contamination. the government is subsidizing the cleanup in 104 municipalities outside the zone. the disaster damaged roofs and walls in many houses. so

some residents are demanding their homes be repaired before decontamination. 25 municipalities have yet to draw up plans. they can't decide on the areas or how to remove substances. many in the region are still on path to recovering. the contamination spread out into the ocean. crews who fished stopped heading out onto the water. now a father and daughter in one coastal city have dreamed up way to help. >> reporter: a special kind of tour is taking place in fukushima prefecture. residents of tokyo and other cities have come to learn about the situation of fishing in the region. this woman is one of the organizers.

she was born in the city of iwaki in fukushima to a family of fishermen. now a student in tokyo, she's worried about her parents and her hometown's future. >> translator: i hope my father can start fishing again. >> reporter: the city of iwaki is located about 50 kilometers south of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. her fatheras caught white bait and other fish for years. >> translator: my boat survived the tsunami. >> reporter: he risked his life to save the boat. but after the tsunami, he still cannot put it to good use. he has concerns about sea contamination and it continues to prevent them from saving their catch. >> translator: we have no idea at all when we'll be able to start fishing again. we're worried about making a

living with our boats. this whole situation makes us feel very insecure. >> reporter: she wanted to help her father. she came up with the idea of bringing consumers to iwaki to make funds for the local fishermen. >> translator: i want to do something to convey more information about iwaki and the efforts of fishermen. >> reporter: she petitioned a petroleum company to organize a tour for visitors around tokyo. 30 people from all walks of life have come to see the situation for themselves. they head out to sea to observe her father who is casting his net for the first time in months.

as potential consumers, they are eager to learn about the process. >> translator: i feel great right now but i'd feel even better if i could sell them. >> reporter: the fishermen also tell visitors about the efforts to monitor radiation in fish. union representatives and local auorities collect samples every week and run tests. the fishermen say the levels of radioactive materials have decreased since last year but they say they won't resume fishing until the safety of the catch is completely insured. >> translator: i'm really shocked that we still can't eat the fish.

>> translator: if they're ever put on sale again, i won't hesitate to buy them. >> reporter: that is certainly the kind of response the fisherman and his daughter have been hoping for. >> translator: i think the information is getting across, and everyone's been working really hard on this project. i think we did a good job. >> reporter: they know the fishermen won't be back at work any time soon, but when they do, she hopes people everywhere will be ready to buy what they catch. people across northeast japan are walking along walk to recovery. we've been focusing on their

efr efforts to rebuild after the march disaster. we're reflecting on what happened and what's changed. our coverage begins at 1:00 p.m. japan time. that's midnight in new york and 5:00 a.m. in london. people responsible for train in the asia pacific think they might be better off with fewer walls between them. at's the latest on a possible free trade deal? >> they are reconsidering the rules. they are looking at 20 sectors. new sozealand's prime minister says he's confident talks will be wrapped up by the end of next year. >> it's possible transpacific partnership can be completed in 2013.

>> trade officials plan to conclude the agreement by the end of this year but representatives of nine countries involved said at the asia pacific cooperation forum a few days ago said they would postpone the schedule. they are about to wrap up negotiations in both areas but differences remain over some sectors. japanese officials said they will start conltatns with e notiating parts but they have yet to reach a decision. key said they will be happy to see participation in the near future. there's an investigative body on the manipulation scandal. central bank governors from japan, britain and other leading countries released a statement after the meeting of the bank of international settlement. they said they will listen to a group of financial institutions. they agree to hold discussions

to improve labor. the scandal prompted investigations into a number of major banks. checking on the markets now, investors ended on a note of caution ahead of the all important federal reserve policy meeting. the average dipped to 13,254. let's see how stocks are trading this tuesday. how are tokyo stocks kicking off this tuesday, september 11th? >> we did see the dow jones give back some of its earlier gains losing around 30 points into the close and the nasdaq was weighed down by intel and that suffered an investment downgrade and intel was down 3.8%.

let's have a look at the opening levels for this tuesday here in tokyo. both indexes opening lower 8,800 exactly right now for the nikkei and 731 for the topix. with the central bank policy meeting pending this week investors sca investo investors squared some of their positions with profit taking. a lot of market direction in here in japan will depend on the federal reserve and what measures it will take is week and how it may affect the dollar which is why investors are a little sidelined on that key meeting. on the flip side we did see china related tariffs higher yesterday. that follows a plan by china to boost its infrastructure and manufacturing sectors with a new

five-year growth plan. japan airlines also in focus it set its share price at 3,790 yen around $48 which means it will raise around $8.5 billion. the shares will be listed september 19th, next wednesday. we'll keep track of that. u.s. credit rating agency downgraded the rating of panasonic. we'll see how that affects the prices as well. >> where do we stand this tuesday? >> a big focus there. let's have a look at some of the pairs, dollar/yen and euro/yen. the dollar did lose a little ground.

we're seeing that. euro/yen 99 to 88. the euro weakening there. it was trading around the 100 yen levels. that was on the back of news that the european central bank will stepn and buy some bonds. a lite bit of yen strength there. we'll see how we trade for the rest of the day. back to you. >> thanks. that is all for me for now. i'll leave you with the market figures.

the new u.n.arab league says he will place stop priority on stopping the blood shed in the country. he's expected to meet damascus to meet president bashar assad in a few days. he met the secretary general in cairo on monday ahead of his planned trip to syria. after the meeting he said that some 5,000 were killed in august alone. >> translator: the dangerous situation in syria will leave the whole region to collapse into turmoil. >> the envoy said he is prepared to boast the syrian government a brand new peace plan. he said the proposal is aimed at a cease-fire and bringing

stability to the country to the satisfaction of the syrian people. he said he needs cooperation from four regional heavy weights who have begun to work toward a resolution to the syrian crisis. the ripples from the nuclear accident continue to be spread abroad. clashes now between anti-nuclear protester and police in india. clashes have left one person dead and many injured. the violence erupted on monday as thousands camped on the beach. police say four of their officers were hurt. another protest spilled over 40 ki kilometers north of the plant. police fired at protesters killing one. the protest began last year after the disaster.

the demonstrations have prevented the new power plant from operating as schedud. india trying to promote nuclear power generation to meet demand in its fast growing economy. many citizens are worried about the plant's safety. north korea has begun leasing port ta silties to chinese companies. they want to accelerate the development of the port on its northeast coast. the deal gives china direct access to the sea of japan to transport goods to its northeast. officials say a local firm set up the joint venture on september 1st be they get a 30-year lease on two piers. the chinese firm will invest about $12 million to build container facilities at the port. it plans to ship grain produced in north eastern china. in a separate deal another chinese company has bought the

rights to use a port just north for 30 years. the firm is shipping coal from mines in china's north eastern regions to coastal shanghai. the company plans t build anher er at the port. japan's government has decided to buy the senkaku islands from a private japanese owner. the islands are claimed by china and taiwan. ministers in charge of the matter met monday. they say the purchase is aimed at ensuring safe navigation in the area as well as peaceful and stable management of the islands. the ministers say the islands are japan's inherent territory based on history and international law. the government has already reached a basic agreement with the owner that the state will buy the islands for about $26 million. the cabinet will adopt the decision tuesday. >> translator: we never want the

issues around the senkaku islands to have an impact on japan-china relations. we should avoid any unexpected incidents or misunderstandings. >> chinese foreign minister has summoned the ambassador. yang called buying the island illegal and invalid. representatives of taiwan's foreign office say they will ask japan to refrain from taking unilateral action that would violate taiwan's sovereignty. all it takes is five minutes. then a new screening method will

tell patients if they have cancer. medical practictioners only started using this technology this year but already it's getting results. >> reporter: the clinic started using it in april. all the test requires isbout five mililiters of a person's blood, about a spoonful. staff can determine how likely it is a patient has cancer. the results will be available in two weeks. >> translator: there's stomach lining, mammary glands, ovaries and uterus. >> reporter: the test applies to six types of ccer.

there's three classifications of probability from a to c. class c indicates the strongest likelihood. patients with class c probability receive further tests. the technology was discovered accidentally by this major food manufacturer. it was a by product of research of developing a new product that contain amino acid. researchers were trying to fin out how the product affects humans. they took blood samples from 20,000 people who eat the company's food. researchers discovered the amount of amino acids vary among healthy people and cancer patients. there are more than 40 different amino acids in the blood. lung cancer patient vs a higher

amount of serine than healthy people but the patients have less histidine and glutamine. patients with stomach cancer have lower six types of acids. >> translator: from the differing proportion of amino acids we can determine patients' general state of health. >> reporter: the manufacturer confirms the larger the imbalance, the greater the cancer is. in spring last year the manufacturer completed research into practical application of the test. a man from this town took the test. he thought the test would be a cinch but the results took him

by surprise. >> translator: the results show i have a level c probability of colon cancer. >> reporter: he took a thorough examination. it confirmed he had cancer and it was in its early stages. he went to the hospital for surgery. >> translator: if i hasn't taken this test my cancer would have grown. i'm grateful that i was able to discover it so early. it were the manufacturer is continuing to research. staff want the research the wor for other cancer too. people have high expectations for this testing and hope it will be more widely available.

people in many areas of japan are heading to work or school in heavy rain. we have the world weather forecast. >> good morning. a strong frontal system has been dumping very heavy rain. some places have had record amounts of heavy rain. for ample, 17 millimeters of rain and over 310 millimeters over the past three days. flood warnings and heavy rain warnings are out. it looks like western japan should be clearing up by tonight. however northern japan is stay very stormy into tomorrow. not just heavy rain but thunderstorms and gusty wind are possible. it should stay dry with another hot day. right now towards the south we have a couple of tropical

depressions. this one to the south of japan. i will stay over the waters for the next several days. this one right here is more prop m problematic. it could affect the islands by this weekend. we'll keep you posted on the situation. we have a low pressure system situated that produced about 220 millimeters of rain and the heaviest rain should be shifting the shagshin area. as for the highs going down to 12 degrees. 24 in beijing. still on the hot side in chongoing. heading into the americas and let's talk about tropical storm leslie. we thought it could become a hurricane but it seems it will remain as a tropical storm.

it looks like it's going to move through the eastern new finland by early tuesday. winds could be very strong about 120 kilometers per hour. rainfall is going to be quite significant. we are anticipating an additional 100 to 150 millimeters of rain to fall in parts of the new finland as well as islands. we'll keep you posted on the situation. a high pressure system is keeping things dry the eastern half of the u.s.

also dry in the north western corner but very windy. conditions are ideal for rapid fire growth. thun thunder showers are intensifying. flash flood warnings are out in many places. here is your temperatures on your tuesday. 31 in denver. jumping up to 29 in chicago. it will be warming up to 31 as we head into your wednesday. heat is still continuing in houston with a high of 33 degrees. here is your extended forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." thanks very much for joining us.