welcome to nhk world "newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the japanese government has a new plan to help people affected by the fukushima daiichi nuclear accident rebuild their lives. fighting between rival military forces is spreading in south sudan. japan's peacekeepers are helping civilians seeking refuge in the capital juba. and on "nuclear watch," we

look at the impact the fukushima accident is having on the forests and the consequences of not cleaning them up. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is trying to make life easier for people affected by the 2011 nuclear accident in fukushima. he and his cabinet approved fresh guidelines to boost the reconstruction effort and help people settle in new communities if they need to. >> translator: the reconstruction of fukushima is essential for japan's revitalization. more than 100,000 residents are still forced to live away from their homes because of the nuclear accident. our mission is to help them get back their regular lives as soon as possible. >> the government plans to increase compensation for residents who want to rebuild or renovate their homes when evacuation orders are lifted. they can also receive payments

for mental distress for one year after the orders expire. those that can't return home and want to start a new life elsewhere will be able to get financial support to purchase homes. they'll also be able to be eligible for mental distress. this man is one of those that built a house in the city of iwate. he says those adjusting to their new life in their communities need support. the operator of fukushima daiichi, tokyo electric power company, and other firms that run plants will be able to finance the assistance. the government plans to raise the limit of its interest-free loans to tepco to make sure

residents get paid. the fukushima accident spurred municipalities near nuclear plants to work on evacuation plans, but 60% say they have yet to draw something up. officials say 82 of the 135 municipalities had still not finished compiling evacuation plans as of the beginning of this month. many municipalities are finding difficulties to evacuate people outside their boundaries and are still unsure how to move elderly people from hospitals and care facilities to safer places. fighting between rival military groups is spreading in the world's newest nation, south sudan. it started last sunday between supporters of the country's president and former vice president. united nations officials say at least 500 people have been killed, and tens of thousands more are reportedly fleeing the

fighting. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the fighting began at the top of south sudan's pyramid of power, within the presidential guard core. supporters of president salva kiir have been clashing with troops loyal to former vice president riek machar. the u.n. reported fighting in six of the country's ten states late thursday. rebel troops have seized control of a key town, bor, about 200 kilometers from the capital. rebels also attacked a u.n. compound in the border town of akobo, apparently targeting dozens of loyal civilians who sought refuge there. at least two u.n. soldiers were killed in the attack. the conflict can be traced to longstanding tensions between two tribal groups, the majority

dinka, which president kiir belongs to, and of which the president is a member. when south sudan declared independence in 2011, kiir and machar joined forces. this was supposed to put an end to the tension. kiir has accused his former vice president of plotting a coup. u.n. officials have deployed uniforms and civilian peacekeeping personnel to south suzanne. japan have sent around 400. they are based in juba building roads, drainage ditches, and other infrastructure. officials with japan's defense ministry say many civilians have fled to the u.n. mission's headquarters. members of japan's team are building sanitary facilities and providing medical care to people seeking shelter. less than three years after its

birth, south sudan appears to be descending into tribal violence. jan yamamoto, nhk world. the japanese government is planning to issue less bonds to slash its ballooning debt. ray mean mel guard has more on this. >> thanks, gene, we're talking really big numbers here. the japanese government is putting together the biggest budget on record for fiscal year 2014. the draft budget will total about 95.5 trillion yen, or about $920 billion. the cabinet is expected to approve the budget plan on tuesday. nearly a third of the budget will be used for ballooning social costs for the growing number of senior citizens. spending for public works projects and defense will also rise, but government officials

plan to cut bond offerings to restore japan's fiscal health. they'll be offering about $395 billion worth of government bonds, and that's roughly $15 billion less than the amount for the current fiscal year that ends in march. officials expect tax revenues to grow by about $66 billion from this year's initial budget to $480 billion. policy makers at the bank of japan have decided to maintain monetary easing measures they introduced back in april. as the boj continues with an inflation target of 2%. they said the country's economy is recovering moderately. that's unchanged from the assessment made in their meeting last month. policy makers say that business investment has been picking up as corporate properties have improved. consumer spending has remained

resilient. they've also noted exports have been generally picking up. turning now to the outlook, policy makers said the japanese economy is expected to continue a moderate economy, although it will be affected by the consumption tax hike in april, noting a high degree of uncertainty remains. policy makers are believed to have discussed the u.s. federal reserve's decision to start scaling back quantitative monetary kwez easing, including india and indonesia. boj's governor spoke to reporters after the meeting. he welcomed the fed's decision to reduce its bond buying program. >> translator: the decision was made and will have a positive impact on the entire global economy, as well. >> kuroda also noted market participants today have a better understanding of the fed's

policy intentions. the governor said the pace of economic growth may slow down between april and june next year due to a consumption tax hike, but he added the personal spending will remain firm in fiscal 2014 as a whole and the economy will continue to expand. now let's check on the markets. european equities are set to close a gain for the week, snapping a recent losing streak. this is how major indexes are trading at this hour. london trading up by a tenth of a percent. frankfurt's dax by 0.4 of a percent and paris marginally lower at 4,173. this stems from signs of upbeat economic sentiment in germany. the latest survey shows consumer sentiment in the country will remain upbeat in the future. earlier in the day, asian stocks ended mixed. china's shanghai fell more than

2%. a spike in short-term money rates remained a source of concern as it increases borrowing costs for banks. tokyo's nikkei edged up 0.7%. the dollar is maintaining strength against the yen. the pair right now trading at 104.42-43, near its five-year high. analysts say the dollar may face pressure in the short term since many market players will be on leave for the year end holiday. euro/yen, 164-66. the number of foreign visitors to the country has topped the government goal of 10 million for the first time. tourism minister attended a ceremony to mark the milestone. a couple from thailand was invited to join the event as the 10 millionth visitor of the year.

>> translator: i am so impressed by the services and sales clerks wherever we go in the country. >> the number of visitors surged. the government has been stepping up efforts to attract foreign tourists as part of its economic growth strategy. the next goal is to lure 20 million visitors by around 2020, when japan hosts the summer olympic games. that's all for business news for this hour. i'll leave you with a look at the region's markets.

the u.s. secretary of defense is worried about the possibility of an unintended clash with china's military. chuck hagel says both sides must create a set of rules for when their forces come into close contact. his warning follows a near miss earlier this month between a cowpens and a chinese ship. >> what we don't want is some miscalculation here to occur, and when you have a cowpens issue, that's the kind of thing that is very insind area that could be a trigger or spark that could set off some

miscalculation. >> the chinese ship was traveling with an aircraft carrier in the south china sea. u.s. officials say it cut in front of the cowpens with less than 100 meters between them. hagel called the behavior of the chinese captain irresponsible. the authorities in north korea have threatened to attack south korea without notice, days after photos were burned of leader kim jong-un. officials in seoul said personnel at north korea's national defense commission used a military hotline to send the message. the north koreans said if provocations against their leader are repeated, they would retaliate. conservative groups in seoul held rallies on tuesday to mark the second anniversary of the death of former north korean leader kim jong-il. they condemned the authoritarian rule of his son and burnt pictures of kim jong-un. the north koreans call that an insult to their highest dignity.

south korean defense officials responded to the threat using the hotline. >> translator: we warn that our country will firmly retaliate if north korea provokes us. >> last week, authorities in pyongyang executed kim's uncle and mentor, jang song thaek. u.s. senators from both sides of the aisle are making a push for tougher sanctions on iran. president barack obama fears the bill would disrupt nuclear talks between negotiators from iran and six world powers, and he's warned he would veto the legislation. 13 democrats and 13 republicans submitted the bill. they want to impose new restrictions on oil exports if the iranians break an interim deal on their nuclear program. >> it is very important to refrain from taking an action that would potentially disrupt

the opportunity here for a diplomatic resolution of this challenge. >> last week, u.s. officials issued new sanctions against more than a dozen companies and individuals for doing prohibited business with iran. russian president vladimir putin called the decision counterproductive and hopes it won't undermine progress towards a comprehensive agreement. negotiators from six world powers agreed last month to ease sanctions on iran. in return, the iranians agreed to curb their uranium enrichment activities as they work towards a long-term deal. putin says he will pardon a political rival. he has already spent more than ten years in prison. he was arrested in 2003 on charges of tax evasion. in 2010, a court convicted him of embezzlement.

his oil company, ukos, was broken up and sold off mainly into state hands, but his mother is sick and putin says authorities took that into account. he announced his decision one day after lawmakers approved an amnesty. it could clear the way for the early release of thousands of prisoners. some have suggested leaders are trying to head off criticism of russia's human rights record before the winter olympics in sochi. people in cuba will soon be able to buy new vehicles without first having to get permission. officials say the initiative is another measure aimed at introducing greater economic freedom. the communist party newspaper says cubans will no longer need government permits to buy new cars or motorcycles from state vehicles and the government will cancel a system requiring authorization for sales between individuals. two years ago, officials lifted restrictions on private sales of used cars before the 1959

revolution. >> translator: it's the best thing they could have done for us cubans. this way, everyone can have better transportation. >> observers say the latest deregulation measure is the latest step by the government to introduce market mechanisms in cuba, but some say only the wealthiest can afford new cars. they say the reform will widen the gap between the haves and have notes. we're reporting this week about the ongoing effort to deal with the radioactive fallout from the nuclear accident in fukushima, japan. our latest story focuses on forests. they cover 70% of the prefecture. the government has yet to decide how to decontaminate them. nhk world's neil asami shows us how tainted the woods are and examines the impact of not

cleaning them up. >> reporter: wawauchi is 20 kilometers from the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. houses in the village are surrounded by forests. in november, researchers from the japan atomic energy agency conducted surveys to find out how far the contamination has spread. now they constantly measure radiation in the roots. they start near the ground. >> translator: it's 1.87 microsieverts per hour here. that's more than one times what's normal. >> reporter: they took readings in ten locations. the radiation in each place was much higher than what they've measured in decontaminated neighborhoods. >> translator: radiation levels tend to be higher in forests, because the trees are contaminated.

>> reporter: the researchers think leaves are emitting high levels of radiation. they wanted to identify any other sources, so they test the forest soil. they gathered fallen leaves, and they collected soil at the depths of one, five, and ten centimeters. they brought mobile labs to test the samples emitted. the results show the soil contains more than 15,000 becquerels of radioactive substances per kilogram. it's nearly twice the level that ought to be treated as radioactive waste. the researchers are concerned the substances are spreading beyond the forest. they say rain could spread radiation over the ground and into rivers. they think it could go to other

areas where people live. >> translator: radioactive substances move with the soil, which can end up in rivers, and we're already seeing that happen. we're concerned about the people who live downstream. >> reporter: we visited a residential area five kilometers from the service site. decontamination here was completed this spring. people have started returning to their homes. but some residents say the cleanup does not reduce the radiation level effectively. they say in some places it has even increased since the decontamination. >> translator: radioactive particles in the forest trickle down when it rains. >> translator: i think we need to have another round of decontamination work here. >> reporter: the government is reluctant to launch

decontamination efforts in forests. officials say they would need to extract and store vast amounts of hazardous waste, and they say cutting down trees and removing topsoil would destroy the environment. village leaders say homes are not safe until the forests are cleaned up. >> translator: forest decontamination is absolutely necessary. we'll keep on insisting to the government that radiation levels won't go down unless they do the cleanup. >> reporter: only half the people of this village have been able to return home. with concern that radiation levels will remain high, the rest don't know when they will be able to join them. ryo asami, nhk world, fukushima.

folk art figurines from fukushima get all dolled up for a charity auction in paris with the help of an international cast of celebrities. organizers held the event to raise money for communities hit by the disaster in northeastern japan. the celebrity artists applied paint, ink, and other decorations to about 40 dolls. france-based fashion designer helped put on the event. the one of a kind pieces included contributions by a designer and actor. reno was also on hand for the auction. the highest bid came in at more than $850. the auction raised more than $13,000. there's thunder and snow for

tokyo. our meteorologist robert speta has the forecast. robert? >> yeah, gene. you couldn't be anymore true. today, we saw thunderstorms, even hail, and then the first snowfall of the season in downtown tokyo, due to this very potent winter storm that is overhead. the good news going into saturday, what we're seeing is improving conditions along the pacific coastline, but much of the sea of japan coastline could see additional snowfall. parts of western japan, 40 centimeters in the past 24 hours, up to 60, to 65 centimeters in similar areas going through saturday, as well, and all of this is going to be continuing to push off towards the east and merging in one large low pressure system, believe it or not, east of japan going through the weekend. it's going to be causing some monstrous seas out in the northern pacific. about 10 meters high, definitely feel that for any shipping traffic going through there with this same storm system that

brought all of that energy across much of japan. towards the west, though, the big topic is going to be the cold weather. sea effect snow in parts of korea, it's going to be cold and dry in china and even in northern thailand, frost advisories are in place. temperatures are expected to be dipping down in northern portions of the country to right around the freezing mark. for the highs in bangkok, high 20s. manila at 31, taipei, rain showers for you with 15 for your high. let's talk about rain showers, as well, in south america. it's the rainy season here in brazil. it's not anything too unheard of, but what we have been seeing is a low pressure area off the coastline, so some areas are getting an above average amount of rain. the past seven days alone, 300 to 400 millimeters have occurred here. i want to show you a video here, this is just some incredible footage. unfortunately, it is deadly footage, as well.

six deaths have been reported due to this very serious landslide in rural brazil. officials say it's been caused by this continuous heavy rain. also river levels have arose. houses flooded, commercial v buildings flooded. very serious stuff there, but incredible footage to show you. unfortunately, the next 72 hours we're still looking at yet more rainfall out here and especially right where we saw that video come out of, you could be seeing up to about 200 millimeters, so there's still the risk of flooding and more mudslides there into eastern portions of brazil. let's also talk about what's going on here in western europe. we have several low pressure area, one moving across the british isles. some areas could see winds well over 120 kilometers per hour. heavy rainfall, snow farther north. that's going to push towards the east. now what's happening, though, is the same thing that's supporting this in the upper levels is a jet stream. it's dipping clear down to portions of africa.

with that, you have all this cold air mass coming towards the south, so parts of france, even in the mediterranean, you're looking at snow. believe it or not, in algeria, reports of snow and freezing rain. you're still going to be expecting that going through your day here on friday, and unfarntly, that jet is going to lift back north, but we're going to have a cut-off low lingering through the next 72 hours there in northern portions of africa. i don't think this is going to be as bad as we were talking about last week in cairo you saw snowfall there. this is mainly going to be refrained to the mountains, but definitely something to watch through the coming days. as far as your temperatures, especially towards the east, cold side, minus 1 in moscow. but that's a look at your world weather. here's your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.a7guccc'

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