daisuke azuma reports. >> reporter: i am standing near a park near the national diet building in central tokyo. more than 3,000 people from the agriculture sector of the nation are here. they are holding placards that say no to tpp. it is evidence of those against the tpp among the crowd. the rally was organized by groups representing the farmers, fishermen and others. the free trade will hit farmers hardest by allowing low price imports into the domestic market. of particular consent is the future of rice, japan's main staple food, as well as dairy and beef products. the organizer says japan's efficiency will plummet as it runs out. >> translator: we believe it is to japan's benefit to protect its people's lives. securing a beautiful land and a stable food supply, promoting local economies and employment and delivering reliable health care are fundamental to running a country. we are determined to do everything we can to stop the tpp. >> tpp! [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: the tpp aims to make trade tax-free in principle and also free of a number of barriers. negotiations

daisuke azuma, nhk world, japan. >>> "newsline" is latest on jap, post march 11th.e have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis, and "the road ahead" requests japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> japan has deployed its newest patrol ship to boost security in the senkaku islands, east china sea. the 1,300 ton patrol boat entered the port on tuesday. members of the coast guard office boarded the vessel to inspect the helicopter landing pad and other equipment. this is the third largest patrol boat the coast guard has deployed in the area. it hopes the additional vessel will help it respond more quickly to incidents. the ishigaki station is the japan post guard's closest ouost to the senekaku islands which areontrolle by japan t clmeby cna. d rmeber last island year. inese rveillpsyig japaneseertoan e mas owruiaministere building pos,irrtanro th ia op

daisuke azuma, nhk world, yamagata. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead," on "newsline." >>> officials in yokohama city are conducting more soil tests for radioactive strontium. this comes after a local resident detected the substance on the roof of an apartment building. yokohama is located about 250 kilometers from the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. radioactive cesium, more than 80 times the government's set limit of 500 becquerels her kilogram, was found last month in samples of sediment collected from roadside ditches in yokohama. the city later removed the contaminated sediment. but the city decided to retest the samples from the roadside for radioactive strontium due to the request of a local resident. the resident sa

daisuke azuma. >>> time to check on some of the stories we have gathered from broadcasters around asia begin tonight with this item sent in by cctv china. t china and russia signed agreements to boost ties. the deals were signed after wen jiabao held talks with russian president vladimir putin in beijing on tuesday. the leaders also stressed a need to build a strategic partnership based on equality and mutual trust. a mechanism for holding regular meetings between prime ministers of both countries was set up in 1996, and has been an important platform, strengthening bilateral ties since then. >>> the malaysian agricultural minister said his country has enough rice. the comments come amid public concerns of a shortage following massive flooding in thailand, malaysia's main rice supplier. his comment came a day after thai prime minister said rice production in thailand could drop by 4 million tons due to floods. he said malaysia has a stockpile of 1 million tons, sufficient for about half a year. he add the the country can import fris other countries including india and pakistan. >>> tha