hirose spoke to them about his experiences. yuko later sent him an e-mail, and they have stayed in touch ever since. >> translator: i don't think people outside fukushima can understand what we went through after the nuclear accident, but i feel that despite the different circumstances, hirose and i share a similar pain. >> reporter: she says hirose's exposure to radiation makes it easier to share her anxieties with him. after exchanging more than 100 e-mails with yuko, hirose felt he wanted to do something for the children of fukushima. he visited her school in july. he was aware of the hardships the students were facing. he started by listening. >> translator: fukushima is known for growing delicious fruits, but people don't think it's safe to eat them anymore. >> translator: i really wonder if i'll ever be able to marry. >> reporter: hirose understands the fear and frustration in those words. for decades, he faced all kinds of discrimination linked to his exposure to radiation. >> translator: i share your pain. i know you al

earlier i salked with nhk world's senior commentator hirome hirose to get more insight into vietnam's economy. vietnam has thrived on trade throughout its history but now it faces a major turning point. how would you characterize the current state of the country's economy? >> in a phrase, it's reform aimed at promoting the economy with open-door policies while maintaining the country's system under collective leadership of the communist elite. this reform has helped nation achieve high rate of economic growth over the past decade. the vietnamese economy had been growing about 7% each of those years. but this year it is expected to dip below 6%. >> what's behind this slowdown? >> the global economy -- played a part but the vietnamese need to transform its industrial structure. being a sociostate does not ensure the country from competition. vietnam is affected in the downturn, just like most other countries. so that means vietnam can no longer afford to simply rely on its cheap labor pool and growing cooperation. >> so what specifically needs to be changed now that vietnam is at such a

nhk world's hiromi hirose joined us. i started by asking him if asia's economy will continue to grow. >> well, recently we are more likely to hear growth in asia is slowing. for example the growth rate of china's economy in the current quarter fell below 8% for first time in three years. there's data that clearly show that india's growth is also slipping. this economic outlook was released by adb. it's a further downward adjustment from its earlier projection. >> how much is the debt crisis in europe affecting asia's economy? >> well, i talked to the managing director general of adb about it. he thinks that effects are clear. the euro crisis will affect asia. >> we are, obviously, interconnected. i think it's also important to say that asia is increasingly able to consume within its own boundary. >> what he seems to be saying is that there may be some ups and downs in the short term, but we don't need to be so pessimistic over the mid to long term. this is a long-term growth prediction as calculated by adb. in the 1970s,