the group included a university student from the disaster hit fukushima daiichi prefecture. they came from the western most island two days earlier. they took tourns swim 30-minute legs for 110 kilometers, braving high waves from a tropical storm approaching okinawa. >> translator: it was very moving. we truly fell the japanese youth. >> it was a long journey. the fatigue left as soon as i saw the faces of the japanese people. >> newsline is the place it turn to for the latest on japan, post march 11. we have two segments offering two 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, skpamins japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on newsline. . >> tokyo markets are kicking off a holiday week this tuesday morning. first tell us about other markets, how they performed on monday. we saw a huge drop. >> that's right. other asian markets fell. europe fell. the united states even fell monday. taking a closer lo

>> there have been losses since the accident at the fukushima daiichi. radiation levels above the safety limit were detected in some of their products. the japanese government ordered the suspension of shipments of milk and some types of vegetables in fukushima and neighboring areas. shipments of beef cattle from four prefectures was prohibited between july and august. farmers who worked within the evacuation zone along the fukushima daiichi faced even bigger difficulties. they were forced to give up everything including their animals. but some of them are risking their own safety to make sure their livestock doesn't starve to death. >> reporter: namie lies within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone that's been set up around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. a freelance journalist captured these images in june and july of livestock living free after residents abandoned the town. for years, the main industries in the evacuated areas around fukushima daiichi were pig, dairy and beef cattle farming. before the march 11th disaster, roughly 3,500 cows and 30,

. >>> the nuclear crisis at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is far from over. the government recently released a map that shows how far radioactive contamination has spread from the disabled nuclear power plant. in some areas, the level of radioactive exceeds that under which people living near the chernobyl in ukraine were told to relocate after the disaster. one of those is minimosoma city. >> reporter: i am at a junior high school in minimosoma city. this is one of the areas still home to about 40 people. as i drove around the city, i could see more shops are opened. and even the supermarket has resumed business. however, i also noticed that there are not many children in the streets. some of the schools are still closed. according to the latest city survey, 50% of junior high school student have returned. the city sees that the key to bringing back children is to reduce radioactive contamination. last month they started cleaning 90 schools and kindergartens. their aim is to limit the accumulated external contamination. this is the policy by the central gove

the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi plant. the society helps to promote nuclear technology and train researchers. it is also created safety standards for nuclear plants and made recommendations to the government and the nuclear industry. but the ongoing nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi has forced its members to re-evaluate their views on nuclear energy. at the conference, the society's president, saturu tanaka, who is also a professor at the university of tokyo, shared his thoughts about the accident. >> translator: the accident has had a huge impact on the people of japan and has caused them great worry. from a position of promoting the advancement of academic resources and technology, we find the situation extremely regrettable. >> our reporter, yoichiro sake joins us with details on the conference. our conversation will be in japanese but we'll provide simultaneous interpretation as we always do. mr. sake says these scholars are representing neither the government nor the industry, why do they have to express their

what is the current situation at fukushima daiichi? >> there is no end in sight yet and tepco has added more temporary water circulation cooling systems to decontaminate radioactive water and inject 380 tons of water per day into three reactors. but the temperature at the bottom of number 2 reactor was more than 110 degrees celsius this morning, which means it's boiling. so radioactive substances are still believed to be leaking even now, although, the total amount of the leaks has significantly been reduced since right after the accident. >> why can't the temperature of the reactor or the nuclear fuel be brought down? >> because tepco has to minimize water injection to prevent radioactive water from overflowing. besides they are injecting water without knowing exactly where melted fuel lies inside the reactors. they cannot directly confirm its location due to strong radiation. sol tepco and nisa, nuclear and industrial safety agency used a simulation program developed in the united states to analyze the situation and have learned that

the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi plant. the society helps to promote nuclear technology and train researchers. it has also created safety standards for nuclear plants and made recommendations to the government and the nuclear industry. but the ongoing nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi has forced its members to re-evaluate their views on nuclear energy. at the conference, the society's president, satoru tanaka, who is also a professor at the university of tokyo, shared his thoughts about the accident. >> translator: the accident has had a huge impact on the people of japan and has caused them great worry, from a position of promoting the advancement of academic resources and technology, we find the situation extremely regrettable. >>> earlier michio kijima talked to yoichi osaki for details. >> translator: mr. osaki, these are representing neither the government or tepco. they are not stake holders therefore, why do they have to express their feelings of remorse? >> translator: because many members of the atomic ener

farmers who worked within the zone along the fukushima daiichi face even bigger difficulties. they were forced to give up everything, including their animals. but some of them are willing to do that to ensure the safety of dozens of others. >> reporter: it lies within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone set up around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. a free lance journalist captured these images in june and july of livestock living free after residents abandoned the town. for years, the main industries in the evacuated areas around the fukushima daiichi were pig, dairy, and beef cattle farming. before the march 11 disaster, roughly 3,500 cows and 30,000 pigs lived there. when local residents left their homes after the accident at the nuclear plant, they were forced to leave their animals behind. without food and water, many cows and pigs slowly began to die. in april, veterinarians in fukushima prefecture started euthanizing the animals that had survived but were weak. then in may, the central government came up with a plan to cull livestock once their owners gave their permis

but the ongoing nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi has forced its members to re-evaluate their views on nuclear energy. at the conference, the society's president, satoru tanaka, who is also a professor at the university of tokyo, shared his thoughts about the accident. >> translator: the accident has had a huge impact on the people of japan and has caused them great worry, from a position of promoting the advancement of academic resources and technology, we find the situation extremely regrettable. >>> earlier michio kijima talked to yoichi osaki for details. >> translator: mr. osaki, these scholars are representing neither the government nor tepco. they are not stakeholders therefore. why do they have to express their feelings of remorse? >> translator: because many members of the atomic energy have been developed in nuclear safety measures and there are mbers of the government council will performs safety reviews and have been developing safety guidelines for nuclear power plants, so the members of the society think that they are partly responsible for not being able to prev

the task force noted the situation at fukushima daiichi has improved. it also pointed out five municipalities have drawn up plans to remove radioactive substancesrom local schools and hospitals and restore key infrastructure. >> translator: the government will do everything that it can in order to dispel concerns among residents who want to return home. >> this is the first time since thcrisis began at fukushima daiichi that the central evacuation-related designation. >>> the government designated three types of evacuation zones after the accident at fukushima daiichi. the zone whose advisory was lifted on friday colored here in yellow covers five municipalities located between 20 and 30 kilometers from the nuclear plant. residents were advised to evacuate voluntary or remain in doors in the event of another emergency. as a result, about half of the population, around 28,500 people decided to leave. two other areas remain out of bounds because of high level s of radiation. the no-entry zone that covers a 20 kilometer radius around the plant and five mun

the accident at fukushima daiichi shook the world. but only six months into the accident, tepco started compensating people affected by the crisis. why is it taking so long? >> in short, neither the japanese government or tepco expected such an accident to happen. so they were not sufficiently prepared. regarding compensation for nuclear accidents, many countries with nuclear power plants have been placed in place special legislation which provides for example stipulations which place primary responsibility on the plant operator. japan, germany and switzerland have not set an upper limit for the amount of compensation to be paid out. but nuclear energy superpowers such as the united states and france and many other countries, such as south korea, have placed a cap on payable compensation. the legislation varies from country to country. but in all countries, the laws are aimed at providing relief swiftly to the victims. however, for the fukushima accident, there was no scheme in place to immediately pay out massive sums in compensation

within a 100 kilometer ray dus of fukushima daiichi. it then tested for radioactive cesium. the ministry released a map showing the extent of the contamination. researchers identified the highest level of radiation in a location in okuma. they found 15.45 million becquerels of cesium 137 per square meter of land. the location is several hundred meters from the nuclear plant. cesium contamination levels exceed 1.48 million becquerels at 33 other locations within a 30 kilometer radius of fukushima daiichi. following the chernobyl disaster, authorities kept areas with similar readings off limits. at that time, people in areas contaminated with 555,000 becquerels of cesium per square meter were required to temporarily relocate. the latest survey shows researchers have identified 66 locations with soil contamination exceeding that level. some of them are outside the government-set no-go and evacuation zones. oagami left his home after the march 11th disaster. he's now staying in western japan. in one location, soil tests detected more than 5 million becquerels of cesium. futaba i

daiichi takahashi, nhk rld. >>> here are the latest market figures. >>> u.s.nt barack obama asked japan's prime minister, yoshihiko noda, for concrete progress in resolve ing the okinawa based disputwhen e two met in n yk dnesda nh rlstamotokama reports. tnslator: iou le to thanon behf the jane peop the u.s. litaryor the eat extence tendedn lping japan rever from the disaern mah 11th. iantoelmeri mister na and his delegation untes. i am sure it will be an excellent working relationship with the prime minter as well as his team. noda held his first face to presenonedsd othress sidelines of the u.ngeral assembly meeting. the u.s. side hoping for progress on several issues. the two men cut straight down to business at the meeting. obama explained that the u.s. terms on the relocation of the u.s. marine corps futenma station in okinawa prefecture. he called on noda to begin laying the ground work for building alternative city in the head district of nago city as agreed by the two governments. obamsa hhos see nglerogress on this issu ro e ineti o trans-rs re. takam

shortly after, a huge tsunami hit the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. external power was completely lost and the underground energy generators were knocked out as well. >> translator: no radioactive leaks from nuclear power plants have been reported so far. >> reporter: however, hydrogen explosions and fires occurred in three of the reactor buildings. the explosions and venting operations released radioactive substances into the environment. to cool down the reactors, the self-defense forces and fire departments began dumping water into the containment vessels. but the coolant water accumulated inside the reactor buildings. more than 10,000 tons of radioactive water was discharged into the sea. tepco and the government were severely criticized both at home and abroad. >> translator: it's very regrettable, and i'm sorry that radioactive water has to be discharged into the sea. intentionally. >> reporter: more than two months after the accident, the government revealed the fuel rods in three reactors had melted down and collected at the bottom of the reac

"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. >>> rivers in western japan have been blocked due to landslides triggered by tropical storm that las. a mayor asked residents living near a damned up river not to return to their homes as more downpours are forecast on friday. the village held a meeting where about 60 people who evacuated from districts at risk of additional mud slides and floods. the mayor explained if lakes which have been formed by landslides blocking the river become flooded then houses in the district could be affected. he called on the villagers to stay away from their houses to remain safe. >> the land and traffic ministries officials also explained the current condition of the dammed up river saying people in the village would be promptly informed if any risk arises. >>> and welcome back to your weather update. we're monitoring a couple tropical storm systems in the pacific and th

nuclear watch brings in site and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline." >>> next we go to the bureau in bangkok. >>> pakistan is seeking assistance after flooding triggered by rain. they called on the international community to act fast to prevent the crisis from worsening. we have a report from islamabad. >> he made emergency appeal after second straight year. >>translator: the devastation is many times bigger than we initially estimated. we believe international institutions and global community will give serious consideration to the appeal. we ask they take immediate steps to rehabilitate effected people living out in the open and waiting for tents. >> damaged 700,000 homes and displaced about 4 million people. they were triggered by intermittent heavy rain that began in june. the united nations says it will begin activities as soon as the end of this week. the aid getting to food, water, shelter. only last year, more than 20 milli

he called the area around the fukushima daiichi plant a town of death. he joked with reporters when he visited and said the dirt he got on his sleeve could have been radioactive. >> translator: how will you take responsibility for having picked hachiro as a key cabinet minister for the country's reconstruction. >> noda expressed regret. he pledged his cabinet would work tirelessly to control fukushima daiichi and provide relief for evacuees. >>> russia and north korea have been working to strengthen their economic ties. it appears they are also cooperating on other fronts. the russian interfax news agency says the country will hold joint military exercises next year. they reportedly made an agreement last month when the commander of the eastern military district konstantin sidenko held talks with korean peoples army officials. the exercises will focus on search and rescue operations that would deal with maritime accidents and large disasters. neither country has revealed the size or locations of the drills. north korean leader, kim jong-il, visited russi

researchers say a meltdown of number two reactor at the fukushima daiichi plant could have been avoided if cooling water had been injected four hours earlier. fuel melt downs occurred at the plant's one, two, and three reactors. it is thought much of the environmental contamination was a result of an explosion at the number two reactor. they created a computer simulation of the number two reactor to see if the meltdown could have been prevented. the plant operator began to manually pump cooling water around 8:00 p.m. on march 14th. the following day, the reactor overheated and a hydrogen explosion occurred. the first examination looked at what happened if the water injection started two hours earlier. it shows the temperature of nuclear fields dropping a short while but then rising again. once it exceeds 1200 degrees celsius, a meltdown occurs. in this case. in a second simulation, water injection began four hours earlier. at first, temperature rises, but then begins to fall before it reaches 1200 degrees. the agency has concluded that the meltdown could have been prevented if cooling w

he faced increased pressure to quit after he called the area around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant a town of death. many viewed the comment as insensitive to nuclear evacuees. hachiro's resignation will likely translate into a drop in popularity for noda and doubts about the new prime minister's ability to lead this country. >> this survey is pretty interesting because a majority of voters support noda. >> right. >> but on the other hand, let's see, they aren't confident about his ability to implement his policies. >> that's right. >> how should we look into this result? >> well, it would relate to another question on the survey, that is, how voters evaluate the ruling dpj. the approval has dropped by 50% in the last year. that means many japanese are disappointed with the job that the dpj has done in government. the party is attempting to go back on the campaign promises it made before taking power two years ago. they include a child benefits plan and making expressways toll-free. the dpj now admits it couldn't find enough money to fund their policies by just cutting wasteful gove

he infected the fukushima-daiichi power plant and asked workers to care for the disaster. he inspected the damaged reactor buildings, then spoke to about 200 people at the plant. >> translator: the whole world is waiting for japan to bring the nuclear accident under control. the efforts of everyone here will be the key to whether the nation can overcome the challenge. >> noda also said that thanks to them, levels of radiation in waste water inside the plant have fallen by a factor of 10 million. the prime minister also visited northwest of the power plant where relatively high levels of radiation have been detected. he watched officials measuring radiation levels in a ditch and was briefed about decontamination work. japanese researchers have estimated that a total of 15,000 radioactive substances have been released from the plant into the sea. researchers at the japan atomic energy agency, kioto university and other institutes made the observations from late march through april. the combined amount of iodine 131 and cesium 137 is more than triple the estimate made by the

he is expected to explain how the japanese government coped with the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. >>> a senior north korean official is demanding re reparations. meeting japanese reporters on wednesday -- >> translator: we will closely monitor the movement of japan's new cabinet. >> he said if the government takes steps to improve bilateral relations, north korea is ready to reciprocate. kim says the issue of the issue of his country's japanese citizens has been already settled. >> translator: our first priority is the issue of compensation for the past. north korea does not need to discuss the abduction issue with the japanese government any more. >> kim demanded that gentleman hemnes pay reparations for its colonization of the korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. and the vice director criticized japan's ruling democratic party as taking a hostile stance against north korea. >>> japanese companies and manufacturers were forced to use less power this summer due to a possible electricity shortage in the aftermath of the march disaster. now, numbers are coming ou

another pressing issue is the follow the fukushima daiichi. high levels of radio active materials is around the plant. they must be extracted before it gets into the food clan. >> the situation is more dire than moests people would think. >> canadian engineering technologies is here promoting a kbleks system to help fungus draw radiation out of the soil. >> the faster your plants grow, the faster can you take these things out of the eco system essential essentially. >> the thoughta radiation is lurking in the food supply is making people weary. >> we buy australian beef. >> yet another hurdle for these businesses, some of which are located here in fukushima daiichi, their fight to stay afloat will no doubt be a long one. >> the community rebuilding and starting with the bottom up for the companies that lost everything is going it take probably i would say, about ten years. >> and so hope is on offer at this weekend market. hope that with a little help from some friends, these businesses will get by and maybe one day thrive again. craig dale, n

want him to focus on rebuilding the disaster region and solving the nuclear crisis at the fukushima daiichi power plant. 15% say he should strengthen social programs. including pensions and health care. 13% want noda to cut wasteful tax spending, and 12% say he should concentrate on fiscal reform. respondents are split on the question of whether noda will be able to implement his policies. 47% say, yes, and 48% say, no. our survey asks about the timing of the election. 10% want the national vote to be held right away. 13% say it should happen before the end of this year. and 26% say by the end of next year, and 42% say they don't want a general election until 2013, when the government is supposed to schedule one. >>> former chief cabinet secretary alexander edler yukio edano has been appointed as the country's new economy, trade and industry minister, just ten days after the appointment of his predecessor. edano aged 47 is currently serving his sixth term in the lower house. last year edano was appointed government revitalization minister. edano's first cabinet post and later became the dem

iwate, miyagi, and fukushima prefectures except in the no entry zone near the crippled fukushima daiichi plant. the plan is to clear the areas completely by the end of next march. but 12 local governments accounting for about 1/3 of the totals say less than half the debris has been cleared. they say problems with demolishing damaged homes and other structures are holding things up. the local governments say they need building owners' approval for demolition, and that they do not have enough personnel to do the work. many homeowners have asked for demolition to be postponed until they pick up belongings. >> some owners want all the debris cleared, and others do not. we are grateful if they occur our feelings. >> translator: we have to carefully dismantle the debris. the survivors have a lot of feelings attached to them. >> specialist companies must also be hired to remove asbestos from damaged buildings. the ministry says it will provide assistance to these local governments after grasping the full picture. >>> tepco has announced a never before attempted plan to extract melted nuclear fu

"nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead request" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline." >>> japan's nuclear safety agency has instructed the operator of the stricken fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant to check if hydrogen is building up in its number two and three reactors. this comes after tokyo electric power company or tepco detected hydrogen in a pipe leading to the containment vessel of the number one reactor. a hydrogen explosion occurred on march 12th at the number one reactor after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. the government's nuclear and industrial safety agency on sunday instructed tepco to check pipes in the number two and number three reactors. the number three reactor suffered a hydrogen explosion on march 14th and the number two reactor had a hydrogen explosion on march 15th. the utility says it will measure the levels of hydrogen at the number one reactor before injecting nitrogen and taking other measures to

but there's no quick solution to decommissions fukushima daiichi. the power plant is still leaking radiation into the environment. he apologize for the recent resignation of the minister in charge of nuclear policy. it is a most important cabinet portfolio in japan right now. industry manager was forced to quit after he called the area around daiichi a town of death. his comment was viewed as insensitive to people who fled radiation contaminated areas. the minister's resignation cast doubts on noda's ability to lead the country. >> how about the prime minister's nuclear policy? >> noda said japan must reduce its dependence on nuclear power in the long run. he also said that this country should increase the amount of energy it gets from sources such as solar and wind. but he didn't mention any concrete plans at this stage, renewable energy cannot replace nuclear power because of costs and technological problems. that's why noda also had to say the nuclear power plants that passed so-called stress tests should be restarted in order to supply enough en

. >>> the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant says that high densities of hydrogen have built up in pipes connected to the number 1 reactor. tokyo electric power company says that an explosion is unlikely as there is no oxygen in the pipes but that it will begin work to drain the gas starting on thursday. tepco began measuring the density of the gas on wednesday after finding it accumulating in pipes connected to the reactor's containment vessel late last week. it found that the density of hydrogen was high at between 61 to 63%. the utility believes that the hydrogen is likely the remains of gas that caused explosions at the plant in march following the quake and tsunami disaster. it has also promised to check the density of hydrogen and pipes in the number 2 and number 3 reactors in line with instructions from japan's nuclear safety agency. >>> the environment ministry says it will build facilities to temporarily store irradiated soil in tokyo and seven prefectures in eastern and northeastern japan. vice environment minister hideki miamikawa made the annou

nuclear watch brings insight and information on the irm pact 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. >>> kenya has announced plans to hold a state funeral for nobel peace prize winner and environmental activist who succumbed to cancer on friday. >>> thursday and friday will be national holidays, national days of mourning. national flags will be flown at half mast at government buildings. the government is reportedly discussing how to bury her without using a wooden coffin, indifference to her green activism. her movement in 1977 gave impoverished women a chance it plant trees as way to generate income. she was awarded the nobel peace prize in 2004 for her contributions to protecting the environment and helping women advance in society. she is well regarded in japan for her promotion of the japanese expression meaning waste full and a plea to not squander resources. she was repeatedly arrested for criticizing the former dictatorship of her country and for advoc

"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 watch "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> typhoon roke has torn through japan's main island honshu. it also caused widespread damage. it made landfall and turned northeast through honshu, bringing heavy rain and strong linds. officials say landslides hit many areas. the water level of rivers in central japan has been rising significantly. authorities have ordered or advised about 150,000 people to evacuate their homes. this man shows just how strong the winds were when they blew through toyohashi city in aichi prefecture. typhoon roke has slowed transportation across much of japan. airlines canceled more than 600 domestic flights at tokyo's haneda airport and the central chubu airport. many international flights have also been affected. the storm plowed through tokyo earlier on wednesday evening. as much as 30 millimeters of rain fell in one hour. strong gusts of wind made getting around th

. >>> workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant have taken precautions against the typhoon. strong winds and rain forced the suspension of work to cover one of the reactor buildings. wokkers also halted the effort to install steel plates in the water intake area of the troubled plant. the workers secured with ropes the piping and pumps used for injecting water into the reactors. tokyo electric power company says rainwater has flowed into the basement of a reactor turbine building. the firm also found leaks in a central control room. but it says no serious damage has been discovered. more heavy rain is expected in the area through noon thursday. but tepco says radioactive waste water is unlikely to overthrow from the reactor turbine buildings. >>> world leaders have begun addressing the united nations general assembly in new york. among the issues up for discussion are nuclear safety and peace in the middle east. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon opened the session wednesday by referring to the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. >> nuclear accidents do not res

the report blames the accident at fukushima daiichi on the plant's design. it says the owner of the facility based its plant on poor hazard assessments of natural disaster. the u.n. says the international emergency response framework should be set up to deal with nuclear accidents so human health and food safety can be secure. it also wants to create a global system to allow the international atomic enemy agency to monitor radiation levels. the united nations report goes on to stress the importance of nuclear power as well. it says, a peaceful use of atomic energy will help improve the lives of 2.4 billion people in developing countries who lack electricity. the united nations is holding a high-level meeting on nuclear safety and security on september 22nd in new york. >>> concerned about internal radiation exposure is mounting among people that live near the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. a city in fukushima prefecture has decided to help worry ed parents by offering radiation tests for infants and small children. parts of minamisoma city were desig

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". >> life has still not returned to normal for some. residents in a stranded village have finally begun receiving supplies thanks no a makeshift ropeway. 11 people in walka y wakayama w washed away. there is a rope across a 100 meter wide valley. the deliver i rf goods began wednesday and included toilet paper, canned food, gasoline and other necessities. >> the rope way means we can deliver more compared with moving supplies manually. i hope it keeps the residents satisfied until the road reopens. >> 66 people were left dead and 30 others unaccounted for, mostly in wakayama prefecture. >>> officials have exam ginned damage by the tropical storm to a shrine. the line to located in the town in a wakayama prefecture is a historical site p. massive amounts of mud was after a a lan slides was trigger ped. workers had not been able to remove the mud for fear of

. >>> the operator of the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant said energy-saving efforts by both households and businesses helped slash power usage this summer. a legally-mandated 15% cut in the electricity usage took effect in summer in areas serviced by tokyo electric power company due to power shortages caused by the nuclear accident in march. tepco says power demand hit its peak on august 18th. when 49 million kilowatts of electricity were used, down 18% from last yeek's peak day on july 23rd. the utility estimates that major users, including factories, achieved a 29% reduction in power usage. small businesses showed a 19% cut. households held down power use only by 6%. tepco says this was probably because it was difficult to reduce the air conditioning in the sweltering summer weather. the power company also says it will have to ask for energy-saving efforts this winter to insure ample power supply. >>> australia is looking to build a high-speed rail line, like the u.s., britain, india and vietnam. the line will stretch some 1,700 kilometers from brisbane in the east th

government imposed a 15% power cut back in july due to electricity shorts following the fukushima daiichi plant accident last spring. the requirement came to an end on friday night. that's sooner than originally planned due to falling temperatures and declining electricity demand. while the requirement is in effect, large users served by tokyo electric power company were loolly mandated to reduce their power consumption. to meet the target, businesses adjusted their work schedule. for instance, carmakers closed their plants on weekdays and operated on weekends instead. private homes were also asked to chip in. in the end, though, the power suppliers did not have to resort to planned outage this summer. the industry ministry says the power-saving efforts by companies and private homes proved more than effective, but there are concerns about possible power shortages this winter. that's because a large number of nuclear power plants around japan are shut down for inspection. >> translator: we'll review the effectiveness of this summer's power-saving measures and study steps we should take in

. >>> the operator of the disabled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant has begun injecting water directly onto the spot in the number 2 reactor where its felted mule is believed to be located. tokyo electric power company has been spraying water continuously into the three reactors. as of 11:00 a.m. on wednesday, the bottom of the number 2 reactor was 114 degrees celsius, compared to 85 degrees in reactor 1 and 101 degrees in reactor 3. engineers believe the injected water is not cooling the spot where the melted fuel has fallen. tepco is using pipes above the likely location of the fuel to spray water. this method was used successfully in the number 3 reactor. the utility hopes to achieve a cold shutdown by january, with the temperatures in the three reactors kept stable and below 100 degrees. >>> people from around the world have been helping japan since the march 11th disaster. most send money or supplies. but some are offering something a little different. music and laughter. that's what a group from the netherlands brought when it toured this country's northeast recently. one of thei

the city is located about 60 kilometers from the kipcrippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. some are concerned about health risks already moved out. they plan to decontaminate all 110,000 residents over the next two years. the goal to lower radiation levels in the air. >> translator: it's late to start decontamination. >> translator: i'm worried because my child always wants to play outside. >> it has yet to be determined how the contaminated soil and other contaminated materials will be disposed of. >> "newsline" is the place to turn to on the latest from japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two interspectives "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact from the crisis and "the road ahead." don't miss them on "newsline." >>> in afghanistan, the u.s.-led war on terrorism has brought misery to many of its citizens. the ten year conflict makes finding a job close to impossible. it has also forced many afghans to flee from their homes. over 300,000 citizens are classified by the u.n. as eternally displaced persons now live in camps across th

also, of highest priority is bringing the fukushima daiichi power station crisis under control. as soon as possible. without the revival of fukushima, there will be no revival for japan. through fukushima's revival, we will revitalize japan, and this we will do with all our strength also for the purpose of regaining the confidenc of the inrnional commity in japan. >>> prime minister noda also said he is determined to implement necessary economic policies. >> translator: another important task is to respond to various crises in the global economy. we need to avoid hollowing out of the industry, and rebuild the economy despite energy restrictions, and by addressing the fiscal problems that we had even before the disaster. we will respond to all such crises so the nation will not suffer credit crisis. >> we asked people on the streets of tokyo and displaced residents in fukushima prefecture about their impressions of the new cabinets and their expectations. >> translator: the cabinet seems younger than the previous one. since the rest of the world probably sees japanese politics as

we'll look at the fallout from the fallout at the fukushima daiichi plant. some people in the town of namie have lost almost everything because of contamination. people who own livestock has faced a painful decision. what to do with the animals they worked so hard to raise. >>> the march 11th disaster. the september 11th attacks. two anniversaries, one source for in-depth coverage. join nhk world for "japan: six months on" and "9/11: defining a decade." our programming continues all week. then on sunday, september 11th we'll mark the anniversaries. 2:30 p.m. japan time for the 3/11 disaster. 9:40 p.m. for the 9/11 attacks. >>> prime minister yoshihiko noda made his first official phone call to leaders of china, south korea, and russia on tuesday. during his conversation with chinese premier wen, they decide to cooperate in various fields including post disaster reconstruction and cultural exchange. with the south korean president, he said they'll resume talks on a partnership agreement for free trade and investment. the two also agreed their nations should w

japan's minister in charge of the nuclear disaster says reactors at the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant will achieve cold shutdown within the year. the initial target was early next year. goshi hosono spoke at the international atomic energy agency's annual ministerial meeting in vienna on monday. >> the situation at the plant is moving steadily toward restoration. we will move up the existing target period and endeavor to achieve this cold shutdown by the end of this year. >> hosono said that decontaminated water has been successfully used to cool the troubled nuclear reactors. he also said spent nuclear fuel pools have been cooled in a stable manner. >>> toekz says the temperature in the number three reactor is below 100 degree celsius for the first time since the accident. this is the second reactor in which the temperature was reduced to less than 100 degrees, following the number one reactor. tepco says the lower temperature does not automatically mean the reactor achieved cold shut down, but at least indicates the cooling efforts are being effective. the utility now aims to

japan's minister in charge of the nuclear disaster says reactors at the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant will achieve cold shutdown within the year. the initial target was early next year. goshi hosono spoke at the international atomic energy agency's annual ministerial meeting in vienna on monday. >> the situation at the plant is moving steadily toward restoration. we will move up the existing target period and endeavor to achieve this cold shutdown by the end of this year. >> hosono said that decontaminated water has been successfully used to cool the troubled nuclear reactors. he also said spent nuclear fuel pools have been cooled in a stable manner. >>> toekz says the temperature in the number three reactor is below 100 degree celsius for the first time since the accident. this is the second reactor in which the temperature was reduced to less than 100 degrees, following the number one reactor. tepco says the lower temperature does not automatically mean the reactor achieved cold shut down, but at least indicates the cooling efforts are being effective. the utility now aims to

"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. >>> it's been more than six months since the march 11th disaster. over 4,000 people are still missing. it's presumed they were carried out to sea. the coast guard continues to search for bodies. but the tsunami devastated a huge area and only a small percentage has been searched. >> reporter: coast guard divers comb the seabed. in the murky water, a white object appearings. it seems to be a fishing boat. they peer inside looking for bodies of the missing. the water logged debris is sifted piece by piece. so far the coast guard has found over 370 bodies. but much of the coastline devastated by the tsunami has yet to be searched. this search is taking place near the town of onagawa in miyagi prefecture.400 residents are st missing. >> translator: the areas shown in orange have already been examined by the diving team. >> reporter: more than six months after

"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." >>> the irradiated village of kawauchi in fukushima prefecture aims to decontaminate the area, restore lifelines and bring all residents back by next march. the village and its surrounding areas have been designated as being inside the 20 kilometer no entry zone around the fukushima daiichi plant or the emergency preparation zone. 90% or 2,800 villagers have left the town to date. mayor yuok endo announced the recovery plan on tuesday. >> translator: our village aims to complete the process of resettling all of its residents by the end of next march. >> local governments must submit offer recovery plans. the kawauchi plan calls for thoroughly monitoring underground water for radioactive substances. decontamination of schools and other areas is to be completed before the end of the year. if the government gives the all clear, the village plans to build te

also, of highest priority, is bringing the daiichi nuclear power station crisis under control as soon as possible. without the revival of fukushima, there will be no revival for japan. through fukushima's revival, we will revitalize japan and this we will do with all our strength, also for the purpose of regaining the confidence of the international community in japan. >> prime minister noda also said he is determined to implement necessary economic policies. >> translator: another important task is to respond to various crises i the global economy. we need to avoid hollowing out of the industry and rebuild the economy despite energy restrictions and by addressing the fiscal problems that we've had even before the disaster we will respond to all such crises so that the nation will not suffer a credit crisis. >> we asked people on the streets of tokyo and displaced residents in fukushima prefecture about their impressions of the new cabinet and their expectations. >> the cabinet seems younger than the previous one. since the rest of the world probably sees japanese politics as old scho

the impact of the earthquake and tsunami, as well as the crisis at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant, continue to be felt, not only in the affected areas, but in t wle of japan. at a time when the economy and society are facing prong challengesthdisaster add grave issues to be solved. the cabinet must give the highest priority to restoration and reconstruction. in light of the basic policy for reconstruction, the cabinet must definitively and steadily execute all measures. for that, we will swiftly compile a third supplementary budget, and we must also create budgets and grants, as well as special economic zones, that will be beneficial to the municipalities afflicted by the disaster. >> on containing the fukushima nuclear accident, noda had this say -- >> translator: dealing with the nuclear cidents the top challenge of the count. without rebuilding fukushima, there can be no recovery of trust in japan. we will overcome the technical challenges with the world's wisdom from a global point of view. we will identify the reasons for the nuclear accide and pmote disclosure of information

next week, workers at fukushima daiichi will install new devices that reactors one, two, and three, the mechanisms will use filters to remove contaminated gas. tepco is also working on improving the cooling systems for the three reactors. on top of that, it plans to complete the construction of a giant poliese polyester shield. it released about 200 million becquerels per hour during the first half of september. they said that's about one-fourth millions of what the plant emitted after its meltdown in march. the government's evacuation advisories in are 20 to 30 kilometers frothfukusha iichi nuclear power plant may be lifted by the end of th month. residents in theon that's currently advised to prepare to evacuate in case of emergency. many residents have already left the area and schools there are closed. chief cabinet secretary fujimura announced that the five municipalities have submitted their recovery plans and he thinks the conditions to lift the advisories have been met. >> translator: the government will hear views from the nuclear safety commission and then major a formal decis

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in japan are discussing now how a lack of vigilance contributed to the accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant. the atomic energy society of japan is holding its first conference since the country's nuclear crisis began back in march. the four-day meeting opened on monday in a southwestern city of keato kyushu. participants included university professors, researchers, as well as workers from the nuclear energy industry. professor ninokata of the tokyo institute of technology is leading the atomic energy society panel that's been investigating the fukushima accident. in the morning session, he called on his fellow experts to face the accident head-on and work hard to contain it. >> translator: we placed too much confidence in japan's nuclear power generation. and equated a nuclear safety level. >> in the afternoon, experts discussed the future of the nuclear energy community. one participant said the fukushima disaster occurred because experts did not address the safety risks they knew existed. and others said nuclear officials should create a culture that is more open to public dia

noda then addressed the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant that was triggered by the disaster. >> translator: there has been steady progress to bring it under control. the latest amount of radioactive substance is one four millionth the figure at the beginning of the accident. we are trying to achieve cold shut down of reactors by end of the year, earlier than scheduled. >> noda acknowledged that japan was not sufficiently prepared for a serious accident resulting in damage to a reactor core. he said the government will examine the cause of the accident from a neutral and objective standpoint and release its findings to the international community. noda said the government plans to set up a new nuclear safety agency april next year and to tighten relevant regulations. he also said japan will support other countries' efforts to improve nuclear safety. japan will work hard to develop and usury newborn energy sources and present mid and long term strategies mid to next summer. >>> record torrential rain is falling across inland china leaving 90 dead and more than 20 missing. the rec

the city is 6 0 kilometers from the fukushima daiichi plant. some are concerned about health risks already moved out. they plan to decontaminate all the residences in the next two years. the goal to lower radiation levels in the air. >> it is late to start decontamination. >> translator: i'm worried because my child always wants to play outside. >> it has yet to be determined how the contaminated soil and other materials will be disposed of. >>> the leaders of japan and the philippines have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on maritime security. the move comes amid china's increasing activity in the east and south china seas. japan's prime minister yoshihiko noda and philippine president benigno aquino on tuesday signed a joint statement on a strategic partnership. >> translator: japan and the philippines share basic values and strategic interests. agreeing to position of bilateral relationship as a strategic partnership marks significant progress. >> being both maritime countries, we have formed an interest in cooperating on maritime

plant on the pacific ocean has been suspended by the government following the crip e crippling of the daiichi plant by the earthquake and tsunami. 1,000 workers took part in the dril which assumed that the plant lost all power after being struck by a tsunami, triggered by a quake of plus on a scale of zero to 7. these simulators are restoring power to a reactor building by kexing a cable to a back-up generator. >> translator: i think we need to conduct joint drills with the local administration and residents in the future. >>> the japanese government has released a bleak picture. the new survey measures levels of radio active ses yum and shows the spread of contamination. we'll take a closer look at the findgs in this week's nuclear watch. >> japan pan sis ministry collected soil samples within a 100 kilometer radius and tested for sesium. thinistry releas a map showg the exte of the contaminati contaminatio rearchers identified the hiest amnt in okuma. they found 15.54 million beck ralls per square meter of land. the location is several hundred me meters from the nuclear plant. the levels ex

to broaden the scope of its program to compensate people following the meltdown of the fukushima daiichi plant. the prefecture's vice governor matsumoto and industry leaders visited in tokyo on friday. they met company president nishisawa. they will start procedures for full fledge compensation this month based on guidelines from the government. during the discussions, the cooperative head said the guidelines don't reflect all the damage caused by the nuclear disaster. >> translator: the compensation program must also cover damage not specified in the guidelines. >> shojo stressed people who fled their homes voluntarily and not under government order should also be compensated. he also wanted tepco to give payouts to all for mental suffering. >> translator: we apologize for the trouble and inconvenience our company has caused. >> he also said that the utility will do its best to accommodate those effected by the accident. tepco will begin sending out applications for full fledge compensation on september 12th. after the meeting, matsumoto told reporters he conveyed the 2 million resident