>> 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,

we'll then travel to fukushima prefecture on wednesday. the spread of radiation is hurting the region's farming economy. we'll show you what happened in the town of namie. on thursday and friday we'll bring you our weekly segments, nuclear watch and the road ahead so you can stay updated on the nuclear crisis and how japan's energy policy is changing. that's next week right here on "newsline." please join us for all that. that's it for newsline. we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye.

spread of radiation following the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the problem has sparked anxiety in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country. japanese authorities are trying to limit the risk to children. now, some schools in fukushima prefecture have restricted outdoor activities for students because of high levels of radiation. playing with sand in public places has also been banned. precautions are also being taken in tokyo, more than 200 kilometers from the nuclear plant. officials detected radiation exceeding the safety standards in sand boxes used by children. in some cases, the sand was replaced. in others, the sand boxes were covered with plastic sheeting. for more, we go to our studio in sendai. there we learn about another problem caused by the nuclear crisis, food contamination, and how that's affected japanese farmers. >> radiation levels above the safety limit have been detected in some agricultural products. the japanese governments suspended the shipment of milk and some types of vegetables in fukushima and neighboring areas

noda reiterated that there will be no revival of japan without the revival of fukushima. he added that the new minister must be able to be immediately effective because the ministry deals with restarted idled nuclear power plants and reviewing japan's energy policy. before his resignation former minister visited areas around fukushima daiichi and described the area as a city of death. he also joked with journalists saying some dirt he got on his sleeve may be radioactive. >>> "the road ahead." today we'll show how the accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant is stranging this country's energy policy. >> let's start off by talking about how energy in this country is being started. >> yes michio. japan's reliance on nuclear power has been growing since the 1970s. and right now atomic energy accounts for about 30% of our total power generation. and most of the rest comes from oil and coal and natural gas. here's a look at how nuclear energy has become a vital source in japan. >> reporter: japan is the only country in the world to have suffered from the atomic bombings b

the ratio for miyagi's prefectu prefecture stood at 69, fukushima 54 and iwate 57. still production in august rose 0.8% from the previous month, marking a fifth straight month of increases. the labor -- the ministry of economy trade and industry says the improvement is due mainly to an increase in auto production. looking ahead, large manufacturers forecasthat their output will drop by 2.5% in september but it will rise 3.8% in october. and japan's consumer prices are up for a second consecutive month. the internal affairs ministry said on friday that the consumer price index rose 0.2% in august from a year earlier. the figures exclude volatile prices of fresh food. the ministry says the increase is due to higher food prices that have pushed up the higher cost of electricity and gasoline. >>> the u.s. justice department says the furukawa electric company has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $200 million fine for price fixing of auto parts in the united states. three senior executives of the japanese company will receive prison terms. on thursday, the u.s. justice de

and co-director of save fukushima children. and red ribbon and red ribbon the hokkaido africa support group and kevin camp's radioactive waste watchdog at beyond nuclear welcome to all of you. thank you for joining us. carry id i'm doing ok. i'm sorry i'm late what's the situation in japan it's just so the situation in japan right now is that there are three hundred thousand children living in fukushima and about seventy five percent of the children are going for example to schools that are so contaminated that they would be radiation control areas in nuclear power plants for adults over eight children over. individuals under eighteen will not be legally allowed to the radiation levels are very high in japan they aren't evacuating people unless it's twenty millisieverts a year exposure now that's incredibly much higher than sure noble when mandatory evacuation was five millisieverts a year and we know that about looking back on the many many people died as a consequence of the true mobile exposure. kerry. what more are the japa

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

compared to that, experts say the extent of contamination is much less at fukushima. having said that, we should not forget that more than 100,000 people had to evacuate from the government-designated evacuation zone alone. and they're still unable to return. they've lost their jobs and family members are living separately from each other. >> translator: all the more, don't you think the japanese government should have disclosed the concrete results of the survey much earlier? >> translator: yes. many experts have been urging the government to release such maps. since right after the accident. but this was a survey of 2200 locations. five samples of soil were taken from each location. a total of 12,000 samples had to be analyzed one by one. 340 researchers from 21 universities and research institutions across japan took part in the survey. it took time to secure man power and machine. that's why it took so long to release the map. >> translator: now that the map has been completed, how should we use it? >> translator: unlike surveys from the air, this took soil sample

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

except in the no-entry zone near the crippled fukushima plant. the goal is to completely clear the disaster-hit areas by the end of next march. 12 local governments accounting for about one-third of the total say less than half the debris has been cleared. they say within 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 belongs. >> translator: some owners want all of the debris cleared and others do not. we are grateful they are considering our feelings. >> translator: we have to carefully diantle the debris as 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 the local governments. >>> tepco announced a never before attempted plan to extract melted nuclear fuel frods rod

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

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 fuel rods

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

the radiation leaked from the nuclear plant at fukushima. it affects people well beyond the immediate region. radioactivity has been detected throughout the food chain -- in rice, lettuce, milk, and green tea. cesium has been found nearly everywhere, including in beef. contaminated meat made its way into school cafeterias throughout japan. the children ate it for weeks. we pay a visit to the gumnar prefecture, south of fukushima. a former minister is not surprised by the scandal, caused by, as consuming cesium- contaminated hate. -- caused by cows consuming cesium-contaminated hay. >> food is short. livestock farmers have no choice. >> he plays music to keep his animals calm, but elsewhere emotions are boiling over. japanese authorities temporarily halted the sale of beef, but the meat is once again being bought and sold, even in areas where people barely dare to live anymore. that includes towns like te mpura, located on the edge of the evacuation zone. >> the farmers have it tough, but they have to survive somehow. they earn money raising

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

at fukushima, three reactors failed. so it will take more time. the government and tepco should utilize as much data as possible including this one to bring the situation under control. >> translator: thank you very much. >>> 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. >>> the accident at fukushima daiichi has prompted the japanese government to start reducing this country's dependence on nuclear energy. it won't be easy. we'll look at the challenges on friday in our weekly segment "the road ahead." wind, solar, and other forms of green energy are developing in japan, but slowly. we'll examine the efforts to turn renewable sources into a reliable power supply. >>> in other news, russia's gas company has opened a pipeline in the country's far eas

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. and better safety measures in order to prevent another nuclear accident. to those suffering under harsh living conditions, we will provide compensation and temporary payment quickly, fairly and appropriately. halso stressed his resoe to balance economic growth and fiscal reforms. >> translator: financial recovery is not an issue that can be solved without difficulty. first, we must rein in government spending. next, we must achieve revenue growth through economic revitalization. along with these efforts, we must all shoulder the burden of improving public finances without leaving the problem unsolved for future generations. we have to achieve these three difficult goals at the same time. economic growth and fiscal soundness must be prompted together just like two wheels on a car. i will not only carry ou

stan experiences and breakdown the real dangers still present for families near the fukushima daiichi plant and later incidents daily take i'll tell you who's the latest victim of the right wing spin machine. we're here at the big picture and on my radio show i have been doing our best to keep you updated with the latest developments coming out of japan as that nation tries to deal with one of the worst nuclear catastrophe in the history of the world . to help us do that tonight i'm joined by a few special guests in the studio we've flown here from japan to share their stories and to warn the world about the dangers of nuclear power later this week they will travel to the united nations where they will call on the un to recognize human rights violations against children caused by the fukushima crisis and asked the u.n. to stop its global promotion of nuclear energy and color stories or lean yoko smith is a director of green action based in kyoto japan and co-founder of stop the manjoo she is also co-author of the book minamata about the japanese methyl mercury pollution ok henri izumi

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

work to revise the policy started last december but was suspended after the fukushima accident. following the disaster the commission added members who are experts on safety and take a tough stance on nuclear power. >> translator: i decided to resume the discussion to summarize everybody's views on nuclear power. >> some commission members called for shutting down all of japan's nuclear plants and promoting alternate energy sources. others said it's too early to determine long-term nuclear policy as the fukushima plant remains out of control. members advocating nuclear power noted that resource poor japan must aim for a realistic energy policy. the policy on nuclear power use, research and development was 1956 and been revised about every five years, last revised six years ago. it promotes nuclear power and calls for at least 30% reliance on nuclear energy after 2030. the policy continues in effect despite accidents at nuclear facilities and scandals that include coverups of accidents and other troubles. the commission will draw up a new policy outline over the next year. attent

been months since the nuclear disaster in japan and dangers still works for the families of the fukushima plant just a thought a few moments nuclear experts dr helen caldicott will share her warnings for the millions of residents in japan and right wingers are outraged by teamsters president james hoffa this labor day rally one tory is billionaire was caught on tape saying a few months ago something even more shocking. more steely take. we're now nearly six months or move from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in japan the trickle triggered a global nuclear catastrophe and while some progress has been made to deal with the never before seen nuclear crisis there's still a long way to go a lot of questions still unanswered and enormous risks still blanketing the nation of japan and perhaps the world so much so that world renowned physician and anti-nuclear advocate dr helen caldicott recently issued a dire warning to the japanese people not buying into the japanese government's efforts to downplay the crisis dr caldicott warned people living in north japan and around the crippled fuku

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

international media reports have described them as the heroes of fukushima. earlier this month they were given an award by spain's prince foundation which praised their courageous actions. the uphill battle against radiation continues. as the crisis drags on more workers are exceeding their exposure limits. in today's "nuclear watch" we look at how much radiation they are actually being exposed to. >> reporter: the people working at the crisis site are staying at a lodging facility 20 kilometers south of the plant. around 7:00 a.m. every morning they leave for work in cars and buses. about 3,000 are assigned to contain the accident on a daily basis. their tasks include operating facilities to decontaminate and reuse water for cooling down the reactors and installing covers on the reactor buildings to prevent the release of nuclear materials. radiation levels are still high inside the buildings and in areas contaminated by debris. before the accident the workers' radiation exposure limit was set at 100 millisieverts by the japanese government, but immediately

international media reports have described them as the heros of fukushima. earlier this month, they were given an award by spain's prince of asturias foundation but praised their courageous actions. the battle continues as the crisis drags on. more workers are exceeding exposure limits. in today's nuclear watch, we look at how much radiation they are actually being exposed to. >> reporter: the people working at the crisis site are staying at a lodging facility 20 kilometers south of the plant. around 7:00 a.m. every morning, they leave for work in cars and buses. about 3,000 are assigned to contain the accident on a daily basis. their tasks include operating facilities to decontaminate and reuse water for cooling down the reactors, and installing covers on the reactor buildings to prevent release of nuclear materials. radiation levels are still high inside the buildings, and in areas contaminated by debris. before the accident, the workers' radiation exposure limit was set at 100 millisieverts by the japanese government. but immediately after the accident, t

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

we'll then travel to fukushima prefecture on wednesday. the spread of radiation is hurting the region's farming economy. we'll show you what happened in the town of namie. on thursday and friday we bring you nuclear watch and the road ahead, so you can stay updated on the nuclear crisis and how japan's energy policy is changing. >>> that's next week right here on "newsline." so please join us for all that. that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in a half hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.

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

experiments have been conducted in fukushima prefecture since may. one method has been to scrape off the contaminated topsoil from dry patties. another involves removing the soil when it's been stirred in patties filled with water. both methods have substantially reduced radiation levels. radioactive cesium per kilogram of soil was reduced to around 2,000 or 3,000 becquerels. this falls to under 5,000 becquerels for rice planting. these methods will be used only in selected fields in the prefecture. will request funding from an extra budget planned for the current fiscal year. >>> now to our special series "japan: six months on." the happier anniversary of this country's crisis is this sunday. leading up to that day, we'll bring you analysis of the situation. we return to the devastated areas in iwate, miyagi, and fukushima prefectures. on monday we brought you a story from miyako. we found out a community in tokyo played a key role to rebuild the fisheries industry. today we're moving on to the city of ishinomaki where a group of international volun

japan's nuclear crisis is getting. >> some 40 countries took part in the two-day meeting in the fukushima city.o p tdg a encto e whetthheoshe radiation here. the nippon organization organized the symposium here. icrp provides guidance and recommendations in how to protect people from radiation exposure. since the meltdown at the fukushima daiichi, the authorities in the prefecture have started health check-ups for two million people in e gi. thisrench senst is helng to fure o theest w to protect people living in contaminated areas. he says japanese also must continue to carefully monitor radiation in the environment. but that's not all. they must also communicate with citizens so they understand what defines a safe exposure limit. >> if you have access to the information, if you have a minimum of understanding of the situation, then you are in a position to make decisions, to act for your self, for your family, for your neighbors and this is changing the attitude. >> reporter: before they wrap up the symposium, recommendations were made. >> the symposium understood the importance of the f

. >>> prime minister has visited fukushima for the first time since taking office. 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

fukushima plans to decontaminate all 110,000 residences over the next two years. the goal is 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 materials will be disposed of. >>> a panel of ruling democratic party of japan has approved a tax increase plan to fund reconstruction of the region devastated by the march disaster. the plan ok'd by the party's tax commission on tuesday, calls for raising the individual income tax for ten years, starting in 2013. corporate taxes would be increased for three years, beginning in 2012. the tobacco tax will go up for ten years from 2012. and the local tax for five years, from 20014. the ruling party plans will discuss the proposal with opposition parties in the near future. >>> two subway trains slammed into each other in shanghai. city officials tell nhk about 260 people went into hospital. china's state-run "xinhua" news agency said the collision

dozens of people who once lived in the shadow of the fukushima diachi plant have had a drive today was a short-lived homecoming day of sorts. authorities allowed them to briefly enter the no-go zone. residents drove home to retrieve some of the belongings they left behind after the government evacuated the area in march. 227 people from 90 households went back in. it was the second opportunity for evacuees to go in. only two people were allowed into the no go zone. during the first tranth weaken back then. this time evacuees were able to use their own vehicles and took as many passengers as they could carry. >> translator: i brought back a heater, demidifier and a refrator. tnslato i i d the stuehich i dedicated to my ancestors. i won't be able to go back for a long time. >> after the visits, authorities tested the vehicles for radioactive contamination, trips home in private vehicles are expected to continue until late november. >>> well we're hearing now that german industrial giant, siemens is withdrawing from the nuclear industry. this follows the german government's decision to ph

. >>> 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

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 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

"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

typhoon roke is whipping through fukushima prefecture in northeastern japan as we speak. the storm pounded central parts of the country earlier today including tokyo. roke has killed six people, seven others are still missing. the typhoon made landfall earlier on wednesday bringing heavy rains and strong winds. officials say landslides could hit many areas. the water level of rivers in central japan is rising significantly. authorities have ordered or advised more than 150,000 people to evacuate their homes. about 530,000 households in the country are without power now. >> officials in aichi prefecture ordered more than 10,000 people to go to temporary shelters. >> this man shows just how strong the winds were when they blew through the toyohashi city. typhoon roke has slowed transportation across much of japan. airlines cancelled more than 600 domestic flights at kyo's haneda airport. many international flights have also been affected. >>> nhk world's reporter reports from the busiest station here in tokyo. >> reporter: i'm standing in front of the station in central tok

she lived in tokyo since evacuation from fukushima. right after the earthquake, she deputy know where her three children were. frantically, she ran to their school and to the emergency shelters looking for them. >> when i was trying it find them, i thought they could be dead. >> but they had survived. she found them at midnight. the moment she saw the three children, she was reminded of just how important family is. soon after that, she read the poem and one of the versus caught her attention. >> take time to say i'm sorry, please forgive me, or it's okay. before the earthquake, i was easily irritated by insignificant things my kids did. but now i can let that stuff go. instead, i am more understanding and kind to my children. as it happens, matsumi is also an evacuee from fukushima. she now lives north of tokyo. before the disaster, she operated an english school but had to close it until things get better. now she can't be with her students whom she was very close to. >> whisper in their ear that you love them very much. >> once agai

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

tell us about the fukushima plant. also a spokesman at toyota saying there were canceled shifts at some 11 of the factory s. this type of a storm shuts things down, right? >> reporter: absolutely. toyota's canceled evening shifts. also, we understand nissan has canceled or postponed its operations in at least three of its factories. basically because these are in the areas that are being affected. so it does have a big impact on business. the fukushima nuclear power plant, we've spoken to tepco, the company that's in charge of the power plant. they say that all the outside reconstruction work is canceled at this point. it is on hold because people cannot be outside in this weather in those contaminated areas. of course, the biggest fear is the amount of water, contaminated radioactive water, within the reactors at fukushima which at this point was being decontaminated and trying to be stored in a separate place. with this amount of heavy rain falling on top of that, there are serious fears that this could overflow and

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

"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

in fukushima prefecture. it then created a map showing the extent of the contamination as of june 14th. the latest map confirms a like cesium 137, iodine was spread northwest of the plant. the contamination was discovered at relatively high levels south of the facility. the researchers found the levels of iodine 131 were higher than those of cesium 137 in the southern coastal areas. ministry officials say clouds moving southward over the nuclear plant caught large amounts of iodine 131 being emitted at the time. exposure to iodine 131 can cause thyroid cancer. the ministry is trying to determine what levels of the substance spread immediately after the accident. >>> the march 11th tragedy has prompted a wave of creativity in japan's film world. young directors have portrayed the did he havization caused by the quake and tsunami, in unconventional ways. in the disaster-hit city of sendai, miyagi prefecture, a film festival was held earlier this month. all the films shown were the same duration, three minutes a

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

and not just fukushima. other prefectural governments should also provide storage. local governments have been trying to removed radioactive materials since the crisis began at the fukushima daiichi plant. but they're struggling to find places to store mud and sludge generated by the decontamination. the environment ministry is planning to build the facilities in tokyo and four other neighboring prefectures, and in three prefectures in the tohoku region. the ministry says it will soon explain the plan to each local government. >>> "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 if 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." >>> the death toll from the march 11th earthquake and tsunami is close to 16,000. and 4,000 people are still not accounted for. next we m

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

firefighters from iwate, miyagi, and fukushima prefectures told nhk that 131 fires had been reported at a total area of around 5.65 million square meters have burnt in four cities and towns. similar fires occurred when major earthquakes hit japan in 1964 and 1993. but damage in each incident was about 1/100 that of the march 11th disaster. the figure is likely to rise as the fire departments continue to survey the northeast. >>> the japan society of civil engineers has revised down the height of the highest tsunami of march 11th, which it says was 39.7 meters in miyako city, iwate prefecture. the finding was reported to a society meeting on wednesday. its committees and working groups are examining the disaster and considering how to deal with future tsunamis. the highest waves on land were thought to have been 40 meters or more. but after six months of research, the society revised the figure after factoring the height of the tide on march 11th. the society advises making breakwaters stronger to minimize future damage. >>> the operator of the disabled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant