the cities is about 60 kilometers from the crippled fukushima daiichi power plant. high levels of radiation have been found in different parts of the city. the decontamination work began tuesday. radiation levels there are relatively high. a team of professionals used power washers to clean rooftops and rain gutters. they also removed trees and topsoil from gardens. >> translator: i am hoping the radiation level will go down, but i think they should have started decontamination work earlier. >> fukushima city's ultimate goal is to decontaminate 110,000 residences, public facilities, and roads near schools in the next two years. authorities plan to ask residents and volunteers to help clean up areas where radiation levels are not too high. >> translator: things have finally started, but there are so many hurdles ahead. i think it will be a long battle. >> some of those hurdles include securing the necessary man power and finding space to store radioactive waste. >>> vietnam had a tsunami drill tuesday on the coastline facing the south china sea. it is a sign of how th

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." >>> a city in fukushima prefecture has begun monitoring radiation levels of farmlands and forests. tomura city asks the japan radiological agency -- despite the government lifting an evacuation notice for the area. the city lies outside the 25-kilometer no entry zone around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant but officials are concerned about radiation levels. on wednesday the japan atomic energy agency began testing forests and a 4.5-hectare rice field using an unmanned helicopter equipped way geiger counter hovering about 20 meters off the ground. data is transmitted in real time and converted into radiation levels one meter above ground. the agency uses aircraft to measure radiation levels of large areas and locations that are difficult to access. >> we'll be able to spot an area with high raudation levels. i hope the aircraft makes the decontamination work much easier. >>> a job is something many people in northeastern japan would love to have right about now. the march 11 earthquake and tsu

. >>> students from tamura city in fukushima prefecture have traveled to their sister city in the united states to thank people for their support following the march disaster. a group of 26 junior high studen schools in mansfield, ohio, othursday. the tamura students enjoyed an american school lunch and helped the local students learn the art of orami. together they folded paper cranes. the japanese students thanked the people of mansfield for sending video messages of encouragement, when many tamura residents were forced to evacuate due to the nuclear crisis. >> i feel like they, like they can overcome this. and move on. >> translator: all the moral support from people in mansfield, has helped boost our spirits. now it's our turn to help the people in kamura city. >>> this week's installment of the road ahead focuses on doctors in japan. an efforts to use their diverse skills. the march disaster exposed some weaknesses, some physicians to went to northeastern japan to help survivors were not comfortable working in the field. doctors without borders is trying to help them. the internatio

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." >>> a city in fukushima prefecture has gone monitoring radiation level of farm land and forests. they will test for contamination xi dee spite the government lifting an evacuation advisory for the area. the city lies outside 20 kilometer no entry zone around the crippled fukushima daiichi power plant but the officials are concerned about radiation levels. on wednesday, the japan atomic energy agency began testing forests in a 4.5 hectare rice field using an unmanned helicopter equipped with a counter hovering 20 meters above the ground. data is transmitted in real time and converted into radiation levels one meter above ground. the agency uses aircraft to measure radiation levels of large areas in locations that are difficult to access. >> translator: we'll be able to spot an area with high radiation levels. i hope the aircraft makes a decontamination work much easier. >> it was tsunami damage along the tohoku coast that captured all the headlines, but the magnitude 9 earthquake on march 11th al

. >>> students from tamura city in fukushima prefecture have travelled to their sister city in the united states to thank people for their support following the march disaster. a group of 26 junior high school students visited a high school in mansfield, ohio on thursday. the students enjoyed an american school lunch and helped the american students learn the art of origami. together they folded paper cranes. the japanese students thanked the people of mansfield for sending video messages of encouragement when many residents were forced to evacuate due to theisis. >> i feel like they, like they can overcome this. and move on. >> translator: all the moral support from people in mansfield has helped boost our spirits. now it's our turn to help the people in kamura city. >>> this week's installment of the road ahead focuses on doctors in japan. and efforts to diversify their skills. the march 11th disaster exposed some weaknesses. some physicians who went to northeastern japan to help survivors were not comfortable working in the field. medicines song frontiers, or doctors without borders is

. >>> the city of fukushima about 60 kilometer from the crippled plant started to remove radioactive materials from all the houses in the city. the decontamination work began on tuesday. in an area with 360 households where relatively high levels of radiation have been measured. under the plan, professional cleaners commissioned by the city will scrub the radioactive substances from roofs and ditches with high pressure equipment. the topsoil on gardens will be removed. roads used by school children and forests near residential areas will also be decontaminated. the city will ask residents and volunteers to do some of the work. the plan aims to lower radiation levels to 1 microsievert per hour or lower in all 110,000 households in the city in the next 2 years. but how the contaminated sludge will be disposed of has yet to be determined. the government is under pressure to come up with a solution soon. >>> amid the confusion and human tragedy taking place in the minutes and hours after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern japan in march, one calamity has so far receiv

. >>> the city of fukushima about 60 kilometer from the crippled plant started to remove radioactive materials from all the houses in the city. the decontamination work began on tuesday. in an area with 360 households where relatively high levels of radiation have been measured. under the plan, professional cleaners commissioned by the city will scrub the radioactive substances from roofs and ditches with high pressure equipment. the topsoil on gardens will be removed. roads used by school children and forests near residential areas will also be decontaminated. the city will ask residents and volunteers to do some of the work. the plan aims to lower radiation levels to 1 microsievert per hour or lower in all 110,000 households in the city in the next 2 years. but how the contaminated sludge will be disposed of has yet to be determined. the government is under pressure to come up with a solution soon. >>> amid the confusion and human tragedy taking place in the minutes and hours after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern japan in march, one calamity has so far receiv

fukushima daiichi plant. schools are cleaned up and opened, seven months after the march 11 disaster. the city is some 20 kilometers from fukushima daiichi. the japanese government put them under an evacuation advisory in mid april, told residents to be prepared to leave their homes or stay indoors in the event of another emergency. they lifted that advisory at the end of september. they said things improved at the nuclear plant and noted new munlt alternate routes had decontamination plans. so what's life like now? >> students at this elementary, one in five schools that reopened. school authorities removed topsoil from the playground and cleaned buildings before classes resumed. radiation levels are within the government safety limit, but still people are being cautious. this is the playground. it is break time and it is a sunny day, but everyone's inside. that's because school has suspended outdoor activities to limit children's exposure to radiation. the school surroundings and private houses in the city haven't been decontaminated. many families are reluctant to go home because they don't

city's five schools haven't returned. they are living outside of minamisoma, or outside of fukushima prefecture, entirely. japan's relocation ministry has set a goal of limiting radiation exposure for children to a maximum of one millisievert per year. the school that has resumed classes are asking their students to wear face masks on the way to class. and also, their outdoor activities are restricted to two hours a day. still, many parents don't want to bring their children back to minamisoma, because only school compounds have been decontaminated. >> how hard do you think will it be to clean up minamisoma? >> authorities started decontamination work in august for public facilities such as schools. they didn't get help from the central government. city officials don't think they'll be able to start cleaning up private residences until next year. the biggest problem is, there's no place to keep soil and other substances that have been removed in the decontamination process. the central government will draw up a road map by the end of this month, to set up temporary storage facilities. >> translator: until

it is located in a city 200 kilometers away from fukushima daiichi, a place where government surveys have detected relatively high radiation readings. >> reporter: commerce are concerned about their food and their environment. this is a low cost way to get some peace of mind. that station is located in the shopping district. customers can check soil, food, and other products they have bought or grown. the station is equipped with eight measuring instruments. people pay $52 to check for radioactive materials. it costs $13 to test for those. >> translator: the station is very helpful. if i ask for the same testing in a lab far from my house, i'd have to pay more. this station is closer and costs less. >> it's also first. the process takes about 20 minutes. the test is over in about one minute, if it is radiation free. >> i am relieved to know my sample deputy contain any radioactive material. i only had to put the sample in the con tarn and push the button. it is easy. anyone can do it. >> this is the manager of this do it yourself radiation monitoring station. he decided to open it af

levels of radiation were found in the cities of tokyo and yokohama the levels there are higher than in some areas that were evacuated around the crippled fukushima nuclear plant scientists working to map how far the contamination has spread as both cities are more than two hundred kilometers away from the disaster zone this comes seven months after an earthquake and tsunami brought fukushima close to a nuclear meltdown. and the shock waves from japan's a radioactive disaster reached as far as europe germany was one of the first to react by deciding to stop all use of nuclear power in just eleven years time the country hopes to get most of its energy from renewable sources as artie's tom barnes discovered it could be jumping the gun. germany has long had a strong green anti nuclear movement but it was one accident that finally turned the tide against nuclear power there. by twenty twenty two and the use of nuclear energy in germany so what now the green movement and its hopes for renewable energy have been given a huge boost renewables mostly wind turbines and solar panels currently supply eighteen percent of germany's electricity indeed germany

fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead," on "newsline." >>> officials in yokohama city are conducting more soil tests for radioactive strontium. this comes after a local resident detected the substance on the roof of an apartment building. yokohama is located about 250 kilometers from the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. radioactive cesium, more than 80 times the government's set limit of 500 becquerels her kilogram, was found last month in samples of sediment collected from roadside ditches in yokohama. the city later removed the contaminated sediment. but the city decided to retest the samples from the roadside for radioactive strontium due to the request of a local resident. the resident said a private testing institution had detected 195 becquerels of strontium per kilogram, more than six times the government safety limit, in the rooftop sample. the science ministry says radioactive strontium can accumulate in bones and that it poses a cancer risk. the ministry says it has conducted only a few checks for strontium outside of fukushima prefecture because the

city. using off-the-shelf detectors, they record it radiation levels higher than around the fukushima plant. roland has been following this story and joins me now live from tokyo. we're still getting information about these radiation hot spots. what is the latest? >> people are concerned about setagaya wartoday. basically, local people were checking the area around a nursery school. by a fence, they found a small area where radiation levels were very high, higher than some of the evacuation zone around the fukushima nuclear plant. that is very surprising and concerning. this area is 230 kiloliters from the plant. why is it there and why such a small area? investigations have been going on all day. officials say they now believe they've found the source, not the crisis at fukushima -- instead, more likely an old wooden box in the basement of a nearby house. exactly what is in those bottles has not been established. they have been taken away for testing. >> roland, even if a link with fukushima is not established, i presume this will add to the kind of paranoia about the aftereffects of fukus

fukushima nuclear crisis. >>> in northern bangkok residents continue to struggle against the floods and massive volumes of floodwaters continue their relentless advance on the city. the heart of bangkok escaped significant damage over the weekend. but residents of other areas have not been spared from the worst floods in half a century. the government was forced to move its flood relief operation center from waterlogged don muang airport to central bangkok. the waters followed and monday reached about two kilometers north of a new crisis center. even so, thailand's prime minister said she remains confident that inner areas of the city are safe. >> in the province of ayutthaya to the north, the industrl statof raja has been under water for more than three weeks. officials said on monday that a full recovery wouldn't be poss until next ring. that caused dismay amongst the japanese companies that are the park's key occupants. supply chains from thailand have severely disrupted, and the economic damage is mounting. some academics put the cost of e disaster at $11 billion and rising. with the thai government struggling to cope, mistrust is spading amongst both compan

spots have been detected in the japanese cities of tokyo and yokohama levels are actually higher than in some areas that were evacuated around the crippled fukushima nuclear plant scientists say the radiation poses no danger to health but more checks are being made the discovery comes seven months after an earthquake and tsunami brought fukushima close to a nuclear meltdown the consequences of their near nuclear disaster in japan were far reaching and germany has taken the lead in europe promising to give up nuclear power by twenty twenty two and still the gap with the renewable sources but it's not all positive and eco friendly future could well be a lot of blackouts disappearing industry huge electricity costs as artie's tom gardner reports. germany has long drawn green movement but it was warm accident that finally turned the tide against nuclear power that. by twenty twenty two and the use of nuclear energy in germany so what now the green movement and its hopes for renewable energy have been given a huge boost renewables mostly wind turbines but the photovoltaics better known as solar panels currently supply eighteen percent of germany's elec

even after the shelters close, city officials will still have to respond to the various needs of the affected people. >>> meanwhile, a day care center near the damaged fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant has reopened for the first time since the march disaster. the center is located in minamisoma some 20 kilometers from the plant. 18 children ranging in age from two months to five years arrived with their parents at the center on tuesday. the facility decided to reopen, after the japanese government lifted its evacuation advisory for the city late last month. before opening its doors again, the center reportedly took decontamination measures such as removing topsoil if its playground. >> translator: parents have different views about radiation. we have a lot on our plates. and we just have to do what we can. >>> many northeastern japan are just doing what they can these days. tens of thousands of people are starting from scratch. no home, no job, few prospects. we met one woman in the devastated tohoku region who believes she has found a way do get back on her feet. nhk world's hiroki yaj ma has her story. >> reporter: 50-year-old sakamoto has completed a t

hotspots have been detected in the japanese cities of tokyo and yokohama the levels are actually higher than in some areas that were evacuated around the crippled fukushima nuclear plant scientists say the radiation possesses the no danger to health but war checks are being made the discovery comes seven months after an earthquake and tsunami brought fukushima close to a nuclear meltdown. for the adventurous spanning a long and lonely months in orbit mealtimes on the international space station are a highlight but in zero gravity is a challenge both for the diners and the high tech chefs have to plan to many on earth so are people all over along for tasting. after traveling at phenomenal speed for two days cramped in the small space of a so you rocket cosmonauts arriving at the international space station going to be. there how do you eat and zero gravity. well you have to be a bit more careful than down here on earth every little piece of food the gets out of your group will float away and you will not be able to keep track of it to make sure cosmonauts enjoy their lunch without worrying that the rogue morsel will disappear into the inner workings of so

fukushima. we have a special report from japan about the energy program. one month after the demonstrations began in the united states, similar movements have been springing up in cities around the world. they have included madrid, athens, and london. alex reports from outside the cathedral. >> god bless the banking industry and that man for telling me to get a job. >> a culture clash outside the cathedral. they have been here since saturday. they're planning to state. who are they? he is a musician and he says he pays his taxes. >> i do not want to world that is based on profit. i think capitalism is inherently broken. i want a system on collaboration. >> this may not be the usual congregation you expect to find, but they have their own tents. the cathedral has said that while there have been some challenges, they seem to be getting on ok. worshiper, a protester, and tourist coexisting happily. >> what is new is the global scale a protest as the try to occupy the london stock exchange and ended up here instead. similar things were happening in wall street and across europe. ed wood is not news is the stereotype of who attends the protest. that may have to change when

fukushima nuclear power plant. in canada, organizers have been drumming up for protests in at least 15 canadian cities. thousands of demonstrators are expected to turn out. >>> two afghan civilians were killed in a suicide attack on a u.s.-run facility in northern afghanistan. one official says four attackers armed with suicide vests and weapons tried to storm the base. one exploded his car at the gate. the others tried to rush in. two detonated their vests, and two were fatally shot by police before their devices went off. the taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. >>> the son of u.s.-born militant cleric anwar al awlaki is dead. a security official says he was killed in a series of drone attacks in yemen last night. the attacks killed a total of seven suspected militants. once a key member of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, he was killed in a drone strike a little more than two weeks ago. >>> in libya, the streets of tripoli are tense this morning after new fighting between revolutionary forces and pro-gadhafi loyalists. watch. yesterday a group of about ten gadhafi loyalists opened fi

citi. >>> japanese lawmakers will visit chernobyl next week to learn about the nuclear disaster that happened there 25 years ago. lawmakers are overseeing the recovery. they will go to vienna to discuss the fukushima nuclear disaster with officials at the international atomic energy agency. other japanese lawmakers plan to visit the three mile island nuclear plant in the united states. they plan to learn about the accident that happened there in 1979, and hold talks with officials from the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission. >>> japan, china, and south korea are going to help each other deal with soaring food prices and other pressing agricultural issues. the japanese, chinese, and south cory app agriculture officials agreed to have annual meetings next year. one of the main meetings they will discuss is how to deal with soaring food prices as demand grows in emerging economies. another is how to prevent spread of livestock diseases like avian flu. >> translator: we need to have frank discussions. i think discussing specific issues will bring results. >> a study has shown that unifying the two koreas could cost the south more than $2 trillion over the coming 30 years. the south korean government a

fukushima fuke lawyer nuclear power station. levels in one area around tokyo just below the threshold which requires evacuation. it's reported levels in one ward of the city are higher than in some parts of the exclusion zone around the nuclear plant itself. well, our correspondent, roland buerk, is in tokyo. some extraordinary findings, roland. >> certainly is something that has surprised experts. radiation is very unpredictable. it's all about the weather and the topography and where it's pushed back. but for a hot spot to be found so far away from the fukushima power station is surprising. what we're talking about here is literally a small area along the foot of a fence by a footpath in one ward. now, it wouldn't have been discovered at all were it not for the general fear about radiation there is here in japan. geiger counters are a very popular item to buy now in japan. people were checking near a kindergarten, near a nursery school, when they found these raised levels, about 2.7 an hour. they called in the local officials, who confirmed those readings, tries to hose it down and found that the readings have risen a bit. it's just blocked off with con

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." >>> a drop in property values has sparked protests in cities around china. angry homeowners say they paid too much for their properties and they want their money back. the real estate market in china began to overheat as housing units became targets of speculative trading. but prices began to drop sharply after the government introduced restrictions on speculative purchases. chinese media report that residents in shanghai, beijing, and elsewhere are demanding that their contracts be nullified or they be refunded. they say the price they paid for their properties was too high. some of the protests have gotten out of hand. on saturday protesters invaded a property developer's office on the outskirts of shanghai which they proceeded to demolish. about 400 protesters gathered at the same office on wednesday. the vandalism follows the developer's announcement that it will slash housing prices by 25%. the chinese government faces the difficult task of cooling property prices while discour e discouraging protests. >>> there has been a major political

. >> six mayors from cities and towns in iwate, miyagi and fukushima prefectures took part in a symposium on post-disaster reconstruction in tokyo on sunday. the meeting was organized by the japan society for disaster recovery and revitalization. the vice mayor from manamisanriku town in miyagi which suffered catastrophic damage said his town received tremendous support from neighboring communities. he added that further cooperation between coastal and inland areas will become important for disaster preparedness. the organizer said it wants the panelists' comments and requests to be used and developed to use to implement recovery plans. >>> japanese mobile phone operators are trying to increase public access points for wireless networking. the move comes as more people are using smart phones to access the internet. customers have been complaining of slow or difficult internet access for hand sets. mobile phone traffic is becoming jammed as many smart phone users constantly download massive amounts of data like music or movies. mobile operators are temporarily slowing download speeds of us