. >> reporter: it will take at least 30 years to decommission the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. there's a lot of work to be done. radiation levels are too high for workers to be inside for long. and that's where the robots come in. the first one inside was made in the u.s. it was used to collect data on physical damage and radiation. japanese robot developers felt they'd been beaten to the punch and they wanted to do more. >> translator: there were no japanese robots in there. people were wondering what our robots were even for so we were determined to make a difference no matter how small. >> reporter: the team was tasked with reimagining a domestic robot for use inside the plant. the quinn was a rescue robot designed to operate in disaster zones like collapsed buildings. its body was covered in treads that enabled it to climb through rubble and up steep staircases. intense heat, extreme humidity and other obstacles stood in the way of a successful mission inside the fukushima daiichi plant. it had shallow rectangular treads that wouldn't let it hook on to the rounded steps. t

most nuclear plants in japan are offline for inspection following the mar 11 crisis at the fukushima daiichi. lng prices also stayed high throughout the year, due to stronger demand from emerging countries. another reason for the boost in imports has been a certain reversal in currency markets. the yen began weakening at the end of last year. the yen has continued to weaken and the new prime minister shinzo abe's bold economic policy. this corporation is one of japan's major trading companies. it imports lng from asia and the middle east. they expect imports of lng to be at least as high as last year, but the cost will be much higher as the value of the yen continues to drop. >> translator: we are really getting a triple punch in the shortage of lng supplies, the high price of the gas and the depreciation of the yen. as an energy importing company, we are concerned about what level the exchange rate will settle at because it has a big impact on our import costs. >> reporter: experts think a weaker yen will hurt importers more than it helps exporters. and it may cause a trade deficit to widen

workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant in northeastern japan are starting off the new year preparing for a delicate operation. tokyo electric power company crews need to remove hundreds of spent fuel rods that are being stored on site. it's the first major step toward decommissioning the facility, a process that's expected to take 40 years. >>> prime minister shinzo abe visited fukushima daiichi on the weekend and expressed his intention to extend full government support. >> translator: the state of emergency is over and we're now in a transition phase with efforts focused on decommissioning. the government will do all it can to help speed up this process. >> during the initial decommissioning phases tepco workers will need to remove thee pool in the reactor 4 building. they took out two rods last july during a trial. tepco engineers have since studied how to remove about 1,500 others. they plan to start mid-november and complete the process in december 2014, a year earlier than initially scheduled. they want to remove the rods as soon as possible because of concerns about the storag

. >> reporter: itate lies just 40 kilometers from the fukushima daiichi power plant. radiation released after the nuclear accident in 2011 forced everyone in the town to leave their homes. in the fall of that year nakajima visited children who had relocated to nearby towns. >> translator: after the quake the children seemed rather depressed. to make them happier and more energetic, i thought it would be good if they painted some pictures with colorful scenes. >> reporter: nakajima asked the children to paint pictures of the itate village the way they remembered it. the children used bright colors to depict their home town. >> translator: the children really taught me something. they're acting so bravely it makes you want to cry. >> reporter: people gathered on march 11th last year at a park in tokyo to mark the first anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami. they wanted to encourage residents in the disaster area. nakajima and a friend painted itate village and mount fuji. after that people wrote messages of support for those displaced by the disaster. to bring the m

he also talked about his visit on saturday to the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. abe said his government will allocate funds for the disaster-hit areas as quickly as possible. he said he will tighten control of japan's remote islands and strengthen defense of them. chinese ships and aircraft have repeatedly entered japanese waters and air space around the senkaku islands in the east china sea last year. there's one challenge the prime minister won't be able to tackle any time soon. japan's ageing and shrinking population. new government figures show the number of people coming of age in 2012 matched the record low set the year before. people in japan can vote, drink and smoke when they turn 20. a survey by the internal affairs ministry found 1.22 million japanese reached the milestone in 2012. that's the same figure as a year earlier. the lowest since the government began compiling data more than 40 years ago. 20-year-olds now make up less than 1% of the population. the number of people reaching adulthood peaked in 1970. the first post-war baby boomers came of age

he also talked about his visit on saturday to the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. abe said his government will allocate funds for the disaster-hit areas as quickly as possible. he said he will tighten control of japan's remote islands and strengthen defense of them. chinese ships and aircraft have repeatedly entered japanese waters and air space around the senkaku islands in the east china sea last year. there's one challenge the prime minister won't be able to tackle any time soon. japan's ageing and shrinking population. new government figures show the number of people coming of age in 2012 matched the record low set the year before. people in japan can vote, drink and smoke when they turn 20. a survey by the internal affairs ministry found 1.22 million japanese reached the milestone in 2012. that's the same figure as a year earlier. the lowest since the government began compiling data more than 40 years ago. 20-year-olds now make up less than 1% of the population. the number of people reaching adulthood peaked in 1970. the first post-war baby boomers came of age

in northeastern japan are giving health checks to hundreds of young people from a town near fukushima daiichi. they're trying to estimate how much radiation the residents were exposed to in the early days after the 2011 accident at the nuclear plant. they are happening inside this building. the people getting examined don't want their identities to be revealed. they are from naime. many residents went to areas northwest of the town after the accident, without knowing radiation levels there were high. they convinced municipal officials to offer tests for people 18 years or younger at the time. around 850 children, or about a quarter of those eligible, want to be examined. researchers will collect blood to look for changes in chromosomes. >> translator: we will do our best to notify the examinees of the results as soon as possible to relieve their concerns. >> the operators of japan's power plants are bracing for a new set of rules. nuclear regulation officials have drafted new safety standards for protecting against an earthquake and tsunami. the guidelines finalized and passed into law by jul

nuclear plants in japan are offline for inspection from the march 11 disaster and crisis at fukushima daiichi. the prices also stayed high throughout the year due to stronger demand from emerging countries. another reason for the boost in imports has been universal in currency markets. the yen began weakening after last year. the yen has continued to weaken and the new prime minister shinzo abe worked on policy. this corporation is one of japan's major trailing companies. it imports lng from asia and the middle east. they expect imports of lng to be at least as high as last year, but the cost will be much higher as the value of the yen continues to drop. >> translator: we are really getting a triple punch in the shortage of lng supplies, the high price of the gas and the depreciation of the yen. as an energy importing company, we are concerned about what level the exchange rate will subtle at because it has a big import on our costs. >> reporter: experts think a weaker yen will hurt importers more than it helps exporters. and it may cause a trade deficit to widen even further in 2013. >> anot

higher fuel costs because most of the nation's nuclear power reactors remain offline after the fukushima daiichi accident. their bottom lines were hurt further by more expensive imported fuel, which was pushed higher by the weaker yen. >>> nearly 100 camera makers unveiled their latest products at a large efltxpo near tokyo. they're hoping to re-attract consumers who have switched to camera-equipped smartphones. the four-day cps plus camera and photo imaging show opened in yokohama on thursday. this allows users to upload photos to the internet through a smartphone. nikkon showed off a camera with an android operating system. a new single lens reflex camera from sony features advance image processing technology. it can produce professional images, for example, by blurring distant objects to make the subject stand out. industry officials say new cameras need to have a variety of functions to attract consumers. they say cameras can develop alongside smartphones rather than compete with them. >>> south korea's ambassador to the united nations has hinted at the need for action if the north conducts

decisions based on the evidence, something he says that was hard to do before the accident at fukushima daiichi. >> translator: we are not hesitating to make decisions based on objective scientific fact. honestly speaking, i understand there used to be other issues taken into account. >> reporter: those who work for tanaka say they are trying to avoid those kinds of pressures. inspectors for the nuclear regulation authority looked into a trench at the ohi plant on the sea of japan. they wanted to determine whether a fault running underneath the compound is active. the people who run the utility are questioning their work even before the release of the findings. >> translator: the inspection is still ongoing. we plan to explain how we view the situation when we can. but at this point our position has not changed that the fault is not active. >> reporter: but the investigators are standing firm. tanaka says people don't understand all the mysteries of nature. he says he learned that lesson two years ago. >> translator: we lack the minds to humbly face the cause of various accidents. i have been w

this is because most of the nation's nuclear power reactors remain offline after the fukushima daiichi accident. their bottom lines were hurt further by more expensive imported fuel, which was pushed higher by the weaker yen. >>> nippon airways expects a $15 million drop in sales for january that's because of lost revenue stemming from the capslation of all its boeing 787 dreamliner flights. the japanese carrier also noticed ana says its operating profit from april to december 2012 totaled $1.2 billion, that's up 18% in yen terms from a year earlier and is the company's record high. however, following the suspension of all boeing 787 flights by the authorities, ana had to cancel about 460 flights up to thursday. ana's executive vice president kyoshi kyomoto says business will be affected if it takes more time for the boeing 787 flights to be resumed yet added the company has no intention at present to change the policy of introducing 49 dreamliner aircraft by the year 2020. >>> new home building in japan was up in 2012 compared to the previous year. that's the third straight year of in

decisions based on the evidence, something he says that was hard to do before the accident at fukushima daiichi>> translator: we are not hesitating to make decisions based on objective scientific fact. honestly speaking, i understand there used to be other issues taken into account. >> reporter: those who work for tanaka say they are trying to avoid those kinds of pressures. inspectors for the nuclear regulation authority looked into a trench at the ohi plant on the sea of japan. they wanted to determine whether a fault running underneath the compound is active. the people who run the utility are questioning their work even before the release of the findings. >> translator: the inspection is still ongoing. we plan to explain how we view the situation when we can. but at this point our position has not changed that the fault is not active. >> reporter: but the investigators are standing firm. tanaka says people don't understand all the mysteries of nature. he says he learned that lesson two years ago. >> translator: we lack the minds to humbly face the cause of various accidents. i have been wea

it was seven ways, and the one that struck fukushima daiichi was 50 feet high. and as a consequence, series of nuclear reactor accidents that occurred subsequent to that added a radiological dimension, a dimension to this disaster that was unprecedented in any of our experience. and you know, so i think the magnitude, and it happened in a highly developed society, resilient generally to earthquake for sure. but along a coastline that couldn't contend with the magnitude of the tsunamis that were subsequent to that. so really remarkable in terms of size and scope. >> okay. next, i think it would be interesting to hear from mr. inaba. how did these events affect toyota? >> well, first of all, let me thank you to give us an opportunity to talk about and how we prepare and better manage disaster. the events in march, 2011 was devastating to japan. and so was -- [inaudible]. immediately after earthquake and tsunami hit in japan, our president established a companywide emergency task for force. to address, assess the situation and take immediate action. and our priorit