the people in charge of fukushima daiichi are struggling to control the plant. how will they stop the leaks and demission the facilities? get the latest on the aftereffects of the accident with in depth reports and special features. nuclear watch, only on "newsline". >>> a junior high school symphony orchestra from japan's fukushima prefecture has performed in one of london's most prestigious concert venues. ♪ >> the fukushima youth symphony played at the city's queen elizabeth hall on and. the 37 members of the orchestra are from four junior high schools. the orchestra was invited by a british charity group that encourages people through wars and disasters through music. they received lessons from professional musicians. ♪ >> the students played the well-known japanese tune fusato which means hometown. >> translator: i am grateful for the opportunity the british people have created for us. >> these communities from japan really need this to feel that they come together and they send a positive message to the rest of us. ♪ >>> let's now bring in our meteorologis

in some areas at fukushima daiichi they can only work for short periods of time. in others, they can't work at all. so engineers are racing to develop the technology that would offer full access with minimal risk. nhk world's noriko okada has the story. >> reporter: right after the accident, tepco engineers sent a remote controlled robot inside one of the reactor buildings. the device detectived significantly high levels of radiation. and it managed to make it out. since then, tepco has used several robots to survey dangerous areas of the crippled plant. the utilities need for technology has pushed developers to design robots that can go where humans cannot. researchers and engineers are trying to make devices that can carry out more advanced decommissioning tasks. some attended a convention in january. they are now focused on designing robots that can do decontamination work. this robot uses a laser technology to clean up the radioactive substances. the arms stick out of the device, and emit a beam. the laser can evaporate radioactive substances. then the robot u

the japanese government has lifted an evacuation order for an area near the crippled fukushima daiichi plant, three years after the nuclear accident. >>> an investigation has found that parts of a research paper on stem cells that were hailed as groundbreaking were fabricated. >>> and russia's prime minister has visited crimea for the first time since the country's annexation of the region. >>> more than 300 people from an area near the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant can now return to their homes. japanese government officials have lifted an evacuation order for a neighborhood in the city of tamura. it's the first time they've declared an evacuated area safe to live in again. now, people in the neighborhood had to leave their homes right after the accident three years ago. but government officials found that radiation levels were relatively low. so workers could decontaminate the area before other parts of the evacuation zone around the plant. but most evacuees from the area say they don't plan to return home in the near future. some of them are worried there may still be poc

the people in charge of fukushima daiichi are struggling to control the plant. how will they stop the leaks? and decommission the facilities? get the latest on the aftermath of the nuclear accident with in-depth reports, and special features. "nuclear watch" only on "newsline." >>> time now for a check of the weather. people in new zealand are dealing with heavy rain and flooding. our meteorologist jonathan oh, has the details and more. >> hello, keiko, yes, we are definitely tracking what used to be ita, departing from australia, and now moving toward new zealand, and this is of some concern because, yes, flooding, and the torrential downpours, along with some strong winds, are expected with this particular system. it is expected to also intensify as it moves toward the south and east. it's going to bring a lot of rainfall. not just for tuesday, but in to wednesday, thursday, and in to friday. so it is going to be a persistent system. and so because of that, we're going to look at anywhere from 120 to 180 millimeters of rainfall over both islands, north and sou

. >> reporter: the town of tomioka is located just 6 kilometers from the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. three years ago an earthquake and tsunami crippled the plant. and the government issued an evacuation order for the entire town. residents have been living in temporary housing outside of the town ever since. a famous row of about 400 cherry trees used to be the pride of the town of tomioka. it was considered one of fukushima prefecture's most spectacular spots for viewing cherry blossoms. 80-year-old suenaga used to live in tomioka. after the disaster he moved from one evacuation shelter to another. now he is living with his family in fukushima city. suenaga used to work in the tourism office of tomioka town hall. one of his jobs was tending to the cherry trees in tomioka. he would prune their branches and keep pests at bay. >> translator: i took care of the trees for about 50 years. i worked hard because i wanted tourists to enjoy the cherry blossoms. >> reporter: for the third year in a row, suenaga was forced to spend cherry blossom season away from tomioka. he worries about the

. >>> nuclear power plant workers are trying to tackle the flow of water in to fukushima daiichi. they've begun pumping up groundwater to prevent it from reaching the crippled facility and becoming radioactive. groundwater is flowing from nearby mountains into the reactor buildings and mixing with highly radioactive water. the bypass plan has been developed to reduce the amount of newly contaminated water. the japanese government and the plant's operator tokyo electric power company started the new system after local fishermen agreed to the plan. tepco says groundwater will be punched up from 12 wells over several days. the water will be stored in tanks. it will take about a month for private organizations to test the water's radiation levels. if the water meets safety standards set by the government and tepco, it will be released into the pacific ocean. currently the amount of contaminated water accumulating at the plant increases by about 400 tons every day. tepco says when the system is in full operation, the daily buildup will be reduced by up to 100 tons. >>> many people acro

. >>> the operator of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant has revealed another mistake. it says highly radioactive water was sent to the wrong building. workers normally pump contaminated water from the plant's reactors, and send it to storage buildings. it then goes to a processing facility. but officials at tokyo electric power company found on thursday that water levels at such buildings had dropped. they should have risen. the officials found that four pumps which were not supposed to be used, had been in operation. they sent the water in the wrong direction to a facility for incinerating radioactive waste. about 203 tons of contaminated water flowed in. the officials say there's no way for it to get out. workers have started pumping up and sending the water to where it should be. they're also trying to find out why the pumps were used. >>> coming up next the latest business stories with ron madison. >> all right. prime minister shinzo abe has pledged japan's continued financial support for kosovo. the young european nation is trying to recover and develop six years

most of the town is within 20 kilometers of fukushima daiichi. and the area is still in the government designated evacuation zone. town officials held a meeting in neighboring iwaki city to discuss a possible return. 80% of naraha's residents are staying there. residents learned that workers have finished removing radioactive material from residential areas in the town. officials explained that radiation has dropped by half from pre-decontamination levels, and a municipal panel of experts has judged the town liveable. they also say a makeshift shopping mall has been built. but many residents are wary. >> translator: we're mostly concerned about the exact radiation level. give us more details. >> translator: please don't rush. make a careful decision. >> naraha's mayor says he wants to hear from more residents and assembly members before deciding when they should start returning. >>> u.n. officials in south sudan have condemned what they call targeted killings of civilians. they say opposition troops slaughtered hundreds of people based on their n

. >>> before we wrap up, an elementary school has reopened near the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the government lifted its evacuation order after the area was decontaminated. following the 2011 nuclear accident, the school was relocated to temporary campus about 20 kilometers away. now, teachers at the elementary school in northeastern japan are welcoming new students. about 60 students, parents, and local residents took part in the ceremony. >> translator: let's start new school life together at the school. >> translator: i'm worried about radiation levels but i'm happy to attend an entrance ceremony at a school in a place where i grew up. and as a parent, i'm thrilled to see happy looks on children's faces. >> school officials say the number of students dropped by one-third after the nuclear accident. some students moved to other schools near where they now live. 60% of the school students will spend about an hour traveling to school by bus, as their families continue to live outside the miyakoji district. >>> and that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank yo

. >>> engineers are trying to cope with rising volumes of radioactive water at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. they want to get the water out of the ground before it becomes contaminated. they could begin pumping up groundwater as early as wednesday. clean water flows underground from the mountains to the soil beneath the plant. workers will pump it up to the surface. the idea is to prevent it from mixing with highly contaminated water in the basements of the reactor buildings. they'll then release the groundwater into the ocean. the government and tokyo electric power company decided to go ahead with the operation after local fishery cooperative on friday approved it under certain conditions. the fishermen say the released groundwater should meet strict environmental safety standards. they also insist that a third party oversee the process. tepco says it will take about a month to thoroughly analyze the quality of the ground water. if there's no problem, the utility will begin releasing the water into the sea in may. fisheries cooperatives in fukushima say there should be

residents started to worry about atomic energy after the accident three years ago at japan's fukushima daiichi nuclear facility. the president announced on sunday that his government would freeze construction on the plant. he plans to hold a referen couple to ask voters whether or not building work should go ahead. but analysts say it may be difficult to hold a referendum before the presidential elections scheduled for 2016. >>> japanese regulators are concerned about a series of security violations at nuclear plants. they're worried the facilities might be vulnerable to attack. so they're urging plant operators to do more to guard against the threat of terrorism. >> translator: complying with laws and regulations is not enough to counter nuclear terrorism. power companies should also maintain discipline and a proper organizational culture. >> officials of the nuclear regulation authority held a meeting with senior managers of the utilities. they stressed the importance of stepping up anti-terrorism measures. the regulators are also looking to strengthen their own safeguards. they'll ask infec

the quake didn't do much damage to the fukushima daiichi nuclear power station, but the tsunami shutown the reactors' emergency cooling systems, and they started to melt down. hydrogen gases inside the buildings then exploded, spreading radiation into communities more than 25 miles away. today, in the town of tomioka, the radiation levels are considered safe enough to allow people in during the day. loudspeakers warn visitors that they must leave by 3:00 p.m. we were alone on the day we were there. the disaster seems to have stopped time. the clock shows 2:46, the moment the earthquake hit, and the damage to shops and homes looks like it could have happened yesterday. the stack of newspapers we found were dated march 12, 2011, the day after the quake and tsunami. you can see people had to leave in a hurry. that was the morning the government told people of this town and neighboring towns to get out quickly. "welcome to okuma," says the sign. population today, three years later: zero. more than 11,000 people left town that day and never returned. would you ever want to go back to okum