in iwate, miyagi, and fukushima prefectures. the government plans to open the agency in february. it hopes to eventually employ 400 people. >>> "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 from 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. >> investigators in japan are trying to figure out how optical equipment maker olympus was able to cover up losses for more than a decade. we spoke to a former company executive to get his take on the story. >> reporter: miato served a z a board member at olympus between 1995 and 2006. he says he knew nothing about the coverup. >> translator: i am ashamed to say that most directors including myself were unable to see through the coverup. >> reporter: independent panel set up to investigate the scandal has pointed out that some top olympus

as of october, fish holes at eight major posts in miyagi and iwate prefecture are more than half of lastear. it is essential if fishermen are to get back to where they were. almost all posts in this area suffered damage. workers working to rebuild sea walls, piers and facilities. they lost a lot of land. the central government announced plans to complete the restoration work by the end of march 2016. the work for the fishery promises to be a daunting task. >> that was our reporter in sendai. >>> and here are some other stories we're tracking this hour. more moves to encourage democracy in myanmar. u.s. special envoy began a tour of three asian nations. south korea, japan and china and will talk about ways to cooperate in promoting reforms in myanmar. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton visited the country last week. a sign that years of hostile relations will be coming to an end. clinton told myanmar's leaders that the u.s. will consider lifting sanctions if there is progress on democracy. ♪ >>> millions of iranians celebrated the festival amid tight security. the show of force is me

the unicef people chose a aikawa district of iwate prefecture. it was one of the prefectures closest to the earthquake's epicenter. tsunami waves higher than ten meters battered the main street, once bustling. many residents lost their homes and family members. a clock that stopped when the tsunami hit. a parking lot that sunk beneath sea level during the quake. some children take pictures to show how they view living with the disaster and its aftermath. they also picture locals keen to get on with their lives, despite the circumstances. some children express their joy, that everyday life is gradually getting back to normal. italian photographer giacomo pilatzi enjoys working with kids, he's been working with youngsters for more than 20 years. giacomo has also conducted workshops in countries all over the world. some worked with people who had gone through conflicts or natural disasters. in the photos, he could sense the same message of hope expressed by people in similar projects around the world. >> of course the calamity is a calamity. there's

the unicef people chose ta district of iwate prefecture. it was one of the prefectures closest to the earthquake's epicenter. tsunami waves higher than ten meters battered the main street, once bustling. many residents lost their homes and family members. a clock that stopped when the tsunami hit. a parking lot that sunk beneath sea level during the quake. some children take pictures to show how they view living with the disaster and its aftermath. they also picture locals keen to get on with their lives, despite the circumstances. some children express their joy, that everyday life is gradually getting back to normal. italian photographer giacomo pilatzi enjoys working with kids, he's been working with youngsters for more than 20 years. giacomo has also conducted workshops in countries all over the world. some worked with people who had gone through conflicts or natural disasters. in the photos, he could sense the same message of hope expressed by people in similar projects around the world. >> of course the calamity is a calamity. there's

we focus on temporary housing in iwate prefecture, one of the hardist hit in the disaster. people can live there without paying rent but as the months pass, many are feeling increasingly isolated. now one aid worker has stepped in it help. nhk has his story. >> doing his rounds of the complex everyday. he is an aid worker and wants it make sure people who live here are okay. he checks on all of the redents. they tend to stay indoors when the weather turns cold. he is concerned about their health. >> when i first came here, it was really quiet. nobody went outside. >> the disaster in march destroyed more than a third of the houses. many people had nowhere to live. now members of more than 1800 households have moved in to temporary housing. >> this is the community call center. >> aid workers set up a hot line in temporary housing facilities to help people in need. they answer the phone that rings 50 times everyday. residents ask for advice on getting ready for winter. how to keep pipes from freezing. how to stay warm if they haven't got a heater. >> electric hot we distribut

iwate prefecture, cattle farmers say they're worried that consumers will avoid all beef produced from those designated areas. >> in fukushima prefecture, a city is worried its tourism will be hurt if it's listed as a contaminated area. residents in other areas of the city with less than one millisievert per year says it's unfair they cannot receive funds for decontamination work. >>> time to check the latest in sports now with hiro morita. >>> welcome into the sports report. in 2011, i had the opportunity to travel around the country east to west watching athletes do what they do best. some of them even let me in on the action. now that the year's drawing to a close, i've been thinking again about those people and places. here are a few i found especially memorable. japan has all kinds of sporting events throughout the year. but this one back in february was in a league of its own. >> reporter: the name of the game is snow baseball. the rules are completely different than ordinary baseball. a tennis ball is used so that it stands out in the snow. and the team uniforms are garbage bags

the three prefectures of iwate, miyagi and fukushima arelose to one of the world's largest fishing grounds in the pacific ocean but fishing ports in these prefectures were badly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. the total catch landed by eight major ports during the survey period was a little over 64,000 tons. this is down 70% from a year ago. fishermen in fukushima prefecture have voluntarily stopped iffishing in waters nearby due to the nuclear power plant accident. >>> workers up and down the coast are still struggling to remove millions of tons of debris. the government's goal is to transfer 22 million tons of waste from disaster-hit areas to temporary storage sites by the end of next march, but environment ministry spokespeople say about 7 million tons or one-third of the total debris still needs to be hauled away. they say the main reason for the delay is the time it takes to demolish damaged buildings. the government needs to get approval from building owners and prevent asbestos from entering the environment when it destroys the structures. the ministry plans to build incinera

the huge breakwater off iwate prefecture in northern japan collapsed last march. the infrastructure ministry plans to erect a wall five meters high on the shore side of the new breakwater. the new barrier play not withstand the highest waves but will delay their arrival on shore. the project is expected to be completed within five years. >>> japanese prime minister has instructed his cabinet members and business leaders to join forces in selling japanese infrastructure to india. especially the shin cannkansen t train system. competition for such products is severe. he said japan should make every effort to combine its excellent technologies, operational know-how, human resources and financial competence in marking its unparalleled infrastructure systems overseas. exporting japanese infrastructure is one of the main aims of the governing democrat being party. noda plans to promote japan's strength in the field to indian prime minister, sooemanmohan si when the two leaders meet at the end of the month mai shoji is up next with the weather. >>> hi there, welcome back

the three prefectures of iwate, miyagi and fukushima are close to one of the world's largest fishing grounds in the pacific ocean but fishing ports in these prefectures were badly damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. the total catch landed by eight major ports during the survey period was a little over 64,000 tons. this is down 70% from a year ago. fishermen in fukushima prefecture have voluntarily stopped iffishing in waters nearby due to the nuclear power plant accident. >>> workers up and down the coast are still struggling to remove millions of tons of debris. the government's goal is to transfer 22 million tons of waste from disaster-hit areas to temporary storage sites by the end of next march, but environment ministry spokespeople say about 7 million tons or one-third of the total debris still needs to be hauled away. they say the main reason for the delay is the time it takes to demolish damaged buildings. the government needs to get approval from building owners and prevent asbestos from entering the environment when it destroys the structures. the ministry plans to build

cheer to a part of japan that was hit by the earthquake and tsunami in march. 100 santas arrived in iwate prefecture from all over the country. 30 santas visited people who are in temporary housing after losing their homes in the city. >> tomoki yoshida and his sister, ui, were delighted with their presents. >> translator: my children had written a letter to santa. they were looking forward to this visit. >> shuji nakano and his wife, yuki, came hundreds of kilometers to be among the santas. >> translator: the children are pleased to see us, so we're glad we came. we hope we can spread some cheer. >> the santas will be visiting communities in the disaster area throughout the weekend. they'll be delivering 22,000 presents. >>> here is your weather upda . shery ahn. stay tuned for more on nhk world stay tuned for more on nhk world "newsline." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com . 5. .