but the governor of niigata prefecture has expressed caution. the governor has said conducting stress tests will not lead to the prefecture approving the rumgs of such reactors. he said his prefecture will not make a decision until the results of the accident are published. a tepco official says the company wants to confirm the safety of the plant through stress tests and explain the results to local communities. >>> this sunday marks the sixth month anniversary of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis. all this week we're bringing you feature reports and analyses of the current situation. today's "nuclear watch" looks at how the japanese government and tokyo electric power company have been dealing with the accident which is ranked at the highest level of severity. first we'll review what happened at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. >> reporter: on march 11th, a magnitude 9 earthquake struck a wide area of eastern japan. shortly after, a huge tsunami hit the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. external power was completely lo

. >> the governor of niigata prefecture appears more reluctant. he says a proper assessment of the fukushima accident will be needed before the reactors can be restarted. >>> sunday marks the tenth anniversary of the september 11th terrorist attacks. ahead of the day, about 100 people gather to light candles and pray for peace near ground zero in new york city. thursday's ceremony in manhattan began with a christian priest and muslim sharing the podium and calling for prayers for peace. the participants stood should er to shoulder and held candles as they remembered the nearly 3,000 victims of the attack on the world trade center. >> i think it's important to show our solidarity as we reflect on this anniversary. >> yit blaming others for what's happened in the u.s. over and over and over again. it was a very tragic event, but it can't go on and on and on. >> the civic group that organized the event plans to stage another rally on sunday. >>> meanwhile, researchers have released over 100 audio files related to the hijacking of four planes on septe

it had run service between japan's niigata -- who were making trips back home. but japan barred the ship's entry in july 2006 after the north test fired baa lastic missiles into the sea of japan. >>> next we go to our bureau in bangkok. patchari raksawong has the latest. >> the presidents of china and the philippines have discussed the sensitive south china sea issue at a meeting in beijing. the two nations are among a hafl of countries in the region that lay claim to the spratt lee islands. . >> it is truly a worthwhile trip so far. we would like to broaden the ties of our peoples for centuries upon centuries. >> translator: i believe the visit of mr. president will push forward the friendship between china and the philippines for more practical operation of the two countries and the operation between the level. >> reporter: the talks between philippine president aquino and chinese president jintao were in beijing on tuesday. it was aimed at preventing tensions over territorial issues from growing. aquino said that the dispute should not be allowed to affect bi

. >> the governor of niigata prefecture appears more reluctant. he says a proper assessment of the fukushima accident will be needed before the reactors can be restarted. >>> the sixth month anniversary of this country's devastating earthquake, tsunami, and crisis is this sunday. for this week's "the road ahead" will show how the accident of the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is changing japan's energy policy. joining us now is our reporter. let's start off by talking about how energy in this country is being generated. >> 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. 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 by the united states. but after the u.s. announced it would use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, japan also launched its own resear