the explanation from noda is the last of nishikawa's conditions. the governor is expected to give his approval as early as next week. >>> workers have entered the basements of two reactor buildings at the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. they are trying to find the source of water that's collected there. the crew was sent by tokyo electric, the plant's operator. they inspected the room's housing the suppression chambers of the number two and three reactors for the first time since the nuclear accident last year. the workers were unable to pinpoint the source of the leak. photos released after the inspection showed no signs of major damage to the facilities or equipment. tokyo electric says more than 5 meters of contaminated water have collected in each unit. that's more than half the height of the doughnut shaped suppression chambers which are about 9 meters in diameter. tokyo electric will continue to search for the source of the leak. damage to the reactor's containment vessels must be repaired before the reactor can be decommissio

nuclear crisis minister has met the fukui governor nishikawa to discuss restarting the oi facility. prime minister noda explained to the public why the plant must be put back online. he explained the government's efforts to enhance nuclear safety and sought the governor's support. >> translator: the government has worked to increase nuclear safety since the accident at fukushima daiichi. some safety standards are provisional and have not yet been legislated. restarting the oi reactors will require special monitoring. >> translator: such new arrangements must take effect immediately to reassure fukui residents. prime minister noda must assure the public that nuclear plants are important for the country's economy, not just for meeting short-term demand. this is needed to win public support. >> nishikawa urged that noda directly seek public support for restarting the plant. last week, seven prefectures issued a statement on restarting the plant's number three and four reactors. the prefectures urged the government to make an appropriate ymt. and they assumed any decision to restart the

mitsuko nishikawa has more. >> reporter: one of tokyo's most popular destinations, asakusa, is once again enjoying a continuous flow of tourists from across the world. >> translator: we see more and more foreign visitors every day. >> reporter: the government's tourism organization says 669,000 travelers visited japan in may. that's 87% up from last year, right after the march 11th catastrophe, and about 7% down from 2010. visitors from asian countries such as china contributed dramatically to this return to pre-march 11th figures. but tire uft -- tourists from the united states and europe have yet to make a comeback. tourists from other countries are filling their places. tourism officials say more people from emerging economies in southeast asia are coming to japan. the number of visitors from thailand, indonesia and vietnam hit a record high for the month of may. >> i bring my kids. i bring to disney yesterday. and maybe tomorrow will be going to the -- yeah, all ready for vacation. >> last year they don't want to come because of fukushima problem. but this year, i think that it will b

the governor of fukui prefecture issei nishikawa said they intend to confirm the safety of all facilities. he said they will determine whether managers at plant are capable of making decisions during a nuclear emergency. the governor plans to hear opinions from an independent panel of experts and members. the prefectural assembly. he plans to inspect the plant before agreeing to the restart. some areas in shiga prefectures lie within a 30 kilometer radius of the ohi power plant. ahead of noda's press conference, the shiga governor made this comment. >> translator: the government should proceed with the plan as soon as possible. the prerequisite for restart is only when demand for electricity peaks. many people including those in business circles are worried about power shortages. >> this is how the procedure toward restarting the reactors at the ohi plant is expected to unfold. first a panel of experts from fukui prefecture will meet on sunday for a final round of discussions on the safety of the number three and four reactors. the panel will then compile a report based on that report may

. >>> nuclear crisis minister goshi hosono has met fukui governor nishikawa to talk about restarting the facility. hosono explained the government's efforts to hash nuclear safety and sought the governor's support. >> translator: the government has worked to increase nuclear safety since the accident at fukushima daiichi. some safety standards are provisional and have not yet been legislated. restarting the ohi reactors under the standards will require special monitoring. >> translator: such new arrangements must you taketake immediately to reassure fukui residents. this is needed to win public support. >> nishikawa urged that noda seek public support for restarting the plant. last week, seven prefectures in the kansai region issued a statement on restarting the plants number three and four reactors. the prefectures urged the government to make an appropriate judgment on the assumption that any decision to restart the plant will be temporary. noda later met ministers responsible for nuclear power issues. he said they were winning some local consent. he said he'll take responsibility

mittsuko nishikawa has more. >> reporter: one of tokyo's most popular destinations, atsakusa, is once again enjoying a continuous flow of tourists from across the world. >> translator: we see more and more foreign visitors every day. >> reporter: the government's tourism organization says 669,000 travelers visited japan in may. that's 87% up from last year, right after the march 11th catastrophe and about 7% down from 2010. visitors from asian countries such as china contributed dramatically to this return to pre-march 11th figures. but tourists have yet to make a comeback. tourists from other countries are filling their places. tourism officials say more people from emerging economies in southeast asia are coming to japan. the number of visitors from thailand, indonesia and vietnam hit a record high for the month of may. >> i bring my kids. i bring to disney yesterday. and maybe tomorrow will be -- all ready for vacation. >> last year they don't want to come because of fukushima problem. but this year, i think that it is popular and they want to return because of food and culture and

. >> nishikawa urged noda directly receive public support for restarting the plant. last week seven prefectures in the kansai region issued a statement about restarting the number three and four reactors to make an appropriate judgment and assumed any decision to restart the plant would be de temporary. noda said they were winning some local consent. he said he'll take responsibility for making a decision if authorities in fukui prefecture and ohi town approve a restart. after meeting nishikawa, hosono explained to or theers the government's decision. >> translator: fukui prefecture has accumulated knowledge and it's very experts discuss the issue. we're waiting for fukui's decision. >> the government plans to call a ministerial meeting to make an official decision to restart if fukui's governor approves such action. >>> officials at japan's nuclear safety commission say they have found evidence that the agency bowed to pressure from utility companies when drafting nuclear safety measures more than 20 years ago. the commission found the archived documents after a par

goshi hosono will meet later in the day with the governor of fukui nishikawa. for example, the government will station a senior official at the facility. they've also proposed a video link between the plant and the prime minister's office. government leaders hope to restart the reactors by summer when demand for electricity will peak. but experts say it will take about three weeks for the facility to move back into full-scale operation. the prime minister says he hopes to make his decision by the end of the week. >>> trade ministers from the asian pacific region will discuss concrete steps toward liberalizing trade and investment by 2020. the 21 member asia pacific economic cooperation forum includes the united states, china, and japan. the two-day ministerial meeting will kick off on monday in the central russian city of kazan. japanese trade minister yukio edano is expected to stress japan will make every effort to establish a free trade zone in the asia pacific region. ministers will exchange views on lowering tariffs on fast growing eco friendly products su

mitsuko nishikawa, nhk world. >>> china is continuing to build up its military presence in asia and the united states is seeking to adjust the balance of power in the region. the u.s. is pledging closer ties in defense support to india, vietnam and other asian countries. we have the details from our bangkok bureau. >> reporter: india has been called a vital partner by the u.s. which is making moves to strengthen that partnership. u.s. defense secretary leon panetta kicked off a visit to india on tuesday. it appears that u.s. hopes to bolster ties with the country in the face of a more assertive china. during a two-day visit, panetta is expected to discuss deepening defense cooperation with india and the nato war effort in afghanistan. focusing on washington's strategic shift towards asia. panetta has also pledged u.s. defense support for vietnam and other southeast asian countries. the u.s. secretary of defense met with his vietnamese counterpart during a visit to hanoi on monday. the two agreed to an increased presence of the u.s. navy in the country and other measures. >> the most des