noda also met the parents and sister of an american woman who died in the 2011 disaster. he thanked them for what they've done to help survivors in japan's northeast. taylor anderson was teaching english when the tsunami hit the city. noda said anderson acted as a bridge between the japan and u.s. by giving and receiving love. he thanked her family for donating books to schools in ishinomaki and setting up a fund to help children who lost parents. taylor's father said his daughter loved ishinomaki and japan. the family feels the same way and wants to continue assisting with the recovery effort. >>> tensions are rising on the korean peninsula. south korea's president lee myung-bak warned of unmistakable counter measures if north korea carries out its recent threats. north korean military officials vowed to launch what they call special actions against their neighbor. they say the aingttacks will be harsher than their deadly shells of an island in 2010. >> translator: we won't allow any provocations against us. we will retaliate with unmistake bl countermeasures. >> lee ref

prime minister noda meets next week with three key cabinet ministers. if authorities in fukui prefecture give them the go ahead, noda will approve restarting the reactors at ohi. >>> japan's nuclear crisis started on march 11th, 2011. a earthquake and tsunami disabled the fukushima daiichi plant. seismologists are trying to figure when the next disaster will hit. they say a powerful quake could strike off a peninsula east of tokyo. the epicenter is different from the one that triggered the great kanto earthquake in 1923. members of the geospatial information authority of japan presented their analysis wednesday at a meeting of the coordinating committee for earthquake prediction. gps data shows the tip of the boso peninsula has been moving about three centimeters northward each year since 1997. analysts say seismic pressure may be building up in the area where an oceanic tectonic plate slights under a continental plate. the area off the boso peninsula has not had a major earthquake for at least 300 years. >> translator: we'll conduct new surveys and rec

noda and obama spoke about the issue of north korea's expected nuclear test. they agreed to warn authorities in their reclusive nation against further provocative acts. >> the mother you engage in provocative acts, the more isolated you will become and diplomat ittically and internationals. >> we will act according to the u.n. security council's statement. we will talk to china and russia and the international community as a whole will convey a strong message to north korea. >> obama and noda agreed to seek help from china. they have a long-standing alliance with north korea. >>> south korea's president bak has fired a warning at north korea. he spoke of unmistakable counter measures if north korea carries out the recent threats. north korean officials vow to launch special actions against nir neighbor. any say the aattacks will sh harsher thanle deadly shelling of the island in 2010. >> translator: we won't allow any provocations against us. we will retaliate with unmist e unmistakable countermeasures. >> he referred to the popular movements in arab countries

i have a question for both president obama and prime minister know the -- noda. how you regard the relocation issue, in the context of this statement. although you did not refer specifically to the location. your report on u.s. forces japan realignment, it leaves the question open to an extent and what do you think of the possibility -- it will be relocated to another place. it is most meaningful in the two plus two joint statement and the meeting today, we were able to confirm the two countries will cooperate in the context of deepening the alliance toward the realization of the optimum u.s. force posture in the region and the reduction of the burden on okinawa and will continue to work toward an early resolution of this issue. >> as the prime minister just noted, the realignment approach that has been taken is consistent with the security interests of both japan and the united states. we think we found it defense mechanism to move this process forward in a way that is respectful to the situation in okinawa, the views of the residents there but also able to opti

chinese premier wen jiabao raised the issue with prime minister yoshihiko noda when they met in beijing. he said the japanese should respect chinese interests. chinese leaders may not be happy to see the uygurs getting attention for the codes. kadeer says the fact the japanese gave her visit shows they support her and her group. misato ishikawa, nhk world, tokyo. >>> the leaders of japan, china and south korea have agreed to start negotiations by the end of the year toward a free trade agreement. but they're having difficulty on how to deal with north korea. a joint statement released after summit talks failed to mention what they would do about pyongyang. chinese president hu jintao hosted south korean president lee myung-bak and japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda in beijing. chinese premier wen jiabao held talks sunday with noda and lee. >> translator: strengthening cooperation between our three countries is indispensable. the agreement to begin fta talks by the end of this year is a major development, and i'm sure it will benefit the stability and prosperity of this region. >> ch

noda and he met and announced a plan to buy the islands currently owned by a japanese citizen. he said it is important to respect each other's core interests and matters of great interest. noda said the islands are an integral part of japan from the viewpoint of history and international law. he also said it should not effect overall relations between japan and china. >>> the leader of an international organization of exiled groups arrived in japan. the visit comes despite china's strong opposition to japan granting visa for the trip. this is the president of world uyger congress and now lives i the united states. she arrived at the airport sunday and was greeted by supporters. she will join about 130 exiled uygers from 20 countries attending a four day assembly. they will discuss how to support ethnic uygers in china. it is the first time to hold this meeting in tokyo. upon arrival, she told nhk that the organization will urge the chinese government to stop its oppression against ethnic uygers. she said the exiled uygers want to promote a nonviolent movement so they can be hea

ministers prime yoshihiko noda into action. >> how are they collecting all this public money? >> there is a savings account that has been opened in a bank here in japan, and money is going to come in. how much is it going to cost? at the moment, they are being rented by the state, by the central government in japan, but estimates of the value have ranged from zero up to about $500 million. it could be a big amount of money that needs to be collected. >> what about the government? how has it reacted to all of this drama? >> prime minister yoshihiko noda knows the central government might step in and buy these islands that are in the hands of private individuals. it has riled other nations. the chinese have said it is illegal. they believe the islands are their territory. taiwan also laid claim to the islands and is unhappy about the move. >> the largest-ever exhibition of leonardo and to's drawings of the human body go in display -- on display at the queen's gallery at buckingham palace. he has long been recognized as a great artist, but he was a pioneer in the study of the hum

when prime minister noda and i met, we talk about strengthening. i want to thank you for the personal commitment you have brought to this endeavor. you have called the united states is japan's greatest asset. through our determination and humility we have seen this through. during our discussions today, the prime minister compared his leadership style to that of a point guard in basketball. he may not be flashy, but he stays focused and gets the job done. that has helped make this visit a milestone. am proud to announce we have agreed to a new joint vision to help shape the asian-pacific for decades to come. this is part of a broader effort i discussed in which the united states is, once again, beating in the asian-pacific region. this will remain the foundation of the security and foundations -- security and prosperity of our two nations and a cornerstone of regional peace and security. we reviewed the agreement that we reached last week to realign american forces in japan which reflects our efforts to modernize with more forces that are more broa

yoshihiko noda met with his cabinet ministers in charge of nuclear issues. fujimura, edino, and hosano. near the ohi plant support the restart though with reservations. leaders of ohi town where the plant is located are still undecided. >> translator: in the end, i'll take personal responsibility in making a decision if the most municipalities agree to it. >> the government leaders say they'll send a senior official to the area to reassure residents. and they'll station a senior representative there in the long run. they've also proposed a teleconference link amongst the plant, the operators, and the prime minister's office. cabinet ministers will await approval from local leaders. if they get it, they'll meet again next week to make their final decision. >>> 13 men have been found apparently executed with their heads tied behind their backs in syria. the bodies were found tuesday night. online video footage believed to have been posted by a local activist shows multiple corpses shot at point blank range. u.n. observers have confirmed the killings. killed mo

american trade officials want noda to further liberalize his country's markets. japanese government representatives say the discussions with the u.s. will help them assess the benefits of joining the tpp talks. >>> the nine nations in the tpp negotiations aim to reach a deal this year. observers say it is not clear if japan can have much influence on the discussions within this time frame. >>> japan will get help from kazakhstan in cleaning up areas tainted by radiation after last year's accident at the fukushima-daiichi nuclear plant. japan's economy trade and industry minister met kazakhstan's counterpart on tuesday. kazakhstan's national nuclear center has over 20 years of experience in decontaminating nuclear testing sites of the former soviet union. he asked for the nation's cooperation in cleaning up and rebuiltinghe fukushima plant. he said the country will offer its experience and techniques to help japan. adano told reporters that he believes sharing information on decontamination will greatly assist the reconstruction of fukushima. >>> and that's all fo

japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda says he'll do his part to bring the 2020 summer games to tokyo. noda says hosting the olympics is not just a chance to promote international friendship in athletics. he says it will give japan a forum to show the world how it recovered from the march 2011 disaster. tokyo governor shintaro ishihara's bid for the 2016 olympics was unsuccessful. he said he's looking forward to winning this time around. >> translator: we've just stepped on to the starting line. from now on, we will fight hard to win this long, fierce competition. >> tokyo government representatives plan to start wooing ioc members this summer at the london olympics. then they'll make their formal pitch. many people in japan are already sold. >> translator: these days, the economy is not doing very well. so i think holding the olympics here would give young people a lot of hope. >> translator: this will give other countries a chance to learn more about japan. just like the tokyo skytree, the olympics can help create a new image. >> winning the 2020 olympics would be big news for tokyo

obama welcomed noda to the white house for the first time in three years. they came out with new tactics for defense, ones that many believe are aimed at countering the strength of china. >> translator: we recognize china as a major partner in the region and in our exchange of views, both of us, in fact, confirmed that viewpoint. china's development is an opportunity for the international community and for japan and for the asia-pacific. >> we have developed a very important, strategic and economic dialogue with china. we think what they've accomplished in terms of lifting millions of people out of poverty is good for its own sake and it's also potentially good for the world and for the region. >> japan's self defense forces and the u.s. military will jointly use training centers on the pacific island of guam and personnel from both countries will cooperate in reconnaissance activities across the region. obama outlined a new defense strategy in january, placing greater focus on the asia-pacific region. at the same time, he cut the defense budget by nearly h

among them japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda, okinawan governor hirokazu nakaima, u.s.mbassador to japan, john roos, and local representatives. noda used his speech to stress his government's efforts to strengthen okinawa's economy and said he's committed to change. >> translator: i'm fully aware of the heavy burden u.s. military facilities are imposing on people in okinawa. i reiterate my determination to reduce the burden on the prefecture quickly, visibly, and specifically while maintaining the deterrents. >> the remarks by u.s. ambassador to japan john roos touched on the impact the military presence has had in okinawa. >> as it has in the past, our alliance continues to be indispensable to our future, and we, as americans, recognize the sacrifices the people of okinawa have made to keep this critical alliance strong. >> for many islanders, the return of okinawa offers the promise of stability and basic human rights under the japanese constitution, however, some also say it marked the beginning of another age of hardship. nhk world met with a man who led a protest m

the noda administration is also promising to get input from the public. some members of the committee are demanding the government listen sincerely to its citizens. >> translator: the government should think about how to reflect public discussion in its policy. it is also important to explain the options in a fair way and to set the stage for discussion. >> the government will release a new energy plan this summer. >> nhk world's chie yamagishi. >>> let's take a brief look at some of the other stories we're following here on "newsline." starting in africa. the head of the u.n.'s food assistance agency is making an urgent appeal for international aid for africa's sahel region. as many as 10 million people in eight countries are facing food shortages because of a severe drought. world food program executive director ertharin cousin visited sahel at the beginning of this month. she told nhk the lean season traditionally comes in june but she says women are depleting their supplies much earlier because of last year's failed harvest and higher prices. cousin s

yoshihiko noda is trying to expand the alternative energy sector in the wake of the nuclear accident at fukushima daiichi. >> translator: the policy will be a foundation for building society with a new energy infrastructure. it is important for ministers to work closely together and push the efforts forward. >> prime minister noda told his ministers to give more support for test projects by the private sector. officials with the government panel on maritime policies met friday. they decided to secure and prepare test areas as early as 2014. the government also plans to create a method to assess the environmental impact and address rights issues with fishery unions. the maritime power generation is to utilize the push and pull of ocean waves and tides to drive generators. so far the japanese government has been slow to support research in this area. this has left the nation behind other countries in developing practical technologies. >>> for an update on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. mai? >> hi there. we have been tracking this system over eastern asian water, this is the tr

ozawa has been a rival to japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda and noda is planning to raise the consumption tax from 5% to 10%. something ozawa has complained about. and this appeal could limit his ability to challenge the prime minister. >>> now, if you thought springtime in japan revolved only around cherry blossoms, think again. last month the small pink flowers were in full bloom. now another flower is taking center stage. rina joins us. what's that behind you? >> reporter: well, hey, yuko. what you see behind me are wisteria flowers. they areinative to japan. i'm here at a flower garden about 100 kilometers north of tokyo. this place is known to have a variety of flowers, including wisterias. just take a look. you name it, they've got it. wisterias are actually an invasive species but staff have monitored and pruned more than 300 trees to have them on display for the public. this year visitors get special treat. they are in for a treat. they get to see purple and white wisterias in full ploom at the same time. but the biggest crowd pleaser of the park is this. the giant wisteria tunnel

about 1,200 people are expected to attend the event, including japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda, nakayma and john roos. for many islanders, the return of okinawa offers the promise of stability and basic human rights under the japanese constitution. however, many also say it marked the beginning of another age of hardship. nhk world's tohomako met with the former okinawa governor who led the bases out movement of the 1990s. he told us how he sees the current situation of the islands since their return. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: now 86 years old, he served out the okinawan governor from 1990 to 1998. after surviving the war, he devoted himself to studies at universities in okinawa, tokyo and the united states to try and understand why his islands had to make such a great sacrifice. during his tenure as governor, the oak gnaw wan people's anti-u.s. sentiment exploded after the rape of a teenage girl by three u.s. marine soldiers. in 1996, after a series of negotiations with the pentagon and tokyo, he won a concession. the u.s. agreed to withdraw from bases from okinawa,

the noda administration is also promising to get input from the public. some members of the committee are demanding the government listen to its citizens. >> translator: the government should think about how to reflect public discussion in its policy. it is also important to explain the options in a fair way and to set the stage for discussion. >> the government will release a new energy plan this summer. >> all right. thank you, chie. nhk world's chie yamagishi. >>> people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." >>> japanese scientists say radiation from the march 11th disaster took just 40 days to spread around the world. researchers from fukushima university measured the concentration of airborne radioactive substances near the daiichi plant. they took daily readings starting about two months after t

prime minister yoshihiko noda met with his cabinet officers in charge of the issues. >> translator: we've been strengthening measures to prevent accidents like the one in fukushima. safety comes first rather than the speed of resuming operations. >> governors and mayors from western japan met to share their views. the nuclear crisis minister told them the government will station a senior official in the area. he also proposed a video link between the plant and the prime minister's office. some local leaders aren't convinced. >> translator: government officials say they have taken most of the safety measures based on current thinking. but this means there are some measures which aren't ready yet. so they can't say it's totally safe. >> others favor a restart. >> translator: we annual -- analyzed whether we could cut electricity. we found it impossible. >> reporter: the government issues a statement saying the government safety standard is a provisional one drawn up before the launch of the regulatory agency. they said the resumption should be limited to a certain time frame. the governor o

yoshihiko noda is trying to expand the alternative energy sector in the wake of the nuclear accident at fukushima daiichi. >> translator: the policy will be a foundation for building society with a new energy infrastructure. it is important for ministers to work closely together and push the efforts forward. >> the prime minister told his ministers to give more support for test projects by the private sector. officials with the government panel on maritime policies met friday. they decided to secure and prepare test areas as early as 2014. the government also plans to create a method to assess the environmental impact and address rights issues with fishery unio unions. the maritime power generation is to utilize the push and pull of ocean waves and tides to drive generators. so far the japanese government has been slow to support research in this area. this has left the nation behind other countries in developing practical technologies. >>> conventional incandescent light bulbs have been illuminating homes and businesses since the 19th century. people like their warm glow. but over t

this will be the first for the prime minister of italy and prime minister noda of japan. obviously this comes at a very delicate time with respect to the european economy, the eurozone economy. >> that's national security advis advisor. laura gallagher on facebook about the discussion we're having this morning about the debt ceiling writes, let the bush tax cuts expire. tax cuts during wartime, really? it's almost laughable. time and again under bush the war funding was never in the budget. emergency supplemental funding had to be borrowed for the wars again and again. it just slipped their minds, i guess, year after year. next up, las vegas. democrat, etd, good morning. >> caller: good morning. i'm a bleeding-heart democrat, and i wear it as a badge of honor. what i would like to know is the job data get permission from grover norquist to go into discussions about the debt and if he did, did grover norquist put restrictions on what he could and couldn't do. >> okay. thanks, ed. don't know the answer to that question, but we'll leave it as a rhetorical one. mike, republic

, of course, also will be the first g-8 meeting for the prime minister of italy and prime minister noda of japan. and obviously, this comes at a very delicate time with respect to the european economy, the eurozone economy. let me say a couple things about this. one, the united states welcomes the evolving discussion and debate in europe about the imperative for jobs and growth. two, the united states has an extraordinarily significant stake in the outcome of the economic discussions in europe and the steps that are taken in europe. this is european union as whole, of course, the largest trading partner of the united states. and it three. the president looks forward to leading a discussion among the leaders about the imperative of having a comprehensive approach to manage the crisis and get on a sustainable path towards recovery in europe and obviously this is a key part of the discussions up at camp david. the other areas, and i won't go into much detail as others. i'll list them. you can ask questions about them. after the discussion during the course of the morning on the global econ

this was a topic of discussion between myself and prime minister noda. our consultation throughout the failed missile launch was i think reflective of how important our alliance is, not just to our two countries but to the region as a whole. and what i try to do since i came in office to make sure that north koreans understand that the old pattern of provocation that then gets attention and somehow insists on the world purchasing good behavior from them, that that pattern is broken. >> "washington journal" continues. host: will mccants is a contributor to foreign affairs. he has piece out today looking at al qaeda's challenge, what happened in the -- what's happened in the year since the killing of osama bin laden. how strong is the al qaeda threat? guest: that's difficult to evaluate. i mean, it depends on what your measurements are. on the one hand, there are places in the world where the message still resonates quite strongly such as in syria and are lot of al qaeda supporters are flooding to get involved in the fight. in yemen and somalia, things are

it was the first since noda took off last september.s crucial since ozawa has threatened to kill the bill. the failed talks will likely prolong a stalemate over the tax issue, further eroding confidence in japan's fiscal policy. back to you, ross. >> nozamu kitadai, thank you. >> they had to carry out their own huge economic reforms. of course, its currency loss is half its value, that being the problem here for if eurozone. martin spoke about the parallels between asia's crisis 15 years ago and europe's crisis today. he started by asking about europe's direct impact on thailand. >> thailand, direct impact probably is not very big. their shares in terms of the banking sector, you know, the banking sector, is not really big. our banks are not invest as lot so the securities are quite small. it will have some impact on it. but 10% with them. but, again, there could be american to our trade partners, china, asean. >> there beans some talk that ecb should introduce capital controls if there is a disorderly greek exit from the eurozone do. y

will be a few new faces including newly elected french president hollande, japanese prime minister noda. security will be very tight when president obama and 50 heads of state arrive in the windy city sunday for a nato summit. today f-16 war planes and other military aircraft will buzz the city as part of a defense exercise ahead of the summit. police expect large anti-nato protests. >>> john edwards' fate is in the hands of a jury. we'll determine whether the former north carolina senator is guilty six counts of campaign fraud and conspiracy. he's adues ccused of using campaign cash to cover up an affair. his lawyer's closing argument urging the jury to separate sin from criminal behavior. >>> ceo jamie dimon agreeing to testify before congress in the wake of the bank's massive $2 billion trading loss. it has ignited a political debate over whether large u.s. banks should be reined in by regulators or we need new laws. it's not clear when dimon will appear before the senate banking committee. >>> celebrating the life and legacy of donna summer who died yesterday after a battle with can

briefing, not a briefing a news conference between president obama and prime minister next ox ox -- noda japan. there are two questions asked -- two people called on to ask questions to each one. what always happens is -- so that's four reporters. each one of them will ask a question to the prime minister and to the president and usually you never get any answer out. but yesterday, there was actually a little fireworks over this president -- the obama/osama issue if you will. let's go back in the time machine a year ago. remember, this was the night after last year's white house correspondents dinner. the president right around 11:00 at night as i recall went before the american people at the white house and gave the news. >> i can report to the american people and to the world that the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden, the leader of al-qaeda. >> bill: that word spread around the world. there were chants of u.s.a., u.s.a. at baseball games. it was a huge crowd that gathered spontaneously on pennsylvania avenue in front of the white house. now, a year l

recent, i guess, two days ago announcement, fact sheet from president obama and prime minister of japan noda that the japanese are, have decided to exceed to budapest convention. so that's a major, i think, extension of it to outside of the normal kind of, you know, atlantic sphere, and so very promising. and we hope that's just the beginning of more, broader international participation in that point. but i think as you tease out the different kinds of pieces and threads of how we deal with this large problem of cyber, of safe and secure and resilient cyberspace, there are a number of threats. and so the cyber crime piece is an interesting one because, in fact, of course almost every attack that we encounter every day is a crime. in the united states, anyway, any unauthorized attempt to access a computer system of someone else without their permission or to deny service to it is a federal crime. but we don't generally prosecute under that statute. it's very difficult to prosecute under. and, in fact, the focus that we all collectively work on as governments is what i -- a subset of those cri

i will also reveal them at the summit and hope to achieve the result. >> noda will also meet separately with chinese and south korean leaders during his three-day visit to china. it will be the first time for noda to hold talks with chinese leaders since the controversial announcement by the tokyo governor of plans to purchase the disputed senkaku islands from the current owner. >>> japanese officials have issued an entry visa to the leader of a uighur group. chinese officials say they opposed the japanese decision, because they believe the group has links with terrorists. members of the world uighur congress will gather in tokyo on monday. they'll be joined by their leader. the japanese decision to allow him into the country drew a backlash from government officials in china. >> translator: the world uighur congress has ties with terrorist groups. it's a separatist anti-china organization. we firmly oppose the japanese government's decision. >> more than 10 million uighurs live in china's shenzhen uighur autonomous region. uighurs are an ethnic minority. because of what they see as dom