ozawa suggested he would leave along with lawmakers close to him. noda is to decide whether to take disciplinary action against them. the opposition liberal democrats insist the dissidents should be punished severely. that would increase the chances of those members leaving the ruling party. members of the opposition groups are expected to limit their cooperation with the democrats to the tax bills t they are hoping for an early dissolution of the lower house and a general election. >>> 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." >>> priceless historical buildings dotted around northeast japan. many were damaged or destroyed in last year's disaster. in most cases the owners must repair the buildings them selves. and unlike national treasures they're not covered by government funds. that means t

they include political heavy weight ichiro ozawa. >>> people in northeastern japan can now buy limited amounts of seafood caught off fukushima prefecture. last year's nuclear accident polluted the sea prompting fisherman to suspend their work. they found no radioactive contaminants. so supermarkets are selling octopus and shellfish. managers set prices about 30% lower than before the meltdowns at the fukushima daiichi plant. >> translator: fishermen haven't been able to fish for 15 months. now that they can start fishing again, we want them to do their best, and we'll support them. >> members of a local fisheries association plan to ship the next catch to tokyo and other large cities if they get a good response. fishermen unloaded the first catch at the port of mutsukawa in soma. the municipality of soma and members of the fishing industry gathered at the wharf and ate samples. they also inspected a facility created to test marine products for radiation. the mayor says his city will let the whole nation know seafood from fukushima is safe. they received a lunch box with nine items, inc

they include former party leader ichiro ozawa. 16 other dpj members ab stained or were absent. the set of reforms were sent to the upper house where they are expected to to be passed into law. prime minister noda spoke a few hours after the lower house vote and stressed the significance of the reform bills. >> translator: there is no time to waste in reforming the social security system. the aim comprehensive reforms is to maintain a stable financial source for social security services and to achieve fiscal conservation at the same time. that stable source is the consumption tax. >>> members of the public expressed their views on the consumption tax hike. >> i understand a tax raise is for the nation's finance but it should be not on daily essentials, the government needs more thought before policies. >> translator: i understand the government when they say each citizen must pay equal tax to share the burden. >> i don't understand why the government decided to raise the tax. they need to consult with people through elections. >> translator: i think there's no choice, japan will