patchari raksawong joinings us from there with the latest. patchari? >> reporter: hello, michio. thailand's crisis is entering a crucial chapter. the rick of widespread flooding in the capital is expected to rise over the coming days as a spring tide pushes water levels even higher. nhk world has the report. >> reporter: bangkok residents are closely watching the banks of chao phraya river and its surrounding canals. massive amounts of floodwater is descending on the city from the north combined with the rising tide have swollen the river to record levels. this hospital, where thailand's revered king has been receiving medical treatment is on the front line. dozens of soldiers piled up sandbags to protect the hospital from flooding. the economic impact is also starting to pinch. prices of staple foods in local markets have shot up. the cost of eggs has risen more than 10%, while broccoli and leeks have doubled. merchants blame the increases on shortages caused by inundated farms. >> translator: the shortage of supplies is worsening by the day. we are really afraid of what would h

patchari raksawong has more news from the region. >>> myanmar's government began freeing prisoners on wednesday, one day after it announced an amnesty for more than 6,300 detainees. the government has extended the amnesty to both political and other prisoners. president than shwe released a statement on tuesday saying his government would free exactly 6,359 detainees. nhk filmed several prisoners leaving a prison in yangon on wednesday. the opposition national league for democracy, or nld, says it has confirmed that at least 100 political prisoners have been released so far. the move is seen as the government's astemt to appease pro-democracy groups. western nations have imposed economic sanctions on myanmar and have said the release of political prisoners is a condition for lifting the restrictions. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton speaking to reuters after myanmar announced the amnesty said she was encouraged by the promising signals but that it was too early to announce any steps washington might take in response. >>> the leaders of vietnam and india met in new delhi on wedn

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> in other news, a new survey shows that cyber attacks targeting the government and industry are on the increase in japan. nhk surveyed 18 government offices on computer security. 16 ministries and agencies say their employees have received malicious e-mails, but they report no damage nor leaked data. the national police agency says it received 172 e-mails. that's 172 e-mails that contain viruses in the 2 1/2 years through september. police looked at 29 such messages and found that 14 were designed to access servers in china. the economy trade and industry ministry says some of its computers were infected when 20 employees opened files attached to malicious e-mails last november. the defense industry says it's monitoring its computer network around the clock. the government is stepping up security efforts. it launched a system on tuesday to share information on cyber attacks with companies. officials from japan's lower house and computer security experts are trying to find out who hacked into the chamber's network servers. a task force held its fir

patchari raksawong joins us. with the late et on what's going on in the region. >>> myanmar's president has released a highly unusual statement about plans to build dams along a river. it's the sign of possible political change in myanmar coming after pro democracy forces criticized the project as the threat to the environment. and according to a statement released by the president to the lower house of parliament on friday, the dam project should be shelved. the government with chinese support has been pushing for its construction in northern myanmar. the statement says that parliament should act according to the desire of the people. the plan for the hydroelectric power plant has been a cause of conflict between the government and the militia of local ethnic groups. opponents accuse the government of forcing more than 10,000 residents to relocate without adequate compensation. pro-democracy leader aung sang suu kyi disagreed saying it puts the environment in danger. on friday she welcomed the government's chang

patchari raksawong joins us with what's going on in the region. >>> heavy downpours in thailand show no signs of easing. the severe floods and mudslides caused many deaths and damaged the economy. industrial parks forced to suspend operations. nhk world's reporter has the details. >> reporter: the record monsoonal rainfall since july has caused widespread damage across the country. the thai government says 200 to 250 people have been killed and some 2.3 million households inside of thailand the provinces have been affected by the crisis. at industrial parks in the central province, high waters forced a shut down, including those including automobile parts and electrical equipment. according to a government source, the economy damage is about $1 million so far. automaker honda has had to stop production because of the shortage of parts. prime minister yingluck shinawatra visited attahaya on thursday and ordered the construction of water barrier s to protect industrial estates and the cities districts. the thai authorities warned that even the bangkok area faces a risk of flood damage

patchari raksawong joins us from our bureau in bangkok. >> myanmar's government began freeing prisoners on wednesday, one day after it announced an amnesty. the government has extended the amnesty to both political and other prisoners. the president released a statement on tuesday saying his government would free exactly 6,350 detainees and nhk filmed several prisoners leaving a prison in yangon on wednesday. the national league for democracy, or nld, says it has confirmed at least 100 political prisoners have been released so far. >> the move is seen as the government's attempt to appease pro-democracy groups. western nations imposed economic sanctions on myanmar and have said the release of political prisoners is a condition for lifting the restrictions. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton speaking to reuters after myanmar announced the amnesty said she was encouraged by the promising signals, but that it was too early to announce any steps washington might take in response. >>> next, to thailand, floods are plaguing much of the country, and bangkok is on high alert as its main ri