here is patchari raksawong in our bangkok studios with the details. >> a range of 5,000 miles, bringing the chinese capital within reach, which could spark renewed it tensions between two of the main geopolitical rivals. new a report from new delhi. >> reporter: indian defense ministry sees the agni-v launched wednesday. it successfully hit the target in the southern indian ocean. >> i sincerely hope that in years to come our scientists and technologies will continue a lot more to promoting self-reliance in defense and other walks of national life. >> as recently as november, india successfully tested a midrange ballistic missile agni iv. it is said to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads. the agni iv's range of 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers is enough to strike most major cities in china, but the agni v is capable of hitting targets up to 5,000 kilometers away, including beijing and most other parts of asia. defense ministry claims the agni v is also capable of carrying nuclear war heads. but that claim is open to question. it's uncertain whether india has the technology needed to downsi

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> it was a beautiful day in tokyo yestday. but quite a different story today. sayaka mori joins us with the world weather forecast. >> that's right, catherine. rain should intensify as we head into this evening. strong winds are expected as well. the reason is these low pressure systems should merge into one big system and approach us. currently producing heavy rain, thunderstorms as well as gusty winds in much of western japan. up to 120 millimeters of rain is possible. and the rain will spread to the rest of japan by this afternoon. again, winds are picking up. as you can see, showers should be gone by tomorrow. so sunny weather should return. as for the korean peninsula, getting dry but getting very wet across the southern half of china. as for the indochina peninsula, once again, heavy rain showers across much of the peninsula. as for temperatures, getting up to 36 degrees in bangkok with gusty winds. many of us should be dry with a high of 34. up towards north yongchang-xi where the launch is expected. sunny weather shoul

i'm patchari raksawong reporting in bangkok. >>> japan's population is shrinking faster than ever. new government figures show a decline by more than a quarter of a million people in 2011. the internal affairs ministry says japan's population as of last october 1st was 127.799 million, a drop of 259,000 or 0.2% from the previous year. both the figure and rate of decline represent the largest ever drop since comparable data became available in 1950. >>> 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." >>> the documentary shows what life has been like for people in fukushima ever since the nuclear emergency. the film ordinary life is the work of a cameraman from sapporo in northern japan. nhk world has more. >> reporter: about 400 people turned out for the premiere in late march. >> translator: i'm afraid that people will discriminat

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> the head of the united nations is urging north korean leaders to think twice about their next move. secretary-general ban ki-moon spoke about the latest international concern that the reclusive nation will go ahead with nuclear test as a follow-up to its failed missile launch last week. ban says north korean authorities should instead focus on helping their citizens get access to the basics. >> i renew my call to authorities to improve confidence with neighboring countries and improve the lives of its people who face a serious food and nutrition needs. >> north korean space officials launched a missile on april 13th. they called it a rocket designed to send a satellite into space. it broke up soon after takeoff. the u.n. security council released a presidential statement condemning the launch. ban is warning north korean leaders against further provocations, nuclear tests or launches using ballistic missile technology. >>> north korea's neighbors are understandably concerned about what will happen next. we got some insight on this from a profess

here's patchari raksawong in bangkok with the details. >> reporter: the speaker of the lower house of parliament has for the first time shown willingness to comprise. he told nhk he'll twork make it easier for aung san suu kyi and here colleagues from the national league for democracy to take their seats. nhk world's tiha tway reports. >> reporter: parliament opened on monday but aung san suu kyi and the lawmakers from her national league for democracy did not take their seat. the object to the oath of office that makes them promise to safeguard the constitution. they say it forced them to approve of the superior position of the military as granted by the constitution. the powerful speaker of the lower house told nhk on tuesday 's hopeful aung san suu kyi will soon be able to attend. >> we welcome her and her party to participate in our parliament. >> reporter: he understood aung san suu kyi's position. he said he is making efforts to find a resolution. this is the first time such senior official from parliament has shown willingness to compromise. parliament wants aung san suu kyi to

patchari raksawong in bangkok has details. >> a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. it follows last week's successful test of a long range missile by india. here's the report from islamabad. >> reporter: the pakistani army announced it had completed a test of its mid-range ballistic missile. they say it's an upgraded version of its existing missile. the misle smashed down in the indian ocean. the military did not specify the range of the upgraded weapon. but the range is known to be 700 kilometers. has a range of 2,000 kilometers. the missiles are to be the main delivery system for the nuclear weapons. the army has been conducting launches of mid-range missiles once every two years. this was planned. to counter india and show off the military strength to people around the world. nhk world, islamabad. >>> and next to the philippines. marines from the united states and the philippines have conducted a mock landing operation on the beach of the edge of the south china sea. >> reporter: while this boat exercise is not needed for the philippine and u.s. marines, this is t

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> nuclear energy is powering china's economic growth. the country has 15 reactors in operation and is building 26 more. still, the nuclear accident in japan last year caused people in china to worry about safety. many are speaking out. nhk world na kota oda has more. >> reporter: it doesn't look like much, but the message is clear. this sign says the government can't prevent all accidents. workers here in southeastern china are breaking ground for a pla plant that is due you to have four reactors. they're trying to reassure the public of their safety. residents of a nearby town are not convinced. >> translator: if the plant blows up, it will affect us. the government should be realistic and talk with us. >> translator: if the plant has an accident, like the one in fukushima, it will contaminate the river. so it will also contaminate the big cities downstream. >> reporter: everyone in town depends on the river for water. most earn their living from farming. even scientists for developed nuclear weapons is against the plant. >> translator:

let's get the details from patchari raksawong in bangkok. >> prime minister yousuf raza gilani's job appears to be in jeopardy following thursday's ruling by the supreme court. gilani was found gltd of contempt for refusing to follow the court's order to reopen a corruption investigation against the president. gilani's lawyer says the prime minister will appeal against the ruling. nhk world reports from islamabad. >> reporter: pakistanis have been left bewildered by the first ever guilty verdict against an incumbent prime minister. the supreme court had ordered prime minister gilani to move to reopen corruption cases against president asif ali zardari dating back to the 1990s. observers suspect the hand of the military behind the actions of the court. ties between the government and the military have been strained in recent months. allegations surfaced in october that zardari had sent a memo to the u.s. government asking for help out of fear of a possible military coup. the court's decision is a further blow to the credibility of the government. the united states sees pakistan as a c

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> emergency officials in japan are showing for the first time how they prepare for chemical terrorist attacks. ground self-defense forces personnel granted nhk access to their annual training program for police, firefighters and coast guard officers. the gsdf chemical school is in saitama, north of tokyo. some 40 police officers, firefighters and coast guard members from across the nation took part in the training session. they put on protective gear and masks, detected chemicals using equipment or special equipment and clean contaminated vehicles. japanese authorities learned to prepare for the worst in 1995, members of the aum shinrikyo religious cult released deadly sarin gas in tokyo's subway system during the morning rush hour. 13 people died, 6300 others became sick. >> translator: at the time i watched news coverage of the sarin gas attack on television. if another incident happens, i will use the knowledge and techniques i've acquired during this training session. >> trainers at the gsdf chemical school say their program can help strengthen

patchari raksawong in bangkok have the details. >> photos show u.s. soldiers posing with the remains of dead insurgents. senior u.s. officials rushed to denounce the actions of the soldiers and promise an investigation. nhk world reports. >> reporter: "the los angeles times" published a photograph in its wednesday edition. the papers say they were taken in 2010. senior officials tried to limit the damage. u.s. defense secretary leon panetta in a meeting denounced actions of the soldiers. >> i strongly condemned what we see in those photos, as has general allen. that behavior that was depicted in tho photos absolutely violates both our regulations and more importantly our core values. >> reporter: a string of incidents by u.s. troops in afghanistan created anti-american sentiment. they have been accused of burning of copies of the koran and in one case killing 17 afghan villagers. in brussels, nato members decided wednesday to stick to the planned withdrawal of international troops by the end of 2014. >> let me stress that there is no change whatsoever

other newly elected lawmakers for the national league for democracy are trying to break -- patchari raksawong is part of our team in southeast asia covering the story from bangkok. >> in myanmar political negotiations are heating up between the ruling government and the opposition, pro democracy leader aung san suu kyi is postponing her historic debut in parliament. the recently elected lawmaker didn't attend the opening session of parliament on monday. we have more from jun kobayashi in yangon. >> reporter: aung san suu kyi and 40 members of the national league for democracy didn't attend the opening session of partic parliament on monday. the lawmakers object to the wording of the oath that would be required before officially taking office. they're asking that the expressions of the constitution be deleted. the current constitution demands the strong law of the military in the government. it says parliamentary seats should be filled by military officials. the nld pledges to amend this part of the constitution and reject the oath they say contradict their principles. negotiations with parlia

let's get the details from patchari raksawong. >> the last time the nobel peace laureate left myanmar was back in 1988. her national league for democracy party said the newly elected lawmaker will visit norway and the united kingdom. aung san suu kyi was under house arrest for much of the last 40 years under the then military rulers. she won the nobel peace prize in 1991, but her detention meant she was unable to receive the award in person. the nld said aung san suu kyi may visit city hall, the venue of the award ceremony for the nobel prize. >>> the former independence leader elected president on monday has made his victory speech. he called for the people to work together as the country approaches the tenth anniversary of end ens. >> translator: we have to unite all of the people to make a better future. your task is not finished. every minute, every second, you have to utilize the opportunity to make a better life for children and those who have no job. >> he's the national hero who led the struggle for independence from indonesia. it reflects dissatisfaction with the status quo.