i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> in the face of increased competition from overseas universities, japan is looking to overhaul its post secondary education system. the educational ministry has released a draft plan that would make japanese universities a driving force for change, both at home and abroad. one of the main recommendations in the plan would allow the early admission of high school students into university. >> reporter: education in japan is compulsory for nine years. six years in elementary school, and three years in junior high school. about 96% of junior high school students then go on to three years of high school. the ministry's plan would allow high school students to graduate after only two years before entering university. >> translator: the percentage of students who continue in post secondary education is increasing around the world. nurturing young talent is indispensable for japan's development. it is important to create new opportunities for students to receive higher education and also to improve the quality of education. >> reporter: many countries allo

patchari raksawong is in bangkok with more. >> the world has been closely watching myanmar since the transition began early last year. recent clashes present buddhists and muslims has clouded the path. thousands still need shelter and food and medicine. the violence killed 29 people as of thursday and displaced more than 30,000 according to reuters quoting a government official. many houses were burnt down leaving people with nowhere to live and needing vital supplies. >> translator: the main problems here are rice, drinking water and medicines. >> myanmar's government seems keen to show the world it's trying to stabilize the situation. state-run mrtv on thursday showed 29 men arrested in connection with rioting in rakhine. the president thein sein declared a state of emergency in the province. during a visit to the philippines mian mar's foreign minister said on friday the provincial capital was calm. >> back to normal. we're taking care of everything. >> while officials sound positive, reuters reported a day earlier that many muslims were attempting to flee by boat to bangladesh, b

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> egyptians are waiting anxiously to find out who will be their next leader. and israel also remains watchful. the two neighbors went to war four times before a peace treaty in 1979 began several decades of stability. now the rise of the muslim brotherhood threatens to turn back the clock. nhk world's kohei tsuji reports from jerusalem. >> reporter: along the border with egypt, israel hurries to construct a barbed wire fence. the 240-kilometer long barrier should be complete within a year. israel and egypt have maintained peace for more than 30 years, but israel is increasingly alarmed at events taking place across the border. anti-israel sentiment has been growing among the egyptian public since the ouster of former president hosni mubarak. last september the israeli embassy was mobbed. in israel the soaring -- souring relationship with egypt is starting to affect people's daily lives. israel purchases low-priced natural gas from its neighbor for a power plant that used to meet 25% of israel's electricity needs. but the pipeline connecting the tw

patchari raksawong in bangkok has this update. >> the number of fatalities continues to rise amid heavy rains in northeast india and bangladesh. floods and mudslides have destroyed homes and transport links have been severed. ap reports at least 27 people were killed friday as floodwaters raged across parts of assam state. officials expect the death toll to further. monsoon rains triggered floods that inundated more than 2,000 villages. about 1 million people have been forces to evacuate. >> translator: we face a lot of problems. floods swept away our homes. there's nothing to eat. no place to live. this village is completely submerged. there are two or three more villages hit by flooding. >> across the border in bangladesh, reuters says a railway bridge has been washed away and roads are under water. the capital dhaka is cut off from many disaster-hit areas. landslides and flash floods have killed more than 110 people in south and southeast bangladesh. about 250,000 people are stranded. rescue operations are under way, but weather officials forecast more rain over the next few days. >>

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> north korean leader kim jong-un has made military security and nuclear development his country's top priority since taking power. the north is also seeking ways to rebuild its tattered economy. that's capturing the attention of some businesspeople in europe. nhk world reports. ♪ >> reporter: a new restaurant opened in the dutch capital of amsterdam in february. pyongyang restaurant serves north korean cuisine establishments featuring north korean dishes are popular in china and southeast asia, but this may be the first such eatery in europe. >> the food is very nice. and it's special for us to see the paintings and the music. >> reporter: north korean waitresses work at the restaurant. a nine-course dinner cost 79 euros or roughly $100 u.s. dollars. the business' dutch operators say north korean officials showed a keen interest when they first heard the idea. >> north korea needs money, and, yeah, at the moment they don't receive enough money, so of course there will be more opportunities. >> reporter: according to the international monetary fund

patchari raksawong is in bangkok and has an update on the visit. >> in her speech at oxford university, aung san suu kyi hoped democratization would lead to greater opportunities for her country's people. >> i have lived a happy life, and this made me understand so much better the young people of burma who wanted to live a happy life and who had never been given an opportunity to lead one. >> wearing a traditional black hat and red gown, aung san suu kyi accepted her honorary doctorate on wednesday. she said myanmar needs support to develop its democracy and economy and establish human rights. the nobel laureate studied philosophy, politics and economics at oxford in the 1960s. aung san suu kyi's european tour has given encouragement to people who fled myanmar to live abroad. her long-delayed acceptance speech for the nobel peace prize in oslo last weekend was a landmark moment. exisland from myanmar, living in norway, say it made them more hopeful of returning home. nhk world tiha tway reports. >> our aim should be to create a world free from the displaced, the homeless and the hopele

patchari raksawong has the details. >>> bombings have hit kandahar. the twin attacks killed at least 23 people and wounded around 50. the explosions occurred shortly before wednesday noon in an area where vehicles belonging to u.s. and international security forces were parked. the first bomb was set off by a man on a motorcycle. people were gathering at the site following the explosion when another man carried a second bomb into the crowd and detonated it. local police say all of the dead and injured were civilians, including a truck driver. afghan president hamid karzai condemns the attacks, saying in a statement that a number of innocent civilians became victims. but the anti-government taliban militia released a statement saying the attacks targeted international forces, including u.s. troops, and denied any civilian casualties. the united nations said 579 civilians died in battles or terrorist attacks in afghanistan between january and april. it says the number is lower than last year, but is still significant. >>> pakistan is denouncing the unit

patchari raksawong has more details. >> aung san suu kyi has made the first keynote speech of her european tour. her audience was the u.n.'s labor organization in geneva. she praised the resilience of workers in myanmar. >> despite many years of isolation and repression, our people can still boast a social, political and economic awareness that given sufficient latitude would bring our country in line with positive developments in the rest of the world. >> aung san suu kyi spent years under house arrest before she was elected to parliament this year. she spoke about her experience running for office, saying it filled her with hope. >> during the campaign for the bi-elections of april, i had the opportunity to meet young people from all parts of the country. we were trying to raise political awareness in our country. and it was amazing with what intelligence our young people responded to this campaign. our people are our on the way to creating a society that is worthy of the potential that puts such heart into me and to other members of my party. >> myanmar's political reforms have led to t

i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> japanese lawmakers have been pushing central bankers to do more to jump-start the economy. but members of the bank of japan are holding steady. they decided to keep the benchmark interest rate between 0% and 0.1%. board members came out with their decision after meeting for two days. they voted unanimously to maintain the current policy. they said japan is showing clear signs of recovery and say it's being helped along to rebuild from the disaster last year, but they say they are worried about europe. they pointed to the latest threats in the debt crisis there. they are concerned about the bailout of spanish banks and they fear greek voters will reject parties favoring austerity in the election this weekend. he and his colleagues will do whatever they need to do to protect japanese banks. >> translator: the bank of japan will maintain an appropriate monetary eegs policy. we'll keep an eye on the international capital market and we'll take proper steps so our country's financial system will not be threatened. >> shirakawa said bankers remain in clo