the car was developed by a small company in the city in southwestern japan.ith a staff of just over 80, the firm initially specialized in checking tanks and pipes at factories. the company president toshihiro sakamoto hit upon the idea of tunnel inspections when he heard about an accident 13 years ago. part of a wall collapsed in a tunnel for high-speed bullet trains in southwestern japan. the debris hit a passing train forcing the service to halt for four hours. sakamoto wondered if there were other aging tunnels that needed close inspection. a survey showed that a majority of over 8,000 road tunnels were at least 30 years old. he sensed a business opportunity. >> translator: i think innovation is all about finding new opportunities. finding a niche for a small company like ours. >> reporter: the vehicle is also equipped with an infrared laser device for finding dangerous spots effectively. laser data has been put into this three-dimensional image. it shows distortions in the walls that the cameras can't detect. the part in red color indicates that the tunne

air station in okinawa in southwestern japan. the base is in a densely populated area. residents living nearby have been protesting the arrival. the u.s. navy leaders didn't talk much about that today. they instead focused on talking after updated ships which would be used to deploy marine forces during times of conflict. >> we have the most capable platform for the defense of japan and to provide stability in the region. >> reporter: that's the new focus for the united states government. strengthening the american presence in the asian prospect. nhk world, nagasaki, japan. >>> united states and vietnam began their annual joint naval exercise on monday in the south china sea. this year's drill is taking place as sovereignty disputes take place. the five-day drill includes salvage and disaster training. three ships from the u.s. navy's seventh fleet visited the center city which faces the south china sea. >> so i'm very encouraged by the relationship that we are building with the vietnamese people's navy and the seventh fleet sailors. >> the u.s. and vietnam began the an

. >> translator: the farm is run by a company in southwestern japan. it grows 15 kinds of vegetables including garden rocket and spinach. sales have are soared over the past six years, making the farm one of the top vegetable producers in the country. originally the company specialized in medical analysis taking advantage of its sophisticated data analysis knowledge has boosted its farm efficiency. the farm has been building a database by inputting various information, for instance on how much water and fertilizer are given each day. by carefully analyzing the data it has been able to find the best time for planting and watering different vegetables in different seasons. it can grow vegetables all year round regardless of weather and nature of soil. >> translator: the database will become key to managing live scale vegetable farming. we'll continue to expand production. supply hasn't caught up with demand yet. >> reporter: with the company's know-how even people with no farming experience can grow vegetables efficiently. on this day an official visited

forces stationed in okinawa, southwestern japan. he said it's important to prevent the u.s. futenma base from being a permanent fixture at its current location. he hopes points of contention will be openly discussed when he meets with obama. >>> now let's take a look at the market figures. >>> in afghanistan, support for the presence of foreign troops is on the decline, following a string of scandals. another embarrassing incident is now putting the u.s. military under even more pressure. 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 depict

look at some other stories from around the world a massive explosion at a chemical plant in southwestern japan has reportedly killed at least one person injuring about a dozen more the blasts blown out the windows of over one hundred nearby buildings as quickly followed by another emergency services are currently at the scene and firefighters are battling to extinguish the flames but we'll bring you further details as soon as we get. close to ninety people have been arrested in the canadian city of montreal following the second day of anti-government protests a rally against the government's eighty billion dollar resource extraction development plan for push back protests came a day after hundreds of students demonstrated against seventy five percent tuition hikes at least six people were injured as officers the used tear gas to disperse the crowd. south sudan's claims its neighbor sudan has bombed its troops as they were pulling out of the disputed awhile region hedley south captured the region last week raising fears of an armed conflict then announced the start of withdrawal friday after ca

but remaining devoid from precipitation is the southern japan, southwestern islands and the pacific side of central japan. talking about the korean peninsula, northeastern china, as well as mongolia, high pressure will be dominating, cresting overhead. and calm and mild weather will be there for the next couple of days. but isolated thunderstorms and heavy showers will be just hugging this coastal line in southeastern china as well as hong kong. and this is going to be likely to continue. we already have reports of 55 mi millimeters in guangzhou province. that is going to fuactually unfortunately continue on, as much as 50 to 100 millimeters. inland china will see snow make an appearance. in the indochina peninsula, summer thunderstorms are passing through. the humid air is really enhanced over here. especially northern thailand already has seen 129 millimeters in the past 24 hours. this is likely to continue for the next several days. bangkok, 32 degrees temperaturewise. we're looking at shanghai, 22. taipei, 22. as well as in hong kong. ulan batur, 16 degrees, that's actually going to

japan. in the next 48 hours, looks like we may even see up to 100 to 150 in south korea, and then towards southwestern islands of japan, as much as 150 millimeters as well in the next 24 hours span. the system will then next take aim toward central japan and bringing some showers, but it will be less stronger than the ones we will be seeing on saturday. we'll keep you updated. temperaturewise, in tokyo, 16 degrees for our saturday. mainly overcast coverage. ulan batur, 18 degrees. that's quite a jump from what we saw yesterday, that was in the single digits for the high on friday. all right, let's take a look at what will be happening here in the americas. we have a low pressure system that will be traveling across the great lakes region in towards quebec. and wisconsin, michigan, you have been seeing snow. this is april. so that will be tapering off, but northern areas still making appearance with that snow. the front stretching all the way down towards eastern texas and this is the area where we will be finding some few thunderstormic activity which could be accompanied with hail and very strong gus

japan. in the next 48 hours, looks like we may even see up to 100 to 150 in south korea, and then towards southwestern islands of japan, as much as 150 millimeters as well in the next 24 hours span. the system will then next take aim toward central japan and bringing some showers, but it will be less stronger than the ones we will be seeing on saturday. we'll keep you updated. temperaturewise, in tokyo, 16 degrees for our saturday. mainly overcast coverage. ulan batur, 18 degrees. that's quite a jump from what we saw yesterday, that was in the single digits for the high on friday. all right, let's take a look at what will be happening here in the americas. we have a low pressure system that will be traveling across the great lakes region in towards quebec. and wisconsin, michigan, you have been seeing snow. this is april. so that will be tapering off, but northern areas still making appearance with that snow. the front stretching all the way down towards eastern texas and this is the area where we will be finding some few thunderstormic activity which could be accompanied with hail and very strong gus

japan to nahao on wednesday. another 4land troops will be deployed to three southwestern islands. the defense ministries also sending three aegis-equipped destroyers to the east china sea and the sea of japan. >>> russian space agency officials say they will decline north korea's invitation to have their experts observe the launch. an agency spokesperson says this is because a launch of any kind would constitute a clear violation of u.n. security council resolution. the russian government has expressed a concern about the launch. in declining invitation, it again urged the north to exercise restraint. north korea has also invited experts from japan, the united states, and other countries, but the japanese government says it will not send observers. >>> south koreans go to the polls on april the 11 tot choose members of the country's national assembly. but getting young south koreans to vote has been a challenge in recent years. they just haven't shown much interest in politics. as nhk world reports, their selection might be different. >> the campaign is heating up in its final days

japan to naha on wednesday. another 400 troops will be deployed to the southwestern islands offish gashie, miyako and yonaguni. the defense ministry is sending three aegis equipped destroyers to the east china sea and the sea of japan. >>> japan's defense ministry is apparently using north korea's planned rocket launch to boost the country's defense capabilities in okinawa. the ministry's latest report on defense policy guidelines cites china as a major source of concern for the region and the international community. china has stepped up military activities in the east china sea in recent months. an nhk reporter says the ministry is attempting to ease frictions with local communities by showing its eagerness to protect local residents in order to pave the way for a further defense build-up. >>> a u.s. media report says the american military is taking its own measures to deal with north korea's launch. cnn says the u.s. navy has sent its most advanced radar system to the region. >> we along with our partners in the region are monitor developments very closely. >> the cnn report says the navy moved the advanced

japan to naha on wednesday. another 400 troops will be deployed to the southwestern islands off ishigaki and miyako. the defense ministry is sending three aegis equipped destroyers to the east china sea and the sea of japan. >>> japan's defense ministry is apparently using north korea's planned rocket launch to boost the country's defense capabilities in okinawa. the ministry's latest report on defense policy guidelines cites china as a major source of concern for the region and the international community. china has stepped up military activities in the east china sea in recent months. an nhk reporter says the ministry is attempting to ease frictions with local communities by showing its eagerness to protect local residents in order to pave the way for a further defense build-up. >>> a u.s. media report says the american military is taking its own measures to deal with north korea's launch. cnn says the u.s. navy has sent its most advanced radar system to the region. >> we along with our partners in the region are monitor developments very closely. >> the cnn report says the navy moved the advanced