tepco initially feared it was a sign of an ongoing nuclear reaction. the substance was produced by spontaneous fission and not from sustained physician or krit kalety. they say criticality did not occur. density didn't change when boric acid was injected into the reactor. the agency ordered tepco to check the substances in the vessels regularly and report any changes. the cabinet office parliamentary secretary said on monday, it's regrettable that tepco was slow to report the incident to local governments. he called on the utility to share information as quickly as possible. >>> environment ministry researchers are trying to figure out how much radiation is lingering in the towns and villages around japan's damaged nuclear plant. they started a detailed survey on monday. the information they collect will enable government authorities to draw up decontamination plants for the contaminated 20 kilometer zone surrounding fukushima daiichi. evacuation zones with levels of about 20 millisieverts will also be included in the survey. 30 people gathers on monda

tepco initially feared it was a sign of an ongoing nuclear reaction. the substance was produced by spontaneous fission and not from sustained physician or krit kalety. they say criticality did not occur. density didn't change when boric acid was injected into the reactor. the agency ordered tepco to check the substances in the vessels regularly and report any changes. the cabinet office parliamentary secretary said on monday, it's regrettable that tepco was slow to report the incident to local governments. he called on the utility to share information as quickly as possible. >>> environment ministry researchers are trying to figure out how much radiation is lingering in the towns and villages around japan's damaged nuclear plant. they started a detailed survey on monday. the information they collect will enable government authorities to draw up decontamination plants for the contaminated 20 kilometer zone surrounding fukushima daiichi. evacuation zones with levels of about 20 millisieverts will also be included in the survey. 30 people gathers on monda

tepco initially feared it was a sign of an ongoing nuclear reaction. but it determined that the substance was produced by spontaneous fission and not from sustained fission or criticality. spontaneous fission is a form of radioactive decay. the nuclear agency said criticality did not occur. the density did not change when boric acid was injected into the reactor. the agency ordered tepco to check the substances in the vessels regularly and report any changes. the cabinet office parliamentary saek tear yasuhiro sonoda said on monday it's regrettable that tepco was slow to report the incident to local governments. he called on the utility to share information as quickly as possible. >>> a doctor says the physical development of children in fukushima prefecture may be affected by the lack of outdoor activity due to the nuclear plant accident. shintaro kikuchi tracked the weight of 245 children aged 4 to 6 in two kindergartens in koruami city. it shows an average weight gain of 0.81 kilograms over june. the figure for the children in the same age group in

tepco has already decided to decommission the four damaged reactors. they will consult with authorities about what to do with the remaining six. >> they aim to make a final decision by the end of the year. >>> britain ordered the closure of the iranian embassy on thursday. the british foreign ministry is quoted as saying that all staff must leave the united kingdom within the next 48 hours. britain is expelling all from the country. britain ordered the closure on wednesday. rueters quotes the foreign secretary as saying all iranian diplomatic staff must leave within the next 48 hours. >>> the delegates at the u.n. conference on climate change in south africa are looking to the future, but representatives of at least one country suggest that the agreement that binds them is a thing of the past. canada and other nations are considering a pull-out from the kyoto protocol. nhk world's susumu kojima tells us how discussions with going in durban. >> reporter: people are still a long way away from getting over their differences. one controversial issue that h

tepco workers poured a boric acid solution to suppress nuclear fission. spokes people say temperatures remain unchanged. the cooling process is continuing. they expect to achieve a cold shutdown at fukushima daiichi at the end of the year as planned. workers will keep monitoring the levels in the number 2 reactor as well as checking the condition in reactors 1 and 3. tepco is asking the japan atomic energy agency to re-examine the situation because it might have detected a different substance that has similar characteristics to z non. in addition tokyo electric said radiation levels near number 2 reactor were basically unchanged from the previous day. the utility says the reading on a monitoring post located about 500 meters northwest of the number 2 reactor stood at 293 microsieverts. it says the radiation level near the compound's west gate, about one kilometer from the number 2 reactor, was unchanged at 11.2 microsieverts per hour and no radiation detected there. readings taken around the post on wednesday were also identical to tuesday's data. we aske

a government-backed fund is expected to contribute funds to assist tepco in making the payments. >>>n a move to increase trade, russia has restored the railway that crosses its border with north korea. the train connects the russian town of khasan and rajin. the track is part of russia's strategic plan in the far east. the country is trying to access fast-growing economies in the asia pacific to sell its energy resources. the area along the railway is out of bounds to foreigners. but to promote the project, russia invited the international media to a ceremony in north korea. nhk world's elena solokaya was among the invited and brings us a rare glimpse into north korea. >> reporter: the lights of russia near the north korean border. khasan in honor of the newly-restored khasan railway. after clearing customs, our train sets out for north korea. about ten minutes out of khasan station, the hainan river comes into view. it flows along the border between russia and north korea. the mountains upstream are in china. we crossed the river into north korea. 20 minutes after leaving khasan, we

tepco workers poured a boric acid solution into the reactor on wednesday to suppress nuclear fission.pokespeople for the utility say pressure remains unchanged. the reactor's cooling process is continuing. they expect to achieve a cold shutdown at fukushima daiichi by the end of the year as planned. workers will keep monitoring the xenon levels in the number two reactor and checking the conditions in reactors two and three. tepco is asking the japan atomic energy agency to re-examine the situation because it might have detected a different substance that has similar characteristics to xenon. in addition tokyo electric said radiation levels near number two reactor were basically unchanged from the previous day. the utility says the reading at a monitoring post located about 500 meters northwest of the number two reactor stood at 293 microseiferts per hour. it says the radiation level near the compound's west gate, about one kilometer from the number two reactor, was unchanged at 11.2 microsieverts per hour and no neutron radiation was detected there. readings taken at eight other monit

in figures released on friday, tepco estimated its net loss for fiscal will total 600 billion yen, about7.7 billion. the utility blames the cost of ongoing efforts to stabilize the damaged nuclear plant. fuel costs from the use of thermal power plants to shore up electric output add to the losses. tepco analysts project energy-saving efforts by households and businesses will translate into a 1% decline in annual energy sales. the utility plans to book an extraordinary loss of about $13 billion to compensate those affected by the nuclear disaster. a government-backed fund is expected to contribute about $11.5 billion worth of public funds to assist tepco in making the payments. [ bell ringing ] [ applause ] >>> aapanese machine maker has finally achieved a long-held goal -- kikuchi got its name put on on the jazdaq securities exchange and is now a publicly-listed company. the firm looks to fukushima for its output. in spite of its celebration, the past few months have been a testing time for people who work there. >> translator: the employees and the company work together to make it happe

tuesday, tepco detected 133 and 135, substances produced in the fission of uranium. they say the half life of 133 is five days, and the possibility of nuclear fission inside the reactor cannot be excluded. tepco says even if nuclear fission has resumed, it should be on a small scale as there have been no major changes in the temperature or pressure of the reactor or radiation levels at monitoring posts around the compound. the government nuclear and industrial safety agency says it is unlikely nuclear fuel has begun melting again as the density is low and the healthcare temperatures haven't changed. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan, post march 11. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings insight and information on the fukushima daiichi crisis. "the road ahead" examines the efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> measures to protect central bangkok is succeeding but waters are being trapped to nort

tepco declined to comment on the matter. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline." . >> let's take a look at the latest in business news. there has been a political shift in italy. how is that affecting markets? >> the change is coming along, but markets are unimpressed. italy's newly appointed prime minister intends to keep a new cabinet in place until 2013 when the next elections take place. that's his condition for accepting the top role of fiscal reform. he spoke to reporters after a series of meetings for different parties on monday. high on the agenda were appointments and policy options. the new cabinet will likely be launched by friday. lower house speaker said he expects both houses of parliament to give approval by then. the markets remain skeptical. the yield of the 10-year government bond has climbed to the upper 6% level. the 10-year bond yield ended at 6.7%. last week the yield rose over 7%, a level that raises a red flag over the country's recovery. italian bonds were bought back after mario m

tepco says the hydrogen probably flowed into the reactor through a duct connected to the plant's number three reactor when workers released pressurized air from it to prevent hydrogen explosion. the firm says the blast very likely occurred after the density of hydrogen in the duct increased. a hydrogen explosion took place at the number three building one day before the explosion at the number four building. >>> the waters off fukushima are calm these days. fishing boats remain in port. the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant released contaminated water into the sea on several occasions after the disaster there. some fish contain radioactive substances and exceed japan's legal limit. government researchers found the substances in small fish sucas fish, the flat fish, the rock trout, are contaminated too. in tonight's "nuclear watch," we'll look into how radioactive contamination is harming the sea. >>> marine physicist, yukio matsumoto, runs simulations on how radiation spreads through the oceans. winds and water temperatures affect howesm 137 from the ant trel thsubstance flow fm the

>> translator: nuclear decommissioning work should not be affected by the financial conditions of tepco. the government is at the forefront in shaping the timetable. >> translator: the goal set for our company is extremely difficult, but we are aware that it has to be accomplished in order to regain public trust in our activities. >> they said tepco will work with all parties concerned to come up with the clear technical plan and find ways to fund the process. >>> developers of some of the world's leading high tech companies are showing off their projects at the international robot exhibition in tokyo. models used in disaster areas are drawing a lot of attention after the march 11th earthquake. nhk world has more. >> reporter: robots like this one are hilyecmended by the promoter of this exhibition for use in disaster areas. such robots are being used in the restoration work at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. this one is being shown to the public for the first time to give a better understanding of the usefulness of robot technology the power of this robot attracts a crowd. i

tepco said he's resigning to receive medical treatment. they declined to state the level of his exposure or the nature of his illness. in a statement issued on monday, yoshida expressed regret over leaving at a crucial time and apologized to all of those involved. he said he has to undergo treatment for a disease that was discovered in a health check-up. tepco said yoshida will be succeeded by his manager, takahashi. >>> thousands of people have been working at the fukushima daiichi trying to control the plant. and get ready for cold shutdown. thousands of others will be needed to clean up the mess the accident created. the process will take decades. the japanese aren't just relying on their own experts. they're trying to learn valuable lessons from people who have gone through similar nuclear crises. people gathered for a symposium on monday at the university of tokyo. japanese researchers were joined by american experts who studied the three mile island nuclear accident in the u.s. soon after it happened. >> processing and meeting all fe

tepco has agreed to draw up a new business plan this spring with measures to conform with management. experts in radiation are calling for testing of soil across japan. an international team of researchers simulated the spread of materials. discharged from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the scientists say radioactive cesium may have contaminated soil up to 500 kilometers away. the researchers combined global atmospheric patterns with radioactive measurements over a period of one month from march 20th. nine days after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear accident. the results of the simulation suggest some cesium 137 reached the northern island of hokkaido. the simulation reached 250 becquerels. the simulation also spread to some areas of western japan. the density per kilogram reached 25 becquerels in mountainous areas. researchers say the radioactive material may have accumulated in the soil due to rain. but they say the pollution levels are not high enough to require decontamination. >> translator: there are many places throughout japan where radiation te

tepco declined to comment on the matter. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" has insight and information on the impact of the fukushima crisis and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. >>> the royal couple from the himalayan nation of butan is on their honeymoon in japan. they're the first state guests since the march 11th disaster. >> translato >> reporter: the king and his wife have arrived at the airport. they're dressed in ethnic clothing and smiling at reporters. they will spend five days in japan as guests of the state. the king is 31 years old, and his 21-year-old wife is a student. there was royal wedding fever in butan last month when the marriage ceremony was held. the king is known for promoting growth national happy or gnh an indicator to measure the quality of life or social process. the royal couple will meet prime minister noda this afternoon, and they will make a speech at the d

on tuesday, tepco detected xenon 133 and xenon 135. substances that are produced during the nuclear fission of uranium 235. the company says the half life of xenon 133 is five days and the possibility of nuclear fission inside the reactor cannot be excluded. tepco says even if nuclear fission has resumed, it should be on a small scale as there have been no major changes in the temperature or pressure of the reactor or radiation levels at monitoring posts around the compound. the government's nuclear and industrial safety agency says it's unlikely that nuclear fuel has begun melting again as the density of the xenon is low and the reactor temperatures have not changed. >>> the operator of a nuclear plant in southwestern japan has restarted one of its reactors. it became the first react norjapan to go back online since the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the operator plans to resume power generation on wednesday afternoon. the number four reactor of the genkai nuclear plant in sanga prefecture was halted due to abnormali

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tepco says it found signs that it may have started in a nuclear reactor. they're trying to prevent any reactions. >>> those are the headlines from cnn, the world's news leader. "world business today" starts now. >>> the greek cabinet endorses a referendum on the eu bailout sending investors into a tailspin. this wednesday, george papandreou faces a crucial vote in parliament. will the greek p.m. survive that vote, and can greece really afford the leave the euro behind? these are our top stories. you're watching "world business today." >>> hello, i'm felicia taylor at cnn in london. the scene is set for a showdown. in one corner, eu leaders still reeling from the shock of an eu bailout. in the other, george papandreou needs support to secure his political future and get greek back to work as he pushes ahead with painful austerity measures. investors were certainly rattled by the developments in greece. asia-pacific stock markets continued their slide. also adding to the market jitters. japan's nikkei was dragged down by the automakers such as toyota and hon

since immediately after the accident to open the site to the media to the japanese government and tepco, but we were not allowed to because we were told that we may obstruct the works and the radiation was very high, but eight months had passed, and cooling of the reactors has stabilized, and we were able to accompany the minister in charge of the nuclear accident, along with other media people. i boarded the bus and went through the main gate. first we went to the main gate, and then we went through the higher ground road, and through the purification facility, and went through the seaside route, and then went to the living quarter. and discovering of this site, we had to limit the radiation level to 100 microsieverts. time and routes were limited. so this is before the departure. in order to go inside the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant site, you have to wear the protection gears, and you also have to wear a special mask so you would not take in air inside. it is quite stifling, but very hot for people that would have to work for long hours. and this is the front base of the wor

since immediately after the accident to open the site to the media, to the japanese government and to tepco, but we were not allowed to, because we were told that we may obstruct the works and also the radiation was very high. but eight months have passed, and the cooling of the reactors have stabilized. and we were able to accompany the minister in charge of the nuclear accident. >> could you explain the route you took? >> yes. along with other media people, i boarded the bus and went through the main gate. first we went to the main gate, and then we went to through the higher ground road, and went through the purification facility, and went through the seaside route and then went to the living quarter. and in discovering of this site, we had to limit the radiation level to the 100 microsieverts, so both the time and routes were limited. >> so this is before the departure. in order to go inside the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant site, you have to wear the protection gear. and you have to also wear a very special mask so that you would not take in air inside. it's quite stifling, but

. >> just like the professor said, tepco and the government must live up to the hopes of evacuees and know how excruciating it is for them to live far away from their homes. now besides losing their homes and hometowns, what are other challenges that evacuees are facing right now? >> the survey revealed the unemployment rate for evacuees has doubled to 55% since the nuclear accident. the government must create jobs, repair infrastructure and improve other living conditions so people can go back to living a normal life. >> okay. thank you for your report. nhk world's juniya nabuchi reporting for us tonight. >>> "newsline" is the latest to turn to for the japan, post march 11th. we have two segments on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi nuclear crisis. >>> and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> next, we go to cholaphansa narula in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> thailand

the president of embattled utility operator tepco stills cbs news he believes a cold shutdown of the plant with inside temperatures are brought down below boiling point is within sight, by the end of this year. the opening of the devastated plant to reporters was front page news across the country. >> radiation levels here in tokyo, 140 miles away from the plant, are much lower, but contamination of the atmosphere and food supply remains an acute source of anxiety here. contaminated sewage sludge covered in blue tarp is piling up in tokyo because no one knows how to dispose of it. an unpredictable patchwork of hotspots-- pockets of high radiation, especially in fallen leaves-- have cropped up across the greater tokyo area. japan faces a cleanup process expected to take decades. officials admit they have no idea when, if ever, nearly 80,000 residents will be able to return home. lucy craft, cbs news, tokyo. >> mitchell: later, a new college grad lands his first job-- mayor. the woman behind the voice of all those airport public address announcements, and the u.s. military prison that

tepco says a point of criticality would have resulted in higher levels of zennen. it will send the assessment to the industrial safety agency for re-evaluation. >>> tokyo electric power companies shareholders are poised to demand that the utilities former han $14 billion to the firm. about 30 shareholders plan to file a class action lawsuit against roughlyd tepco over the past two decades. they claim that management failed to take adequate safety measures to protect the plant fromn earthquake and tsunami waves. the investors say they will take legal action if the company refuses to demand that they return a huge sum of money. the financial compensation requested would be the largest in japan's judicial history. tepco says it can't com cme cnt c c c c c c c c c c c c c cor c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

both doctors as well as tepco, the utility that runs the plant are being vague.revealed his condition was found as a result of a regular checkup. his statement is, he said i had no choice but to be hospitalized under short notice for treatment under doctors' device. he said it breaks my heart to have to bid farewell to in this way to you all. the stock price hasn't moved much at all in june. it was down by as much as this, 91%. today it did rise by about 3.5%. many people are now watching the very personal side of the story and many will be hoping for the best for mr. yoshida. andrew. >> ramy inocencio, thank you very much for that. charles. >>> let's take you to the new york stock market. optimism about european leaders trying to get a handle on the debt crisis. what helped in terms of wall street, a record $52.4 billion in takings for u.s. retailers over the so-called black friday holiday weekend immediately after thanksgiving. at the close major indices were up by 2.5% and 3.5% in the case of the nasdaq, andrew. >> that certainly is a strong picture coming out

. >> japan is notoriously bad about certain types of transparency and this isn't a new thing that tepco covers things up. >> reporter: joi ito sparked the birth of safecast in the desperate days right after march 11. director of the m.i.t. media lab, he naturally took to the internet to try and stay abreast of events in his home country. the scarcity of reliable information prompted him to reach out to experts all over the world. things snowballed very quickly. >> and within days, we had an email thread that turned into a skype channel where all of us were constantly there talking. and it really became kind of like across between a sort of government situation room and newsroom where were collecting data and just sort of putting new things out and just trying to get everybody involved that we could. and it just kind of took a life of its own. we started to realize how important it was when it turned out that the government wasn't releasing data. >> reporter: the day before we took our drive, safecast volunteers offered up a seminar on radiation detection in tokyo. it was standing room o

reporter: in a sign the world's worst nuclear accident sin chernobyl is winding down utility operator tepco few hours. officials like the utility ceo interviewed by cbs news say they are confident that a cold shutdown of the plant with inside temperatures are brought down below boiling point will be achieved by year's end. while the message was up beat the scale of devastation was startling. a series of hydrogen explosions and melt down triggered by a loss of power in the giant wake of earthquake and tsunami. daiichi's chief says it all could have ended quite differently. the first week after the tsunami was the hardest. many times, i thought we were going to die. even now, puke sreporters were to wear protective gear. the 3,000 who still work here, how to avoid contamination remains a source of concern. radiation levels are still high warns the plant manager and it's still dangerous to work here. japan says it will take about 30 years to dismantle the fukushima reactors. as for the 80,000 people who once lived near the plant, officials say the schedule for their run is unknown. lucy craft,