tepco officials said in april that they're sticking with this method. they're also trying to decontaminate the water. they say they have a device that could remove all kinds of radioactive particles, but experts are questioning how long they can rely on tanks to store the ever-increasing contaminated water. >>> leaders in france and the uk say they have proof that government forces in syria have used a deadly nerve agent in the country's civil war. officials from the u.s. and the u.n. aren't ready to point the finger at president bashar al assad. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the french foreign minister says scientists have tested chemical samples from syria. he says the results show the regime has used sarin gas. he says french leaders will talk with their allies about what to do next, and all options are on the table, including military action. but they say the findings should not stop an insurance peace conference. u.s. and russian diplomats have been trying to bring together representatives of the assad government and opposition for s forces. the

then took another week for tepco to let the public know. officials apologized for the delay and said they were waiting for the stront yum test results. >>> the engineers at the fukushima plant are trying to fix another problem they've been examining a leak in a new filtering system. they say poor welding may be to blame. the engineers found pin holes in a tank that stores contaminated water. it's part of a filtering system that's designed to remove dozens of types of radioactive substances. tepco crews have been testing the system since march and inspected it over the weekend and found water had leaked from stainless steel tank. they emptied the vessel and discovered small wells in a welded section. they planned to place a camera inside the tank to examine it in more detail. about 400 tons of radioactive water accumulates every day at the plant. decontaminating it is one of tepco's most pressing challenges. >>> the senior official of the japan's ruling party apologized for remarks seen as making light of the suffering of the people of food

tepco says it will set up more monitoring posts and observation wells.orkers will check a nearby tunnel for clues about the contamination. officials added they will reinforce nearby embankments to prevent the ground water from reaching the sea. tepco officials say the cause of the problem may be waste water that leaked into the sea in april 2011 ar number two reactor building. they say highly radioactive materials might have seeped into the well. the company has again drawn criticism for being slow to reveal environmental contamination. the timeline of the incident shows workers tested the ground water in the area on may 24th. one week later, plant officials knew tritium levels were higher than the government-set level, but they did not share the data with tepco executives for another 11 days. it then took another week for tepco to let the public know. officials apologized for the delay. they said they were waiting for the strontium test results. >>> people in some countries saw the aftermath of what happened in fukushima and decided the risks of nuclear

tepco has been relying on external tanks to store the contaminated water. workers pump more than 100 tons of water into three reactors every day to cool the spent fuel. the fuel then contaminates the water, and the liquid has been leaking into the reactor's basements ever since the meltdown two years ago. water is also entering the buildings from the ground. about 400 tons of it seeps through cracks every day and becomes polluted. engineers keep pumping c contaminated water from the buildings into storage tanks. now, a tepco official said in april that they're sticking with this method. they're also trying to decontaminate the water. they say they have a device that can remove almost all kinds of radioactive particles. but experts are questioning how long they can rely on tanks to store the ever-increasing contaminated water. and japanese regulators have announced more details about new safety guidelines for residents near nuclear plants. they want to help people prepare for potential accidents. officials with the nuclear regulation authority say if an acci

they say work could fall behind schedule because tepco engineers don't know the state of the fuel inside the reactors. >> we have a separate plan for each reactor. so we're ready to make the right decisions. >> the government and tepco also decided to form an organization to ask people in the region how they think the work should proceed. >> translator: this road map is just a start. the most important thing is to get the results on to the road map. >> decommissioning work at fukushima daiichi including tearing down reactor buildings could take as long as 40 years. >>> japanese engineers are looking to wind power for sustainable clean energy. they've started operating a major wind turbine on a trial basis in southwestern japan. the turbine is 83 meters wide and stands off the coast of kitakyushu. it can meets the needs of 1,500 households. officials pressed the start button to set the turbine in motion. this is because sea winds are stronger and are less affected by topography. >> translator: we lag behind europeans in offshore wind power, but we have the technology to win. i hope this p

government leaders have capped aid for tepco at $50 billion. tepco officials estimate their cost will ultimately exceed that figure. they say local governments near the nuclear plant will likely claim more to cover the cost of decontamination. >>> japanese government officials suspended some sales of wheat from the united states. they learned unauthorized genetically crops were discovered in the state of oregon. officials at the agriculture ministry say they stopped selling the wheat variety called western white to flower millers. they grew it as an experiment. it was found on a farm in oregon. >>> government leaders in japan an'sbducted thousands of rth citizens. >>> here are the latest market figures. nnchts thailand, another likely insurgent attack caused a wide scale school shutdown in parts of the south on friday. the decision came after a school principal was shot the day before. security officials say that insurgents are demanding that children receive education in accordance with islamic teachings. the shut down of 28 educational instit

tepco quo fissions estimate their costs will ultimately exceed that figure. they say local governments near the nuclear plant will likely claim pour more to cover the cost of decontamination. >>> the defense ministers are joining hands to create a tool for the fight against terrorism. they are developing chemical protection suits. japanese defense minister and his british counterpart met on the sidelines of the security summit. they agreed to exchange technical information about chemical protection suits. japanese and british officials agreed last june to chab rate on defense equipment. squp ease leaders relaxed their ban on arms exports in 2011. >>> here's the three day world weather forecast. >>> that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko keat gau what in tokyo. thank you for watching.

tepco workers tested samples from a port near fukushima daiichi. they found the water contained ten times more radioactive tritium than previous samples. but they said the figure is still less than one-fiftieth of the government-set safety limit. workers found tritium exceeding the safety level earlier this month in water drawn from a well near one of the plant's reactors. tepco managers say they will re-examine the data from the sea and well water. they hope to determine whether polluted ground water is reaching the ocean. they say that's happening. they will use chemicals to reinforce the ground and stop the seepage. >>> children who were forced to leave their homes after the fukushima accident have offered a symbol of solidarity to other evacuees. they presented flowers to families in temporary housing in their new community. the 19 children attend the only remaining elementary school from their hometown namie in the fukushima no-go zone. the school is temporarily based about 50 kilometers to the west. the children grew flowers at school and too

they say work could fall behind schedule because tepco engineers don't know the state of the fuel inside the reactors. >> translator: we have a separate plan for each reactor, so we're ready to make the right decisions. >> the government and tepco also decided to form an organization to ask people in the region how they think the work should proceed. >> translator: this roadmap is just a start. the most important thing is to get the results under the roadmap. >> decommissioning work at fukushima daiichi including tearing down reactor buildings could take as long as 40 years. >>> a ship carrying nuclear fuel has delivered its cargo to a dock on the sea of japan coast. it's the first such shipment in more than two years since the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. the fuel came from france and is bound for the takahama power plant. the mixture of reprocessed plutonium and uranium once powered four japanese reactors. those facilities were idle after the nuclear disaster. the operator of the takahama plant wants to use the fuel in the number 3 reactor. it's still offline but officials

tepco has been testing since march with all radioactive materials. the leak occurred in the welded section of a storage tank that holds radioactive water. it is leaking at a rate of hundreds of tons a day. it halted tests to investigate the cause was leak. people in japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster, but step by step, they are moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on the road ahead, right here on "newsline." >> ties between japan and south korea have been strained because of a territorial dispute and issues dating ba being to world war ii. now a case with a buddhist statue is generating world friction. we have a report from the island of fukushima. >> one weekend every summer, they have a party for the japanese warriors. it marks of some 500 envoys between the 17th and 19th centuries. the business in the way to the top. for the past 30 years, he is serving to make sure it's a success. he has the ability of south korea and that's from both sides of the top 400. >> translator: japanese and south korean participants com

tepco workers tested samples from a port near fukushima. they found the water contained ten times more radioactive right to yum than previous samples and it's less than 150. workers found them exceeding the safety level earlier this month in water drawn from a well near one of the plant's reactors. they will reexample the data from the sea and well water. they hope to determine whether the polluted ground water is reaching the ocean. they will use chemical to reinforce the ground and stop the keepage. chinese dissident is criticizing the authors for allegedly forcing a u.s. university to dismiss him. they pressured new york. >> translator: authorities are reacting sharply. they will never be able to silence us using these kinds of methods. >> chen spoke in taiwan where he was on a visit with his wife and children. he declined to comment on his future projects. it would be natural for him to return to china. the dhi these government spokesperson responded. >> to refrain from undermining the state's interest. >> the spokesperson said china's

the tepco officials say the images the robot took did not reveal any problems with pipes. they note there's an opening near the ceiling leading to the damaged containment vessel. they say they'll use data provided by the robot when planning repairs. >>> thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast tracts of land are still waiting to be restored. and more than half fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt. people in northeastern japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster, but step by step they're moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on "the road ahead" right here on "newsline." >>> chinese leaders say they want an early resumption of the six-party talks on north korea's nuclear development. this comes after a senior north korean official said wednesday that leaders in pyongyang are ready to talk. north korea's first vice foreign minister met in beijing with his chinese counterpart. he said the north koreans are willing to have dialogue with all sides and attend any kind of meeting including six-party talks. chinese foreign mi