. >>> "newsline," the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings in sight on the impact of the crisis, and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> japanese prosecutors getting ready to question a political heavy wait. ozawa is the ruler of the democratic party, accused of falsifying political funding reports. he is charged with conspiring with aides to conceal the use of $500 million. they accuse him of lending money to his funding group to purchase land in tokyo in 2004. he pled not guilty in his first hearing this past october at tokyo district court. he said none of his actions constituted fraud and denied conspiring with aides. he has given conflicting accounts of the source of the funds. he initially described them as political funds, then called them bank loans, later said they were personal assets. ozawa's statement in two days o

>>> welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. >>> the rift is deepening between iran and western nations over the islamic republic's nuclear program. as it conducts massive military drills in the strait of hormuz iran is threatening to block the shipping lane if the west imposes sanctions. nhk world reports from tehran of what's behind the country's hard line stance. >> the strait of hormuz is located at the mouth of the persian gulf. it's narrow, stretching just over 30 kilometers in width. it serves as main artery for crude oil transports. one-third of the world's oil tankers pass through the strait. iran's navy conducted massive military drills near the strait late last year through early this year. during the period, it test fired new types of missiles. the country plans to carry out another round of exercises in the same area next month involving its elite revolutionary guards. all this is taken to mean iran is threatening to close the strait of hormuz if western nations seek to block crude oil ex

>>> welcome to "newsline." the transfer of power after the death of kim jong il prompted south korea and the united states to re-examine the timing of their annual military exercises. but the two allies have decided to go ahead in february as planned given the absence of any unusual activity in north korea so far. a spokesperson for the u.s. forces stationed in the peninsula said on friday, the exercises will involve 200,000 south korean and 11,000 american soldiers. the first phase of the drills meant to test the chain of command will begin on february 27th. phase two will aim at boosting the mobility of the army, navy and air force by the end of april. u.s. military officials say the drills are solely for defensive purposes and that the north has been informed. u.s. and european leaders are working to strengthen their sanctions against begin the united states is calling on china for an embargo on iran's crude oil exports. under secretary of state met with cry na's foreign minister. details of the meeting have

>>> welcome to "newsline." iran is showing a mixture of bluster and conciliation in response to the threat of more western nations. the united states is planning to increase sanctions targeting oil, the mainstay of iran's finances. the aim is to halt iran's nuclear program which continues in defiance of a u.n. resolution. in protest iran has threatened to close the strait of hormuz. >> in terms of any threats to the region, in terms of some of the behavior that they've conducted in the region that will also be prepared to respond militarily if we have to. >> the european union has agreed to join the u.s. sanctions. and foreign ministers are likely to agree to ban crude oil imports in a meeting on monday. iran is showing signs it's willing to resolve is issue through talks. it said it will accept inspectors after january 29th. >> we would like to have this negotiation. the date is not yet settled. but it will be soon. >> meanwhile chinese premier told reporters on wednesday that the strait of hormuz is an import

>>> welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima in tokyo. >>> for people in europe, finding a job is not getting any easier. and in some countries, it's just getting harder. the unemployment rate in eurozone nations remained at a record high of 10.3% in november. it shows that the region's spreading credit worries are still having a negative impact. the eu statistics office euro stat released the data friday. the figures cover the 17 nations that use the euro. joblessness was unchanged from october. that's when the eurozone recorded its highest unemployment rate since introduction of the single currency in 1999. people looking for work in spain are having the toughest go of it. the country marked the highest-ever jobless figure among member states at 22.9%. unemployment in spain was especially high among people 25 years old and younger. it hit 49 .6%. the lowest unemployment rate among eurozone states was recorded in austria, at 4.0%. >>> the u.s. has released employment data for december and the results beat market expectations. the u.s. labor department says the jobless rate dropped 8.

>>> welcome to "newsline." members of the japanese government are investigating whether china is tapping into a rich resource it might not fully own. new video suggests chinese engineers are mining a gas field in the east china sea. both countries had agreed to talk about the field's development before moving forward. nhk camera operators captured images last thursday showing flames shooting out of a drilling rig in a gas field. the video also shows people work on the rig. the gas field lies near the median line separating japan and china's exclusive economic zones. the countries agreed in 2008 to begin discussion on jointly develop the area. but negotiations stalled in 2010 after a chinese fishing boat rammed into japanese coast guard patrol vessels off disputed islands. we asked the japanese veteran oil and gas engineer to give us his take on the nhk video. >> translator: the flames and smoke indicate they may be burning natural gas. that means china could be continuing development on its own. >> chief cabine

>>> welcome to "newsline." the transfer of p perer a aer t death of kim jong il prompted south korea and the united states to re-examine the timing of their annual military exercises. but the two allies have decided to go ahead in february as planned given the absence of any unusual activity in north korea so far. a spokesperson for the u.s. forces stationed in the peninsula said on friday, the exercises will involve 200,000 south korean and 11,000 american soldiers. the first phase of the drills meant to test the chain of command will begin on february 27th. phase two will aim at boosting the mobility of the army, navy and air force by the end of april. u.s. military officials say the drills are solely for defensive purposes and that north has been informed. u.s. and european leaders are working to strengthen their sanctions against iran. they're trying to force the country to abandon the nuclear program. the united states is calling on china to cooperate in imposing an eembargo on iran's crude oil exports. un

>>> welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima in tokyo. >>> for people in europe, finding a job is not getting any easier. and in some countries, it's just getting harder. the unemployment rate in eurozone nations remained at a record high of 10.3% in november. it shows that the region's spreading credit worries are still having a negative impact. the eu statistics office euro stat released the data friday. the figures cover the 17 nations that use the euro. joblessness was unchanged from october. that's when the eurozone recorded its highest unemployment rate since introduction of the single currency in 199999 people looking for work in spain are having the toughest go of it. the country marked the highest-ever jobless figure among member states at 22.9%. unemployment in spain was especially high among people 25 years old and younger. it hit 49.6%. the lowest unemployment rate among eurozone states was recorded in austria, at 4.0%. >>> the u.s. has released employment data for december and the results beat market expectations. the u.s. labor department says the jobless rate dropped 8.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. >> california's gold is produced

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis, and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> another japanese nuclear power plant is about to be shut down for regular inspections. the decision to close the plant means 51 of japan's 54 reactors will soon be offline. the power company says it will begin shutting down reactor number two at its power plant on thursday evening. the work is scheduled to be completed by early friday morning. the plant's only other reactor is already offline and is undergoing a check-up. the additional shutdown means all the nuclear power plants run by the company will be suspended. the company's conducting stress tests, a prerequisite for deciding whether to resume. they are insisting the utility should first thoroughl

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> emerging markets are growing markets and therefore the focus for many companies. japan's biggest automaker is one such company with an eye on southeast asia. ai uchida from the business team has more. >> toyota has specifically thailand in mind, catherine. the flood disaster there has done nothing to scare the automaker off of the country. toyota motors says it will invest about $260 million in to a new plant there. the japanese automaker is set on winning the markets of emerging countries in asia. toyota plans to build the new plant at its facility outside bangkok. the complex was not affected by the october floods. toyota also plans to resume productio

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" looks at japan's efforts to recover and rebuilt. don't miss it on "newsline." >>> >>> japan's prime minister is trying to find political consensus in a nation where that often doesn't come easy. he is aiming to get the opposition to cooperate with his plan to raise the consumption tax. he says that the money is urgently needed to maintain the country's social security programs. >> translator: i pledge an all-out effort to tackle issues including recovery from the disaster, dealing with the ongoing nuclear accident, and efforts to revive the economy. >> noda wants to double the sales tax to 10% by 2015. he says that the extra revenue will be returned to the taxpayers in the form of health care, pensions and the other benefits they enjoy, but the prime minister must win over the oppo

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss, "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> china's vice president has expressed willingness to strengthen ties with the united states. xi jinping says he wants to play an active role in promoting bilateral relations. >> translator: the two countries are closely cooperating on denuclearization of the korean peninsula, iran's nuclear development and issues in the middle east and south asia. the two nations while stabilizing nations in the worl >> xi was speaking in beijing before his visit to the united states. he's widely seen as the country's next leader. xi stressed that the two nations should stress not to worsen ties even if they have differences of opinions. beijing was recently angered by washi

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." the year row has weakened sharply against the yen on the tokyo foreign exchange. it followed friday's downgrades of nine u.s. nations by a major u.s. credit rating agency. the euro reached an 11-year low. market participants say fears are rising that the european bailout fund could be next in line for a downgrade. investors are unsure how much longer it will take for the euro zone to recover market trust. next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >>> pakistan's embattled government faces yet another political crisis after the country's top court suggested they would accuse the prime minister of contempt. the standoff comes on top of running tensions with the military that last week led him to fire his secretary of defense. the supreme court on monday opened proceedings against him saying he had ignored the order to pursue a corruption inquiry against the president. the court summoned him to appear before it on thursday to explain his refusal to reopen the case w

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> refugees living in japan say they're often frustrated in their efforts to find a job. many farming communities have the opposite problem, finding enough people to work in their fields. one rural community in hiroshima is hoping to bring the two together. nhk world explains. >> reporter: in the town of jinseki-kogen, most of the population is 65 or older. with few young people willing to take over their parents' farms, many fields are being left neglected and overgrown. this man is 70. he's worried that if nothing is done, farming will die out in his town. one solution might be to find refugees living in japan willing to help work their fields. >> transla

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> japan is seeking saudi arabia's cooperation to ensure a stable supply of crude oil as sanctions on iranian oil exports loom. parliamentary vice industry minister met saudi arabia's deputy oil minister in the saudi arabian capitol sunday. they say that saudi arabia is a reliable supplier. he responded assuring his country will remain a dependable supplier to japan. the visit follows that of japanese foreign minister earlier this month. iran threatens to block the strait of hormuz, a major oil shipping lane if the u.s. and european nations impose sanctions against the country over nuclear development. >>> iranian leaders cautioned gulf neighbors, too. they

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's a efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> a team of experts from the international atomic energy agency has begun reviewing results of japan's safety tests for two halted nuclear reactors. the team is to inform the country's government about whether the results and the test method were appropriate. ten experts are to examine the results of computer simulations for the reactors at the ohi nuclear plant in central japan to determine whether the tests were carried out in line with international standards. >> and the objective of the mission is to review the safety review process for the comprehensive assessments for the safety of existing power reactor facilities. >> the team is to visit the plan

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" bring you insight and information on the 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 patchari raksawong in bangkok. >>> we start off in afghanistan, where a deadly blast killed at least four people and left dozens wounded. an official says all the dead were afghan civilians. the blast happened in helmand province in southern afghanistan on thursday morning. the official described it as a suicide bomb attack targeting a nato-sponsored reconstruction team. those teams are collaborations between international forces and civilians designed to boost support for the afghan government. helmand has been one of the most volatile areas of taliban resistance against u.s.-led efforts to bring southern afghanistan under greater government control. >>> and in india, a n

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. insight and information on the fukushima daiichi crisis and "the road ahead" examination the efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> some parts of northern japan are seeing snowy conditions. tokyo is hovering just above freezing. let's go to the weather here and elsewhere. >>> welcome to your weather update. let's look at what's happening across southeast asia. a stationary front is delivering downpours and strong winds to much of the peninsula in southern thailand, we've been having about 180 millimeters of rain in the past 24 hours. unfortunately, more rain is forecast into the weekend. so we are concerned about the risks of flooding as well as land slides here. on shore flow is bringing moisture to vietnam. rain will develop into the weekend. the inland area may see snow. but it's a different story for much of the northern

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> rescue crews off italy fear an ocean liner that ran aground could slip to deeper waters. they say he was running an unapproved course. it was carrying 4200 passengers and crew. it hit a sandbar off tuscany friday. six people have been confirmed dead. 16 passengers and crew are missing. rescuers suspended their search monday due to bad weather. the italian company held a news conference monday. it says inspection last year revealed no safety or technical problems. the company added the vessel ran aground, even though the route was preprogrammed to ensure safe sailing. investigators are questioning the captain and analyzing navigation data recovered from the wr

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to. we have two unique perspectives on the fallout of the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead," don't miss on "newsline." >>> people who live along japan's northeast coast rely on trains to get from city to city. the tsunami last march knocked many of them off the tracks. miraculously this train was spared. all 60 passengers survived. now, ten months after the disaster, trains on that line are running again. >> reporter: this is the same train that survived the tsunami unscathed. one of the passengers on that day was this woman, a vocational school student. now ten months later, she's come to ride on that same train again. >> translator: i don't know what to say. i can't believe this is the same train i was riding on that day. >> reporter: the train was about one kilometer from the coast when it was hit by the massive jolt of the quake and made an emergency stop. there are about 60 passengers on board. the train crew guided them to the exits and they gathered outsi

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. "the road ahead" examines the efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear nuclear and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> china's state run media say more than 20 chinese workers have gone missing after an attempt by a group of militants in sudan saturday. they were working on a construction project. they reported the armed group captured nine sudanese soldiers standing guard for the chinese workers at a road construction site in south kordofan. they are neighbors with oil rich south sudan which seceded last year. the militants belong to the liberation movement that backs the south sudanese government. china built close relations with sudan through joint development of oil fields and other projects. on the same day as the attack, senior chinese official met with sudanese president. bashi

>>> welcome to "newsline." it is 10:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> egypt's military rulers have announced they'll lift a state of emergency during the day. the date marks the first anniversary of the birth of the democratic movement that ousted hosni mubarak. lifting the state of emergency was one of the protesters' main demands. military council chief mohammed hussein tantawi spoke to egyptians in a televised announcement. >> reporter: egypt and its people celebrate the first anniversary today of the january 25th revolution which ushered in a new era for the people of egypt who made sacrifices to achieve freedom, a life of dignity and social justice. >> the state of emergency was imposed in 1981 after the assassination of president anwar sadat. the laws give the military the right to imprison people without warrants. egyptians view them as a negative legacy of the mubarak era. the council chief says authorities can still arrest people for what he called acts of thuggery. he failed to spell out the details. the military h

>>> from our studios here in tokyo, this is "newsline," i'm james tengan. >>> japan's nuclear crisis minister says he wants to make fukushima prefecture an international center to promote nuclear safety. goshi hosono said he wants to set up a studio where advanced radiological medicine would be studied. >> translator: fukushima prefecture will be a relevant venue for the world to learn about the basic principles of nuclear safety. >>> in an interview with nhk, hosono said the institute would help people learn about the long process of scrapping reactors a the fukushima daiichi plant. the work is expected to take 30 to 40 years. >> translator: we will conduct advanced work in areas such as radiological medicine and decontamination. lessons learned must be available to the rest of the world. >> hosono said his ministry will work to develop robots that will be used to remove spent fuel rods and dispose of the damaged reactors. >>> the need to find steady work has taken on an added urgency for survivors of last year's disaster in northeastern japan. more than 2500 people in the three har

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march lenth. we have two segments offering unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to rebuild. don't watch "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> south korean president lee myung bak has visited the country's front line troops for the first time since the death last month of north korean leader kim jong-il. lee travelled to kyonggi province on wednesday where he inspected an army unit. he was briefed by the officers about recent troop activity on the north korean side of the border. he told the south korean soldiers that they must remain on guard. >> translator: our country faces the world's most belligerent forces. we must ward off any provocation by the north. >> south korean government sources say the leadership transition from the late kim jong-il to kim jong-un has been going smoothly and that there has bee

ren "newsline," we'll tell you more about the main candidates and the iue at play. nhk world raja rorts from taipei. >>> as election day approaches many ralli aei hd throughout the city. and it seems to be a fierce battle between the cre president and his rival from the largestopsion the three candidates vying for the presidency are incumbent presidentay think-jeou. and the leading democratic prreivfothe and james soong of the people first party. acrdg pli opinion surveys conducted by taiwanese dia outlets it's a close race between ma and ou explored the su. y jeou is supposed to appear anmite thenrero is waiting to hear his voe. thprident says that better regularses with china under his mistration, haveed to economic growth. >> translator: the peopl o taiwan need a governmenting that bring stability to the island. the ony, pitsnd ties with china. if you want such stability, vote for may jeou. >> reporter: half of the visitors visitor s taipei i01 are from mainland, china. under ma, the government has allowed morehise tourists in. there were 1.of million tourists in

welcome back to "newsline." the maker has developed something to make the soil safe. toshiba has made an effort to clean up the soils and play yards around the fukushima daiichi power plant. government rules for the clean up take effect later this month. then communities will begin full scale decontamination work. toshiba spokesperson says the equipment can decontaminate 1.7 tons of soil sludge per day. toshiba and japanese machinery maker collaborated to develop the system to extract low level radioactive materials from the sewage systems and water systems. the devices are based on technologies for the fukushima daiichi plant. >> translator: we would like to decontaminate the waters and systems. we hope the residents will come back. >> company spokesperson says they are trying to reduce the equipment's operating costs and improve the treatment capacity. they hope to ramp up production. >>> the nuclear crisis minister wants to make fukushima prefecture a set up area for a study. >> translator: fukushima prefecture will be a relevant venue for the world to learn about

"newsline." i'm james tengan in tokyo. thanks for watching. stay tuned tomorrow here on nhk world. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> my girl is touchy, and she doesn't cook. or anything. >> i work from morning 'til night. even on holidays. but i never get a raise. it's not fair. >> my boyfriend is a women p. -- a wimp. when he is angry, he takes it out on me and cries. >> grumbling. complaining about things beyond one's control. today on documentary 20 minutes, we'll listen to the grumblings of ordinary people on the streets. shinsaibashi is busy in osaka and streets are bustling with people. they come here after work for a drink. i was strolling the streets after the last train had left, looking for something interesting. what's this? >> translator: we listen to people grumbling. >> that's interesting. >> now they are friends from high school. they're 23 years old. every friday from 11:00 at night to 5:00 in the morning they sit on the sidewalk and listen to people gripe. let's hang out

>>> welcome to "newsline" it's friday, january 20th, 10:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> north korea has harsh words for the south korea president. now, media are calling him human trash. he visited the zone for the first time since the death of north korean leader, kim jong-il. he instructed forces to remain cautious. he called them the world's most belligerent nation. it's a profanity for the people now in mourning. the agency warned the military and people would punish them without mercy. leaders criticized them for not sending an official mission for kim's death. they will never deal with such a government. >>> south korean and u.s. marines are going to do their first exercise together in 20 years. south korean military officials say it involves landing and flairing exercises in the southeastern city. those stationed in okinawa japan may take part. they plan to conduct military exercises every other year. they did not specify when they would hold this year's drill. it's likely to be part of an annual joint exercise in march. it's a show of

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan, post march 11th. we have two segments, offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi process and "the road ahead." >>> now for the latest in sumo. >>> welcome to the sports report. we sum up the new years sumo. baruto got the championship friday. came into the final day like a man with something to prove. so did his opponent. a perfect record would be the way to silence any doubters. on the other hand, hakuho had to show he is a force to be reckoned with despite three losses. hakuho gets baruto's left arm. he makes sure he won't forget who he's dealing with. baruto ends up with one loss, still leaves with a smile. baruto's mother came from estonia to watch him receive the emperor's cup. his wife was also there. 27-year-old baruto is the ninth person outside japan to win the title. in addition to his success with techniques, baruto is a crowd pleaser. he always seems to like coming t

this is a holiday edition of "newsline." ron madison in tokyo. 2012 marks the tenth year since the return of five japanese nationals that were abducted by north korea, but the fate of 12 others who the japanese government recognized as ab duck tees remains unknown. the abductions took place more than 30 years ago. the families of the missing have been calling on the japanese government to take action. formal discussions between japan and north korea on the issue have been stalled since 2008. the families are aging. the average age of parents is over 85 years old. >> the change of leadership in north korea after the death of kim john-il is an opportunity to resolve the abduction issue. i urged the prime minister to use this chance. >>> north korea's leader kim jong-un inspected a tank force on sunday. he was officially appointed supreme commander of the military on saturday, a position held by his late father. the country's state media said that the inspection was conducted along with kim jong-il's brother-in-law and the chie

s. >>> that's our broadcast for this our on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye.

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspective on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings information on the impact from the fukushima daiichi crisis. and the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. >> the people who run the international monetary fund have warning for the rest of the world, be prepared to pay more for oil. the imf says u.s. and european sanctions against iran could cause crude oil prices to skyrocket. a new report suggests a halt in iran's oil exports without offsets from other sources could trigger a 20% to 30% price hike. it says sanctions could cut the supply of iranian oil to the tune of 1.5 million barrels per day. that's comparable to the drop in supply during their first global oil crisis in the 1970s. many companies worry about their future oil supplies. government lead frers the uk, china and japan recently asked saudi arabia to make up for the shortfall from the iran sanctions. saudi arabia have become the

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in ohka. i'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the next hour.

>>> welcome to "newsline." japan's prime minister is trying to find political consensus in a nation where that often does not come easy. noda is aiming to get the opposition to cooperate with his plan to raise the consumption tax. he says the money is urgently needed to maintain the country's social security programs. >> translator: i pledge an all out effort to tackle issues including recovery from the disaster, dealing with the ongoing nuclear accident, and efforts to revive the economy. >> noda wants to double the sales tax to 10% by 2015. he says the extra revenue will be returned to tax pair payers in the form of health care, pensions and other benefits they enjoy. the prime minister must win over the opposition and the public if he's going to turn this plan into a reality. voters have been angry about wasteful government spending. noda says he promises tone act legislation to cut the salary of civil servants. as for the opposition, noda needs their cooperation because the house is divided. now prime minis

let's leave you now with your extended forecast. >>> that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye.

here on "newsline" we'll tell you more about the main candidates and the issues at play. nhk world reports from taipei. >> as election day is approaching here, many rallies are being held throughout the city and it seems to be a fierce battle between the current president and his rival from the largest opposition. the three candidates vying for the presidency are incumbent president of the ruling nationalist party. and james soong of the people first party. according to surveys conducted by media outlets, it's a close race. and the key point of contention here is how close taiwan should be to china. i explored people's views on this issue. he's to appear any minute, and the entire crowd of nationalist party supporters are waiting to hear his voice. he says that better relations with china under his administration have led to economic growth. >> translator: the people of taiwan need a government that can bring stability to the island, the economy, politics, and ties with china. if you want such stability, vote for me. >> half of the visitors to taipei 101, a popular touris

. >>> "newsline" is the place to turn to post march 11. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" the efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline." >>> the area hit hard by the march 11 disaster has experienced a net decline of more than 40,000 people. the internal affairs ministry announced results monday. it is based on a demographic survey last year in some prefectures. it shows that nearly 130,000 people moved out of the areas, while about 88,000 moved in. it is the first time since 1970 the population in the regions has decreased more than 40,000. fukushima prefecture lost more than 30,000 people. the worst among the three prefectures. the ministry says the data indicates many people left fukushima prefecture after the earthquake and tsunami and the accident at the nuclear power plant. >>> japanese scientists have unveiled a new r

for the next three days here on "newsline" we'll tell you more about the main candidates and the issues at play. nhk world's raja pradhan reports from taipei. >> as election day is approaching here many rallies are being held throughout the city and it seems to be a fierce battle between the current president and his rival from the largest opposition. the the candidates vying for the presidency are incumbent president ma ying-jeou, tsai ing-wen and james soong of the people first party. according to public opinion surveys conducted by taiwanese media outlets, it's a close race between ma and tsai. and the see point of contention here is how close taiwan should be to china. i explored people's view on this issue. ma is to appear any minute and the entire crowd of nationalist party of supporters are waiting to hear his voice. president ma says that better relations with china under his administration have led to economic growth. >> translator: the people of taiwan need a government that can bring stability to the island, the economy, politics, and ties with china. if you want such stabili

welcome to "newsline." japan's leading electronics maker has developed technology that could make contaminated soil safe. engineers at toshiba produced a mobile system to clean up the grounds of school yards, parks and public spaces. workers are loading up their trucks to begin the job around the fukushima daiichi power plant. government rules for the cleanup take effect later this month. then communities will begin full-scale decontamination work. they say their equipment decontaminates 10 tons of soil and sludge per day and can remove up to 90% of the radioactive substances. toshiba and ihi also collaborated in developing a system to extract low level radioactive materials from water in reservoirs and sewage systems. it's based on technologies used to decontaminate the fukushima daiichi plant. >> translator: we'd like to decontaminate the soil and water with this system. we'll go ahead with the work after checking that the communities are safe. we hope residents will come back. >> they want to improve the

>>> welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. >>> a fight is brewing in japan over where radioactive solar facility should be located. the march 2011 meltdown and explosion at fukushima daiichi contaminated top soil across a wide area in the country's northeast. the central government wants to build a facility in futaba county in the fukushima prefecture. that's where the damaged nuclear plant is located, but the mayor of a town of futaba, which is in the designated no-entry zone, says not in my backyard. >> translator: we have been forced to evacuate en masse because of nuclear radiation. i cannot allow the construction of a facility that would continue to keep us from returning to our homes. >> the central government requested late last month to build a temporary storage facility in futaba county. the county has eight municipalities. authorities in some say they have no choice but to accept the proposal. they have asked fukushima prefecture to play a leading role in coordinating the plan. >> translat

>>> you're watching "newsline." south korean president is marking the 20th anniversary of his country's diplomatic relations with china. he met the chinese president in town on monday. they spoke about a number of issues including north korea and a deadly incident at sea. the presidents pledged together to work for peace and stability on the korean peninsula. but they agreed it would be different to resume discussions with north korea right away. they said the nation's new looip leadership is less likely to move forward with dialogue at this stage including the six-party talks on its nuclear program. they also spoke about the fatal stabbing of a south korean maritime captain. he promised to prevent future incidents by educating fishermen. south korea and china have seen a 30 fold increase in trade since 1992. the president said he hopes to declare the start of free trades talks with china by march. >>> three north korean men who were lost at sea for three weeks are now many the custody of officials from their countr

here's your extended forecast. >>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. do stay with us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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and welcome to this hour's "newsline" coming to you from our studios here in tokyo. >>> it's a new year and that mean as new set of priorities for u.s. president barack obama as he tries to secure a second term in office. addressing the current situation in east asia is near the top of his to-do list. that means the obama administration will be relying heavily on its alliance with japan. u.s. officials are weighing the timing of the summit meeting between obama and japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda. they say they plan to invite noda to washington in the first half of 2012, perhaps in spring. the meeting is intended to strengthen bilateral ties in order to cope with the changing situation in north korea following the death of its leader kim jong-il in december. the u.s. government needs stronger cooperation with japan to monitor the situation on the korean peninsula and trying to resolve the issue surrounding north korea's nuclear development program. but some american officials say obama shouldn't meet one-on-one with noda until progress is made on the relocation of the u.s. marine

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. >> that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline", we'll be back with more news in half an hour. thank you for watching. bye-bye. . .