cleanup crew. an innovative machine adds hope to the recovery effort in northeast japan. 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 treatment capacity. they hope to ramp up production while assessing demand for the process. japan's nuclear crisis minister says he wants fukushima to be an international center to

set up where radiological material 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, he said that the institute would also help people learn about the long process of scrapping the reactors at the fukushima daiichi plant. the work is expected to take 30 to 40 years. >> we will conduct advanced work in areas such as radiological medicine and decontaminatn. lessons learned must be available to the rest of the world. >> hosana said his ministry will

work to develop row boats to remove spent fuel rods. the french nuclear watchdog has revealed nuclear plants need billions of dollars to improve safety in the event of natural disaster. the authority disclosed the results of its assessments of 58 plants. nearly 80% of the country's energy resources come from nuclear power generation. the head of the safety authority said one of the reactors needs to be shut down immediately. he called power up companies to submit additional reports on safety measures. >> translator: we may need to close the facilities if their operators can't improve safety before the end of june. >> nuclear power policy is a key issue in this year's french presidential election. president nicolas sarkozy is a strong supporter of nuclear power generation. winter is oyster season in

japan, and one of the main areas where they're produced is miyagi. many oyster farmers in the prefecture lost everything in the march 11th tsunami. help arrived from an unlikely source, rival oyster growers in hiroshima prefecture. this leads to a growing friendship between the two competing regions. >> usually 70% of the oysters sold at tokyo's market are from the pacific coast. this year, though, it's only 10%. meanwhile, oyster shipments from hiroshima have tripled. this doesn't mean they're trying to corner the market. the crisis has spurred the oyster farmers in hiroshima to step up their shipments. they're concerned that a prolonged shortage of oysters in the market could lead to an overall drop in demand, and this could hurt the entire industry.

>> translator: we're shipping more to ensure that demand for oysters does not dry up. >> reporter: since august a group of hiroshima oyster farmers as also been offering practical help, buildings oyster rafts in miyagi prefecture. they brought all of the materials with them from hiroshima including the bamboo for making the rafts. this man is the team leader. >> translator: we're doing what we can to encourage the oyster farmers to get their businesses running again. >> reporter: this is the first time the two rival regions have worked together. the hiroshima methods are a bit different from those used in miyagi. after the work is finished, they all gather for a party. he speaks local oyster

farmer who lost his home and aum his equipment. >> translator: hiroshima is sending all its support for you his equipment. >> translator: hiroshima is sending all its support for yl . his equipment. >> translator: hiroshima is sending all its support for yl . his equipment. >> translator: hiroshima is sending all its support for you. >> over the past three days they built 50 rafts together. >> translator: seeing a few rafts out on the water makes me want to do everything possible to rebuild my business. >> reporter: suzuki and his family now living in a temporary housing unit. he has a family of nine to support, so he wants to resume oyster farming as soon as possible. the assistance from hiroshima has really lifted his spirits. >> translator: while we're eating we chat about mere sheem ma. me fael has been in low spirits but we're much more cheerful now. >> reporter: a couple of months later, suzuki receives a parcel

from hiroshima. the rope is for hanging young oysters from the rafts. since many up companies supplying the ropes were also fae affected by the tsunami, he asked him for help. suzuki immediately starts tieing his young oysters onto the ropes. >> translator: it's so good to be able to do this again. let's produce lots of oysters so we can build a new house. >> reporter: at last he's taking the first step toward getting back into business. recently a letter arrives at his house in hiroshima from suzuki in miyagi. he writes that slowly but surely they're making progress. >> translator: we're looking

forward to hearing that suzuki is harvesting plenty of oysters. he says he'd like to sell his oysters together with ours under the brand name bonds of friendship oysters. >> suzuki and his fellow oyster farmers now have 80 rafts, but before they used to have 600. they need plenty more help to get their business back on its feet again. investors are asia's stock market are snapping up shares this wednesday morning. ai has more on this. it looks like japan is no exception. >> that's right. definitely we see tokyo shares gaining ground this wednesday. this is, of course, the first trading day for 2012 for tokyo. the rise follows an overnight rally on wall street. the nikkei index is up over 110 points at 8,574. that's a gain of 1.4%, but take a look at the broader up topix.

it's up. market sources say investors are buying automobile and machinery issues. new york's stocks briefly surged more than 260 points on tuesday. that was the first trading day of the year for them. the rise was due to expectations for a u.s. economic recovery. market players may be looking forward to the presidential election in november. in past election years ruling parties have introduced economic stimulus measures to win voter support. share prices have gained in 7 out of the 10 presidential poll years. during tuesday's trade, buy orders increased after the release of better than forecast manufacturing data for december. but later investors sold advancing shares. the dow jones industrial average closed aat t 12,397. on the tokyo foreign exchange

market, the dollar is falling against the yen on wednesday morning. the greenback is now trading at 76.62 to 64 yen. the euro is changing hands between 99.97 to 100.02 yen. the euro fell last week on overseas markets hitting an 11-year low against the japanese currency. let's take a look at the latest long-term interest rates. the yield on the benchmark japanese government bond up nearly one basis point. automakers are worried over hints of a sale slump in emerging countries. the disturbing development comes as manufacturers begin to ramp up production in nations. new vehicle sales in china and brazil for october and november 2011 posted a decline from a year earlier. a global economic slowdown is being blamed as the consequences of the european credit crisis start to bite.

the numbers mark a stark downturn from the robust growth of earlier years. in 2010 sales in china surged by over 30%. those in brazil rose more than 10%. makers are concerned as they're increasingly aiming at emerging markets with japan's toyota motors set to open new factories in china and brazil later this year. nissan is also planning to double its production capacity in china over the next three years. the march disaster and nuclear emergency created unprecedented challenges for japanese companies in 2011 on top of the strong yen and deflation. some businesses are still struggling to get back on their feet. what are the prospects for the economy in 2011? we put that question to the vice chairman of the japan business federation. >> good afternoon. lovely to meet you. >> nice to meet you. >> thank you so much for your time today. >> thank you very much.

corporations among the different companies was attained after the disaster. the recovery the restoration of the supply chain, and we thought it took nine months or eight months or nine months, but it only took half a year because of the cooperation. once they happened at one company, many companies cooperated to help the companies. >> building on that momentum, they're urging members to pursue high-tech projects in tohoku focused on eco-cities. >> they have a so-called future city model project. we do not have to depend on the government action. we can do it by ourselves. we designate cities as a future city for motor project. three are located there.

so we put in high-technology and new know how and experience into the one city like we created. >> what do you hope for japan? >> we have to raise its consumption tax. consumption tax means that it goes up. we suffer from the yen appreciation and deflation. the price decline. it's a vicious circle. so we have to policy-wise to change the directional price by policy. so we raise the consumption tax, and we can change at the policy price direction from downward to upward. >> he says promoting trade with asian countries will be key to boosting the japanese economy in 2012. >> asia-pacific area is the

center of economic growth. that means that we have to work in a partnership agreement. so we can have foreign demand and domestic demand after concluding the partnership agreement. innovation, research and development is the key to economic growth. he revive that japanese economy. we try to, but we have to conquer, get over this problem, otherwise we cannot survive in the future. >> that was the vice chairman. let's take a look at the latest market figures.

>> thanks, ai. u.s. republicans have kicked off their party's nomination contest for the 2012 presidential election. they're holding caucuses in the state of iowa. they're taking place in about 1,800 locations in the midwestern state. the outcome is expected to have a significant impact on the party's nominating process. mitt romney stresses his ability to revitalize the economy. the former governor of massachusetts says president barack obama should quit because he's failed to keep his promise to rebuild the economy in three

years. texas congressman ron paul is calling for smaller government. he wants u.s. troops to return home, and he says he will not send young people to war. the latest poll in iowa gives romney a support rate of 24% followed by paul's 22%. former senator rick santorum has a support rate of 15%. the republican stresses christian values and opposes abortion. the poll suggests many voters are still undecided, making the caucus a close race. nationalwi nationwide polls suggest romney and newt gingrich are vying for the top position. a final round of parliame parliamentary elections has begun in egypt. polling stations across egypt opened for the third round of elections on tuesday. the polls mark an important step towards democracy after the ouster last february of

long-term ruler hosni mubarak. troops has been deployed in polling stations to stop protest against the military rulers. >> translator: i truly wish my country will take the right path based on the islamic teachings. >> translator: i believe this election will change egypt significantly, reflecting individual opinions. >> in the previous two elections held late last year, two islamic fundamentalist parties gained more than 60% of the vote in a proportional representation segment. he they also won many single-seat districts. the final results are expected to be announced on january 13th. the afghanistan taliban have taken an unprecedented step towards a peace process. they've reached an agreement in qatar to open an office in the gulf state to promote talks. the taliban said in a statement that they had agreed with the

governments to set up the office. group leaders say they want to discuss political resolutions for peace with the international community. the administration of u.s. president barack obama has conducted behind-the-scenes negotiations with the taliban. the pentagon has already begun withdrawing u.s. troops for afghanistan. afghan president karzai has r already indicated that his government would accept the opening of the office. but the taliban statement strongly demands the release of members released in the military presence of guantanamo bay. the statement stresses the only parties involved are the taliban and the united states. the wording suggests the group may not take part in peace talks led by the afghan government. still another bloc of the taliban suggests all is not what it appears to be. spokespersons say their afghan allies enlisted them in the battle against u.s. forces. the pakistani taliban is the

largest islamic group in the country. they told nhk that representatives from the afghan taliban visited them in november and december. the afghans asked the pakistanis to shift their target from the pakistani military and police to u.s. troops in afghanistan. the spokes person said his group had accepted the request and plans to send fighters to afghanistan in march. the groups also agree to set up a five-member council to coordinate their activities. four japanese have landed on the disputed island senkaku islands in the east china sea. japan controls them, but china also claims sovereignty over the islands. japan's coast guard says the four japanese, including two members of the municipal

assembly from the city in okinawa left on a fishing boat on sunday. they landed on the island on tuesday. the coast guard says the four people approached the islands on a raft saying they were going to fish. then they landed despite warnings by japan's coast guard. the group left the island about two hours later after strolling along the shore. one of the two municipal assembly members visited the senkaku in december of 2010. a spokesperson said in a statement that the chinese government has already protested strongly to japan. he said the country plans to protect its territory. japanese archers are hoping to improve their skills have practiced their first shots at the new year. more than 80 students gathered on tuesday for the event at an event. the practice session was held on

january 3rd every year. t they wore traditional japanese clothing, but some were dressed in colorful festive kimono for ontrolled their breathing before shooting arrows at the 36-centimeter diameter targets from a distance of about 30 meters. one of the archers said she prayed to improve her skims and become a responsible person because she will be an adult when she turns 20 this year. next it's over to the weather forecast. hello. welcome to your weather update. a large high pressure system is keeping things dry sxelgtsed across the northern half of the china and mongolia. lots of sunshine for you, but

along the high pressure area very strong northern winds are prevailing and that's causing sea effect rain and snow. a mix will move eastward over southern china and we remain wet across the northern area the indochina peninsula today. as for japan blowing snow is continuing across the western side of the nation. thunderstorms may accompany the heavy snow showers. it's a different story on the opposite side of the country. it will stay largely dry, but you may see snowflakes in the evening. down towards the fill feigns rain will go over luzon, and central and southern areas of the philippines see rain develop in thursday. that can create risks of flooding as well as landslides. temperaturewise we're expecting 10 degrees in tokyo, but remaining in the subzero mark in seoul with minus 3 degrees and very chilly in shanghai with 4 degrees. now, heading over to europe, a series of low pressure systems

is impacting northern europe again on tuesday the northern uk was on the highest alerts for strong winds. gusts exceeded 160 kilometers per hour in scotland. to give you some idea, let's look at footage coming out of this area. severe weather hit the uk on tuesday. ports were closed because of the rough sea conditions. heavy rain always prompted flood warnings as river levels rose. these strong winds were particularly damaging enough to topple trees and crush cars and cut off power now the system is situated over the southern scandinavian peninsula, and it's maintaining its strength. it's a very strong storm, so it's still bringing heavy -- locally heavy precipitation as well as strong winds across the southern scandinavia peninsula as well as the northern area of continental europe. as the system moves eastward, it

will weaken and a mix of rain and snow will spread to finland as well as the rest of continental europe in the next 24 hours. but another round of the stormy weather is already on its way to isles and france as well as central europe. down towards the south, thunderstorms are gradually easing in southern italy and the southern balkan peninsula. the only drive spot is the aiberian peninsula. we expect 17 degrees in lisbon with plenty of sunshine. very warm in the east, zero degrees in moscow, and 5 degrees in warsaw. all right. i will leave you now with your extended forecast.

impl implts. a recap of the top story. toe sleeb ba is produced technology to give people hope. engineers have developed a mobile system to decontaminate areas affected by the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant. government rules take effect later this month. then communities will begin full-scale decontamination work. toshiba spokespersons say their equipment can decontaminate 1.7 tons of soil and sludge per day and remove up to 97% of the

radioactive substances. toshiba and japanese machinery maker ihi collaborated to develop a suspect to extract materials from water in reservoirs and sewage systems. the devices are 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 the that the communities are safe. then we hope residents will come back. >> company spokespersons say they're trying to reduce the equipment's operating costs and improve its treatment capacity. they hope to ramp up production while assessing demand for the product. that's all for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. thanks for watching.