Iraqi Ministry Forces appear to be even closer to recapturing a key city from Islamic State militants. Environment Ministry Officials in japan have started the longawaited and contentious project four years after the Nuclear Disaster in fukushima. They are overseeing the transfer of radioactive soil and debris to an intermediate storage site. The waste has been piling up as decontamination work continues. Officials spent considerable amount of time trying to find a suitable location because they had to negotiate with residents. The storage complex is located in an area between two towns near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant. Construction only began last month. So the transfer has started before its completed. In the first year the Environment Ministry plans to transport 43,000 cubic meters of contaminated materials from across the prefecture. So far, the government has only secured enough land to accommodate less than half of that. Once completed, the 16 square kilometer complex will hold up to 22 million cubic meters of waste. But a time line is unclear because negotiations with land owners are ongoing and have been difficult. Environment Ministry Officials also need to start looking for location to store the contaminated materials longterm. They promised fukushima residents that if the prefecture hosts the intermediate site for 30 years the final Disposal Facility would be outside the prefecture. The radiation released by Fukushima Daiichi is keeping tens of thousands of residents away from their homes. By law, theyre not supposed to stay in the restricted area around the plant. But nhk has learned members of at least 53 households are live living there. The government established evacuation zones in ten municipalities. The red, orange and light green areas on this map correspond to high medium and low levels of radiation. Residents of low and medium zones can return home during daytime hours only. But Security Patrol groups tell nhk at least 53 households in the restricted zones are occupied. They say people are even living in highly contaminated areas. Some residents confess they are simply more comfortable at home. Others want to take care of abandoned livestock. Government officials have repeatedly warned them of the health risks, and urged them to leave. But they say its difficult to persuade people who want to stay. The current law stipulates those remaining within the restricted area face no punishment. Many people in northeastern japan have been working to rebuild the region in many different ways over the past four years. When the tsunami rolled ashore they ravaged coastal communities and killed thousands of people. They also damaged Cultural Assets. A Museum Curator is working to preserve those assets for him and his team its a matter of maintaining memories of the past for people of the future. Reporter a calligraphy textbook made it through the tsunami, but not in the best condition. Just as this photo shows, the documents were soaked in seawater. Smudged with mud. Masaru the chief curator of the city museum and his team intend to counteract the damage. Theyve been going through the volume page by page to remove sea salt. Projects of this sort have kept the staff occupied for most of the past four years. The tsunami that struck on march the 11th of 2011 brought waves that rose almost 18 meters. They engulfed the center of the city and left widespread devastation. Construction is now under way to raise the ground level. The tsunami reached the ceiling of the second floor of the museum filling the structure with mud and debris. For awhile no one could even get inside. Translator artifacts were scattered throughout the building. Some were buried under debris. Reporter the tsunami claimed the lives of six employees of the museum. Kumagai was the only one to survive. Rescuing the items inside became his mission. He convinced people to come help remove debris by hand. They approached the task like an archaeological dig retrieving everything, no matter how small. As of now, theyve rescued some 460,000 items. About 80 of the collection of the museum, and three other facilities. Translator the artifacts and documents represent the people who donated them. They also embody the devotion of the Staff Members who worked to preserve them for future generations. I wanted to send a message to the tsunami saying, we will not give in. Reporter the process that kumagai and the others have been engaged in is called stabilization. It removes salt and bacteria from artifacts damaged by the tsunami. To the naked eye the old textbook may look okay but its been inundated with salt and that could lead to the growth of mold. Kumagai decided it needed another night of soaking in water. The complete process involves 21 stages. Even if everything goes well start to finish it takes at least a month. In many respects the team is having to find its own way. Very few tsunami restorations have been done anywhere. So the best practices have yet to be established. Collaborating with other organizations, the group has stabilized 160,000 items in these four years. Relying largely on trial and error. One stabilization ends, restoration begins. The support of local people is essential. Each week, kakumi helps restore fishing equipment. After a career working around the sea, hes got the knowhow thats needed. He fixes every detail of the baskets in a traditional manner from the material of the rope, to the way of weaving. Translator many folks have worked very hard to rescue these items from the mud. Im here to help. Translator these artifacts represent peoples lives, aspects of their identities. Reconstructing infrastructure brings the Community Back to normal. Preserving Cultural Assets is another. This involves healing our residents hearts. Reporter despite the progress, nearly 300,000 objects are still waiting for attention. Lacquer ware leather, and many other things cannot be soaked in water. Kumagai and his staff are puzzling over how to proceed. They dont know how much time will be needed to stabilize the entire collection. But theyre determined to work towards that goal piece by piece, day by day. Lets now turn to the latest in biz, with ron madison. Well this is the time of year when managers and workers in japan sit down to talk about wages. Executives at Japan Airlines say business has been improving, and theyve decided to pass some profits on to employees. The airline is offering regular workers their first increase in Monthly Base Pay in 14 years. Jal managers have proposed a wage increase of 2,000 yen, thats just 16. 50. Representatives of the airlines Largest Union had demanded a 1 increase in base pay in this years wage negotiations. The offer from management does not match that target. But, Union Negotiators say that they will accept it. Jal filed for bankruptcy in 2010. The airline has been rebuilding itself through measures such as sharp cuts in personnel costs. Many Major Japanese Companies will present their responses to union wage demands on wednesday. Well executives at japanese firms are worried about rivals stealing their information and technical knowhow. One highprofile case saw Research Data on Semiconductors Made by toshiba stolen and provided to a south korean firm. Transcabinet is taking now to help Companies Better protect their intellectual property. The unfair competition prevention law currently imposes a maximum penalty of about 2. 5 million on firms that illegally acquire leaked company secrets. The cabinet has approved a draft bill to raise that to about 4. 1 million. Now it also calls for a fine of about 8. 2 million to be imposed when trade secrets are leaked. And then illegally used overseas. The revision also allows authorities to seize earnings gained from data or technologies obtained through leaks. Turning to the markets now, japanese share prices extended gains following a Strong Performance on wall street. And expectations of wage increases at home. The nikkei closed up 1. 4 , 19,254. The first time that its ended the day over 19,000 in just about 15 years. Optimism over Japanese Corporate earnings drove investors to buy shares in exporters, retailers, and real estate companies. South korean shares snapped a fourday losing streak. The kospi closed up 0. 8 1,985. Stocks were boosted by hopes that lower Interest Rates by the bank of korea will prop up business. Taking a look now at other asian markets, chinas shanghai composite index was up 0. 7 . Hong kong market was up 0. 1 . But australias s p asx 200 fell 0. 6 led by losses in mining and financials. Well chinese leaders are trying to take a leading role in helping develop economies in the asia pacific region. Theyre creating the Asian Infrastructure investment bank. Now the british say that theyre on board. Theyre the first to show support from a g7 nation. A statement from the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osbourne says membership will give British Companies an unrivalled opportunity to work and invest in the worlds fastgrowing region. 27 other countries have announced their intention to participate. They include Southeast Asian nations, india, and new zealand. Japanese and american leaders have expressed doubts about the plan. Translator we are not in a position to comment on another countrys decision to join the bank. Aso said the region already has the Asian Development bank. He questioned whether the new bank would be able to play a different role from existing institutions, such as the adb, and the world bank. Well motorists around the world have had safety on their minds ever since a recall of vehicles equipped with faulty air bags. Japanese automaker honda is placing fullpage ads in more than 120 u. S. Newspapers with lists of affected models. Now the multimillion dollar effort starts on monday. The focus will be 11 Southern States and u. S. Territories. The ads will list websites and phone numbers. Honda owners can check to see whether the recall covers their vehicles. Honda will also run online and radio versions of the ad. Company officials hope to ease concerns by encouraging customers to seek repairs. The air bags were made by japanese auto partsmaker takata. Honda is recalling more than 6 million vehicles in the u. S. But only 14 of them have been repaired as of early this month. The United Nations world conference on disaster Risk Reduction begins saturday in the northeastern japanese city of sendai. One of the big names scheduled to attend is World Bank President jim yong kim. Now we spoke with kim about what role japan can play in disaster Risk Reduction. Thank you for taking time. Oh, not a problem. This will be kims second visit to sendai. His first was in october 2012 shortly after taking up his post. He was impressed when he went to an Elementary School damaged by the tsunami. Interesting drills for example, they had drills in those schools and so they were prepared in the schools. Were now trying to set to ask ourselves, shouldnt we apply these principles of preparedness, of making sure that youre investing in the right kind of infrastructure. Reporter the world bank and the japanese government last february established a disaster Risk Management hub in tokyo. The idea is to help developing countries cope with disasters. Specialists from around the world compile information about the effects of major calamities. They offer developing nations Technical Advice that suits the local situation. The World Bank Issued a report last july that offers advice to developing countries. Its based on knowledge and experience that japan gained in the march 2011 earthquake and tsunami. I think, you know theres so much now very good data on how important it is to prepare, and so in tokyo, the fact that we have this disaster Risk Management hub is affecting our thinking in so many other areas. The things that were learning through our experience in disaster Risk Management are not only going to help us prepare countries all over the world to disasters, but its even extending to things like pandemics, which are themselves disasters. Now in pandemics what we know is that the difference between a response that happens in a few hours, versus a few weeks or months, is huge. And so its very, you know, the impact that this hub has had in terms of our overall thinking has been much greater than wed even expected. Reporter the joint effort of the world bank in japan underlines how crucial it is to get Financial Aid quickly to those who need it. Kim says disasters stretched the resources of developing countries. In very poor countries what happens when disasters strike is that theres no source of money that can immediately be disbursed so that they can, you know, look for people for example, who may have been you know, caught under the rubble. If theres an earthquake for example. And so weve now put together Financial Instruments that will disburse very quickly. The level of preparedness for disasters doesnt exist everywhere in the world. And so weve got a lot more work to do with japanese leadership in helping everyone to prepare for disasters. Reporter kim wants japanese experts attending the conference to share their knowhow in creating a system that ensures developing countries can handle the challenges that disasters present. Marion madsen, nhk world, washington, d. C. All right. That is going to wrap it up for biz this hour. Lets get you a check of the markets. Iraqi military forces appear to be getting closer to taking back a key Northern City from the Islamic State group. Government soldiers and militias have seized more than half of tikrit, the hometown of late president saddam hussein. Thousands of troops are involved in the operation, theyre now in to their second day of a street offensive against the militants. Local Authorities SayGovernment Forces have seized 60 of tikrit despite counterattacks, and are advancing toward the city center. Prime minister abadi instructed them to ensure the safety of residents. Defense minister obeydi also suggested troops should avoid harming the hundreds of civilians still trapped in the heart of tikrit. He noted it will take several more days to gain full control of the city. Islamic state militants captured tikrit last june. The operation to take back the city involves iraqi soldiers and shia muslim militia men. The u. S. And other governments are concerned the fighting could rekindle conflicts when the mainly sunni muslim population. Prorussian separatists are to be given greater autonomy in some regions of ukraine. The decision by Ukrainian Government officials comes one month into a ceasefire agreement. The government officials said the regions were mapped out at the National Security meeting. Boundaries are based on a ceasefire line that was agreed in september. Falling outside those boundaries is the city of debaltseve a tree transport hub. A major road passes through it linking the separatistheld cities of donetsk and luhansk. Debaltseve was seized by prorussians after the deal in september last year. It is seen as a crucial gain in securing economic independence. The leaders of iceland have decided not to seek membership in the european union. Negotiations began after the Global Financial crisis in 2008. But were suspended in 2013 when parties cautious about joining the eu took power. The latest decision apparently reflects concerns that the countrys main industry of fishing could be subjected to quotas. Icelands economy has recovered, weakening momentum toward eu membership. Meanwhile, the european economy has been hit by the credit crisis. U. S. President barack obama has condemned the shooting of two Police Officers in missouri. They were shot during a demonstration in ferguson after it was announced the police chief would resign. The officers were treated for serious injuries, and have since been released from a hospital. Tensions have been growing in ferguson since august when a white officer shot dead michael brown, an unarmed black teenager. Obama commented on the shooting. He said, the incident should not detract from the greater issue, and theres no excuse for criminal acts. Browns family says the shootings could derail the peaceful and Nonviolent Movement to confront police brutality. World Health Organization representatives have noted theyve passed a grim mark in the fight against ebola. Nearly a year after the outbreak was identified. They say the number of confirmed and suspected deaths in the three hardesthit west african nations has surpassed 10,000. The w. H. O. Estimates the total number of infections in those countries has reached 24,000 including suspected cases. It says the pace of the spread has dramatically slowed in some areas. In liberia, the last known ebola patient left hospital earlier this month. But guinea and sierra leone each registered 58 new infections in the first week of this month. Some people are not changing burial practices that bring them in contact with infected bodily fluids. W. H. O. Representatives are urging everyone to take adequate steps to prevent the spread of the virus. They are asking foreign governments for more help in ending this outbreak. Its time now for the World Weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. Sayaka, sigh loan pam is posing a throat of severe flooding and structural damage. Its not the only storm in the Pacific Ocean, though. Whats the latest . Yes, keikichi a very rare event is taking place across the Pacific Ocean. We have four tropical systems, davi is located in Northern Hemisphere and three others in the southern hemisphere. Pam is the strongest one among the four. And two others are located near northern australia. Now i want to first talk about pam. Take a look at the satellite imagery. You can see a symmetrical shape with very clear eye in the center. It indicates that its very powerful system. And clouds are already envufling van u at u were hearing reports of flooding as well as wind damage from these islands. This is a category 5 system. The strongest category packing winds of over 240 kilometers an hour. It is expected to maintain as a category 5 system and slide over vanuatu over the weekend, veer towards the southeast and pass north of new zealand by early next week. Because of the stormy conditions one of the worst one of the worlds biggest boating events will be delayed across new see bnd. Now take a look at this precipitation forecast. Extremely rainy for vanuatu, and some rain showers will continue in fiji as we go into early next weeb. Flooding is going to be a very high concern and across the west we are looking at another storm system. This is nathan. Nathan is starting to take easterly track so its moving away from queensland. But because its still near the coast, a Gale Force Winds and heavy rain will likely continue at least into saturday across this location and then across the flip side of australia, we have olwin. Olwin has been moving along the coast last night, still a category 3 system packing wind gusts of over 200 kilometers per hour. The track of winds are happening near the center and its going to move down towards the south. This one will likely produce beneficial rain for southern areas where drought is still taking place. Now in the Northern Hemisphere we have bavi. The third Tropical Storm for the western Pacific Ocean and this is expected to intensify and then across and then reach near saipan or guam by sunday. Local time. So lots of things are happening, and then across hawaii yesterday we talk about blizzard conditions in the high mountains in the big island of hawaii. Now we are talking about high surf conditions across the north and eastern sides of the Hawaiian Island chain. High surf warnings are widely posted. So anyone entering the water could face significant injury or death. So dont venture out to the sea. Now, across asia looking dry for the northern half of china. But some spotty showers increasing across southeastern corner of china in to the weekend. Mostly dry for the korean peninsula, but japan will be peppered with rainfall in to the weekend. Take a look at these temperatures. Quite warm conditions are expected on monday. Take a look tokyo will be sunny, up to 16 degrees and near 20 degrees in kyoto as well as fukuoka. Due to the recent warmup some flowers are already in full bloom. These flowers are called nimoza in japanese, and these are in full bloom in the city of kitakyushu kitakyushu. Before enjoying the scent of these other flowers and warmer weather, it will be in full bloom until next week. Thats all for now. Heres the extended forecast. And that concludes this edition of newsline. Im keikichi hanada. On behalf of our team, thank you for staying with us. N ferguson, missouri. This time running out for Benjamin Netanyahu . Polls show that central left challengers are inching ahead. Listening for signs of life. Scientists eagerly await communication from a rover four months after it hurtled through space. Those are the top stories. Thank you for joining us. Im molly holmes