Protect his hometown as developers cut down trees and destroy a lake. A court in central japan has issued an injunction in a case with implications for the Nuclear Power industry. It has prohibited the operator of a power plant from bringing two of its reactors back online. The District Court said the reactors at the Takahama Nuclear plant in central japan should not be allowed to restart. A group of residents had asked the court to keep them offline. They said equipment isnt safe. Translator to completely stop reactors 3 and 4 at the takahama plant. Its the best decision we could ever imagine. Officials at the operator said they have taken sufficient measures. Japans gnawnuclear regulators put in new requirements after the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. In february they decided the two reactors at takahama satisfied the guidelines. The presiding judge said it would be optimistic to assume there wouldnt be a major quake near the plant. He also said meeting the nuclear regulators requirements doesnt mean the reactors are safe. He said the standards are too lax. The Court Decision means the reactors will remain offline pending an appeal. Translator we find the decision extremely regrettable. Theres no way the company can accept the decision. He says the utility will examine the Court Decision and consider fighting a request to suspend the injunction. A japanese journalist who had been barred from leaving south korea says hes looking forward to coming home. Kato has been on trial for allegedly defaming park geunhye. Authorities lifted a travel ban imposed eight months ago. Translator ive become gloomy here in south korea, not being able to leave the country. Its been hard to make my point understood. Because of differences in culture and the legal system. Kato is the seoul bureau chief for a newspaper. The paper said prosecutors notified his lawyer that the ban has been lifted. Authorities imposed it in august after kato published a column about the president. The piece questioned parks whereabouts on the day of a deadly ferry accident. 295 people died and nine are still listed as missing. Kato cited a south korean newspaper report that said her whereabouts were unknown for some time. He suggested that park and a foreign male secretary may have met on that date. He has said he had no intention of defaming the president. Prosecutors said they asked the Justice Ministry to lift the travel ban. They said kato has promised to attend all remaining court dates. They said they made their decision on humanitarian grounds. A representative for the japanese newspaper welcomed the news, but he said the indictment against kato violates freedom of speech and should be withdrawn. Members of japans Ruling Coalition have met to hammer out the details of the countrys new security legislation. It would enable the country to exercise the right to collective selfdefense. The liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner took part. Government officials proposed allowing japanese ministers to confer by telephone during socalled gray zone situations. The term refers to infringements of sovereignty that do not amount to armed attacks. Officials said speaking by phone could help ministers speed up their response. For instance, they said orders could be issued to dispatch selfdefense force personnel for maritime security. They said an example would be if an armed group landed illegally on a remote island. No one at the meections. Coalition members also discussed a plan permanent law that would allow the sdf to provide Logistical Support to foreign troops. Ldp and representatives were divided over whether approval by the diet would be required before dispatching sdf personnel. Ldp members said diet approval could come later. They said that would enable leaders to respond quickly when the diet was not in session or when the lower house had been dissolved. But komeito members said prior diet approval should be required without exception. Coalition members plan to meet about twice a week to gain cabinet approval for the relevant bills by the middle of next month. Chinese authorities have freed five women detained last month for planning a protest against sexual harassment. Their detention sparked worldwide criticism. A lawyer says the women have been released but says authorities may restrict their activities. The activists plan to rally on International Womens day, march 8th. But Police Charged them with disturbing public order. U. S. Secretary of state john kerry called for their immediate and unconditional release. International Rights Groups also condemned the arrest. But a spokesperson for Chinas Foreign Ministry warned the u. S. Not to interfere in the countrys internal affairs. He said the matter will be dealt with according to chinese law. Chinese leaders have vowed to put top priority on tackling the environmental problems that have long plagued the country. And residents in one Southwestern Community are holding them to that promise. They say a Housing Project is destroying family farmland and they want support from leaders to stop the strukzconstruction. More from our reporter. Reporter kuming has been named the spring city. Residents enjoy clean air thanks to the high elevation. The community is growing in size as a result of increasing numbers of visitors and people relocating here. In the south of the city is a lake. Its a popular tourist spot but until just a few years ago, this freshwater lake was severely polluted with algae. This man was born and grew up near the lake. He used to run a pig farm here but decades ago, he noticed the water he was using for feed was rapidly disappearing. He looked into the problem and told the authority sies releasing sulfuric acid into the lake. Translator i gathered evidence and sued the company that was polluting the lake. I won the case and the plant was forced to stop operations. People were grateful for what i did. Reporter local officials took measures to improve the Water Quality, and their efforts paid off. Over the past five years, the amount of algae lessened and the water became much clearer. But just as the situation was improving, a new problem arose. There are a lot of projects on the way at the lake. Here they are filling the lake to make new houses. Chinas staterun media has extensively covered the development. It reported that work to fill in the lake has damaged the surrounding farmland. And it says trees in the surrounding area are being cut down with no concern for conservation. Construction crews are wasting no time building several vacation homes in the village west of the lake. But some local residents questioned if they even have the proper permits. Translator farmland passed down from generation to generation has been ruined. We started to see the effects as soon as the Real Estate Developers began their work. Reporter the villagers said the rivers they depend on for Drinking Water dried up when construction began. They turned to john for help. He began to investigate the damage done to the river. The villagers also gave john documentation on the damage from the construction work. He plans to add the results of his own research and make a formal complaint to the authorities. Translator if nothing is done, our homes will be sold off. The mountains will lose their trees. Everything will be lost. All well have left will be disaster. Reporter efforts to preserve chinas environment havent been proceeding as smoothly as officials would like. Zhang says he will continue to fight on to protect the lake and save his hometown. Earlier our Mika Yamamoto spoke with him. He explains how much progress has been made so far. Central and local governments have taken measures to improve Water Quality. But they havent tried to hard regulate Development Projects. Local governments often welcome such projects because in many cases, they will benefit their communities. The Central Government acknowledged zhangs efforts to improve the Water Quality of the lake in his area. But he has maidenmys over his objections to Development Projects. John told me his activities have been monitored and he has to be more careful with his investigations. So do you mean chinas central and local governments take different approaches to Environmental Issues . Thats right. The countrys new policy says Environmental Protection is a key goal. The Central Government has been spending a lot of money to implement conservation projects. On the other hand, local governments say they cannot make any concessions on Development Projects. They have taken steps to take Water Pollution and other problems, but they say Development Projects hold the key to the finances of local governments. An expert says against this background, its becoming increasingly important for residents to speak out when they see Development Projects causing environmental damage. Translator civil activists and ngos shouldnt be left on their own. The Central Government has put powerful institutions in place at the local level to follow through on Environment Protection policies. Chinas leaders are keen to carry on with reforms to achieve their new policy, which they call the new normal. But they have to make sure local governments understand the larger issues at stake and are implementing appropriate measures to protect nature. Okay from china we move on to taiwan which has decided to tighten regulations on food imports from japan. Gene otani from our business desk has the details. Gene. James, were talking about radiation fear. Radiation fears have led authorities in taiwan to ban Food Products from fukushima and four nearby prefectures. But last month inspectors found that products from those areas have made it through customs, and officials are tightening import regulations in response. Taiwanese Health Authorities will now require labels on all japanese Food Products to identify the prefectures they came from. Theyll also require radiation checks on certain items including food for infants. They say theyll release details on the measures and implement them as early as next month. The new regulations were first proposed last year. But they were put on hold due to opposition from japan. Taiwan is the Third Largest importer of japanese foods after hong kong and the United States. Officials in japan and the United States have agreed on the need for a Transpacific Partnership trade deal but key details must still be worked out. These include tariffs on Farm Products and automobiles, and negotiators from the two countries will resume workinglevel talks on the pact in tokyo on wednesday. Theyre hoping to reach a Bilateral Agreement before Prime Minister shinzo abe meets with president barack obama in washington later this month. But the minister in charge of japans strategy amari, says tokyo will not make concessions unless the u. S. Agrees to do the same. He says japan does not consider the summit a deadline. He said he wants to focus on narrowing the gaps between the two sides to smooth a way to higherlevel talks. Translator we wont have talks at t ministerial level just because the summit is coming up. Those will have to wait until negotiators at the working level are able to resolve some of their differences. Amari said u. S. Negotiators are mistaken if they believe japan will make compromises during the next two weeks. Checking the markets, tokyo stocks moved in a tight range. The nikkei average ended almost flat remaining below the 20,000 mark it hit on friday. The index closed at 19,908. Analysts say investors took a waitandsee attitude ahead of u. S. Retail sales data and corporate earnings reports. Moving on to hong kong the hang seng finally snapped its winning streak after eight days of gains. The index dropped 1. 6 to 27,561. Some investors sold a broad range of shares to book profits from the recent rally. The shanghai composite closed up 0. 3 at 4,135 after a volatile session. It managed to extend its gains and post another sevenyear high. Investors are waiting for gdp figures for the First Quarter due out on wednesday. In other markets in the asiapacific region seouls kospi was up 0. 6 and ended the day above the key 2,100 level for the first time in nearly four years. Sydney fell 0. 23 . Falling iron ore prices. Indonesia declined three days finishing the day down 0. 52 . More people in japan are turning away from green tea, so makers of the traditional drink are looking for ways to brew up new sales. Some are heading overseas and bringing new products with them. Reporter managers at this tea company have been recruiting International Students for threemonth internships. They want the interns to learn all about green tea. Then promote it back home. This year theyre training three young people from the United States, france and indonesia. Company instructors teach them how to cultivate the tea. This is new sprout. Baby, baby sprout. He is preparing to grow up. Reporter company instructors tell them everything they know about green tea. This includes the best way to brew it and serve it. Use same tea leaves at a different temperature, and the taste is different. Reporter 35 students from 13 countries have completed the internship. Four former interns are now importing tea leaves to their home countries. In the future i would love to open my own coffee shop. I will sell a lot of things and one of those things would be japanese tea. Reporter Company Managers have hired simona from lithuania after her internship ended. She now manages the English Version of the companys website. The site explains how different seasons and tea breeds change the taste of the drink. Simona has also spearheaded an increase in special tours by the company for international visitors. Over 300 people joined the tea tours last year. They visited tea fields and tasted several varieties of the drink. We noticed that the number of people who are interested in japanese green tea is growing. I really want to expand japanese tea even more to bring it to the world. Reporter so far the Internship Program has been a success for the tea company. Last year sales to overseas customers quadrupled with shipments going out to 65 countries. Translator our mission is to bring japanese tea to the world. We want to convey the appeal of authentic green tea to customers overseas. Reporter other companies are fighting shrinking demand for green tea by developing new products. People at this longestablished teamaker have invented a new seasoning that uses green tea. Its a green chilean salt mixture that has the rich aroma of tea. In the companys cafe chefs serve up a pasta thats flavored with the special seasoning. Translator pasta with tomato or cream sauce tends to be heavy. But tea pasta is light and delicious. Reporter the teamaker has also developed cosmetics that are infused with green tea. The key ingredient, tea seeds. Tea seeds are rich in nutrients that help keep the skin moist. Workers extract oil from the seeds and put it in a skin care product. The cosmetics has been a hit. A luxury spa in a major hotel in japan will soon feature the product. Translator we want to create a greater variety of tea products. We hope to sell them in japan and overseas. Reporter a traditional japanese drink thats getting untraditional treatment. From the farm to the laboratory green tea producers are making every effort to survive. The German Government has been urging companies to bring their technologies to the next level. This involves further integrating i. T. And machinery. Companies showed a range of innovations at one of the Worlds Largest industrial fairs in northern germany. The companies from 70 countries have put up about 6500 displays at hanover messi. Major Electronics Maker siemens is featuring a system that does away with inventories. Thats because it uses tablets to send orders immediately to production lines. Volkswagen is displaying a robotic arm that stops moving the instant it comes into contact with an object. Officials say its so safe it can operate right next to humans. Another display thats attracting crowds shows machinery that can be operated from anywhere in the world through the internet. The technology is the result of joint development between japanese and german companies. Hanover messa runs through friday. Visitors to the Worlds Largest broadcast equipment fair are getting a glimpse of the future of television and seeing what nextgeneration 8k highresolution technology can do. More than 1700 companies from across the globe are participating in the event in las vegas. New products include drones for shooting video and cameras and displays that are compatible with 8k highdefinition tv. This technology can deliver images at 16 times the resolution of todays highdefinition tvs. Nhk showed a documentary shot with the 8k camera its developed. The documentary depicts the lives of evacuees from the area around the fukushima Nuclear Power plant. It also features Cherry Blossoms and workers engaged in decontamination work. The movie was shown on a 350inch screen. Its very good pictures and a very good story that they told with it. It really left a good impression. Really deep. The sound is unbelievable. The colors are so vibrant, and its really the future. Nhk aims to put its 8k technology to full broadcasting use in 2020 when tokyo hosts the summer olympic games. Thats it for business news. Ill leave you with the markets. Currently in tokyo were experiencing intermittent rain with a temperature reading of about 13 degrees celsius, or 55 degrees fahrenheit. Jonathan oh joins us from the weather desk with world weather. Jonathan. Hello. We are definitely keeping a track on some clouds along with a lowpressure system that is moving through the southeastern portions of the United States. You can see here the cloud cover that is lifting toward the east and the north. And thats going to be the focal point of some rain and possibly some thunderstorms as we go throughout the day tuesday. I want to do a little bit of a drawback going back to last week as we were tracking some storms because we have some new images coming out of space from nasa on how the tornado that was in illinois made an impact on the ground level. Of course, we know about the damage that took place, but also on the land itself. If you look very closely here it looks like theres a lot of colors and a lot of boxes. But theres one particular feature that stands out from the rest. And theres a line that extends across the screen. Im tracking it for you right here all the way past rochelle and into fairdale illinois. Yes, thats what a tornado did as it moved over land. It made that mark that scar on the earth as it moved toward the north and east. And so definitely these storms mean business when theyre moving through the area. Thankfully as we come back to the weather for tuesday, were not talking about any type of severe storms of that nature. But we are looking out for the possibility of some heavy rainfall, and yes, a few thunderstorms from time to time. This low is going to bring in a lot of moisture from the south. And so look out for the possibility of some flash flooding. Some areas may see close to 100 millimeters of rainfall in a short period of time along the eastern seaboard of the United States. And also another low thats moving into the Pacific Northwest which will bring rain and possibly some snow for the Northern Rockies into the cascades. So look out for that. Looking at 12 for the high in seattle. 24 in denver. Cold in Oklahoma City at 12 degrees. And rain from d. C. Extending into houston. Now, we are looking at the forecast for europe. Still seeing some dry conditions over toward the west. We do have a little low coming on shore in the iberian peninsula. Thats going to create unstable weather. And we still have a lowpressure system thats bringing the possibility of some strong winds, possible tornadoes and also some thunderstorms for the eastern half of europe. So look out for that. Anywhere from warsaw into kiev and moscow looking at a temperature of around ten degrees for the high on tuesday and 20s for paris and madrid. Wrapping things up with a look at east asia. I want to take you into japan first to give you an idea of the rain and the strong storms that are rolling through the area. Look at this. Severe weather still blowing over japan which is triggering high winds and frequent lightning in the country. Monday winds up to 50 Kilometers Per Hour blew over this 40meterhigh scaffolding. Warnings remain in place along the Pacific Coast of japan. Now, we go where heavy rainfall took place. 100 millimeters of rainfall in just 24 hours breaking a record at 326 millimeters of rainfall in a 24hour period. So yes, we do have these lowpressure systems still moving through japan. Thats going to bring as we go into wednesday. But then a high moves in behind it on thursday. I think well see sunnier skies. Temperatures will be moving up into the 20s as we head into the latter part of the workweek. Still 20 for tokyo as we see the rain ending during the day on wednesday. 20s back down toward the southern portions of china as well. I hope you have a good day wherever you are. Heres your extended outlook. And that was the news and weather from our studios here in tokyo. Dont go away. Theres more to come here on nhk world. Terms for the 2007 iraqi killings. These civilian deaths sparked International Outcry and call into question the use of either defense contractors. Remembering the missing. Ceremonies are to be held around the world to mark one year cents a group of nigerian schoolgirls were abducted. Authorities say they are no closer to finding them. And move over, clinton and bush. Republican senator marco rubio announced his run for the white house. The 43yearold says america cannot move forward like going back to leaders of the past