Further discussions. Japanese government officials have shown the surest sign yet that they intend to make Nuclear Power a key part of japans future. Theyve drafted a policy that describes it as an Important Energy source. Nhk world has more. Translator we will figure out how much Nuclear Power we need, and we will secure that amount. Reporter the draft document adopted by a group of cabinet ministers, endorses a major change in japans Energy Policy. The Nuclear Accident in fukushima three years ago triggered a nationwide debate over Nuclear Power. The ruling party at that time promises to phase out Nuclear Energy within 30 years. Shinzo abes return to power in the december 2012 election changed the situation. The Prime Minister called elimination from Nuclear Power irresponsible. The draft Energy Policy adopted on tuesday says the government will restart reactors once they clear the latest safety regulations. The document also underlines the need to learn from the Nuclear Accident, and the importance of safety. But some people question whether it is really safe to resume operations at Nuclear Power plants. Among them is the governor of niigata, his prefecture holds the World LargestNuclear Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power company. Translator tepco hasnt learned from the fukushima accident. Its not qualified to operate Nuclear Plants. Reporter paul scalise is an expert on nuclear policy. He explains the rationale behind the governments emphasis on Nuclear Power. You have japans very precarious lack of natural resources, and the hope that by moving away from fossil fuels like imported gas, oil, and coal, that you can avoid the very disruptive shocks to both electricity prices, as well as gas prices, that took place in the 1970s. Reporter he says the Energy Policy will be welcomed by the business community. But he adds the utilities, and the government, need to display more transparency in order to convince the general public. Nhk world. Managers at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant have reported a new problem. They say a cooling system for a pool of spent nuclear fuel temporarily stopped working. An alarm indicating an electrical problem went off on tuesday morning. The cooling system at the number 4 reactor building stopped because of a partial power failure. Managers say workers digging out a nearby road damaged an electrical cable. They switched to an alternative power supply and resumed cooling in the afternoon. Officials at the plants operator, Tokyo Electric Power company, say temperatures in the pool didnt rise significantly. A Hydrogen Explosion damaged the reactor building in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Workers have been removing spent fuel rods from the pool, and transferring them to a storage facility. The power failure forced them to suspend operations, but they were able to resume work in the afternoon. Four crippled reactors. A constant build up of contaminated water. Radioactive leaks. The people in charge of Fukushima Daiichi are struggling to control the plant. How will they stop the leaks . And the pollution in the pacific. Get the latest on the aftermath of the Nuclear Accident with indepth reports, and special features. Nuclear watch, only on newsline. South korean President Park geunhye has marked her first year on the job with a promise. She said shed boost her countrys Economic Growth rate to at least 4 by 2017. Translator the government will push ahead smoothly with a threeyear plan for economic innovation. Well create an era of happiness for everyone in the country. Park plans to nurture startups and reduce regulations, and she aims to boost the employment rate to 70 . A kbs television opinion poll suggests park has an Approval Rating of 63 . Analysts say citizens appreciate her tough stance towards north korean provocations. Still, some South Koreans are frustrated with parks economic policies, including her failure to generate jobs for young people. Some labor unions held an antigovernment rally in the capital. Analysts say park may have made her new economic promise to try to keep up her support rate. During her first year in office, park geunhye has tried to reform public corporations saddled with debt and shes brought about closer ties with china. Relations with japan have only become more tense. But some say her administration is showing signs of a shift. Nhk World Reports from seoul. Reporter park geunhye came in to office hoping her country would enjoy better relations with its neighbors. But relations with japan have only grown worse. And park believes the japanese are to blame. Translator its regrettable that japans words and actions are destroying the environment for potential cooperation. Reporter south korean and japanese officials have taken different positions on territory and history. Then, in december, japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe visited a shrine dedicated to japans war dead. Those at the yak sunni shrine include leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. South korean leaders were outraged. And park made a reference to digging out the wounds of the past. But last week, her foreign minister took a softer line. Translator our government will try to deal with north Koreas Nuclear issue and work for cooperation with japan separately from historical matters. Reporter some South Koreans believe he was responding to comments from u. S. Secretary of state john kerry. Its up to japan, and the republic of korea, to put history behind them and move the relationship forward. Reporter south korean media reacted sharply. Washington and seoul have different views on historical issues. We didnt want to hear those comments. Reporter lawmakers didnt want to hear them, either. They demanded an explanation. We confirmed that washington is taking seriously japans historical per specific. Reporter u. S. President barack obama is scheduled to visit seoul in april. And some experts on policy say he will put park under more pressure. Translator obama will urge park to improve ties with japan. Park isnt in a position to say no to him. But she cant say yes, either, considering domestic politics. Park will be in a tough dilemma. Reporter now diplomats in the u. S. Are watching closely to see whether park will take steps to improve ties with japan before obamas visit. Nhk world, seoul. Japans foreign minister says the lack of a summit between japanese and south korean leaders over the past year is regrettable. Translator at a time like this its vital for the top leaders of the two countries to communicate sincerely and understand each other. I hope the South Koreans will be open to my call for highlevel dialogue. He acknowledged some efforts to create a climate for dialogue. He said government officials, lawmakers, and private citizens, have all held gatherings. Analysts in the United States have voiced concern over relations between south korea, and japan. The analysts belong to the Congressional Research service. They included their views in a report on relations between the United States and japan. It says that u. S. And japanese officials have strengthened the defense cooperation and it adds that japans participation in the Transpacific Partnership free trade talks could enhance their credibility. The report calls japan a significant partner for the United States. But the analysts describe relations between japan and south korea as poor and they say u. S. Officials are growing increasingly concerned. They say tension between the American Allies is hindering policy coordination over two other asian nations, north korea and china. The report discusses a visit by japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe to Yasukuni Shrine in december. It says the visit contributed to the deterioration of ties with south korea. The shrine honors japans war dead. Those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. The report says abe went to the shrine ignoring the advice of u. S. Officials. It says his decision may have breached a degree of trust between washington and tokyo. Defense officials in seoul say a boat from north korea strayed in to south korean waters repeatedly, crossing the countrys maritime border. It eventually turned back after south korean officers issued warnings. A Defense Ministry spokesperson said the vessel crossed the border known as the northern limit line three times between monday evening and early tuesday morning. He said it appears the crew wanted to test the south korean militarys response. The incident occurred as south korean and u. S. Forces engage in annual joint military drills. North korea has been critical of the exercises. But there have been signs of a thaw in relations elsewhere. The two koreas have just held reunions for families separated by the korean war. And south korean officials have offered to help their counterparts in the north fight an outbreak of contagious swine disease. The top ranking u. S. Diplomat for north Korean Affairs wants to restart talks on pyongyangs Nuclear Program. Glenn davies has headed to moscow to ask for the russians help. Well be talking about where we stand in the sixparty process and how best to Work Together to deep north korea focused on what it is it needs to do in order to get back to its obligations and commitments. U. S. Secretary of state john kerry made his own push to restart the process earlier this month during visits to seoul and beijing. American negotiators insist the North Koreans must take concrete steps towards dismabtleing their Nuclear Program first. The sixparty talks have been stalled for more than five years. Ministers for free trade talks in the asia pacific are packing their bags to head home. Yuko fukushima has the latest on this. Weve heard about long and intensive discussions behind closed doors. Youre right, gene. A lot of one and one and Group Discussions were held at the ministerial meetings and even before that meeting in singapore japan and u. S. Were holding working level talks to narrow their differences. But, ministers from 12 countries have ended their latest round of Transpacific Partnership negotiations without a zeal. They said in a joint statement they will continue to discuss the issues. We managed this week to build a consensus on the way forward. However remains to conclude a highquality agreement as directed by our leaders. The fourday free trade talks in singapore failed it lead to a broad agreement on many pressing issues such as the removal of tariffs. The joint statement noted the ministers have made progress on Market Access through extensive bilateral meetings. It added they will continue their efforts to work out what they call an ambitious package across all market areas. But the statement didnt say when the next round of talks will be held, instead only the negotiators will seek a deal as soon as possible. Japan has been trying to reach a broad agreement during the latest negotiations. But japan and the United States have been unable to narrow their differences over the contentious issue of scrapping tariffs on agricultural products. The japanese minister in charge of the tpp stressed that the meetings did make progress for the next stage. But he also mentioned possible hurdles. Translator i think the United States will be in Midterm Election mode later this year. Though i see some political constraints ahead, we should speed up working level negotiations between japan and the u. S. Some japanese government Officials Say an early deal may be difficult. They note the u. S. May toughen its negotiating stance as it heads for the congressional elections. Time to check on the markets now. Europes major indexes are facing selling pressure after recent rallies. Londons ftse is down almost 0. 9 trading at 6,800. In frankfurt the dax is also down 0. 5 trading at 9,664. And in paris, the cac 40 is also down half a percent trading at 4 almost 4,400. Investors are taking profits from recent gains. The main indexes in britain and france posted multiyear highs on monday. Markets in asia finished mixed. Investors bought a wide range of shares in tokyo and the nikkei rose to a level not seen since the end of last month. Meanwhile, chinas shanghai composite fell to a onemonth low on continued concerns about liquidity tightening in the real estate sector. Moving on to currencies, the dollar is moving around the same levels against the yen, as in late asian trading hours. Dollar yen is currently changing hands at 102. 3638. Analysts say the dollar is likely to remain in a narrow range against the yen as traders wait for more key u. S. Economic numbers to be released later this week. Theyre waiting for data such as durable goods orders and revised gdp numbers. Meanwhile the euro yen is now being voted at 140. 7277. Well, this could be a sign of economic recovery in japan. More people are eating out in the country. Sales at restaurant chains rose in january for the Third Straight month. Japan Food Service Association collected data from about 200 restaurant chains. Association officials said overall sales went up 3. 4 last month from a year earlier. Casual dining restaurants showed an increase of 4. 4 . Officials said more people chose high priced dishes contributing to the gain. Sales at fast food restaurants grew 3. 2 . That was the first increase in four months. Officials said year earlier sales had suffered from bad weather. Looking ahead officials said theyre worried about the possible impact of the consumption tax hike in april. Theyre hoping the restaurants will introduce new items so sales will recover after summer. Thats all for now in business. Ill leave you with the latest market figures. The u. S. Defense secretary has proposed shrinking the army to its smallest size since before world war ii. Chuck hagel wants to direct resources to other priorities. We chose further reductions in troop strength and force structure in every military service. Active and reserve. In order to sustain our readiness and technological superiority. Hagel unveiled a budget that calls for reducing the armys 520,000 active duty soldiers by up to 80,000. U. S. Forces will end their combat mission in afghanistan by the end of the year. And hagel said special forces will be revamped to deal with counterterrorism operations, and regional conflicts. He also proposed retiring old bombers and manned Surveillance Aircraft and shifting Financial Resources to unmanned drones and cyber warfare. Members of the u. N. Security council have seen dramatic changes over the last week in the leadership of ukraine. Lawmakers removed president Viktor Yanukovych from office after months of protests. And now theyre trying to launch a Transitional Government. But u. N. Delegates dont agree on how things are being done. Representatives debated the situation in ukraine as part of a session on security across europe. Protesters hit the streets in november after yanukovych backed away from a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with russia. We have consistently advocated a deescalation of violence, constitutional change, a coalition government, and early elections. The Russian Ambassador didnt agree. He said setting up a Transitional Government by force would solidify the change of power and he warned it would divide the ukrainian people. European leaders fear the ukrainian economy could collapse, so theyre preparing a package of Financial Aid. European Union Foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met with acting president owe Alexander Turchinov and other members of the interim government. Ashton told them the eu would offer Financial Aid once a Transitional Government was in place. U. S. Officials are preparing to offer additional help. The United States working with partners around the world stands ready to provide support for ukraine as it takes