japan time for the 3/11 disaster. 9:40 p.m. for the 9/11 attacks. >> tokyo electric power company has discovered five active faults near the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. tepco made the discovery after the government requested agencies to re-examine faults around nuclear plants. the directive followed a strong earthquake on april 11th from a fault that was thought to be inactive some 50 kilometers away from fukushima daiichi. geological formations were observed for the first time at five faults suggesting they are active. the utility says it will continue drilling to investigate the faults though it believes any tremors would be within the plant's quake resistance capacity. besides tepco, two nuclear agencies have reported nine potentially active faults near their nuclear facilities in neighboring prefecture. the company responsible for the world's worst nuclear accident, tepco, and the worst in more than two decades, has a new plan to help people affected. tokyo electric power company's compensation package will co

. >>> yoshihiko noda has signed up to take on one of the toughest jobs in japan. a job that has a high turnover rate. the finance minister is now the new leader of the country's ruling democratic party, and that means he is certain to become japan's next prime minister, its sixth in just five years. >> translator: as a result of the runoff election, we elected yoshihiko noda as our new party leader. >> the dpj held its leadership election on monday. five candidates ran for the top post after prime minister naoto kan resigned. none got the majority in the first round of voting. so there was a runoff between the two frontrunners, noda and economy minister banri kaieda. most of the lawmakers who voted for the three other candidates in the first round picked noda in the runoff. of the 395 ballots up for grabs, noda got 215. kaieda, 177. >> translator: let's all persevere and work hard for the good of the people so we can achieve political stability. >> japan's diet will vote on tuesday to decide whether the 54-year-old noda should become prime minister. it's basically

he said japan must reduce its reliance on nuclear power. >> translator: japan is a great, proud country, but we do have a lot of nuclear reactors, nuclear plants, in the land, and that is what we have experienced this time, and that is the incident in which i felt the powerlessness as a prime minister because we were not able to prevent losing many lives at the time of the earthquake and how to contain that aggravation of that nuclear accident that i was full of here every day, to be honest. as the nuclear disaster once started to expand and the large size of the evacuation, as well as theong term of the damage through the local community and how to grapple with that, that the possible distraction of the nation is my conclusion is to create a society that is less dependent on the nuclear energy. >> the outgoing prime minister also urged japan's political parties to work together to help boost the country's lagging economy and tackle its steep debt. >> translator: the social security and tax system, the sustainability of social security is very important and this is something that any go

nadeshiko japan. won praise around the world for her two goals and four assists in the tournament. >>. >> translator: nice to meet you. i see as a goal keeper you keep yourself in good shape. and as for you, actually you're smaller than i thought. >> translator: everybody says so. >> reporter: both players belong to the local soccer club yunogo belle. they are the leaders mentally and strategically. it was created years ago by the private sector and the municipal sector. but miama is the only on a provisional contract. the others have to give up work so they can devote their full attention to the sport. fukumoto is employed as a staff member of the athletic association. she takes care of various projects including publishing news letters for the yunogo belle fan club. we visited the club's marketing department. the only person we found there was the executive manager. why are you by yourself? >> translator: we're pinched financially. i wish we could hire more people. >> reporter: three years ago the c

he said japan must reduce its reliance on nuclear power. >> translator: japan is a great, proud country, but we do have a lot of nuclear reactors, nuclear plants, in the land, and that is what we have experienced this time, and that is the incident in which i felt the powerlessness as a prime minister because we were not able to prevent losing many lives at the time of the earthquake and how to contain that aggravation of that nuclear accident that i was full of here every day, to be honest. as the nuclear disaster once started to expand and the large size of the evacuation, as well as the long term of the damage through the local community and how to grapple with that, that the possible distraction of the nation is my conclusion is to create a society that is less dependent on the nuclear energy. >> the outgoing prime minister also urged japan's political parties to work together to help boost the country's lag economy and tackle its deep debt. >> translator: the social security and tax system, the sustainability of social security is very important and this is something that any gover

meanwhile for japan, lots of humid air coming in from the sea of japan. that could certainly trigger sharp showers along the west coast of the country. but otherwise, looking at fair amounts of sunshine. to the south of japan, we are seeing a bit of development in the rain clouds here. it is a tropical depression. in fact, soon to become a tropical storm by the end of the night. but at this point, it doesn't look like it's going to be having a huge impact on pan. it may bring some high waves in the days to come. temperatures will stay hot across much of japan today. tokyo rising to 35 degrees. elsewhere looking at temperatures in the mid 30s. again, especially for the contour areas, you could really be experiencing that intense heat and humidity today. 35 in fukushima, and 36 degrees in nageosa. over towards the americas, widespread rain continues to impact the northeastern corner of the continent re. lots of showers in place. severe thunderstorms possible in southern quebec as well. and this low pressure system generally on a weakening track. but it is m

nadeshiko japan. won praise around the world for her two goals and four assists in the tournament. >>. >> translator: nice to meet you. i see as a goal keeper you keep yourself in good shape. and as for you, actually you're smaller than i thought. >> translator: everybody says so. >> reporter: both players belong to the local soccer club yunogo belle. they are the leaders mentally and strategically. it was created years ago by the private sector and the municipal sector. but miama is the only on a provisional contract. the others have to give up work so they can devote their full attention to the sport. fukumoto is employed as a staff member of the athletic association. she takes care of various projects including publishing news letters for the yunogo belle fan club. we visited the club's marketing department. the only person we found there was the executive manager. why are you by yourself? >> translator: we're pinched financially. i wish we could hire more people. >> reporter: three years ago the c

but japan's current account remains in a big surplus. so which means even with such a very big government deficit, the net domestic savings remains positive. in other words, the government deficit is easily financed in japan domestically. so under those situations, analysts of the domestic investors care much about the risk of holding jgbs -- little influence. so that's the very big difference between japan and the u.s. but if japan's current account falls into deficit, then the situation would be very much different. >> that was masaaki kanno. >>> japan will set up a $100 billion fund to help businesses buy up foreign firms and natural resources as the yen continues to hover at near record highs. >> translator: we'll establish an emergency fund with up to $100 billion to help the private sector exchange the yen to foreign currencies. woel do that with the help of the japan bank for international cooperation. the fund will allow businesses to acquire foreign firms and secure natural resources. it will also assist smaller firms in boostin

so far the relation between japan and india have not been as strong as japan to china. but japan-india share basic values like democracy, rule of law, market economy, and the freedom of speech. in addition, in cultural towns the nation have buddhism. despite many differences, japan and india are connected deeply. so it may be interesting to see whether they'll be able to lead a new age as key players in asia's economic growth. >> thanks for your insights. >>> next we go to our bureau in bangkok. >>> the thai parliament has convened for the first time since last month. the younger sister of former prime minister shinuwat. there was a policy to mark the new sechgs. >> excited about the starting the work. >> yingluck has agreed to form a coalition to control 60% of seats in the lower house. parliament is expected to choose a new prime minister this week. yingluck's party won the election on july 3rd by a landslide securing 265 out of 500 seats. it marks the return to power of a pro party for the first time in two and a half years. >>> a controversial refugee swap deal betw

meanwhile for japan, lots of humid air coming in from the sea of japan. that could certainly trigger sharp showers along the west coast of the country. but otherwise, looking at fair amounts of sunshine. to the south of japan, we are seeing a bit of development in the rain clouds here. it is a tropical depression. in fact, soon to become a tropical storm by the end of the night. but at this point, it doesn't look like it's going to be having a huge impact on japan. it may bring some high waves in the days to come. temperatures will stay hot across much of japan today. tokyo rising to 35 degrees. elsewhere looking at temperatures in the mid 30s. again, especially for the contour areas, you could really be experiencing that intense heat and humidity today. 35 in fukushima, and 36 degrees in nageosa. over towards the americas, widespread rain continues to impact the northeastern corner of the continent here. lots of showers in place. severe thunderstorms possible in southern quebec as well. and this low pressure system generally on a weakening track. but it

japan this afternoon. of course, we have this very large storm system working its way across the pacific as well, slowly approaching mainland japan, typhoon talis. packing winds 120 kilometers per hour, gusts higher than that. right now really impacting the islands of ogasawara, with torrential rains and rough sea conditions and also starting to bring in high waves along the pacific side of japan as well. set to make landfall in mainland japan, somewhere in central and western areas on friday and after that we'll continue to move in a northerly direction. now, meanwhile, looking at scattering of showers for the northeastern china, that's going to be pulling away. another round of rain, though, expected to move into the region on wednesday and thursday. now, let's focus on this other storm system affecting southeastern china just now. the center of the storm over the taiwan straits. it is packing winds of 83 kilometers per hour. and really impacting taiwan and southeastern china right now with very strong w

is he the man who can unify japan, japan politics? >> reporter: i think, you know, certainly noda is the trusted hand. he is reaching out to the opposition parties, and for all intents and purposes, we're off to a good start here. there is some stability. the question is, what do you want to do? just raising taxes for reconstruction is not going to be good enough. t opposition will oppose that. the key for the prime minister, what are the growth policies that will be promoted? >> have we seen any sort of preview of those policies? because i thought he was the finance minister. >> reporter: exactly right. i mean, right now he is very conservative. comes across as very conservative. really, first and foremost focused on fiscal consolidation. can you make the switch? can he surround himself with a new advisory team? he's going have to create a cabinet that actually unifies the democratic party. there certainly are good ideas for pro-growth initiatives, whether agriculture reform, whether it is the dpt, the freed trade agreement that amer

dipping rain to southern japan. now the bulk of that intense showers that are heading in towards central and northern areas. that's where we'll see wetter weather today throughout the day. especially for the tokyo area morning hours we're going to see heavier showers develop. over towards china to central sections in particular will be looking pretty wet. and in the shanghai area, the heavier showers will linger into the morning hours before tapering. then behind it a new wet area develops towards the chongqing area. we'll look at more heavier showers to develop into the afternoon. down towards the south. the philippines then into the indochina peninsula. 31 is the high in manila today. on the other hand we're looking at only 24 in tokyo. it is going to be another mild and cool day. it will be looking warmer on tuesday. over towards the americas, right at the corner of the screen here we've got this cluster of clouds. this will be the tropical storm system heading in towards puerto rico know. tropical storm irene is

japan was fourth exporting goods worth $767 billion. jetro said it expects world trade to slow down from the latter half of 2011 to the first half of 2012. they cite growing concerns over the global economic outlook caused by uncertainties in the u.s. economy and european union financial problems. >>> activists have staged a rally in new york city to call for the shutdown of an aging nuclear power plant nearby. about 300 demonstrators gathered in manhattan on thursday, five months after the march 11th quake and tsunami in northeastern japan. participants urged people not to forget the ongoing crisis at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. they offered a silent prayer to the victims of the quake and tsunami. the decades-old indian point nuclear power plant is located about 40 kilometers from manhattan. >> anyone tells you that what happened at fukushima cannot happen here in new york, they are wrong. >> it's really time for the world as a globe to come together and to move towards a sustainable energy future. >>> five months have p

it will hit konsai overnight friday and steadily move over land of japan towards northern japan and in towards hokkaido. it is a very slow moving system as of now, but as its makes landfall, it will then pick up its speed. so by monday next week, looks like the eye of this typhoon will be way off from japan. but this one is bringing lots of strong winds and picking up those waves. this is high waves forecast for thursday. we're looking at seven meters in izu islands, six meters in much of the pacific coast of japan. these are very dangerous waves. it may sometimes even pick up double of what we are predicting, so maybe up to 12 meters in some areas here. we already have reports of a few people dead from these -- this storm related. so please do stay away from those coastal sides if possible. 24 hour rainfall forecasts is as follows. tokai 300 millimeters in a span of 24 hours. kanto reej up to 150 millimeters. heavy rain to come with this typhoon. not just talas, the hokkaido and northern region of japan is looking -- going to be looking at very unstable weather due to this low pressur

in japan to stem the rise of the yen. we did see that popping over 80 yen after the intervention from having been trading around the lower 77 yen levels. that was backed off a little bit from those weaker yen levels and we're going to see how that affects exporters today. yesterday the blue chip exporters did get a bit of a boost following that intervention mood. following from the reaction in the europe and the u.s., it looks as if the market reaction didn't take on board that much what the central banks and monetary authorities in japan were doing as we saw those losses in the european and u.s. markets as well. however, on a positive note in japan yesterday,he intention of mitsubishi and electronics giant hi tach chi, it was welcomed by the markets. we saw a boost in shares yesterday as both companies tried to regain a bigger share of the global power generation and infrastructure markets. m mitsubishi and hitachi competing to get some market share in the renewable energy sector, which is highly competitive. for now the

so far, the relation between japan/india have not been as strong as those between japan/china. but japan/india share basic values like democracy, rule of law, market economy and the freedom of speech. in addition, in cultural times, the nation have -- in buddhism. despite many difference, japan/india are connected individually but deeply so it may be interesting to see whether they'll be able to lead a new age in asia's economic growth. >> thanks for your insights. >>> the european union says it will take further measures against several high-profile civilians or rather syrians to reinforce sanctions against the government of president bashar al assad. the eu announced on monday it would impose travel bans on five syrians and freeze their assets. they include high-level government and military officials. the latest additions will bring the total number of those subject to sanctions to 35. president assad was added to the list in may. syrian forces crushed anti-government demonstrations in the central sea of hama on sunday shortly before the start of the holy month of ramadan. a

the area is about 13,000 kilometers away from japan. pictures from march 16th show 125 square kilometers of new icebergs floating at sea. nasa says the waves that reached antarctica were only 30 centimeters high at most but they likely affected the ice shelf because they hit many times. >>> "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 cries, and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> china is testing out the latest piece of hardware in its growing military apparatus. its newly refurbished aircraft carrier has left on a trial voyage. the former soviet union built the varyag and china bought it from ukraine 13 years ago. china's state-run xinhua news agency says the navy carrier left the northeastern port of dailan on wednesday. it

much of japan will see that very unstable weather continuing. i want to point out these two systems, both tropical depressions. this one is not causing too many problems at the moment. may in the future so we'll keep a close eye on it. down east of the philippines is another tropical depression which brings heavy downpours. indochina seeing scatters thunderstorms. this rain will head towards south eastern china. good news because it's been dry and hot and will bring down the temperatures. when it's dry and hot, it can result in flash flooding. that will be a concern the next 24 hours. chongqing 31. it's been 40 for quite a while. 31 in tokyo. we head now into north america. check on what's happening with irene, which is the hurricane that has formed now. we've been looking at it. it was affecting puerto rico as a tropical storm. it's now a hurricane. looks like it will be heading towards hispanola and starting to affect the dominican republic. winds at 120 with gusts that will see significantly stronger than that. looks like it will just head up

plenty of sunshine in japan. today just a couple of showers to watch out for in the west in the afternoon. but that should be about it. to the south we do have a tropical depression that could possibly become a tropical storm. but it doesn't look like it's going to be make -- effecting any lands masses. meanwhile, significant rain developing in eastern china. that starts to move into the korean peninsula as well. during the day we could potentially see up to 100 millimeters around shanghai and over the next couple days as well. you can see that rain spreading across the korean peninsula looking at the threat for landslides as well as flooding rains. here we could see more than 200 millimeters. inland china will stay mostly dry for western sections dealing with heat here. 39 degrees in chongqing. 33 in shanghai. tokyo rising to 34 degrees. indeed much of japan will be contending with that high heat and humidity once again. many areas reaching the mid-30s. 35 in fukushima. now as for the americas, storms continue t

the japan national tourism organization says that estimated 562,000 foreign travelers came to japan in july. that's down 36% from the same time last year. a major tour bus operator in tokyo says it had 70% fewer foreign clients in july compared to 2010. one of japan's most famous hot spring resorts is also seeing a drop in business. all foreign visits were cancelled here. one travel agency in beijing says its tours to japan are down by half. some 1.4 million chinese visited this country in 2010. they took advantage of the relaxation of the visa requirements. but this year people are concerned. >> translator: i'm a bit worried about radioactive contamination. >> the japan national tourism organization says it will conduct a foreign media campaign to reassure travelers that japan tourist sites are safe. our japanese affiliated travel agent in beijing is planning to invite media to visit tohoku. almost 30 companies have applied to go. >> translator: i want chinese media to see how people in tohoku live and understand it's a safe place to visit. >>> when the march earthquake and tsunami st

japan time for the 3/11 disaster. 9:40 p.m. for the 9/11 attacks. >>> japan's mandatory power saving for heavy users will come to an end in september, earlier than scheduled. the government announced on tuesday that it will lift the ban as the peak summer heat is over. a legally mandated 15% cut was put in place from july 1st due to expected power shortages after the march disaster in eastern japan. the curve covered factories and other heavy power users in the regions including tokyo. electricity for these areas is supplied by tokyo electric power company and tohoku electric power company. the cuts were originally due to last until september 22nd for areas covered by tokyo electric and september 9th for areas covered by tohoku electric company. the government now says power saving will come to an end on september 9 and september 2 and devastated areas. >> translator: the supply demand situation has been improving, and we are hearing from consumers, particularly in the disaster-stricken tohoku region, that they want the mandato

but he said japan hopes to hold talks with the u.n. on deploying officers to command peacekeeping operations. following the meeting ban reiterated his hope that japan will consider sending troops to the african country. >>> up next, the extended world weather forecast. >>> and that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye. ♪ >>> a strange looking vehicle zips through the mongolian desert. it's a three-wheeled wheelchair made by combining a bicycle and wheelchair. it's a creation of 26-year-old amarbat. disease paralyzed his legs when he was small. amarbat's wheelchair can go anywhere, no matter how bumpy the road is. his wheelchairs are now giving help to other disabled mongolians. today we bring you the story of amarbat and his three wheelchairs. 240 kilometers southeast of ulan bator, the capital is choir village, where 10,000 people live in the middle of the vast gobi desert. the average temperature in winter is 25 degrees ce

let's start in japan. the nikkei there, it overcame a lackluster start, obviously before the intervention. after the intervention the market turned positive, not convincingly, less than 0.25%. exporters getting the lion's share of the buying today as the currency weakened. that certainly helps to reign in the appreciation of the currency. if you look at the other markets as well, the shanghai, up just a fraction. up about 0.25%. hong kong, the hang seng is down 0.5%. financial stocks among the biggest decliners of the day. rio tinto, one of the big mining companies in the world, bringing out its first half results. and a little weaker than expected, actually. $7.6 billion, that's a net figure, after-tax figure. doesn't look too bad. less than analysts community had been expecting. the ceo, coming out with a couple of key warnings. one on rising interest rates in its key developing markets like china and also some real issues about the euro debt crisis and also the debt problems in the u.s. which he says co

but he said japan hopes to hold talks with japan on deploying officers to sudan to help with peace keeping operations. ban hoped japan will consider sending troops to the african country. >>> in china, bicycles used to be the main mode of transportation. today the country is the world's biggest auto market. thanks to heavy government investment, the country's inland cities are industrializing and increasing numbers of people are driving cars. the trend is causing big problems, though, like traffic jams and air pollution. in an attempt to reduce car use, the city is encouraging citizens to get back on their bikes. >> reporter: wuhan, is home to 10 million people. with a booming economy pushing up incomes, the number of cars clogging the streets is growing by over 10,000 a month. the city is building subways and bridges to try and satisfy demand, but wuhan's traffic jams have become legendary. air pollution has become quite serious. to help save the environment, one solution seems simple. a return to the bicycle. when you walk around the streets of wuhan, you notice people ride thee of bicyc

but he said japan hopes to hold talks with japan on deploying officers to sudan to help with peace keeping operations. ban hoped japan will consider sending troops to the african country. >>> in china, bicycles used to be the main mode of transportation. today the country is the world's biggest auto market. thanks to heavy government investment, the country's inland cities are industrializing and increasing numbers of people are driving cars. the trend is causing big problems, though, like traffic jams and air pollution. in an attempt to reduce car use, the city is encouraging citizens to get back on their bikes. >> reporter: wuhan, is home to 10 million people. with a booming economy pushing up incomes, the number of cars clogging the streets is growing by over 10,000 a month. the city is building subways and bridges to try and satisfy demand, but wuhan's traffic jams have become legendary. air pollution has become quite serious. to help save the environment, one solution seems simple. a return to the bicycle. when you walk around the streets of wuhan, you notice people ride the same type

plenty of sunshine in japan. today just a couple of showers to watch out for in the west in the afternoon. but that should be about it. to the south we do have a tropical depression that could possibly become a tropical storm. but it doesn't look like it's going to be make -- effecting any lands masses. meanwhile, significant rain developing in eastern china. that starts to move into the korean peninsula as well. during the day we could potentially see up to 100 millimeters around shanghai and over the next couple days as well. you can see that rain spreading across the korean peninsula looking at the threat for landslides as well as flooding rains. here we could see more than 200 millimeters. inland china will stay mostly dry for western sections dealing with heat here. 39 degrees in chongqing. 33 in shanghai. tokyo rising to 34 degrees. indeed much of japan will be contending with that high heat and humidity once again. many areas reaching the mid-30s. 35 in fukushima. now as for the americas, storms continue t

in fact, growing it in japan is a money losing proposition. then he heard about a project that aims to make cotton production profitable. it was started by a socks manufacturer in osaka. here's how it works. the project team provides cotton seeds to farmers who grow it in their damaged paddies. after harvesting, a spinning company and a team buys the crop at three times the regular price. apparel makers turn it into clothing and socks. the finished items are sold as reconstruction support products at marked up prices. every week, a cotton expert from the project team visits sato's farm to offer advice. this year is a trial run. if all goes well, cotton will be planted on 1,000 hectares in northeastern japan next year. >> translator: unless you put seeds in the ground, there won't be a harvest. i have to take it one step at a time at a slow pace. it's the only way to get anywhere. >> the cotton project is providing much needed income to struggling farmers. but there is another benefit. experts say after three years of cultivation, salt levels o

he also said japan is grateful for the support after the disaster. biden was impressed by the courage of the japanese people to rebuild after the earthquake and tsunami. he added that the u.s. values the economic and political might of its pacific ally. kan apologized for cancelling a summit meeting with u.s. president barack obama. the summit was originally planned for next month but kan cannot attend because he is expected to resume as prime minister. >>> japan visited with disaster-hit northeastern japan to show support for the country. he arrived in miyagi prefecture on tuesday. it served as a hub for u.s. forces helping to bring relief supplies to the region after the march 11 disaster. >> i'm also here to honor the incredible spirit of the japanese people. the american people are also proud and honored. they're proud to continue doing whatever you would like us to do as you rebuild. >> japan later visited one of the areas hit hardest by the tsunami and offered flowers for the victims. he spoke to a family whose house was swept away and asked ab

we can look at japan and get an idea. there were a couple of articles last week that gave us a picture of it. "the wall street journal" article said the japanese are very patient people, so they will turn their air conditioners up to 82 degrees. the reason this is true is that because since the earthquake most reactors are out. they have been closed for maintenance. so, they have lost about 20% of electricity in japan, about the same amount nuclear power provides to us. it conditioners are 82 degrees. carmakers are operating on weekends to avoid second up electricity in the week. the emperor and empress are wandering around the imperial castle with flashlights and candles. they are expecting electric bills to go up because if they use more renewable power that is higher costs. bloomberg is more graphic, quoting the chairman of a company that has a plant in tennessee making solar panels that the issue of power supply could be the end of manufacturing in japan. an exodus of japanese manufacturers he sees. one myers said you

has a big stake in japan's full recovery. he will be in japan from august 22nd to the 24th after traveling to china and mongolia. in china he is expected to meet chinese vice president for extensive discussions on the economy, human rights, and security in asia. he has cemented his position as the likely successor to hu jing tao. >>> people who have lost their homes after the earthquake and tsunami have dealt with challenges. it has been particularly tough for families of the disabled. many have moved in temporary homes that are not adapted to suit the needs of the handicapped. now some are taking action to try to change how japan helps its most vulnerable citizens in times of crisis. >> reporter: 44-year-old rika's daughter is disabled. the 13-year-old has serious brain damage and needs 24 hour care. including suction to clear her saliva and phlegm. their home is equipped with a width tub. but the tsunami demolished it. it will cost a lot to get the home livable again. >> translator: the water came up to there. the second fl

the japan national tourism organization says that estimated 562,000 foreign travelers came to japan in july. that's down 36% from the same time last year. a major tour bus operator in tokyo says it had 70% fewer foreign clients in july compared to 2010. one of japan's most famous hot spring resorts is also seeing a drop in business. all foreign visits were cancelled here. one travel agency in beijing says its tours to japan are down by half. some 1.4 million chinese visited this country in 2010. they took advantage of the relaxation of the visa requirements. but this year people are concerned. >> translator: i'm a bit worried about radioactive contamination. >> the japan national tourism organization says it will conduct a foreign media campaign to reassure travelers that japan tourist sites are safe. our japanese affiliated travel agent in beijing is planning to invite media to visit tohoku. almost 30 companies have applied to go. >> translator: i want chinese media to see how people in tohoku live and understand it's a safe place to visit. >>> when the march earthquake and tsunami st

japan is involved to reduce disputes with the countries. so the new foreign policy abilities will definitely be put on test. >> and before we let you go, mr. noda has been talking about raising the income tax in order to fund reconstruction efforts. will he be able to address that issue any time soon? >> i don't think so. noda is also in favor of consumption tax hike to finance increasing social security costs. but finding a consistent within the democratic party won't be easy. more than half of the dpj members might come out against the tax hike if their minds turn to the possibility of a general election in the near future. and that's possible. >> thank you for coming in. >>> tokyo electric power company has discovered five active faults near the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. tepco made the discovery after the government requested utilities and nuclear agencies to re-examine faults around nuclear plants. the directive followed a strong earthquake from a fault that was thought to be inactive some 50 kilometers away from fukushi

wanted to pressure japan to pay reparations and to apologize because both of them needed japan as an ally against each other. they needed japan for economic and political reasons and the united states also sought out japan as its ally as well against the forces of communism in asia. >> back in 1937, how many people lived in nanking? >> before the bombings, before some of the evacuations about a million people. >> and what was the relationship between china and japan back then? what was going on in the world and what was their relationship? >> back in 1937? oh, things by that point had been tense. in the summer of 1937, japan h had -- had attacked shanghai. i mean, this -- they had -- war had already broken out. >> but what was the reason? >> well, it goes back a long way, but the japanese had actually for hundreds of years ambitions in china. it's really -- it's not something that -- it was not something that just started in 1937. it was -- there's a long history of animosity here. >> what's the reason? >> reason for -- >> the animosity? >> well, again, you know, i don't know if we h

"nature," japan says, its website was hacked on july 1st. the names and e-mail addresses of about 14,000 of its 190,000 registered website users were stolen. the credit card information of a number of subscribers was also leaked with minor unauthorized purchases made from more than ten other cards. nature japan says it found out about the hacking in early july and reported it to the police. the magazine says it has apologized to its website users and pledged to improve the security of its website. >>> a new type of endo scope that can be moved freely inside the digestive system is gaining attention in medical circles. the self-propelling capsule endoscope developed by japanese researchers will help detect digestive diseases at an early stage. >> reporter: this little machine swimming around in the water is the new self-propelling capsule endoscope. the capsule is equipped with a fin, allowing doctors to control it remotely. the device can screen the did i gue digestive system for up to eight hours. the capsule is 46 millimeters along and 11.

here in japan, of course, a lot of focus on the political front. prime minister naoto kan yesterday saying he'd expect a decision on a successor by the end of this month after some bills have been passed through parliament. markets here as well as abroad have shown concern about that high turnover rate and the next successor would be the sixth prime minister in five years. and that affects a lot of market sentiment as to how policies will be implemented regarding japan's economy. for now the nikkei and top nix the positive. back to you. >> ramin mellegard, thank you very much for that. we'll have more on the moody's downgrade later in the show. >>> china is expanding the use of its currency in settling cross-border trade. it will allow businesses nationwide to celt exposettle ed imports with the yuan. the country's central bank, people's bank of china said permission for yuan-based trade will now apply to businesses across the nation. previously, it included only a limited number of regions. this will allow chinese companies as well as trading firm

japan, too, looking unsettled throughout the country today. the northern end getting into heavy rain. but also in the south as well, lots of hot and humid air coming in from the pacific. that's going to produce torrential downpours here. up to 150 millimeters. could see afternoon thunderstorms break out across western and central portions as well. that's enhanced by daytime heating. again we're going to be dealing with extremely hot conditions across the region. 34 in tokyo today. 36 in fukushima. coming in at 34 degrees in osaka. elsewhere looking at 26 in seoul. 40 degrees in chongqing. 36 in shanghai. now let's get a look at south asia. we're dealing with monsoon rain effecting much of indochina. pockets of heavy showers in around myanmar. we're looking at heavy downpours to occur again. the ground already saturated. risks of flooding, landslides going to be high. as well as northeastern india and bangladesh. now for the americas. starting to see the tropical storm move away from bermuda. also the low pressure up in the northeastern u.s. ad

the exiled former prime minister is going to visit japan next week. thaksin will arrive august 22nd and stay about a week. during his stay he's expected to make a speech in tokyo and travel to areas hit by the march 11th disaster. the thai government asked japan to issue a special visa for thaksin, who is [ inaudible ] of corruption. the request went through. japanese immigration rules prohibit the entry of foreigners who are been given prison terms of more than one year. he has been living in exile since the thai military ousted him in 2006, but this month, his sister yingluck became the first female prime minister. his ins runs in over the new government is drawing attention. his trip is likely to illicit criticism from his opponent. >>> japan marked 66 years since the end of world war ii on monday. ceremonies were held across the country. a government-sponsored event took place in central tokyo to remember the nations 3.1 million war dead. this year about 7,200 people including bereaved families attended the annual ceremony. >> translator: japan wa

japan was recovering from its defeat in world war ii. having the world's top tower standing in the middle of the capital gave the japanese people hopes and dreams for the future. a woman living near the tower still remembers those days. >> midori tajima who runs this photo shop showed us something. >> translator: when i stand at the counter here and look up, i can see it right over there through the gap of the window. i can see it all the time. it's such a narrow gap so it looks -- how can i say -- it's a strange view. >> the shop walls are lined with pictures of the tower as it was being built. the tower glows silver at sunset the moment was beautifully captured just after the tower was painted. this is where the tower is located, this picture is above the tower which is still under construction. these were all shot by tajima's father. he went out every day to take pictures of the tower as the construction progressed. tajima was 10 years old at the time. what did she think of her father who kept taking photos of the tower? >> translator

. >>> nhk poll shows the approval rate for the cabinet of japan's prime minister naoto kan has risen to 18%. the figure is up 2 percentage points from the previous month when the rate marked a low since the democratic party took power two years ago. the cabinet's disapproval rating is 65%, down 3 points. among respondents who said they support the cabinet, 44% said it seems better than any potential ruling block. among those who said they do not support the cabinet, 40% said it lacks the power to carry out policies. asked when kan should step down, 45% said before the end of this month when the current diet's session is to adjourn. 28% said he should resign between september and the end of december while 14% opted for next year or later. >>> finance ministers and central bank governors of the group of seven industrialized nations have released a joint statement on ways to stabilize financial markets. following the move, the japanese central bank is taking action. the statement was released on early monday morning after an emergency phone meeting. it says g-7 members confirm that they

there are relations between japan and russia. the 20 year-old plan bring in multicultural history back to life. nato is sending hundreds of additional troops to close the vote amid rising tensions. hundreds of ethnic serbs who refused to accept the declaration of independence have been maintaining road blockades. >> on alert, the peacekeepers in northern coast of vote. on the ground and watching from above. a major security operation with hundreds more soldiers on the way and this is why. their protests in about a move by the authorities to take control of the border posts. the protests have a lot of support. these demonstrations have already led to a week of violence. a tense situation, the negotiator has called for calm. >> the only way to resolve this is to talk. we're asking to meet someone who will talk to us in order to remove and to explain to the people and influence why this is the best solution. >> tensions are never far from the surface. nato has nearly 6000 troops there, more than 12 years after the war that ended ser

part of our conversations with great minds and talk about the consequences of what was unfolding in japan and the dangers of nuclear energy as we know today five months removed from the quake and tsunami japan is still dealing with a nuclear nightmare that's why tonight we'll revisit my conversation with me show and reexamine the ongoing nuclear scenario on the other side of the planet. for tonight's conversations the great minds i'm joined by a brilliant physicist new york times bestselling author a man who can explain the most complex scientific problems and ways the rest of us can understand not only is he a professor of theoretical physics at the city university of new york he's also the host of the t.v. show so i thought i science physics of the impossible on the science channel as well as the host of two radio programs broadcast on over one hundred forty stations its current work is focused on finishing einstein's project of creating a unified theory to explain how everything works the universe. and he is this the co-founder of something called string field theory which will get int

now it has been a day of very heavy storms across much of japan. this is the front that is responsible for those storms. now the worst of it is over, but into saturday and probably sunday as well we will still see that unstable weather across western japan and along the eastern coast of the pacific side, too, so as we head on into the weekend, there will be a risk of flooding as well as landslides and mudslides. as we head back in towards eastern china and south korea, this rain is going to be a lot lighter, probably not causing too much of a problem. above it, we have high pressure in place, because it's going to be fairly dry across northeastern china as well as mongolia. no change here just where we need the rain it will stay very dry and very hot. i'll show you temperatures in a second. indo china we are going to be seeing more showers and scattered thunderstorms with the southwest monsoon doing its thing. heavier rain in parts of vietnam and laos and that could lead to the potential for flooding over the weekend. let's look at the temperatures

"nature," japan says, its website was hacked on july 1st. the names and e-mail addresses of about 14,000 of its 190,000 registered website users were stolen. the credit card information of a number of subscribers was also leaked with minor unauthorized purchases made from more than ten other cards. nature japan says it found out about the hacking in early july and reported it to the police. the magazine says it has apologized to its website users and pledged to improve the security of its website. >>> a new type of endo scope that can be moved freely inside the digestive system is gaining attention in medical circles. the self-propelling capsule endoscope developed by japanese researchers will help detect digestive diseases at an early stage. >> reporter: this little machine swimming around in the water is the new self-propelling capsule endoscope. the capsule is equipped with a fin, allowing doctors to control it remotely. the device can screen the did i gue digestive system for up to eight hours. the capsule is 46 millimeters along and 11.

and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> tepco predicted three years ago that a 10 meter tsunami could hit its fukushima nuclear plant, but that prediction did not reach the government until just before the disaster on march 11. a spokesperson for the government's nuclear and industrial safety agency told reporters on wednesday that the tokyo electric power company or tepco reported the prediction to the agent on march 7. tepco says it made the estimation in june 2008 when calculating the maximum height of the tsunami in the event of a very powerful earthquake near the plant. tepco originally assumed when it designed the plant that the maximum possible wave height would be 5.7 meters. the agency says that when the company provided the prediction, the agency ordered the company to submit a detailed report as quickly as possible and suggested the need to reform the facilities. >> translator: we failed to predict the scale of the tsunami. we must take this serio

we're talking about japan. it has a huge stake in both china and the u.s., particularly with borrowings. japan is the u.s.'s second biggest creditor. kyung lah is live in tokyo. kyung, has there been any reaction to this deal? >> reporter: we just heard from the finance minister in japan. he's cheering on this deal and is pleased that the deal has been struck. he says, quote, we're expecting that this news will erase anxiety about the future. this is good news. now, the market also cheering it on, though not very loudly. the market closed up at 1.34%. we're also keeping a close eye on the dollar, what the u.s. dollar was doing versus the yen. that his been a very big story here in japan. the weakening u.s. dollar does undercut corporate profits. when they ee repate reyated by the big japanese company, toyotas, nissans, and panason panasonics. so they're losing millions of dollar, in some cases hundreds of millions of dollars as the yen strengthens over the u.s. dollar. the dollar did surge versus the yen but on

two reactors japan set to construct are scheduled to start operating in 2021. vietnam plans to do a total of 14 nuclear reactors by 2030 to meet the growing demand for electricity. >>> new numbers show people in japan are getting more of what they eat from abroad. the country's food self-sufficiency rate in the last year dropped below 40% for the first time in four years. the agricultural ministry says the fiscal year through march fell one percentage point to 39%. the rate is based on the population calorie intake of food produced in japan. this is the second straight year it has decreased. the agricultural ministry says bad weather triggered a drop in domestic production of wheat and potatoes leading to more imports. japan set a goal of increasing the country's food self-sufficiency to 50% by the year 2020. that would help them deal with the possibility of the rising global food prices that could limit imports. the government is using a new implement supplement program to encourage farmers to increase their production of wheat, soybeans and other foods. >>> n

in japan, the strong yen is crippling export related industries. on thursday japan intervened in the foreign exchange markets to stop the yen's rise. but investors continue to view the yen as a safe haven as the situation in the u.s. and europe isn't getting any better. now, there's still not a solution to the greek debt crisis. the contagion is causing concern and has rippled to italy, spain, and other nations. the g 7 talks are taking places monday morning. their goal will be to send a message to the global markets and the g7 nations with committed to working together on this situation. all eyes are on their joint statement. as we wait for the finance ministers of the group of seven nations before markets open in asia, we go over to emily wang at the stock exchange. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we'reabout an hour away better stock markets here in tokyo open. investors here in tokyo will be among the first to react to the latest development. investors are still waiting to see what the g7 leaders have to say. but the key question is how

but in the south of japan, temperatures are starting to rise. so you do want to take care against heatstroke. now over towards the caribbean islands, we're still talking about a lot of tropical activity here as well. we've got clouds gathering here. this will be tropical storm emily. not too well organized so far. that is good but still packing winds up to 85 kilometers per hour. and now approaching hispaniola, likely making landfall here later wednesday, then for the southeast bahamas by thursday. already warnings have been issued. winds, rain, and high waves are elements to be on the watch for. over the next few days, and then we could see the storm system continue to head up towards the east coast of the united states. so this is a storm system we want to keep a close eye on as we head even into next week. as i said, plenty of showers. we're going to talk about 150 to 250 millimeters possible with this storm system. flooding, landslides big concerns across these islands. now towards europe. a lot of activity starting to gather towards the wes