italy and greece, nations burdened with much financial reform work move towards forming unity governments. you are watching nhk world "newsline," i'm shery ahn. italy could be deciding on a new prime minister soon. napolitano held a meeting with

the front runner to discuss cabinet members. the cantidate most likely to succeed berlusconi. on the previous day he was named as senator for life by the president and a move widely perceived as paving the way for the nomination. opposition parties are expected to pass a reform bill and facility with the transition of power and the new government. berlusconi promised to resign after the bill is passed. the legislation is expected to be approved by the house of parliament on friday and the lower house during the weekend. a cabinet will be sworn in on friday and the ruling and opposition parties agreed on thursday to name former european vice president as the new prime minister. outgoing prime minister agreed to resign following an unpopular

proposal on whether to accept the bailout package. he said greece faces a serious financial crisis that can only be resolved through cooperation and dialogue. he also indicated his government will accept the eu bailout plan. >> we're hope with a new prime minister we will have a better out come of the economical situation in greece. >> nhk's reporter in athens said the new cabinet needs to maintain a stable government as greece has further deepened the debt crisis. >> european leaders welcomed the national unity government in greece under a new prime minister saying it opens a new chapter for recovery from the crisis. european council president herman and european commission president issued a joint

statement on thursday. that stresses the importance of a new government with the strosz message to european partners and said that the administration must show what tirm commitment to carrying out the reform and debt reduction. they emphasized the fiscal reconstruction to greece saying they may announce the bailout package. japan's financial service agency may investigate the auditing firms by the optical machine making if irregularities are found in the past financial statements. the third party panel is investigating a cover up of huge losses by olympus. based on the results of the probe, olympus plans to correct and submit past financial statements to the agency. if irregularities are found, they plan to investigate the

firm. the firms to be penalized if they are found to have committed violations like intentionally overlooking false iveications. they plan to hold a meeting with the creditor banks on wednesday and explain what it has learned so far with current business results. on thursday the change dizzy nated olympus as a supervisory issue and cautioned investors. they could fail to release an earnings report by december 14th. japanese prime minister is expected to finally announce his decision this afternoon for japan to join talks on the transpacific partnership. they would eliminate trade barriers with the asia pacific region. there has been an intensive debate even among his party members over whether japan should join the free trade pact.

no doubt he was expected to make an document, but he and other leaders agreed to make a decision. circles argued that the tpp will open marks and provide a boost to a manufacturing farmers worry that they would be exposed to cheap alternatives. they claim there hasn't been enough discussion about the free trade. some know that they propose that the government take a cautious approach. the prime minister told the executives he will weigh the opinions, but he said he needs one more day to think about the matter. that is expected to speak to the media on friday. and for the latest in this year -- >> thanks a lot. let's get a check on the markets. overnight they rebounded from the strong sell off that the european central bank is buying italian bonds to stabilize the markets. to see how stocks are kicking off, we go to the tokyo stock

exchange. happy friday to you. what you can tell us? >> good morning to you. lots of trading this week coming to an end today. also the real direction coming from the euro zone countries that has dictated a lot of the market plays and the heads of state of and italy having to step down because of the massive debts that both countries have incurred. let's see how all of that is playing into the opening levels and maybe how the tpp that we just mentioned earlier in the broadcast may also play into the markets. the nikkei up around 49 points. 8,550 and the tp topix around 732. the devastating earthquake and tsunamis hit eight months ago. a lot of earnings reports from blue chip exporters and most of them have said they are

struggling to get back into full steam because of the march 11th disaster. we have seen the stronger yen and flooding in thailand affect many of the companies's bottom lines as well. events in euro and the euro zone have played a bigger role since the march 11th disaster and the nikkei fell over 1,000 points in the week that followed the disaster. it's still 1,000 points higher than where we are right now. that gives you the picture. also if you look at the currency levels, let's bring those up. the yen is also in fact stronger now than it was back then. currently around the 77 level. 77.61-66 and 10561-67 now and that compares to 112 months ago. the stronger yen still having a major effect on japanese corporations. corporate news also may have an effect as earnings reports

trickle in with cisco in the u.s. coming out in the strong earnings and a good outlook. economic data has been thin, but next week they will have a slate of u.s. economic data and over the weekend in hawaii andy we will see if the prime minister can clarify japan's position on the tpp. back to you. >> thanks a lot. that was from the tokyo stock exchange. standard and poor's issued a message about a cut in the debt rating amid growing concerns about the european debt problems. the u.s. rating agency said on thursday that the message was sent out to subscribers due if a technical error. it retracted the message immediately. the company reaffirmed that the reading of french government bonds remained at the highest great of aaa. the incident comes at a time when were attention is on whether friends can retain the cop rating. the selling of the bones surged

immediately following the erroneous announcement. they asked european and french regulators to investigate the causes and consequences of the error. the largest international motor show in the mideast got under way. japanese automakers are taking part, but the floods in thailand are casting a shadow. the caught automakers are displaying 500 latest models at the dubai international motor show. the u.s. and american car makers are attracting the rich with lux we models. they include a car with the hood ornament decorated with more than 2,000 diamonds and a super luxury model priced at $2.3 million. the car makers consider middle eastern countries as emerging markets and are conducting sales campaigns by introducing the

latest models. many car makers with fact fleece thai suffered a hit in production due to the extensive floods. they had to stop operations and for the show, they were forced to get their models from production platforms other than thailand. >> as you know, splice were delayed. >> japanese autos are popular in oil-producing countries in the mideast. makers held a 70% stake share in the market share in the region three years ago. this year the market share is expected to fall to 60% due to the stronger yen and the floods in thailand. let's give you a recap of the latest market figures.

> that's the latest in business. >> the u.s. defense department created an office to integrate air and combat capabilities. they are designed to support security requirements in east asia. the pentagon announced on wednesday he had established the office to implement a concept known as the air-sea battle. the concept is designed to leverage military and technological capabilities in the navy, marine, and air force collaboration and resource investment. the air-sea battle strategy is aimed at addressing the recent deployment of the missiles and saw marines along the borders

that can deny access to aircraft. it represents a new emphasis on china as forces accelerate troop withdrawals after 10-year wars in iraq and afghanistan. japan and taiwan have signed an open skies agreement which will allow airlines to offer more flights. competition could bring lower ticket prices. under the aviation accord, restrictions on the number of carriers between japan and taiwan will be lifted. airlines can offer any number of flights to all japanese destinations except narita airport. the number of flights will be increased at narita and they will add seven flights in early and late hours. from january to september this year, the number of taiwanese visiting japan dropped 27% from the same period last year. mainly due to the earthquake and

tsunami in march. the deal is expected to bring back taiwanese tourists. >> it has been eight months since the march 11th disaster in japan, but there is a long way to go before full-fledged reconstruction can be carried out. police say close to 20,000 people have been confirmed dead or remain missing as of november 10th. 15,770 people are confirmed dead and 3,648 remain missing in the def stated prefectures. reconstruction for the disaster-hit areas have been drawn up by eight local governments and in miyagi. the government's newly established subsidies and funs will shoulder all costs for relocation of residents to higher ground or inland regions. no criterion has been set to assess the value of flooded

land. local residents will need more time to form a consensus on mass relocations and reconstruction projects. >> victims hawho have lost thei husbands write letters that have a wise audience after winning the grand prize in kyoto. nhk world has the story. >> they are singing so loudly, it's sunday, august 21st. i have plenty of things to tell you. things i want you to listen to. there so many things that got me confused. i decided to write you a letter.

>> the winning entry was written by a resident of miyagi prefecture. the letter was addressed to her husband. he has been missing since the disaster. today is the 38th anniversary of our marriage. i'm sure my husband is happy about this prize. the couple ran a liquor shop. it was located in the shopping arcade closed. she watched as her husband was swept away by the tsunami. at the ceremony, an actress readed letter on her behalf.

transtrani tried to reach out and grab your hand, but just then you engulfed by the roaring tsunami, right in front of me you vanished. >> she reopened a business in a makeshift store. the two sons are helping. >> my mother wrote this label. >> for says never give up. she thought her husband would be worriying about the business. so in her letter she told him how hard the family is working. don't worry about the shop, she writes. and there is one more thing she has been yearning to tell him.

that tsunami swept you away in an instant. there was no time to say anything to you. so i want to say thank you. i appreciate the 38 years of being with you. the man who gave me loving support. i'm so thankful. >> my heart was like stone after the disaster struck. there was nothing i could do about it. i didn't think i could write a letter to him. but after i pushed myself to write it, i felt a bit better. >> feelings of deep appreciation, words finally expressed. the letter ends with a wish.

. >> translator: come home. come before the snow arrives. please come back to me. i'll be in our store as usual, waiting for you. i'll be there, waiting for you. forever. >> the waters of fukushima are calm, but only a few months ago it was a different story. the fukushima plant released contaminated water into the sea after the disaster struck in march. some fish called in the area contain radioactive substances kpeding the legal limit. government researchers found the substances in small fish shortly

after the accident. now they are finding the larger fish, the flat fish and the rocks are contaminated too. into nuclear wash, we look at how radioactive contact nation is getting the sea. >> marine physicist runs simulations on how radiation spreads through the ocean. >> winds and water temperature affect how cesium 137 from the plant travels. the substance flowed from the plant for several weeks after the accident. the red area shows high levels of cesium remained in the coast after one month. warm and cold currents converged off the plant and trapped the cesium. contaminated water lingers along the coast. three months later, the cesium disbursed as we see when the red area turns yellow and then blue.

>> translator: the radioactive substance may have a wight effect. >> the professor of tokyo university of marine science and technology. he looked at fish off fukushima. theyate it near the sea floor that are contaminated by radioactive substances. he conducted his survey in the area four months ago. he found low levels of star fish and sand worms. larger fish eat the creatures. the substances rise 10-fold in the fish and exceeds the legal limit of 500 beck rals per kilogram. >> sand worms and serpentent star fish eat organic matter in the mud. radioactive substances are passed on to bigger fish and it takes a long time for that to

help. high levels are still found in the fish. >> the concentration of radioactive substances in star fish last month was only 1/10 of what it was in the first survey. they declosreased only 40%. the contamination is likely to affect marine for sometime to come. >> our reporter explains how long it will take the radiation released from fukushima to spread in the pacific ocean. >> fishery cooperatives in the prefecture decided to postpone the test operations it planned for this month. on the other hand, the concentration of radioactive materials included in the water extracted near the nuclear plant have been high immediately after the accident. as the time passed, most of the colors dissipated offshore and

it is no longer a deductible. a simulation carried out bite institution showed that the seawater contaminated with radioactive substances that spread offshore will reach the dateline 4,000 kilometers to the east by april of next year. at this point radioactive concentration is estimated to be diluted to 3,000 parts of the level they allow to be discharged from the power plants. of the scientists say contaminated water will move north of hawaii three years later and the west coast of the united states five years later. they say seven years later the radioactive contamination will be diluted to a level that will be indistinguishable, but they say it is unlikely that fish with a radiation level over the

japanese permissible level will be caught beyond several hundred kilometers of fukushima. to learn when the impact will continue in the coast of fukushima, we need to measure the levels of soil on the sea bed and organisms fish eat and check the changes. the government needs to conduct a thorough investigation to respond to people's concern over safety of fish and when a fishing operation can be resumed as well as to be accountable to the international community. >> "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan, post march 11th. we hit two segments offering two perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. nuclear watch brings you inside information on the fukushima crisis and the road ahead examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline."

. >> here's now the weather update. . let's get a look at weather conditions across the globe starting with east asia and japan and two hours for the tokyo area. they will continue to see rain as the low moves through. this is not going to be a long lasting event over the course of today, it will be wet and expecting most of the rain to head out and things should look drier before friday it looks like it will be a wet and gray day. behind the korean peninsula, light showers that is also on the way out. over towards china, northern sections may see snow and otherwise a dry picture. the coastline got lingering showers in place, but that shouldn't be lasting too much longer. taiwan will continue to see

showers throughout the day. a look for southeast asia and philippines looking at rain as well. that is even for vietnam. highs on friday look like this. 34 in bangkok and 34 thirty-two in hong kong. cooler towards the north. only 12 degrees in tokyo. it is going to feel definitely much cooler than yesterday. as for the americas, in the atlantic, we have tropical storm shawn with us still that maintains a strength, but barely under hurricane status with winds hitting up to 100 kilometers per hour with gusts much higher. it looks like it is picking up the speed and will race by the northwest and of the bermuda, the islands have storm warnings and you may feel winds as well as rainfall. about 75 millimeters possible in hardest hit areas and the rough

surf to contend with. high waves impacting the islands and the coast of the u.s., we want to watch out for high surf and the dangerous rip currents. now for north america, we have lows moving through the eastern end bringing both cold rain here throughout the region with some heavy falls in new england and the canadian maritimes. it heads out, but looks like the great lakes will see more moisture from central canada again. out west we have more moisture coming through british columbia and washington state as well. we will be talking about the coastal rain as well as upper el immigration and snow. around the showers to impact california across central sections. highs on friday will look at up to 16. during the daytime with sunshine and in the morning hours, below the freezing mark and 9 in chicago and 8 in toronto.

single digits and cool air starting to come into the midwest. finally a look at europe. more activity in the atlantic. a low will be impacting the iberian peninsula and the british aisles. it does stay unsettled here in the earn end of the mediterranean. thundershowers for areas like southern italy as well as greece. the temperatures will be on the cool side. single digits and 2 in kiev and 3 in warsaw. let's get a look at the three-day outlook.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching.