boycotting iran. japan agrees to cooperate with u.s. sanctions while trying to avoid the economic repercussions. u.s. leaders are asking for japan's help in trying to stop exports of iranian oil. their boycott penalizes foreign financial institutions that deal with iran's central bank. the japanese government will look into how to cooperate with

its ally, but government leaders want to avoid any adverse impact to the economy. they say international cooperation is necessary to stop at the ran's nuclear program. japan gets about 10% of its crude oil from iran. authorities believe it is possible to secure oil from other exporters. still, government leaders say it could cause oil prices to surge and place a heavy burden on japanese corporations and households. they plan to study ways to reduce oil imports from iran, and request the u.s. allow exceptions for japan under certain conditions. members of the european union are divided when to impose an oil embargo. they, too, want to avoid negative impacts. they are trying to ban imports of crude oil and pet row chemical products to toughen economic sanctions against iran. they hope to reach an agreement in a meeting of foreign

ministers on january 23rd. eu sources say britain and france are requesting immediate start to the embargo. greece, italy and spain want a moratorium. they rely heavily on iranian crude oil and they're worried about hurting their own economies. the sources say eu nations are trying to reach an agreement to impose the embargo on petro chemical products in three months, and crude oil in six months. iranian naval commanders threaten to close the strait of hormuz if the emboring oh goes into effect. the narrow passage at the entrance to the gulf is a major sea lane for oil tankers transporting crude from the middle east. they warned the u.s. aircraft carriers to stay out of the area. iran announced last friday, the

islamic revolutionary guards will conduct an exercise next month in the strait of hormuz and persian gulf. u.s. naval commanders warned any interference with freedom of navigation will not be tolerated. they threaten military action if iran tries to block the strait. the united states will station two carriers in waters near the gulf to prepare for any cop continue genessee. british defense secretary phillip hammond said they will send destroyers to make sure the shipping lanes remain open. japanese government official held talks and expressed eagerness for them to cooperate in myanmar's development complex.

>> translator: japan plans to help stabilize your country's economy and improve the standard of living. >> he explained japan is ready to help revamp myanmar's electrical and water systems in tandem with movement toward democritization. she commented the issue of ethnic minorities should be taken into account when developing the local economy. investors in europe cheered the latest debt auctions from italy and spain. ai has more. good morning. >> new debt from italy and spain showed good command in european markets thursday. yields of italian and spanish government bonds fell, following the successful auctions that is, which went smoothly in both countries. spain sold twice its original target. the yield for italy's ten year bond fell to around 6.5%.

this was from about 7%, which is a level that makes it difficult for the nation to rebuild its public finances on its own. the yield of spain's ten year bond dropped to about 5.1%. sources say commercial banks bought the government bonds as ample funds from three year loans provided by the european central bank last month are being put to effective use. however, concerns over the european debt crisis remain. some investors expect the credit ratings for each eurozone nation may be downgraded. uncertainty remain in whether expansion in the european bailout fund will be enough to curb market jitters. the european union warns hungry about penalties for failing to cut the budget deficit. they are stepping up pressure over00 gary's laws. a rift between the eu and

hungary could cost a shift in financial aid. they are shifting policy making authority to the government. end of last month they passed legislation that will remove power from central bank to appoint the deputy governor. the european commission expressed concerns that the country's move will violate eu laws, which uphold the independence of essential bank from its government. >> so we will use all our powers to make sure that hungary come plies with the rules of the european union, and i am confident that we will achieve that. >> eu policy makers are to decide what actions it will take by tuesday next week. u.s. stocks ended slightly higher following favorable bond auctions in italy and spain. for more on how stocks are trading in japan, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. there are positive developments in the market for the tokyo open, but still some uncertainty

about the u.s. economic outlook. >> a bit of a reversal, with markets fearful over developments in the eurozone. then on the other hand, we had economic data such as the weekly jobless claims and retail sales out of the u.s. just yesterday which came out a touch weaker than analysts expected. but let's look at how the markets here are reacting with the nikkei and topix this friday morning in tokyo. you can see a bit of a positive reaction. both indexes trading higher. nikkei so far i have to say is down for the year. first couple weeks of trading in 2012, largely weighed down by the stronger yen, which has held up into 2012 because of the unpredictability of developments in the eurozone economy. still, because of the positive opening that we have here and the euro backing off a little bit because of the auctions that you mention, we might get a bit

of a reprieve for exporters today. so we'll keep track of that. speaking of the euro, let's look at some of the currency levels here, crosses there. you can see the dollar yen and euro yen. look at the euro yen, tells you more what i am talking about, 98.37-43. this time yesterday, it was around 97 region. you can tell the euro is a little stronger this friday morning in tokyo stock trading hours. ai? >> ramin, we also have key earnings coming out in the banking sector. what can we expect there? >> definitely a big focus there. jp morgan chase is the big focus. a lot of market analysts want to see how banks are dealing with all of the regulatory changes we saw in 2011 and the restrictions on investment banking, and also some of the exposure to eurozone debt issues, and if any of them are going to make any profits. but judging by how banking stocks here and in the u.s. have traded so far in 2012, it looks

to be a little bit slightly more of a positive picture. we'll see, of course. with the earnings and other economic data, i will have more updates when we come back here monday morning. for now, back to you. >> all right. ramin, thanks for that. that was ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. the tokyo stock exchange is likely to continue listing scandal hit optical equipment maker olympus. designated in the alert category, which requires improvements to internal oversight. official decision is planned for january 20th at the tsc board of governors meeting. the tse has been investigating possible violations of criteria for listing, because they hid massive investments losses for many years. investigators found the company was not running a capital deficit, and only a handful of top executives were involved in the coverup. therefore, necessary criteria were not breached.

however, tse plans to did he say ig anyways olympus in the alert category. it will require them to submit an annual report that explains improvements to internal oversight. they could be delisted after three years if the exchange finds internal oversight has not improved. time to recap the latest market figures. that's the latest in business. back to katherine. >> thanks very much, ai.

voters in taiwan have two main choices in saturday's presidential election. ma ying-jeou is running, and tsai wen hopes to regain control after four years out of office. >> the opposition dpp is afraid this success could cost them votes. nhk world's raja pradhan has the story. >> um, this is delicious. the soup i'm having has milk fish, a local delicacy. people in taiwan enjoy milk fish, but as living standards get better, shoppers buy more expensive fish. demand for milk fish has hit the ceiling. rho cha-cha lives in the southern part of the island. no other place in taiwan produces as much milk fish.

rho says last year the amount shipped to other locations increased by nearly 20%. >> things have gotten a little better compared to two years ago. >> reporter: over the years farmers and fishermen in southern taiwan have generally supported the progressive democratic party, but before the last election, voters in the region complained about the administration. they showed their discontent by voting in a candidate for the nationalist party, after ma became president, taiwan signed a basic free trade packet with china. the country agreed to cut import barriers to certain products like milk fish. last year the island shipped 50% more fish to china than in 2010. ma's party took credit. rho took note of how ma improved ties with xhin and helped

increase sales. now the fish farmer is thinking about voting for ma. candidate who will help better our standard of living. >> wand phones voters from the offices of the opposition democratic progressive party. every day she contacts as many as 100 people, asking them to vote for tsai, the party's local candidate. and she's going all out to make sure that registered dpp voters do not switch to the nationalist party. >> translator: this final week will be close. we have to hustle to raise the number of votes if we are to win. we need as much as possible.

>> reporter: more than 10,000 people have gathered for the dpp rally here, and just now tsaiwen has arrived. the place is full of energy. >> reporter: as the campaign draws to a close, tsai has addressed large rallies five times. she warns voters that by depending on china, ma could weaken taiwan's autonomy. >> we're losing or dignity as taiwanese people. a new administration will create a new taiwan, a new economy, a new society, and a new policy. >> we need an overwhelming victory. it has the power to change taiwan. i want to see the votes close the gap created by voters in taipei.

the free trade pact with beijing has led taiwan to importing more than milk fish to china. shipments of pineapples, grouper and other products have increased. as a result, some farmers and workers in southern taiwan's fishing industry enjoy a higher standard of living. overall, taiwanese are confident that they will sell even more products in china. prospects for makers of machine tools and automobile parts look bright, now that the chinese have cut tariffs for those goods. observers say ma's camp is trying to expand its support by baiting voters on the benefits of china money. if tsai's party is to win, it must shore up strept in areas that supported it. depending too heavily on china is risky. she insists that taiwan maintain and nurture close relations with

the united states, japan and other countries, but the majority want ties with china to remain at the current strength, and she's warning people they risk losing autonomous to china. this is raja pradhan. nhk world, taipai. members of an independent panel in japan spent more than a year trying to figure out what went wrong before and after the accident at fukushima daiichi. they released an interim report, heaping blame on the government and tokyo electric power company. we examine the document on nuclear watch. the report faults authorities for failing to predict the tsunami, for the emergency procedures they followed, and for the way they communicated.

>> translator: i'm instructing residents who live within ten kilometers of fukushima daiichi to evacuate. >> the report says the government issued unclear evacuation orders. residents didn't know where to go or what to do. many of those residents faced a dilemma in the days after march 11th, whether to stay or to go. here's one man's story. >> mass ahiro is the vice principal of a high school in nomei. his classrooms within ten kilometers of fukushima daiichi. yamazaki and other residents left their homes on march 12th after the government expanded the evacuation zone to include their town. many headed for a school 28 kilometers from the plant. >> i heard announcements telling us to evacuate immediately. i was trying to flee, but i didn't know what was happening. >> reporter: that afternoon a

hydrogen explosion ripped through the reactor number 1 building at fukushima daiichi. it prompted the government to expand the evacuation zone to 20 kilometers. yamazaki was in charge of the shelter located inside the school he had moved to, but he couldn't get information from state or local governments. he and many others worried about their safety. the government started using a system to forecast how the fallout would likely spread. the system predicted that radiation was moving toward yamazaki and other residents. but the government didn't share its predictions with the public, and the interim report says the government didn't even plan on using the system when it arranged its evacuation. yamazaki and 1,200 others stayed in the shelter for about four days. >> translator: i keep thinking i

would have evacuated further away from the plant if i had had the relevant information. >> the interim report points out what the government should have done to tackle the accident. earlier we spoke with nhka hiroshi yolk ohka what. >> the report says it needs to be ready for any accident. be ready to clearly communicate with residents. my reading of the report suggests authorities did not understand the kinds of risks. they weren't prepared, because they stuck to the yesterday of absolute safety. they carried out the same evacuation drill over and over again. they weren't ready for the scenario they faced on march 11th. the panel also mentioned the government needs to keep the international community better

informed. members plan to interview the lawmakers who were in prime minister kahn's cabinet at the time of the accident. they are trying to find out how and why some decisions were made. the panel will also investigate the history of nuclear power in japan and japanese social structure that contributed to the accident. the final report is expected by the summer. >> an independent panel of experts submitted its final report on thursday. they found problems with components traced back to manufacturers. the safety organization admitted they failed to notice mistakes in a manufacturer's manual used to approve fuel rods and reactors. the panel report questions the independence of the safety organization.

it notes the organization should not be influenced by firefighters. the report recommends they make their own manuals and keep records of meetings with manufacturers. >> translator: inspection standards should be independent. examiners and examinees should not collaborate. >> the organization says it plans to create a timeline for reviewing its screening procedures. "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. insight and information on the fukushima daiichi crisis and "the road ahead" examination the efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." some parts of northern japan

are seeing snowy conditions. tokyo is hovering just above freezing. let's go to the weather here and elsewhere. welcome to your weather update. let's look at what's happening across southeast asia. a stationary front is delivering downpours and strong winds to much of the peninsula in southern thailand, we've been having about 180 millimeters of rain in the past 24 hours. unfortunately, more rain is forecast into the weekend. so we are concerned about the risks of flooding as well as land slides here. on shore flow is bringing moisture to vietnam. rain will develop into the weekend. the inland area may see snow. but it's a different story for much of the northern half of china and the korean peninsula.

a high pressure system is settling over, and that is creating dry conditions. across japan, the western side is still dealing with snow, conditions will likely become intense as we head into tomorrow. temperature wise, returning to normal level in tokyo, 10 degrees and 2 degrees in seoul. across the south, getting up to 32 in manila, and 31 in bangkok. now, moving on to the americas, a couple systems are still bringing winter storm conditions to much of the eastern portions. we are talking about a huge amount of snow and gusty winds. new england and the great lakes region will see the heaviest snow, about 25 centimeters are possible, as those systems push onto the east, things will get clearer in the mid-atlantic and the mid western areas in the next 24 hours.

until then, heavy rain and heavy rain, snow, as well as gusty winds will continue. that could lead to dangerous driving conditions as well as low visibilities. across the west, a low pressure system is moving into the b.c. area, bringing heavy rain, snow, as well as strong winds to this area. but other than that, a high pressure system is building in, creating dry conditions, extreme dry conditions are continuing in los angeles. we are expecting 24 degrees in l.a. for friday's highs, but other than that, very cold air is coming in southward, so very cold temperatures, minus 7 degrees in chicago, and 7 in new york, dipping into the single digits in atlanta with 6 degrees, temperatures will drop even more as we head into the weekend. heading over to europe, a powerful low pressure system has been bringing snow and strong

winds to finland, the baltic states and western russia. the same kind of situation will likely continue into saturday. the associated front is lying over continental europe. as the front passes through, you'll see isolated heavy rain, snow, thunderstorms, as well as strong winds. the situation will impact the northern balkan peninsula by friday afternoon, but it's a different story for the british isles, france and the eye beerian peninsula. a high pressure system is bringing dry and sunny conditions. we are expecting 10 degrees in madrid, 8 in paris, still warmer than average in moscow, with 2 degrees and the same goes for kiev. that's it for me now. here's your extent the forecast.

our lead story this hour, u.s. leaders are asking for japan's help trying to stop exports of iranian oil. the boycott penalizes foreign institutions that deal with iran's central bank. the japanese government will look into how to work with allies. they want to avoid any adverse impact to the economy. they say international cooperation is necessary to stop tehran's nuclear program. today, we get 10% of oil from iran. authorities believe it is possible to secure oil from other exporters. still, government leaders say the ban could cause oil prices to surge in the short term and place a heavy burden on japanese corporations and households. they plan to study ways to reduce oil imports from iran, and request the u.s. allow exceptions for japan under certain conditions.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we will have more updates at the we will have more updates at the top of next hour. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com