it is pushed to the lowest point in more than a decade. currency traders spent the weekend wringing their hands and reflecting. the euro suffered a rough week. the u.s. rating agency sent it plunging when it downgraded its credit rating. standard and poors cut eight

other nations, too. they woke up with worries about what might be ahead. what's happening on the markets? >> on the sydney markets it hit a fresh low, 97.17 yen on early trading monday. that level renewed an 11 year low reached late last week in new york on the tokyo foreign exchange, the single currency is trading 97.27-33 yen. market participants say rating cuts didn't come as a surprise and fell within expectations, but they are feeling worries over europe's problems prompting euro sell orders. let's see how stock markets are reacting this monday morning. for that, we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. markets were clearly expecting a move by the ratings agencies and the tokyo market is one of the first to react.

how are things starting there? >> very good morning to you, ai. the key focus for a lot of markets, let's look at some levels again for some of the crosses with the dollar yen and euro yen. the euro yen its the one to watch out for as you mention there in sydney trading, hitting a fresh low. it has backed off a little there. 97.26-32, but look at dollar yen, that's holding pretty steady. that tells you that the euro is the big mover there against the yen. and 76.90 dollar yen to 93, holding level to where we were last week. the downgrade of france and austria, aaa came after the u.s. markets closed. let's turn to nikkei and topix and see how the stock markets are opening up here. you can see there the reaction for tokyo stocks is pretty

negative. nikkei down over 100 points in the first few minutes of trading. we see how the weaker euro effects key japanese companies with further exposure to europe, for instance, office equipment maker canon. some other areas we are going to focus on, we had november machinery orders that came out before the bell here, and that showed it was up 14.8% on the month, and that's the first gain in three months. so economic data out for japan just before the bell, ai? >> ramin, we will be covering the euro down grades. what other things are we watching this week? >> important data from china tuesday. gdp numbers, a lot of japanese companies heavily invested in china. the auto sector, construction machinery sector, the tech sector and retail sector, so they're keen to see if growth in china will continue or if it is going to fall back a touch. let's not forget heavy earnings

season in the u.s. in full swing. jp morgan chase friday showing a drop in profits, this week, goldman, sachs and citigroup, and microsoft, google, intel. a lot for investors to take in. down over 100 points on the nikkei this morning, and the u.s. off for a public holiday. back to you. >> thanks for the heads up there. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. i will have more business news in a few minutes, for now, back to the main news with catherine. >> thanks very much, ai. officials in fukushima say they detected high levels of radiation in a newly completed residential building. they say materials used in construcay have been contaminated with radioactive cesium from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the three-story apartment building in nihonmatsu city was completed last july. 12 of the units currently are being rented. the city found that levels of radioactivity on the first floor

were up to 1.24 microsieverts per hour, well above background radiation levels. radiation levels on the second and third floors were much lower. >> translator: i'm shocked. i don't feel safe living here. >> translator: it's better to move out, but honestly, i feel so lost. >> translator: i am shocked. i don't feel safe living here. >> the discovery came after the city's regular checkups found that children living there had been exposed to more radiation than other children over a three-month period. the officials say that the gravel used on the first floor came from a stone crushing site in namie town in the no entry zone near the crippled plant. authorities will confirm the cause of the contamination and check if gravel from the same site has been used elsewhere. japan's industry ministry says it didn't foresee such high levels of radiation in shale.

it admits it has set no radiation standards for gravel shipments from areas affected by the accident at fukushima. the ministry says the high levels of contamination were unexpected because the stones were not extracted just from the surface of the mountain. the quarry reportedly shipped gravel to about 20 construction and concrete firms between late march and late april, around the time the town of namie was designated as an evacuation zone. professor hideo yamazaki of kinki university, who specializes in radioactive materials, says the lack of crisis management is to blame for the latest development. >> translator: cases like this wouldn't have happened if the government inspected the materials earlier. the government should set

standards as soon as possible. >> the industry ministry says it will make inquiries to other quarries in the prefecture to find out where their gravel was shipped. crews in northeastern japan have been working almost nonstop over the past ten months removing rubble, repairing buildings and putting up new structures. but the march 11th earthquake and tsunami didn't just wreck infrastructure. it put countless cultural assets at risk. saving these national treasures is proving to be a difficult job as we look in this week's "the road ahead." nhk world's kazuhiro takahashi reports. >> reporter: daidu sanpei, the curator in fukushima prefecture tomioka is in the no entry zone which was created after the nuclear crisis. the town government has a

makeshift office in another municipality outside the zone. sanpei has been trying to raise awareness about the body of cultural assets for many years. the problem is that no one knows for sure the extent of the damage. municipal authorities haven't even been able to service some of the items. sanpei conducted the survey last november to gauge the situation. people around the museum are now discussing how to move the cultural treasures out of the building. a water leak has caused mold on the ceiling. the excess moisture is making the situation worse for

preserving the artifacts. sanpei noticed broken fragments of ancient ware that are about 5,000 years old. the temperature has not been working because of a power outage. ancient documents and other valuable assets have been damaged. they will have to be removed immediately. sanpei and his survey team couldn't stay long enough to move them, due to high radiation levels in the area. >> translator: cultural assets represent our regional history. they should be passed on to future generations and preserved to serve as a bond for the community. >> translator: meanwhile another

town has managed to pick up their cultural assets but is facing difficulty. >> translator: you can see the tsunami damage here. >> reporter: the tsunami devastated the cultural center in ishinomaki, miyagi prefecture. the center was home to over 100,000 regional artifacts. the items were recovered, but now the challenge is organizing them. sadly the tsunami left the cultural center employees missing. it also washed away the catalogues. a fresh endeavor is now under way to put the items in order. thanks to a local printing factory, about 3,000 cultural assets from the ishinomaki center are being stored there. work is also in progress to

catalogue them. >> translator: we're making a new catalogue. the new data will help curators in their research and restoration work. >> reporter: the ishinomaki government plans to collect the items that are being kept at various locations across the country and put them on display again. >> translator: not just a year or two. it will take several years. reconstruction from the disaster won't be completed until the cultural assets have been restored. "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 you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." japan is seeking saudi arabia's cooperation to ensure a stable supply of crude oil as sanctions on iranian oil exports loom. parliamentary vice industry minister met saudi arabia's deputy oil minister in the saudi arabian capitol sunday. they say that saudi arabia is a reliable supplier. he responded assuring his country will remain a dependable supplier to japan. the visit follows that of japanese foreign minister

earlier this month. iran threatens to block the strait of hormuz, a major oil shipping lane if the u.s. and european nations impose sanctions against the country over nuclear development. iranian leaders cautioned gulf neighbors, too. they warn other oil producing nations will suffer consequences if there's any move to replace production. the representative to opec gave the warning in a local newspaper interview. he was quoted saying the acts will not be considered friendly. the japanese foreign minister and the chinese premier are visiting oil producing nations in the gulf to secure oil imports. iranian leaders are wary of increased production by saudi arabia and other nations. increasing supply could help japan and other oil importers that is support the sanctions.

the saudi arabian oil minister says his country is ready to raise output to meet demand. he denied it is linked to sanctions against iran. this is the global business calendar for the week. first, tuesday vgs china's national bureau of statistics will announce the gross domestic product for 2011. in 2010, china's economy grew more than 10% from the previous year, becoming the world's second largest economy. on the same day, the japanese government will release monthly economic report for january, and amidst the debt crisis, the european central bank will announce the harmonized index of consumer prices for december. that's a gauge for average consumer prices in the region. wednesday, brazil central bank will decide a key interest rate, and finally thursday housing starts will be out. they are one of the key indicators that show whether the u.s. economy is recovering.

time for a recap of the latest market figures. >> that's the latest from me, katherine. back to you. russia's air and space defense forces say a failed mars explorer fell into the pacific ocean at around 17:45 utc on sunday off the coast of chile. russia launched the probe from the baikonur cosmodrome in kazhakstan last november, but

the spacecraft failed to leave earth's orbit. russia space officials say the phobos-grunt probe crashed into the ocean 1,250 kilometers from the chilean island of wellington. russia's space agency had warned the debris could hit the ground in pieces but it had difficulty forecasting where the explorer would actually fall. the agency at one time said the phobos-grunt would fall into the indian or atlantic oceans. divers are trying to find survivors inside a capsized cruiseship. the 115,000 ton "costa concordia" carrying 4,200 passengers and crew members ran aground and keeled over near tuscany on friday. discovery of bodies of two men sun followed rescue of three survivors from the wrecked ship. local authorities continue

rescue operation for 15 people still unaccounted for. the captain of the vessel told a local tv station on saturday that maritime charts showed deep waters and no rocks near the island where the ship ran aground. prosecutors then detained him. investigators continue to question him as they try to figure out what happened. a south korean oil tanker exploded off the western coast of the country, killing five crew members and leaving six missing. the 4,000-ton doora number 3 was 25 kilometers off incheon port when the explosion occurred on sunday morning. the ship was heavily damaged and has begun to sink. 16 crew members from south korea and myanmar were on board at the time of the blast. the ship was on its way back to the south korean port of chungcheongnamdo after unloading 6,500 tons of gasoline at incheon port. it's unlikely the vessel will leak oil, as its tanks are almost empty.

yonhab news agency quoted the captain, who survived, as saying the explosion may have been caused by static electricity. a charge may have ignited gasoline vapors from an on-board tank where 11 crew members were working before the blast. the south korean coast guard says it will continue to search for the missing, with help from the navy. it also says it will investigate the cause of the accident. now look at the latest in sumo with murray johnson. we have reached day eight of the new year grand sumo tournament and the encouraging aspect is we have three ozekis seriously in challenge for the emperor's cup. something we haven't seen for a year and a half. action time. baruto is having his best basho since may 2010. kitataiki has yet to beat the

ozeki in four previous bouts. they lock up and baruto quickly feels his way into a strong outside grip, pulls a textbook overarm throw, a training exercise for baruto today. kisenosato has reinvigorated the sumo world with his promotion to ozeki. okinoumi is winless against the tournament and the ozeki. kisenosato moves inside with his favorite left-hand grip. okenoumi has a left inside but prefers a right-hand grip. as they jostle back and forth the ozeki asserts his power, and drops okinoumi with a pulling underarm throw. one off the pace and in the title race is kisenosato. kotooshu was dealt his first loss yesterday. toyonoshima has beaten one ozeki so far in this basho. thrusting and pushing, the initial battle. kotooshu gets sideways but he recovers with a strong inside grip and ts toyonoshima to

the doyo. it's not pure but fast work from the tall ozeki. hakuho is in a place he knows so well, undefeated. takayasu meets with the yokozuna for the first time, an honor in the world of sumo. takayasu starts with his trademark thrust and hakuho has a scrapper on his hands. the yokozuna slaps down the rank and filer in the longest battle of the tourney. in front of a full house, hakuho remains perfect. >> after the eighth day, time to look at that leaderboard. hakuho and baruto share the lead undefeated. fellow ozeki kotooshu and kisenosato trail with one loss each. >> on day nine, kotooshu and kisenosato look to have the toughest opponents, while hakuho and baruto would surprise if they lost. hiro morita will bring you an update on day nine. >> all right, murray johnson

with the latest in sumo. next we show you an unusual celebration for newly married couples in a snowy region on the sea of japan coast. three couples took part in the annual event in tokomachi city on sunday. the tradition is believed to have begun about 300 years ago when men threw a groom from outside the town in retaliation for marrying a woman from their community. the men rolled down the slope to their wives, who wiped the snow off their partners. one of the grooms said the celebration ended very quickly, but he enjoyed it. >> translator: i want to create a happy family. >> translator: i felt this event finally made us a real married couple. my husband looked cool when he was thrown into the snow.

>> the men say they hope it's the last time they're thrown out. looks a little cold there. it hasn't rained in tokyo for a while. let a's go to saki ochi for the global weather forecast. >> welcome back to your weather update. now getting a look at conditions across east asia, for japan, we are looking at this line of clouds here, covering much of the country, and we will be talking about gray skies for a lot of the areas today, but it does stay largely dry. there is this frontal system to the south over open water and looks like for the most part, precipitation will remain largely off land. it's just sections of southern japan, mainly along the pacific coastline and then the southern islands in the ogasawara area, too, will be picking up rain. otherwise tokyo it will be another dry day.

as for the korean peninsula, some light showers this morning along the southern tip that will be very light in amounts and for china, largely dry picture for you as well. this morning we're looking at showers along the coastline but it's really pulling away very quickly. further to the south, areas like the philippines and then the eastern end of the indo china peninsula, too, will be looking at showers as well as scattered thunderstorms. highs on monday looking like this, 6 degrees expected in tokyo, slightly below average and on the cool side, no sunshine expected today. 5 meanwhile expected in seoul, getting up to 2 in beijing and 9 degrees in shanghai. as we look towards the americas, we will be talking about a much more wintry picture coming in off the western end of the country. a couple of lows here in the pacific northwest, that's starting to pull in very cold air from the arctic, and so we will be looking at more snowfall

really developing especially for coastal areas for washington state as well as oregon. in the southern rockies, too, much more wintry picture looking set to develop tonight with ample amounts of snow expected in the upper elevations, while out east, too, in the next 24 hours we see the precipitation area really develop over the midwest. that starts turning over into rain as well as icy rain, some snowy conditions, too, are going to be possible. as for canada, central areas and then on into the east, snow will spread over the course of tonight as well as into monday. highs on monday, too, will look on the cool side especially up north, 2 only in new york and the same also for toronto. winnipeg remains at minus 13 degrees during the day and then 2 in vancouver, 3 degrees for seattle as well in both cities can expect some snowflakes to fall. as for europe, we're looking at a high pressure area that dominates right the central sections of continental europe so showers, a lot of precipitation will remain on the outskirts.

for eastern sections of europe it will be falling in the form of snowfall, looking at a little bit more heavier stuff coming in to poland from the scandinavian peninsula and across the mediterranean, scattered showers widely especially for the iberian peninsula where we'll likely see heavier rainfall portions of spain, looking at more modern amounts to fall. the british isles stay largely dry, london's high expected to get up to 5 degrees, 6 expected in paris and a little bit cooler towards the east, minus 2 in warsaw, minus 3 for moscow and also the same in kiev. all right, so that's a look at your weather conditions for now and here is your three-day outlook.

the euro is staggering. markets are reacting to down grades of nine euro nations. let's bring back ai. >> in australia on the sydney foreign exchange, the euro briefly hit a fresh low at 97.17

yen in early trading monday. that was a level that renewed roughly an 11 year low reached late last week in new york. on the tokyo foreign exchange, the single european currency is # 7.26-28 yen. markets participants say rating cuts didn't come as a surprise, and fell largely within expectations, but down grades feel worries over europe's credit problems prompting euro sell orders. i'll leave you with the latest in the markets.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. do stay with us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com