residents look back and forward. 17 years after a devastating earthquake. people in kobe have been working to rebuild since the great earthquake.

residents are marking the 17th anniversary. this year, they're sharing the experience with people effected by the disaster last march in northeastern japan. people that lost family and friends gathered at the park. they placed candles for the date of the disaster. the participants observed a moment of silence at 5:46 a.m., the exact time the earthquake struck. this year, the organizers invited people from northeastern japan. rebuilding in kobe's most damaged region was completed last year. most businesses have recovered, but some are still struggling. more than one-third of the city's current population has never experienced a major earthquake. so older residents are passing on what they learned from the

disaster to younger generations. >> translator: the date has come around again. it's been 17 years. it seems so short. and at the same time, so long. >> translator: i saw my mother die in front of me. i've never forgotten that. >> participants will also observe a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., the time when the quake hit northeastern japan last march. nonprofit organizations moved into kobe shortly after the disaster. some of them are still at it, trying to help survivors get back what they lost. we have more from kobe. >> reporter: this man and his wife left their hometown after

the great hanshin earthquake. they are still living here in another prefecture. the earthquake destroyed their home. the couple applied to move to temporary housing unit, but again and again, failed to draw a winning lot. a municipal government official advised the couple to move out to a municipality accepting quake survivors. they decided to move, planning to stay there temporarily. >> translator: i kept getting disappointed. i came home depressed once again after failing to win in the lottery. a government official suggested moving out of there, staying there temporarily, and coming

back. >> public housing built for survivors opened two years after the disaster, but most of the survivors that moved out did not even receive application forms. the government was unaware of disaster survivors who moved to other prefectures. the couple hasn't found a new home and they don't have new friends. she suffered a stroke and has diabetes. she can no longer work on her own. they have used up their savings and they are afraid they will never be able to return to their hometown. >> translator: i wanted to go home. i wanted to go home. it's tormenting that i can't go back there. i've endured being confined in box-life living conditions in a place that is foreign to me.

>> a nonprofit organization in osaka has been supporting people like them. she and others in the organization have been responding to survivors' inquiries, but wish they could do more. the organization's newsletter prints comments from survivors that moved out of there. one voice after another express grief and suffering of the survivors. >> translator: i have no idea what's happening in my hometown. i want someone to talk to. i want friends. i want peers. >> translator: i knew what i should have done for them, but i couldn't. if i could have done so, the survivors who moved out wouldn't

have to cry so much and feel so sad. that's the thing i regret most. >> she and her colleagues are determined things will be different this time. they will not let the kind of tragedy that occurred after the hanshin earthquake be repeated after last march's disaster. they are working to locate people that fled the region and are trying to build a network linking them together. >> translator: it will be great if survivors can feel they aren't alone, and if we can get their voices to be heard by the governments of stricken regions and other institutions. >> for survivors still unable to return to their home towns, full recovery is elusive.

olympus set to file suit against five former in-house auditors. investigators say the optical equipment maker covered investment losses of more than 100 billion yen. they transferred losses to overseas funds, then hid them through corporate acquisitions. now lawyers for olympus want to sue five former auditors for their role in the coverup. this is a breaking story. we'll have the latest developments as they come in. a credit rating agency slashed the rating of yet another pivotal piece of the euro zone, the bailout fund. ai has that story. good morning. >> europe's way out of the debt crisis took a bleak turn monday with u.s. ratings agency standard and poors downgrading the region's bailout fund. the european financial stability facility. s&p 500 is the same agency that cut the ratings of nine eurozone

nations on friday. the rating for the efsf was up a notch from aaa to double a plus. the funds intended to assist eurozone countries that are unable to procure financing by themselves. france and austria are among six countries backing the bonds issued by the bailout fund. s and p stripped the countries of their prized aaa ratings and downgraded seven others, including spain, italy, portugal. one notch rating cuts for france and austria meant lower reliability of efsf debts, prompting the ratings agency to downgrade the fund. the european union blasted s and p's decision to downgrade the nine eurozone countries. >> it is inconsistent on substance and very odd as far as timing is concerned. >> the spokesperson for the european commission also said the eu plans to toughen

regulations on ratings agencies and called for disclosure of the data used to evaluate sovereign debts. the eu is worried down grades will hurt their ability to tackle debt. meanwhile, the euro continues to flounlder. it is at an 11 year low against the yen following downgrade of the european nations and the facility. yen is 97.31. they will shift to bond auction of the countries whose ratings were downgraded. despite the weaker euro and down grades, european markets ended in the positive monday. u.s. markets were closed for public holiday. to see how stocks are opening this tuesday, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. what kind of start are you seeing there? >> good morning to you, ai. a little positive start.

let's have a look at the levels for nikkei and topix. a bit of bargain hunting after the declines of 1% on the nikkei. up 49 points and up 3 points for the topix. nikkei closed at a four week low with the u.s. markets off monday, may see a tight trade ranging day today. nevertheless, following standard and poors downgrade of the eurozone bailout fund known as the efsf, we may see up side capped there. we will see how the day proceeds. also, talking about currencies and the euro, let's have another look at some of the crosses there. the dollar yen and euro yen, euro yen as you mention, 97.31-36, but did trade lower than that. it did hit fresh 11 year lows yesterday. we saw a negative impact on japan's blue chip exporters with

heavy exposure to markets like canon, con i ka, minimum oath a. with the u.s. or a short week, the focus remains on earnings there. and we're going to have key names like microsoft, google, intel, and manufacturing and housing data is due out later this week. investors may stay sidelined ahead of those. also, we have china's gdp numbers, and although we have seen considerable growth, in recent quarters, a slight slow down, may be a little focus there for major japanese companies selling into china's markets. ai? >> ramin, to add to the list of focus points, catherine had a breaking story, olympus back in the spotlight today. what can you tell us about that? >> exactly, as the report came out just before markets opened here, it is likely to sue five former auditors, olympus shares

yesterday were down over 4%. today, we have seen volatile trading in and out of the negative. we will keep track of that today. olympus a major focus for investors in japan. we will follow it up with end of the day market reports, of course. but for now, back to you, ai. >> thanks a lot. ramin mellegard. trading in the positive. time to get a look at other market figures now. >> that's the latest in business. fukushima prefecture pledged

to relocate residents of an apartment block built from contaminated concrete. radioactive cesium was detected in the building. some rooms on the ground floor had readings up to 1.24 microsieverts per hour, higher than atmospheric levels. the gravel for the concrete came from a quarry near the fukushima daiichi plant. the town was designated an evacuation zone in april. 10 of the 12 households are evac ways from other areas. >> translator: i have been living here since last august. i'm concerned about how much radiation i've been exposed to and what i should do. i'm wondering whether i have to move out. >> the prefectural government says they will ask residents

whether they wish to move. they offered to find alternative accommodations in the area. tokyo electric power company has submitted the results of the stress tests on two nuclear reactors along the sea of japan coast. the company says the reactors can withstand an earthquake 1.3 times stronger than they were designed to. tepco gave the nuclear and industrial safety agency the results of tests on number one and number seven reactors at the nuclear power plant. the tests are a precondition for restarting the reactors. tepco claims the reactors could endure a tsunami of up to 15 meters, nearly five times as high than the safety standards set by the company. >> we considered the two reactors. they were not safe enough. we want to explain the results to local residents and authorities. >> translator: we also want to confer with them about how to

proceed. >> reporter: the governor says it's still too early to decide whether to restart the reactors. >> translator: doing stress tests is better than nothing. of course, tepco has to factor in what really happened at fukushima. otherwise, what's the point of having this kind of computer simulation? >> japan's utilities have submitted stress test results for 14 reactors. that's nearly 30% of the reactors that have been shut down for inspections. the u.s. says it will continue to help japan deal with the effects of last year's disaster. the country's ambassador to japan pledged assistance with nuclear issues and rebuilding efforts. ambassador visited the fukushima prefecture with experts from the u.s. atomic energy commission and the u.s. department of energy. it was his first visit to the prefecture since the disaster

last march. he inspected the disabled fukushima plant and visited iwake city where people were living in make-shift houses. >> we'll continue to work with the people in this area in order to contribute in any way we can. >> roos told nhk the visit made him realize the urgent need to help evacuees. japan hopes to conclude an agreement with ukraine to cooperate on nuclear accidents. residents of the former soviet republic are still struggling to recover from the disaster in 1986 in chernobyl. the japanese government would share information about nuclear accidents with ukraine. the severity of the chernobyl accident was ranked seven, the highest level. the effects still pose a serious threat in ukraine.

vast areas remain contaminated with radioactive materials. japanese experts also evaluated the fukushima nuclear accident last march as aid 7. the two sides would share information about health problems and tainted soil from the spread of radioactive substances. they would also have nuclear experts study the impact of the accidents. it would be the first deal of its kind for japan. "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 crisis and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." rescue crews off italy fear an ocean liner that ran aground could slip to deeper waters.

they say he was running an unapproved course. it was carrying 4200 passengers and crew. it hit a sandbar off tuscany friday. six people have been confirmed dead. 16 passengers and crew are missing. rescuers suspended their search monday due to bad weather. the italian company held a news conference monday. it says inspection last year revealed no safety or technical problems. the company added the vessel ran aground, even though the route was preprogrammed to ensure safe sailing. investigators are questioning the captain and analyzing navigation data recovered from the wreckage. now let's look at the latest in super oh.

the second week of the tournament. day night action with a spotless record. let's see if the two leaders were able to avoid any upsets. he enters the second week with a perfect record of eight wins. nashima is looking for a winning streak. hakuho hits with tremendous force, keeps the little man at bay. hoku's record is still perfect after nine days. the up-and-comer lost on the previous day but gave him a run for his money. he succeeded in shutting down the aggressive charge and puts himself in high gear. he has little trouble butting

him away. but he remains unbeaten. one of two men trailing the leaders by one match. he has a nice move to his left and make his opponent lose his balance and he doesn't have enough time to recover and he hands the bulgarian his second defeat. the other man with a one-loss record is newly promoted ozeki and they have met in battle ten times in the past and split the winnings right down the middle. well, there isn't much to comment on here. santo makes easy work by moving him back and out in a hurry. >> now here's a picture at the top after nine days.

hakuho and baruto no losses. they lead the championship race. kisenosato 8 wins, 1 loss. hokahu is perfect up to this point but things will be a lot more difficult for the two leaders from now on. as they will be navigating through the tougher spot of their schedule. make sure to catch all the results here on "newsline." we are hoping for a warmer day after tokyo recorded the lowest daytime temperature of the winter. let's go to saki ochi who has the weather picture for here and elsewhere. welcome back to your weather update and we look at conditions in east asia and for japan today. there has been quite a bit of cloud covering the region this morning but that is on its way out.

we've got this frontal system, too, that has been bringing a little bit of moisture to the southern end of japan but that is also going to be pulling away. we should be looking at sunshine returning to much of the country, especially into the afternoon hours. now, over toward the korean peninsula as well, largely settled and a dry and few scattered showers, although very light with precipitation at most, along the coastline. as for china, eastern sections, too, looking on the dry side but as we head into today and throughout the day and into the evening, rain starts developing. precipitation in inland areas and that will likely intensify over to the next few days so we'll be staying wet here along the northern end of the precipitation area you can expect snowfall to develop as well. for southeast asia, areas like the philippines and the eastern end of the indochina peninsula and over toward cambodia, scattered showers and some thunderstorms for you. tuesday's highs look like this. 10 here and same in shanghai, up

to 5 in seoul. expecting 2 in beijing. tokyo getting up to 8 degrees so that will be slightly warmer than yesterday. as we look toward the americas, the series of storm systems are looking set to just track right across the continent. as we head to midweek we're talking about a lot more wintry weather starting to develop. for the pacific northwest, especially this western end of washington state and all the way down to northern california, areas are looking to pick up quite a bit of snowfall. one area could get ten centimeters and isolated regions could get 30 centimeters or more. and aiming for the eastern end here and we'll be looking at widespread rainy area developing across the eastern half of the united states, especially the gray, region we're looking at snow and then rain and then even

some stormy weather possible for the southeastern corner of the u.s. there's quite a bit of mild air coming in. highs get up to 17 in atlanta. 13 in d.c. 9 in new york. for those cities here you're likely seeing rain rather than snowfall. as for europe, we have this frontal system that extends from finland into northern sections of poland and germany. that will be bring in a mix of rain and snow and then showers, too, continuing to develop in and around the mediterranean region including turkey, too. you want to watch out for scattered showers here. for the british isles, largely dry but on the northern end, areas like northern scotland and ireland, we'll look at more rainfall coming in, especially in the later hours of tuesday. highs across the board on tuesday, expecting 6 in london. also, in paris, it looks quite cold and moscow, highs remain as minus 5 degrees on tuesday. but that's actually going to be just about the seasonal temperature for this time of year. those are your weather conditions for now. here's your three-day outlook.

our lead story this hour. people in kobe have been working to rebuild since the hanshin earthquake. it demolished their city in 1995. more than 6400 people died.

residents are marking the 17th anniversary. this year, they're sharing the experience of people effected by the disaster last march in northeastern japan. people that lost family and friends gathered at a park early in the morning and placed candles to form the numbers one and 17, the date of the disaster. the participants observed a moment of silence at 5:46 a.m., the exact time the earthquake struck. [ digital announcement ] this year they invited people affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern japan last march. rebuilding in kobe's most damaged region was completed last year. businesses have recovered but they are still far from bustling. more than one-third of the city's current population has never experienced a major

earthquake so older residents are passing on the knowledge learned from the disasters to younger generations is now a key task. >> the date has come around again. it's been 17 years. it seems so short. and at the same time, so long. >> translator: i saw my mother die in front of me. i've never forgotten that. >> participants will also observe a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., the exact time of the disaster last march. olympus is set to file suit against five former in-house auditors. investigators say the japanese optical equipment maker covered up investment losses of more than 100 billion yen. executives transferred the logs to overseas funds, then they hid them through corporate acquisitions. now lawyers for olympus want to sue five former auditors for their role in the coverup.

we'll have more details on this developing story at the top of the next hour. do stay with us. catherine kobayashi in tokyo. catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com