welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. the rift is deepening between iran and western nations over the islamic republic's nuclear program. as it conducts massive military drills in the strait of hormuz iran is threatening to block the shipping lane if the west imposes sanctions. nhk world reports from tehran of what's behind the country's hard line stance. >> the strait of hormuz is

located at the mouth of the persian gulf. it's narrow, stretching just over 30 kilometers in width. it serves as main artery for crude oil transports. one-third of the world's oil tankers pass through the strait. iran's navy conducted massive military drills near the strait late last year through early this year. during the period, it test fired new types of missiles. the country plans to carry out another round of exercises in the same area next month involving its elite revolutionary guards. all this is taken to mean iran is threatening to close the strait of hormuz if western nations seek to block crude oil exports from iran. >> translator: it's easier for our navy to close the strait of hormuz than to drink a glass of water. >> reporter: in response, the

u.s. navy's fifth fleet said it would launch a counterattack if freedom of navigation in the strait is threatened. the fleet is in bahrain, across the persian gulf of tehran. last week the u.s. navy deployed two nuclear powered aircraft carriers near the strait in an apparent bid to keep iran in check. iran continues its nuclear development in the face of international pressure. western countries have been gradually tightening their sanctions against iran. they are now trying to sever exports of crude oil from the country. last month the u.s. congress passed legislation aimed at preventing iran from shipping crude oil abroad. the european union also plans to impose an oil embargo against iran in the near future. iran relies on revenue from oil exports. if they plunge, the country will face domestic turmoil.

early this month, the value of iran's rial slumped against other euro currencies. a local newspaper carried out this cartoon. it depict iranians lining up to buy golden dollars, which are more stable than rial. we're here at a bazaar in tehran where recent economic sanctions have greatly affected prices of basic goods leading to consumer frustration and grim prospects for the future. >> translator: this has been caused by the sanctions. >> translator: inflation is squeezing us hard. the price of food, clothes, and everything else is rising. the government is unable to solve this. >> reporter: however, the international pressure is so far failed to stop iran's nuclear program. earlier this month the nation started to operate a nuclear

facility in fordow in the central city of guam. iran apparently took the move to show people in and outside the country that it will continue uranium enrichment. iran is sticking to its hard line stance because of the domestic political situation. a power struggle among conservatives is escalating, forcing the leadership to take a firmer approach towards western nations. >> translator: iran will not give in to economic sanctions being imposed on the country by western nations no matter how tough they are. >> reporter: iran is holding on to its nuclear development despite mounting international pressure. as tensions between the country in the west spiral upward, so do tensions in the strait of

hormuz. mojtaba sanati, nhk world, tehran. china's government plans too tighten the rules for microblogging websites. a government official said on wednesday that a site such as wibo, their version of twitter, spread unfounded rumors and harmful information. the government will make users nationwide register real names and other personal information. the rule is already in force for users in beijing, shanghai and three other cities. china has more than 300 million registered microbloggers. many chinese use the sites to criticize government corruption and the growing wealth gap. the move underscores the government's desire to stem criticism of the country's one party rule. the communist party is expected to undergo a general change at its convention in autumn.

japanese's nuclear agency endorsed the results of safety tests on nuclear two reactors. it is the first time the government has assessed such tests. the nuclear and industrial safety agency met on wednesday to study the results of computer simulated stress tests on reactors at the oe nuclear plant on the sea of japan coast. opponents of nuclear power staged a protest against agencis' decision to bar observers from the meeting. the agency convened the meeting in a different venue. two of the eight agency panel members stayed away saying it is inappropriate to exclude observers. the industry minister said the ministry will post a video of the meeting on the website as soon as possible. they plan to give their final assessment of the final reactors later this month. local governments must improve any resumption of stalled

reactors. the stress tests are not enough to prove a restart. local officials want the government to introduce new safety measures drawing on the lessons of the fukushima daiichi accident. next, we go to patchari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> myanmar's opposition leader aung san suu kyi registered to compete in a parliamentary bielection scheduled for april. aung san suu kyi visited the election committee on wednesday to register her candidacy in the lower house bielection. a total of 48 seats are up for grabs in the upper and lower houses of parliament and in local assemblies. aung san suu kyi is running for a seat in western yangon, home to some of the city's lowest income households. the nobel laureate picked the area herself. after registering, she asked people who had gathered in front of the building for support.

her national lead for democracy party will challenge every one of the 48 seats. the party's candidates are all expected to receive strong support, but perhaps none more than aung san suu kyi. observers say her participation is a crucial part of the government's efforts to demonstrate the progress it's making towards democratization and ultimately to convince the west to lift economic sanctions. asia's two emerging economic powers, china and india, have agreed on a framework designed to prevent their long-standing border dispute from escalating out of control. the two nations have clashed in the past, but they pledged after a meeting in new delhi to work for peace. >> reporter: india's national security adviser ended two days of talks with chinese state

counselor dai bingguo on tuesday. the mountainous frontier was the site of a military conflict between india and china in 1962. high level talks to resolve the issue began in 2003 and have continued regularly since then. for china, better relations with india may help contain the independence movement because the government being exiled is based on indian soil. for both countries, reducing political friction is a common goal, seen as a way to expand trade and strengthening economic growth in asia's two most populous nations.

fumio sugaya, nhk world, new delhi. southeast asian nations are stepping up their maritime defense amid simmering territorial disputes with china. vietnam reached a milestone this week by launching its first domestically produced war ship. the vietnamese navy took ownership of the combat vessel on monday. state media proudly gave details of its state of the art artillery and missile systems with an operation range of about 4,600 kilometers. the vessel was built by a military run company. authorities say the ship will be used to patrol the country's territorial waters. vietnam follows the philippines which also has an ongoing dispute with china. the philippines acquired a large secondhand warship last summer from the united states. and next, to thailand where

last year's massive floods ruined factories and cut global supply chains. ceos from some of the affected companies have been gathering here in bangkok this week to share strategies for getting back to business. but as nhk world reports they face some tough decisions. >> reporter: companies with factories in thailand are gathering right now. they are discussing future business strategy. 300 business leaders gathered at the forum in bangkok on tuesday. among them was affected companies including western digital. >> the impact of the thai floods reducing output by over 30%. >> reporter: western digital's

global share of the market has been around 30%. but the floods affected 60% of the company's global output. some parts of the factory have resumed production. but western digital's reduced output is putting the squeeze on global hard disk supplies. john coyne visits thailand from the u.s. head office to oversee reconstruction. he says the floods were a huge lesson on the risk of having too much production in one place. >> there is a risk to that concentration. i think we will see a -- an

evolution in the supply chain footprint where we will make that more resilient as we go forward and spread some of the activities more widely and duplicate more activities. >> even after the floods, coyne says thailand will be an important center of production. he says thai workers are highly skill skilled and are cost competitive. >> bringing that entire infrastructure back to preflood capability will take through the middle of this year. and likely it will be the september quarter before everything is running at full preflood capacity. we'll continue to contribute to thailand and thailand will contribute to us. and together we'll satisfy and delight customers and get the

opportunity to continue to grow. >> flood hit companies are faced with a choice. recommit to thailand and its efficient workforce, or diversify to lower the risk of another disaster. nhk world, bangkok. that will wrap up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. a japanese company's fielding a lot of calls about its life saving plane. the u.s. 2 is an amphibious aircraft used for rescue operations but only in japan. that could soon change. the government is relaxing the stance on the export of defense-related equipment, creating opportunity. nhk world jun mastumoto

explains. >> reporter: this man is working on a plan to turn his company's most famous invention into a viable export. >> translator: this airplane has the technical sophistication only japan can produce. >> reporter: they created the u.s. 2, it is the world's only amphibious aircraft that can take off and land in rough waters. it is unarmed. the u.s. 2's engines and wings create air flow with the plane and the surface of the water. that enables it to descend stably and at low speeds. it can even land when waves are three meters high.

the search and rescue amphibious aircraft has been playing an essential role in emergency operations in the outer sea. it has saved more than 900 lives since 1976. but members of the maritime self-defense force are the only ones who can use the u.s. 2, japan's strict ban on arms exports prevents them from selling this aircraft overseas. like helmets and bulletproof vests, it is considered combat equipment. >> translator: this is simply a rescue aircraft that doesn't have a weapon at all. if we can't export this, nothing can be exported. on japan's defense policy for t his opinion. >> this is not used for attacking vessels or airplanes.

it is used as a search and rescue vehicle. i think if it is carefully examined, there is no outstanding reason why it shouldn't be treated very flexibly and positively. >> reporter: that seems to be happening now. tough economic times have forced the government to change its stance. this type of equipment can now be exported once it is converted for private use. they're working with the japan aerospace exploration agency to turn u.s. 2 into a fire-fighting aircraft. the project is getting attention. a member of the eu chamber of commerce in japan tells nhk the french government is interested in the modified u.s. 2 as a way to deal with major wildfires.

former french fire fighting commander michelle resa took part in a simulation to show how the modified u.s. 2 would work. the new amphibious aircraft would be able to scoop up 15 tons of water in 20 seconds. that's three times the capacity of a rival model. >> very nice aircraft. i like flight control and power. france will have to choose a new aircraft. amphibian is a good solution. >> reporter: he says he's received inquiries from about 50 nations. >> translator: we're enjoying the tailwind. it will be the first time for japan's aviation industry to export civilian converted defense equipment. we are determined to make this happen.

>> reporter: until then, this unique aircraft will stay in japan and continue to be used as a way to save people who are at sea and in danger. nhk world, tokyo. ross mihara is up next with sumo. at the new year's sumo tournament, the door has been opened for baruto to win his first championship. let's see how the top rikishi fared on the first day. kotooshu faced kakuryu. kakuryu shows you why he has a winning record. he's able to slip in an inside grip and he uses that to launch

a pretty underarm throw. for the second straight day, kakuryu scores an impressive victory. he's very much looking like he'll become an ozeki sometime in 2012. baruto's 10-0 record matches his longest undefeated streak ever. he's looking to go one better against one of his nemesis, harumafuji. head to head, harumafuji is on top with a 10-10 record, but he is now the sole leader in the race and he wants to keep it that way. he comes out quickly with this fierce pushing attack that puts harumafuji flat on his back. the pushdown and he's all alone still in first place. the yokozuna is in the unaccustomed position of not being the leader. his opponent is kisenosato, who has done a solid job in his ozeki debut. they've split the last six matches. kisenosato gets off to a nice

start, but hakuho refuses to lose on back-to-back days. he grabs the arm, using that to raise the ozeki's center of gravity. then he really gets pushy and hakuho is all by himself in second place. here's the picture at the top after 11 days. on day 12, baruto will meet kisenosato while hakuho faces harumafuji. it promises to be another exciting day of sumo. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th.

we have two segments offering two unique perspectives from the fallout of the nuclear and tsunami. nuclear watch brings you insight and information of the impact on the fukushima daiichi crisis and the road ahead examines the efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." rachel ferguson is up next with weather. welcome back. we're starting to see wet weather spreading across much of eastern asia now. back here in china, we'll see showers getting a little bit heavier as they head down toward the south. and also spreading out towards the east. as we look further towards the philippines, here in the tropics, that very strong northeast monsoon has in recent days started to subside a little bit, which is certainly very good news. so though you see showers here, it is mostly going to be fairly

light and scattered. we're also seeing some quite exciting rain coming into japan, it has been a long while since we have seen any rain along the pacific edge of the country. i can tell you certainly tokyo hasn't had rain since the 16th, i think, of december. well over a month. that rain is going to be coming in friday night and into saturday and you can see plenty of rain extending across the southern half of the country. there will be a few snowflakes up in the mountains, but just a few. it will be also a little bit windy along the western coast, nothing too much to worry about. temperatures are going to be falling to the south. minus 25 as we head into thursday in ulan batur, way below average, beijing around the freezing mark for the high and other areas across northern china certainly going to be feeling that chill. tokyo, ten degrees. we're a little warmer across taipei and hong kong than we were on tuesday and wednesday. okay, i want to take you to north america. first of all, we'll start with just what is happening here in the east.

still a few thunderstorms to come across the southeast. they're not going to be too, too heavy but you'll be feeling that along the southeastern coast and into florida. also another little low moving across the great lakes, in behind that round of snow will be some pretty frigid air. temperatures coming down in the upper midwest, but let's focus on our big weathermaker right here in the pacific northwest. this one is going to be causing a few problems for quite a few of you. here in -- you can see the pink just clinging to the coast here of oregon, down to northern parts of california. that is going to be bringing, well, enough rain to cause some flash flooding, maybe 200 millimeters in some places in the next 24 hours. along with the flooding rain, gusts up to 145 kilometers an hour. that's hurricane force winds. and it will be picking up those waves even up to about ten meters. so that's the coastal problem. and then we have all of the snow that is going to be piling up, maybe another 30 centimeters in the upper elevations but lower lying areas, densely populated

metropolitan areas like seattle, like portland, oregon, you are going to be seeing some significant snowfall. temperatures dropping here across the north as well. minus 4 for you in vancouver. minus 1 in seattle. minus 23 in winnipeg. that's about 10 degrees below your average for this time of year. denver, 10 degrees. the midwest, also feeling that chill. minus 4 in chicago. down to about minus 9, i think, for your thursday. so do be prepared for that big drop in the temperatures. into europe we go, nothing too much to worry about towards the east now. a few snow showers, a lingering system here over northern turkey over the black sea, that's still bringing some mountain snow. however, if we just turn around here towards the northwest, you can see we have got this massive walloping system getting ready, sending fronts down across scandinavia. up here is going to be snow. across the british isles and on towards the continent, it is

mostly going to be rain, accompanied by some warmer temperatures as well. let's check out the figures. 9 in london. 12 in paris. but then it just starts to fall away as we head out towards the east. minus 7 in moscow. here is your extended forecast now.

that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour.

i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching. bye-bye.