it is monday, february 13th. 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the emperor is having surgery for his heart. it will be his first operation since he had surgery nine years

ago. he is 78 years old. doctors at the university of tokyo hospital examined him to check his coronary arteries and flow of blood to his heart. they found his symptoms were getting worse. the emperor has been receiving medication since last year when part of an artery was found to have narrowed. the imperial household agency told reporters sunday that it had decided to proceed with the heart bypass because his condition deteriorated in the last year. a team of doctors from university of tokyo will perform the surgery. the emperor should be able to leave the hospital about two weeks after the procedure. greek lawmakers approved new austerity legislation necessary for the country to secure a massive bailout from the eu and imf. in response, violent protests are spreading across the capital. greek parliament had a special

session from sunday to monday and approved the bill by majority vote. approval of the belt tightening steps is one of the conditions for the country to receive a $130 billion euro bailout. the austerity program would include cuts to minimum wage. eurozone finance ministers will make a final decision on that bailout package on the 15th of this month. outside parliament, mass demonstrations against new measures have been taking place in various locations around the capital of athens. protesters have thrown molotov cocktails causing a fire at a shopping mall and cinema among other buildings. police fired tear gas at the demonstrators. the people who work at japan's cabinet office released their growth rate from last year. >> japan's economy sled down the first time in two years. overall gross domestic product

for 2011 contracted 0.9%. the cabinet office said the nation's gdp sh rank 2.3% for the october to december period, in real terms, this marks the first contraction in two quarters. this is a decline of 0.6% from the previous quarter. the drop is attributed to weak overseas demand, a strong yen, and disruptions to supply chains from floods in thailand. some economists also noted that delay in post quake reconstruction demand had weighed down on the economy. let's see how the markets are doing after the numbers. on wall street, stocks ended lower friday as investors mulled over greece's debt deal as catherine told us. ramin mellegard is at the stock exchange. how are stocks moving? >> markets are hanging on every bit of news out of greece with the new austerity plan. we saw market reaction already

in the u.s. as you mentioned with the dow ending in the negative. and also some moves in the currency markets. but let's look first at where the nikkei and topix kickoff this monday morning. a little mixed picture there. the nikkei is trading in the positive. the topix, dropping back a touch. as you mention, we also have japan's gdp numbers for october to december last year. as you mentioned, minus 2.3 on an annualized basis. so a little lowering of industrial production, due to flooding in thailand. consumer sentiment and strong yen playing into those numbers. the nikkei, saw it trading above 9,000 a couple times last week, but did see some profit taking into friday, and we may continue to see that, depending how the yen trades following the greece austerity measures. let's look at the currency markets as you can see on the screen now. a little fluctuation in the euro. i was checking before the markets opened, the euro popped

or gained a touch, and currently they're at the upper 102 levels. so some fluctuations there. again, we'll see the market reaction as news of the new austerity measure from gece plays through the markets. ai? >> we have key events to watch for this week, we still have earnings in japan. >> not out of the woods as far as earnings. let me talk about some economic data out of the u.s. first, comprising data from the housing, manufacturing sectors, and also industrial production and retail sales. those are going to be key factors for economists to look out for. earnings wise, one name that's still going to be a big focus today after the bell, olympus, and that's of course after the bookkeeping scandal that hit the markets late last year. ai? >> absolutely. we'll be keeping track of that after the close as olympus president goes over the numbers.

>> exactly. that's going to be a big focus. let's not forget olympus shares following that scandal fell almost 80% at one point late last year. it has come back quite a bit since then. ended friday flat. again, markets and investors keen to see how olympus comes through the issue following the bookkeeping scandal. for now, markets are hesitant here, not any major moves. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that, ramin. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. major japanese electronics maker completed a turbine factor in india where economic growth is likely to boost demand for electricity. a ceremony to mark completion of the factory was held in chennai sunday. the plant will produce state of the art super critical steam turbines and generators. in india, the supply of electricity has not kept pace with the country's economic

growth, causing frequent blackouts. the indian government plans to increase total electrical output by 150% over the next five years. at the ceremony, toshiba president expressed his intention to expand his company's business in the field of electricity infrastructure. >> we place particular emphasis on the energy sector by applying our own cutting edge technologies. >> other japanese giants are also entering the electricity market. mitsubishi is manufacturing turbines and boilers at a factory in india. hi tach ee also building a factory there. with chinese and french businesses exploring the industry in india, competition to secure market share is becoming more intense. now let's look at what we have on the global business

calendar this week. on tuesday, the bank of japan will wind up a two day meeting of its policy board. financial markets are watching to see if the boj will change its policy stance in light of the yen sustained strength. on the same day in the u.s., the commerce department will release retail sales data for january. december sales inched up 0.1%. the gain small, but sales topped $400 billion for a second straight month. also in the united states, housing starts for january are due out thursday. in december, they showed a 4.1% month to month drop. finally friday, the u.s. consumer price index for january will be out. the cbi remained flat in november and december last year. a recap now of the latest market figures.

more business for you next hour. "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 fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" focuses on rebuilding. don't miss them on "newsline." the operators of the fukushima daiichi plant are trying to get a handle on what's going on in reactor number two.

officials with the power company say a thermometer hit more than 80 degrees celsius. a reading above that could mean conditions for a cold shut down have been compromised. two other thermometers suggest temperatures remain low. the thermometer in question is at the bottom of the reactor. it prompted tepco to inject more water into the reactor. the readings dropped temporarily, then started to rise again. they peaked at 82 degrees sunday afternoon. this is the first time a reading has exceeded 80 degrees since the government and tepco declared in december that the reactors had achieved cold shut down. tepco officials say two other thermometers installed tame height show temperatures around 35 degrees. and they say a study of air samples collected around the reactor shows no signs of nuclear criticality at the unit. workers are again increasing the

volume of water into the reactor and looking into the cause, including a possible thermometer malfunction. company officials say they will carefully monitor the situation. a document submitted showed the tokyo metropolitan area may have had to be evacuated. they didn't acknowledge existence of the document. the report was come period at the request of the prime minister at the time. the commission's chief says the document explains possible contingencies, following the fukushima daiichi accident, as well as preventive measures. the report said massive amounts of radioactive materials could be disbursed from the plant if containment vessels were damaged or used fuel was exposed to the air if water injection failed. it said under such a scenario, residents would have to be evacuated from an area within

170 kilometers from the plant, and within 250 kilometers on a voluntary basis. this would include the tokyo metropolitan area. it recommended various methods for cooling the reactors should be used to avoid this serious situation. kan told nhk in september that his government made a simulation, based on the worst case scenario, but the report was not treated as an official document until it was discovered in the commission's office at the end of last year. now, a japanese civic group investigating the accident is looking into the reasons why the document was not made public. japan's atomic watchdog endorsed the results of stress tests on two reactors at the ohi plant in central japan. the nuclear and industrial safety agency says the tests on the number three and four reactors were conducted

appropriately. it says there are adequate measures in place to deal with earthquakes and tsunamis. the report is the first by the agency about stress tests on japan's suspended reactors. 51 of the country's 54 reactors are now off line. the agency plans to submit a report to japan's nuclear safety commission as early as monday, after briefing industry minister. the commission will review the report and consult with nuclear experts. the government will then make the final decision on whether to approve restarting the reactors. but local governments also need to give consent before any reactors can resume operating. the governments of both fukui have urged the government to create new safety standards based on last year's nuclear accident. japan's meteorologist logical agency is using a new system on a trial basis that identifies massive earthquakes in a short time.

it's based on extended ground motion. the agency system measures extended tremors to determine within three minutes whether a quake has a magnitude of 8 or greater. the system monitors extended ground motion, lasting from 100 to 500 seconds. this movement is specific to massive quakes. it is important for the agency to issue a warning within about three minutes of an earthquake to prepare for the impact and tsunami. it is difficult, however, to calculate accurately the scale of a strong quake in a short time. in the march 11th earthquake last year, the agency initially estimated its magnitude at 7.9, when it was actually 9. the ensuing tsunami was predicted to be much less powerful than it really was.

>> translator: people judge whether to evacuate on the report. we want to predict as quickly as possible the height of any tsunami. >> the agency will start issuing tsunami warnings in april, based on the new system. some survivors of the disaster are using music to deliver their message of love and doing it in an unusual way. their instruments are made of debris, salvaged from the disaster zones. >> reporter: musicians that survived the march 11 earthquake and tsunami have held a concert in osaka, western japan in memory of the victims. the musicians are from miyagi, one of the hardest-hit prefectures. they want to be sure the people that died in the disaster aren't

forgotten. >> translator: this part is made all from debris. >> reporter: he organized the concert. he used to work in sendai and lost friends in the tsunami. he thought about what he could do to honor the people that died. he came up with the idea of creating musical instruments, using debris from the disaster areas. >> translator: i feel like pressing my hands together before the instruments to show my respect to the victims. >> reporter: he rushed to many emergency shelters after march 11th to distribute aid supplies sent from around the country. >> translator: many supplies were sent from western japan and they reached us soon after the disaster. i am so grateful to those

people. >> reporter: he remembered another powerful quake that hit western japan 17 years ago. the great earthquake killed more than 6,000 people. he wants to repay the people of western japan by playing music. he visited a monument in kobe for the 1995 quake. he made a renewed pledge to work with his friends to pass on memories of both disasters. >> i believe human bonds and friendship survived both disasters. >> reporter: the concert was held at a department store in osaka. >> translator: we received great support after the march disaster. people in western japan know what the survivors are facing. i hope you will enjoy our

concert. >> the sound created from the debris touches the hearts of the audiences. >> translator: the concert reminded me of the disasters in western and northeastern japan and i cried. >> translator: i believe long term support is necessary. i will try to remember last year's disaster by putting myself in the survivors' shoes. >> reporter: to hand down memories of the disaster, he will continue to strike the cords of his new guitar. the opening of japan's newest bridge drew tens of thousands of people to tokyo

bathe weekend, but the $1.5 billion project isn't just a tourist attraction. we find out what else the bridge has to offer. >> this long awaited ceremony opens a gateway, by land and sea. a huge crowd gathered at tokyo bay to celebrate the product of ten years of work. the tokyo gate bridge. the structure is 2.6 kilometers long and 90 meters tall. tall enough for large ships to travel underneath. part of the structure is shorter, with the height regulations from the nearby airport. engineers hope what they have come up with will ease traffic around the bridge. >> translator: both lanes, even on roads with many lanes, i'm always in bumper-to-bumper traffic. >> cars and trucks used to

travel around the bay along this route. but traffic got clogged here and here. this shortcut will reduce travel time around the bay by an average of 40%. commuters will get where they're going faster and will enjoy the view. truck drivers will, too. they'll also be saving their companies a bundle of money. port authorities say this bridge will bring an economic benefit of nearly $245 million a year. city officials hope the bridge will invite another kind of traffic, foot traffic. they expect thousands of tourists to walk across the bridge every year. visitors have already given it a nickname. do you know what the bridge is called? dino bridge. >> it looks like two dinosaurs are facing each other. >> the view is so great. you can even see mount fuji. i am so glad i came.

>> port authorities hope to solve another problem with the next phase of redevelopment. big container vessels can't get into tokyo bay. the standard for global shipping companies, but the waters here are too shallow. japanese exporters are forced to ship cargo in smaller boats to south korea and other regional hubs, wasting time and money. workers are deepening the ocean floor to make way for larger ships. >> translator: we want to make tokyo bay as competitive as busan and other ports and be one of the hubs in the region. >> the tokyo gate bridge doesn't just connect two pieces of land. many are optimistic it will bridge the commercial gap between tokyo and the rest of the world. rina nakano, nhk world, tokyo. it was good weather for

taking in the tokyo skyline over the weekend, but we're seeing a different picture today. rachel ferguson joins us with the world weather picture. >> hi, catherine. yes, it will be a little different as we start the week. we have a couple of systems coming in, which will be spreading precipitation even across to the pacific edge of japan, which usually stays dry this time of year. we will be seeing maybe even some snow coming into tokyo. there's that potential as we head into monday night. what we have is a long front line stretched from right now western japan back through southeastern china, and along this front we will see low pressure systems developing and moving from west to east over the next couple days. so it is going to be a little unstable as we head into the middle of the week as well. snow showers, rain showers also for southern parts of the korean peninsula and also back into southeastern china. here it could get a little heavier as we head into tuesday.

a few snow showers dash across the northeast china but dry across mongolia. down to the south, indochina is also having a clear start to the week, but the philippines see heavy showers particularly to the north and towards the sout. this will ease off into tuesday morning. by tuesday night, another round of precipitation is likely. here are temperatures. monday we expect 8 degrees for the high in tokyo. and seasonal averages in beijing and seoul, both at 5 degrees. and not bad back into the double digits in shanghai. 11 degrees forecast for the high. warm day in tie pay at 24. heading to north america, we have a couple of winter storm systems. one in the pacific northwest. we could see significant snow in the cascades, and it is also going to be very windy. so winter storm here. then across the four corners, another low pressure system, and snow will be spreading across the midwest, down to the gulf

states, louisiana and texas will be rain, maybe thunderstorms for you. further to the east, looking clear with high pressure in control, but canada seeing heavy snow and frigid temperatures as well. wind chill could be quite dangerous here. 3 degrees in toronto, 5 in new york city. we also have just 5 degrees in oklahoma. you can see the cooler air dropping down towards the south. 17 in houston and 16 cloudy skies in los angeles monday. as we head into europe, much of the continent is under the control of cold air. milder temperatures are likely across the west. we have a warm front moving here towards france and lowcountries. we will see dryer conditions turning to maybe some wetter but snow, mix of snow and rain coming down across scandinavia, into germany, low countries and

france. western europe getting unsettled as we head into monday. across the mediterranean, a few showers, particularly to the south. more significant precipitation and a lot of that will be snow towards the north, heading in across the balkans. snow will be accompanied by sub zero temperatures. still seeing minus 17 in moscow. minus 11 in kiev. central portions well below zero. minus 4 in vienna, minus 1 in berlin. better in london at 7 degrees, and 5 in paris. here is the extended forecast.

our lead stories this hour, the emperor of japan is resting up. he will have surgery on saturday to increase the supply of blood to his heart. it will be his first operation since doctors removed his prostate nine years ago after they detected cancer cells. he is 78 years old. doctors at the university of tokyo hospital examined the emperor to check his coronary arteries and the flow of blood to his heart. they found his symptoms were getting worse. the emperor has been receiving medication since last year, when part of an artery was found to have narrowed. the imperial household agency told reporters sunday that it had decided to proceed with the

heart by pass because the emperor's condition had deteriorated in the last year. a team of doctors from university of tokyo and another university will perform the surgery. the emperor should be able to leave the hospital about two weeks after the procedure. japan's economy has slowed down for the first time in two years. the overall gross domestic product for 2011 contracted 0.9%. the cabinet office said the nation's gdp sh rank 2.3% from october to december period in real terms. it marks the first contraction in two quarters. it is a decline of 0.6% from the previous quarter. the drop attributed to weak overseas demand, strong yen, and disruptions to supply chains from floods in thailand. some economists noted delay in post quake reconstruction demand weighed down on the economy.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com