japan's nuclear watchdog says stress tests are not enough to declare reactors safe. the last nuclear reactor in western japan has gone off line. the plant's operator shut it down for regular inspection.

residents are worrying about a power crunch. fuel imports into japan are soaring. only two of the 54 nuclear reactors are still running. kansai electric power company said they completed the shut down early tuesday for the number three reactor at the tack ham a plant in fukui prefecture. the last two operational reactors will be shut down by late april. japan's nuclear safety commission will review results of stress tests on two reactors at the nearby ohi plant during the day. the commission chairman says results will not be enough to declare the reactors safe. >> i think second stage tests with more detailed criteria are needed to accurately assess the risk of reactors. >> madarame said they will check for safety at times of natural disasters. they endorsed the first stage

findings at the ohi plant early last week. the government introduced the test to ease public concern before restarting reactors. the commission opinion is expected to prove as setback for plant operateors. tokyo electric power company allowed access to the fukushima daiichi plant. reporters were allowed in since december. the reactors were in cold shut down. the utility gave reporters a bus tour of the facility. the visit coincides with inspections by the nuclear and industrial safety agency. reporters were allowed to get off the bus on a hill near the number four reactor. they saw the damage from a hoed row general explosion last march. journalists had to stay inside the bus during a previous media tour. radioactivity levels on the hill are 50 microsieverts per hour. anyone spending the day there would be exposed to more than

one millisievert of radiation, the annual limit for the general public. reporters saw workers preparing to build a facility to store spent fuel rods. the bus passed by cooling systems that have seen dozens of water leaks since january. workers have wrapped pumps with sheeting and pipes with insulation materials to prevent leaks. >> translator: we will work to make the plant stable and safe so we can assure people that the plant will not release any more radioactive substances. >> it is expected to take 40 years to completely decommission the reactors. "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." international atomic energy agency experts have arrived in iran for another inspection of the country's nuclear sites. the five member team arrived in tehran monday morning. it is the second visit this year. the team began talks with the iaea envoy. the team is expected to request access to a military facility. they suspect that nuclear experiments have been carried out there. but iranian foreign minister told local media monday that the inspectors will not be allowed to enter the site. the iaea delegation will leave the country tuesday.

the white house made an announcement monday. it said national security adviser was in israel sunday and extended the invitation. he told netanyahu that obama is looking forward to meeting him at the white house march 5th. israel accuses iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons and views the country as a threat to its existence. the israeli government suggested it may take military action unless iran stops its nuclear activities. iran announced last week it will step up uranium enrichment which could be used to develop nuclear weapons. that has raised concerns that israel may launch a preemptive strike against iran's nuclear facilities. finance ministers from 17 nations that use the euro are up late, discussing whether greece should be granted an additional

bailout. ai has been following this. >> the meeting in brussels is on-going. the ministers are expected to finalize that second bailout for greece at the meeting. discussions are focusing how to ensure they successfully execute austerity measures. >> our additional support measures will succeed, provided greece meets obligations as promised. >> the eurozone is offering greece a 130 billion euro package as additional aid. if approved, it should prevent greece from defaulting on large quantities of government bonds when they mature next month. but some of the supporting countries, including germany and netherlands remain skeptical

about greece's commitment to turning around its finances. ministers are locked in debate over a mechanism for ensuring greece follows through with its promised fiscal reforms. let's see how stocks are opening in tokyo this tuesday. for that, we are crossing over to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, very good morning to you. u.s. markets were closed for a public holiday. so i guess we're taking our cues from europe, what they did monday. >> definitely, ai. very good morning to you. as you said with the eu finance ministers gathering in brussels, markets got a little bit of hope there or optimism that a deal would go through. we saw that reflected in indexes in europe, having to look on the screens. you can see uk's ftse, the dax, and cac 40 ending higher. u.s. markets were closed. let's look at how japan and

tokyo are kicking off. a little mixed picture. topix slightly higher, nikkei, marginally lower. we will see if the nikkei reverses during the day. it did end up 1% yesterday, the highest close since august 4 last year, largely on the back of the weaker yen. we'll keep an eye on key exporters to see if that continues today in the short term trend after bank of japan's move last week, stepping up monetary easing which sent the yen lower. speaking of currency, let's look at the currency levels this tuesday morning in japan as well. you can see there the euro yen continues at the 105 yen levels. 105.19-22, and the dollar also at the upper 79 yen levels. so optimism there for a greek deal pushing through. japan of course relies heavily on exports to support the economy. and even following the trade

deficit numbers yesterday, which was the biggest single month trade deficit, but slightly weaker yen and possible growth there domestically and recovery in the global economy may just help. ai? >> ramin, electronics manufacturers in japan like sony and nintendo had a tough year last year. what are you hearing about them? >> definitely both are trying to regain market share. sony is going to be introducing or launching the latest games console, playstation vita in u.s. markets this week. in fact, from wednesday. it is a hotly competitive area, especially with smart phones. sony trying to compete with that. and nintendo slashing prices of the 3d s console and adding more 3d titles. >> what else is bubbling in the markets? >> the beer variety,

nonalcoholic type, leading brewer is debuting a near beer-type drink today in fact, that's also a hotly competitive sector with the leading brewers trying to get market share for the nonalcoholic beverage because there's no alcoholic tax on those beverages, so it is a high margin for the brewers. so we'll keep track of that as well. ai, back to you. >> good stuff, ramin. thanks a lot. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. now, china says it is ready to help europe tackle its credit crisis, but has yet to reveal how or when. state run news agency says the vice premier expressed support for the eurozone sunday during his meeting with the irish prime minister in the capital, dublin. he backs it, but he says his country will choose how to help. other chinese leaders expressed support for europe, the country's biggest trading partner, but they remain vague

about details. now a recap of the latest market figures. >> that's the latest from business. back to catherine. the governor of okinawa says it is impossible to build an airport for forces. he was respond to go a defense minister report on the environmental impact of the plan. the government submitted that report in december. it was one of the final stages in a plan to construct an airfield in a coastal area of nago city.

it would replace some functions of the futenma station. but he listed 175 problems with the report. he said the report lacked data on aircraft noise and its impact on people's health. also said some details were a surprise, including deployment of transport aircraft, and change in flight route for military planes. the governor said measures described in the report would damage the environment and people's living conditions. he said the local community would never give consent for the airfield. he suggested transferring the marine base to a site elsewhere in japan. >> translator: i expect the central government to take my opinion seriously.

it was based on discussions with a panel of experts. >> the government requires the governor's consent to proceed with the construction. after the latest statement, that looks less likely than ever. now we go to bangkok to see what's making headlines. thailand's economy shrank in massive 9% in the october to december quarter of last year. the figures reflect severe damage caused by record floods of displaced workers and forced factories to close. nhk world has this report from bangkok. >> reporter: the thai government said that on monday, the country's gross domestic product dropped 9% in the first quarter from a year earlier. it blamed the areas near

bangkok. seven industrial zones that house many international companies were damaged. that caused thailand's industrial output to drop 21.8% from the previous quarter. four months since the flooding crisis began to affect this appearing. for example, less than 40% of japanese companies in thailand have resumed operation. thailand's labor ministry says 45,000 people lost their jobs because of the floods. even so, the government is projecting the economy will grow between 5.5 and 6.5% this year. some businesses are withdrawing or downsizing their populations

-- operation s in thailand since the floods. it remains to be seen whether i. it remains to be seen whether the government will be the able to get in countering the damage already inflicted on the country. nhk world, bangkok. next, we move on to india where the competitive marks the arrival of spring in one western city. it might sound like harmless fun but it's becoming increasingly controversial and damaging to the environment. nhk world has this report. >> reporter: schools of kites fly in the sky. this is a festival to celebrate the end of spring. kite flying is a long-loved tradition been but also a competitive game.

they try to cut the kite strings of their opponents. the pink kite battles against the blue one but the string is severed and it falls towards the ground. one family has prepared 400 kites for the festival. relatives gather for the event every year. >> this is the importance of the -- we get together and fly kites and loud music and we all party together. it gets the family together. >> reporter: special strings are used in competitive kite flying.

this white powder is finely crushed glass. it is dissolved into liquid and applied to the strings. when it dries, they become sharp enough to cut opponent's strings. strings produced through this procedure are called manga and there's a higher demand for this from kite-flying competitors. this is a glass coated thread in my hand. this could easily cut the thread. but abandoned, this can cause serious damage to wildlife. every year, more than a thousand birds are injured or die, a few just before and after the festival.

the reduced casualties and a group of veterinarians are working to protect them. this year, the local community set up centers at 13 locations. 120 vets take turns treating injured birds. this center received a phone call from a concerned citizen. >> an indian bird was on a tree and was unable to fly because of the injury to its wings and the species is on the brink of extinction. the rescue workers carefully brought the bird back to the center. it survived after undergoing an operation. indians value the traditional kite-flying festival.

however, they are facing the need to ensure that along the kite strings do not hurt birds. nhk world. >> and that wraps up our bulletin. women's boxing is an official sport. among those hoping to be in the ring, a young light weight from afghanistan, a country that until recently banned women from doing sports. despite progress, opportunities for female athletes there are still limited. we have a report. >> reporter: training gets under way in a kabul gym. this is the afghan women's boxing team. there are 30 women on the squad. women's boxing is new to

afghanistan. >> translator: the reason i took up boxing was for self defense. >> working out, a 19-year-old. despite her slight build, she delivers a powerful punch. she is in the light weight division. took part in a tournament last october and walked off with the title. that victory and with training built her confidence. she's known for a combination. a strict right followed by a hook. >> translator: there isn't much to be hopeful about in

afghanistan. but since i started boxing, i feel so happy and alive. >> the coach is former member of afghan national squad. >> from a left jab to a hook, then a straight right. combination sets are important. with a body punch, you crouch down lower. >> he says there's deep seeded prejudice against women boxing. he says he gets a lot of threatening phone calls. >> translator: some people threaten me and tell me to stop coaching the women. one of my biggest concerns is that the athletes would get hurt. >> for your own safety, the

athletes are driven to the gym and taken home again afterwards. >> it's dangerous, so don't open the door until you get to your house. >> during the taliban regime, this place was used for public executions. the gym is poorly equipped, only four sandbags. workouts take place in front of a cracked mirror. but rahimi stays cheerful. the tough conditions only make her more determined to realize her dream.

>> translator: my dream is to compete in the london olympics. i want to so that we women can bring pride to our country as ambassadors of peace. >> all right. rahimi still has a few obstacles to overcome before she can achieve her olympic dream. the next one is to be chosen for the qualifying competition that takes place in china in may. we're start to go see signs of spring here in tokyo. will it continue to get warmer? >> yes, catherine. it was quite mild yesterday here in tokyo and things were getting even warmer today. we have a nice southerly wind. that's why we expect warmer temperatures. but a different story for northern japan. a development is coming through bringing blizzard conditions.

western hokkaido could be more snow and strong winds of 70 kilometers per hour. as t system moves away things will get clearer by tonight here. and then we also have the showers moving into the southern tip of the korean peninsula and western japan. southeastern china will see showers develop over the course of today and down toward tropical depression hovering over the south china sea and scattered showers will continue in southern vietnam and it will stay largely wet across the philippines but heavy rain will ease today. temperaturewise we're looking at 30 degrees in manila and 3 in bangkok with a chance of thunder showers and up toward the north, warming up to 7 in seoul and 11 in tokyo. heading to the americas, a pacific storm will be moving

into british columbia and the pacific northwest and that will bring coastal rain, mountain snow and strong winds. we have another system to watch out for in the central plains. northern minnesota and southern parts of manitoba and ontario may be seeing more than 20 centimeters of snow in the next 24 hours. and then, the southern -- the central portions of the plains will have a risk of severe weather that includes severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds and even isolated tornadoes. over the next 24 hours, much of the great lakes and the mid western states will start to see a wintry mix. but the southern half of the u.s. will state largely be dry under a high pressure system and temperatures rising to 23 degrees in houston. 18 in oklahoma city. the eastern seaboard is on the warmer side at 12 in d.c. and 8 degrees expected in new york. finally, let's go to europe. a chain of low pressure systems

has been bringing wet and windy weather to northern europe. as you can see, the isobars are close together meaning strong winds are prevailing. scotland has received a gust of 90 kilometers per hour as the system moves toward the southeast, areas like finland and the ball ticks and northern germany will be affected. down toward the south, unstable conditions in the central mediterranean all day tuesday. here are your temperatures. we're expecting 9 degrees in paris and 5 in vienna and looking at minus 1 in kiev and minus 3 in moscow. warmer temperatures will continue for the next several days. here's your extended forecast.

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