hello there, welcome to "newsline." it's monday, june 4th, 8:00 a.m. in toke you. i'm catherine kobayashi. one of japan's most wanted suspects has finally been captured of 17 years on the run. japanese police have arrested one of the two remaining fugitives from the cult that carried out the 1995 gas attack on the tokyo subway system. police say 40-year-old naoko

kikukhi was taken into custody in tokyo. she was put on a nationwide list. it killed 13 people and sickened 6,300 others. the suspect told police she was involved in producing the saran gas. kikuchi is suspectsed of being involved in two more plots carried out by the aum cult. police released updated likenesses of kikuchi in february and increased the reward after one of the last three fugitives was arrested in january. japan's prime minister yoshihiko noda says he will reshuffle his cabinet money oz part of his plan to pass bills to raise the consumption tax. he called on the main opposition party to begin discussing the issue. >> translator: i have repeatedly

talked about social security and tax reforms. we should especially consult with the main opposition liberal democratic party. some say it will be difficult to reach an agreement, but i want to continue the negotiations. >> the government is also facing censure motions by opposition parties. the opposition controlled upper house passed censure motions in april against two ministers, defense minister naoki tanaka and land minister maed aa. the opposition is demanding their replacement before talks begin. tanakk and maeda will likely lose their jobs during the reshuffle. kano, following reports a diplomat was allegedly involved in a ministry project.

t noda is making every effort to convince japanese about another issue. he wants them to know his government will take stronger safety measures when it comes to nuclear power. noda and his department are trying to regain approval to restart a plant in jern japan. goshi hosono will meet later in the day with the governor of fukui nishikawa. for example, the government will station a senior official at the facility. they've also proposed a video link between the plant and the prime minister's office. government leaders hope to restart the reactors by summer when demand for electricity will peak. but experts say it will take about three weeks for the facility to move back into full-scale operation. the prime minister says he hopes to make his decision by the end of the week. trade ministers from the asian pacific region will

discuss concrete steps toward liberalizing trade and investment by 2020. the 21 member asia pacific economic cooperation forum includes the united states, china, and japan. the two-day ministerial meeting will kick off on monday in the central russian city of kazan. japanese trade minister yukio edano is expected to stress japan will make every effort to establish a free trade zone in the asia pacific region. ministers will exchange views on lowering tariffs on fast growing eco friendly products such as solar panels. they'll also discuss ways to check nations trying to impose heavy duties on products those countries want to protect. the results of the discussions will be compiled in the chairman's statement. this will be reflected in the apec summit scheduled in september. syrian president bashar al

assad has said he will continue to use force to suppress anti-government groups. in a televised speech in parliament on sunday, assad accused opposition groups of working with foreign countries in a conspiracy to destroy syria. he expressed his resolve to save the nation and fight what he called terrorism. assad denied his government's involvement in the massacre in houla late last month. more than 100 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed. he said even monsters would not carry out such an attack. syrian troops have been continuing attacks on opposition groups even after u.n. observers can monitoring in april the cease-fire between the two sides. the u.n. estimates more than 10,000 people have been killed since the anti-government protests began last year. the u.n. and arab league envoy kofi annan expressed concern

that syria would spiral into an all-out civil war. a passenger plane crashed into a residential district near an airport on sunday in nigeria's largest city, lagos. footage from nigeria shows flames rising from the crash site. damage can be observed to the wings. the domestic carrier dana airplane was bringing 153 people from the country's capital abuja to lagos. a official of nigeria's national emergency management agency told nhk it's likely everyone onboard was killed. the plane reportedly crashed into three buildings. people on the ground may also have been hurt in the crash. the japanese embassy in pakistan has gotten disturbing phone calls. officials say they're stepping up security after receiving two bomb threats. embassy officials report they received two threatening phone calls last week. a man warned he would bomb the

embassy and demanded that all staff members leave the compound within 72 hours. they say the man spoke in pakistan's official language. the diplomats believe both phone calls were made by the same person and they reported the incident to the police. the officials note pakistani people show little hostility toward japan and they can't think of any reason why someone would want to commit such an act. they say they'll operate offices as usual on monday but will stay on the alert. now we turn to the united states. where young people are currently referred to as the boomerang generation due to the widespread pattern of moving back home with their parents after brief time away. nhk world's coreen schneider has the story.

>> reporter: this is a boomerang. when you throw it, it comes right back to you. young adults known as boomerangers are on the rise in america. due to the weakness 06 the u.s. economy in recent years young adults face mounting challenges in finding jobs. according to the pew research center's recent report on the boomerang generation, three in ten young adults ages 25 to 34 have experienced living with their parents. a figure roughly double that of ten years ago. in american society, one's independence is valued. previously, a de ffinitive markf adulthood was moving out of the family home. graduation from high school or college meant transitioning into the world of work and adulthood, supporting one's self and living apart from parents. >> it's sort of shameful to go back and live with your parents. it's a bit weird. >> reporter: but now the stigma typically attached to many youth of the boomerang generation may no longer weigh as strong.

meet grant pierce, a 29-year-old graduate of rochester university, now working in publication export in new york city. after nine years of living away from home, he returned to his childhood bedroom which he now shares with his younger brother. after college, graham moved to japan where he taught english for five years. having no fallback plan after being denied a graduate school scholarship, he moved back in with his parents last year. graham is now living rent free and working to save up for language study in taiwan next year. >> if i was actually serious about this, i should move home and save money. it's also been, like i said, it's been really good to see my parents again. >> i'm more interested in graham finding something that he really wants to do. >> it was just easier for people in the past to go out on their own. now that's just really hard to

do. >> reporter: in denver, colorado, another boomeranger has started her own business from home. her parents' home. 29-year-old lindsay hunt came back to live with her parents last year after leaving her corporate job in boston. >> i think the first month was probably the hardest, as i adjusted to being back and kind of got my feet under me. >> reporter: her parents are supportive of her move back and have given her the time and space to think about what she would really like to do with her life and her work. her bedroom has become her home office. lindsay created her own company in corporate advertising, using social networking platforms like facebook and twitter. she now has ten customers both local and international. her earnings top $3,000 per month. >> coming home to live with your parents is for me it enables me to have some freedom. i think, you know, viewing it more as an opportunity and less

of a, you know, a bad thing that has happened to you. >> i think that we need to start thinking out of the box and looking at things in a different way because the world is different now. >> reporter: for those of the new american boomerang generation, like lindsay and graham, home is where they can save money and plan productively for their next steps. with a little help from their parents. corinne schneider, nhk world, new york. japanese scientists say people for whom both parents were survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of hiroshima have a higher rate of developing leukemia. the hiroshima university team surveyed about 120,000 people who were children of the a-bomb survivors. more than half of them were born within ten years of the bombing. the survey shows that 49 of those surveyed had developed leukemia by the age of 35 and 26

of them had parents who were both survivors. the team says their rate of developing leukemia is higher than that for people who had one parent who survived the bombing. >> translator: it's too early to conclude that radiation from the atomic bomb has a genetic impact. the research has only just begun. >> researchers have been looking into the possible genetic effects of raid wrags frdiation atomic bomb since the end of world war ii. japan's meteorological agency will introduce a new supercomputer which it says is the world's fastest. the agency has used supercomputers since 1959 to forecast local downpours, paths of typhoons and other phenomena. the new system that starts on tuesday in tokyo can perform 847 trillion calculations per second. the speed is 30 times that of the current system introduced

six years ago. the agency currently forecasts rain clouds, rainfall, and other conditions for areas of 5 x 5 kilometers. the new supercomputer reduces the size to 2 x 2 kilometers. the agency says this will approve forecasts for rapidly growing thunder clouds that may cause downpours and gusts of wind in very limited area. such sudden developments have been difficult to detect. >> translator: we hope that better precision in forecasts will also improve precision of their alerts and warnings. the world health organization says the number of chinese who smoke is more than 300 million. that's more than any country in asia. just one day before the may 31st

world no tobacco day, the chinese government broke its silence on the matter. for the first time, it officially acknowledged that smoking causes serious illnesses such as lung cancer and stroke. it says by the year 2050, smoking could kill more than 3 million chinese a year. nhk world reports from beijing. >> reporter: these people are receiving acupuncture to quit smoking. the practice involves inserting needles at certain places in the patient's body to correct the body's imbalances. patients come once or twice a week for 30 minute session. china's government funds research for this treatment. >> translator: we treat patients according to their situation so that we can ease side effects from quitting smoking.

>> translator: my mind is refreshed after the treatment. >> reporter: this 40-year-old has been smoking for nearly 20 years. >> translator: i completely quit smoking. >> reporter: he teaches at a junior high school. he used to smoke 1 1/2 packs a day, but last december he developed lung problems. if they got worse, he might die. he started the treatment months ago. whenever he has an urge to smoke, he follows his doctor's orders. and that's this. >> translator: this will get rid of my craving. >> reporter: the chinese government is also promoting anti-smoking campaigns. high school students here make an appeal not to smoke in public

places. they asked people to support the mission. >> translator: i'm going to tell my friends they must stop no matter how hard it is for them. >> reporter: but smokers are still a minority in china. most people ignore the no smoking signs. you often come across scenes like this in beijing. >> translator: have you ever thought about quitting smoking? >> translator: never. >> translator: it's impolite to refuse when friends offer a cigarette. so i just can't quit. >> reporter: smoking is engrained in chinese social life. people even give cigarettes as gifts. there are a lot of luxury

brands, but cigarettes are usually cheap. this is one of the most popular cigarettes brands in china. you can buy it for about 80 cents. 50% of chinese smokers spend $1 or less per pack. which is less than one-tenth of what new yorkers have to pay. there's warnings on chinese packs, smaller than in other countries. an expert says most chinese do not know how risky smoking is. >> less than a quarter of the people were able to accurately identify that smoking was responsible for heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer all combined. so there's a lot of work to be done in the field of knowledge. >> reporter: to vast numbers of chinese, lighting up is part of daily life. if the government wants people to quit, it will have to take a

more aggressive approach. nhk world, beijing. indonesia's economy is enjoying robust growth and the people are broadening their horizons by embracing new types of food. right now, indonesians are gobbling up japanese cuisine. nhk world reports from jakarta. >> reporter: this cooking show is very popular in indonesia. mainly among local housewives. on this show, a japanese chef demonstrates how to prepare the

ingredients. but he makes it more suitable for indonesians. his humorous discussion with the guests is another attractive feature. the program is a big success with viewings sometimes above 12%. his tv appearances have met 51-year-old japanese chef a household name in indonesia. he also runs a japanese restaurant in jakarta. he has a long history with cuisine. he started training as a sushi chef at the age of 18. at the age of 26, he heard japanese cooks were being hired in jakarta and decided to give it a try. two years later, he married an

indonesian woman and opened his own restaurant shortly after. all in all, he has been serving japanesecuisines to indonesians for over 20 years. >> reporte >> translator: the indonesian people are rich in human qualities but the country's food lacks diversity. i want indonesians to have a well-balanced diet, that includes vegetables and boiled ingredients. >> reporter: indonesian women are no longer satisfied with occasional visits to restaurants. they want to cook japanese dishes in their own homes on a regular basis. a major bookstore has set up a special section for japanese cookbooks. japanese cooking classes are also becoming popular. schools are overwhelmed by the

demand and some classes have more than 3,000 students. he has launched a new service to meet the growing demand for information on japanese cooking. he now travels to his customers and gives demonstration of japanese cooking. the on-site cooking shows are very popular. one attracted a crowd of more than 300. mostly housewives. >> translator: it's tlishs delicious. it's really good. i'll try to make it at home. >> reporter: he goes to the tv studio three times a week and

filming takes as much as seven hours, but the dedicated chef is more than willing to stand in front of the cameras in order to bring a taste of japan into indonesian homes. nhk world, jakarta. >> really nice to see japanese food being popular in a different country there. well, sayaka, we're going to get to the world weather forecast. i have a for you. what's your favorite japanese food? >> of course sushi, catherine. >> what kind of sushi? >> mackerel. >> tuna. all right. >> not expensive. >> not expensive. it's cheap. reasonable prices. all right. something i check for as well. people in tokyo are enjoying another beautiful morning to kick off the week. sayaka, tell me it's going to last. >> good morning, catherine. yeah, nice clear skies will continue into tomorrow. so definitely a good start to the weak. however, rain is in the forecast

from wednesday because strong typhoon mauer is approaching the country. it's the first typhoon of this year. right now situated south of the okinawa islands packing sustained winds of 144 kilometers per hour with gusts nearly 200 kilometers per hour. it looks like it will get very close to the okinawa islands tomorrow, so stormy conditions will start to impact the southern islands of japan as well as kushu from today. rainfall could be 118 millimeters in a span of 24 hours. also, waves could reach 9 meters on tuesday. it looks like it will continue to move toward the northeast, so it's not likely to make landfall on mainland japan. very strong winds and perhaps these are going to impact mainly along the pacific coast. all right. meanwhile, heavy thundershowers and gusty winds will continue in northeastern china and will continue into and throughout the day. and to the south, yet again,

heavy rain in southern china. more substantial rain can be found in northeastern india, bangladesh, and myanmar. ongoing torrential rain could certainly raise the risks of flooding as well as landslides. as for the highs, 30 trdegrees hong kong. light rain. 25 degrees in shanghai. reaching 33 degrees in beijing and 30 degrees in seoul with cloudy skies. all right. moving into the americas. a strong low-pressure system is moving into the west coast. things will turn quite wet in the northwestern corner of the u.s. and b.c. area. things will turn quite severe in idaho as well as montana on monday. there's another area of severe weather in the central and southern plains as well as the south region. actually tornado watches in place across the midsection of the u.s. to the north, the peak of heavy rain is over, but moderate to heavy rain will continue in new england states on monday. as for the highs, under the influence of rainy weather, temperatures are on the chilly

side. 17 degrees in toronto. 19 degrees expected in new york city. all right. head into europe. stormy weather is remaining in central europe. thunderstorm warnings and strong wind warnings are still in place in this area. over the next 24 hours, the stormy conditions will slowly move its way toward the balkan peninsula. the british isles where people are celebrating the diamond jubilee, moderate rain will taper off by your monday afternoon. dry conditions will return. however, another batch of rain is moving into that area so it's going to be a wet day on your tuesday. as for the highs, still on the chilly side with a high of 14 degrees in london. central europe is also feeling cooler temperatures. 15 in berlin and 18 degrees expected in vienna. and out toward the east, 18 in moscow and 16 degrees expected in warsaw. all right. that's it for me now. here's your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour. one of japan's most wanted suspects has finally been captured after 17 years on the run. japanese police have arrested

one of the two remaining fuj tifftives from the aum shinrikyo cult that carried out the 1995 gas attack on the tokyo subway system. police say 40-year-old naoko kikukhi was taken into custody on sunday near tokyo. kikuchi was put on a nationwide wanted list as well as several other senior cult members after the subway attack. the deadly gas assault killed 13 people and sickened about 6,300 others. the suspect told police she was involved in producing the saran gas. kikuchi is suspected of being involved in two more plots carried out by the aum cult. police released updated likenesses of kikuchi in february and a male fuj ti. they also increased the reward for tips to $130,000 after one of the last three fugitives was arrested in january. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in

tokyo. do stay with us.