unwavering resolve. japan's prime minister reshuffles his cabinet in a bid to carry out his pet policy. welcome to nhk world "newsline." yoshihiko noda will have some new faces around him the next time he sits down with his cabinet. he replaced two ministers the opposition demanded be removed from their posts and three others in a cabinet shuffle on monday. the shake-up is aimed at winning support for bills that would raise the consumption tax. noda appointed university professor satoshi morimoto as defense minister. this is the first time that

someone from outside the diet will take up the job. morimoto is a former member of the air self-defense force. noda also replaced the land minister, upper house diet affairs chief yuichiro hata filled the seat. the defense and land ministers were censured in the opposition controlled upper house in april. senior vice justice minister makoto taki will take on the lead role of his ministry. at the agriculture ministry. upper house legislature akira gunji will take over. tadahiro matsushita is taking the reins ofancial services minister. the remaining 13 ministers retain their posts. >> nhk world senior commentator has seen one cabinet shuffle after another over the years. we have been here before, masayo. >> right. >> first of all, was this reshuffling necessary? it sounds like a bit of weakness and the dpj has no control.

>> noda was cornered into accepting the opposition's demand. you know, he has said that he is willing to risk his political life in order to pursue the tax hike. leaders of the main opposition liberal democratic party said they would not cooperate unless noda removed the ministers. it's no secret that japan carries a greater percentage of debt on its books than any other developed nation. and like many people, noda is worried about the contagious effects of the debt crisis in europe. if he cannot push this bill through, he will have to resign or call a general election. and the prime minister's office has had a revolving door of prime ministers in recent years and now japan faces the possibility again of having a seventh prime minister in six years. >> definitely he wants to avoid that. will noda get his way, though? >> well, i think noda will have

a hard time getting what he wants into law. he and his democrat colleagues pledged to introduce a program that would give every japanese at least a minimum pension. the ldp is now demanding that democrats take back that promise. the prime minister doesn't like to be called a liar. but in some ways noda has no choice. the opposition controls the upper house and even some members of his own party oppose the tax hike. you know, noda wants this bill to be enacted so he will have to accept the opposition's main demand in any case. >> masayo, thanks. nhk world's masayo nakajima. nuclear crisis minister goshi hosono has met fukui governor nishikawa to talk about restarting the facility.

hosono explained the government's efforts to hash nuclear safety and sought the governor's support. >> translator: the government has worked to increase nuclear safety since the accident at fukushima daiichi. some safety standards are provisional and have not yet been legislated. restarting the ohi reactors under the standards will require special monitoring. >> translator: such new arrangements must you taketake immediately to reassure fukui residents. this is needed to win public support. >> nishikawa urged that noda seek public support for restarting the plant. last week, seven prefectures in

the kansai region issued a statement on restarting the plants number three and four reactors. the prefectures urged the government to make an appropriate judgment on the assumption that any decision to restart the plant will be temporary. noda later met ministers responsible for nuclear power issues. he said they were winning some local consent. he said he'll take responsibility for making a decision if authorities in fukui prefecture and ohi town plan a restart. >> translator: fukui prefecture has accumulated knowledge. it is where experts discuss the issue. we're waiting for fukui's decision. >> the government plans to call a ministerial meeting this week to make an official decision to restart if fukui's governor proves such action. japanese police have captured naoko kikuchi, a member

of the aum shinrikyo cult. police are searching her home for evidence of her role in the cult's sarin gas attack on the tokyo subway system. officers arrested naoko kikuchi near tokyo on sunday. she had been on the run for 17 years. in 1995 members of the cult released sarin gas on subway trains and they killed 13 people and made more than 6,000 sick. police wanted kikuchi for her part in producing the gas. she told police she helped produced the sarin but did not know what the substance was. police arrested a man living with kikuchi. they suspect he was harboring her. details of her life as a fugitive are gradually coming to life. kikuchi is said to have met takahashi in 2005 in a company where he was a temporary worker. the following year they began living together in a suburb of tokyo. the monthly rent was about a thousand dollars and payment was never late.

kikuchi and takahashi moved to sagamihara city west of tokyo two years ago. this is where police arrested kikuchi on sunday night. >> police say kikuchi has been working at a care facility for the elderly for the past two years. she has been using a false name. an employee at the facility says kikuchi first started in the accounting section. she then received qualifications to become a care worker. >> translator: she was paid about $11 per hour. she worked hard changing diapers for the elderly. although it took her a long time. >> kikuchi's lawyer says she no longer believes in the cult founder.

he said she's telling the police the truth. kikuchi says she feels a sense of relief that she no long hears to stay in hiding. the arrest leaves takahashi as the last cult member implicated in the attack who is still on the run. european markets are trading generally lower after stocks fell sharply in asia. asian markets dropped on concern about a global economic slowdown as well as the eurozone crisis. frankfurt's dax index down by 0.5%. paris's cac index is up by 1.1%. london's ftse 100 is closed with the national holiday. looking at currencies, the dollar remains under pressure against the yen. the bearish mood in world markets is driving investors to what they consider to be safe assets. in europe,

the greenback trading at 78.15 to 18 yen. the euro is now changing hands at 97.17 to 19 yen. sources say market participants continue to buy the yen, but they note many are cautious about possible yen selling intervention by japanese authorities. tokyo stocks tumbled with share prices falling for a fourth straight day. the slide followed a surprisingly weak u.s. jobs report. the benchmark nikkei average set a new low for the year. it closed at 8295, down 1.7% export-related issues came under selling pressure. meanwhile, the broad based topix index ended down 1.89%, this is the lowest level in nearly three decades. analysts say the disappointing u.s. payrolls reflect deepened concerns about an economic slowdown. the strong yen and declines in other asian markets also weighed on japanese stocks. people on the streets are worried about the falling stock prices and the rising yen.

>> translator: this is awful. we're like in a quagmire. it's difficult to be upbeat about things here or in europe. i think it's going to take some time before all these problems are solved. >> translator: the yen is strong, but japan is weak. that's the way it is now with our economy. the yen seems to be the only strong currency. and that's strange because we have such a large budget deficit. a growing chorus of concern also from japanese government and business leaders over the impact of the latest market developments. finance minister jun azumi says the fall in tokyo stock prices are out of step with the true state of japan's economy. azumi noted that japan's domestic demand is solid and consumption is good. he suggested that the drop in stocks is due to worries over europe's debt crisis. >> translator: we want european union nations to increase their efforts.

i think the most important thing is for governmental authorities and europe as a whole to take steps that would reassure the rest of the world. >> and bank of japan governor masaaki shirakawa said he will carefully monitor the effects of the stronger yen on japan's economy. >> translator: i think the appreciation of the yen against the dollar is the result of investors buying the yen as a safe haven as they try to hedge against risks from uncertainty. over the european credit crisis. >> the boj governor added there is little room to further lower japan's interest rates as they are already at historic lows. japan business federation chairman expressed his deep concern about the global economic outlook. >> translator: i am afraid that

the risk of a worldwide recession could grow again. >> he urged the japanese government and the central bank to take appropriate steps to put a halt to the yen's appreciation. >> translator: the current strength of the yen is just too much to bear for us who are running companies in japan. >> and here's what a japanese market analyst says. he's pretty pessimistic about the outlook for world equity markets. >> translator: united states, europe, japan, china, each has to take appropriate measures of its own. stocks won't hit bottom and the yen won't stop rising unless europe takes steps to prevent a full-blown financial crisis. >> he points out there's no time to waste. he says those countries should

act now. here's more of the latest market figures. defense leaders and security experts from 26 nations have wrapped up their annual security forum. they met in singapore for the so-called shangri-la dialogue. they focused on something of concern to them all, the new u.s. military strategy for the asia-pacific.

>> and by 2020 the navy will reposture its forces from today's roughly 50%-50% split between the pacific and the atlantic to about a 60/40 split. >> security analysts believe leaders at the pentagon are trying to counter the weight of china. chinese officials are building up their navy. their neighbors say they have become increasingly aggressive. officials in china and the philippines, for example, both claim sovereignty over the scarborough shoal in the south china sea. they've been locked in a maritime standoff for nearly two months. panetta has dismissed a notion that the new strategy targets the chinese. >> all of the u.s. military services are focused on implementing the president's guidance to make the asia-pacific a top priority. >> the chinese defense minister did not attend, though. officials in beijing won't say why.

instead they sent a senior official from a military research institute. he said the meeting is not the proper forum for resolving disputes. >> translator: the conference is intended for mutual communication. >> panetta held meetings over the weekend with security leaders from across the region. security analysts are trying to figure out how the american strategy will play out and how the chinese will respond. earlier shery ahn spoke to a kuni miyake who specializes in foreign affairs at the cannon institute for global studies. >> so what's behind the u.s. decision to increase its forces in the pacific? >> you know, when obama announced this new policy this january, i think many here were a bit skeptical about what the real intention would be. but i think by referring to specific number like 60% or something, i think panetta had successfully reassured the ally

friends in asia that the united states is serious about the rebalancing towards east asia. >> now china has been rather reserved with its response to this shift. why is that? >> well, you know, it may not be the best, comfortable place for china this time, because the united states is very serious about it and probably asean countries may wish to gang up against china because of the military rise of china in that part of the world. so, probably together with the united states and maybe japan and korea could gang up against china. so they don't want to be seen as being scorched in singapore. i think that's one of the reasons. the second reason could be a political domestic politics. they don't -- they are -- no new military leaders in china want

to be seen in singapore being criticized. and i think that's one of the reasons why they didn't show up. >> and just as we saw earlier, tensions are mounting between china and the philippines. how far do you think the u.s. will get involved here? >> the u.s. wishes to deter china on the water, not necessarily containing or fighting even china. that's not the intention of the united states. i think what they want to do is to maintain the traditional legal framework of the high sea, which is the freedom of navigation on the high sea, and china might challenge that aspect. so that's why the united states wants to deter china, but at the same time don't want to fight or contain. that means they probably wish to ask the philippines and china

both sides to be more constrained so that there will be no escalation of the conflict in the future. >> mr. miyake, thank you very much for your time. >> you're welcome. u.s. sailors are working with their counterparts in the region to follow through with that strategy. they are joining their counterparts from japan and australia for joint drills that take part in a three-day exercise off southwestern japan to prepare for a possible emergency. the royal australian navy frigate ballarat left a base in hiroshima among with the maritime self-defense destroyer, shimakaze. before departing jonathan earley thanked rear admiral hiroshi oka for hosting the australian crew. the ships and aircraft will practice anti-submarine warfare. security analysts say these exercises, too, are being held with the chinese naval buildup in mind.

we now 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 a brief time away. nhk world's careen 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 of 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 definitive mark of 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 is sort of shameful to go back and live with your parents. it is a bit weird. >> reporter: but now, the stigma typically attached to many youth of the boomerang generation may no longer weigh as strong. meet graham 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 wed bed robedroom whi 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 is also has been good to see my parents again. >> i'm more interested in graham finding something that he really wants to do. >> 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 lindsey 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 were 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.

lindsey 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 that for me, it enables me to have some freedom. if you view 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 lindsey and graham, home is where they can save money and plan productively for their next steps. with a little help from their parents. careen schneider, nhk world, new york. for an update on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. mai? >> hi there. let's give you an update of the

typhoon, which is just over here. it is going to be impacting okinawa islands very -- it is moving towards it, so impacting the area already. but heavily impacting the southwestern islands, especially with these winds packing up to almost 200 kilometers per hour. so high waves just along the coastal areas. could reach as much as nine meters high in some areas. and then that will be moving towards the pacific side of japan, probably local time around wednesday. and that will be impacting the area with some high waves which could reach as much as three meters high. closest approach is towards the southwestern islands would be just around tuesday afternoon hours. it is moving at the speed of 20 kilometers per hour, this typhoon mawar. and not only it is directly bringing high waves and packing up those gusts it going to bringing some heavy torrential rain, directly impacted from

this mawar could see 150 millimeters around the southwestern islands, but this actually indirectly impacting kagoshima and surouthern kyushu region and pushing to the north this is where we will see about 200 millimeters of rainfall in the next 24 hours. flooding, mud slides, landslides, all at a high risk. the rest of the country, for tomorrow, looking at high pressure cresting overhead. and predominant weather will be very nice weather actually and warm. especially in tokyo. we'll look at the temperatures earlier. but in the philippines, even though this mawar is moving away from these landmasses, it is enhancing the southwestern monsoonal flow. so still patches of heavy rain could be targeting the area. temperaturewise, manila at 31, hong kong and we're looking at 26 in tokyo with lots of sunny spells for us tomorrow.

moving over to the americas now, in the pacific northwest, the pacific storm will be impacting this area heavily. you can see the iceo bars close to each other and the tail sagging all the way down here. especially in north rockies, we may even see some snow to make appearance. the calendar is marking june already, but, yes, we may see some of that white stuff piling up in the higher elevations. and also severe thunderstorms could be possible around here, especially western montana. those large hail could also still be possible and damaging winds. this could be destructive winds pulling the trees and stuff as well. now, gusts are very strong here. just in utah and nevada as well. there are still very great recipe for critical fire weather. so do be aware of the flammable items. now we have a stationary front stretching from the southern plains all the way towards the mid-atlantic and along this front severe thunderstorms could erupt. we're talking about large hail, damaging winds and tornadic activity still not ruled out.

i know that in arklatex yesterday there was few tornado touchdowns, but do not rule out those possibilities yet for your tuesday. for your monday, excuse me. oklahoma city at 33 degrees. still reaching up pretty high there. but toronto and new york, a couple of 17s. so cool out there. los angeles at 22. quickly looking at europe, we have got low pressure system impacting areas, especially the balkans where severe thunderstorms could erupt. temperaturewise, rome at 23, cool in london at 14 degrees. here's your extended forecast.

we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us on nhk world.

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