welcome to nhk world "newsline." many japanese are still worried about nuclear power generation after last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. so on friday, prime minister yoshihiko noda tried to reassure the nation that nuclear power is safe and necessary. he said it is vital that the ohi nuclear power plant in western japan be restarted soon or the nation can expect power shortages. >> translator: it is my view that ohi nuclear power plant reactors 3 and 4 should be restarted to protect the lives of citizens.

we seek the consent as we host municipalities after which due procedures will be taken. to secure prosperity and humane conditions for citizens, accessible and stable supply of energy is indispensable. nuclear power has supplied roughly 30% of all energy in japan. if the supply is halted and is not permitted to resume, the japanese economic society cannot be sustained. >> noda gave his speech as part of a deal. the governor of fukui prefecture site of the ohi plant, demanded the prime minister address the public in order to get his consent. japan became a nuclear power free for first time in 42 years last month. that's when the final nuclear

plant in operation in hokkaido was shut down for inspection. following the prime minister's speech, local officials involved with the ohi plant expressed their opinions. the governor of fukui says in his statement that officials will determine whether managers at the plant are capable of making decisions during a nuclear emergency. the governor plans to hear opinions from an independent panel of experts and members of the prefectural assembly. he plans to inspect the plant before agreeing to the restart. >> translator: the speech impressed me indicating a power plant should be restored. i would like to hear the governor's opinion on the matter. >> some areas in shiga prefecture lie within a 30 kilometer radius of the ohi power plant.

>> translator: the government should proceed with a plan as soon as possible. the prerequisite for restart is only when demand for electricity peaks. many people including those in business circles are worried about power shortages. >> this is how the procedure toward restarting the reactors at the ohi plant is expected to unfold. first, a panel of experts from fukui will meet on sunday for a final round of discussions on safety of the number three and four reactors. the panel will then compile a report. based on that report, mayor shinobu tokioka of ohi town which hosts the power plant will decide on the resumption. factions within the fukui prefecture of parliament will submit their respective opinions to governor issei initianishika. yoshihiko noda will decide on the resumption of the ohi plant after meeting with three relevant cabinet ministers. it is expected to take about six

weeks to prepare for the resumption of the two reactors' operations once the government decides to do so. nhk world's political commentator masayo nakajima has been following this story. tell us what happens from here. of course, the other reactors as well as the one that is of the immediate concern, the ohi nuclear plant. >> local officials expected to give their approval to the government sometime next week. and the noda administration will be able to restart the ohi plant before the peak of any consumption starts in the summer. he and his cabinet want the process at ohi to serve as a precedent for restarting plants in other areas. some local leaders are deeply suspicious about nuclear power after what they have seen in fukushima. many residents are also wary. we have to wait and see whether what happens at ohi affects what

happens at other plants. but anyhow, i think noda -- prime minister noda has to weigh the risk of those who still believe the nuclear power is not safe. >> restarting ohi almost sounds like it is a done deal. but noda didn't look too comfortable when talking to everybody. why was that? >> well, the ohi issue is just one of the two big issues noda is facing now. the other is the consumption tax in increasing social security costs and avoid a fiscal debt crisis like in greece. it is no secret that japan carries a greater percentage of debt on its books than any other developed nation. noda howed to risk his political career to push through the tax hike. but this is not providing to be easy because of strong opposition in the diet. i'm not sure whether the

unpopular prime minister will be able to regain much public support with the decision on ohi. if he fails in the tax hike, he'll have to resign or call a general election because japan may lose trust in how the government is dealing with finances. you know, japan has had a number of prime ministers in recent years and it is called revolving door of prime ministers. but now the country may face its seventh prime minister in just only six years. >> and it just gets busier and busier for you, masayo. thanks as always. nhk world's masayo nakajima. reports of another massacre in syria are testing the resolve of u.n. observers. human rights activists say troops loyal to president bashar al assad killed at least 80 people in one village.

the observers are being frustrated in their efforts to verify what happened. the activists say militia bombarded a village near the city of hama with artillery and moved in with small arms. they say most of the victims were women and children and the militia is reported to have abducted many residents. u.n. monitors tried to reach the location to investigate, but gunmen fired on their vehicle and they had to flee. activists say the militia has moved on to another village and is carrying out another attack. government forces are deployed around that village and are blocking entry. activists say pro government forces are using helicopters in their assaults on several cities. and ground troops are setting crops on fire. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton insists it is time to start planning for what syria might look like after assad. >> the regime sponsored violence we witnessed again in hama yesterday is simply

unconscionable. assad has doubled down on his brutality and duplicity. and syria will not, cannot be peaceful, stable or certainly democratic until assad goes. >> clinton said foreign officials working with syrian opposition forces need to coordinate their efforts. she urged her diplomatic counterparts to impose and fully implement sanctions against at saad government. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon says he's preparing several options to end the violence in syria. ban says the government of president bashar al assad shows no signs of complying with the cease-fire plan approved by the u.n. security council. >> this is indicative of a pattern that may amount to crimes against humanity. the international community must recognize all these realities and must act now.

>> the secretary-general did not provide details about what further actions he would take, but analysts say they could include tougher sanctions as called for by the united states and european countries. russia and china remain opposed to additional sanctions against syria. the divide leaves the security council with little room to maneuver. ban said the group of 20 summit later this month will provide an important opportunity to discuss the syrian issue. people in china reflect on the events of their past. this week mced the 23rd anniversary of the protests in tiananmen square. the crackdown left scores of pro democracy protesters dead or wounded. even today chinese government officials refused to recess their view of the events. they insist a group of students provoked a riot. details of the tragedy remain unclear including the exact number of victims. the officials are placing the highest priority on stability ahead of the shuffle of the

communist leadership this fall. the chinese government continues to tighten its grip on the relatives of victims and pro democracy activists. those groups continue to demand that the government clarify what happened. former soldier jong zi june was involved in the crackdown. ma koco makota oda spoke with him about how he felt back then and how he feels now. >> reporter: he belonged to the unit 23 years ago. he enlisted military in 1986 when he was 16. at that time, he was patriotic and eager to help defend his country. three years later, in may, his unit was deployed to beijing, which was under martial law. >> translator: back then, i believed that our mission was to

keep society in order. the army taught its troops to regard ordinary citizens as their parents or brothers. >> reporter: on the eve of the tiananmen incident, his unit headed for the square occupied by students. on the way, he saw many bodies, a pool of blood. he says that even 23 years later he still cannot reveal more. he fears punishment. >> translator: though i cannot speak the truth about what happened back then, my view of life and my values have changed drastically since that incident. >> reporter: two days after the

incident, zhang decided to quit the army. when he told his boss, zhang was discharged for refusing to obey orders. soon afterward, authorities sent him straight to a detention center without a trial. for three years zhang underwent socialist re-education and did forced labor. four years ago, zhang started sending letters to president hu jintao. he asked for his name to be restored and for china to be democratized. instead authorities have been keeping tabs on zhang. despite this, he visited tiananmen square last month to pay tribute to those killed in the incident.

he believes he has to continue trying to push china toward democracy. >> translator: unless the government embarks on political reform, this society might well collapse. we must raise our voice to press the government to reform. >> reporter: this year was the last time for president hu jintao and premier wen jiabao to be in power during a tiananmen anniversary. some chinese have thought they might review the incident, but the administration has not moved. as impatient as they are, pro democracy activists and those seeking more information seem resigned. nhk world, beijing.

major japanese electronics maker sharp plans to expand its ties with a leading taiwanese manufacturer. back in march, sharp signed a capital tie-up agreement with hon hai precision industry. now the two companies will join hands to make smartphones, mainly for the chinese market. >> translator: sharp can't compete alone in the age of digital product commoditization. >> under the deal hon hai will design and produce smartphones using sharp's liquid crystal and other technologies. hon hai will also buy lcd panels made at sharp's plant in japan. this is aimed at boosting the operation from 30% of capacity at present to 90% after the summer. and japan's scandal tainted

olympus has come up with a plan to rebuild itself. the optical equipment maker posted a net loss of more than $610 million in fiscal 2011 through march after trying to cover-up huge losses over the years. >> translator: we will cut 2700 jobs through the end of march 2014. that's about 7% of our worldwide workforce. >> the olympus president said the company will strengthen its endoscope and other medical equipment businesses to improve its profit performance. he said the goal is to increase its sales by more than 30% over the next five years. he added olympus is currently talking with fuji films holding, sony and panasonic about possible capital and other tie-ups. here are the latest market figures.

a nepalese man is together with his family for first time in 15 years. the man was released from a japane prison after the tokyo high court granted him a retrial based on new evidence. govinda prasad mainali was convicted of robbing and murdering a woman in an empty apartment in tokyo in 1997. the supreme court finalized the verdict in 2003 and gave him a life sentence. however, the high court on thursday granted him a retrial. it set said a new dna test shows

there is a possibility that someone other than mainali killed the woman. the 45-year-old father reunited with his nepalese wife and two daughters who are visiting japan at an immigration facility in yokohama on friday. the immigration bureau started procedures to deport him to nepal because he did not have a proper visa when he was arrested 15 years ago. his family says they're asking the nepalese embassy for help so he can return home with his family as soon as possible. some troubling news from japan's national police agency. a new report shows that the overall number of people who committed suicide last year dropped. but the number of youths who took their own lives increased dramatically. the news appears in the national police agency's annual report on suicides. it says that more than 30,000 people across japan killed themselves in 2011. that's about 1,000 fewer than a year earlier. but the statistics for younger

people are worse. the number of people below 19 years of age who committed suicide reached 622, up 70 from a year earlier. the number of people in their 20s who committed suicide was more than 3,000. the government says there is a worrying trend that more young people are killing themselves when they fail to find work after graduation. japan is moving forward to starting talks on entering the trans-pacific partnership. japanese farmers are already looking abroad for markets, especially those producing omi beef. one of the three top varieties of the premium japanese brand is already carving out a market in southeast asia. >> singapore, a country gushing with spending power. especially when it comes to

premium beef. a single steak of beef from shiga prefecture in western japan costs over 120 u.s. dollars a serving. >> very soft. very tender. >> the first time i tried it, i realized i found something very, very special that was unlike any other japanese beef i tried. >> last year 260 head of omi beef cows were exported. three times more than in 2010. 90% went to singapore. last november, a promotional event was held in singapore. since then, there has been a surge in exports of omi beef. this is one of shiga

prefecture's top cattle ranchers. every year he ships 1,000 head of cattle. he first started exporting to singapore four years ago. after demand in japan stopped growing. now he's got his eyes on another market, thailand. >> translator: bangkok is the business hub of southeast asia. that's why i'm looking to start shipping there. >> reporter: he sees thailand as an entry point to other southeast asian markets, such as vietnam and malaysia. two countries that are taking part in the trans-pacific partnership talks. bangkok now has over 100 restaurants serving beef barbecue. it is becoming widely popular. in may, he went to bangkok to discuss marketing strategies with local trading companies. they decided to focus on beef

barbecue restaurants and supermarkets that are already selling high quality beef. in some supermarkets, they set up counters. the beef is cut to order, as much or as little as needed. samples are handed out to draw in customers. >> translator: it's delicious. >> reporter: slowly but surely, he aims to create a foot hold in thailand for premium omi beef. he already has ten customers in thailand. he plans to export 50 head of cattle this year and twice that number in 2013. >> translator: as a cattle farmer, i never imagined i would be working as an exporter. if i produce really high quality beef, i think it will be appreciated abroad. this is a great opportunity to increase my exports.

>> he and other cattle farmers in shiga prefecture are now setting their sights on shipping omi beef to hong kong and the united states as well. and for an update on the weather forecast, here is mai shoji. mai? >> hi there. here in tokyo we had a warm or hot day. reaching up to 28 degrees for the high. well, it is going to be a very different story tomorrow and for the weekend it is going to be a rainy weekend ahead of us. system will be moving in towards the pacific coast and rainy season in kanto may start over the weekend. things are going to start to taper off here in the western half. however, towards eastern and northern japan, unstable weather to be seen in the next 24 hours. the heaviest rain could be found in tokai region, which could exceed as much as 120 millimeters in the next 24. also here in northeastern china, we have -- we see a bulk of very heavy rain passing through there with chances of isolated

thunderstorms. also, very torrential rain targeting southeastern china, about additional of 100 millimeters could be found, especially in fujian province, just south of shanghai. this is due to a stationary front lingering there. and that's going to be there for the next several days to come. and indochina peninsula and the philippines are targeted with the southwestern monsoonal flow. southern thailand is getting the bulk of the very heavy rain. temperaturewise, looking at a lot of 30s in this fixture. however, in tokyo, from 28, what we saw today as i mentioned earlier, dropping down to 20 degrees. i i i i i in saitama prefecture, that was recorded for today's high that marked the hottest day so far here in japan, in saitama prefecture. that's dipping down to about 21 degrees, it is going to be a bumpy ride for us. let's head over to the americas

now. the pacific northwest will be seeing another storm passing through, a similar area targeted with numerous low pressure systems. now, that's going to be bringing some gusty conditions as well as a wet rain. and the precipitation up in the higher elevations, especially the cascades, that may turn to white. and accumulation of slushy snow could be possible, so that could be a reaction towards the travel disturbances. south saskatchewan and down toward western and great lakes, this is where severe weather will be found today, but yesterday it was hitting wyoming. take a look at a picture coming out from there. a tornado touched down, looks like a neat picture, five houses injured, one person and that's going to be around southern saskatchewan, eastern montana, also western north dakota where tornadic activity still cannot be ruled out. what's happening is that cold air surging in from north and

also very warm air surging from the south is clashing there. and also the warm air keeps this hotness here. the heat is there, very well developed recipe for the critical fire weather in the similar areas where in new mexico the wildfire has been hitting and reaching up to 40 in phoenix. be hydrated there. heading over to the european continent, finally the windy and very wet conditions will be tapering off in the british isles, a great news, but stormy weather will be moving in towards southern scandinavian peninsula. temperaturewise, a pair of 19 in london and paris. athens, heating up to 34 degrees. here is our extended forecast.

once again, our lead story, japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda made a pitch to the nation. he said a nuclear plant in western japan must be restarted to avoid power shortages this summer. and he reassured people worried about the safety. >> translator: it is my view that ohi nuclear power plant reactors three and four should be restarted to protect the lives of citizens. we seek the consent of the

municipalities, after which due procedures will be taken. to secure prosperity and humane conditions for citizens, a stable supply of energy is indispensable. nuclear power has supplied roughly 30% of all energy in japan. if the supply is halted and is not permitted to resume, the japanese economic society cannot be sustained. >> noda gave his speech as part of a deal. the governor of fukui prefecture site of the ohi plant demanded that the prime minister address the public in order to get his consent. he's now expected to approve a restart as early as next week. japan became nuclear power free for first time in 42 years last month. that's when the final nuclear power plant in operation in hokkaido was shut down for inspection. we'll be back with more news 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

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