welcome to nhk world "newsline." egyptians are marking another milestone in the arab world's democratic transition. election officials have declar d mohamed morsi as the next president. he's become the first president in egyptian history. morsi captured more than half the vote in a runoff election a week ago. he defeated ahmed shafiq. the margin of victory was more than 3 percentage points.

>> the rivalry between the muslim brotherhood and military has defined egyptian politics for decades. morsi will become the first president from outside the military in generations. nobisa degawa is a former middle east correspondent. what is the significance of this presidential election? >> well, egyptians have chosen their leader for the first time in their history. morsi is also the first president who is not from the military and first islamist in office. before the election, the nation's ruling military council made decisions in line with the wishes of supporters of the mubarak government. but democratization is under way in egypt. >> you're saying under way. what challenges must be overcome

to see a fully democratized egypt? >> the hard-fought election polarized the nation between islamists and secularists, as well as revolutionists and supporters of the mubarak regime. so morsi has to form a government of national unity. it needs to win support from the shafiq camp, minority christians, secularists, rebels, women and young egyptians who played a central role in last year's ouster of mubarak. >> so a lot of divisions there. will egypt's ruling military council transfer power to the elected president as they promised? >> the council's revision of the country's provisional constitution has already significantly reduced presidential authority. attention should be focused on how much morsi and council can share power, and whether the muslim brotherhood will accept

dissolution of the country's parliament. the key will be a political negotiations with the military rulers. a new constitution will be created under the military's leadership. analysts are waiting to see how far the document will reflect the teachings of islam and the relationship between the state and the revision. also, the spotlight on relations among the president, parliament and the military. regarding egypt's tie with israel, morsi said he will maintain the country's peace treaty with the jewish state, but public opinion will affect the diplomatic relations. egyptians who generally dislike israel may demand a review of the treaty. the muslim brotherhood and the military will continue their intense power struggle. egypt will undergo vital political events this year as it continues its democratization.

>> nobuhisa degawa. >> thank you very much. the philippines say long-running contentions in the south china sea have finally eased. >> more than two months have passed since vessels from have becomed in a standoff near disputed south china sea. the philippine government announced both sides have pulled all of the ships from the area. but it remains unclear whether any flair up in tension could be avoided for long. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the confrontation over scarborough shoal involved surveillance from other ships. both assert sovereignty over the shoal. philippines foreign secretary albert del rosario said in a

statement on monday that there are no long kner boats from either the philippines or china inside the shoal. he referred to the shoal using its philippine name. the announcement puts an end to the territorial issue for now. but the dispute is far from being resolved. both couldn'ts cited poor weather for the withdrawal of their ships. that allowed them to avoid looking like they were making any concessions. at a news conference on monday, a chinese government spokesperson issued a warning. >> translator: the situation around the area seems to be eased in general. but china has continued our jurisdiction and the monitoring of the area. >> reporter: the territorial issue is turning into something like a game of whack-a-mole. no sooner is one issue resolved

than another one pops up in its place. last week, vietnam's parliament passed legislation naming the spratly and paracel islands as its own territory. the chinese government made its own move integrating administration of the paracel, spratly and macclesfield islands into a new city. the moves are heightening tension between vietnam and china. the scarborough shoal standoff highlighted that the south china sea issue is a real source of potential conflict. the issue may be taken up at a meeting of the asean regional forum next month in cambodia. but any firm action seems unlikely and a lasting solution to this long, simmering problem seems a long way off. charmaine deogracias, nhk,

manila. >> former thai prime minister thaksin shinawatra has ruled out the possibility of going home anytime soon. thaksin also suggested to nhk that he has no immediate plans to return to frontline politics. thaksin was ousted in a military coup six years ago. he was later convicted of corruption before fleeing thailand to live in self-opposed exile. thaksin supporters are preparing legislation to impart him. thaksin told nhk in an exclusive interview in japan on friday that the time is not yet right for him to return to thailand. >> after that, yes, i can come back. but if i were to go back, i better stay outside. >> so, you know the time has not

come yet. >> not now. not now. >> thaksin also stressed that should he decide to return to thailand, his official role in politics will be limited. >> at this age, i better do advisely low. >> thaksin is the brother of the current prime minister yingluck shinawatra. his words suggest that any return to politics may be kept offstage given thailand's delicate political situation. and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm dhra dhirakaosal in bangkok. the spanish government on monday officially asked the european union for financial assistance to prop you up its struggling banks. banks of the eurozone's fourth largest economy are suffering from massive losses on their property loans. the government hasn't disclosed

how much it needs, but an audit by an oversees accounting firm has indicated up to 60 billion euros would be required. the assistance would be limited to aiding commercial banks, not the government that is suffering from a heavy budget deficit much like greece. it's not considered easy to calm market worries about spain's fiscal trouble. the eu aid would further increase the amount of its debt. spain is the fourth country to seek assistance after greece, ireland and portugal. panasonic and sony plan to team up for the next generation tv. now it's official. the two companies say they plan to come up with technology for the mass production of organic, e-lectroluminesce ennc displays by the end of next year. these displays are thinner and produce clearer images than lcd

panels. they plan to develop large 50-inch displays for tvs and professional use. sony and panasonic have long been rivals in the electronics market, but they have decided to join forces to catch up with south korea makers in ole production. ? japan, smartphone sales tripled in 2011 over the previous year to more than 24 million units. panasonic has launched a new microwave oven this month. automatically sets the temperature and heating time when people put a smartphone equipped with cooking data close to the finish. designers have come up with a model after noticing that consumers often use their cell phones to look up recipes. another maker, jvc kenwood is selling camcorders that can transmit video date to smartphones when people pass before the product it will capture their images and send them to their smart phones. meanwhile, sharp has developed a disc-shaped vacuum cleaner with

a small smartphone controlled camera. it allows users to make a quick check of any part of their rooms like under a sofa. sales at regular and fast food restaurants in japan fell for the first time in eight months. rainy weather in early may discouraged people from eating out. the japan food services association says sales at some 220 restaurants across the country dipped 1.5% from a year earlier. explaining reasons association officials also note the spring holiday period was shorter this year than last year. in addition, sales declined because fast food chains are offering more low-priced menus. consumers are becoming more budget conscious. here are the latest market figures.

jap ab's prime minister is getting ready for a crucial vote on a key part of his plan to cover his country's rising social security cost. noda and other politicians vote tuesday on a controversial bill to double the consumption tax. he has staked his political career on passing the legislation during his parliamentary session. noda's running democratic party and two main opposition parties agreed to put eight bills to a vote in the lower house. one of them would double the 5% sales tax by 2015. the prime minister says japa needs the revenue to finance its deficit and pay for its aging society. noda has called for party unity

on the issue, but the legislation is strongly contested from within the dpj. some members are threatening to leave the party if the bill is adopted. they include political heavy weight ichiro ozawa. people in northeastern japan can now buy limited amounts of seafood caught off fukushima prefecture. last year's nuclear accident polluted the sea prompting fisherman to suspend their work. they found no radioactive contaminants. so supermarkets are selling octopus and shellfish. managers set prices about 30% lower than before the meltdowns at the fukushima daiichi plant. >> translator: fishermen haven't been able to fish for 15 months. now that they can start fishing again, we want them to do their best, and we'll support them. >> members of a local fisheries association plan to ship the next catch to tokyo and other

large cities if they get a good response. fishermen unloaded the first catch at the port of mutsukawa in soma. the municipality of soma and members of the fishing industry gathered at the wharf and ate samples. they also inspected a facility created to test marine products for radiation. the mayor says his city will let the whole nation know seafood from fukushima is safe. they received a lunch box with nine items, including octopus and shellfish that's now back on supermarket shelves. people living in an area just north of tokyo are hoping to overcome the problems they face because of radioactive contamination. saitama prefect surfamous for its green tea but the fukushima fallout hurt sales. so a local assembly members launched a new public relations toefrts turn things around. they are distributing packs of freshly picked leaves to train commuters at a station in iruma.

sales of the local variety of tea known as saiyama plunged last year after tests detected levels of radioactive cesium exceeding official standards. inspectors visited all of the prefecture's tea factories after this year's late spring harvest. this time they found cesium levels were below the safety threshhold. officials in four of saitama's municipalities are participating in this drive to promote the local specialty. preparing for disasters is part of life in japan. seismologists and emergency officials known the 2011 earthquake and tsunami won't be the country's last. so they are constantly working on contingency plans. one involves finding shelters for people who are stranded should a quake cut power and shut down trains. officials have learned a lot from what happened on march 11th last year. some of the lessons have come from sendai, the city closest to the quake's epicenter.

>> reporter: on the evening of the massive quake, the center of sendai was engulfed in total darkness. there were no lights to be seen except in one building, the sendai trust tower. drawn by the lights, crowds of people gathered inside the building. the quake that afternoon had brought the entire transportation system to a halt, stranding many visiting businessmen and tourists. ishikawa is from tokyo. he was in sendai on business that day. he had no idea where to find shelter until he spotted the lights in the sendai trust tower. >> translator: when i saw those lights shining out of the complete darkness, i felt so relieved. i headed towards them. as if drawn by a magnet.

the 180-meter tower is the tallest building in northeast japan. open just eight months earlier, its structure was designed to observe earth tremors. because it houses offices and a hotel it has a large generator that can supply enough electricity for three days. thanks to twitter and other social media, people flocked to the building. some 3,600 people stayed there for as much as a week. experts say the same thing would happen in tokyo and other cities after a similar natural disaster. >> translator: if a massive quake hits a major city it will cause power outages in most areas. but in districts with many skyscrapers, the lights are likely to stay on because modern high-rise buildings have emergency power generators. in that case, thousands of people may flock to them just

like they did in sendai. earlier yuko aotani spoke with someone in our studio. >> what were the problems after so many converged on that sendai high rise. >> yeah, first of all there was not enough food or medical equipment for the evacuees. high rise buildings like this usually stock enough water, food and virginia supplies for the staff and tenants, but not for people from outside. it's unfeasible for them to stockpile provisions for large numbers of evacuees. another problem is the tower not was officially considered a public shelter. >> translator: our building wasn't designated as an official shelter so that means we didn't receive emergency supplies or other forms of aid from the authorities. >> another issue was ensuring people's safety. the management of the building was unwilling to shelter the

evacuees due to worries about its legal standing if any injuries were sustained on the premises. >> translator: as the building management, we bear the responsibility. the question of whether we might be exempted from this responsibility in the event of an emergency is something that needs to be addressed. >> so is anything being done to tackle these issues then? >> experts say it's vital for local authorities and companies to work together to draw up measures to ensure that people can find shelter with as little disruption as possible. >> city authorities need to know ahead of time how many people can be accommodated in each of the buildings and be prepared to guide people to them following a natural disaster. at the same time, it's essential that plans are drawn up dealing with the most efficient way of

utilizing the limited resources available in each area. including evacuation facilities and stockpiles of food and medicine. >> the lessons learned from the situation in sendai will be essential for planning ahead for future possible disasters. not just in other parts of japan, but in cities all around the world. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. it won't be easy, they have to rebuild homes and businesses and entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead," every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." south korea's prime minister says his country need to strengthen national dofs protect itself from its neighbor to the north. kim wongsix spokeson monday.

he attended a ceremony at a war memorial in seoul. about 4,000 retired military personnel and relatives of the war dead gathered for the event. kim called the conflict the korean people's biggest tragedy. he added that the north remains a threat to peace on the peninsula. he was referring to their reclusive nation's rocket launch in april. many countries say it was a ballistic missile test. >> translator: we must do our best to increase our defense capability and maintain strong aware balance national security so the tragedy of war is not repeated. >> south korea's military has been conducting exercises this month with american forces. north korean leaders have reacted angrily to the drills. cloudy skies in tokyo, but it's holding up for now. southern japan, we're seeing a different story. robert speta has more. robert? >> you can cross much of southern and western japan.

heavy rainfall all associated with this rny season stationary boundary has been continuing to occur here. the max total for today in kagoshima was up to 305 millimeters of rain here. it's all due to that boundary. also a new low pressure area will start to develop off of this and, unfortunately, in addition to 150 millimeters could be seeing in the next 24 hours. plus some thunderstorm activity developing off of this could be producing about 50 millimeters in just a one-hour period. so short time heavy rain here. also all this boundary extending out towards the west. going to be bringing some heavy rainfall there in central and eastern china. now down towards the south, though, look at this area. this is our newly formed tropical depression. it's currently moving off towards the west, and it's expected to become a tropical storm within the next 24 hours before it affects the philippines possibly by midweek bringing widespread heavy rain showers. thunderstorm activity and the risk of landslide and flooding cannot be ruled out here across

luzon, even down towards versailles as that monsoon will be enhanced as this tracks toward the west. that will keep you posted on this area. temperatures are shaping up like this. taipei at 31. beijing up to 27. look at tokyo. cloudy skies. keeping it rather cool only with a high of 23 on tuesday. now in the americas, tropical storm debby has been the main topic here throughout the day here. it's currently remaining rather stationary. winds about 83 kilometers per hour in the center of circulation. although a lot of that convection has already pushed onshore. seeing these winds pushing onshore in the right front quadrant here. this is apalachi bay. that's where you'll be seeing the highest risk of storm surge. up to about three-meter high storm surge could be experienced here and already seeing it down here towards the south. let's take a look at photos coming out of the tampa bay area on your sunday. those are boats there at the road level, as that surge lifts

up the water here. and also you can continue to see those winds blow across much of the area here. so these surges are going to be -- continuing to be expected throughout the company days as landfall is not really expected with this storm until about the latter part of this week. also seeing the heavy rainfall. 200 millimeters from tallahassee over there towards the east coast. also bringing that flooding potential. now off towards the northeast, widespread airport delays currently in effect across much of the tri-state area. all due to this low pressure area. good news, it's starting to push off toward the east. high pressure ridging in behind it bringing much fair weather and hot weather toward the south. look at houston. high of 39. denver, critical fire weather in place here. gusty winds. also temperatures all the way up. very high here. you can be seeing dry thunderstorms producing winds about 80 kilometers per hour. very little rain will be coming out of this. now in europe, eastern europe, you've been seeing this low

pressure area accompanied by this cold front. thunderstorm activity with 90-kilometer per hour winds. that charges off toward the west. down towards the south, the iberian peninsula, high pressure really dominating this area. temperatures are going to be continuing to rise as well. madrid, a high of 39. that's about teen degrees above your average. warsaw only making it up to 17 on your tuesday. here's a look at your extended outlook.

once again mears here's a story we've been looking at. the spanish government on monday officially asked the european union for financial assistance to prop up its struggling banks. banks of the eurozone's fourth largest economy are suffering from massive losses on their property loans. the government hasn't disclosed how much it needs. but an audit by an overseas accounting firm has indicated that up to 60 billion euros would be required. the eu has already expressed its willingness to help. its assistance would be limited to aiding commercial banks, not the government that's suffering from a heavy budget deficit much like greaece. the eu aid would further increase the amount of its debt. spain is the fourth country to seek eu assistance after greece, ireland and portugal. we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us. .