hello and welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, july 3rd, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. negotiators at the reqeqeqe any more examples of the need to control weapons. they point to syria, sudan, congo. they gathered at u.n. headquarters to draw up a treaty to regulate the global arms market. but they've already run into some roadblocks. nhk world reports from new york. >> reporter: this knotted gun sculpture at u.n. headquarters

is a symbol of peace. it will take on even more meaning this month as international negotiators meet to discuss how to regulate global arms trade. delegates from around the world have come to new york to talk about a treaty that's been in the works for years. international protocols regulate the exchange of weapons of mass destruction. but similar rules don't apply to conventional arms such as tanks and guns. guns, ammunition and other weapons fuel conflict and terrorism around the world. amnesty international says armed violence killed one person every minute. supporters of the treaty say it could save thousands of lives. japan, european nations, and some latin american and african countries are on board. the group held a press conference pushing for strict regulations. >> translator: it is difficult

for us to control regional conflicts in which small weapons are used. we in japan must create an environment in which we can contribute to peace-building. >> reporter: but the key players are big weapon producers such as the united states. the u.s. is the world's biggest weapons exporter, accounting for one-third of the total value of global arms shipment. washington initially opposed the treaty. but president obama reversed that position. his administration is not so forthcoming on some of the scope of the treaty, though, such as small arms or ammunition. guns are very popular in the u.s. a new poll indicates more than 40% of american households own a gun. some lawmakers resist any international law that might, in their view, infringe american people's constitutional right to arm themselves.

the u.s. is also the biggest exporter of ammunition and produces over 7 billion rounds a year. the country has resisted the proposed inclusion of ammunition in the scope of the treaty on the ground that it is impractical. russia and china have also raised concerns. the countries are also among the world's largest arms exporters. negotiations over this global arms treaty will go on for most of this month. negotiators say now the question is not if there will be a treaty but how effective or not it will be. nhk world, new york. delegates from iran and six world powers meet in istanbul later in the day for another round of talks on iran's nuclear program. the eu's foreign policy chief has urged iran to make concrete pledges this time. the seven parties have met three

times since april without a breakthrough. the eu's catherine ashton says she hopes the iranians seize this opportunity to address the concerns of the international community. western officials want iranian scientists to stop enriching uranium to 20%, which can lead to the development of nuclear weapons. iranian leaders claim they're developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. technical experts will meet in istanbul to determine whether there's enough common ground for full-fledged talks. but the meetings are expected to be strained. an eu embargo on iranian oil imports took effect sunday. the head of nato says he wants the international community to find a political solution to the conflict in syria. secretary-general anders fogh rasmussen told a news conference in brussels there are no plans for a military intervention. >> nato has no intention to intervene in syria. and as i have stressed today, i

think the right way forward is to find a political solution. >> rasmussen called on the u.n. security council to speak with "one voice" to pressure syria and he also commended nato member turkey for showing restraint sincerian forces shot down one of its military aircraft last month. japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda woke up to new political rivalries. his biggest rival quit the ruling democratic party and took 49 allies with him. ozawa disagreed with noda's plan to raise the consumption tax. >> translator: we voted against raising the consumption tax based on our belief that there is much to be done before any tax hike. the democratic party, led by prime minister noda, is no longer the dpj that achieved an historic change of power.

we're going back to the basics of what got us elected and have decided to leave the party to create a new type of politics in which the people can choose freely. >> ozawa has been critical of noda on a number of issues. the key point of contention is the prime minister's plan to hike the consumption tax from 5% to 10%. a majority of lower house lawmakers voted last week in favor of bills that would raise the consumption tax and change social security. ozawa and most of his followers voted against the reforms. ozawa has a history of creating and breaking up political parties. he helped found the dpj and bring it to power in 2009. but he, 37 other members of the lower house, and 12 from the upper house, will now form a new party. ozawa plans to encourage smaller opposition groups to join him. the exodus is expected to raise doubts about prime minister noda

within the dpj when he faces a leadership review in september. noda knew he was putting his job on the line when he asked lawmakers to vote on his fiscal reform plan, and he knew ozawa would likely quit the ruling party. but he's standing by his decision. he says japan must get its finances in order. >> translator: this reform is not just for increasing taxes. it's also for stabilizing social security. the legislation is aimed at protecting the lives of citizens now and in the future. we must pass the bill. i want to fulfill my responsibility to do that. >> some voters support ozawa. others want to hear more from him. >> translator: ozawa has been against the consumption tax hike and he kept his promise.

so i support his leaving the party. >> translator: if he has an alternative plan for rebuilding the country's finances, i think it's good for him to leave. but he hasn't revealed this. i think his behavior is not very adult. survivors of last year's disaster had this to say about the trchction transi'm a supporter of the democratic party but i'm disappointed to see politicians engaging in a power struggle at a time when we need reconstruction efforts to move forward. >> translator: politicians are only thinking about themselves. many of us think they're just wasting time. >> earlier, "newsline's" gene otani spoke with our political commentator who's been following ozawa for years.

>> how much will this change things for prime minister noda? >> well, the ruling dpj is left with only a slim majority in the lower house. so the prime minister can reject a no-confidence vote. still, the loss of all these votes will strip noda of a lot of his power. he'll have to be more dependent on the opposition parties. noda has struggled since taking office to manage an economy knocked back last year by the earthquake and tsunami. it became evident after a few months that noda was not capable of uniting his party. >> so what should voters expect? are they going to be heading to the polls soon? what's the calendar looking like now? >> the consumption tax bills are the most important thing on the calendar in the short-term. and upper house members expected to pass those bills sometime in the next few months. opposition members there too say

that they'll cooperate but they also say their cooperation ends there. elections for the lower house must be held wind the year. but these departures may push noda into a general election even before that. he faces the leadership review in september. and even if he survives, he still may be forced to dissolve the lower house and call a general election in the months that follow. noda's public rating plunged to 27% in the most recent polls last month. what's happening could make him look like he has lost control of his party and weaken his hold on power. >> so what are noda's prospects if an election were held soon? >> well, the polls we've been talking about suggest that the ruling dpj would not fair fare well in an election. both the ruling dpj and the liberal democrats are expected to fall short of a majority.

the governor of tokyo and the mayor of osaka are planning to form new parties to attract voters who are tired of the old order. that could leave japan's political landscape more fragmented than ever. you know, whatever happens, the next election won't result in a party with a stable majority. and japanese voters can expect the door to the prime minister's office to be a revolving one for some time yet. flooding in india's northeast has left at least 65 people dead and 11 others missing. officials from the state of assam say the victims were swept away or buried under landslides. monsoon rain began lashing the state last week.

the brahmaputra river and its branches have burst their banks. some 2,000 villages have been flooded. the officials say more than 400,000 people have been evacuated. they say about 2 million people have been affected by the floods. prime minister manmohan singh flew to assam on monday. he promised to mobilize military helicopters to drop food and other necessities in the area. neighboring country bangladesh is also experiencing heavy monsoon downpours. landslides there have left about 100 people dead. the chairman of britain's barclays bank has announced his resignation. the lender was involved in a rate-rigging scandal that led to a $453 million fine. marcus agius said the incident dealt a devastating blow to barclays' reputation. british and u.s. regulators last

week ordered the bank to pay the fine for manipulating a key market index. barclays submitted false data that was used to set the london interbank offered rate, or libor. libor has been under scrutiny for several alleged illegaes. swiss regulators are investigating banks, including japan's three largest financial groups. the jobless rate in the 17 eurozone nations has hit a new high. european union statistics agency euro stat says unemployment stood at 11.1% in may, an increase of 0.1 points from april, the highest since the euro was introduced in 1999. spain's jobless rate was the worse in the zone at a record 24.6%. 52.1% of those under 25 were without work. the rate stood at 15.2% in portugal and 10.1% in italy. the latest numbers for greece are available only for march.

that was 21.9%. now let's take a look at the market figures. north koreans are hearing about their leader kim jong-un more often and sooner than they heard about his father. analysts at the radio press news agency in tokyo study the north korean media. they say state news outlets

produced 81 stories about kim jong-un in the first six months of this year, three more than they devoted to kim jong-il in the first half of any year he was in power. the analysts also say the media usually reported kim jong-il's activities months after the fact but put out stories on kim jong-un in days. half the reports in the first half of the year were about connections with the military. the analysts say the high exposure suggests officials are trying to allay concerns about kim's lack of experience. nhk has learned north korean authorities are also trying to raise kim's profile by highlighting his heritage. they made a film about his mother koihe and we've obtained a copy. koi was born in osaka as a korean resident of japan. she moved to north korea in the 1960s. she was a dancer and she caught the eye of the man who later became the country's leader, kim

john il. but her identity has been a secret. earlier, shery ahn got insight into the background of the film. >> what can we learn from watching this film? >> the documentary provides insight into the efforts to legitimize kim jong-un as north korea's leader. the party central committee commissioned it. the film is called "the great mother." an expert who obtained a copy says authorities started screening it in may as part of a training program for party executives. ♪ >> reporter: one eye-catching scene shows koihe galloping on a white horse, following her husband, kim jong-il. >> translator: our revered leader in front of the troops is followed by the great mother who is the daring standard-bearer

and the top aide of our leader. this illustrates the path our dear leader has taken as a fighter to bring about military-first north korea. >> reporter: the 75-minute film praises kim jong i'll and koihe. it includes unreleased footage of koi accompanying kim on official trips. she supported him but also kept a certain distance. her behavior is similar to her husband's. she puts her hand into her jacket pocket and shakes hands with people she meets. in one part of the film, we can see the phrase chucha 87.

which according to the calendar means 1998. >> translator: kim jong-un's respected mother was always accompanying dear leader on various visits. >> reporter: koi inspected the troops after her husband. she also sampled food and talked with soldiers. filmmakers are using these scenes to boost koi's profile as mother of the north korean public, even though her name is never mentioned. >> why have north koreans kept her a secret? >> everything related to the kim family is kept confidential to protect the regime. this is a new leader, kim jong-un's unofficial family tree. koihe was kim jong-il's first wife. she was upon in japan. but his regime kept her existence a secret.

because of her heritage. so there's a deep-rooted anti-japanese sentiment in north korea, stemming from japan's past colonial rule. this professor from kansai university is a professor who obtained a cope of the film. he offered details regarding the documentary's screenings. >> translator: before the screening, the chair of the gathering is said to have told the audience the woman in the film is lee un sil. north korean leaders apparently thought it would be wise to hide koihe's real name. >> so what else do we learn about koi in this film? >> the documentary shows how close she was to kim jong-il and his family.

the film includes a photo of koi at gun practice alongside her mother-in-law. the mother of north korea. >> translator: while admitting she's not competent to acquire the skills of her mother-in-law, who always hits the target, she spoke of the need to ensure the safety of dear leader without missing a shot. >> reporter: also included in the film is koi's message to her husband on his 50th birthday. >> and does current leader kim

jong-un make an appearance? >> he does. he's shown alongside his mother. the film casts her as a great mother, like her mother-in-law before her. this is all designed to help give the inexperienced kim credibility. >> translator: a process is under way to use the glory of kim's parents for him to acquire ka mi charisma and raise his profile. the second phase involves boosting the profile of his mother. once it's completed increasing the profile of kim himself will be next. >> but it's getting easier for north koreans to access information from foreign countries via cell phones and dvds. and it's easier for them to get closer to the truth about their leaders. propaganda may no longer be enough for north korean leaders to keep their grip on power. >> thanks for your time. >> thank you. rachel ferguson joins us now with the world weather

forecast. people in southern areas of japan are dealing with torrential downpours. what's the latest? >> that's absolutely correct. kyushu as well as shikoku have been dealing with very heavy rain. there's also the risk of tornados and a raised risk of landslides. as well in kyushu where the same rain band brought very heavy rain on sunday. and we've had reports, in fact, of 50 millimeters of rain falling in just the space of one hour. so that's some really seriously heavy rainfall. that's going to continue and the heavy rain will spread in toward central locations, coming into tokyo by the late afternoon hours and through the evening. now, if we follow that rain band right through eastern china and down towards sichuan province you'll notice very heavy rain. you can see a low form over the front. that is going to be producing between 100 to 250 millimeters of rain during the course of the day today.

up towards the northeast of china we still have that very slow-moving system bringing thunderstorms, gusts and also hail here and down to the south. lots of scattered thunderstorms for the philippines and indochina as the southwest monsoon continues. as it will do so the next few months. but today we have a low crossing the philippines and that will really enhance the rainfall across central locations of the archipelago. again, an increased risk of landslides and flooding here. temperatures are going to be generally between the low to mid 30s. but we're really hotting up in places like shanghai. 35 here. taipei as well. and even in beijing getting up to 35 degrees. so really seeing some heat spreading all the way up towards the north, reaching mongolia. ulan bator seeing 27 for the high today. 27 also in tokyo. a clear day turning wet as we head into the evening hours. all right, into north america. not much change from yesterday. we are still dealing with severe outbreaks of thunderstorms along the u.s./canada border, coming into the upper midwest.

just along this low, around this low is where the storms are going to be most severe. another area will be breaking out from virginia down through the carolinas during your overnight hours. rain will be widespread. however, it's not really going to be enough to make a dent in the temperatures. and it's really the temperatures that are responsible for these outbreaks of thunderstorms. all this humidity, all this heat, is making the air very unstable. and that's why we see those thunderstorms. let's take a look at the temperatures as we head into tuesday. over there in d.c. 37 in chicago. 36 in oklahoma city as well as in denver. that is going to persist into the next couple of days, actually raising the temperature by a couple of degrees in places like chicago as we head on into wednesday. up towards the pacific northwest and western canada, 17 in vancouver. 18 in seattle. a little bit warmer but still very cool for you here. all right, as we head on into

europe, more heavy rain has been targeting the british isles. very unwelcome rain last week. widespread flooding was reported here. well, we're just getting band after band of rain coming off of a low pressure system sitting out over the atlantic. and that could lead to further flooding. we've also had reports of thunderstorms delivering golf ball-sized hail here. central locations seeing very severe thunderstorms. again, the czech republic, eastern germany, poland, you'll be receiving the worst of it. lots of humidity energy coming up from the south. it's just moving around as a dome of high pressure. that's why we see the same areas being affected by these storms. this dome of high pressure, of course, is keeping all the heat around the balkan peninsula. 38 in budapest today. 32 in vienna. warming up in the southwest. just 18 and wet in london. i'll leave you to your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour. delegates from iran and six world powers meet in istanbul later in the day for another round of talks on iran's nuclear program. the eu's foreign policy chief has urged iran to make concrete pledges this time. the seven parties have met three times since april without a breakthrough. the eu's catherine ashton says she hopes the iranians seize this opportunity to address the concerns of the international community. western officials want iranian scientists to stop enriching uranium to 20%, which can lead to the development of nuclear weapons. iranian leaders claim they're developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. technical experts will meet in istanbul to determine whether there's enough common ground for full-fledged talks. but the meetings are expected to be strained. an eu embargo on iranian oil imports took effect sunday. that concludes this edition

of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back at the top of the hour.