the god particle. scientists say they found a new particle consistent with the higgs boson, a key building block of the universe, they've been chasing for decades. welcome to nhk world "newsline." the higgs boson has fascinated and eluded scientists since the 1960s. the subatomic particle already exists in theory but researchers have spent many years and many billions of dollars trying to find definitive proof. they now say they found a new particle that's consistent with the higgs boson. the subatomic particle is considered the missing piece of the puzzle to understanding how the universe was made.

>> we have a success today we have a discovery. we have discovered a new particle of boson, a higgs boson. >> scientists made the highly anticipated announcement in geneva. a group of researchers from europe, north america, asia and other regions have been carrying out the experiments since 2008. confirming existence of the higgs would provide the missing piece of the fundamental theory of physics known as the standard model. scientists have discovered the 16 other subatomic particles in the model. they say positive identification of the new particles' characteristics will take more time. the higgs boson is named after british physicist peter higgs. he predicted in 1964 the existence of this elusive subatomic particle. the boson is believed to give

mass to everything from atoms to people. scientists believe that without the higgs there would be no gravity and no universe. the big bang created the universe. the theories of physics say particles raced around without any mass in the beginning, but scientists say at a certain point, the higgs bossson shown in pink, filled space. the higgs gave other particles mass and restricted their movement. scientists believe that process caused particles to stick together leading to the creation of stars, planets, and eventually humans. physicists believe the higgs boson is extremely small and densely concentrated in space. they've been using something called a large hadron collider to track it down. the particle accelerator is a 27-kilometer looped pipe in a tunnel 100 meters underground beneath the swiss/ french border.

scientists accelerate two beams of protons close to light speed, then fire them in different directions. the protons smash into each other creating a high energy reaction designed to simulate the big bang. from there, researchers analyze that numerous particles generated by the collision to try to find evidence of the higgs boson. >> peter higgs was in his 30s when it came up with his ground breaking theory. he's now 83 years old. the physicist was on hand for the announcement and said he thought he would never live to say this day. >> i would like to add my congratulations to everybody involved in this tremendous achievement. for me, it's really an incredible thing that's happened in my lifetime. it has taken -- >> scientists around the world also consider this find incredible. we spoke with two of japan's

nobel winning physicists to explain. >> translator: if you take a close look at this experiment, i'm sure it will give you a lot of things that are beyond expectations, so i'm very excited and thrilled. >> translator: no such heavy particle had been found so far. so this is a great discovery. now we have to make sure what they found is really the higgs particle. myanmar's parliament opened people in japan's northeast are focused on the challenges since the disaster. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on the road ahead every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on news line.

there are stunning ways to keep students safe if a slir disaster hits the area. some teachers are traveling to northeastern japan. >> reporter: the tsunami smashed through miyako city in the prefecture. about 16 months later a group of elementary and junior high school teachers in western japan visited the area. among them was akagi, he wanted to see for himself what he and his colleagues could do to protect the children if disaster strike. >> translator: i thought i knew all about the horrors of an earthquake, but now that i've

seen the damage, the horror is more real. i want to tell my students about it. >> reporter: the tsunami rolled over tide walls and flattened the area. the water flooded the first floor classrooms and the schoolyard at the junior high. he and his group spoke with the teachers. the visitors wanted to learn what they could do to minimize casualties at their own schools. the principal says he evacuated 120 students to one of the offices. >> translator: parents started coming pick up the children on

the night of the disaster but i refused. our shelter was the safest place and we had access to the most information. >> translator: we ordered all students to evacuate the area because we knew that tsunami was coming. >> reporter: some of the questions were designed to find out how to provide emotional care for the youngsters. >> translator: did any of the students see the tsunami? >> translator: some did, but i can't verify that. >> reporter: he understood the difficulty of making quick decisions in the minutes of a disaster. as soon as he got home, he held a teachers workshop at his school.

>> translator: the site of the tsunami approaching the town was truly terrible. i thought that the students shouldn't have to watch the devastation that the tsunami brought to the town. >> earlier my colleague spoke with with koji in western japan. >> what challenges do school staff face in trying to get children to safe places? >> speed is essential. schools have to study ways to get children to safe areas as fast as possible. also they are looking into how to help youngsters cope with their emotions, after such a terrifying experience. in some cases the school themselves become evacuation centers. so the staff must figure out how to get emergency food supplies for the children.

last year's disaster has shown educators just how many challenges they face. >> i see. and how will he and his colleagues take advantage of what they learned during the visit? >> well, akagi has this to say -- >> translator: i hope that we can share the weight of our mission and the responsibility we have as teachers to protect the lives of students. >> akagi says his group will compile a report on their visit later this summer. he also says they were using information in teachers' workshops and in classrooms. technical experts from iran

and six major powers have met to discuss the iranian nuclear program. western diplomats hope the meeting will pave the way for higher level negotiations. the talks are part of negotiations that resumed in april between iran and the five permanent members of the u.n. security council plus germany. western leaders want iranian scientists to stop higher grade uranium enrichment. that can lead to the development of nuclear weapons. but iranian leaders insist their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. negotiators have failed in three rounds of talks to reach a break through. the european union and the u.s. recently increased the pressure with sanctions that target iran's oil exports. iranian officials continue to signal their defines. on tuesday the soldiers carried out test launches of ballistic missiles. the commander of the revolutionary guard said the missiles were targeting what they called iran's hypothetical enemies.

the united nations has begun talks on a treaty to regulate trade in conventional weapons. it's aimed at cutting off the flow of guns and tanks to countries violating human rights or engaged in war crimes. >> they always capture headlines but conventional arms are killing people every day without much attention. >> u.n. second general opened the talks on tuesday. the arms trade treaty has bee in the works since 2006. it will impose controls on the import and export of weapons. leading japan's allegation is vice foreign minister joe nakano. he urged members to set up clear and objective rules for banning -- governoring the arms trade. >> a.t.t. should aim to establish the highest possible common international standards that articulate clarity as much as possible. >> the talks will continue for four weeks.

they were scheduled to start monday but delegates argued over the participateitation of palestinians. it's agreed they will have observer status at the meeting. the japanese coast guard said four taiwanese boats and a vessel carrying protesters were spotted near the islands in the east china sea. coast guard personnel made repeated warnings for the vessels to leave the boat finally did. it also says one of the patrol boats displayed a message on an electronic sign claiming the waters as part of taiwanese territory.

the motto for the olympics is faster, high, stronger. add safer to the list for this year's summer games. british military authorities are setting up surface-to-air missiles in london's residential areas. the defense system is one of antiterrorism measures being used at the olympics. defense ministry officials say it will be in place by the middle of the month. they're installing the missiles in six locations in and around the capital. one site is the roof of a housing complex near the main stadium. another is a residential square in east london, also near an olympic venue. defense secretary philip hammond announced the idea last autumn. ministry officials scouted about 100 possible locations. but not all residents are happy about the missile defense system. about 100 people staged a protest march last weekend. hammond called the measures a powerful deterrent that will reassure the public.

japan wants to make it more difficult for those who commit insider trading. officials at the financial services agency say they will find ways to punish providers of insider information. current law only covers those who act upon leaks. the agency will also consider raising the penalties. the panel is drafting a revision bill to submit to the diet next year. officials hope the measures will have consumer confidence in january. recent cases of suspected illegal trading involved top security houses including snbc niko. a u.s. court has ordered toshiba to pay $87 million in damages and that's for colluding with other firms to fix lcd panel prices. u.s. consumers filed a civil class action lawsuit against

toshiba as well as other makers of liquid crystal displays. they allege they acted in anticompetitive activities from 1999 to 2006. a california jury ruled against toshiba. toshiba is required to compensate people who bought their panels and consumers who purchased the final products. other makers have agreed to settle. a former official of japan's finance ministry says they could lose their status as an advanced economy in a few decades in terms of the gross domestic product per capita. former administrative vice minister presented estimates for the japanese economy in 2050. this is based on a few scenarios. they were given at a symposium organized by a think tank of the japan organization.

he said that even under the most optimistic scenario the economy will shrink from the 2030s onward largely due to a decline in the work force. he urged swift measures to improve the working conditions for women and senior citizens. he calls on the government to do more from growth in other economies. joining the trans pacific partnership was one of the ideas. tablet computers are popular. that is not the only market where competition is heating up. the electronic book market is also seeing quite a bit of competition. the market trends can be seen atten expo in tokyo. 150 companies including publishers and electronic device makers both from inside and outside of japan are taking part in the e-book tokyo expo.

japanese and other term firms are opening with products. other companies aim to compete through extensible contents. one lets them read and leave opinion. another translates japanese into english, french and distributes them around the globe once the cartoonist gives permission. >> translator: communication among fans will be a good incentive to read a new one. the communication function is important. >> china has been dubbed the factory for cheap and plentifully labor, but wages there are rising pretty fast.

that's been hurting businesses. well, now even china's businesses are looking abroad. >> reporter: a new helping hand has arrived in beijing. noodles are being made by this robot. it slices the dough as skillfully as a veteran noodle chef. the robot costs about 2,300 u.s. dollars. that's equivalent to about five months' pay for a typical chef. >> translator: good. all the noodles are a consistent size. >> reporter: this company manufactured the robot. every day restaurant owners struggling with rising labor costs come seeking help. >> translator: robots can do so much. wages are rising but robots work hard without making any demands. >> reporter: attitudes towards work are changing in china. that was clear at a job fair held recently in guangdong province.

young people are becoming more demanding in their job search. >> translator: i want a job that pays well and gives me a lot of days off. >> translator: i'm not in a big hurry. i want a job with good conditions. >> translator: wages are increasing so much it's putting a strain on the business. >> reporter: the strain is already being felt on factory floors. this company manufactures bags for western brands drown by china's low labor costs. the factory needs 400 workers to operate at capacity but it has secured only 300. sewing machines sit unused with their covers on. the company has turned to cambodia in its search for cheap labor. wages here are only 1/4 of those in china.

an advertisement for staff received 10 applications for every position. >> translator: working here has made our life much easier. >> translator: we can have a better life. >> reporter: 13 other chinese companies have built factories in the same industrial park. >> translator: cambodian people are hard workers. i think productivity will increase there. >> reporter: with labor costs rising, chinese businesses need a new model for success. for some companies that means looking beyond china's borders. here are the latest market figures.

for an update on the weather forecast. >> torrential rain has been battering. the peak has gone. the stationary front will be lingering and lifting north. the next target will be yamaguci prefecture. tot total accumulation will be 100 mm. this will be moving off towards

the ocean so tapering off with the showers. the rest of the country here will be looking at unstable conditions. we really had a sunny, hot day today reaching up to 31.4 degrees in tokyo. however looking at thunderstorms due to daytime heating combined with the upper cold air. thunderstorms are audible r also possible to erupt in and around the coreeen peninsulafelt this will be moving towards the peninsula bringing torrential rain in the next 24 hours. 250 mm could be possible here. we already have a report of 169 m.m. in the past 24 hours. 66 m.m. in an hour heavy rain has fallen there, too. so triggering further flooding conditions are going to be very high risk. indo china peninsula will be

unstable. in vietnam we have a report of 258 m.m. in the past 24 hours. this will be continuing also in the philippines especially in the western sea boards. in tokyo looking at 30 degrees. moving to the americas these are going to be a little bit messy here. we have a high pressure system dominating this area with some windy conditions combined. still critical fire weather with the possibility even though the cold front will be sweeping across the regions cooling the temperatures down. we have premonsoonal flow dumping the moisture around the four corners. isolated thunderstorms will be possible especially in arizona. take a look at your independence day outlook. looks like the severe weather did not take a holiday here.

i know most of you wanted to go outside for a picnic or a water park. do keep an eye for the thunderstorms that could erupt in much of these multiple regions here in the states. and humid and heat still resides here in the eastern half. 2/3 i should say but soaring into the 39s. the heat index could be higher. moving to the european continent the british isles looking at unstable conditions. wet and unstable. east remaining really hot. on the other side of the jet stream staying cool in london at 21 degrees. here is your extended forecast.

once again our lead story. scientists now say they have discovered a new particle that is consistent with the higgsboson, a key building block of the universe they've been

chasing for decades. >> a group of about 6,000 researchers from europe, north america skpr other regions have been carrying out experiments since 2008 confirming the existent of the higgs would provide the particle of existence. they say the identification will take more time. heater higgs was in his 30s. >> i would like to add my congratulations to everybody

involved in this tremendous achievement. for me it is really an incredible thing that happened in my lifetime. >> scientists around the world also consider this find incredible. we spoke with two of japan's nobel prize physicists to get their take. >> translator: if you take a close look at this experiment i am sure it will give you a lot of things that are beyond expectations so i'm excited and thrilled. >> translator: no such particle has been found thus far so this is a great discovery. now we have to make sure what they found is really the higgs particle. we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. thanks for joining us.

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