welcome to nhk world "newsline." people across japan are getting their chance to weigh in on how they feel about nuclear energy and what role it may play. the government launched a series of public hearings, the latest held in fukushima. residents there and elsewhere want to know what will happen to nuclear power. nhk world reports. >> translator: fukushima clearly showed that nuclear power can get out of control when something goes wrong. i think that's the lesson all of us have learned.

>> reporter: government officials heard from the public before but they've never heard what they heard here. people expressed their fears about nuclear power. fears they saw realized at fukushima daiichi. fukushima prefecture is the ninth location to host a public hearing on the future of japan's energy policy. government officials want to gauge people's opinions on nuclear power. they presented participants with three options. the first is known as a zero percent option. it proposes eliminating nuclear power by 2030. the second would have nuclear power provide 15% of the country's energy. under the third option, japan would return to the same nuclear power reliance as before the accident.

between 20 and 25%. many residents criticize the government officials for how they managed previous hearings. some of the speakers at those meetings stood up in favor of nuclear power. it turns out they were in fact employees of electric utilities. the official change their protocol in fukushima. they banned employees and triple the number of speakers. >> translator: do you need the sort of energy that sacrifices the lives of people that work at the plant? numbers are not what we're talking about here. >> translator: i hope that as much of our intelligence as possible can be used for the development of the best technology for generating renewable natural energy.

>> reporter: others asked whether government leaders would even consider the suggestions in making decisions. >> translator: i hope future policy reflects our opinion. >> translator: they are letting us vent frustration. >> reporter: government officials will wrap up these public hearings this week. they've heard unprecedented opposition to nuclear power and that seems to be growing. many want to know whether government leaders will take such opinions into account when they define japan's new energy policy. initiate initiate nhk world, fukushima. >> india's state-owned utility has fired up power stations and switched the current back on. the electrical grid across half of country collapsed in many areas for a second straight day. more than 600 million people

struggled without power in the heat of summer. the electricity went out again on tuesday, affecting 20 states and union territories, including the capital new dehli. trains came to a halt, streetlights went out. many areas were paralyzed. the blackout left more than 200 coal miners trapped underground in west bengal state when elevators failed. all of them were rescued. spokespersons for the power grid corporation say many states have overdrawn electricity. they say that led to a cut in supply to all areas receiving power from the same grid. the blackout tuesday followed one the day before that hit nine northern states. power failures affect wide areas of the country from time to time, but back-to-back outages of this magnitude are unusual, even in power-strapped india. the government and utilities are already facing criticism. electricity consumption is rising rapidly, along with india's economic growth.

earlier he spoke with shery ahn. >> tell us about the situation now in northern and eastern india. >> yes. the power grid corporation says its workers were able to restore more than 95% of the electricity supply by wednesday dawn. hospitals, office buildings, factories and other key facilities in major cities have their own electricity generators. they need them because outages occur frequently. however, this latest blackout lasted longer and was more widespread than usual. it would have a larger impact. industry groups say their corporate activities have been severely affected but they have not released concrete figures. >> why is india's power grid so vulnerable to these outages?

>> yes. power grid corporation, a government enterprise, devised the nation's 35 states and the union territories into regions. it has set up a power grid for each region. if one state tries to draw more electricity than its allocated amount, the power transmission of one whole grid will stop, triggering a blackout in an entire region. the latest power failure is believed to be the largest example of such a scenario. >> because it's a complex system, some system could have created tripping once. that tripping must have created a cascading of tripping in other regions. >> given all this, what is the indian government doing to boost the country's energy supply?

>> the government plans to build around 20 nuclear reactors in the next decade, but some people have been protesting against this decision following the last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi plant in japan. it is not clear whether the government will be able to go ahead with those projects as planned. but it's under pressure to keep up with the demand of the growing economy. private homes, shopping malls and other commercial facilities are all consuming more energy. >> and how is the shortage of power affecting india's growth and foreign investment? >> the nation has been slow in construction, power plants, roads and other infrastructure. the delay has often been criticized as a hindrance to growth. foreign companies are reluctant

to invest because they fear they might have to pay for infrastructure needed to run their businesses. an executive of a major japanese manufacturer gave me an example. he said roads and bridges were too old for his company to transport a new power generation turbine out of the factory where it had been built. so the workers had to break it apart in order to move it. he also said some parts don't have cranes to raise equipment of this size on to a ship. the indian government helps foreign technology and investment could help it improve infrastructure. companies from other countries, including japan, the united states, russia and france, see that as a business opportunity. they are making proposals to the

indian government. u.s. defense secretary leon panetta is urging egypt's new president to respect a decades old peace treaty and work for stability in the middle east. panetta and morsi held the first talks tuesday in cairo. the council chief joined them. he was interim ruler into the islamist president took office in june. >> i was convinced that president morsi is his own man and that he is the president of all of the egyptian people. and that he is truly committed to implementing democratic reforms here in egypt. >> panetta urged morsi to respect the peace treaty and help stabilize their region. u.s. defense spokesman say both

sides agree to stop iran's nuclear development. there was no mention of any discussions about the possibility of israel's military attacking iran. israeli leaders have said they would use force against the country if it continues to build up its nuclear program. u.s. president barack obama has signed an executive order to expand sanctions on iran. he wants to increase pressure on iranian leaders to abandon their nuclear program. the new sanctions will be imposed on imports of petro chemical products and target financial institutions for indirect transactions with iran's central bank. it was meant to close loophole, in measures drawn up in late june. those sanctions target financial institution that help iran's banks settle payments for oil exports.

in a related move the u.s. treasury department has added iraq's islamic bank and china's bank to the list of organizations banned with with dealing with u.s. financial institutions. those banks have done business with financial institutions in iran and they are subject to sanctions for their suspected involvement in developing weapons of mass destruction. beijing has reacted angrily demanding the united states withdraw the sanction against the chinese bank. foreign ministry pokes spokesperson said the u.s. used a domestic law to impose sanctions on a chinese financial institutions. he said this seriously violates international rules and pointed out his country is actively involved in the effort to resolve iran's nuclear issue and adding repeated sanctions against chinese banks will hurt relations between the china and u.s.

development bank of japan polled 2200 large companies in june, about their plans to invest in plant and equipment. the survey shows investments for this fiscal year will rise 12% domestically compared to last business year and 31% overseas due to brisk demand for ecofriendly cars and smartphones. over the medium term, makes plan to boost output fell to 19% compared with 33% a year ago. those planning to downsize domestic production rose to 12% and that's up from 4.5%. the bank says trends could cause a hollowing out of japanese industry and worsen the jobs situation here.

japanese electronics maker fujitsu and mobile phone carrier docomo will jointly develop chips for smartphones. they plan to launch a new enterprise to develop and cell chips through the transmission. through the tie up the three firms hope to ensure supplies at lower cost and sell chips to other smart phone makers. qualcomm currently has a dominant market share for the chips. theuation ba uatiouatio uat president is pledging $85

million in grants. >> we are here to say we are helping them have a better life in the future. >> but the two institutions aren't ready to resume full operations just yet. u.s. led economic sanctions will need to be lifted first. myanmar will have to settle a loan. they will make a more detailed examination of the aid myanmar needs. it is a trend its leaders are

working hard to encourage. she made her first overseas trip in 24 years and urged foreign investment that will benefit the people. >> we do not want investment to mean greater inequality. we want investment to mean quite simply jobs. >> ministers say they are committed to economic reform. >> but also to improve the people's living standards. >> earlier i spoke with nhk senior commentator on affairs.

why is it the land of opportunity? >> i think three main reasons. workforce and the market. myanmar labor, one-fifth of china. the country's reach in the natural gas and rare earth deposit, these resources have yet to be fully developed. then there is a population a consumer market of 50 million people give the country great potential. >> business leaders are weighing in on pros and cons. which country will be the biggest player in terms of myanmar's future. >> they are right next to it. myanmar sits between two powers, india in the west and china in the east. that means the country is important for both new delhi and beijing. indian prime minister recently promised myanmar $500 million in loans. this was a reward for democratic reforms.

he also preached to develop areas around the common border. building up transport links and cargo facilities reform an economic corridor connecting india to southwest asia. india sees this as a big chance to enhance its role in the regional economy. >> i would say india will be the market for myanmar. and the second step is when the doors open, when indian/myanmar is connected it will be like layers of other economies. so it would be a big boom. >> what about china? >> western nation impose sanctions on myanmar. china was myanmar's main economical ally during this administration. but democrat exchange, myanmar's leader seemed to reviewing this partnership.

they are now aiming for more bargains in terms of foreign assistance. one good example seeing last september, myanmar's announced a freeze on construction of a dam to supply hydraulic power. the project was supposed to be built with the help of china, which is hungry for electricity. but critics say the dam would harm the environment while providing fuel to local people. the freeze was seen as a china is losing influence in myanmar. her countries want to diversify its relation with other nations. >> we have very good relations with china. as i keep saying, we can't move away simply because we don't get on with our neighbors. so it's imperative that we establish good relations with other neighbors and at the same time, we want to open up a country to others.

>> that issue of opening up the country, attracting more investors require economic as as democratic reforms. >> international economic forum a couple months ago, the minister from myanmar was taking part. he stressed his government will stick to economic reform and experts from abroad will be invited to contribute. >> at the same time, myanmar faces many challenges. the leader system, infrastructure, and the human resources are far below the standard required by foreign businesses. my hope is that myanmar will shape stable economy while best suited to the needs of its people and free undue influence

of foreign powers. >> thanks for that. nhk's senior commentator on asian affairs. here is the latest market figures.

she was 13 years old when she was kidnapped in 1977. she was walking home. the department store opened up one month before since north korea admitted they kidnapped her. six of her belongings are on show. >> negotiations on the abduction issue between japan and north korea have stalled. i want the japanese government to reopen the dialogue so that abductees can return home as soon as possible. >> north korea is estimated to

have abducted some 17 people from japan to train its agents in japanese agents and culture. in 2002 five were allowed to go home but there have been no developments since then. for an update on the weather forecast. >> we have been updating you on the tiphone. damaging gusts, frequent lightning and even tornadoes. 58 mm in just an hour heavy rain, as well. this is popular place for holiday goers and the summer vacation season. sustained winds have been

reported here in okinawa and rain is starting tot batter these areas, as well. let's show you where the typhoon is tracking. it is moving towards taiwan. we have a report of 262 km in the last 24 hours. it could be making landfall towards the mainland china. this storm has affected the philippines and 150,000 people have been dislocated already. this is another tropical storm heading out possibly maintaining intensity as it makes landfall. this is effecting a lot due to the winds and picking up the waves ten meters high as well as southwestern islands of japan. we may see about a high of 6

meters high waves. the rainfall cuaccumulation wil be staggering amounts. 300 millimeters in the area where i have mentioned. in the past three days 1,200 millimeters. more than a meter aacomutilitied. you can see the track of the storm heading in. this is where the land is very saturated already. we may find 350 millimeters in the next 24 hours only upping the risk of further flooding situations. moving to the americas we have a heat dome prevailing towards the southern plain regions. the ridge of this high pressure we have the monsoonal surge from the south. those cloud formations are

scattered thunderstorms. and then we are at 34 degrees. oklahoma city at 43 degrees. now, let me show you the three-day forecast for the london olympics on your thursday. we may see some precipitation and on your friday sunny spells and saturday on and off showers due to a storm coming through. 20 degrees is what you are going to be seeing for your highs. here is your extended forecast.

the world's tallest tower has welcomed its one millionth visitor. all those people have gone up the tokyo skytree in 72 days since it opened, helped keep cash registers beeping around the new landmark. the skytree's operator celebrated a milestone with the lucky guests a family that came to the tower for the first time on summer vacation. >> translator: i've always wanted to go up the world's tallest tower, which is now taller than the tokyo tower. so i'm overjoyed to be here. >> the operators predict the 1 millionth visitor would arrive in early august. turns out they were right. the skytree opened in may. the tower and the surrounding shopping district have attracted more than 10 million visitors. that's nearly doubled expected turnout. we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us.

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