welcome to nhk world "newsline." a japanese power company has resumed construction of a nuclear plant in northern japan. the restart is the first of its kind in the country since last year's nuclear accident. it's drawing opposite reactions from two municipalities. the plant in ohma town, aomori prefecture, is about 40% complete. construction stopped after the march 11th, quake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis last year. the president of j-power

attended the meeting of the town's assembly on monday and reported the restart. the town's mayor welcomed the decision. >> translator: i'm relieved that the construction has finally resumed. >> ohma has been receiving grants from the value government for hosting the plant. the town uses the funds to build public schools and run hospitals. the resumption is expected to create new jobs. across the street from ohma is the city of hakodate. it opposes the restart. parts of the municipalities are within 30 kilometers of the plant. residents are worried about safety. hakodate's mayor says the project should be frozen indefinitely. he says the city plans to take legal action to stop it. >> translator: our city is considering a lawsuit. i want to prepare quickly. >> industry minister yukio edano

says power companies should bear the primary responsibility of winning approval of local municipalities for resuming construction of nuclear plants. he says this remains unchanged from before last year's disaster. members of japan's nuclear regulation authority say they'll examine the ohma plant using new safety standards. they say they won't allow the facility to operate unless it meets the requirements. unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone remained at record highs in august. the european union statistics agency said the jobless rate remained at 11.4%-that means unemployment in the zone stayed at record levels for three straight months. spain's jobless rate hit 25.1%, the highest in the country and the worst in the zone. for people under 25, the rate was 52.9%. 15.9% of people in portugal are out of work and 15% in ireland.

tough employment conditions continue in those countries that are implementing austerity measures with assistance from the eu and imf. for greece, the latest data were available only for june. unloimt in the country stood at 24.4% in that month, up 2.7 percentage points from a year earlier. japanese executives have looked into the future, and they don't like what they see. a bank of japan survey suggests business sentiment among major manufacturers has worsened for the first time in three quarters. the central bank released the results of its quarterly tankan survey before financial markets opened. the bank polled more than 10,000 firms over one-month period through late september. the key index for major manufacturers stood at minus 3. that's down two points from the last survey conducted in june. a negative reading means pessimists outnumber optimists. business confidence has declined as weaker demand from china and other nations weigh on japanese exports and production. companies are also struggling

with a stubbornly strong yen. confidence was unchanged among major nonmanufacturers at plus 8. recovery projects in the quake-hit northeast boosted demand in the construction sector. but consumer spending has lost steam. big manufacturers expect business conditions will remain a challenge in the next three months. they predict the index for december will stay at minus 3. >> two former rivals in japan now working together. employees punched the clock at a company that merges nippon steel corporation and sumitomo metal corporation. the firm rms are stronger as one, but they still face challenges as nhk world's chie tanaka explains. >> reporter: the new company will be called nippon steel & sumitomo metal corporation. >> translator: we will survive the global competition and turn the company into the world's

number-one steel maker. >> reporter: executives expect to cut costs by reorganizing steel mills and cutting back office operations. they plan to develop new products by combining technologies. nippon steel was the world's top producer in the 1970s but has since slipped to sixth place. sum sumitomo metal industries is a global 27th in terms of output. the patient company will be second only to the luxembou luxembourg-based company. arcelor mittal. tough competition is driving the merger. china's economic strength has helped their steel makers to beat their rivals. south koreans are quickly closing the technological gap with japan. the japanese steel makers are trying to regain leverage with major resource companies. they hope joining forces will make them more competitive and help clear a path into emerging markets. but the new company faces a bumpy start.

before the merger, they projected joint net losses much bigger than expected, $3.6 billion for the first half of fiscal 2012. the stronger yen is to blame. slowing demand is also a concern due to the global economic downturn. that means japan's new steel giant has little margin for error or time to waste if it is to beat competition in the global market. chie tanaka, nhk world. here are the latest market figures. 17-nation eurozone remained at

security in afghanistan continues to deteriorate with two deadly incidents in three days. on monday, a suicide bomber targeted afghan and international soldiers on patrol. many civilians were also killed in the attack. officials say the bomber drove a motorcycle packed with explosives into a joint military patrol in the eastern province of khost. reuters quotes a witness as saying the bomber was wearing a police uniform. a nato spokesperson confirmed only that it was a suicide attack. three nato service personnel and their translator were among at least 14 people killed. dozens more people were injured. >> translator: i heard an explosion nearby. i came to the scene and saw the dead bodies of policemen and civilians at the scene. a commander of the quick reaction force was also killed.

>> the taliban sent a text >> the taliban sent a text message to nhk claiming responsibility. the nationalities of the soldiers killed are unknown, but most troops in afghanistan are american. the number of u.s. military and civilian personnel killed in afghanistan has now risen to more than 2,000. in another deadly incident, five people were killed when u.s. and afghan soldiers exchanged fire over the weekend. the killings seem to underline the growing sense of mistrust between international troops and afghanistan's own security forces. nhk world's hideki yui reports. >> reporter: two americans, one soldier and one contractor, as well as three afghan troops, died following an exchange of fire in wardak province, eastern afghanistan, on saturday. >> according to isaf and a&a reporting, after a short conversation took place between

a.n.a. and isaf personnel, firing occurred which resulted in the fatal wounding of an isaf soldier and the death of his civilian colleague. >> reporter: the details of the incident remain uncertain. local authorities say u.s. soldiers came under fire. the soldiers believed the shots originated near an afghan army checkpoint. but tension and mistrust is really growing between u.s. and afghan soldiers. there has been a steep rise in attacks against the u.s.-led international forces by afghan soldiers and police officers. or people wearing their uniforms. they coalition deputy commander said the initial attack and the exchange of fire could have come from an anti-government group. he praised most to prevent the incident from affecting the mutual trust. anti-u.s. sentiment in afghanistan has been rising following the release of an

anti-islamic film made in the united states. the taliban is trying to take advantage of the hostility to increase support for its campaign of violence. international forces and their afghan colleagues need to work hand in hand to counter the insurgent threat. but the insider attacks are fueling mistrust and pushing them farther apart. hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. japan's prime minister is looking ahead to a fall full of challenges and he's trying to be ready. yoshihiko noda reshuffled his cabinet. he replaced more than half of the ministers. noda's aiming to boost support for his ruling coalition. the opposition is pushing him to call a general election. the new cabinet was officially inaugurated on monday evening after a ceremony at the imperial palace. noda kept koichiro gemba as

foreign minister, former diet affairs chief of the main ruling democratic party. koriki jojima are will take over as finance minister. satoshi morimoto maintains his post. he's the first person from the private sector to hold the job. deputy chief cabinet secretary hiroyuki nag hama is becoming the nuclear crisis minister and will be in charge of the environment ministry. reconstruction minister at the sue woe hirano is holding on to his position. noda explained some of the reasoning behind the shuffle. >> translator: this reshuffle is aimed at strengthening cooperation among officials to have government and the ruling parties and improving how the cabinet if you thinks. so we can better handle the issues we face. >> noda also referred to the territorial row with china over the senkaku islands in the east china sea.

he said there is no doubt the islands are inherent japanese territory both historically and under international law. the prime minister noted japan controls the island, but he added both sides should stay calm as they try to resolve the situation. >> translator: i think the most important thing right now is to find a way to cool things down using dialogue through various channels. >> noda says he has no plans to take the senkaku matter to the international court of justice. that's what his government is trying to do with the territorial dispute it has with south korea. the arguments by the two countries have been heated, and solutions seem in short supply. despite the friction, citizens of both countries are trying to stay friends. they've put on a cross-cultural festival they've held most years since 2005. nhk world's kaho izumitani takes us there. >> reporter: crowds gathered in central tokyo over the weekend. they listened to japanese and

korean pop music, and they watched performances that showed off the cultural traditions of both countries. geographically close but emotionally distant, the longstanding expression describing the relationship between japan and south korea sounds out of date here. >> translator: i don't feel the tension between japan and south korea. >> translator: the japan/south korea event is a positive thing. >> reporter: especially when you see this, a traditional korean-style wedding. organizers held the ceremony for the first time. a japanese/korean couple said the vows. joo hyun-chui served as groom. he's actually a groom-to-be. he'll marry his japanese girlfriend, hitomi, next year.

joo was educated mainly in britain. now he works in tokyo at his mother's korean restaurant. he taught himself japanese and is fluent. given his language skills and international experience, marrying a non-korean seemed natural. >> translator: as a korean citizen living and working in japan who chose to marry a japanese woman, i feel the way the political dispute is handled on tv is exaggerated. >> reporter: more than 4,000 korean-japanese couples get married every year. but people didn't welcome these unions as much years ago as they do now.

this man remembers. he's a third generation korean living in japan. the japanese colonized the korean peninsula from the early 1900s until the end of world war ii. that bitter history kept people apart. he decided to feature the wedding ceremony to show how things have changed. >> translator: the old generation used to strongly oppose japanese and koreans getting married, but that is not the case anymore for the younger generation. >> reporter: lee has long hoped the bond between japanese and koreans would become stronger. he wants to promote friendship and end prejudice, so he supports these cross-cultural marriages. on the day of the wedding ceremony, lee and more than 70 volunteers kept things running. more than 100 spectators welcomed the international couple.

>> translator: i hope the number of japanese/south korean couples will increase. it's fun for me to experience different cultures. >> translator: i hope this event will help deepen the ties between people of our countries. territorial disputes and historical issues should be dealt with at a higher level. we want to keep a good distance away from that and continue our relationship. >> reporter: the people of japan and south korea share a difficult history. relations in the present are far from problem free. but the crowds that came to this little auditorium in tokyo see things differently. they see an indispensable friendship that needs to be nurtured, a bond that will endure long into the future. kaho izumitani, nhk world, tokyo.

people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster, but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, 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 news looirn. researchers have stumbled on a method of reinforcing concrete that could save lives the next time a tsunami strikes. turns owl the technology was already at handle. it was just a question of knowing where to look. nhk world's hiroki yamma ta explains oom oop. >> reporter: polyurea rez sin, a sticky glue with surprising powers. polyhaven't urea is a member of the urethane family. it's no longer used for

insulation. you will find it painted on pools, fish tank, and park fountains. the rez sin has two key properties -- it's waterproof, and it prevents rust. but you can now add another property. polyurea is a shock absorber. researchers conducted experiments on blocks of concrete, a shock test. a weight is dropped from a height of one meter. first, ordinary concrete. it breaks after just two drops. a new test, this time the concrete is painted with polyurea. the weight is dropped more than 20 times, and the concrete doesn't break apart.

further testing showed that polyurea-covered concrete can withstand three tons of pressure. why to strong? seismic engineer experts examine the resin. they say it's a result of extreme elasticity. when concrete painted with polyurea is subjected to a large impact, the resin stretches like rubber. it acts like a protective film and prevents the concrete from shattering. >> translator: concrete is normally very strong, but it can't withstand a big impact. lit crack. the polyurea can prevent the concrete from shattering. strength and flexibility are the key elements of polyurea.

>> researchers at the construction company have spent the past two years testing ways to use this product. they are focusing on strengthening building materials. >> translator: it may change the way that civil engineering structures are reinforced in the future. >> reporter: the study began after the team investigated the damage caused by last year's tsunami. this was a typical scene they came across. a fish farm in iwate prefecture left in ruins. but some facilities remained intact. what were the difference? the concrete at this fishery was painted with polyurea. >> translator: i was amazed that it could withstand the shock. >> translator: if a structure

can withstand a tsunami and remain intact, then many lives will be saved. so we would like to promote disaster risk reduction starting with public facilities. >> reporter: testing continues. a key goal is to get the recognition for polyurea and other reinforcing materials for bridges and break waters. the project team hopes the government will give a seal of approval within three years. hiroki yamada, nhk world. people at a sake brewery in northeastern japan have something to say. they're toasting their new facility's first shipment of this year's rice wine. the march 2011 tsunami swept away their former brewery, killing seven employees. workers at the suisen shuzo

brewery gathered monday for a sake shipment ceremony. the brewery was located in niwa tay prefecture. employees continued production in a borrowed facility after the disaster until a new brewery was ready in the nearby city of ofunato. they moved there in august. workers hung a boug of dried cedar bows under the eves during monday's ceremony to announce the fresh batch of sake in the traditional matter. >> translator: we have begun a new phase in our sake brewing tradition. we are at a new starting point. it has been a hard time for all of us. >> brewery managers say they aim to raise output at the new factory to 7% of predisaster levels. for an update on the weather

forecast, here's mai shoji. mai? it was a severe event here over the weekend in japan. much across this region, especially in okinawa, when the typhoon jelawat was the strongest intensity, it hit one of the islands, one of the main ones. let me show you video coming up from there. it's an incredible video. you can see this car just blowing across the parking lot when jelawat roared ashore. actually flipping a number of times, too. jelawat was packing wind gusts packing 220 kilometers per hour at the time when the video was shot. you can reel rheally see the powerful and -- the power of the typhoon just in general. let me pull back and show you that the bust gust was really the key factor to this typhoon jelawat. 220, that's actually the third strongest gust ever recorded in okinawa, and that's the equivalent of a category 4 hurricane. all the way up towards here in

hokkaido when the storm was really weakened, still packing gusts of 125 kilometers per hour. the damage was really destructive. 65,000 households lost power and about 200 injuries. well, today the topic is actually heat. with the calm after the storm, but the temperatures were actually really high up there in tokyo, about 32 degrees. one of the cities in guma saw 33. that's a record-breaking high for the month of october. but tomorrow's going to be a different story. high pressure will be building in in behind and will be predominant, making things much cooler and drier. one storm after another. there's this maliksi, a tropical storm as of now that has developed over the northern mariana islands. it will be maybe aiming towards honshu but already packing gusts of 126 kilometers per hour. so we'll keep a very close eye on this one for you.

also another storm developing over the south china sea. it is likely to become a tropical storm in the next 24/48, and it's not going to be affecting the landmasses directly, but indirectly it will be enhancing the southwestern monsoonal flow and heavy downpours will be seen across much of the area as well as south vietnam and also in much of the indochina peninsula. temperatures still in the mid-30s in the tropics, but finally down to 25 in tokyo. and ulaanbaatar looking at 11 degrees. for your overnight hours. moving over to the european continent, we first start off with this hurricane. this is nadine. we've been talking about nadine for a couple weeks now actually. it will be moving towards the azores and will be downgrading as it does so, which is good news, but still winds are 120 kilometers per hour, so do watch out for those rip currents even now and do stay away from those coastal areas if possible. towards the northern continent

of europe, isobars are really close to each other, so you can tell it's going to be a gusty day for you in the next 24, about 72 kilometers per hour could be recorded. due to the cold front, things are going to be very showery, scattered. isolated thunderstorms can also pop up across the balkans. but western and central continent looking pretty nice. temperatures are chilling down to 16 here in lon on the, but on the other side, a different story here in athens at 34 degrees. here's our extended forecast. ♪

we'll be back with more

updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.