hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, april 10th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. residents of seoul are going about their business. they're heading to work, doing the things they do most days. they're carrying on in the face of threats from the north. as south korean spokes person says the north korean military could launch a missile at any time.

south korean nave a commanders aren't taking any chances. they've deployed a second military vessel. it's equipped with an advanced tracking system. they sent another vessel to the yellow sea. they say they're ready for whatever might come. last week north korea nl forces move add midrange ballistic missile to the coast. the defense minister has ordered the sdf to destroy any debris

that might fall on japanese territory. so they've deployed two interceptor missile launchers. others have deployed the same defenses at other bases. the foreign ministers of other countries are asking north korea to refrain from exercises. the members gathered at the hague. >> translator: we should work with the rest of the international community to send a strong message to north korea that it won't benefit from provocations. >> the ministers made the apile in a joint statement. they criticized north korea for undermining reasonable snal nal security in february by carrying

out another underground nuke clear test. they urged officials in pyongyang to take international warnings seriously, obay international security sanctions and refrain from other actions. a marathon will go ahead despite the tensions. the state run news agency reported that sports tournaments will be held to mark the birthday of the nation's late founder kim ill song. run earns are expected to run through the streets of pyongyang on sunday. officials in the capitol have warned diplomats to leefr the count country for their own safety. a powerful earthquake has killed more than 30 people in southern iran.

a quake hit bushehr province on thursday afternoon. at least 37 people died and more than 8850 were injured. their towns andville ands are about 20 kilometers from the epicenter. iran's only nuclear power plant is located in the province. it's operated under supervision of the international atomic ener energy. the plant is designed to with is stand strong earthquakes. iranian officials say they've boosted their nuke cheer capacity by opening a new plant to make raw uranium. the announcement came after failed talks between iran and six world powers. the iranian government says it's opened mines and is making raw materials known as yellowcake. >> translator: no country in the

world can prevent our nuclear development, which we've achieved with our own technology. >> the government says the plant can make more than of 0 tons of yellowcake a year. the united states and european countries have denounced iran's nuclear program. they suspect the country is trying to produce bombs, but iran say it is will use its program for peaceful purposes. workers at fukushima daiichi

have found another leak in a pool storing contaminated water. it's the third pool at the nuclear plant with the same problem. edge nears for tokyo electric power company found a leak last week in one of the seven large scale pools they built. they began transferring water from there to another fool next to -- >> translator: now the location on site to store the contaminated water. >> in adiegs to the seven pools shall the site has hundreds of tanks. the tanks and pools store about 300,000 tons of contaminated water. but water is seeping in, adding 400 tons of water every day and new challenges for the workers. more from nhk world's reporter. >> reporter: this plant has sprung leeks. water is seeping in from

underground from walls danged by the earthquake and tsunami. once inside it's contaminated. so it is a seemingly endless tafk, removing the water to underground storage tanks and pools. >> translator: there have been leeks since the state of cold shut town was achieved. but the recent case is probably the largest ever. >> reporter: the pools sit about 800 meters from the shore. but there's no fear that that water leaked into the ocean. tepco investigators suspect the problem lies with the design and construction of the facilities. each spool six meeters deep. crews poke add hole in the seats so they could insert a monitor to check leakage.

the holes in the surface became the problem. the water pressure pulled the seats down. trade and industry minister asks them to fix the problem. >> translator: i would like you to make sure that contaminated water won't leak into the sea. >> reporter: the assurances from tepco have not calmed residents. >> translator: the leaks should never have happened in the first place. regardless of whether or not the water has reached the ocean. tepco should deal with the matter more seriously. >> reporter: crews face another problem too. they're running out of space. they've been filling up the

pools and the tanks, but the tanks are now nearly full. and the indeg rit of the pools is in question. so the people who run the plant are searching for somewhere else to put walter that just keeps on coming. nhk world. people in china have been exposed to extreme pollution this year. now researchers have a chance to hear how japan handled the same problem. chinese cities are often filled with smog including p.m..5. officials of the two you countries will attend a seminar in beijing on april 18 to discuss the issue. japanese representatives will explain how they control air n contaminati

contamination. japanese auto makers and other companies will share their latest green technology at the event. >> translator: we hope this seminar will help us think about how we can assist china to overcome the problem. >> p.m. 2.5 is included in car smoke. china has reported another death from the new bird flu strain. so far 28 people have been infected. nine people have died. health authorities reported the death of a 35 year old woman. she was being treated for the h7n9 bir flu. a total of 28 case vs been confirmed in shanghai and other provinces. the sources of infection remain unknown. they're trying to prevent further spread of the disease. pigeons are being captured. there's a ban on trade of life

poultry. another case of bird flu. this time it's the h5n1 strain that has authorities in southeast asia on the alert. vietnam confirmed its first death from the h5n1 virus in more than a year. a boy died on april 4th. medical staff say the boy develop add fever and other symptoms last month. they have collected samples from his family to test for the virus. the h5n1 strain has also reached cambodia. it has killed eight people there so far this year including six children. the government is eager to prevent new cases. many cambodians travel home at this time. india may be big, but it doesn't have a big soccer of following. it's ranked only 143rd, by fifa.

but with the professional soccer league kicking off there seven years ago the sport has been gaining popularity. nhk has more. >> reporter: one japanese player active in the indian professional soccer league. he is 33 and is a strieker. although cricket has been the most popular sport in india, there have been some changes in the last few years. the popularity of soccer has been driving, mainly among young people. after live broadcast of soccer games became more common, more people are getting into the sport. this is a professional football

league. and more than 2,000 spectators are here. i league, the country's professional soccer league was founded seven years ago. there are total of 40 teams in its two divisions, holding games right across the country. he first came to india in 2009. and it's a sport season here this year. after playing in the j league in japan, he played for teams in singapore and thailand, but he didn't have much success. he thought about retiring but finally came to india to try his luck. he did well in both offense and defense. and to years ago was awarded the mvp of the year.

>> translator: i came to india as an overseas recruit. so i really want to get results. >> reporter: his team, most of the players are young, without a lot of experience. so he's expected not just to play well but also be a senior crew and help them out. >> translator: scouriring goals helps the team. >> reporter: despite high expectations he has not played as well as he would have liked this season but has still scored 9 goals. and he's had some pain in his left leg, but he's been playing any way. such an importance to the team this is an important match. if the team loses, it will be out of the title race.

he is playing through the pain. early on in the game, he's aggressive and making every effort to help the team. but 26 minutes into the first half, he tears a muscle in his right thigh and is substituted. he has been favoring his right less to compensate for the injury on the left. >> translator: the team has high expectations of me, and i know i'm the main force going forward. so i have to be in the game. >> reporter: the team lost 1-0, but he says he still intend does give his best and keep playing as long as possible. nhk world, india.

japanese trade officials are waiting for an endorsement from their closest ally to join the trans-pacific free trade talks. they're in the final stage of negotiations with their u.s. counterparts. >> translator: the negotiations between japan and the united states are making decent progress. we are closer to reaching an agreement. >> negotiators from the countries involved are expected to meet in july for their next round of talks. he said japanese officials will do their best to be at the

table. economic revitalization minister is in charge of the tpp file. he said the gap between the jap nose and the americans is gradually closing. japan needs the approval of all 11 countries involved in the discussions. four members have yet to sign off, the u.s., canada, australia and new zealand. japan's top business leader has hoped to strengthen ties with mexico through his country's participation in the tpp he made the remark when he met mexican president in tokyo. >> translator: mexico is a very important production center and consumer market for japanese companies. we, japanese businesses, hope to further strengthen the economic

business of japan and mexico through the tpp. >> mexico has concluded free trade agreements with more than 40 countries and regions and has access to their markets with more than 1 billion consumers. he called on businesses to strengthen business and the business partnership. now let's take a look at the market figures. life is tough for gentleman

m japan's stressed out salary men. but maybe things could get a bit easier with some basic ninja skills, or at least that's the thinking of an unlikely internet phenomenon. >> the economy seems to be on the upturn, but for the white collar workers there's no letup. one salary man is drawing on his inner ninja. he's still an ordinary businessman, but with his ninja headgear on, he's become a super hero on facebook. >> translator: modern life is talk. work in sales aren't going well, look at all those pigeons.

ah, they soothe my soul. at times like this you need to draw on your ninja swing skills, take a breather and get back in there. cheers. after my hard work all week, i deserve a reward for doing as well as possible. >> his facebook photographs capture the imaginations of modern working men who don't have an outlet. they have hey struck ha cord with other salary men. he works as an it salesman. >> it's a cold world out there. >> he has faced many obstacles. the country he worked for went under. and now he spends his life trying to fill sales quotas. >> translator: i think everyone has problems and stress.

if you don't let them out a little, they can break you down. i deal with ply weakness through becoming this character. >> his photos are taken by a friend during time off. he draws on emotions he's felt when work isn't going well. >> translator: try to look more for lorn like you're really cold. >> translator: modern society is hard. one thing that brings relief is having ha can of coffee. >> a can of hot coffee revives the spirit when minds and bodies are exhausted. the people who relate to his photos most are other business men of his age.

this man is a manager at a job listing magazine. besides supervising five people, he has to make his own sales. he's on the go every day. >> translator: i think many salary men feel anxiety as they work. sometimes i feel like i'm the only one having a hard time. but when i see this character i know i'm not alone. it makes me feel a lot better. >> he has started holding get togethers with fellow salary men he's met via the internet. today, 70 people have gathered from around the area and further afield. >> translator: i've got a hundred times more courage. >> translator: that set me up for work tomorrow. >> i just want to improve my skills as this character.

i want to help others feel better. >> sal la mean man expresses a way of life that hall bills men wish they could say out loud. on the streets of fukuoka he'll be doing his best to boost the spirits of his fellow salary men. it's a nice sunny day in tokyo. perfect weather to do some ninja moves perhaps. how's it looking? >> good morning, kathryn. it's going to be a calm day here in tokyo with seenably warm temperatures. we are in the middle of spring, a flower sigh son. let's start off by showing you this beautiful video. these are cherry flowers. the rare yellowish green color of these nowers was named after tur meric spice. these flowers appear at the normal time in early april.

beautiful flowers. now today it's mostly dry across japan, but there is ha chance for intense rain and thundershowers in some places. through the north we have seeing snow persisting in northeastern china and rain sh growing hay cross southern china but rain is not going to be heavy, but we may see some heavy rain returning tomorrow. as for temperatures for east asia, a little bit cooler than what we saw on tuesday in bangkok request high of 36 degrees. towards the north a cool arab plas is blanketing, lowering temperatures. 14 degrees in beijing and single digits for new seoul. in north america there's a variety of weather happening. where you see winter like conditions across the west,

severe weather in the south and midsummer conditions in the east. heavy snow is persisting in the northwest. we are seeing strong twinds as well. 30 centimeters is likely in some place us with strong winds visibility could drop down near zero. so driving is going to be dangerous. and in the south there is a risk of severe weather e we're atalking about the rixs of severe thunderstorms, large hail and damaging tornados. and it looks like a nasty weather their spread to the mississippi valley as well as the mid atlantic region as we head into wednesday. and the record challenging temperatures across the east. look at this, 30 degrees in washington, d.c. more than 10 degrees higher than average. finally, in europe then, thick

clouds are blanketing central europe. heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds, this time rain rather than snow because this one is bringing warm hair from the south. we will show the figures in a moment. temperatures are as follows -- the double digits for you in the west. 10 degrees in london and 13 degrees in paris. berlin at 9 degrees, but that will go up to 13 degrees as we head into your thursday and 14 degrees on friday. eastern europe will show a warm up as will. spring is in the air. here's the extended forecast.

and that is all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in

tokyo. thanks for joining us.

here's the extended forecast.