hello and welcome back to nhk world "newsline." a national holiday here in japan. japan's prime minister is trying to turn the page on relations with russia. shinzo abe has gun a trip to moscow. abe arrived on sunday evening. he's scheduled to meet with vladimir putin on monday. they're expected to discuss a territorial dispute over four islands controlled by russia.

he's trying to build a relationship based on trust. >> translator: i hope this visit will con trent to renewing the development of bilateral ties with russia and resuming suspended talks on a peace treaty. >> abe will head on to saudi arabia and turkey. he hopes to take energy diplomacy to a new dimension. executives are considering teaming up with their counterparts at state run oil company. they want to build a plant and export gas to japan. they want to join a project backed by a state controlled energy plant. they are discussing how much to

be build outsit outside. japanese utilities plan to buy more and more lng. almost all nuclear plants in the country are offline after the nuclear disaster in fukushima. and the utilities are restarting thermal power stations to fill the demand. now back home, prime minister abe has been struggling to maintain good relations with japan's neighbors. last weekend members of his cabinet visited a shrine to japan's war dead. >> translator: china and south korea are also very important neighbors for japan. so i hope to develop relations with them. the worst thing is do is to sever communications because they have problems or feel

frustrated. >> chinese and south korean leaders criticized the visits of prime ministers to the shrine. the shrine honors those who died in service in japan, including war criminals. a chinese company has launched a group tour around islands in dispute in the south china sea. they left for the paracel islands. they said the 240 tourists will meet fishery workers and land on an uninhabited island during their four day visit. it also says only chinese citizens age between 18 and 60 are eligible for the tour. >> translator: these islands are chinese territorimeyterritory. i think i'll go to see them. >> the dispute involves china,

japan, vietnam and other countries. a man opened fire in central rome on sunday, injuring three people during a swearing in ceremony for the through italian government. the man was soon arrested and told police he became desperate after losing his job. he injured two police officers

and a woman bystander. one of the officers was reportedly shot in the neck and is in serious condition. a 49 year old man was arrested. the suspect told police that he wanted to shoot politicians, but couldn't find any. the shooting occurred as the new president was being sworn in. the government was formed after a political stalemate that followed the inconclusive february election. a boeing 787 passenger jet has flown over japan on a test flight. they have been grounded for battery problems. it took off from tokyo's airport on sunday. the ministry gave permission for the flight on condition that the airline carries out the necessary repairs. the cause of the trouble in janis still unknown. smoke was discovered rising from the battery box.

ana technicians say they tested as many as 80 possible factors. they put the battery in a stainless steel container to help contain any fire that breaks out. it will allow other 787s to resume commercial flights after their battery systems are repaired and examined in test flights. chairman joined the test flight. he said there were no problems. >> translator: mechanics on board the 787 monitored the battery system and confirmed that it was working properly during the flight. >> officials of the manufacturer, boeing, told the news conference that they're taking a wide range of safety measures. >> we are very confident in the solution that we've developed, the design that we made. we would put our families on this airplane, any day of the

week. >> ana has 17 boeing 787s and japan airlines has 7. they plan to use the aircraft for some services before resuming domestic flights on june 1st. jal also plans to resume flights in june. japan's prince and princess are in a ceremony for the new dutch king. the couple was greeted at the airport by the japanese ambassador to the netherlands. they'll attend the coronation of crown prince alexander. this will be the crown princess's first official overseas visit in 11 years. she's been undergoing treatment for fatigue over the last nine years. the condition was caused by child rearing and official

duties. to reduce the burden on the princess, the prince will visit the banquets and other events alone. they will return to japan on friday. now mother's a thrhere's a outlook on the world's weather.

and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." we'll be back with the latest at the top of the hour. thanks for joining us on nhk world.