welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. north korean forces have dialed down the tensions on the korean peninsula. u.s. officials say they've taken missiles off launch-ready status. japan's benchmark stock index is back to what it was in 2008 before the start of the global financial crisis. investors are reacting positively to changes in europe

and the u.s. and some chinese students are getting a different take on relations with japan. they're studying from a japanese perspective. north korean commanders appear to be backing away from a threat. u.s. and japanese officials say they've removed two mobile missile launchers from a site on the east coast. they say commanders moved the vehicles and a fuel tank there a month ago to prepare for a test launch. musudan missiles have an estimated range of between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometers. that would put japan and the u.s. pacific island of guam within their reach. the north koreans were reacting to new united nations sanctions and joint military drills between u.s. and south korean forces.

i think that we would certainly welcome any steps taken to back down from provocative stances that pyongyang has taken. >> she also has doubts about their weapons. >> we don't think they about the capable to deploy long-range missiles. forces are conducting fire drills off the western coast of the korean peninsula. they say it's an attempt of tipping tensions to into an actual war. they said the drills began on sunday.

they say they will retaliate if a single shell falls within their territory. they say there are no drills under way near the islands. tokyo share prices surged on tuesday to their highest level in nearly five years. the nikkei index broke through the symbolic 14,000 mark. it regained the levels before u.s. investment bank lehman brothers went bankrupt and triggered a global financial crisis. the nikkei claimed 3.5% ending at 14,180. investors bought a wide range of shares on easing concerns about the health of the u.s. economy. friday's u.s. nonfarm payroll data beat market expectations. exports led the gainers, that's because the u.s. is japan's biggest export market, and the yen continues to weaken against the dollar and other major currencies.

economists, politicians, and n pundents have tossed around different economics. we sat down with angel gurria. there is a newfound sense of hope which i had not seen for many years here. in japan, typically there was a deflation of the expectations. now i think there is an inflation of expectations. what you have in japan this year, perhaps, is loose monetary

policy. and a fiscal policy, okay? this is okay for one year. then you really have to move into control. is your question of credibility. we have to remember 20% debt to gdp and still growing. >> how concerned should we be about that? >> it is by far the highest. the average is about 100%. so it's more than double the average. it is so high that it's like going to mount everest without objecti oxygen on your own. you can, but you do not function.

so the same thing has happened when you have such a very high debt to gdp. it's a constraint. because what you can do with inflation, what you can do with a level of growth, if it is reflected in higher interest rates, it will effect immediately the amount that you pay on the debt. we are in rather unexplored territory at this level of debt. i think it's that you're basically trying to come down from the the top of mount evere everest. this is why we had the increase. i was saying go to 15%. >> what should japan do young

abenomics? >> reform, reform, reform. it's not one time. it's a state of mind. it should be always present. it's always an aspiration. >> which area do you mean by this? >> education, innovation, competition, the tax system, the health system, the r and d system, the university system, and flexibility in the labor market. so there are many things that have to be done there, but they're all reforms, reforms, reforms. i can only tell you that it's never too late to do the right thing. >> australia's central bank cut their interest rate to a record low due to growing uncertainty about the domestic economy. they went down to 2.75% effective on wednesday.

it's the lowest sichbs they introduced the current decision making system. glenn stevens said in a statement that the australian color has been at a historically high level in 18 months. he also noted the exchange rate is effecting domestic companies. a popular u.s.-based news website, the "huffington post" is released their japanese site. >> we're particularly happen to be launching it at such a transformational time for japan. inviting voices all over japan to comment on what is happening and to participate. >> it's run together with a mass

news. the "huffington post" also has french and spanish. it features news articles and celebrity blogs. it allows readers to post their comments. about 30,000 people are said to have posted their blogs to date. private search shows that more than 46 million people a month visit the site. here are the latest market figures. japanese leaders are trying to show their neighbors and the rest of the world they take the

mistakes their country made in the past seriously. the top government spokesperson is marking suggestions that prime minister shinzo abe is going to review an apologyo comfort women. they were forced to work in brothels in world war ii. the government never mentioned a revision of the statement made by the government at the time. the basic stand point of the abe administration is not to make this a political or diplomatic issue. >> the former ambassador to japan raised the issue last week at a symposium in washington. he said some officials are calling to review the apoll zi. he says that would suggestly hurt japan and sasia. it said if he does not face up to history, relations with

neighbors countries would be difficult. foo he says the government has accepted the historical facts with humility and expressed apologies, remorse, and condolences to all of the victims of world war ii at home and abroad. he said prime minister abe shares that view. >> translator: we will do our best to carefully explain the government's stand point on history to the international community. >> he added that south korea and china are important partners. he said japan plans to strengthen ties with them and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the region. japan and south korea are

sometimes called geographically close, distant at heart. as we report, history weighs heavy. south koreans and japanese live and work side by side in korea town. straunlts and shops in this area are popular with people of both backgrounds. visitors wouldn't get the sense that relations between the two countries are frosty. two nonprofit organizations from tokyo and seoul wanted to find out how japanese and south korean's feel about each other. each npo interviewed 1,000 people. nearly 80% of south koreans have negative impressions of

japanese. south koreans picked an ongoing territorial dispute with their neighbor as the first thing that comes to behind when they hear about japan. south korea controls islands. japanese leaders call them takeshima and say the territory is theirs. the second biggest issue for south koreans involves local comfort women. many of the women were forced into prostitution to serve japanese soldiers during world war ii. food was top of mind for japanese who were surveyed when they thought of south korea. the territorial dispute followed and korean pop music or k-pop and drama came third. >> translator: japanese people tend to think more about recent events. but south koreans seem to focus more on the past. >> reporter: the poll asked both groups why they have negative impressions of each other.

77% of south koreans said it was because japan hasn't recognized the issues connected to its invasion of their country. about 55% of japanese surveyed said they don't like how south koreans keep criticizing them based on events of the past. the poll suggests south koreans believe japan is becoming more militarized, and more right wing. japan comes third in a list of sides have strong and d d d d d complicated emotions but they haven't learned even the very basic information about each other's countries. >> reporter: nearly 80% of japanese and south koreans surveyed admit they base their opinions on tv news. some of those polled who know people in either country said one way to change perception and

improve ties is to visit and get to know each other. kaho izumitani, nhk world, tokyo. u.s. defense analysts have levelled unprecedented accusations against the chinese leadership. analysts at the pentagon blame the chinese of computer-based attacks against the u.s. officials at the defense department levels the charges for the first time in their report on china. they wrote there is a strong likelihood that chinese agents were involvemented in attacks on government computer systems. they wrote that some chinese ballistic missiles are designed to carry aircraft carriers. they suggest that the people's lip ration army finished developing the missiles and they say the chinese deployed those

weapons despite limited capability. they say they have appear to have changed tactics. they have upgraded their warships while trying to keep u.s. forces out of their waters. the report also raises concerns about china's attempts to redraw territorial boundaries around a group of disputed islands. it says chinese officials drew a line around the senkaku islands illegally. china and taiwan claim the islands. the pentagon report says such claims are inconsistent with international law. >> the unilateral actions of any party will have no bearing on our position that the senkaku's remain under the administrative control of japan. >> this is the first time they have clearly stated their

position on the issue. chinese students hear more and more these days about the troubled relations between their country and japan. while government leaders are arguing about the senkaku islands, some high school students are getting a different narrative. they're learning about life from a japanese perspective. >> reporter: a program was started for children who want to study in japan. every teacher and textbook comes from japan. ♪ after studying for two years, the students go to japan.

there they have their last year at the high school. after graduates they can apply to japanese universities. every student taking part in this program has gone on to study in japan. there are 28 students in the first year. most grew interested in japan through anime and other pop culture. >> i love japanese culture. >> translator: the director of the school studied in japan 25 years ago. he says good manners of the japanese surprise him the most. when he went to a baseball game, he was amazed that though one left any litter in the stands. he says japanese can teach chinese many things. >> translator: a man might have social responsibilities, but chinese education barely teaches

them at all. that's the problem. lu wants to increase the number of partner schools in japan. but no school has shown an interest, perhaps because of cool relations between the governments. >> i think anti-japan protest here worry them. but i want them to understand that there are many chinese like us who love japan. >> a 16-year-old is in the the first year of the program. his mother recommended he enroll. >> translator: i want to study in japan and get more exposure to the culture.

>> they also studied in japan. she thinks if her study there it will give him an edge in finding a job. >> translator: since i have a fondness for japan, i hope my son will find a job related to the country. >> reporter: his father never lived in japan, but he says he is not worried about his son living there despite tensions. >> relations are not good, but politics and ordinary people's lives exist on different planes. while he is there i hope he learned from the japanese, like their incredible work ethic. >> even though the two countries are not seeing eye to eye, the chinese students are excited about going to japan. one day, they might have warmer

relations between the two countries. nhk world, shanghai. most chinese students that want to study in other asian countries choose japan. parents say it's because they want their children to land good jobs after graduation. despite tensions, economic ties remain strong. a congressman is pushes to ban the production of these weapons. he spoke out after a group made the first gun with the technology. the nonprofit group in texas put blueprints on their website. anyone with access can make the gun. they work by building up layers of terrible to create solid

objects. >> we're facing a situation where in terrorist can open a gun factory in their garage and the weapons they make will be undetectable. >> the debate over gun control in the united states game stronger last year after a gunman killed 26 people at a school in connecticut. japanese and brazilian researchers say they found a city that may have existed at the bottom of the atlantic. researchers surveyed the plato off of the coast of brazil. they collaborated with brazilian

geologist taking a submersible to the bottom of the ocean. they said they spotted a cliff made of granite. they also found large volumes of quartz. they say it recalls the legend of atlantis. he is said to have discovered the lost civilization in the same part of the world. few areas in japan are having severe weather. robert speta has the details. >> we're seeing this rough weather across central japan. we see in the satellite picture here, the storms start to blue up there the afternoon hours

here. the storms blow through, and you saw a car overturn and a few buildings blown down early in the afternoon. a very isolated storm but it does cause some damage. the rest of japan seeing these winds today. up to 80 kilometer per hour winds. and sunnier skies as well. don't expect much rainfall across japan. so really it's going to be warmup, sunny skies currently here in south earn china, not so much the case. we have an elongated low pressure area. in the last 24 hours, you saw up to 150 millimeters recorded here, and you could see it here

in the next 72. it is rainfall falling on top of more rain, and there is just a risk of widespread flooding. even around hong kong you could see a possible thunderstorm pop up here once you get through the peak of the daytime heating. seeing the rain showered in chongeing. we have an upper level low spinning just off the coast of california now. this is bringing widespread rain showers with it from south western california, los angeles, and las vegas as well. it will consolidate though into wednesday. we'll see a risk of stronger thunderstorms. it's tornado season, so definitely not out of the ordinary here across kansas,

oklahoma, northern texas. you could see very gusty winds. that low does develop here towards the east. washington dc, you're seeing rainfall as well. 19 here for your high. toronto, sunny skies, 23. houston and miami both into the high 20s. let's look towards europe, in western europe. very unsettled out here. in france you're in flood watches and warnings here. we have gusty winds and heavy rainfall across ireland and the uk here. now you're going to be seeing more heavy rainfall with this as well. also want to talk about this area spinning up along theball kin peninsula. you saw 80 kilometer per hour

winds today. it will be persisting but gradually tapering off. the northwesterly winds will be kicking off, london and paris still rain showers for you here. that's a look at your world weather. here is a look at your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

this year's spring has arrived a little later than usual. the rape blossoms are just opening in april.