thanks for joining us here on nhk world. this is "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following this hour. japanese opposition leader toru hashimoto apologized for saying u.s. servicemen in japan could turn to the sex industry as a

way to prevent crimes. a south korean newspaper has expressed regret for recent commentary that described the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki as divine punishment. a jab news opposition leader apologized for a comment he made about u.s. troops in japan and the sex trade industry. hash m hashimoto is reacts his comments. the mayor of osaka. he spoke in tokyo and said his intention was to ask u.s. forces to prevent sex offenses. and he argued his strong sense of crisis led to the use of an inappropriate expression. >> translator: my remark could

be construed as offensive to the u.s. forces and american people. i retract my comments. >> he also made comments about comfort women. many of the women were forced to work in brothels for japanese soldiers. he said earlier this month that comfort women were necessary in times of war. but he clarified saying japan must express deep remorse for the violation of women's rights in the past. what i intended to convey in my remarks is a not insignificant number of nations should face that they also violated the human rights of women. >> after the speech, he spoke about the 1993 japanese government statement.

it expressed the comfort women system and apologized. he called on the government to clarify this point, arguing it is the biggest reason relations between japan and south korea haven't improved. hashimoto's news conference lasted two-and-a-half hours. he may be trying hard to explain his stance on so called comfort woman, but from our point of view, he has many questions to answer. >> translator: he answered each question carefully and sincerely. i acknowledge his efforts. he made it clear he anies the comfort women system violated human rights, and that's a good thing. >> the reporters asked hashimoto how he plans to take

responsibility for having drawn criticism for abroad. he said they should take responsibility by seeking the judgment of voters. his party will do just that this summer when japanese go to poles to cast ballots for an upper house election. a south korean newspaper expressed regret over recent commentary that angered people in japan and the survivors of the atomic bombings. it referred to them as a form of divine punishment. the monday edition of the newspaper included an expression of regret for any distress caused to bombing victims and their families. it said the publisher had not intended to cause offense. an op-ed piece in last monday's edition carried the statements equating the bombings to divine punishment.

survivors expressed outrage and the japanese embassy in seoul lodged two separate protests with the newspaper. staff deleted the opinion piece from the online japanese language edition but it remains available in korean. the publisher maintains the article represents the author's personal view and not the views of the newspaper. another bad day for the stoke owe stock market, it suffered the second biggest drop of the year. investors remained cautious after recent volatile trading. the nikkei sended at 14,142 down 3.2%. stocks came under selling pressure right after the opening bell as the yen's renewed strength weighed on market sentiment. the benchmark index stayed in negative territory. the closing level was the lowest

since may 2nd. investors are placing sell orders to keep from having any losses. for more, we asked the head of fukoku capital management, yuuki sakurai. >> i believe this is a rebound to the market sentiment that started from the last december when mr. abe won the general election. and during this six month, they evaluated negative news, and now it has changed it's course. the market is now very sensitive to the negative news. i feel that this move will continue for next one or two weeks. after learning lessons, the

market will come back from sensitive to sensible. not overexaggerating good news. for the time being, it will likely stay around 13,000 to the middle of 14,000. >> here are the latest market figures. the managers of a government-affiliated nuclear agency are facing tough questions after they waited a day and a half to report an incident at one of their facilities. at least 30 of their researchers

were exposed to radiation. some of that radiation leaked outside of the compound. this kind of case is a concern in any country. but in japan following the 2011 accident at fukushima, sensitivity about radiation exposure is much higher. nhk world's kaho izumitani reports. >> reporter: researchers at the japan atomic energy agency facility investigate the fundamental components of matter and measure interactions. on thursday, they were operating equipment that bombards gold with photon beams to generate elementary particles. the radioactive substances formed usually remain inside the gold. but a malfunction made the beams 400 times stronger. that melted the gold and released radioactive substances directly into the air. an alarm went off, shutting down

the equipment. the researchers couldn't find the reason for that alert. so they reset the alarm and kept working. in addition, they turned on the exhaust fans twice to lower the radiation in the room. it's believed radioactive substances leaked out of the facility. >> translator: we sincerely regret this outcome. >> reporter: the team was initially sent home without receiving the proper medical checkup. at least 30 people were exposed to a maximum radiation level of 1.7 millisieverts. that's considered to pose no health risk. it took facility managers a day and a half to report the incident to the government. >> translator: both our understanding and handling of the situation were inappropriate. even if we were trying to lower

the dose inside the facility. >> reporter: people in the village that's less than a kilometer away are worried. >> translator: it's scary. >> translator: they should have notified us immediately. >> reporter: the nuclear regulation authority has initially classified the incident as a level one out of a seven on an international scale. saying the japan atomic energy agency didn't handle the radioactive material appropriately. as a point of reference, the accidents in fukushima and chernobyl are ranked seven. experts say the agency needs to improve safety measures. >> the fact that there was no protocol and there was no preventive equipment for preventing the radioactive materials to be released outside the facility and that people

were not prepared for public relations, for disseminating the fact that the accident happened, and this should have been done in a different way, especially after the fukushima daiichi accident. >> reporter: after the fukushima accident, the nuclear industry in japan faced domestic and international criticism for its poor crisis management and delayed information sharing. this latest incident suggests that the work to change what some consider a culture of complacency is far from over. kaho izumitani, nhk world, tokyo. a bomb and gun attack ha authorities are blaming a group that killed seven members of the npa set off a bomb and then started shooting.

the "associated press" happened as officers with the special action force were on their way to a hospital in allacapan. that's about 400 miles north of manila. the blast and a follow up gun attack wounded seven other officers. the npa is believe todd have 4,000 active fighters. more than four decades of violence claim at least 120,000 lives. attacks this year alone have skilled dozens of. filipino leaders rejected talks after they would not have a cease fire. the leaders of 51 african nations are prepared to attend a high provile event. organizers say the rapid

economic growth on the continent will be a key talking point. foreign investment reached nearly $40 billion in recent years. this has driven much of africa's explosive growth. china is pouring money in as well. it is attracted to the mineral welt and the booming population. but booming figures say malaysia out paced china in 2011 nhk world shows us the story behind the numbers. >> reporter: people all over the world depend on palm oil in their daily lives. it's used in everything from cooking to transportation. the malaysian conglomerate is one of the world's largest producers. its palm tree plantations in an area equal to 500,000 soccer fields.

here in malaysia, palm tree plantation are a major business. this plantation owner is now eyeing africa as a potential market. company officials are attracted to africa's large labor pool and abundant farmland. the food used to make palm oil can be harvested almost all year round. so the company's always in need of workers. in 2009, officials expanded the operations in liberia. government there provided the company with a large amount of land. the company built an entire community for local employees. it has homes, schools and even clinics. >> when we want to expand, africa's the next frontier with ample land. the agro climactic conditions

and the large manpower they have suits us. >> reporter: malaysia's economy is now the third largest in southeast asia. direct investment has increased to $106 billion by the end of 2011. of that total, close to 20% went to africa. leaders in education sector are investing in human capital as well by promoting student exchange programs. this university offered hospitality classes to africa exchange students. school officials are helping them learn schools that they can use in africa's booming tourism industry. >> i would like to perhaps be a general manager and run my own hotel. >> people are choosing malaysia because of the cheaper prices. >> reporter: many universities are appealing to students by

offering joint programs with resident schools. african students are also attracted to malaysia's ethnic and religious diversity. about 20,000 exchange students from africa are studying in malaysian schools. the number is steadily rising. >> i think that's very important. human capital. people are money. because the high end. they're going to be the policymakers. they're going to be the leaders in the industry. >> reporter: malaysian government officials are working hard to build closer ties with africa. they believe investing in business and human development will help their own economy. nhk world, malaysia. japanese government and

business leaders are also on the lookout for new ways to tap into africa's booming economies. they're using the upcoming to o africa, a continent of promise and plunder. many live in lands rich in minerals. a source of economic growth and conflict. "newsline" is looking at the challenges and the opportunities on this continent in the lead up to an international conference in tokyo. the jury at the cannes international film festival gave the top prize.

these artists are -- abdellatif was the director. >> translator: when you succeed in a film, you succeed together, and when you fail, you fail together. the japanese film won the jury prize. >> translator: i deeply appreciate my parents even though their already gone. i thank my wife and daughter for making me a father. thank you.

the film focuses on the parents learning that the boy they raised for five years was not their birth son. he was switched at the hospital. >> translator: the name of the film is about how the father thinks and acts about what he has learned. all juries were impressed with the film and praised it. the audience gave "like father like son" a ten minute standing ovation when they screened it earlier this month. french critics also gave it high praise. >> some of japan's biggest athletes are lamenting wins or

losses today. everyone was watching two competitors that went into the championships. sato was trying to become the first homegrown in years. they clashed on day 14. >> it was his 24th cup division title.

kusimasato tries to draw him. he draws him to a state unbeaten. on the final day, they secured the championship with kumisato's loss. hakumito needed a win to capture back to back perfect record championships. they go chest to chest, and go 15-0.

>> tahakuho's perfect record mas him tied at 25. . he needs eight more wins to write a new chapter in sumo history. so why was he untouchable this time. he was able to shut down their offense. here he likes to fight by getting height right hand in, but he stops by yanking his arm and swinging him to the deck. they also showed greeted athleticism and poise. in is bout, he slipped his right

arm on the upper body while recovering from danger. and that wraps up our recap of the sumo tournament. the next competition will be on july 7th. we'll find out if he can bounce back from his blunder and win his first championship. currently in tokyo it's 21 degrees celsius and fair. the fair weather across japan looks like it will be going downhill through midweek. they are pushing in from the west, and it's not just japan. most of the korean pe innocence la will be seeing heavy rain showers as we go through our day on thursday.

it already has been falling here, but also farther toward the west into north eastern china, coming down as well. i want to show you these photos, due to the high winds, about 13,000 fishing boats are stuck in port there. really about 75 kilometer per power winds. also knocking down trees. all of that energy is moving to the east. even tokyo will get in towards the mix. but, really, tokyo, you still -- don't be surprised if you see a rumble of thunder or two as you push overhead. about 50 to 100 mill mimeters.

afternoon thunderstorms are blowing up here. it's coming down, but i want to continue to look farther toward the west. you want to keep a close eye out, it is spinning here. not a named system by any means, but it is pumping moisture. eastern portions of india here, you could see over 200 millimeters of rain. hong kong, 31 for your high, rain showers with this. and it is getting up towards 12. main topic here is severe weather. we saw the severe flooding down there in texas. weather is shifting farther towards the north. three ports of tornadoes on sunday, and it looks like that severe weather threat will continue to linger here.

possibly going to be seeing more of that not just on monday but extending through wednesday. and 40 to 80 millimeters from ohio to the ohio river valley. that is where all of the severe weather threat will be. look out ahead of it, temperatures are warming up for you in washington dc. 26 for your high. new york is 24 by the end of your workweek. that is pushing to 30, rather hot and steamy out here. into europe, two areas we want to continue to watch very closely. this one over central europe. you see that large rotation that is continuing to spin here. norway, you're getting just hit by moisture. you're also going to be looking at 40 to 80 millimeters in the next 24 hours alean.

another system is coming in, that will push in for you and temperatures will linger in the mid teens. here is your extended forecast.

i'll have more updates at the top of the our. thanks for watching.

french documentary filmmaker keiko was born in japan and now works in france. she visited was the tohoku disaster area for the first time after the earthquake in 2011 and now she's back in the region again. >> translator: i just wanted to come here and do something. i wanted to be useful in some way, to help.