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. leaders from japan and africa have pledged to promote economic growth on the continent with a round of new investment. authorities are calling for calm after protests spread across the country. a fire breaks out at a poultry farm in northeast china.

workers were trapped in buildings. leaders from africa have wrapped up talks in yokohama. they pledge long-term growth by increasing business and infrastructure. participants at the tokyo international conference of ticad ended their meeting on monday. shinzo abe gave the final address. >> translator: we pledge our sport for africa. we are committed to promoting the goals that we are determined to accomplish. and we will fulfill those promises. africa, once again, is open for business and our japanese brothers can rest assured that investing in africa will be a very rewarding experience.

leaders adopted a pledge called the yokohama declaration. they emphasized infrastructure development, especially in the fields of energy, transport, and water. leaders agreed to improve farms in africa. they set a goal of 6% growth in the agriculture industry. nhk world has been covering the ticad meetings. we got the reaction of the african delegates. japanese officials saw the conference as an opportunity toship their relationship with africa. they want to move from aid to investment. they want to be a key part of the continent's rapid economic growth. on the first day of the conference, prime minister abe announced a $32 billion package.

it includes money for both investment and aid. >> we won't only bring natural resources to japan. we want to foster the growth of industry in africa, create employment there, and make people better off. the bottom line is that we must take a long-term view and create a win-win relationship. >> many african leaders say they welcome japan's new approach. they say they will keep a close eye on the results of the investment. they want to see how ticad action plan will be carried out. >> we have seen investment in the past that have under developed africa. so now we want investments that will develop africa. modernize it, and make it a

continent that can t it's rightful place. >> the yokohama declaration needs calls in development, health, and education. some are concerned about the emphasis of business. they say it can lead to neglect for policies that help people rise up out of poverty. they say african leaders should take responsibility to make sure investment helps all members of society. it may not be an issue of money even if you give all of the money that africa wants, you may go back and find development. that is a problem. >> all of the take holders are faced with a type of challenge to build up their own industries and try to help africans stand on their own feet. nhk world, yokohama.

japanese finance minister aso asked for backing and investment aid pack for japan. he said he welcomed japan's leadership at ticad, and he expected it to accelerate investment in africa by the private sector. $14 billion will be in develop mental assistance. the remainder of the $32 billion is expected to come from the private sector. he asked for world bank support for japanese businesses that want to invest in africa. anti-government protests in turkey have spread nationwide. rallies occurred in more than 200 areas including the capital. a redevelopment plan sparked the initial protest. shorts wanted to renew a care in

central istanbul. people say they're frustrated with the government's conservative stance. the interior men industry said 235 rallies took place on wednesday. police detained 1700 people. istanbul is one of the cities vying to host the 2020 olympics. they called the protests unforgivable when the country is getting closer to it's stream to host the games. they told reporters that opposition extremist are trying to stir up sentiment. a fire has injured 154 people. people were unable to escape because of the plant's layout. the fire broke out early on

among at a fak voir in duhui city. three explosions were heard before the flames began to spread. they quoted firefighters assaying the factory's complex playout made it difficult to rescue people inside. police are investigating the cause of the fire and the plant's safety arrangements. workplace safety has become a major concern in china. a numpl of factories and mines have been hit by firing and other deadly accidents. japanese consumers are praising for rising food prices because the surge and imports ingredients stemming from the yen's decline. people will soon feel the

downside of the reflationary prices. more food items are set to follow. >> translator: it's bad news. because i like bread. rising food prices are a big problem. >> translator: this is a serious problem for my business. we won't be making any money. >> an analyst says business managers will be trying to absorb the impact of the price increases but she adds they can't continue to hold out forever. >> translator: retail prices are starting to go up gradually. as it's been about six months since the yen's depreciation started. a full-fledged rise in food prices is likely to begin this summer. >> a japanese government panel on social security reform has come up with some measures to make the nation's pension system more sustainable.

a panel is discussing new ideas for a future social security system as the country faces a dwindling and aging population. specialists agreed that the government should activate the so-called macro economic slide mechanism as soon as possible. under the system, the government is supposed to hold down the total amount of social payments within its overall revenue from individual pension contributions. this type of mechanism was set up in the early 2000s but it hasn't been used since the economy was mired in deflation. the panel's chairperson said lifting the pension eligible age is needed to make the social security more sustainable. >> translator: raising the eligibility age should be discussed from the perspective of international trends. >> the panel plans to submit a

draft reform plan by the end of august. sales of new cars in japan dipped for the first time in two months in may. domestic sales since the subsidies for ecofriendly vehicles last september. industry groups say more than 367,000 new cars were sold last month. that's down just about 7% from a year ago. sales dropped more than 21% for honda. more than 8.5% for nissan. and just about 7% for toyota. officials with the japan automobile dealers association with putting on a brave face now. they say sales are up compared to right after when subsidies ended. they say that there is no full-fledged recovery yet, given the volatility in the stock market. here are the latest market figures.

two deadly blasts have struck eastern afghanistan. most international troops prepare to withdrawal. we are following the story. the two separate incidents killed at least 16 people. they were killed by a last out of paktia province.

a man riding a motor bike exploded. later, a roadside explosion destroyed a passing car. two win and four children were killed. the government strongly criticized the incident. afghanistan sees no ned shot improvides explosive twiesexplo. according to the american defense department, 70% of the i.e.d.s are made from chemical fert lieszers smuggled into the country from afghanistan. the military announced last month it is beefing up it's crack down on smuggling.

the area is a hot bid of is lomic troop that's have attacked in areas in the past. a man driving a motorcycle forced himself into the police facility before detonating explosives, the blast immediately killed the attacker and injured a near by construction worker. they continued from 1998 to 2002. the conflict left at least 1,000 people dead. today, mill assistant groups hide out in area surrounding and launch attacks on forces. last year police carried out a series of raids in the area. they're investigating case due to similarities with past terrorist attacks. it's 40 years since u.s. trooped pulled out of vietnam. the people in vietnam are still

realing from the lingers effects of agent orange. now a u.s. nonprofit organization is spearheading an effort to help those who are suffering. akiko has more. in dananag, a new center was opened. the group offers direct aid to those in need. on this day, the members visited a 75-year-old woman. she has been taking care of her handicap son and his mentally disabled sister.

>> the u.s. ruined our lives. it seems i've been stuck in jail for 40 years, just taking care of my children. >> the u.s. government has not offered any compensation to people suffering from the progresses. members make regular visits assessing the situations, and helping them financially. >> i felt that what the united states did here during the war was terrible. we're well goo into the third generation of the affects of agent orange. quickly approaching the fourth generation, and there is no relief relief in sight. >> since last year, it was a tour across vietnam for u.s.

nationals. participants are taken to former battlefields from the vietnam war. they can see for themselves the damage agent orange has caused. mike is a veteran of the war. he set today in vietnam for the first time in years. he says he still barely remembers the war. particularly the tv air attacks and being sprayed. >> that whole valley, and many of the mountain tops, were all brown. lots of agent orange was sprayed there. i think i can be more at piece with what went on here. >> he was take ton a nalt cares for the victims. the city alone as three such

facilities. he was shocked at what he saw, and he is puzzled by the u.s. government's lack of action to help. especially it's responsibility in offering aid. >> we were very sad to see them. you know, with the mentally disabled, and the physically disabled. >> he organized the tour, and says it's tard to raise u.s. puckly awareness about the harm becaused by agent orange. >> people like me are not looking for the united states to apologize or to say even that we're guilty. but i would say that the united states government should, from a humanitarian perspective, do something positive for the

victims of agent orange here in vietnam. for the vietnamese people, the war is something they can never forget. meanwhile, the success being pressed to face up to the reality of what it did in vietnam. akiko, nhk world, danang. that wraps up our bulletin. >> members of a swedish think tank say most, but not all, have nuclear powers scaling down their arsenals. analysts released their annual report on monday. they looked at the five nuclear armed countries that long to the

international nonproliferation tr treaties and others. they have 10% fewer warheads that's last year. they have reduced their arsenal, analysts say china has some 250 nuclear warheads. that's about ten more than last year. they also say pakistan and india appear to have increased their stockpiles by about ten each. they seem unwilling to give them up for good. japan's top government spokes man is denying a claim. it says they agreed in self-a dispute over the ownership of the senkaku islands. they said on saturday that bont sides agreed to put aside the

dispute. chief cabinet secretary reiterated the government's stance that the islands are an inherent part of the japanese territory. he stressed that japan controls the islands, the east china sea, and no dispute exists. >> china never agrees to self-the issue of the senkaku islands. it's not an issue to be put aside. >> they said that ja mpan canno accept any claim. workers at the reactor found a technical glitch in fair computer systems. it prevents the transmission of

vital data to the system. they were alerted to the problem when an alarm sounded early on monday morning. the condition and radiation levels in the surrounding area were not being sent. they found a computer server turned off. the japan atomic agency reignited the reactor. they turned the sir vor back on and restarted transmission 4-and-a-half hours later. they sent the data by fax and e-mail to the regular nuclear regulation authority. regulators say part of the facility housing the server lost power and they're investigating the cause. a government inspection last year found the operator missed about 10,000 equipment checks at the facility. the former head of the operator resigned last month as a result.

japanese railway engineers ran the magnetically lev stated train on a outdoor track for the first time. the l0 has a boxy shape for more room. it was toned down to make sure it had proper ground clearance. >> we want to collect accurate and useful data by testing the train at high speeds. >> they have been developing the train for more than 50 years. they're goal is to blink the cities in tokyo and oh -- osaka in one hour. it will be the first to use super conducting electromagnets. they hope it will make it's

commercial debut in 2027. japanese officials urged the u.s. government to adopt the technology for a high speed link between washington dc and baltimore, maryland. he personally recommended it in february to president barack obama. central japan rareway officials says they will ask the government to use their technology to link washington and new york. a beautiful day in tokyo, but severe whether in the u.s. we turn to robert speta for more. >> we have been watching that weather out here and it's still coming down out here. over through the ohio river valley on saturday. on sunday, tornadoes in the carolinas. good need, gradually improving out here. more showers in and around the peninsula. it will still billion a risk of

flooding with that as it does continue to push overhead. where the next line of rough weather is coming up is here in the high plains. this is where you're going to be seeing that next threat of winds possibly topping 100 kilometers per hour. also, it will be a continued threat of tornadoes. some of them rather damaging and large. we want to continue to keep an eye on this. flash flooding risk in the portions of eastern montana and north dakota. the pressure is continuing to spin here, gradually improving into tuesday. and then eventually temperatures rebounding by the end of the workweek here into places of montana and the dakotas. really starting to warm up here. really starting to stay on the warm side farther towards the south. los angeles, you're at 23 here. some showers in the forecast,

but that's good news because you have been experiencing that extremely dry weather. let's take a look towards eastern asia where the big topic here has been this low pressure area. this upper level low, spinning as a cut off low, and it is not going anywhere. bringing heavy rainfall across central europe. the czech republic. you have been getting hit. and we have been seeing that flooding recently. i want to show images of this flooding. this rain that led to some of the worst flooding in a decade here. cools have been closed, and a direct center is being affected. troops are putting up anti-flood barriers to try to mitigate what's going on here, but the prime minister declared a state of emergency for the country.

rain still in the forecast unfortunatelyly. but the good news, slowly tapering off and drifting off here towards the east. you can still see 30e to 50 millimeters of rainfall. by wednesday it will gradually be improving. much of western europe, high pressure settling in here. paris at 20, madrid getting up to 26. let's talk about eastern asia where flooding is possible here in southeastern china. that time of year, that front sets up, starting to come in from the south, and you get that trough and it's going to be linkering. fair weather for most throughout the remainder of the week. thunderstorms are continuing to flair up here. that's a look at your world weather, here is your extended forecast.

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

tokyo. this is one of the largest entertainment districts in asia. a photographer has been taking photos for the last 16 years. kwon choul is a korean photo journalist. >> translator: it seems to me that this whole district is ruled by desire. kwon choul has captured