hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo with the stories at this hour. the operator of the damaged fukushima daicchi power plant says it has increased the water number three reactor after an increase in temperature occurred over the past week. tokyo electric power company increased the flow of cooling water to 7 tons to 9 tons per hour for the number three reactor

on wednesday. the temperature at the bottom of the reactor was about 143 degrees celsius at 11:00 a.m. on thursday, about 33 degrees higher than wednesday last week. the operator says the temperature rise was apparently caused by a temporary decline in the amount of water flowing into the number three reactor. tepco has been injecting water into reactors number one, two and three after the cooling functions were lost in the march disaster. the company says that after it increased the amount of water injected into the number one reactor last week, the temperature of number three began to rise. the company says it continues to carefully monitor temperature changes. tepco says its operation to cool the number one reactor will be carried out safely. an the company is planning on filling the reactor's containment vessel with enough water to bring the temperature below 100 degrees celsius. on thursday, the nuclear and industrial safety agency approved tepco's assessment plan and the company says it hopes to

start work as early as friday and tepco says about 7400 tons of water will have to be pumped into the containment vessel for the cooling process. it says the vessel and the reactor building will both be able to withstand the weight of the water. the company plans to increase the amount of feed water into the reactor to 8 tons per hour from the current 6 tons in hopes of filling the containment vessel within 20 days. friday marks one year after the experimental monju nuclear reactor resumed operations in japan. however, there is no clear prospect for a research and development program involving the reactor amid growing safety concerns following the disaster in fukushima. the reactor, located in sagua city prefecture resumed operations after a shutdown due to a sodium

leakage accident and fire in 1995. this appears to support research and development as the main pillar of japan's nuclear fuel recycling policy. however, when the reactor was stopped for inspections last august, a three-ton fuel exchange device fell into it and got stuck. the japan atomic energy agency plans to resume tests on march 2012. the accident has delayed the research and development program by more than six months. like other nuclear plants in japan, a drill for responding to a possible loss of emergency power has been held for monju following the accident at fukushima daiichi plant. fukui prefecture has also asked the minister to assure safety of the reactor and set up a panel of experts for verification. france's nuclear regulator has held a public hearing as

part of efforts to review emergency response guidelines for nuclear power plant disasters. it was the first such hearing in france since the accident that japan's fukushima daiichi plant. the hearing was held in paris on thursday with about 200 people attending, including representatives of citizen groups and foreign experts. a representative of a french electric power company said the utility plans to strengthen measures against emergencies such as the loss of all power at a nuclear plant. the official said the company will send a special team within 48 hours to restore reactor cooling functions. participants called for the review of guidelines involving the establishment of evacuation zones for res residents living near power plant, safety of workers responding to emergencies and financial compensation in the event of an accident. france has 58 nuclear power plants, the second largest number following the united states. the french government says it will maintain its policy of

promoting nuclear power. the disaster management review is apparently intended to lessen public anxiety surrounding the safety of nuclear power. now for the latest in business news with ai uchida. >> thanks very much, ross. i'm ai uchida. the european central bank left its key interest rate unchanged. the decision was made on thursday at its monthly board meeting in helsinki. last month, the central bank raised their policy rates by 25 percentage points to 1.25%. this marked a policy shift from the low interest rates the bank had implemented since the 2008 global financial crisis. the april rate hike was aimed at curbing inflation caused by rising prices of crude oil and food. the central bank kept the rate unchanged, apparently to see how last month's rate increase would affect the

economy and crude oil prices. the u.s. currency fell to the mid79 yen range at one point for the first time since the middle of march. at that time, g-7 nations took a concerted action to stem the yen's advance following japan's earthquake and tsunami. but the dollar regained ground in tokyo, as market players became cautious about an intervention by the japanese authorities. the greenback is now trading hands at 80.46-48 yen, whereas is the euro is at 117.34 yen. the u.s. economic outlook has weakened. the ecb's decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged caused the euro to fall against the yen as well. on to oil. the benchmark wti crude oil futures fell. that mark, the first time in the

month and a half prices went blow the $100 level. market player placed sell orders on crude oil futures over concerns the u.s. economy will slow down. this market move follows a rise in applications for jobless benefits. which was worse than what many analysts expected. turning to other commodity, silver dropped more than 13%, while gold fell about 3.4% at one stage. plungie ining below $1,500 per . the stock market, the dow jones industrials fell more than 200 points at one stage. the key index lost 139 points and ended the day at 12,584. now, to tokyo stocks. share prices plunged right at the opening on friday morning. the key nikkei index ended the morning session at 9,822. that's down 1.8% from monday's close with a loss of 181 points.

sources say the nose-dive is due to a plunge on wall street and the stronger yen. here's a look at latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark 10 year japanese government bond. taking a look at other asian market, we're seeing losses there as well with chong, shanghai and shin zen all down this friday morning with losses of over half a percent. the european union and the international monetary fund have agreed to a 78 billion euro or $116 billion financial aid package for portugal. this is on the condition the country tries to reduce its deficit by 2013. the plan was unveiled thursday at a news conference in lisbon. portugal has promised to cut public sector jobs. it has also promised

privatizations in its energy and telecommunications sectors. the issue of fiscal reconstruction prompted the japanese prime minister to resign in march. a general election is planned for june. >> in the present election campaign, it should be clear that the next government has to take the responsibility for the program and implement the measures. >> the aid package for port call is expected to be finalized after discussion at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in mid-may. that is going to do it for me in business news for now. back to ross. >> thank you, ai. u.s. president barack obama has visited the former new york trade center site in new york city where he paid respects to the victims of the september 11th attacks. the visit on thursday came four days after al qaeda leader osama bin laden was killed.

on sunday, u.s. time, u.s. special forces killed bin laden in his hideout in pakistan. >> what happened on sunday because of the courage of our military and the outstanding work of our intelligence. to send a message around the world but also send a message here back home that when we say we will never forget, we mean what we say. >> obama later visited ground zero and laid a wreath at the foot of the tree known as the survivor tree. he then paid solemn tribute in front of 60 people, including families of the victims. many new yorkers turned up to see the president's visit. some said they were pleased that bin laden was dead, while others expressed concern that the united states would again be targeted by terrorists. >> i'm glad they got mim it's been ten year since this

happened. what just happened, we're glad it's happened. >> we have to not let our guard down. we have to be more vigilant. it may backlash on us. >> the pakistani army says it will review future military cooperation with the united states if the country carries out any more correct raids similar to the one that killed osama bin laden. the army issued its first statement since the s.e.a.l.car destroy mission. the statement said the army would investigate failures by its intelligent agencies. the pakistani army also criticized the obama administration for not providing advanced notification of the operation for fear of information leaks. u.s. attorney general eric

holder has referred to the operation to assassinate the top commander of the imperial japanese navy fleet during world war ii in his justification for the killing of osama bin laden. holder made the remark on wednesday at a senate justice committee meeting. >> it's lawful to target an enemy commander in the field. we did so, for instance, with regard to yamamoto in world war ii when he was shot down. >> he said the operation against bin laden was similar to the killing of commander yamamoto of the imperial japanese navy fleet. yamamoto was the chief architect of japan's attack on the u.s. navy base in pearl harbor, hawaii, during world war ii. holder also countered suggestions that it was illegal to kill bin laden when he was unarmed. >> the operation in which osama bin laden was killed was lawful. he was the head of al qaeda, an organization that had conducted

the attacks of september 11th. he admitted his involvement as you indicate. he said he would not be taken alive. the operation against bin laden was justified as an act of national self-defense. china's vice president ping has called on japan to guarantee the safety of food exports. he met in beijing on thursday. shi asked japan to share information on radioactive contamination and resolve the problem swiftly. hato yam ma says he hopes to see the situation brought under control with the help of international experts. shi also asked the japanese government to issue official guarantees for the safety of food exports. following the fukushima nuclear accident, the chinese government effectively suspended all food

exports from japan. >> the japanese government should thank other countries for their disaster related assistance. it should also apologize to them for the continuing radioactive contamination. >> japanese health authorities say they will look into sanitary controls at restaurants and within the meat industry. following food poisoning incidents that have taken the lives of four people. 79 people in toyama and fukui prefectures complained of food poisoning symptoms after eating raw beef at a barbecue restaurant chain. it is believed the restaurants in question may have served the dishes without trimming the surface of the raw beef to remove bacteria. health ministry officials plan to investigate the sanitary conditions at 9,000 restaurants nationwide that serve raw meat dishes as well as at meat distributors. local health officials will

investigate to see the trimming process of the meat, how it is being preserved and whether the restaurants use sanitized cutting instruments. the investigation will continue until the end of may. hi there, welcome back to business news. a small company in rural japan has developed a unique bendable line of table ware. this offbeat idea has boovted the firm's sales and lifted it out of a slump. the company's poised to take on the world. at a department store in central tokyo, flexible table ware is attracting a lot of attention. customers have fun experimenting with the possibilities. the items are pliable because they're made from tin. tin is soft, so normally it's

blended with harder metals to increase its strength. but this company came across the idea to mack a line of products using 100% tin. >> at first i wondered if it really was flexible. i was surprised it could bend so easily. >> the items were developed by a small company with 25 employees. in a prefecture in central japan. for nearly a century, the firm specialized in producing bronze fittings for buddhist altars. but business took a downturn when cheaper ones made in china entered the market. what they needed was an innovative new idea. the company's president conducted some market research and found inspiration at a department store. there, they learned there was demand for metallic table ware. >> i was determined to do

something new. >> he knew that bronze table ware would require extra time to cast and plate. tin seemed like a viable alternative. since it's highly resistant to rust and bacteria, it seemed ideal for making table ware. but making tin table ware holds challenges. this would also make the products too heavy. smoothing the surface was also problematic. the edges were easily squashed. >> translator: it seemed hopeless. the tin was just too soft. >> but four years into the development process, the company had a revelation. a product designer suggested

taking advantage of the materialmateria material's characteristic, to work with it, rather than against it. >> it was as if the clouds parted. all along, i thought the flexibility was a weakness. i never thought it could work to our advantage. >> since then, the company has developed more than 100 varieties of tin table ware. last year alone, seams exceeded $1.5 million. this accounted for 30% of the firm's total earnings. in january this year, the table ware was displayed in paris at an international interior design fare that showcased items from 43 countries. they garnered high praise for their designs. from the exposure, the company gained a foothold in overseas

ght we . better try a new idea rather than protect an existing business. while we were at it, we realized we were creating a that new tradition. >> now, a recount of the latest market figures. >> and that is all for now in business news.

>> hi there, welcome back to your weather update. first of all, the clouds are moving away today. looking at largely settled clear conditions for the most part. we've got rain coming in from the south. that rain is going to hug the pacific coast of southern and central japan today. in the north, it does stay dry into saturday morning. but after that, we've got that rain here waiting in the wings to move in. so from the later part of the weekend, we may see more precipitation. for friday, we can largely -- dry, a little on the cool side. 13 your high in sendai. it's down towards the south it's getting warmer. 22 in kanazawa. now, for northern scrappen, winds will continue to come in from the east into friday afternoon. getting a little bit stronger in parts of prefecture.

a look at the outlook. mostly sunny spells for friday. strong winds for parts of my yakko. it's not until nighttime hours we see any of that rain come on in. temperatures are looking quite mild on saturday. coming in at 19 degrees even. now, from sendai, a cloudy picture both friday and saturday. sunny spell for sendai so that's looking nigs. saturday, it warms up to 20 degrees. onahama, a little rain in the afternoon, but mostly dry elsewhere. china, we do have this low in the northeast of china that continues to bring in rain. tropical depression is just off the east coast of the philippines. that's going to bring a lot of rain ann cross the country today so you want to watch out for heavy downpours.

indochina pennsylvania southeastern china have been seeing rain. that's looking to continue today. as for highs for friday, looking pretty steamy in manila, 35 is your high, watch out for a couple thundershowers. getting up to 29 in hong kong. cooler for beijing, 16. only remaining at 9 for olanbator. as for north america, couple systems are continuing to trek right along this u.s./canadian border. couple spots continuing to see rain today. on west end, we're going to be talking about mountain snow for this upper elevation, the pacific northwest. coastal areas will pick up rain. also, new england states, eastern canada will be looking at some upper elevation snow as well. rain will likely continue for eastern quebec in particular into saturday so you want to watch out for that. and then the mississippi valley has been dealing with a lot of flooding. once again, a couple showers

continuing for the mid-mississippi valley. so moderate amounts but still flood levels are going to continue to rise especially down stream so you want to be careful if you are in the area. for highs on friday, looking like this. 22 in new york. the same also for d.c. quite mild. getting up to 29 degrees meanwhile in miami. that's a look at your weather for now. here is your three day outlook.

here's another look at our top stories. the operator of the damaged fukushima daiichi nuclear plant says it increased the cooling water injected into the number three reactor after an increase in temperature occurred over the

past week. tokyo electric power company increased the flow of cooling water from seven tons to nine tons per hour for the number three reactor on wednesday. the temperature at the bottom of the reactor was about 143 degrees celsius at 11:00 a.m. on thursday, about 33 degrees higher than wednesday last week. the operator says the temperature rise was apparently caused by a temporary decline in the amount of water flowing into the number three reactor. tepco has been injecting water into reactors number one, two and three after the cooling functions were lost in the march disaster. the company says that after it increased the amount of water injected into the number one reactor last week, the temperature of number three began to rise. the company says it continues to carefully monitor temperature changes. tepco says its operation to cool the number one reactor will be carried out safely. the company is planning on filling the reactor's containment vessel with enough water to bring the temperature below 100 degrees celsius.

on thursday, the nuclear and industrial safety agency approved tepco's assessment plan. the company says it hopes to start work as early as friday. tepco says about 7400 tons of water will have to be pumped into the containment vessel for the cooling process and says the vessel and reactor building will both be able to withstand the weight of the water. the company plans to increase the amount of feed water into the reactor to 8 tons per hour from the current 6 tons in hopes of filling the containment vessel within 20 days. friday marks one year after the monju experimental fast breeder nuclear reactor resumed operations in japan. there's no clear prospect for a research and development program involving the reactor amid growing safety concerns following the nuclear disaster in fukushima. the reactor resumed operations

on may 6th last year after a 14-year shutdown due to a sodium leakage accident and fire in 1995. resumption of operations appeared to support research and development at the reactor as a main pillar of japan's nuclear fuel recycling policy. however, when the reactor was stopped for inspections last august, a three-ton fuel exchange device fell into it and got stuck. the japan atomic energy agency plans to resume test operations by march of 2012. however, the exchange device accident has delayed the research and development program by more than six months. like other nuclear plants in japan, a drill for responding to a possible loss of emergency power has been held for monju following the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. fakui prefecture has asked the technology ministry to ensure the safety of the monju reactor and to set up a panel of experts for verification.

that's all we have this hour on "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. thanks for staying with us on nhk world.