glad to have you on this edition of "newsline." it's wednesday, may 25th. 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i amam'catherine kobayashi. the operator of the fukushima daiichi talk in clear power plant says the disaster knocked out the disaster's cooling system creating holes in the pressure vessel and damaging the containment vessel opinion on tuesday, tokyo electric power company released the results of its analysis of the temperature and water level of the reactor.

the temperature of the containment vessel began to rise immediately after the earthquake. it shot up 15 hours after the quake when a meltdown is believed to have occurred. at 9:00 a.m. on march 12th around 18 hours after the quake, the vessel's temperature had reached 300 degrees celsius. that's more than double the temperature it was designed to withstand. >> translator: when the temperature of a containment vessel hits 300 degrees, the rubber and metal parts used to seal joints will be damaged. highly contaminated water may have leaked threw these damaged sections. >> this is the first time that tepco has given details of how highly radioactive water may have been leaked at the number one reactor. tepco says the density of radioactive cesium above the number one reactor is 18 times

the permissible level for the edge of the plant's compound. large amounts of radioactive substances have been released into the air since reactor cores and buildings were damaged but measurements were not available. on sunday, tepco began measuring the density of radioactive elements above the number one and number four reactors. the firm used instruments attached to the crane pumps that are injecting water into the reactors. president utilities detected 360 becquerels of cesium 134 per cubic meter, the amount 18 times the allowable limit for the plant's perimeter. the firm also discovered 7.5 times the limit of cesium 134 above the number four reactor which has no fuel in its core. the substance is believed to have come from the fuel storage pool and the neighboring number three reactor. tepco says it will measure the levels of radioactive elements above the number two and number three reactors.

it also plans to cover the reactor buildings with polyester sheets to prevent the further dispersals of radioactive materials into the air. japan's nuclear regulatory agency has instructed tepco to take adecisional measures to prevent further leakage of radioactive water into the sea from the troubled fukushima daiichi plant. tepco found on may 11th that highly radioactive water was flowing into the sea through a pit near a water intake for the plant's number three reactor. the utility estimates that 250 tons of contaminated water was discharged in 41 hours, and that it contained 20 terabecquerels of radioactivity. this was about 100 times more than permitted annually at the plant. the company is trying to plug pits at the plant with concrete and studying the feetibility of building the system for purifying sea water near the water intake. the nuclear and industrial safety agency ordered tepco to

survey other places at radioactive leakage and take preventative action. the agency has also requested to finalize a plan for storing and treating contaminated water at the plant by june 1st. contaminated water with about 4,700 terabecquerels was discharged in the sea from the number two reactor two in april, 20,000 times more than the annual limit. a team of experts from the international atomic energy agency will begin investigating the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi plant on wednesday. they will present their independent report to the japanese government on june 1st. the group of 18 experts fwr britain, france, south korea and other countries arrived in japan on tuesday. they will be given a briefing by the nuclear and industrial safety agency on the accident, and the steps taken to contain it. they'll examine the timing of sea water injections into the plant's reactors, and other

measures taken by the government and tepco. other topics to be covered in the report include the evacuation advisories and orders issued by the government. the group will visit the fukushima plant to income the ongoing containment work and may interview the head official. all right, now ai uchida joins us with the latest in business news. ai, good morning. >> very good morning to you catherine and good morning to you as well. news just in, trade balance. japan posted a huge trade deficit in april as higher prices of natural resources boosted imports in the march 11th disaster dampened production and exports. the finance ministry said in a preliminary report on wednesday that the trade deficit stood at 463 billion yen or about $5.6 billion last month. the figure marks a big decline from a surplus of about $8.9 billion from a year earlier. april's exports came to about

$63 billion, down 12%, while imports totalled about $69 billion, up 8.9%. toshiba may be unable to meet its sales target in the nuclear power business on time, this is due to expected delays in the construction of new nuclear plants worldwide. the electronics giant had aimed to clinch orders for 39 plants across the globe and generate about $12 billion in sales by fiscal 2015, but the maker says it will likely need a few more years to meet the goals. the revision comes as the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant has prompted many countries to review their nuclear safety standards. toshiba says while it will continue with its nuclear power operations, it will boost its business in sustainable energy. the firm plans to enter the wind power generation market. it has also raised its sales

target for next generation smart grids by nearly 30% to $11 billion. toyota motor plans to raise its domestic output next month to 90% of the pre-disaster level, as its supply chains have been largely restored. sources say the japanese automaker will bring forward its production recovery timetable, and increase daily output to 11,000 units. toyota's output is now around half of what it was before the march disaster and the company initially forecast it would return to 70% by june. the speedier than expected recovery has been helped by a return to health of suppliers of microcontrollers and other key components. toyota has also found alternative supply sources. the automaker planned to regain full output in november or december, but this schedule is expected to be moved up as well. once production returns to capacity, toyota plans to

continue running its plants through normally scheduled holidays to make up for lost output. now let's take a look at what's going on in markets. we are joined by yongghi kan from the tokyo stock exchange. >> good morning to you, ai. before i talk about stocks let me talk about japan's trade data which you mentioned earlier. there could be another piece of data which could show the impact of the march 11th earthquake. japan's april trade balance came in at a deficit of $463 billion yen which translates into $5.6 billion and this is the first deficit in three months and we will watch how that data is going to affect trading throughout the day. now, turning to stocks, the nikkei average fell below the psychologically important 9,500 mark, flirting with that level since then. let's look at the opening levels. the nikkei average actually in the positive, recovered the

9,500 mark briefly but now dipped back below that. concerns about the global economic outlook have been one of the biggest neemz recent sessions and this was also true during europe trading overnight where the dow fell for the third straight session. there was positive news, including a rise in april new home sales and higher oil prices which pushed up energy shares but investors were disappointed by the fed survey which showed a fall in manufacturing activity. having a look at the closing levels in new york the dow finishing at 12,356 points and the nasdaq finishing at 2,746 points. here in tokyo, analysts say stocks could get some support from bargain hunting, but worries about the global economy could keep investors sidelined. in currency side the yen strengthened slightly at one stage against the dollar in new york, dealers sold the dollar to buy the yen as they saw u.s. interest rates were less

attractive on falling u.s. yields. that period is back around the 82 yen level, and against the euro, the yen weakened against the euro as strong data from germany led players to think worries about europe's economic woes were a bit overdone. the euro is quoted around the upper 150 yen level and that is all from here. back to you in the studio, ai. >> yongghi, thanks a lot for that, yongghi kang from the tokyo stock exchange. now a look at some other market figures.

that's all for now in business. when it comes to treating people traumatized by natural disasters, conventional psychology sometimes falls short, but a new approach has surfaced. conceived in the u.s., the method treats a ctim's mind and body as a unit. now a specialist from brazil has arrived in japan's disaster area, putting his therapy to good use. >> reporter: more than two months after the disaster, people struggle with their emotional wounds. >> it looks like a deja vu, but we sense the power of the nature now. >> reporter: ali duarte has

worked with people affected by hurricane katrina, the indian ocean tsunami, and earthquakes in china. here some youngsters appear hyperactive. duarte senses their cheerful behavior may conceal grief, fear or other harmful emotions. he bases his therapy on knew neuro physiology, psychology and animal behavior, because wild animals don't get traumatized. duarte begins with a simple game using a parachute, a rather quiet boy joins in. duarte monitors the boy's body language. >> close your eyes. close your eyes. >> i don't feel nothing. >> i don't feel nothing. >> oh. >> as the game goes on, duarte

gets the children to focus on their senses. >> oh, wait, wait. tingling, trembling, numbness, noticing these sensations will help the boy return to his normal condition. let's see how our brain works when we feel threatened. every animal has a reptillian brain, the home of the instincts. when the body feels threatened, it produces the energy needed to survive. once the threat is over, animals instinctively release the energy but in humans the neocortex often overrides the energy, so it often becomes locked in the body and might set off trauma. following the sichuan earthquake, this boy had shut down, physically and

emotionally. for several weeks, he couldn't stand. gradually, he responded to duarte's therapy. he plays a game with duarte, pressing his nose against duarte's fingertip. the boy asked to do it again. no medicine is needed, no language barriers get in the way. when the 40-minute session is over, a break-through. the boy is standing, and running around in front of the amazed doctors. >> some experience are effective. we don't work with the contrary, we work with how we are wired, the system, the shock. to work with kids, the play is also a natural language. so in the mind, the kid's mind start to notice and the

sensation of being empowered, they will, their whole system starts to self-regulate. >> as the reconstruction slowly moves forward, more evacuees experience fatigue, but there's not enough care available to help them cope with their trauma. duarte's team arrives at a shelter. they're here to share their method with local aide workers and school teachers. many are often unaware that mind and body have to be treated together. >> we got compassion fatigue. ♪ da, da, da, da, da, da, da >> the parachute flows like a wave. that movement may create the tsunam tsunami. >> lighter, yes. >> warm.

>> warm. >> if you free the body to speak for itself, trauma can be cured. sometimes instantly. outside, team members offer healing hands to the evacuees and aide workers. the practice helps them avoid trauma or burnout. >> this is special for everybody, that we are here in our head. our demands are in our head all the time. when we start to tap into the sensations with our awareness, things start to change, and that will change also here, more calmer, more space to think, better way to look around.

it's a new language. it is a new language. >> the forces of nature have destroyed many lives, but healers say it has also given humans a natural animal ability to restore their well-being in both mind and body. >> fascinating there. all right, in other news, north korea leader kim jong-il visited an electronic appliance factory in the city of nang joining on tuesday during his ongoing trip in china. kim arrived at the factory by car after leaving the city of yang joe earlier in the day. footage was released on the internet. it shows kim stepping out of his car receiving flowers from a girl and entering the factory. kim left nanjing on tuesday afternoon to continue his train trip through the country. following their usual custom, the governments and state media,

both china and north korea have not disclosed kim's itinerary but news of his current trip has spread posted by chinese on the internet. diplomatic sources say kim may visit beijing wednesday to hold talks with chinese president hu jintao. on tuesday yang ju told reporters china and north korea maintain high-level exchanges but avoided a direct reference to kim's visit. she added developing bilateral friendly ties with north korea is an established policy for china. a u.s. delegation is visiting north korea to determine whether the u.s. government should resume food aid to the country. the delegation is led by special enjoy for north korean human rights robert king and includes experts from the u.s. agency for international development. they arrived in pyongyang from beijing on tuesday afternoon. king is the first senior u.s.

official to visit north korea in about a year and a half. the u.s. began offering food aid to north korea in 2008, but the aid was suspended in 2009 due to confrontation over the transparency of distribution, including monitoring methods. during their five-day stay the delegation is to study the food situation in the north and discuss with officials whether they would allow the distribution to be monitored. observers say that by suggesting a resumption of food aid, the u.s. hopes to persuade north korea to soften its stance on resuming the six-party talks on its nuclear program. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has indicated a possible handover of some jewish settlements in the occupied territories in a bid to achieve peace palestinians. >> in any peace agreement that ends the conflict, some settlements will end up beyond israel's borders. >> addressing the u.s. congress

on tuesday, netanyahu said he's willing to make painful compromises to achieve peace. the israeli prime minister has apparently softened his position to prevent a worsening of relations with the united states. however, he also repeated his rejection of obama's call made last week for the future border of israel and palestine should be based on lines set before the 1967 war. he also maintained that jerusalem could not be divided. palestinians claim east jerusalem as the capital of their future state. time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by cctv, china. a massive project is under way to catalogue and preserve ancient tibetan books keptd at the potala palace. since the program began one year ago, about 20,000 books have been arranged in tibetan style

cabinets which arrange a dry air flow to help book preservation. about 1 million tibetan books on buddhism, science, medicine and literature exist in china, most of them in temples. some of the works in the seventh century palace are written in gold and silver ink. the five-year project also aims to catalogue other tibetan relics into an online resource. researchers are baffled by a large number of dead sea snails that have been washing ashore in the southeastern bangladeshi port of cox bazaar for the last few days. local people have been collecting the snails to make necklaces and ornaments, researchers have been trying to identify the cause of their death. they say the loss of habitat or an ecological imbalance in the sea could be behind the mysterious phenomenon. further research is needed to solve the riddle. malaysia says it will work

with other southeast asian nations, including indonesia and singapore to promote products manufactured by malaysian cooperatives. a government official made the announcement after launching a cooperative's carnival on monday in cue lalumpur. he said the businesses should stage mergers to improve the quality and variety of their products. malaysia's 8,000 cooperatives with about 3 million members contribute nearly 1% of the country's gross domestic product. and welcome back to your weather update. we're still keeping a close eye on the pacific, where we have our tropical storm system. we're starting to see a better picture of it here, showing signs of organizing and it is gradually strengthening. it's still a severe tropical storm system. wind speeds are picking up, 108 kilometers per hour and gusts are getting stronger, well over

160 kilometers per hour so it's pretty strong system, slowly working its way in a westerly direction at the moment but forecasts paths are taking it right likely parallel to the east coast of the northern philippines, and looks like the core of the system may stay offshore but that doesn't mean it's not going to be getting stormy. you can see already the strong wind areas are starting to get close to the coastline and we'll be talking about rain as well, the outer rain band's already moving in and the core of the heavier rain, too, is headed in towards central portions of the philippines today already so it's going to be getting stormy, it's going to be wet and windy and along the coastline you want to watch out for those rough sea conditions so flooding of low-lying areas and landslides all starting to become a very serious concern here. meanwhile, we're still looking at this long, rainy band that is now moving, remains offshore, and it is keeping things dry for most of japan as well as eastern china, even taiwan getting a break from the rain this

morning. however the southern islands of japan here, looking at the chances of some heavy, intense rains to develop over the course of today, also including the chances of thunderstorms and strong gusts, too, so you want to watch out for that. wetter weather will also move into southern sections of japan later on today and also areas like south korea, in this corner of china as well, will be picking up on that bet weather. meanwhile southeast asia as well looks pretty wet again today, showers will continue across the indo china peninsula and all the way up in towards areas like bangladesh, northeastern india, rain will be a continuing story really for the next couple of days. wednesday's highs showing 32 degrees in manila, getting up to 26 in tae pay and 23 in shanghai. seoul will heat up to 29 degrees and tokyo, too, gets up into the 20s, getting away from the teens that we saw earlier this week. two-day outlook for quake-affected areas, will show mostly teens today on wednesday,

although it does get up to 23 degrees, plenty of sunshine, the dry weather should persist into thursday as well. as for europe, a messy picture across the northern tier of the region and the british isles, too, rounds of rain and winds are going to be continuing to move through again today, heading in towards the baltic states and western russia as well. now we look to the south here, southeast that is, the balkan area and in towards italy, unsettled picture. lots of heat, triggering thunderstorms especially in the afternoon and evening hours so you want to watch out for that. it is going to be again pretty warm story on wednesday, getting up to 23 in kiev, also the same in vienna, hitting 30 degrees in madrid as well. that's a look at your weather for now. i will leave you with your three-day outlook.

the operator of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant says the containment vessel of the number one reactor may have been damaged about 18 hours after the march 11th earthquake, allowing highly radioactive water to leak. the disaster knocked out the reactor's cooling system. this is thought to have caused the fuel rods to melt, creating holes in the pressure vessel and damaging the containment vessel. on tuesday, tokyo electric power company released the results of its analysis of the temperature and water level of the reactor. the temperature of the

containment vessel began to rise immediately after the earthquake. it shot up 15 hours after the quake, when a meltdown is believed to have occurred. at 9:00 a.m. on march 12th, around 18 hours after the quake, the vessel's temperature had reached 300 degrees celsius, that's more than double the temperature it was designed to withstand. >> translator: when the temperature of a containment vessel hits 300 degrees, the rubber and metal parts used to seal joints will be damaged. highly contaminated water may have leaked through these damaged sections. >> this is the first time that tepco has given details of how highly radioactive water may have been leaked at the number one reactor. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates. tx