welcome to "newsline." it's great to have you. tuesd thursday, june 2 at 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. three opposition parties have jointly submitted a no-confidence motion against the cabinet of prime minister naoto kan. vote willing take place on thursday afternoon. ldp president sadakazu tanigaki

and new komeito leader, natsuo yam natsuo natsuo yamaguchi met on wednesday and decided to file the no-confidence motion. observers say opponents of the prime minister need at least 82 votes from within the ruling coalition to secure a 232-vote majority required to pass the motion in the lower pous. -- house. nearly 70 ndp lawmakers said they will vote in favor of the motion while 40 remain undecided. a former dpj leader said he would vote for the motion.

more than 80 lawmakers will join him and the motion is highly likely to be passed. the former prime minister also indicated that he will vote against the cabinet. dpj secretary and the president's executive said they're confident the motion will be voted down and they will persuade undecided kol colleacoo support the prime minister. kan said he will hold a general election in the event the motion is passed in the cham per. some people in disaster-hit areas have expressed concerns about the commission of the no-confidence motion. >> translator: as a resident of a disaster-hit area from my heart, i really hope for more support.

>> translator: i moved to a shelter. lots of people have lost their jobs. i want to move forward. >> translator: i regret it's come to this. it's upsetting the government hasn't taken the necessary measures quickly enough. >> translator: the whole nation should join hands to tackle the nuclear crisis. this is not the time to quarrel over politics. >> translator: we have to work hard for rekrconstruction and he no time to waste. i can only hope the governing and opposition parties jointly tackle the tasks. >> all right, well, we have the latest in business news. both overnight, the dow jones and the nasdaq both down 2%, over 2%. what happened? >> that's absolutely right.

one of the biggest reasons was we saw a sharp slowdown for may. data released on wednesday show activity in the manufacturing sector at its lowest lel since september 2009. the institute for supply management's manufacturing inbex m fell to 53.3 for may. anything above 50% shows manufacturing expanding but the pace declined from 60.4 in april. it's the third month in a row that growth has slowed, though the 22nd straight month of expansion. the index had been expected to come in around 57. survey committee chairman bradley j. holcomb says manufacturers continue to face significant cost pressures from commodities and other inputs. now let's go to the markets with the u.s. manufacturing sector showing signs of weakness, stock prices tumbled almost 280

points, the largest drop in almost a year. to see how japanese stocks are performing this thursday morning, we're going to cross over to the tokyo stock exchange. how are things kicking off here in tokyo. >> fears that the u.s. recovery may be stalling. looking at the opening levels here for the nikkei, it's pretty much following through with that sentiment with the nikkei down over 180 points in the first few minutes of trading. the dow jones industrial average ended the day's session at 12,290, down 279 points from tuesday's close. the margin of decline was the sharpest for a year. now, the major indexes including the s&p 500 and the nasdaq all fell after data in the u.s. pointed to a slower economic recovery than many had expected 37. stop

jobs data also showed a smaller number of jobs having been created in may than expected. those numbers coupled with the manufacturing ism numbers also places a greater significance on the main jobs numbers that are due out this friday in the u.s. a lot of focus on those numbers as well. this meant a shift over to safer assets like the yen on the premise that the data showing that the original bet earlier this year of a faster u.s. recovery is proving to be a little bit hasty. so we're seeing some shifts out of those original bets. exporters may likely feel the direct effect of the currency moves and adding to the negative sentiment may also be the number of auto sales registered yesterday across the board. many japanese auto makers also showing declines. in fact, toyota showed a drop 060 of 33% in may as well as the

fallout of the march 11 earthquake. last month, toyota reported its fourth quarter profits falling around 77% on the yen strength and the impact from the march 11th earthquake. adding to the negative sentiment also is the political backdrop that you mentioned. so all of that may be play into market sentiment. that's all from me. back to you. >> thanks a lot. that was our market reporter at the tokyo stock exchange. coping with possible power shortages this summer is the pressing issue for most companies here in japan. nissan has decided to change working hours a the two assembly plants to save electricity from next month. the morning shift will start and finish an hour earlier, running from 5:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the night shift will be moved back by an hour, beginning at 5:00 p.m. and ending at 1:30 a.m. the plants will suspend operations between t shifts when power husage generally peaks.

to help its workers adapt to the change, nissan will introduce special commuter buss. the auto maker will also set up a system that enables workers to spend the night at factory dormitories. japanese automakers have decided to take various power-saving measures this summer, including closing plants on thursdays and fridays instead of the weekend, but they may have to make further efforts to save power during peak hours. japanese and chinese companies are chow casing their cutting-edge eco-friendly technologies at a fair in beijing. it's the first of its kind organized by the private sectors of the two countries.ansectords sectors of the two countriepsel countries.isectors of the two

countries.csectors of the two countries. sectors of the two countries. >> reporter: the japan china green expo 2011 brings together about 120 businesses over three days. major japanese textile maker is promoting the use of carbon fiber for auto parts. the firm says the material can reduce the weight of a passenger car by 25%. electronics maker panasonic says it wants its latest solar batteries and fuel cells to help create a model eco-friendly community in china. japanese, u.s. and european companies are racing to grab a larger market share in china. the chinese government's five-year plan will see greater investment in environmental and energy-related energy-related industries. and now a recap of the latest market figures.

>> that's it in business. back to katherine for the main news. > tepco may use two inside the compound to held the water.

it said the water levels rose 24 hours through wednesday evening. the water in the tunnel of the number two reactor is now over 30 cent meters below ground level and 25 cent seaters at the number three reactor. engineers are concerned that the water may overflow from the shaft in the event of heavy rain. tepco hopes to use two existing building, but with just one basement floor each, they can only hold a limited amount of radioactive water. the firm says it will start operating a filtering system in the middle of this month to speed up the purification of highly toxic water. it adds that water levels have been falling in the basement of the number one reactor since tuesday evening, possibly because of steam and evaporation. but radiation levels remain too high to determine why. the firm is measuring radio activity in underground water around the number one reactor and checking in radioactive water is leaking from the building.

the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission is trying to calm public concerns about safety, after a tornado farced the emergency shutdown of a nuclear power plant in alabama. the commission briefed residents near the browns ferry nuclear plant in the southern state of alabama on tuesday. a tornado in the area knocked out external electric power and forced the plant to shut down. alabama is prone to the storms which killed more than 200 people in april. residents said they're worried that a direct hit to the reactor buildings could cause a disaster. >> i'm feeling that we cannot trust the safety of this old equipment. >> the commission said the emergency shutdown was safely performed and the power company will carry out additional safety measures. >> in browns ferry, like the 400 other plants licensed in the country have the ability to

withstand high winds, tornadic winds. >> commission officials say many people in the united states are increasingly concerned about the safety of nuclear power following the accident in japan. officials say they will continue to try to ensure the public that the country's nuclear facilities are safe. italy will hold a referendum on june 12 and 13 to decide whether to accept nuclear power. italy's top court ruled the citizens can vote in the referendum as scheduled. itly decided to abandon nuclear power following the chernobyl accident in 1986. the prime minister had pledged to revive nuclear power to reduce dependence on foreign oil and natural gas. however, in the wake of the accident at japan's fukushima daiichi power plant, berlusconi

stopped his plan in an attempt to avoid the referendum. with the fukushipuck shifukushit leaking radioactive substances into the air and sea, people living in the northeast are getting more and more anxious. governments are releasing data daily showing radiation levels are safe. but not everyone is convinced. nhk provides updates on airborne radiation levels every day. the bulletins are based on data collected by local governments. this man pays attention to the news, but he also checks radiation levels online. he's the father of two

elementary school-aged children. he and his family live in a city about 65 kilometers from fukushima daiich i. they're out of the evacuation zone, but sometimes they experience the same measurements found in the no-go areas. he's frustrated because officials haven't released radiation readings for his neighborhood. so he's not taking any chances. to protect his children, he keeps their bedroom windows closed. he also blocks ventilation openings with plastic wrap. here sato is worried. >> translator: i'm not sure i can believe e numbers on the city's website. i was afraid radiation levels might have been higher in my neighborhood than in other places.

>> reporter: that concern prompted sato to take action. he's one of an increasing fnumbr of people measuring radiation levels on their own. he borrowed one of the devices from a volunteer group that's trying to protect children from radioactive substances. >> reporter: i want to know where the radiation levels are high and low, along with the level of radiation in my children's bedrooms. i want to feel safe. >> reporter: sato discovered the highest readings in his children's room was 0.395 microsieverts. >> it doesn't look good. >> translator: it may be higher than the radiation levels at school. it was a relief to actually measure the radiation levels myself. i want the local government to protect children. i understand local municipalities have budget constraints, but if they can protect children, it will mean

all citizens will be safe. >> reporter: this man began to measure radiation levels in his city because he was concerned about his vegetable garden. at the beginning, he didn't understand why his measurements were always higher than the data released by the government. he then found out that the height of measurement points can influence the radiation reading. the government's monitoring posts are usually on the roof tops of buildings in order to quickly detect airborne substances, but after radioactive substances fall, the ground level reed raadings are usually higher. he now receives requests from other people in his city who want him to measure radiation in various places. >> translator: it's obvious many

people are concerned about the radiation levels they are exposed to. i open local governments or tepco release more localized data to reassure citizens. >> and in other news, fifa president sepp blatter has been re-elected for his fourth term as the head of the governi inin body of football. he won 186 out of 206 votes in an election to fifa's congress in zurich, switzerland on wednesday. blatter's sole challenger dropped out of the race last week. his withdrawal followed a tipoff from a fifa whistleblower that bin hammam tried to buy votes. last year, several of fifa's executives were suspended after media reports that they demanded money for their votes on the host nation's of the 2018 and

2022 world cup finals. blatter is a 75-year-old swiss national. he was fifa's secretary general before becoming president in 1998. >> now we are going into a new period of the fifa transparency and sffifa controlling system. this is already a yellow card around the room. in the u.s., many high schools and junior highs hold graduation proms in may and june. for the young women, part of the attraction is dressing up in a gorgeous evening dress, but for some, the ongoing recession makes it impossible to splurge on an expensive gown. in new york, however, a woman has become fairy godmother to hundreds of cinderellas.

nhk world's rosa sabrino reports. >> reporter: nicole bowles is a civil servant in new york city. she has filled her home with dresses. about 400 in all. for months, she has asked her friends, family and local organizations for dress donations. she will have an event to give them away for free. when she is not working at the office, nicole is at home, fixing the dresses. >> people are being laid off. they don't have means for extra money. why couldn't we just come out and alleviate some of that? >> reporter: this is a public librabrary in new york city. to keep costs down, she's holding the giveaway event in this rent-free space.

friends and volunteers help with the final preparations. >> start ushering them in. >> reporter: at last, it's time for the long-awaited event to begin. all the girls take a good look at the dresses to find the perfect one for them. this girl is from a family of sick and both her parents work. she did not want to burden them with the cost of a new dress so when she heard about this event, she made sure to attend. after looking for more than an hour, she finds something she likes. it is the color she wanted and it fits perfectly. >> i'm so excited.

my cheeks are turning red. i'm blushing. >> so you have a prom date? >> yes. i'm going with my friend. so he has to match me. >> reporter: in exchange for the dress, each recipient must do volunteer community work. the goal is to teach them the importance of giving back to society. by the end of the event, about 300 young women found a dress for the prom. >> i really like it. >> see the smile on their faces, that they got a dres of their choice. they came in truckloads and we're very grateful.s of their choice. they came in truckloads and we're very grateful. >> reporter: nicole hopes to not only give women memories of a lifetime but also teach the next

generation the importance of community service. she plans another giveaway next year. rosa sobrino, nhk, new york. hello there. time nout for your weather update. first of all,ic thatting a look at eastern asia, a rainy day in japan today. stormy conditions for areas around the sea of japan. heavy showers to be found down just underneath the seasonal rain band. but also close to this tropical depression. this is on a weakening trend, but it looks like it's going to be dissipating by the end of the night but still bringing heavy rain in and around taiwan city. watch out for heavy showers here. as we head into china, you can see some showers blossoming in southern sections of the country.

we could use more rain in this drought-sticken area. but towards the north, it stays dry and very hot. the eastern corner with more showers, thundery and blustery at times. we head into the bay of bengal. some heavy showers in the middle section of india, as well as areas towards the east inside the bay of bengal. widespread all the way from the peninsula up towards bangladesh. now temperatures look like this on this. on thursday, 28 degrees, 30 in beijing. quite cool in tokyo, though, at 19 degrees. lots of clouds building over the western side of north america today. we've got cool and unsettled conditions again all the way from british columbia, canada, down towards central california here. some snow in the mix for the upper elevation areas.

while that cold air meets the warm air in the south, we're going to see some quite active thunder clouds building up here for the new mexico as well as the ntral plains. so tornadoes, damaging winds possible throughout the night. many tornadoes and damaging winds reported in the northeastern corner of the u.s. as well. that system is quickly on its way out. new york city, 25 degrees, 22 degrees in chicago. it does say hot in houston at 36 degrees. 34 degrees in denver. we're looking at arm and dry conditions in the northern tier of europe. to the far north, wet and unsettled. around the mediterranean, though, we're going to see

plenty of thunderstorms developing here across italy, much of the balkans into poland and also the ukraine, experiencing plenty of thunders weather. temperatures look like this in europe today. 28 degrees in moscow with plenty of sunshine. stays warm and sunny in kiev as well. thunderstorms will affect warsaw today and looking more comfortable in berlin, 22 degrees with partly cloud skies. here's your extended forecast now.

>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. hope to see you back at the top of the next hour. a 4