glad to have you on? edition of "newsline." it's 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi with your updates. member states of the international atomic energy agency have agreed on the need for emergency inspections of nuclear reactors around the world. the agreement came on tuesday, the second day of the iaea's ministerial meeting in vienna. a working session was held to discuss a nuclear safety, based on the lessons from the accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant. some delegates said it's not appropriate to study universal safety measures based on the fukushima disaster. they said the accident was a special case, as the plant was

hit by tsunami more than double the predicted height. other delegates stressed the importance of stricter safety procedures to prevent nuclear plants from completely losing their backup power sources. >> we will get to friday, and then we will come out with conclusions, and we look forward to a concrete action plan for the future as to how we can take these lessons forward and implement them on a global way. >> however, rifts are emerging between the nuclear and non-nuclear countries on how to improve safety. attention is focused on whether the iaea member nations will be able to overcome their differences and come up with specific measures. earlier, government representatives of germany and switzerland have called for tougher safety regulations to prevent nuclear power plant accidents. both governments have already decided to phase out nuclear

energy. the two officials delivered speeches at the ministerial meeting of international atomic energy agency member countries in vienna on tuesday. germany has decided to close all its 17 nuclear plants by 2022. >> we will share all our experience and competence in order to realize our key objective, the prevention of any further nuclear accident or event with sere consequences. >> switzerland plans to abandon all of its five domestic reactors by 2034. >> translator: the swiss government will promote energy savings and expand the use of renewable energy sources. >> mu nil any pal heads and reconstruction experts are calling for review of policy after the accident. on june 15th, in fukushima

prefecture they agreed on a draft. it includes the idea of abandoning nuclear power and roe motting renewable energy. the head of a town in yam gucci prefecture where the power company aims to practice illustrate a new power plant in seven years indicated the possibility of a review of is the stance. osaka mayor has suggested that they should pursue new energy sources. the company's asking its users to cut their electricity use this summer by 15%. power shortages are expected, because utilities nuclear power plants remain stall after the fukushima accident.

the prime minister's adviser for the accident says the objections are understandable. the japanese government plans to issue a special bonds to help the power company compensate victims of the nuclear accident. on june 14th, the cabinet approved a bill to help tepco pay compensation to nuclear-related damages. the legislation calls for the establishment of a new body to boost tepco's capital and extend loans to the utility. the necessary funds will be

raised by issuing special bonds. the government will make arrangements to include special bondworth 1 trillion yen or $12.4 billion in the secondary budget for the current fiscal year. the government also says tepco would repay the loans using the annual profits in an effort to minimize the burden, but the opposition is objecting to the expend indication framework. the march 11th earthquake and tsunami left over 23,000 people dead or missing. the initial psychological shock and the main disaster area is easing but survivors now face depression. experts say they want to provide better mental care. one of them is a woman who's recognized as the leading expert of so-called grief care in japan. she's standing up to heal the scars of people in a country where formal processes of dealing with grief are not common.

nhk world's jun matsumoto has the story. >> reporter: professor sachie miyabayshi is a leader of grief care in japan. she started holding seminars in the disaster area. miyabayashi listens to every word of the survivor. >> translator: you've been trying really hard. don't rush. take your time. >> reporter: the professor began studying grief care to face her own sorrow, when her husband died of cancer 12 years ago, she suffered from both mental and physical disorders, but she couldn't find any help in japan.

miyayashi experienced the full force of the quake, and she can't live in her home because of the nuclear accident. the professor decided to visit the tsunami devastated town of onagawa. she plans to give grief care sessions for local professionals such as nurses and teachers. the almost 20-meter-high tsunami reached the first floor of the hospital, which sits on a 16-meter hill. >> translator: cars are still scattered around everywhere. a lot of bodies have been found as well. >> reporter: miyabayashi discovered the situation was more serious than she had expected. this made her realize the need for grief care here. the participants who were

working at the front line to support survivors are victims themselves. one is a nurse whose son died in the tsunami. miyabayashi says japanese tend to take a long time to find closure after someone dies because they have affection that lingers towards the departed. she said they try to suppress their feelings, which she says makes their grieving period longer than westerners. >> translator: in order to recover from grief, it's better to set a day to talk about the dead, cherishing good memories. that way, you'll reach the next stage of restart sooner. >> reporter: a physical

therapist asked miyabayashi about her friend who has been missing since the tsunami struck. she didn't know what to do but cried in secret. >> translator: then you can say things like, you must be worried because your mom's body hasn't been found. then she will feel like she can talk about it. i am thankful to the participants today for being brave to come over and listen to my lecture because at the same time they are professionals supporting people, they are also disaster victims. >> reporter: many people have lost something they use for support. in japan there is a tradition for praying to altars for ancestors. a funeral company is also trying to take a role in helping people. this company custom ordered small and simplified altars to give to victims for free. miyabashi explains that having an object to pray to is effective in dealing with grief so people can maintain their bond with the deceased.

miyabashi says she's determined to come here to ease the grief the people have had to face. >> translator: i will learn ways to support that fit the japanese mentality by coming here and listening to leaders and survivors. i hope to find out what is really necessary and achieve something by working together. >> reporter: it will take a lot of time and effort for the bereaved who have lost loved ones to get their lives back to normal. until then her work continues. jun yotsumoto, nhk world, onagawa, miyagi. the united nations general assembly has unanimously approved a second five-year term

for secretary-general ban ki-moon from january 2012. the general assembly was held on tuesday following last week's decision by the security council to recommend the reappointment of the secretary-general. ban, who is 67, became u.n. chief in january 2007 and will serve through the end of 2016. >> standing in this place, mindful of the immense legacy of my predecessors, i'm humbled by your trust, and enlarged by our sense of common purpose. >> the former south korean foreign minister was criticized by some european countries at the start of his term for failing to address human rights concerns, but ban has become active in addressing international issues. he has strengthened partnerships with the obama administration in his efforts to achieve a world without nuclear

weapons. more recently he supported the multinational military operation in libya. the challenges that ban will continue to tackle in his second term include the problems of the middle east and building a new framework on climate change. police in southern china are offering cash and urban residency status to domestic migrant workers who help identify participants in a three-day riot in early june. in a local newspaper dated sunday, police criticized those who took part in the riot. violence broke out on june 10th after security officials mistreated a street vendor from the inland province of sichuan. they'll be given the title of excellent migrant worker and official residence permits. different status are given to rural and urban residents.

migrant workers are not eligible for social security benefits and other benefits in urban areas. observering says discontent with such a system may have been behind the latest riot. some people are expressing concern about the police offer on the internet, saying it proves that urban and mime grant workers are not equal. now a look at the latest in business news with ai. >> very good morning. let's cross over to emily wang. how are markets looking so far? >> good morning, ai. the greek prime minister has secured a majority vote, raising

hopes this could pave the way for knew's steriliausterity mea. the nikkei is up, over 9,500, up over 80 points. topix is also trading higher. these gains come after the four-day rally of the dow, where the dow closed its highest in nearly three weeks. now, we also saw results of existing home sales which felt 3.8% on the month in may, but that's still above initial market forecasts, so it didn't em to damping sentiments, the dow jones industrial average closed higher at 12,190. it's up 109 points, just above 0.9%. nasdaq closed at 2,687, up over 2%. taking a quick look at currency

markets, dollar/yen mostly unchanged from late-hour trading on tuesday. on the other hand, the euro is trading slightly higher, close to the mid 115 level against the yen. the dollar also trading slightly higher. but for stock markets overall, there are still many issues that could sway investor sentiment. on the domestic front, traders are looking for progress on the second extra budget now that the prime minister has extended the current diet session. investors are also waiting to see the outcome of the federal reserve's fomc meeting which ends later in the day. any indication on where the u.s. economy is headed could sway the currency markets. keep in mind the dollar/yen levels are parked around the low 80, yen levels over the last several months has been a factor weighing down export-related shares. back to you in the studio. ai. >> thanks a lot, emily.

that was emily wang from the tokyo stock exchange. . timothy geithner has called for european nations to unite in their efforts. he spoke in washington on thursday. >> i think it would be helpful to have europe speaking with a clear ir, more unified voice. >> euro nations have just this week agreed to extend the -- but opinions differ among them. meanwhile, he referred to america's own fiscal issue, the u.s. government may default on its obligations unless the treasury's borrowing limit is raised by early august. geithner stressed defaults will be avoided, citing progress in talks with congress. japan is coming up with measures to help the nation's

firms affected boost their competitives in. if concerns continue, domestic firms might transfer eir factories overseas. this could result in a dp in local production as more factories shut down. the council proposes that the government should financially assist companies and decentralize their production bases in japan. it stresses the need to establish a system to standardize parts so that manufacturers can share them freely when shortages occur. it also says the government should help businesses to introduce ways to compensate for possible power shortages, including the use of rechargeable batteries and gas-cooling systems. japan's financial authorities are considering holding off on a plan to require domestic firms toabide by international financial

reporting standards, or ifrs, when filing account statements. the financial services agency says the new reporting standards will help investors abroad get information on japanes firms more easily, and it expects this will help bring in more overseas investment, but the financial services minister told reporters on tuesday that the agency should consider holding off on implementing the ifrs, taking the impact of the march disaster into consideration. he indicated that the introduction of the ifrs should not become mandatory until 2017 at the earliest. a specific timetable and other details will be discussed later this month. in a news conference, the question that a delay in the plan could disappoint overseas was raised, but the minister ruled out such concerns, saying the current japanese standards have been fully recognized in the world. now we're going to get you a

recap of the latest market figures. and that's all for now on business news. next we'll meet a resourceful young man who transformed his plain electric wheelchair into an eye catcher. it took dedication and drive, but it's won him much recogniti recognition.

>> metal that grimes. this unique wheelchair is the pride of its owner. the only displayed as a show the customized cars and motorcycles. he suffers from a condition known as congenital fiber type disproportion mogtion myopathy. >> translator: it's finally finished. it looks great, seeing it on display today. >> reporter: he has lived in hospitals ever since his first year of elementary school. he can only get about in an electric wheelchair. he also needs a nurse to help him get in and out of bed,

change his clothes, take a bath, and go to the bathroom. his illness was first discovered when he was 3 months old. as he grew older, all his muscles degenerated. at the age of 10, murakami started using a wheelchair. walking was just too difficult. he started to think of his wheelchair as part of himself, and tried to find the perfect one to help him live with his illness. this is what got murakami customizing his wheelchair. he worked on his design and structure with only the use of his right hand, which can move slightly. >> translator: at first, i just wanted to ride something cool, something that other people didn't have, but over time, it became a goal, something to keep

my going. >> reporter: he also expresses himself through his tattoos. he thinks they depict his struggle with illness, and gives him strength to live. on this day, murakami visits a friend's auto shop to prepare for the motor show. displaying his customized while chair at the show is a new challenge for murakami. he used only the best-looking nuts and bolts. he drills each hole so the imported parts will fit into the japanese-made structure.

>> it wouldn't mean anything if i got someone else to do it for me. but i wanted to do everything on my own, to keep up my strength. and to keep going. >> the day of the show has come. murakami's wheelchair represents his will to test himself despite his physical challenges. many visitors admired his work. >> cool. >> i didn't know wheelchairs could be customized like this. >> translator: the while chair is my life. if i didn't have this, i'd by finished. this is what gives my life purpose.

and welcome to your weather update. now for asia, we're talking about two tropical systems here. picking up in the pacific, and we are looking at two tropical systems here, san witched right in between the philippines. we've good tropical storm haima in the south china sea just strengthened from the tropical depression last night and then we do have another tropical depression that has developed and we are keeping an eye on both for their progress. let's get a look at haima first off. it is not going to be around for long. it should aim for the southern end of china and once it gets close to the coastline it will likely weaken back into a tropical depression. however, it will be stalled, talking about some strong winds in the area, and then plenty of rainfall for this region, with the storm system near the center of the eye, the storm we're going to see heavy rainfall that could affect parts of hainan island as well as the southern end of the chinese coastline here, and then behind it to the

philippines will also need to be bracing for another round of heavy weather that will move on in with this storm system, rains will be really strengthening over the next couple days likely. now, for china, also looking at this band of rain that's going to be developing right through the eastern areas, all the way into the northeastern corner here, and there's going to be a couple pockets of very heavy rainfall possible, starting to look a lot wetter for the korean peninsula as well and then for japan, too, showers will start off in the south this morning and then they start moving into northern sections and here, looking like they could start getting a little bit heavi into the evening hours as well as into thursday, and that will include quake-affected areas so you really want to be on the watch for that. and temperatures are going to be looking pretty hot across the board in japan, too. tokyo gets up to 32 degrees, so really getting over the 30s for the first time this year. 26 in seoul and 32 in beijing so pretty hot for you as well, and shanghai too getting into the 30s as well.

now on the other side of the pacific we've got another tropical storm sim, beatriz. it was a hurricane yesterday but it has since weakened and it's rapidly weakening as it heads into much cooler waters here so in the next couple of days we're going to watch that become a tropical depression and then a remnant low and it's been away from the coastline, too, so that is good news here. the warnings have, are now gone but there's still going to be lingering showers in the area. you do want to watch out for already quite a bit of rain falling with the system. more to come in the next 24 hours and for the coastline, some spots still looking at ample amounts, could be seeing 100 millimeters or more so you want to watch out for that. now for the areas across europe, that is it's going to be looking a little bit stormy for the western end of europe. we've got this low that's really going to be bringing a lot more showers to western europe and on into central sections and moving at a pretty good pace. not going to be too

long-lasting, but you want to watch for a couple thundershowers here. showers through the british isles and scandinavian peninsula and the northern end of scandinavian peninsula. looking at some showers tonight. as for temperatures on wednesday gets up to 22 in stockholm, 25 in berlin and 30 degrees for vienna so getting hot here and 33 degrees in madrid, still hot again on wednesday, you want to watch out for that. all right, that's a look at your weather for now and here is your three-day outlook. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us.

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