welcome to "newsline." it is friday, july 1st 9 a.m. in tokyo. i'm katherine kobayashi. japan began restricting electricity consumption on friday under new regulations the government requires major power consumers in eastern japan to reduce peak time usage by 15% from a year earlier. the regulations were prompted by the risk of power shortages this sumner regionser is bifd tokyo electric power company and tohoku electric power company. both utilities suffered severe damage to their power stations in the march disaster. factories and others using 500

kilowatts per hour or more are required to cut their consumption by 15%. the mandatory cuts will affect a total of about 18,500 firms supplied by the two utilities. violators may face fines of up to $12,500. thing of blicker to cuts are in place from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays through september 22nd in the regionser is bifd tokyo electric. for the tokhoku electric service region, cuts will be through september 9th. government is asking smaller-scale electricity users and households to slash their peak consumption by 15% from last year. the mandatory cuts will not apply shelters in the disaster-hit areas or hospitals. faciles for the elderly are also excluded. tepco stays will be able to provide 53.8 million kilowatts this summer. this is lower than last summer's peak demand of 60 million kilowatts. if electricity consumption comes

close to 97% of cap facility, the government plans to issue a public warning. the expected power shortages are prompting factories to shift their operations from weekdays to weekends. some local governments are introducing daylight savings time. we have a number of key economic indicators thought morning. ai uchida has the details. >> we start with the quarterly survey on business sentiment released by the bank of japan this is the first that reflects the full impact of the march disaster. results show that business sentiment among large manufacturers came in at minute news 9 points from april to june. that's down by 15 points from the previous quarter. it is the first negative figure in 15 months. but the forecast for business conditions three months ahead shows an improvement at plus 2 points due to easing in supply chain disruptions and more

production. moving on, japan's consumer prices rose in may compared to the same month last year. that's the second consecutive month of increase. the internal affairs ministry said on friday that the consumer price index rose 0.6% from a year earlier. the index excludes volatile fresh food prices. greek lawmakers passed a second and final us a terity bill needed to get crucial bailout funds in order to avert an imminent default on the country's debts. the greek parliament approved the first austerity bill on wednesday and it passed the second bill on thursday with details of how the the measures will be implemented. the austerity measures call for securing over $40 billion by 2015 through spending cuts. these include reducing the number of government workers and raising taxes. a $z 72 billion selloff of state

enterprises also included. the european union and the international monetary fund have demanded that greece pass the bills before they can approve rescue loans, but the greek government is still facing difficulties in dealing with the debt crisis. people continue to protest against the austerity policy, saying it forces them to carry a heavier economic burden. now let's turn to the markets to see how stocks are trading after those key economic numbers. and for that we go to the tokyo stock exchange where our market reporter yonggi kang is standing by. >> thank you for that. i'm reporting from a slightly dimmer tokyo stock exchange some, of the screens and lights are being switched off to save electricity as part of the government policy but tokyo stocks are trading higher despite the slightly darker stock exchange. give you some key economic indicators which were released earlier this morning. let's take a look at how tokyo stocks are tradinging in

response to that the nikkei average, as you see on your screen there, in the positive, posting some pretty healthy gains. the topix also trading in positive territory. now today is the first dive for the second half of this year. now, if you look at u.s. market, the second quarter wasn't so bad as the dow added about 100 points during those three months. overnight, the index extended its gains on positive economic data and a temporary resolution of greece's debt problems. finishing at 12,414 points, up about 1.25%. and nasdaq closed at the 2,773 points that's up 33 points or about 1.2%. now, analysts are saying that july could be a pretty good month for stocks and the nikkei average could hit the key 10,000 mark, but that depends on whether the gold economy shows more signs of a pickup and that greece will be able to get the necessary financial aid to avoid

a default of its debt. now, taking a quick look at currencies, the yen was stronger against the dollar at end of fiscal quarter. yen buying by companies is now trading in the 8 0 level. on the other handing the yep weakening against the your row, that is quoted the 116-yen rank t is the final trading day of the week, but we are still not over in terms of economic data there is going to be a lot of focus on the ism manufacturing data in the u.s., which will be out later today. that's all from here. back to you in the studio. >> thanks a lot, yonggi. that was yonggi kong from the tokyo market exchange. let's look at some to other market figures now.

>> that is all for business. now back to catherine. the newly installed cooling system at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant resumed operation on thursday night after hitting another snag when its water treatment equipment stopped. tokyo electric power company says the decontamination equipment stopped automatically on thursday afternoon when the alarm went off. tepco says the problem turned out to be a malfunction of a french-made device that removes radioactive material from the water. it is looking into the cause of the malfunction. tepco says it has continued

injecting circulated water into the reactors as it has already treated about 2,000 tons of water to be used for cooling. meanwhile, contaminated water at the number 6 reactor turbine building is increasing. tepco has been storing the water in makeshift tanks. it began transferring the water on thursday afternoon to a giant steel barge, called a megafloat, which is attacked to a quay on the plant's premises. but the company says it has no final plan to dispose of the water stored on the barge. in the wake of the nuclear accident in japan, germany's lower house of parliament his overwhelmingly agreed to shut down all of the nuclear power plants by 2022. chancellor angela merkel's government has shifted from its earlier policy to extend the lifespan of germany's 17 reactors by an average 12 years. the policy turnaround culminated on thursday when the lower house passed eight bills to phase out all of the reactors by 2012. the bells are expected to win approval by the upper house and

be enacted by the end of july with the signature of the president. in germany, nuclear power accounts for 22% of the electricity supplied. to offset the plant closures, the country plans to increase alternative energy sources, including thermal power. the german government plans to raise the ratio of renewable energy from the current 17% to 80% by 2050. switzerland and italy have also decided to phase out nuclear power generation. south korea is demonstrating the power of its nuclear power technology outside of its capital, seoul. some 60 firms and institutions involved in construction, research and development of nuclear reactors are taking part in the three-day event. the south korean government is sponsoring the exhibition to help domestic nuclear businesses sell their technologies to other countries. the vice-minister of the knowledge economy ministry made a speech at the opening ceremony.

>> translator: after fukushima accident, we checked nuclear plants. we have about 50 improvement plans and are getting ready for further inspections. >> he added that nuclear power generation stands a the at crossroads but the industry is making every effort to achieve complete safety. the displace include models and papals showing a nuclear reactor in the united arab emirates that you south korea exported in 2009. the government had earlier announced a teefrgt exporting 80 nuclear reactors by 2030. time for our weekly segment, nuclear watch. our look at the fallout triggered by the accident at fukushima die each chichlt ministers of the international atomic energy agency's member countries met last week in vienna to discuss twice increase global nuclear safety t is a common goal but rifts are

emerginged among iaea member states on how to achieve t. >> reporter: more than 900 participants, a record number, joined the five-day meeting at iaea headquarters. >> we have seen varying views in some areas, which is entirely natural, but i'm struck by how much wrong agreement there has been on the fundamentals. >> reporter: participants agreed carry out regular safety assessments of nuclear regulators and power plant as well as random, unannounced inspections. however, they still have to put a specific strategy in place. the success of this meeting was limited by the divisions between members over the future of nuclear power. 4 government representatives from germany and switzerland have call for tougher safety regulations to prevent accident at nuclear plant.

both countries have already decide to phase out nuclear power generation. on the other hand, some emerging countries that plan to introduce nuclear plants aren't enthusiastic about paying the cost associated with strengthening safety standards. tran rants's necessary for the chinese government to use nuclear energy. safety of nuclear power must not be slowed. >> reporter: with the next iaea general conference planned for september, it remains to to be seen if the member nations can overcome their differences and create a concrete plan to increase nuclear safety. >> earlier, we spoke to a member who rent went to vienna for the iaea meeting. >> can you tell us the differences between the iaea stance on the nuclear agency? >> yes, france and other industrialized nations are

trying to expose their nuclear tech nobblings have agreed on the idea of tightening international guidelines. their nuclear technology is advanced and they believe it will give their products a competitive edge in the countri countries such as south korea. other economies flood introducing nuclear power generation remain cautious about stronger regulations because of the concerns about costs. all nations agree in principle that nuclear safe cityty is a t priority but a plan in place is difficult because of the differences that exist among countries. >> all right, how are other countries responding to the accident at the took xheem ma daiichi plant and also how japan responded to the emergency? >> many delegates at the iaea meeting say they have learned important lessons from the fukushima disaster.

but some countries said that global safety guide lines for nuclear facilities don't have to be tightened because of the unprecedented tsunami. but if member countries view the accident as a unique convenient, they can't learn from the mistakes that were made. for example, after the chernobyl accident, the iaea stressed importance of establish agriculture of nuclear safety and launched international programs to help achieve this. but as the japanese government admits, it didn't make full use of these lessons. the u.s. and france, they are taking measures to prevent their nuclear facilities from being affected by the loss of outside parcels, which is partly why fukushima daiichi was crippled. but that only means they will be able to deal with the same

situation faced. countries that generate nuclear power should avoid on-the-spot fix and implement the plans aimed at ensuring overall safety. >> now, iaea wants to come up with nuclear safety action plan before it meets in september. what are the difficulties they are facing? >> the iaea's biggest challenge is to put tangible and effective measures into its action plan. however, its member nations grow more divided that the more specific their reservations become. the iaea has 2,300 staff, but only 160 of them are responsible for nuclear safety. there are nearly 440 nuclear plants in operation around the world, but it is impossible to have more inspections with such a limited number of personnel.

also, there is a question of who would finance the cost and human resources? developing nations are asking industrialized countries to shoulder the burden, but they are reluctant to do this. the iaea needs to play a bigger role so it can put together an effective action plan. at the same time, it is important for all the member states to overcome their differences and ask themselves, how could we present another fukushima die each chichlt >> you are right. we surely hope two come one an effective plan in the future. >> yes. >> reporting for us tonight, thank you so much. appreciate it. "newsline" offers the latest information and insights into japan's ongoing crisis on nuclear watch every thursday night at 8 and 11 and friday mornings at 8, japan time.

the philippines says it will hold international bidding for the rights to develop oil and natural gas fields in the south china sea. the announcements comes as disputes escalate over territorial rights to the waters between china and the south asian nations. the philippine department of energy said on thursday that it will hold bidding for the rights to explore oil and gas fields in 15 onshore and offshore blocks. they include three areas near the disputed spratly islands in the south china sea. the department said all three are highly likely to hold oil-rich resources, including one estimated to have 1.2 billion barrels of oil deposits. >> these are clearly within our economic zone. nobody is contesting the fact that they are ours. >> observed says china may protest the bidding as it claims territorial rights over the

entire south china sea. in march, the fill peep government launched a protest against china involving the waters now up for bidding. it claimed a philippine oil exploration ship was harassed by chinese vessels. in egypt, demonstrators unhappy with the country's military rulers have clashed with security forces. over 1,000 people were injured in the violence on tuesday and wednesday. egypt has been under interim military rule since president hosni mubarak was ousted in february. but the public is still frustrated by the delay in prosecuting the former leadership for corruption and economic problems. on tuesday evening, about 3,000 demonstrators converged on tahrir square in central cairo. the pro-deere manneded that former government officials should be prosecuted. they also called for an end to military rule. security forces responded with teargas and warning shots. egypt has seen a series of anti-military demonstrations since the collapse of the mubarak government, but this is believed to be the largest protest so far.

time to check some of the stories we gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item from cctv china. the world's longest cross-sea bridge opened to traffic on thursday. 36.48- kilometer qingdao jiaozhou bay bridge began in may 2007. the eight-lane bridge cost $2.3 billion. the route has shortened the distance between the two districts by 30 kilometers, cutting travel time by 20 minutes. the bridge narrowly beats the previous record holder, and bridge connecting the cities in the province, also in east china. the malaysian government plans to use a biometric system to register the 500,000 bangladeshi works in malaysia.

malaysia's home minister said on wednesday that the move is aimed at curbing illegal immigration and human trafficking. the government recently announced that even illegal workers will be given amnesty if they come forward to register. about 1,400 officers will be involved in the registration process in cooperation with various departments and ministries of both countries. ♪ the 28th international koran competition kicked off in the iranian capital of tehran on wednesday. about 90 entrants from 60 nations are participating in the event on the holy teachings of the holy book. contests will be in three categories, recitation, memorization, and research papers. cultural programs and an exhibition will be established at the event which ends on monday.

hello there time now for your weather update, plenty of showers in store for japan today, particularly for the southern end of cue shue and the islands looking at hefty showers and strong thunderstorms to erupt here. elsewhere across the country as well, looking for thundershowers develop in the afternoon. up in the north, looking at renewed risk of flooding as well as landslides given the recent rainfall. meanwhile, the korean peninsula rain finally tapers off across the region but for the northern end of china we start to see more showers developing here, becoming more widespread and intense as we head toward your saturday. down in the southeastern corner, things drying up quite nicely for you, but more rain to comfort southwestern corner here and run into pockets of heavier showers affecting indochina, particularly for thailand as well as all the way up into bangladesh. the philippines, too, will contend with some more showers, especially if central southern portions of the country. so look out for those heavy

downpours. 32 degrees in manila today, 35 in taipei. stays hot in eastern and central china, 37 degrees in chongqing and turkey coming in at 30 degrees today to. now, for the americas, tropical storm arlene still with us. it continues to bring heavy rain in the area here t is expected to downgrade to a tropical depression by this evening, so the next few hours this will happen. still looking quite stormy along the the east coast of mexico here and windy as well, back behind this storm system. and even as that storm dissipates, we are anticipating more rain to come well into the weekend with. so widespread area will continue to experience additional rainfall so that could certainly threaten the area with flooding as well as landslides, so do keep that in mind. the frontal system making its way toward the central portions of the country can, it is trigger sharp showers, severe thunderstorms in places like

colorado, wyoming, also up in central canada experiencing severe thunderstorms throughout the night before all that heads into the great lakes region on your friday. picking up a lot of heat from the gulf of mexico as well, we are dealing with high heat, high humidity across much of the plain states. temperatures quite uncomfortable, in fact, 36 degrees in chicago it stays hot in houston as well, 36 degrees. do take plenty of precaution and drink plenty of liquids. now, for the -- for europe, i should say the eastern half, looking very unsettled again, looking quite severe in places like eastern austria, the czech republic into poland and then this other system over towards east that has been with us will continue to strengthen a little bit heading westward, places like northern ukraine, belarus and up toward the baltic states looking at plenty of showers and thunderstorms in store as well. western europe looking good. once again, good spells of sunshine. london coming in at 21 degrees,

22 in paris, looking very pleasant out here and hot again in madrid, 34 degrees up toward the northeast as well. moscow coming in at 31 degrees, 26 in stockholm. so it stays pretty hot out here as well. all right. here is your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, japan began restricting electricity consumption on friday. under new regulation, the government requires major power consumers in eastern japan to reduce peak time usage by 15% from a year earlier. the regulations were prompted by the risk of power shortages this summer in regions served by tokyo electric power company and tohoku electric power company. both utilities suffered severe damage to their power stations in the march disaster. factories and others using 500 kilowatt percent hour or more are required to cult their

consumption by 15%. the mandatory cuts will affect a total of about 18,500 firms supplied by the two utilities. violators may face fines of up to $12,500. thing of blicker to cuts are in place from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays through september 22nd in the regions served by tokyo electric. for the tohoku electric service region, cults will be through september 9th. government is also asking smaller-scale electricity users and households to slash their peak consumption by 15% from last year. the mandatory cuts will not apply to shelters in the disaster-hit areas or hospitals. facilities for the elderly are also excluded. tepco stays will be able to provide 53.8 million kilowatts this summer. this is lower than last summer's peak demand of 60 million kilowatts. if electricity consumption comes close to 97% of capacity, the government plans to issue a public warning. the expected power shortages are

prompting factories to shift their operations from weekdays to weekends. some local governments are introducing daylight savings time. the bank of japan's closely watched survey on business sentiment was leased this morning. this is the first that reflect he is the full impact of the march disaster. results show that business sentiment among large manufacturers came in at minus 9 points from april to june, down by 15 points from the previous quarter. it is the first negative figure in 15 months, but the forecast for business conditions three months ahead shows an a improvement at plus 2 points due toon easing in supply chain disruptions and more production. and that wraps this up edition of "newsline." i'm catherine co-by yash? i tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. we will be back at the top of the next hour with the updates. we will see you then. x