glad to have you on this edition of "newsline." it's tuesday, july 19th, 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobiyashi. a large, strong typhoon ma-on is heading toward shigoku bringing heavy winds and rain to the pacific coast. we now go to the weather desk for the latest information. >> that's right. this is a definitely major typhoon that we need to watch out for. actually, let's start off with a look at some of the scene trial counsel this morning because things are already pretty stormy. now, this will be in the shikogu area. strong gusts reported, as well.

already hitting 140 kilometers per hour. highest amounts of rain almost hitting 600 millimeters, this's going to be a -- we are going to see a lot more rain fall, too, over the course of today. it's a big concern and turning very stormy. now, let's forecast path towards the north a little bit more over the course of today and then veers quickly out and heads out in towards the east and this is a fairly slow-moving system and it's large so a wide area's going to be impacted. and we are going to continue to see that stormy weather over the next couple of days. now, of course, plenty of rainfall, especially along the pacific side and in addition to that, damaging winds, dangerous surf conditions and potential for landslides as well as flooding. rainfall amounts in the next 24 hours into wednesday morning as much as 800 millimeters for the section and some of these areas have already seen a lot of rainfall in the past 24 hours,

too. so amounts are easily going to hit almost a meter high. very, very wet conditions. do want to watch out for over the next few days. >> all right. we'll be checking back for the latest in those -- in that situation. so japan's women's soccer team arrived home after winning the world cup for the first time. the team arrived at the airport near tokyo on tuesday morning from frankfurt where the 2011 women's world cup final was held on sunday night. the team nicknamed -- defeated fifa's top ranked team 3-1. the team including the coach and tournament mvp sawa is expected to give a news conference later in the day. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the

fallout of the tsunami and earthquake. "the road ahead" examines the efforts to rebuild and recover. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline" three prefectures in northeastern japan have identified more farms that shipped beef from cattle that have been fed cesium-tainted straw. fukushima prefecture says seven farms and six municipalities fed their cattle straw that had been left outdoors after the march nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. the straw was found to contain radioactive cesium at up to 520 times the government's safety standard. the farm shipped 411 head of cattle to meat processing facilities in 5 prefectures including tokyo from late march to early july. in migata prefecture, radioactive cesium levels as high as 15 times the government standard were detected in straw

given to cattle on two farms. one of the farms shipped 24 head of cattle. yamagata prefecture says four farms shipped 70 head of cattle through mid-july. investigators found a total of 648 head of cattle had been shipped after being fed contaminated straw. the amount of contaminated meat found to have been distributed to markets across the country is expected to rise. the japanese government and tokyo electric power company on tuesday will announce a revised plan to bring the reactors at the fukushima daiichi plant under control. the yue fillty began operating a system to decontaminate water last month but it's working below the capacity due to leaks and other problems. the rate dropped to 37 tons of water per hour at 1 point, more than 20% below the target

capacity. it increased to 39 tons per hour after tepco workers released air from the pipes on friday and replaced a hose connecting the tanks to ease water circulation. however, the rate dropped again to 37 tons per hour on monday morning. the company says the reason for the decrease is unknown. the government and step are expected to say that the first stage of the revised plan is almost completed and is on schedule. the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant has built a makeshift roof over a turbine building as typhoon ma-on approaches. tokyo electric power company said on monday that the work to cover a hole in the roof of the plant's number 3 turbine building was completed earlier in the day. the hole was caused by a hydrogen explosion in a neighboring reactor building in march. the makeshift metallic roof consists of three parts, each five meters long and 16 meters wide that were installed by a crane. the roof is designed to prevent an increase of radioactive waste

water in the building. tepco plans to cover another hole in the building's roof on tuesday and is stacking sandbags to prevent rainwater from entering the facility. we are joined for the latest in business news. ai, you are not wearing any gold today. >> that's right. too expensive for me. looks good on you. >> i bought these when prices were a bit reasonable. >> overnight on the new york commodities markets, the price of gold surged to a record high. gold futures topped $1,600 per ounce for the first time ever. the rally came as worries about u.s. and european debts prompted nf investors to seek i have aty of the metal. last week credit agencies said they may lower the rates if lawmakers fail to raise federal debt ceiling. concerns mounting that the european debt problem may spread to more countries in the region. market players are saying buying

pressure on gold futures likely continues for sometime unless the u.s. and europe work out plans to resolve their debt issues soon. and now let's get a check on the markets. overnight, the dow jones industrial average fell more than 90 points to a three-week low due to debt concerns both in the u.s. and europe. to see how stocks are trading here in japan this tuesday morning, we cross over to ra mean who's at the tokyo stock exchange. how are tokyo stocks kicking off after the three-day weekend? >> good morning to you. trading lower in the first few minutes of trading, pretty much reflecting the u.s. markets and asian markets and uncertainties with the debt ceiling in the u.s. and ongoing concerns about euro zone debt continue to dampen market sentiment. we did see the dow closing lower and key asian indexes lower on monday, as well. the nikkei playing catch up here as markets were closed yesterday for a public holiday.

and having broken above 10,000, just a couple of weeks ago, it is consistently pushed below that level for the last four trading sessions in a row so we're going 0 see how the nikkei fares today. the currency markets have reflected euro zone issues and u.s. debt concerns with the dollar and the euro weaker against the yen. having a look at the currency levels right now, the dollar-yen trading around the 79 yen levels and actually traded around the 78 yen levels in stock trading hours yesterday. and around the 111 level for the euro to the yen. european banks stress test results on friday i should say also add a little bit of concern to the banking sector and their ability to handle any future debt defaults and weighed somewhat on the euro. apart from the focus on u.s. debt ceiling and those euro zone

debt solvency concerns, in the u.s. with the housing sector, economic data coming out. also, earnings in the u.s. with some heavyweights such as intel and then later today apple. now, japanese component makers play a large part in supporting plies -- parts for products such as apple's iphone and android system and any global numbers should reflect pretty well for japanese firms, as well. including companies making the compasses which go into the gpss in those smartphones so we'll how that plays into the markets, as well. for now, the nikkei trading lower. back to you in the studio. >> thanks a lot. that's the market reporter from tokyo stock exchange. moving on, china says it will take measures to curb growing prices of rare earth metals.

they account for over 90% of the world's output. chinese commerce minister made the pledge to japanese industry minister in beijing on monday. he said prices of rare earth metals keep on rising and the price difference between chinese and overseas markets is a problem. these metals are a vital raw material for high-tech products. he asked china to ensure the same level of exrts to japan as before. chen said that china needs to maintain the control on exports but he said inflated pritss could lead to higher prices for parts made with such metals and that would not be desirable for china. >> translator: china has made a step. >> and now let's take a quick look at what's happening on japan's biz front this week. department store sales for june

will be released on tuesday. and another indicator of consuming spending, convenience store sales come out on wednesday. on thursday, trade data for june and the first half of the current fiscal year are due out. in may, the trade balance registered the second biggest deficit on record. on friday, supermarket sales for june will be released. finally, the country will shift to full digital broadcast tv broadcasting on sunday. here's the key chick indicators this week in the u.s. we' we'll get a good look at the real estate market with figures. housing starts and building permits for june on tuesday. both rose in may but remain stuck. existing home sales for june will be released on wednesday. they slumped 3.8% in may due to the lowest level in six months. and that is all for now in business.

next our series "the road ahead." today we focus on the struggles facing japan's fisheries. the east coast used to have one of the country's largest fisheries, products accounting for 24% of the nation's production. but the earthquake and tsunami changed everything. the nation's fisheries suffered over $15 billion worth of damage and the amount is still rising. the po once had the largest shark haul in japan. it was also famous for processing top-grade shark fins but the tsunami destroyed every fishery plant in the region and many may never reopen. we now report on a plant manager salvaging his business. >> reporter: the man behind the sanitary mask is the executive

director of a plant that prepares shark fins for eating. the factory and offices was located near a river where completely swallowed up by the tsunami. >> translator: when i saw the wreckage, my mind went blank. it got to the point where i couldn't look at the rubble without becoming completely paralyzed. it was impossible for me to think about rebuilding. >> reporter: the company's proud of the technique it perfected. it ensures fins keep the shape despite being cooked and preserves the collagen and jelly-like texture ishiwata's plant before the tsunami. they bone the fins by hand but after the tsunami, all 30 employees had to be laid off.

ishiwata thought rebuilding would be impossible and he gave up hope. but then, loyal customers from all over japan began sending letters and e-mails of encouragement. >> let me help if i can. i'll be waiting for the day i can enjoy your delicious shark fin soup again. don't disappoint me. >> translator: i was especially touched by an e-mail that read, you might find next year impossible so as you rebuild take it slow and steady. i'll be waiting in 2013. we're receiving an incredible show of support so i have to get busy. >> reporter: ishiwata strengthened his resolve to start over again. he got a new loan and decided to set up production at a temporary location. he found a spot with running

water. it's on higher ground, safe from another tsunami. he's recruiting former competitors to help set up a website. he also makes t-shirts to spread the word about his business. >> translator: the design illustrates young people raising their fists to show their determination to fight on. before the earthquake, we were fighting each other. but now, we realize that unless we combine our efforts, there will be no future. to save our livelihood, we have to put ourselves on the line and find a way to keep the traditional shark fin industry alive. >> reporter: the new plant is up and running. skilled workers who had left the area for other parts of japan started returning.

>> translator: i'm living in temporary housing now. but i was thinking i wouldn't mind commuting if i could work here again. so i'm happy. the shark fins are a main industry here. >> reporter: and yet, it's too soon to go shark fishing in local waters. the fins have to be brought in from other places. for now, they only have equipment to do basic processing for restaurants. the eventual goal is to ship his unique shark fins to people all over the country. just like he did before. >> translator: it takes more

time to prepare than our other products so it might be the last item we'll tackle. we'll do our best to bring it back to dinner tables but we'll take time. one day, though, we'll definitely ship our shark fins to our customers again. we hope they will wait patiently and not forget us. >> the plant's production reached a little over 3% of its pre-disaster levels. he hopes to resume full-scale operations by next april. the foreign ministers of the association of southeast asian nations are set to discuss discuss a dispute over islands in the south china see. nhk obtained a draft statement by the charp of the forum saying that recent events in the region require urgent measures.

the statement also says that asean members should implement a declaration of conduct for the south china sea agreed upon in 2002. many members are pushing to lay groundwork for drafting the rules before the asean suck mmmn november. internal documents of the philippine military shows that some asian nations are building structures on the disputed spratley islands in the south china sea. nhk has obtained documents that include aerial photos of the islands taken in 2009 and 2010. the photos show that china has built several concrete structures on fiery cross reef. the country apparently added a one-story building and installed a satellite dish on the reef last year. the spratley islands, which are controlled by vietnam, have a runway, a building and a lighthouse.

china, taiwan, vietnam, malaysia, brunei, and the philippines claim sovereignty over all or some of the more than 200 islands and reefs. areas near the islands are known to have rich underwater oil and natural gas reserves. the claimants have occupied around 40 of the islands and reefs and built structures and stationed troops there. the countries are believed to be trying to consolidate their control ov the region and ild more facilities on the is to o cteedecessor u.s.enalmony.

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fukushima prefecture says seven farmsix cipalities fed their catt sawhahabe left outdoors after the marc nuclear accident at th fukushima daiichi plant. thstw was found to contain radioactive cesium 520 times the government's safety standard. the farm shipped 411 head of cattle to meat prog facilities in 5 prefectures clintoo omate marc to early july. in migata prefecture, dicte si high as 15 times the government stdaer detected in cattle in 2 farms. one of the farms shipped 24 he of cattle. matarecte y ur omar ailo d-ly. investigators found a total of 648 head of cattle had been shpeafter being fed contaminated straw. the amount of contaminated meat

found to have been distributed to markets across the country is expected to rise. overnight, the price of gold rg to a record high. gold futures topped $100 p ounce for the first time ever. the rally came as worries about u.s. and european debts prompted ereous metal.seek theafy o last week, major credit rating agencies said they may lower the ratings of u.s.ovnmton if lawmakers fail to raise the federal debt ceiling. concer are also mounting that the european debt problem may spreadoor countries in the region. market players say buying pressure on gold fures likely continues for sometime unless the u.s. and eopor o plans to resolve their debt issues soon. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobiyashi in tokyo. thanksor joining us.

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