welcome to "newsline." it's 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the united states says it will open two days of talks with north korea on thursday. speaking to reporters on wednesday, u.s. state department spokesman mark toner said ambassador stephen bosworth will meet kim kay kye gwan at the nunn new york. japan, the united states and south korea have yet to decide to resume whether to resume the talks on north korea's nuclear program.

they have said they will reach such a decision after direct talks between the two koreas and then between the u.s. and north korea. the north korean vice foreign minister and head of the north american affairs bureau are already in new york for the ming. the u.s. decision to resume talks comes amid concerns that the north may be enriching uranium for military purposes. the united states maintains that it will not resume the six-party talks unless the north takes concrete action to give up nuclear weapons. in china, a driver involved in saturday's fatal high-speed train collision reportedly says he had been ordered to stop the train before another train crashed into it. his remarks suggest that human error may have contributed to the disaster that killed at least 39 people. the website of a weekly magazine published in the southern province of guangdong reported an account by a passenger who said the driver denied responsibility for the accident. according to the article the passenger said the driver sank to the tracks immediately after

the accident saying he should have kept the train running. he reportedly hinted that he was acting on the orders of the control room when he pulled the emergency brakes. on wednesday, families of the victims visited the site of the crash to mourn. among them was a boy whose mother was killed in the accident. on wednesday, chinese premier wen jiabao ordered a thorough investigation into the collision. when told an executive meeting of the state council that those responsible for the accident should be punished and the investigation results should be made public. he said some companies and local administrations lack an awareness of safety, a sense of responsibility and sufficient measures to prevent accidents. china's state run xinhua news agency reports an angry mob has clashed with police in guizhou province after a street

vendor was reportedly beaten to death by security officers. a large crowd gathered at the site and clashed with police tuesday. video foot the internet shows protesters throwing stones at the police. the number of casualties is unknown. a newspaper in hong kong says that there were thousands of protesters and the police fired tear gas at them. last month a similar riot occurred in guangzhou city after security officials abused a female street vendor. observers say people's frustration over price hikes and widening gap in wealth are the hidden causes of the series of riots. ai uchie da joins with the latest in business news. global markets continue to be in the spotlight as political issues in the u.s. weigh down the dollar. ai, give us the latest take on that. >> absolutely, catherine. big losses overnight in europe and the u.s. new york share prices plunged on

wednesday as u.s. policymakers could not resolve their deadlock over raising the nation's debt ceiling. the dow jones industrial average lost more than 198 points and ended the day wednesday that is at 12,302. the index had dropped over 200 points at one stage. investors placed sell orders on a wide range of issues as lawmakers could not reach an agreement on the debt limit. the stock market lost more ground after the u.s. central bank said the american economy is slowing down in its periodic survey of economic conditions. sources say the focus of market players now is whether lawmakers can come up with a deal before the august 2nd deadline. and to see how stocks are trading here in japan this thursday morning, we cross over to ramin mellegard who is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. what can you tell us? >> good morning to you, ai. whey can tell you is that the nikkei has broken below the key

psychological 10,000 for the first time in six trading sessions so that's the key bit of information here, down over 100 points, the to pix trapix t lower as well. the tokyo stocks on the losses of the dow and the nasdaq, amongst the stalemate in the u.s. leaders on the debt ceiling. manufactured goods showing a drop in what is also known as durable goods orders, pretty much everything from washing machines to aircraft and that also weighed on overall market sentiment. how did all of this play into the dollar? let's have a look at the currency levels as well. the dollar a little bit on the back foot again against the yen and some currencies initially after that economic data, but then interestingly enough, it bounced a touch further on into the trading session, following concerns again resurfacing about euro zone debt problems. however, we did see the euro falling back against the yen as

well, currently right-hand the upper 111 to 112 yen levels, and also against the yen there still sticking below 98 yen. now the strong yen has played a major part in earnings for a lot of japanese companies which are reporting this week and many blue chip companies say the stronger currency has overweighed a lot of the stronger sales that they've seen overseas. nissan reported first quarter earnings dropped about 20% but it still did stick to its fiscal output for the rest of this year. now that also follows it's going to increase production in china and other markets as well. toyota and honda are due to release numbers next week. today there's going to be a stream of earnings from a who's who of high-tech companies in japan, from sony, sharp, toshiba, panasonic, nintendo, fujitsu, as well as construction machinery giant, komatsu, we'll

see how the strong yen, stutter i ing currencies play in china play as well. electronics giant panasonic will sell its holding in sanyo electrics home appliance business to a chinese maker in the same field. sources say the company decided to sell sanyo's washing machine and refrigerator operations in japan and southeast asia to cli in a's haier. the selling price is estimated at about $128 million. most of the 2,000 employees are expected to be transferred to haier. sanyo became a subsidiary of panasonic in 2009. sanyo has been in a tie-up in haier in home appliance development. the move is part of panasonic's efforts to streamline operations that overlap with its own. the sale to haier comes ahead of

the final integration of the overall businesses early next year. here's a recap now of the latest market figures. krk that's all for now in business. back to catherine. >> thanks very much, ai. the operator of the damaged

fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant it's withdrawing to technology to turkey. turkey plans to build four reactors on the coast. toshiba is seeking construction rights. tokyo electric power company had earlier planned to provide technical help on the project but now says it will focus on compensating victims of the fukushima nuclear accident including those forced to evacuate. a consortium including the japanese government and tepco appears likely to receive a order to build nuclear reactors in vietnam. senior tepco official juichi matsumoto told reporters it will continue to play a national part in exporting a nuclear power plant to vietnam. japan's meteorological agency is putting lessons it learned from the nuclear disaster into place. it planned an announcement to improve the warning system. it said a wave as high as six

meters could slam into the pacific coast, sometime later the agency increased expected height of the tsunami to more than ten meters. but a power blackout prevented most people along the northeastern coast from hearing the update. >> translator: i heard on the radio that a tsunami wave as high as three meters would be coming but i didn't hear anything about a much bigger tsunami. >> the meteorological agency's new plan is to issue a warning of the maximum possible tsunami once an earthquake with a magnitude of eight or more hits. then it will downgrade its estimates to the appropriate level when the actual scale of the quake is determined. the basic policy of issuing a tsunami warning within three minutes of an earthquake will stay in place. tsunami warnings need to be issued quickly if they're to be fective in saving lives. that means the meteorological agency must issue an alert while the ground is still shaking. the problem is that it takes time to determine the actual

magnitude of a quake. the work involves analyzing seismic data gathered from a wide area in japan and outside the country. the march 11th earthquake had a magnitude of nine but three minutes after the tremor, the agency set its magnitude at 7.9. >> translator: we hope the new warning system will enable people to evacuate promptly. >> the meteorological agency plans to finalize a report on the new alert system by the end of the year. summer's heat has set in across japan. the number of people who have been hospitalized for heat stroke has jumped by 40% compared to last year. this heat is especially tough on people who are living in emergency shelters and temporary housing because they lost their homes in the march 11th disaster. in me yagie prefecture some evacuees have had to be hospitalized.

>> reporter: this is a temporary housing complex in minamisanriku. on july 15th, this woman noticed something wrong with her husband, tokuro. >> translator: i tried to rouse my husband, but he couldn't get up. i called for an ambulance in a panic. the ambulance checked my husband's temperature. it was 39.4 degrees. >> reporter: tokuro sasaki had been working outdoors in hot conditions for many days, helping to clear away debris. the temperature that day rose to 34.6 degrees. the heat proved too much for him. >> translator: i'm surprised my husband had heat stroke. he rested in an air conditioned room after working. this incident has made me

realize the need to pay attention to the health of myself and my family. >> reporter: a number of people at emergency shelters have come down with heat stroke. an 84-year-old woman innish know managie had to be hospitalized on july 10th. the temperature outside hit 34.6 degrees that day. the woman was staying in an elementary school classroom that doesn't have any air conditioners. only a pair of fans. in me yagie prefecture, nhk has learned that at least six people made homeless by the disaster have had to be hospitalized for heat stroke so far this month. local doctors are expressing concern over the occurrence of heat stroke in emergency shelters and temporary houses.

>> translator: people living alone in shelters are often found to be in trouble only after their condition has worsened. i'd like their neighbors to keep an eye on them and make sure they are. >> one area is rikuzentakata, a city in iwate prefecture, where 2,000 people have died or still missing. today we report on efforts to restore them. first we look at the oyster farming industry in hirota bay, one of japan's largest before the disaster. >> reporter: workers go all out to make rafts for oyster farming. producers will use them to cultivate oysters in the sea.

before the earthquake, 800 rafts floated here, but not one survived the tsunami. >> translator: without these rafts, we cannot farm, so our first priority is making new ones. >> reporter: akira chida owns more rafts than any other farms in his areas but the tsunami washed away all of his boats, all together worth about $2 million. by spring every year, farmers have usually finished preparations for growing oysters. now well into summer, chida works furiously to make up for the late start. >> translator: it will take about three years before we can actually ship oysters. for now, i will do what i can. >> reporter: in order to survive are, chida is trying something

new, joint farming. before the disaster, each farmer worked alone, competing against each other using his own rafts and methods. but the farmers have suffered so much damage, they can't afford to go back to work on their own. chida is collaborating with nine farmers in hirota bay. the collective is buying new boats and materials to make rafts. chida and his fellow farmers are using subsidies for helping farmers start working again. if they purchase essentials like boats and fishing tools as a cooperative, the national or prefectural governments pay two-thirds of the cost. it's been just over a month since they went back to work. in that time, chida and the others have made more than 50

rafts. gradually, they are again filling hirota bay. until now, oyster farming has been a solitary practice. the farmers all have different ideas about everything, including the best way to hang oysters, but they work as a team, so they are sure of having their first joint harvest three years from now. >> translator: everyone has the same goal of rebuilding the industry, so i'm confident that we will be able to overcome our differences and succeed. we are working hard so that we can bounce back quickly and protect our oyster band. also, we want to provide oysters to everyone who has supported us. >> also hit hard by the disaster were transport companies and seafood processing factories. in order to get the fishing

industry running again, these businesses need support. >> reporter: this transport company is located in ofunato city, next to rikuzentakata. before the disaster it shipped 90% of the oysters to cities like tokyo. it lost most of its trucks in the tsunami. then the firm took another financial hit, no oysters are available for shipping. >> translator: shipments of oysters accounted for 50% of our business. with no aqua farm products, we suffer a huge drop in revenue. >> reporter: this company also processes sea products but the tsunami dealt a severe blow to the plant's equipment. last month it was finally able to get production rolling again at a plant that wasn't badly damaged. about 30 of the firms 100 workers were able to return to work.

the company no longer receives the kind of fish it used to process. now the staff handle other kinds they are not used to. next month when the season starts, the company hopes to take on more of its workers but the firm has no plans to restart operations at its other processing plants. >> translator: before consumers buy a product, it first passes from fisherman to processors, shippers and supermarkets or fish mongers, so it's important for us to move forward one step at a time. >> locals say they're eager to get business rolling again, but they almost gave up after struggling by themselves. they say they need help to get their businesses back to pre-disaster levels. world renowned conductor seiji ozawa has performed in japan for the first time in about a year after recovering

from cancer surgery. he used the performance to offer prayers for those who died in japan's earthquake and tsunami. >> translator: this is the first time for me to conduct before an audience this year. i would like to dedicate this music to those who lost their lives in the march 11th disaster. ♪ >> owe za that held a coner is at a junior high school in nagano on wednesday. he visits the area every summer. he recovered from cancer of the esophagus last year, and took sick leave in january due to chronic lower back pain. in between wednesday's performances, he addressed the students.

>> translator: playing music is not quite the same as playing outdoors. it's not easy. >> the maestro is scheduled to conduct for an opera in matsumoto city in august. ♪ "newsline" is the place to turn to post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to rover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." a severe tropical storm has left at least 27 people dead in the philippines. weather owe fishes in the country say severe tropical storm na-te made landfall on the

eastern side of luzon, it swept across manila to the south china sea. the 27 casualties include a 13-year-old girl who fell into a swollen river in quezon province. 20 people are missing including the crew of a capsized boat. many villages are flooded and troops have been sent to rescue people who are marooned. hello there. time now for your weather update. let's take a look at eastern asia. the korean peninsula has bn dealing with excessive rainfall the past couple of days. hearing reports of deadly landslides across south korea and also in seoul serious flooding situation going on here as well. this frontal system will stay with us, picking up that moisture from the east china sea. so it doesn't look like that rain is going to be weakening off anytime soon. on your thursday, we'll continue

to see heavy rain occur here. more than 100 millimeters is possible, especially along the border here but in isolated areas we could see as much as 250 millimeters occur. so we're looking at heightened risks of landslides as well as flooding in the area. for japan as well, central and northern areas, looking quite stormy. due to that same system, heavy rain is expected as well today. and that could certainly bring some landslide problems here as well. now for china, the rain starts to ease off finally up in the northeastern corner. but for inland areas, it looks like we'll continue to see that heavy rain develop. it's actually been enhanced by the southerly flow coming in from the south china sea due to that severe tropical storm here. it's moving faster now at 30 kilometers an hour. it has moved out to the south

china sea, and it will continue to move in a northwesterly direction over the next few days, getting close to the southern coast of china here by the early part of the weekend. still quite stormy for the north coast here and lots of moisture coming in behind it as well for the west coast as well as much of this side. and we'll start to see that rain spread into high nan island. as early as late tonight. temperature wise, stays hot in southern portions of china. 36 in shanghai. 37 in nanjian and the same goes for chonqing. now heading into the americas, severe weather area for the plains states into the great lakes region. we're talking heavy rain, strong winds, diverting winds of particular concern here. large hail, and also tornadoes are not out of the question. similar story as we head into your thursday as well, especially as that day heats up. a line of showers will pop up again for the four corners, western new mexico, and steady rain developing over the gulf of mexico. this will be the works of tropical storm don that has newly formed. it is expected to intensify a

bit more as it moves over the warm waters of the gulf of mexico before making landfall here in southern texas. by friday night. temperature wise, stays hot in central and southern portions of the u.s. and the heat also spreading into the east coast as well. a couple of active low pressure systems a main feature of today's weather in europe. the one towards the east continues to linger near the baltic states, and also the one in over the central mediterranean continues to spread. lots of showers and thunderstorms. overall, looking very thundery and stormy in many areas for central and eastern europe. a sandstorm has been reported in belarus and also large hail coming down in northern italy. 20 degrees in vienna today. so rather chilly here. quite cool in berlin as well, but it stays hot in moscow at 33 degrees. here is your extended forecast now.

our lead story this hour, the united states says it will open two days of talks with north korea on thursday. speaking to reporters on wednesday, u.s. state department spokesman mark toner said

ambassador stephen bosworth will meet north korean vice minuiste kim kye gwan in new york. japan, the united states and south korea have yet to decide to resume whether to resume the talks on north korea's nuclear program which had been suspended for two and a half years. they have said they will reach such a decision after direct talks between the two koreas and then between the u.s. and north korea. the north korean vice foreign nister and head of the north american affairs bureau are already in new york for the meeting. the u.s. decision to resume talks comes amid concerns that the north may be enriching uranium for military purposes. the united states maintains that it will not resume the six-party talks unless the north takes concrete action to give up nuclear weapons. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.