boycotting iran. japan agrees to cooperate with u.s. sanctions while trying to avoid the economic repercussions. u.s. leaders are asking for japan's help in trying to stop exports of iranian oil. their boycott penalizes foreign financial institutions that deal with iran's central bank. it looks at how to cooperate with its ally. but they want to avoid any adverse impact to the economy.

they say international cooperation is necessary to stop iran's nuclear program. japan currently gets about 10% of its crude oil from iran. but authorities believe it's possle to secure oil from other exporters. still, government leaders say the ban could cause oil prices to surge in the short term and place a heavy burden on japanese corporations and households. they plan to study ways to reduce oil imports from iran and request that the u allow exceptions for japan under certain conditions. members of the european union are divided over when to impose an oil embargo of their own. they, too, want to avoid any negative impacts. eu nations are trying to ban imports of crude oil and toughen economic sanctions against iran. they're hoping to reach an agreement in a meeting of foreign ministers on january 23rd. eu source say britain and france are requesting an immediate start to the embargo, but greece, italy and spain want a

moratorium. they rely heavily on iranian crude oil and they're worried about hurting their own economies. the sources say eu nations are trying to reach an agreement to impose the embargo on petrochemical products in three months and crude oil in six months. iranian naval commanders have threatened to close the strait of hormuz if the sanctions go through. iran held ten days of naval exercises in the strait and the persian gulf beginning late last month. the narrow passage at the entrance to the gulf is a major sea lane for oil tankers transporting crude from the middle east. iran test-fired newly developed missiles in the strait earlier this month, and it warned u.s. aircraft carriers to stay out of the area. iran announced last friday the islamic revolutionary guards will conduct an exercise next month in the strait of hormuz and the persian gulf.

u.s. naval commanders have warned that any interference with freedom of navigation will not be tolerated. they threatened military action if iran tries to block the strait. the united states will station two aircraft carriers in water neers the gulf to prepare for any contingency. british defense secretary phillip hammond said last week that the royal navy will send high-tech destroyers to make sure the shipping lanes remain open. diplomats from the u.s., japan and south korea plan to discuss developments in north korea after the death of its former leader kim jong-il. the u.s. state department announced on thursday that assistant secretary of state kurt campbell and special representative glyn davies will co-host the meeting next tuesday in washington. japanese foreign ministry director general shiksuke sugiyama and south korea's top envoy lim sung-nam will attend the talks. diplomats are likely to confirm

they will continue to seek cooperation from china, the north's closest ally. participants are also expected to discuss the resumption of the six-party talks on pyongyang's nuclear program. they're likely to consider how to pressure the north's new government to stop uranium enrichment immediately and they'll push the regime to accept inspectors from the international atomic energy agency. a japanese government official held talks with pro democracy leader aung san suu kyi and expressed his government's interest to cooperate in myanmar's development projects. yukio edano expressed japan's policy for development in myanmar during a meeting in yangon on thursday. >> translator: japan plans to help stabilize your country's economy and improve the standard of living. >> edano explained that japan is

ready to help revamp myanmar's electrical and water systems in tandem with its movement toward democratization. aung san suu kyi commented that the interests of ethnic minorities should be taken into account when developing the local economy. investors in europe cheered the latest debt auctions from italy and spain. ai uchida has the latest. >> strong demand in the european markets on thursday. yields of italian and spanish government bonds fell following their successful auctions, spain sold twice its original target. the yield for italy's ten-year bond fell to around 6 1/2%. this was from about 7%, a level that makes it difficult for the nation to rebuild its public finances on its own. the yield of spain's ten-year bond dropped to about 5.1%. sources say that commercial

banks bought these government bonds as ample funds from three-year loans provided by the european central bank last month are being put to effective use. however, concerns over the european debt crisis do remain. some investors expect that the credit ratings for each euro zone nation may be downgraded. uncertainties remain into whether expansion will be enough to curb market jitters. the eu is ruling hungary about penalties for concerns that a widening rift could cast a shadow of the country's financial aid. hungary is moving to centralize policy making authority to the government. at the end of last month it passed legislation that will remove the power from the central bank to a point its deputy governor. the european commission has expressed concerns that the country's move will violate eu laws which uphold the

independence of a central bank from its government. >> so we will use all our powers to make sure that hungary complies with the principles and the values and the rules of the european union, and i'm confident that we will achieve that. >> eu policymakers are to decide on what actions it will take by tuesday of next week. tokyo share prices are rising on friday morning. concerns over the european debt crisis eased slightly following those smooth auctions of italian and spanish government bonds. the nikkei index now stands at 8499, just shy of that 8500 mark. currently up 1.3%. the broader topix is up by 1.2% currently at 735. sources say investors are placing buy orders on exporters to europe such as electronics and precision machinery makers. the euro is a little stronger in

tokyo on friday morning as concerns over the regional debt crisis eased. the euro is now moving at 98.37 to 43. that's against the yen. let's take a look at where it's trading against the dollar. it's currently at 1.2815 to 2819. the favorable auctions for spanish and italian government bonds have led to buying of the euro against the yen and the dollar. here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. the tokyo stock exchange is likely to continue listing scandal-hit optical equipmentmaker olympus but designate it in the alert category, which requires improvements to internal oversight. an official decision is planned for january 20th at the tse board of governors meeting. the tse has been investigating possible violations of the criteria required for listing because olympus hid massive

investment losses for many years. investigators found that the company was not running a capital deficit and only a handful of top executives were involved in the cover-up. therefore, necessary criteria were not breached. however, the tse planneds to designate olympus in the alert category can which will require the company to submit an annual report to explain the improvements made to internal oversight. the optical equipmentmaker could be delisted, still, after three years if the exchange finds that internal oversight has not improved. time to get a check on where markets are at this hour.

market is off to a positive start this friday. we'll see where china opens next hour. back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. voters in taiwan have two main choices in saturday's national election, incumbent ma ying-jeou is running against the progressive party, tsai i think-wen is hoping to gain control after four years out of office. he made it possible for taiw taiwanese to sell more goods there. the opposition dpp is afraid this success could cost them votes. >> reporter: this is delicious. the soup that i'm having contains a local delicacy called milkfish.

people in taiwan enjoy milkfish, but as living standards get better, shoppers buy more expensive fish. demand for milkfish has hit the ceiling. this man lives in a city on the southern part of the island. no other place in taiwan produces as much milkfish. he says last year the amount shipped to other locations on the island as well as overseas increased by nearly 20%. >> translator: things have gotten a little better compared to two years ago. >> reporter: over the year, farmers and fishermen on southern taiwan have generally supported the democratic progressive party. but before the last election, voters in the region complained about the administration. they showed their discontent by voting in a candidate for the nationalist party. first time in tainen.

after ma became president, taiwan signed a basic free trade pact with china. the country agreed to cut import barriers to certain taiwanese products like milkfish. last year the island shipped 50% more milkfish to china than in 2010. ma's party took credit. ro took note of how ma improved ties with china and helped increase milkfish sales. now the fish farmer is thinking about voting for ma. >> translator: i want to vote for a candidate who will help better our standard of living. >> this woman phones voters from the opposition democratic progressive party. every day she contacts as many as 100 people asking them to vote for tsai, the party's local

candidate, and she's going all out to make sure that registered dpp voters do not switch to the nationalist party. >> translator: this final week will be close. we have to hustle to raise the number of votes if we are to win. we need as many as possible. >> reporter: more than 10,000 people have gathered for the dpp rally here, and just now tsai i think-wen has arrived and the place is full of energy. as the campaign draws to a close, tsai has addressed large rallies in and around her home town five times. she warns voters that by depending on china ma could weaken taiwan's autonomy. >> translator: we're losing our dignity as taiwanese people. a new administration will create a new taiwan, a new economy, a

new society, and a new policy. >> translator: we need an overwhelming victory in tainen. tainen has the power to change taiwan. i want to see this gap closed among the voters in taipei. >> reporter: the free trade pact with beijing has led taiwan to importing more than milkfish to china. shipments of pineapples, grouper and other products have also increased. and as a result, some farmers and workers in southern taiwan's fishing industry enjoy a higher standard of living. overall taiwanese are confident that they will sell even more products in china. prospects for makers of machine tools and automobile parts look bright now that the chinese have cut tariffs for those goods. observers say ma's camp is

trying to expand its support by baiting voters on the benefits of china money. if tsai's party, the dpp, is to win it must shore up strength in areas that support it. depending too heavily on china is risky. she insist that taiwan maintain close relations with the united states, japan and other countries. but the majority of taiwanese say they want ties with china to remain at their current strength. so tsai is warning the people that they risk losing their autonomy to china. this is raja pradhan, nhk world, taipei. an independent panel of experts has advised the japan energy organization not to rely on quality checks by manufacturers. the panel found problems in nuclear reactor components that were traced back to manufacturers. the safety organization itself admitted that it failed to notice mistakes in a

manufacturer's manual. inspectors used the manual in 2008 to approve fuel rods in reactors. the panel's report questions the independence of the safety organization. it notes the organization should not be influenced by manufacturers. the report recommends that the safety body make its own manuals and keep records of its meetings with manufacturers. >> translator: inspection standards should be independent, and examiners and examinees should not collaborate. >> the organization says it plans to create a timeline to review its screening procedures. "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 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 recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." refugees living in japan say they're often frustrated in their efforts to find a job. many farming communities have the opposite problem, finding enough people to work in their fields. one rural community in hiroshima is hoping to bring the two together. nhk world explains. >> reporter: in the town of jinseki-kogen, most of the population is 65 or older. with few young people willing to take over their parents' farms, many fields are being left neglected and overgrown. this man is 70. he's worried that if nothing is done, farming will die out in his town. one solution might be to find refugees living in japan willing to help work their fields.

>> translator: no matter how hard we try, at a certain point we will run out of options for keeping our farms alive. >> reporter: in december, the town invited two refugees for a three-day hands-on program working on farms. 50-year-old thomas is from myanmar. in 1988, after the military regime cracked down on his country's pro-democracy movement, he was afraid for his life and fled to japan. 39-year-old anthony arrived in japan 16 years ago. he left his homeland, uganda, because of the long running civil war which began in the 1970s. a welcoming party is held for the visitors. he gets to the point straight

away. >> translator: what we really want to know is are you thinking of returning to your home country some day? or are you planning to stay here forever? >> whenever i think of going back home to my country, i have my family, my son and my daughter and a wife. >> translator: if the current military regime is ended, i will go back to my country. i want to teach people there all i've learned in japan over the past 20 years. >> reporter: this is the first time that omoto has ever talked to a refugee. he realizes that each is facing a different situation. the next day, they are taken up to omoto's fields. he soon gets them busy

harvesting cabbages. for both of the visitors, this is the first time they have done farm work in japan. >> translator: if the stem is still sticking out, you cut it off smooth. >> reporter: after three days the farmers and the visiting refugees have begun to get to know each other and to understand how they can work together. >> translator: at the beginning, i wasn't sure about this project, but seeing how positive these men were, my concern has eased. now i hope this project can be successful in the future. >> translator: all the people in this town have been really warm

towards us. i've been moved by their kindness. >> reporter: the next step for the town is to invite more refugees who are interested in settling there and becoming new farmers. reporting for nhk world, hiroshima. some parts of northern japan are seeing snowy conditions while tokyo is starting to -- starting the day hovering just above freezing point. let's go to say yak ka mori. >> time for your weather update. a nationary low pressure system has been deliverg a deluge of rain as well as thunderstorms to much of the malay peninsula. in southern thyland more than 180 millimeters of rain have fall number the past 24 hour,

but unfortunately more rain is expected. so we are concerned about the risks of flooding as well as landslide here. meanwhile, onshore flow is pulling a lot of moisture to the southern half of china and much of taiwan, and showers will develop as we head into saturday. the inland area will see snow, but it's a different story for the opposite side of china, the northern areas and much of the korean peninsula will stay mostly dry thanks to a high pressure system. still dealing with snow, thunderstorms and gusty winds are possible today. heavy snow will return this evening. but the pacific side will stay largely dry. we're expecting 10 degrees in tokyo and 2 degrees in seoul. and cooler than average in beijing with a low of minus 8 and 8 degrees in chongqing and across the south getting up to 31 degrees in bangkok. now moving on to europe. a powerful low pressure system

has been creating wide spreads of snow as well as gusting winds to finland, the baltic states as well as russia. it has been moving very slowly. the same situation will likely continue into the weekend. meanwhile, this associated front is bringing locally heavy precipitation, strong winds as well as cold temperatures and it's moving towards the south. in fact, the balkan peninsula has already seen wintry weather this week and it's still dealing with a lot of problems. this is some video coming out of you serbia. snow has piled up as much as three meters. residents are struggling to dig out from all the snow, and cars are getting stuck as well. in addition to the traffic problems, water and power supplies have been affected as well. so in the next 24 hours, the balkan peninsula will see another round of snowy weather, and snow could intensify over the weekend.

so that could worsen the situation. but it's a different story for much of the british isles, the iberian peninsula and france. a high pressure system is bringing lots of sunny weather. we're expecting 15 degrees in lisbon and 10 in madrid and across the east still warmer than average, moscow will be coming in at 2 degrees and the same goes for war saw and getting up to 13 degrees in athens. all right. that's it for me now. here is your extended forecast. . that's it for me now. here is your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, u.s. leaders are asking for japan's help in trying to stop exports of iranian oil. their boycott penalizes foreign financial institutions that deal with iran's central bank. the japanese government will look into how to cooperate with its ally, but government leaders want to avoid any adverse impact to the economy. they say international cooperation is necessary to stop iran's nuclear program. japan currently gets about 10% of its crude oil from iran, but authorities believe it's possible to secure oil from other exporters. still, government leaders say the ban could cause oil prices to surge in the short term and place a heavy burden on japanese corporations and households. they plan to study ways to reduce oil imports from iran and request that the u.s. allow exceptions for japan under certain conditions. diplomats from the u.s.,

japan and south korea plan to discuss developments in north korea after the death of its former leader kim jong-il. the u.s. state department announced on thursday that assistant secretary of state kurt campbell and special representative glyn davies will co-host the meeting next tuesday in washington. japanese foreign ministry director general shiksuke sugiyama and korea's top envoy lim sung-nam will attend the talkses. diplomats confirm to confirm that they'll seek cooperation from china t north's closest ally. participants are expected to discuss the resumption of the six-party talks on pyongyang's nuclear program. they're likely to consider how to pressure the north's new government to stop uranium enrichment immediately and push them to accept inspector from the international atomic energy agency. that wraps up this edition of

"newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.