for this american land, i'm gary strieker.

reactor building on tuesday to drill a hole. spokespersons y workers were exposed to up to three millisieverts of radiation during the drilling process. 40 workers rehearsed the job at the plant's number five reactor to minimize their exposure.

tepco spokespersons say the operation went smoothly. workers will insert the endoscope on thursday as scheduled. tepco is boosting electricity rates for its corporate clients. the utility says the rates will go up an average 17% beginning in april due to rising costs for thermal powered generation. tepco president attorneyio nishizawa said on tuesday that the hikes will affect business users with contracts for 50 kilowatts or more each. the company's fuel costs for thermal power generation are expected to climb by about $10 billion this fiscal year. that's because utility has shut down some nuclear plants for checkups after the fukushima accident last march. tepco says higher electricity bills are unavoidable because it's not clear when the operation of these nuclear plants will resume. they appear small and

simple, but these dolls play an important role. they give emotional support to people who lost family members in the march 11th disaster. the key is the doll's resemblance to the departed family member. the memento dolls, as they're called, are a gift from their artisan along with an mpo. >> reporter: these are the craftsmen who make the dolls in saitama, near tokyo. photos and letters from family members guide them. so far over 60 dolls have been sent to the disaster area. >> translator: we use color and shape to make the dolls resemble the individual as much as possible. >> reporter: ishinomaki city took the full force of the quake and tsunami.

here a memento doll arrives at the home of keiko monma. keiko's husband was a police officer. he was on duty when the disaster hit. >> translator: we are all waiting for you. i asked for the doll with the hope my husband would come back soon. i wanted a doll that looks just like him. >> reporter: while composing the features, the craftsmen imagine each person's character and appearance. >> translator: i keep looking at the photos and reading the letters, thinking about what

this person's life was like. memories of the departed always live on in the hearts of their family. i just hope that the doll provides them with some emotional support. >> reporter: 6-year-old kasumi abe and 4-year-old masayoshi lost their mother, but they have a doll. they live with their grandparents now. their grandmother ordered the doll. every day the kids greet it, and they express their feelings about their mom. their mother atsuko was not at home when the tsunami hit.

she was helping patients escape. their grandmother says it makes her sad towards the kids when they see other children with their mothers. >> translator: on the way to and from nursery school, he puts his hands on the car window. he says he's lonely because he doesn't have a mom. when he feels like that, i say, hold the doll. that really suits him. >> reporter: she tells the doll about her activities. >> translator: i told her i could jump rope today. she's probably listening. >> reporter: the children always chat with the doll at bedtime.

>> translator: touch iing the dl means a lot to them. they especially like to touch the hair because it's like their mother's. it's very comforting. >> reporter: memento dolls. they help survivors carry on. kiyo hayakawa, nhk world, saitama. the npo and craftsmen are collecting cash donations to cover the shipping costs. they hope to send as many dolls to surviving family members as possible. "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." emerging markets are growing markets and therefore the focus for many companies. japan's biggest automaker is one such company with an eye on southeast asia. ai uchida from the business team has more. >> toyota has specifically thailand in mind, catherine. the flood disaster there has done nothing to scare the automaker off of the country. toyota motors says it will invest about $260 million in to a new plant there. the japanese automaker is set on winning the markets of emerging countries in asia. toyota plans to build the new plant at its facility outside bangkok. the complex was not affected by the october floods. toyota also plans to resume production line at an assembly plant of a group firm by the end of this year. the new moves will boost toyota's annual production capacity in thailand by more than 100,000 units to 760,000

units. thailand is southeast asia's largest automobile market, although automakers suffered in the floods, new cars in the country are expected to top 1 million units for the first time this year. major u.s. banks posted mixed earnings for the october to december period. a higher exposure to europe has left many financial organizations with lower profits. citigroup said on tuesday that its net profit for the previous three months totaled nearly $1.2 billion. that marks a drop of 11% from a year earlier. the decline came as europe's credit problems dampened bond trading. the investment banking business also suffered due to sluggish corporate mergers and acquisition activities. jpmorgan chase's net profits also fell by 23% on the back of european debt woes. meanwhile, domestically focused wells fargo saw it fourth quarter profits surge 20% to

over $4 billion. that's as housing loans grew. the european union has begun legal procedures to urge hungary to review a new central bank law. the country's finances are worsening due to the european debt crisis. the hungarian parliament appr e approved a law last month that allows the government to appoint the vice president of the central bank. the legislation is part of prime minister viktor orban's reforms aimed at strengthening his government's grip on power. the european commission said on tuesday that the law violating eu regulations designed to protect the independence of central banks. the eu will take the case to europe's highest court. the european court of justice, if the hungarian government fails to comply. jose manuel barroso said the quicker the argument is resolved the better. >> we hoped that hungarian authorities will make the changes necessary to gain the

respect. this has not been the case so far. therefore, we have decided to begin proceedings. >> barroso will meet orban in brussels next tuesday to try and reach a compromise. tokyo stocks are moving in a narrow range this wednesday morning as investors stay wary of europe's debt problems. the nikkei is currently trading down by just 7 points, a loss of less than 0.1%. currently at 8458. the broader topix also down 0.20% at 730. concerns that the bailout fund may hamper the euro zone's efforts to contain the credit crisis. some players are holding back from active trading ahead of the upcoming negotiations between the greek government and financial institutions. they're to resume talks over debt reductions later in the day. and on the tokyo foreign exchange, investors are buying back the euro as concerns over

the region's debt crisis eased slightly this wednesday morning. this came on the heels of better-than-predicted data on germany's economic outlook. let's take a look at where the euro is trading this hour against the dollar, 1.2758 to 2763, against the yen it is fetching 97.90 to 95. sources say market concerns over euro zone nations' debts eased after spain's bond auction went smoothly on tuesday. a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the ten-year benchmark japanese government bond. shockwave from europe have caused one of the worst losses in history to japanese investors. they've lost about $120 billion of shares held in mutual funds in 2011. that is due to global falls in stock prices stemming from the credit crisis in europe. the investment trust association of japan says the balance of investment trust funds as of the end of december was over $600

billion. this was down about 11% from a year ago. and mashes the first decrease in three years. a sharp decline of shares held in mutual funds led to the large operational losseses in 2011. the association says the loss is the third largest in the country's history. the worst was recorded in 2008 after the collapse of lehman brothers. the second worst was in 1990 when the japanese bubble economy began to collapse. let's get you a recap of the latest market figures.

looks like a lackluster start to the asian trading day, catherine. we'll see where china opens next hour. >> thanks very much, ai. iran has rejected a u.s. warning letter that suggests retaliatory action if it closes the strait of hormuz. iran has threatened to shut down the gateway to the oil-rich persian gulf if western countries strengthen their sanctions against its oil exports. ali akbar velayati, an adviser of international affairs to the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei said that the letter from the u president contains no new information. a spokesperson said on tuesday that the letter did not have any contents that could lead to a new development, but he indicated that iran has a positive stance on the reopening of talks with the west over iran's nuclear program. the spokesperson also suggested

the country's willingness to cooperate with an inspection team from the international atomic energy agency that's preparing to visit iran's nuclear facility. meanwhile, the united states has asked south korea for cooperation on its new sanctions on iran's oil trade. u.s. state department special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control robert einhorn made the request when he met south korean senior officials in seoul on tuesday. einhorn's trip to south korea came after timothy geithner visited china and japan for similar purposes earlier this month. >> we're encouraging all our partners to begin consideration now of what they're prepared to do, but we're not trying to oppose any rigid deadlines on anybody. >> the south korean government issued a statement saying it agrees with the new u.s. sanctions and will do its best to cooperate, but senior officials did not specify a

numerical target for reducing oil imports from iran. the officials said the government is studying ways to cooperate with the u.s. while minimizing the negative impact on south korea's economy. an italian newspaper is reporting that the captain of a cruiseship that ran aground refused to go back to take charge of the rescue operation. the "costa concordia" carried more than 4,200 passengers and crew. the ship ran into a reef off the coast of tuscany on friday, then capsized. divers found five more bodies on tuesday, bringing the death toll to 11. the website of the corriere della sera newspaper has an audio recording of the captain and the coast guard. dependent fraesco schettino said he couldn't see anything because it was too dark outside and he refuses to return to his vessel. a coast guard official criticizes him for wanting to go home.

schettino's lawyer told the court that his client didn't forget about the passengers. he said schettino's actions saved hundreds if not thousands of lives. now let's take a look at the latest in sumo with murray johnson. >> day ten of the new year grand sumo tournament. boy, did we have a feast of action to show you, so let's get to it. tacky yashy was fighting the top rankers for the first time. harumafuji is doing well but needs to keep winning. a thrusting battle begins as b to make a mistake. harumafuji works his way inside and tries to press, but the 21-year-old digs in briefly. the ozeki asserts his superiority and moves the rank and filer back and out.

kotooshu and kit ta yakky. a strong outside grip. now he can pull a throw but settles on a patient approach to walk kitty tacky backwards. he defeated the ozeki the last time they met. if baruto wins here he will remain unbeaten after ten days. baruto slaps and gets the outside grip and a slick overarm throw to win in a blink. he looks very good. he is faring worst of the ozeki with four losses. he hasn't beaten his fellow ozeki in six matcheses. the shift and down goes kotoshogiku. not the most exciting sumo from kisenosato but a win. we kept the best for last. hakuho is undefeated after nine

days, and with a win he'll maintain a share of the lead with baruto. today he took on kak yur u. hakuho has never lost with 20 straight over the sekiwake. kakuryu thrusts and then gets him off balance. he wastes no time to keep hakuho on a mer rego round moving foard with a double inside grip, tippy toe on the rice bale. an upset. the sekiwake hands the yokozuna his first loss. something he's dreamed about has finally come true, beating the yokozuna. now here's the picture at the top after ten days. baruto finds himself in rare position leading with no losses. hakuho and kisenosato have one loss each.

we also have four rikishi with four losses. we'll be back to bring you the latest action and results. >> murray johnson there with the latest in sumo. it hasn't rained in tokyo for 34 days now. when's it going to rain? let's go to sake ya moriy for the weather picture. >> welcome back to your weather update. take a look at what's happening across china. widespread snow and rain showers are affecting much of the eastern portions. mountain areas may be seeing up to ten centimeters of snow in the next 24 hours. those wet conditions will likely continue here into next week. meanwhile, of of japan is experiencing dry weather. we have dry air advisories still in effect along the pacific side. but from tonight a trough of low

pressure will produce rain across kyushu and shikoku. we haven't had rain in more than a month. however, finally rain is in the forecast starting friday night into saturday. in terms of temperatures, today we expect 9 degrees but we'll slightly warm up tomorrow and return to normal afterward. depends on temperatures, we may see some snowflakes over the night time hours. now, as for temperatures for the rest of east asia, cooling down to minus 18 degrees in ulan bator with heavy snow. seoul is expected to be 6 degrees. the warm conditions will continue into next week. now, heading over to the americas, a train of low pressure systems has been bringing very strong winds as well as heavy snow to much of the northeast -- western portions, i should say. we have winter storm advisories in effect for much of the area,

the cascades and northern rockies may be seeing more than 45 centimeters of snow. again winds are very strong, so that will lead to blowing snow conditions and eventually dangerous driving conditions as well as low visibility. and the snow could intensify as we head into thursday. and there is another storm to watch out for. this low has been bringing heavy precipitation across most of the eastern regions. and to the south of this cold front, there's a threat of thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds and even tornadoes. as the system pushes on to the east, things will get calmer with the exception of florida as well as the eastern end of canada. returning to more seasonal weather in new york with 4 degrees expected and 10 degrees in atlanta. the rest of the areas are on the cooler side. minus 4 in vancouver, which is about 10 degrees lower than average. and 1 degree in seattle with

strong winds it would feel much colder than these actual numbers. finally, let's take a look at what's happening across europe. a high pressure system is bringing nice dry conditions for most of continental europe, but this low pressure system that's been bringing wet and gusty weather to the northern british isles, it is set to move eastward and affect entire portions of the uk, the scandinavian peninsula and areas from the baltic states all the way west to a northern front in the next 24 hours. temperature wise warmer in london with 13 degrees and 11 in paris still looking at the seasonal temperatures in moscow with minus 6 degrees and minus 5 in kiev. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

our lead stories this hour, the nuclear and industrial safety agency is taking steps toward regaining the confidence of the public. it's expected to make its first report during the day on stress tests at two reactors. operators hope this might lead

toward restarting halted plants. they'll still have to get approval from local municipalities. 49 of japan's 54 reactors are halted because of concerns they could be vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunami. the government ordered the computer simulated stress tests be carried out before the reactors could be restarted. the safety agency has received the results of 14 of them. experts will meet during the day to give their assessment of the tests for two reactors at the ohi nuclear plant in fukui prefecture in central japan. they're expected to conclude that the tests were appropriate. the operator kansai electric submitted a report that the reactors could withstand an earthquake 1.8 times the intensity and a tsunami 4 times the height of the estimated maximums for the area. the government of fukui prefecture has criticized the stress test saying they do not take account of the lessons of the accident at fukushima

daiichi. plans are under way to use an industrial endoscope to examine the inside of a damaged reactor at fukushima daiichi. operators say all reactors have cooled down. this will be the first opportunity to see the interior condition of a containment vessel since nuclear fuel melted down last march at the number one, two and three reactors. workers entered the number two reactor building on tuesday to drill a hole no the vessel wall where they'll insert the endoscope. the instrument can withstand high levels of radiation. spokespersons for tokyo electric power company say workers were exposed up to three millisieverts of radiation during the drilling process. 40 workers rehearsed the job at the plant's number five reactor to minimize their exposure. tepco spokespersons say the operation went smoothly. workers will insert the endoscope on thursday as scheduled.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. join us again.