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ceive treatmt fog arrested or e in hospitals. meocto havet up secret clinics t eaprrtsy security forces. the doctorsuseptey constantly change locations to avoid being found. utestes is sg the support of european and arab league countries f i pic agnssya. the move comes after russia and china vetoed a u.n. security unl resolution on saturday, calling on syria tongutioncagns its citizens. since the security unl vote, the syrian government has ex-lated its attacks. the u.s. has given up on seeking cooperation fromusand china. it now plans to impose additional sanctions on syriaan cotries and the arab league. the u.s. has aoeg tks with turkey, which recently imposed its own economic ry >> it's going to involve first

d restorng with as many countries as we can to strengtheniol sanctions, strengthen unilateral sanctions against the assad regime. >> the european unions coidering tougher sanctions against syria. it's also working on an evuaonla f citizens of eu member states in case the tu worsens. a senior eu officialayhe organization has begun preparing for a worst case scenario in icforsomunr re tea the official says the ould evacuate the foreigners to igorg rdnd lebanon.it plans to embassy personnel in those countries. britain and france have recalled their ambassadors from syria. the official says the eu will inintsffe syria for the time being, but that it's considering stepping up sanctions. the sanctns could include freezingsss hd by syria's central bank and aaral

suenonf transactions by the bank. the ils considering cancelling passenger flights to and from the country. japanese manufacturers are movingacri overseas. ai uchida joins us now with the latest in businessne. ai, companies are trying to survive the tough economic tis. >>abluly. and not just any company, japan's biggest car cpa. totaot i taking action to survive the continued strong yen. e tokennnced that it will move production of a sports utility vehicle from jano e s. toyota will transferroctn of its hybrid and nonhybrid ghnd models to plant in indiana in the second half of 2013. theodels currently made at a plant inukka which is in west southwestern japan. toyota also unveiled a pno export the highlander produced at the indiana pnto russia and australia, also starting in the latter half of 2013. the aomaker is now positioning

north america as an export hub as a w tovercome the negative impact of the strong yen. toyota is also eyeing emerging markets. eomnyayy 2014, it will double production capacity in indonesia, which is the largest car maet i southeast asia. toyota vice president yukitos funo made the announcement at a news conference in jakarta on wednesday. toyota already makes 110,000 cars per year at plant in th suburbs of jakarta. a new fto nrb currently under construction has a target output of 120,000 units a year, much higher than the original goal of ,0. this is all in two year's time. indonesia's auto market is booming. new car sales reached 0,0 last year, overtaking thailand as southeast asia's largest market. many automakers in the country aim to increase their market she bstg odti.

that's despite growing labor disputes and demands for more pay. simply -- excuse me, simply, mitsubishi motors says it will op making cars in the netherlands. this means the automakers ending production in europe. factory workers are protesting the move. about 1,000 workers, or abt 3 ohe plant's workforce demonstrated at the site on tuesday to urge the company to keep the factory open. the japanese carkennnc on monday that it will halt manufacturing at its plant in the country at the end of this year due to dim outlook for the european market. the factory is mitsubishi's only production facility in europe. all in all, the strong yen will likely leaig dent in japanese automakers' profits for the year through march. seven major carmakers have released theirarng f the previous quarter. the reports say that the companies will likely see a combined drop of about $10

billion in their orang pritorhente siss year. toyota expects to see a decline of $4 billion. nissan $2 bli o more, and honda over $1.6 billion. to cope with the continued strong yen, the auto firre stepping up production and parts procurement overseas. the issue ahead for the japanese auto sector is whether such asesilbeufcit boost their profits. eurozone finance ministers have decided to hold an emergency conferee on thursday to discuss greece's debt problems. at the meeting, ministers are believed to urgreece t make a final decision as soon as possible. the decision came after greek prime minister lucas papademos met with ruling coalition leaders on whether to accept an austerity plan. fiscal reform is a precondition for receiving financial aid. that's to avoid defaulting on paying back holders of

government bonds next month. the conditions include reducing pension benefits as well as the number of public workers. eu diplomatic sources have also said that they have heard about progress being made in the talks on the greek problems, but it remains unclear if the country will fully agree to the terms of the rescue package. numbers in this morning from japan. machinery orders fell in december. that's for the first time in two months. the cabinet office says major machinery makers received about $9.5 billion worth of domestic orders. that's down about 7% in yen terms from november. the figure excludes volatile orders of ships and power plants. orders from manufacturers decreased 7%. nonmanufacturer orders also decreased 6%. large declines were seen in nonferrous metal, transport machinery, and paper and pulp. looking at 2011 as a whole,

orders grew just under 8% from a year earlier to about $115 billion. tokyo share prices are slightly lower. investors are selling. the nikkei average is trading lower by 58 points currently. a loss of 2/3 of a percent at 8,957. the broader topix also down 4/10 of a percent. sources say investors are taking profits as the nikkei recovered to the 9,000 level on wednesday for the first time in three months. selling pressure also continues amid concern over whether greece can receive additional bailouts. the dollar is moving in a narrow range against the yen as market players are watching the outcome of the emergency meeting of the eurozone finance ministers this thursday. the greenback now trading at 77.13-18 against the yen. the euro trading against the yen at 102.10-13.

here is a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. let's also take a look at other markets open at this hour. >> we'll see how chinese markets open next hour. back to catherine now. >> thank you very much, ai. japan's atomic watchdog is set to clear the way for restarting some of its idled reactors. the nuclear and industrial safety agency is preparing to approve tests on two reactors in

central japan. the agency says a panel of experts has agreed to complete its evaluation of computer-simulated stress tests at the ohi nuclear plant. the government ordered the test on suspended reactors last july. government officials need to win the consent of municipalities hosting the plants. some panel members say the tests were only simulations, and they say such checks should not be used to restart the reactors. the agency decided to end the debate by accepting to take full responsibility for the tests. members say sufficient safety measures have been taken with regard to earthquakes and tsunami as powerful as those that hfukushima daiichi plant. nhk surveyed leaders in 29 of the municipalities, excluding those in fukushima prefecture. 51 of japan's 54 nuclear reactors are currently out of

operation. municipalities would have to give approval before they're restarted. five of them, or 17% said they would give the go ahead for the reactors to resume operation. leaders in 21 others, or 72% said they wouldn't, or said they can't decide. those that expressed caution said that they cannot be sure whether the reactors are really safe. they cited the difficulty of persuading residents while the government has yet to decide on its nuclear policy. nhk asked what is needed besides stress tests to restart the nuclear reactors. nearly half stressed a satisfactory investigation into the accident at the fukushima daiichi plant and the understanding of local residents. more than a third of municipalities cited new government safety regulations. local leaders said they're concerned about safety, and demanded more government accountability.

tokyo electric power company says it has successfully lowered the temperature inside the number 2 reactor at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. tepco had been struggling to deal with rising temperatures inside the reactor. a thermometer on the bottom of the reactor read 45 degrees celsius on january 27th, but rose to over 70 degrees on sunday. the cause is unknown, and two other thermometers inside the reactor registered little change. tepco said it began pumping more water into the plant on tuesday. it boosted the rate of injection to 13.5 tons per hour. the company says that the internal temperature at 5:00 a.m. wednesday had dropped 5.5 degrees from a day earlier. the current rate of injection is the highest since just after the crisis began last march. tepco says the temperature inside the reactor later rose slightly, but is still dropping overall.

the utility cannot determine the precise situation inside the reactor or the cause of the temperature rise. it says it plans to maintain the current rate of water injection. "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." leaders from japan and the united states are trying to strike a balance between regional security and sensitivity to local concerns. they've agreed to change the terms of a bilateral agreement. the 2006 deal is essentially a blueprint outlining the future deployment of u.s. troops in

okinawa. right now 3/4 of american forces stationed in japan are based in the southern island prefecture. the current plan calls for thousands of u.s. marines to be shipped out to guam, but only once the futenma air station is moved from a densely populated area on okinawa's main island to a less populated location. many locals are opposed to the plan because they want the futenma base moved out of okinawa entirely. that's prompted the u.s. and japan to change their agreement. the marines will be transferred first as details of the futenma relocation are worked out. >> translator: i instructed the foreign and defense ministers to conduct sincere discussions with the u.s. to maintain the deterrence, but alleviate the burden on the people of okinawa. >> as noda mentioned, japan and the u.s. remain committed to reducing the impact of u.s. forces on the people of okinawa. still, the two countries also

made it clear the united states will keep about 10,000 marines in okinawa to maintain deterrence so what is behind the latest agreement? it appears that japan and the united states have found it mutually beneficial to separate the issues of transferring the u.s. marines and relocating the marine base in okinawa. the obama administration has been under pressure from congress to cut spending. it wants swift congressional approval of funding for the transfer through cost-cutting, as well as faster realignment of the marines in the asia-pacific region. congress enacted defense authorization legislation at the end of last year. but it froze the budget requested by the administration to transfer 8,000 u.s. marines in okinawa to guam. japan believes that a transfer of the u.s. marines to guam would give it a tangible result in reducing the u.s. military burden on okinawa, considering that the relocation of the futenma station has been stalled.

the japanese government hopes that the latest agreement will win local support for moving the futenma station within okinawa. however, some people fear that the agreement may lead to a further delay in the relocation of the futenma air station, or worse, lead to the station remaining in the present place indefinitely. okinawa governor hirokazu nakaima has once again called for the u.s. to move it out of his prefecture. >> translator: it is the world's most dangerous base. so why should it be kept there? that means the lyes of property of okinawans will not be protected. we can't accept such ridiculous logic. in other news, several japanese self-defense fighter jets were scrambled early wednesday after russian military aircraft were spotted near japan's airspace. the russian aircraft remained in the area for 12 hours. japan's defense ministry says

two russian tu-95 bombers and an a-50 surveillance jet approached western japan over the sanin region on wednesday morning. japanese fighter jets immediately took off and tracked them. the two bombers stay new year's day the japanese archipelago for 12 hours while the a-50 circled off okinawa for nine hours. the a-50 is equipped with an early airborne warning and control system. at around midday, another two su-24 surveillance planes approached japanese airspace between hokuriku and hokkaido in northern japan. they stay over the sea of japan for several hours. none of the planes intruded into japanese airspace, but the ministry says it's unusual for russian military aircraft to fly in such numbers so close to the country. the ministry says it's the first time russian planes equipped with early warning systems have been spotted near japan.

it says the russian air force may have been conducting sophisticated surveillance drills. next, let's go to bangkok to find out what is making headlines in the region. >> thailand has begun a crackdown on the prison drugs trade. some of the most hardened dealers were transferred to a new maximum security jail on wednesday. thailand is known to be a major drug trafficking route, and the problem even extends behind bars. the first batch of 45 drug criminals was transferred from riong prison to the newly built prison. it includes prisoners who built drugs even while behind bars. the new facility is in an isolated location 160 kilometers south of bangkok. it's the first of its kind in thailand, a special security system that jams 90% of mobile

phone signals. the authorities hope the system will stop the trade in drugs. impromptu raids are currently taking place at prisons across the kingdom. guards have confiscated many elicit items, including drugs and potential weapons. the ministry of justice says drug crimes amongst inmates have doubled in the past decade. china is increasingly assertive behavior in the south china sea was a point of discussion in washington, d.c. on tuesday. senior defense officials told a congressional hearing that the u.s. should continue to provide military support to its ally, the philippines, which is in a territorial dispute with china. assistant secretary of state kurt campbell testified at a house foreign affairs committee hearing on u.s.-philippine relations. campbell implied concern over chinese activity in the region

where china and the philippines both claim sovereignty of disputed islands. >> we support a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants for resolving the various disputes without coercion. >> meanwhile, the committee heard that a u.s. cutter sold to the philippines last year had completed its first patrol. a senior defense official stressed the need to further support the philippines with sales of military hardware to secure freedom of navigation in the south china sea. the u.s. is reportedly planning to base more ships in the philippines to increase its influence over the asia-pacific region and keep china in check. pakistan's president has told iran that his country is committed to pushing ahead with a gas pipeline between the two countries, despite opposition from the united states.

nhk world's hideki reports from islamabad. >> reporter: president asif ali zardari met with visiting iranian vice president. to help counter serious energy shortage and surging demand for power. the iranian vice president said iran has already laid pipes on its side of the border. he expressed the hope that construction would start on the pakistani side soon. the united states is pressuring pakistan to give up iranian natural gas imports. it's part of the obama administration's strategy of trying to isolate iran, which it accuses of seeking nuclear weapons. but zardari's comments indicate

that pakistan intends to step up energy cooperation with iran. observers say it may further strain the already sour relationship between the united states and the pakistan. hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. >> and that wraps up our bull on the in bangkok. >> all right. blue skies over tokyo. but residents are still having to bundle up. sayaka mori has the weather picture for here and elsewhere. >> hello. time now for your weather update. let's begin with east asia. a large high pressure system is dominating much of china, bringing dry conditions. but snowshowers will remain in the inland sections throughout today. and across southern china, it's mostly dry at the moment. but showers will develop in the next 24 hours. and across japan, cold air

continues to sweep in to the country, bringing sea-effect snow on the western side. we are expecting an additional 60 centimeters in northern japan, and 70 in niigata prefecture. and winds are picking up. so that is causing blowing snow conditions. the risk of avalanches and falling snow are extremely high here. as for the rest of the area, snow in western portions will remain into -- throughout today, an additional 40 centimeters are possible. but that will ease over the course of today. so that's good news. as for the tokyo area, it will stay largely dry and highs will be rising to 7 degrees. but still 3 degrees lower than the average. in seoul, remainin below the freezing mark, minus 1 degrees expected. and 9 in chongqing and 15 in hong kong. and bangkok will be coming at 34 degrees with thundershowers. moving on to europe, another cold day. this is the system that is

continuously bringing frigid air to much of the continent. and it's going to stay here for a ile. so the biting cold conditions will remain in europe throughout the week. and down towards the south, a couple of systems are still bringing stormy weather to the eastern mediterranean countries. that includes severe thunderstorms, a lot of precipitation as well as gusty winds. i want to show you some video coming out of turkey, because it's been severely affected by continuous snow, as well as heavy storms. in several provinces, heavy snow has brought daily life to a stand still. turkish airlines canceled 70 flights out of the capital, istanbul, due to the severe weather conditions. the black sea region has been experiencing strong winds and very rough seas. but unfortunately, the stormy conditions will remain in turkey throughout thursday, and snow could become heavy at times.

but from friday, things will improve, and we are expecting sunny skies over the weekend. so that's good news here. to the north, it's largely dry, but an area of snow will be moving into the alpine region on thursday. and out towards the west, rain in scotland will move towards the south, and the southwestern corner of the uk will see some measurable snow. temperatures are looking like this. returning to above the freezing mark in paris with 1, but still much colder than average. and minus 3 in berlin. minus 4 in stockholm, and minus 14 degrees expected in moscow, which is about 10 degrees lower than average. all right. i will leave you now with your extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline."

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do join us again.