sanctions leeway. the united states gives japan and ten european countries a pass on its boycott of iran. the u.s. government has exempted japan and ten other countries from its financial sanctions against iran. the u.s. says these nations have significantly reduced their imports of iranian crude oil. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton announced the didition in a statement tuesday. the statement says japan and ten european countries, including france and germany, will be exempted from the measure. the u.s. enacted a law last year that effectively bars financial

institutions from its domestic market if they do business with the iranian central bank. the move is aimed at blocking countries from importing crude oil from iran. japan imports nearly 10% of its oil from iran. it has been urging the u.s. to exempt japanese firms from the sanctions. a senior u.s. official says japan reduced its crude oil purchases from iran by 15% to 22% in the latter half of 2011, despite the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the official adds that japan understands the purpose of the u.s. law. japanese companies are having to adjust for the changes. ai uchida joins me with what is doing what. >> in order to avoid the u.s. financial sanctions january naez oil companies are voluntarily reducing crude oil imports from iran. the top wholesaler jx nippon oil

and energy plans not to extend its contract with iran beyond april. meanwhile, cosmo oil sharply lowered its quota when it renewed its contract with iran in january. to make up for the cuts the whole salers are boosting imports from saudi arabia, the you nated arab emirates and other oil producers. if the middle east situation worsens japan has about half a year's worth stock for domestic use which it plans to reduce to ease market jitters. let's get a check on how stocks are trading with ramin mellegard who is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. tokyo had a day off yesterday while the u.s. saw some of these developments in the issue of sanctions on iran. >> ai, very good morning to you. as you said there, the markets were closed yesterday, tuesday, but let's have a look at the opening levels here this wednesday morning for the nikkei and the topix. now, as you said, we're going to keep track of oil related stocks

especially after the u.s. said it's going to exempt japan and ten other countries from sanctions against iran. crude oil prices have also fallen. we did check wti, west texas intermediate crude prices were down about 2.3%, its biggest decline in around three months. also overnight the energy and industrial sectors were the biggest weight or saw a lot of selling there for the u.s. indexes as well, and also we're going to keep track of china related stocks here today, especially in the heavy industry sector following on from the story with the slowing growth in china, so stocks like komatsu and also trading houses like itobu. not necessarily because of the china story but also here during the session we're going to have the output for the steel industry, some of those figures coming out later today during the session, so that will be a focus. on the flipside, so though we

did see gains for the banks financial sectors and tech sector stocks we did see the likes of goldman sachs, morgan and morgan stanley trading higher and also we did track oracle which was up because it said that its profits rose about 18% due to stronger sales, so quite a lot of sectors there that we're going on it watching out for. ai? >> ramin, the yen's weakening trend appears to be continuing. what can you tell us there? >> definitely, major story there, the currency markets really helping a lot of the key blue chip exporters, we'll keep track of that. let's look at the levels as well today. the dollar and the euro rose against other commodity related currencies such as the australian dollar and also the yen still in a weakening trend there. you can see the dollar/yen 83.61-66 and the euro/yen upper 110 levels, 73-78, so really ai a lot of the major story there,

growth concerns in china, also oil-related stocks regarding the iran story as well, and the weakening trend for the yen, which has really been helping a lot of key export stocks. we'll keep track of that. for now the nikkei and the topix marginally lower this wednesday morning. back to you. >> thank you for the update, that was ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. the united states started building fewer new houses in february. the commerce department says housing starts fell 1% from the previous month. the figure stood at nearly 700,000 units in annual terms, that's lower than the market forecast. the decline is due to a fall of nearly 10% in the construction of single-family houses. by region, housing construction marked a huge drop of about 12% in the northeast, and a fall of nearly 6% in the west. but new building permits, which is a gauge of future

construction, that marked a rise of about 5%. tokyo stock markets are down. let's see how south korea's markets are doing. more business news for you next hour. back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. a magnitude 7.4 earthquake has hit mexico. tremors shook through the south at midday. there are no reports of casualties. officials with the u.s. geological survey say the quake occurred near the border of the states of guerrero and oaxaca.

initially they said the quake had a magnitude of 7.9. they later downgraded its scale. the guerrero state governor said the quake damaged about 500 houses. an employee of a hotel about 25 kilometers from theepicenter said she hadn't heard about anyone being hurt. officials with the pacific tsunami warning center? hawaii issued an advisory for a tsunami off the pacific coast but the threat has passed. asian leaders are lining up to increase the pressure on north korea. officials there plan to fire a rocket next month. regional powers are trying to agree on how to get them to stop the launch. north korean officials say they plan to fire the rocket between april 12th and the 16th. the first stage of the rocket is expected to fall into a 30 by

80-kilometer area in the yellow sea off south korea. the second section could fall into the pacific ocean some 130 kilometers off the philippines. >> we hope that the launch will not result in uncertainty and instability for the region and it is also our hope that the six-party talks can be convened so that the interest of all concerned can be addressed. >> the department of foreign affairs has reportedly instructed the philippine embassy in beijing on monday to convey its concerns to the north korean government. the united states has shown the media key equipment for its annual joint military exercise with south korea.

the drill already underway aims to enhance the ability in ground battles. nhk world's fumitaka sato has more from seoul. >> reporter: the u.s. forces on tuesday allowed media to observe the transportation of stryker armored vehicles. 36 units of the vehicle arrived at the southern port city of bhusan from hawaii. they will be sent to a u.s. base in south korea to take part in shooting exercises. >> the strykers being introduced in the korean peninsula for the first time. again, it speaks volume to our resolve and our partnership with the republic of korea and the united states alliance. >> reporter: tuesday's demonstration is widely viewed as an effort by the u.s. and south korea to highlight their unity ahead of the launch by

north korea. fumitaka sato, nhk world, seoul. u.n. delegates revisited an issue they've been ask ydiscuss for months, syria, but they can't agree on how to stop the fighting that's gone on for a year now. president bashar al assad's groups attacked deir al-zor. a human rights activists says the opposition free syrian army had to flee the city. large quantities of weapons are believed to have been smuggled into deir al-zor from anybody g i iraq. government forces have already taken the central city of homs and the northern city of idvid. the government has accepted a humanitarian fact-finding team and president assad agreed to

allow in experts who will discuss the formation of a group to monitor any cease-fire. still government troops show little sign of letting up in their attacks. russia has offered conditional support for a u.n. security council statement designed to end the crisis. foreign minister sergei lavrov made some of his toughest comments yet. the security council has been negotiating a statement to express its support for the mission of the u.n. and arab league special envoy kofi annan. the former u.n. secretary-general has been working to persuade syrian president bashar al assad to stop the crackdown on civilians. lavrov said russia is ready to endorse a statement and a legally binding resolution, cited two conditions, annan's proposals must be presented to the security council in written form and the u.n. must not present an ultimatum to the syrian government. russia has strong ties with the assad administration. the country has twice vetoed a

draft security council resolution condemning syria. lavrov's announcement is seen as an attempt by russia to avoid international criticism by distancing it self from the assad administration. a series of car bombs in cities across iraq killed at least 42 people on tuesday. march 20th marks the ninth anniversary of the start of the iraq war. in the northern city of kirkuk, a car exploded near the entrance to police headquarters. local police say 12 officers were killed and more than 40 injured. explosions also occurred within hours of each other in baghdad and other cities. the iraqi government suspects the explosions were carried out by an extremist group ahead of next week's arab league summit in baghdad. the first to be held in the country in 22 years. the government has been strengthening security in

preparation for the summit. but terrorist attacks targeting government security organizations had been on the increase since u.s. troops pulled out of the country in december. the u.s. soldier accused of a shooting rampage in afghanistan has told his lawyers that he remembers little of the incident. the defense team argues that he was under severe stress after a colleague was seriously wounded one day earlier. the army staff sergeant shot and killed 16 civilians including women and children in the southern province of kandahar on the 11th of this month. the soldier's defense lawyers met him for the first time on monday at a military base in the u.s. state of kansas where he's being detained. after the interview, the lawyer said their client has memories before and after the incident but very little in between. they quoted him as saying he was not intoxicated at the time of the shooting. the defense team suggested their client may have been of unsound

mind at the time. his colleagues say he was a model soldier and had commendations for good conduct, but his family says he was unhappy at being sent to afghanistan following three tours of duty in iraq. myanmar has agreed to allow observers from southeast independent elections. the parliamentary and regional progress of the country democratization. the elections will be held on april 1st. pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi is running for a seat in parliament. myanmar's government says it will accept a 30-member observer team of lawmakers and journalists from asean nations. they're expected to arrive in yangon march 28th.

they hope that the decision will lead to an easing of economic tensions. the political party led by aung san suu kyi said there are problems with the election campaign. it says fictitious names are being added to voter lists and candidates' posters are being torn up. tuesday marked the 17th anniversary of a deadly sarin gas attack on tokyo's metro system. the incident left 13 people dead and sickened about 6,300 others. members of the aum shinrikyo toxic gas inside subway trains during the morning rush hour. a memorial service was held at tokyo's kasumigaseki station. families of the victims and other participants, including

transport minister takeshi maeda, offered flowers. >> translator: i offer flowers every year in the hope that people's memory do not fade away. >> japan's supreme court has finalized death sentences for 13 members of the cult for the sarin attack and other crime japanese astronaut akihiko hoshide is hard at work at nasa's johnson space center in texas. he's preparing for a long stay in outer space. hoshide will shed to the international space station this summer aboard the russian spacecraft soyuz for a five-month mission. hoshide's training includes remote operation of the space station's roboc arm. during the mission, hoshide is also expected to look into the possible effects of cosmic radiation and zero gravity.

>> translator: my mission will involve conducting experiments during several months in space. i'm excited. >> hoshide stayed on the space station for eight days in 2008. people who used to live around fukushima daiichi woke up today far from home. they were forced to leave after the disaster at the plant. >> reporter: they want to go home but not like this. government allowed them to go back in their house ten kilometers from fukushima daiichi, but they had to wear protective gear. and they could only stay for a few hours.

>> my heart is thumping. i hope there is nothing wrong with my home. >> reporter: shiga was born in namir. he grew up in namir. he and his wife built their home there, had two kids together. they saw their grandson every weekend. they thought they'd live in namir until they died. the nuclear accident changed everything. they spent four months in an evacuation center. they wrote down their feelings in a diary. >> translator: my wife, maybe from distress, is not feeling well. >> reporter: now the couple rents an apament in shirakawa city, about 70 kilometers way. the more time they spend there, the more they want to return home.

>> translator: i was so stressed. why can't we just go home? >> reporter: it will take at least two years before their house is safe from radiation. the shiga say they want to move back now. shoihi wants to visit his mother's grave, which is steps away. >> translator: i want to pray there. i couldn't on the anniversary of her death and i feel so sorry. >> reporter: their house showed signs of neglect. the floors were littered with their belongings. furniture was scattered around. still, they felt at home.

>> translator: i can't leave my home as it is. i have good memories of raising my family there. >> reporter: shiga was able to pray at his mother's grave. >> translator: i want to be as close as i can to my mother's grave. i visited her grave just after the anniversary of her death. that's when the feeling of wanting to return home became even stronger. >> reporter: like the shigas, many elderly people want to get back to what's familiar, but they are torn by their desire to go home and the sense that may never happen. hiroka yajima, nhk world. we take a look at the world weather forecast now sayak

sayaka mori. spring officially started yesterday but still feeling chilly this morning in tokyo. let's see what is in store for today. >> that's right, catherine. it's late march, but temperatures are still a few degrees below average, but we are expecting temperatures to rise from tomorrow. take a look at the extended forecast in tokyo. today 11 degrees so cooler than average but will warm up to 16 degrees on thursday. despite the rain on friday and saturday, temperatures will remain in the mid teens, so that's quite good news. so we have those temperatures definitely something we are looking forward to. weather wise, the southern half of japan will stay largely dry. conditions for the rest of japan will get eased this afternoon. meanwhile unsettled conditions will spread across the central and southern parts of china. rain will turn severe across,

along the yangtze river, saturday rain in cambodia as well as southern vietnam but more of a concern is going to be the philippines, widespread scattered showers, about 200 mill miters of rain has already fallen, but more rain will be coming down so the risk of flooding is exceptional -- is extremely high here, and heavy rain will also spread to luzon on thursday. temperature wise getting up to 32 degrees in manila, and a few degrees cooler than average in hong kong with 20 degrees, and 24 degrees in chongqing, slightly warmer than yesterday in seoul with 11 degrees. heading over to the americas, we can see tapering clouds over the southern u.s. underneath the clouds, lots of things are going on. there will be a slight risk of severe thunderstorms, large hail, and damaging winds in parts of arkansas and louisiana, and actually a couple of

tornadoes touched down in louisiana, an additional 130 millimeters of rain is expected in the next 24 hours here, and that could be more of the monthly rainfall in march, so the rainfall could be significant here, because it's moving very slowly, the rest of the areas will also see heavy rain. flood watches as well as warnings have been widely posted from missouri into texas. out towards the west, there is another storm to watch out for, because temperatures are on the chilly side, mountain areas are experiencing heavy snow, an additional 45 centimeters of snow is expected across the cascades over the next 24 hours. the other main story is going to be the exceptional warmth in the east. look at this, 29 degrees in chicago, and 25 degrees in toronto, and remaining very warm in d.c. with 24 degrees. heading over to europe then, mostly dry across the continent,

but the exceptions are going to be southern france as well as eastern spain, this low pressure system will continue to bring gusty winds and heavy snow as well as rain here. up towards the north, windy conditions in norway will ntinue throughout wednesday. lots of double digits across the continent looking at 16 degrees in berlin, and 18 degrees in vienna, and getting up to 9 degrees in kiev. all right, that's it from me now and here is your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, the u.s. government has exempted japan and ten other countries from its financial sanctions against iran. the u.s. says these nations have significantly reduced their imports of iranian crude oil. u.s. secretary of state hillary clant announced the decision

in a statement tuesday. the statement says japan and ten european countries, including france and germany, will be exempted from the measure. the u.s. enacted a law last year that effectively bars financial institutions from its domestic market if they do business with the iranian central bank. the move is aimed at blocking countries from importing crude oil from iran. japan imports nearly 10% of its oil from iran. it has been urging the u.s. to exempt japanese firms from the sanctions. a senior u.s. official says japan reduced its crude oil purchases from iran by 50% to 22% in the latter half of 2011, despite the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the official adds that japan understands the purpose of the u.s. law. a magnitude 7.4 earthquake has hit mexico. tremors shook through the south at midday. there are no reports of casualties. officials with the u.s.

geological survey say the quake occurred near the border of the states of guerrero and oaxaca. east of the resort city of acapulco. the focus was 20 kilometers deep. initially they said the quake had a magnitude of 7.9. they later downgraded its scale. the guerrero state governor said the quake damaged about 500 houses. an employee of a hotel about 25 kilometers from the epicenter said she hadn't heard about anyone being hurt. officials with the pacific tsunami warning center in hawaii at one point issued an advise for a tsunami off the pacific coast but the threat of tsunami has passed. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.