investigators took in positive data in the u.s., keeping a close watch on eurozone debt issues. dow-jones fell 0.1% to 13,060. nasdaq was up to 3,080. let's see how stocks are kicking off in tokyo. we're going to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. mixed signals for the region, but caution ahead for key job numbers in the u.s. today. >> yes, exactly so, ai. markets look to have factored in some of the bad news regarding eurozone debt problems, despite some relatively positive data out of the u.s. we did have the weekly jobless claim numbers yesterday showing further gains, and again, that means less people filing for unemployment benefits in the u.s. the u.s. is going to have public holiday later today, but the

labor department is still coming out with key jobs numbers. we'll see how that effects markets. let's look at the opening levels for this friday morning in japan. nikkei and topix trading lower as you see. nikkei has been capped in recent sessions, is below 10,000 level the third day in a row, dropped around 340 points since tuesday, largely due to concerns about a slow down in the pace of u.s. economic recovery, weaker growth in china, and also the reemergence as we mentioned earlier about eurozone debt issues, following the spanish bond auction a couple of days ago. the nikkei may trade in a little bit of a narrow range ahead of those key job numbers today, and that is likely expected to show further job creation for the world's largest economy. ai? >> ramin, what about the currency market. the yen has been strong all

week. reached the highest level in a month in london trading yesterday. how's it looking this morning? >> let's look at some of the currency levels there. a little yen strength, and that's playing into the levels 82.18-20 dollar/yen. euro, 137, trading 1.10 a few days ago. the weakness in the yen may be a focus. we have earnings next week in the u.s., and later in april in japan. and generally we have seen a reversal of yen strength from last year, despite moves that we've seen this week, so that may actually be favorable for a lot of japanese companies' bottom lines when they come to calculate their earnings for the previous, last quarter. so that may be a little bit favorable, despite the relative

strength that wave seen in the yen or call it a bit of a pull back just this week on concerns of eurozone debt and china growth as well. we'll see how it plays out today. for now, nikkei and topix trading a little lower. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that, ramin. as ramin told us, nikkei, back in 9600 territory. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. let's look at some other markets now. >> that's the latest in business news. back to catherine.

yoshihiko noda had intense discussions with three cabinet ministers about restarting nuclear reactors in japan. one of the country's 54 reactors is running. noda and his ministers approved a draft of stricter safety standards for nuclear plants. meeting these standards would be a precondition for restarting reactors. >> we'll be brief about the safety standards, then we'll have thorough discussions. >> it is the second meeting noda and the three ministers had on this issue. they were briefed on the draft standards. including steps to secure power sources in emergencies and make nuclear plants tsunami proof. the prime minister told edano ahead of the decision to restart two of the reactors in fukui prefecture.

he and the ministers will meet again friday. chief cabinet secretaries the new safety standards would also be applied to decide whether other reactors should resume operations. >> translator: the plan standards would not be temporary, but new criteria. there would be a major index in deciding whether to restart a reactor. we might consider making them legislation eventually. nuclear power used to provide japan with a third of its electricity. before last year's accident at fukushima daiichi, 37 of the country's 54 nuclear reactors were running, but since then, none of the reactors that's gone offline for regular maintenance has started. the last working reactor will be shut down by early may. the unit is on the northern island of hokkaido. nuclear authorities started running stress tests on reactors following the fukushima crisis.

the safety tests forecast how reactors could withstand powerful earthquakes and towering tsunami. they're a prerequisite for restarting the units. members of the nuclear safety commission endorsed the first set of results in march. they came from the two reactors at the plant. officials are demanding the government come up with stricter safety standards before firing up the reactors again. they say they should reflect the lessons learned from the fukushima situation. japan's leaders are expected to work out a new energy policy. the accident raised concerns about atomic energy as a key source of power in the country. government experts are submitting a proposal in may. have yet to agree what role, if any, nuclear will play. we have more insight on this issue from our reporter. >> the debate over this country's energy policy started

soon after last year's disaster. last october, the government set up a committee on energy policy. committee members focus attention on the role nuclear power should play in japan's portfolio. they picked out different positions on the issue. for example, this is an engineer that used to work in the nuclear power industry. now he is an opponent of atomic energy. >> translator: nuclear plants make radioactive waste, something we can't deal with, and it is impossible to reduce risk of accident to zero. i believe it is unacceptable from an ethical point of view. >> now listen to this professor, president of the atomic energy society of japan.

>> translator: nuclear plants generate a stable supply of energy, and costs of nuclear fuel and electricity are relatively low. they also pose few problems in terms of global warming and would allow japan to contribute to the world with its expertise in the nuclear field. >> officials with ministry of economy, trade and industry used that to outline five scenarios what the power situation could look like in 2030. nuclear power ratios ranging from zero to 35%. first proposal is different. says governments do not define japan's energy portfolio. instead, use this to figure out the type of power they generate based on choices of consumers. several committee members

criticize the way these scenarios are compiled. >> energy policy should include not just the snapshot on 2030 but also 2040, 2050. we have to draw out some options which show the long term vision of the energy policy, that we should make more qualitative options. what kind of policy do we have to change, what kind of new technology we have to develop. >> he and other committee members say the debate's current framework is warped. for example, two members could oppose the policy of nuclear energy of 20% in 2030, but after that, one of them might expect a gradual reduction to zero, while the other could push to maintain or even increase the proportion in the long term. they say instead of focusing on

simple figures, the committee should discuss broader issues that will shape the future of japanese society. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming challenges of the 2011 disaster, but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time, here on "newsline." the u.n. security council to meet the deadline of pulling troops out of population centers by april 10th. >> the agenda is adopted. >> the council adopted a presidential statement tuesday which calls on the syrian government to withdraw troops and halt the use of heavy artillery by april 10th. it calls on the government military and rebel army to cease

all violence by 6:00 a.m. local time by april 12th. kofi annan spoke to the u.n. general assembly in geneva and said the assad government informed him of partial troop withdrawals from three cities. >> the violence in syria cannot be addressed through the means of a traditional mission. what we would need on the ground is a small, nimble, united nations presence. it would need to be deployed quickly with a broad and flexible mandate. >> annan also said that an advanced team has already arrived in syria to prepare to monitor the truce. syrian troops continue to fight, prompting speculation that the president is trying to crush rebel forces ahead of the u.n. brokered deadline for ceasefire.

unconfirmed reports indicate the military crackdown is still going on. a human rights group in syria says continued fighting claimed more than 100 lives in the past two days. in northern cities, an increasing number of syrians are fleeing across the boardeborder. the turkish government accepted over 1600 syrians in the last two days. a human rights activist told nhk that the as add administration appears to be dealing a critical blow to rebel forces before the truce deadline. the activist speculated the crackdown could intensify further. next, we go to bangkok to find out what's making headlines. he visited wednesday to seek a break through. obama administration specifically wants pakistan to

reopen supply routes to afghanistan. here is a report. >> i bring a consistent message for the pakistani people. we greatly appreciate your support and sacrifice. >> amid anti-american sent meant in pakistan, visiting u.s. secretary of state expressed gratitude for pakistan's cooperation in the fight against terrorism. the u.s. pakistan relationship when nato forces killed dozens of pakistani soldiers in an air raid. pakistan retal rated closing routes supporting international forces in afghanistan. he asked the pakistani prime minister to reopen the routes. he replied that the matter is under discussion by parliament, and no decision has been made.

the visit of such a high level official indicates a strong message washington wants to send to pakistani lawmakers. but the dominant parliament seems to be the routes should remain closed until the u.s. stops attacks by unmanned aircraft over pakistani territory. parliament is backed by anti-american public opinion on the other hand, u.s. is making efforts to mend bilateral ties. the administration finds itself in increasingly difficult. the booming economy should mean greater opportunity for all. many parents in indonesia's poorest province are pulling their children out of school. to fix it, one school is fixing the curriculum to meet specific

local needs. this school opened in 2007 with the aim of fighting illiteracy in indonesia's poorest province. 54 children are enrolled, armed with speers and bows, five and six-year-olds learn to hunt and defend themselves as part of preschool education. the school teacher's pupils, basic reading and mathematics, also wants to reflect traditions of local culture. the curriculum is specifically designed for children in a province where fishing and hunting for wild boar are useful skills. in the past, some children pulled their children out of school. they said the old education was irrelevant. >> translator: i hope the local authorities and central government pay more attention to our village school. it plays a very important role

in our children's education. >> the school has been popular with both children and parents. one reason is its convenient location near where they live. another because the education is free. the indonesian bureau of statistics gives them the lowest literacy rate in indonesia. this new type of education hopes to encourage more kids to stay on in school, leading to greater prosperity for all. that wraps up our bulletin. all right. the weather is on people's minds in japan. let's go to the forecast. >> good morning. the good news, we expect dry conditions on both saturday and sunday. however, there's a slight chance of showers on saturday afternoon, and as for temperatures, it will be on the

chilly side, only 12 degrees on saturday, and 13 degrees on sunday, and it is going to be a bit breezy on saturday, so it is a good idea to bring your jacket, catherine. now, the cold air is starting to effect much of the west coast and northern japan, producing a wintry mix. that will change over to snow. up to 40 centimeters of snow is expected in the next 24 hours across much of the northwestern portion of japan. so spring is really taking time to arrive across this area. meanwhile, heavy thundershowers and strong winds are continuing in indochina and south coast of china. up to 100 millimeters of rain in the next 24 hours. 22 degrees in hong kong. rain continues into tomorrow. 22 in taipei, and cooling to single digits in seoul with 9

degrees. tokyo, cooling down by about 6 degrees. heading to the americas, severe thunderstorms are still pounding across much of the southeastern u.s., including augusta, where the masters golf tournament is taking place. the threat of severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds and tornados will continue overnight. but by friday morning, evening i should say, the system will move out to sea. we're expecting dry conditions over the weekend. out towards the west, there's a slow moving winter storm producing lots of heavy snow across, particularly montana, saskatchew saskatchewan, northern alberta. blizzard warnings posted for much of montana and warnings will be in effect into saturday morning. so until then upwards of 60 centimeters of snow is expected

here. but back behind it getting dryer in seattle with a high of 12 degrees, and out towards the east, returning to more seasonal levels in new york with 15 degrees and 14 in washington, d.c. down towards the south, coming in at 32 in miami. finally, let's go over to europe. unstable weather is still continuing across much of the southern continent. those stormy conditions will likely continue over the weekend. however, the iberian peninsula will see dry conditions on saturday. up towards the north, a line of wintry mix is sagging southward, and the lowcountry, northern germany into northwestern russia in the next 24 hours. as the system moves in, temperatures will drop significantly, cooling to 2 degrees in stockholm. berlin, friday, high of 10, cooling to single digits on saturday, and warsaw, 8 degrees on friday.

but we are expecting snow showers on sunday. here is your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour. north korea is expected to proceed with a rocket launch

against the wishes of the international community. a recent satellite photo of the launch pad indicates that preparations for liftoff sometime between april 12th and 16th are on schedule. the image shows the launching facility in the northwestern part of the country. a u.s. satellite imagingompany took the photo on the morning of march 31st. on the right side of the screen is a photo taken two days earlier. the latest image shows additional vehicles on the launch pad. a british military data magazine says more vehicles can also be seen near what is likely to be a rocket fueling system. we leave you now with a picture of the beautiful cherry blossoms outside our studio in central tokyo. just breathtaking. people are hoping for the good weather to continue so they can picnic under the cherry trees. the pink blossoms are expected

to be in full bloom this weekend. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. -- captions by vitac --@