power play. government leaders in japan wrestle with whether to restart a nuclear plant and how to drive the country. people across japan are feeling the heat. they're worried about a power crunch as they head into summer. all nuclear plants in the country are offline. government leaders say they hope to restart one in western japan as early as next week. but first they need to win the approval of the municipalities around it. yoshihiko noda met with his cabinet ministers in charge of nuclear issues.

fujimura, edino, and hosano. near the ohi plant support the restart though with reservations. leaders of ohi town where the plant is located are still undecided. >> translator: in the end, i'll take personal responsibility in making a decision if the most municipalities agree to it. >> the government leaders say they'll send a senior official to the area to reassure residents. and they'll station a senior representative there in the long run. they've also proposed a teleconference link amongst the plant, the operators, and the prime minister's office. cabinet ministers will await approval from local leaders. if they get it, they'll meet again next week to make their final decision.

13 men have been found apparently executed with their heads tied behind their backs in syria. the bodies were found tuesday night. online video footage believed to have been posted by a local activist shows multiple corpses shot at point blank range. u.n. observers have confirmed the killings. killed more than 100 people inclg women in the central town of hula. the u.n. and arab league kofi annan urged assane -- assad to end the violence. assad says terrorist attacks must be stopped first. south korean police have arrested two men for possible involvement in the recent jamming of global positioning systems. the jamming effected air and sea traffic around much of the

country for more than two weeks. police say the two south korean businessmen first came to their attention last july. they were in the northeastern city of dangdong and were identified by spies. the suspects had made contact with people in the south korean military industry. they say they tried to collect data on jamming devices. they've been charged with violating the country's national security law. earlier this month, hundreds of commercial jets and ships in south korea experienced a gps disruption for more than two weeks. the south korean government says the north was responsible, but north korea denies any involvement. investors are not getting any relief over their eurozone debt concerns. ai, a pretty grim picture overnight for stocks. >> absolutely, catherine.

investors' concerns deepening and not lessening. u.s. markets were on the further fallout for the euro. the dow jones ended down 1.28%. 12,419. in fact, all three major indices on wall street fell over 1%. so for how stocks are trading this morning here in japan, let's go to ramin mellegard. ramin, the yen's recent surge has not been good for japanese exporters. how are we starting off today? >> good morning to you, ai. a negative start here. let's go straight to the opening levels for the nikkei and the topix. quite a drastic fall with the nikkei down 1.91%. the topics now at 712. came at plus 0.2%.

but really the main picture that is effecting markets now is eurozone matters. not only greece but more importantly now how spain is playing into the markets which may have far bigger implications than greece even. we already had heard its debt rating was downgraded earlier in the week which just making it harder for spain to borrow funds to cover its costs. that's the euro to two-year lows against the dollar. investo investors switching to safer ones. now, just having a look at where we stand this thursday morning, 78.90-96 yen. reaching 78.87 at one point. euro you can see there. now trading at 97.58-65.

another interesting story there as the euro continues to fall against the yen. now, the question on most investors' minds -- with such high exposure to european markets with not only the likes of the auto sector as well as consumer electronics. we've seen the euro weaken from back in march to 97 which we just saw. and this time last year it was trading around 117 and hit a high of over 120. so you can see how much the euro has depreciated over this time eroding a lot of corporate earnings for japanese companies along the way. looking forward to economic data in the u.s. later today. we'll have revised gdp numbers as well as private sector jobs numbers. it's a good snapshot of the jobs picture before we get the really big one on friday which is, of

course, u.s. non-foreign payrolls and unemployment. right now markets really affected by what's happening. back to you. >> thanks a lot. the nikkei is at 8,463 now. as ramin mentioned, spain now taking center stage as far as concerns go. the european union has given spain another year to meet an eu target for budget deficits. it cites the worsening economic and fiscal conditions. the european commission monetary affairs chief said wednesday that the eu will extend the deadline for spain. that mean this country needs to cut its deficit to less than 3% by 2014. spain had a budget deficit of 8.9% last year. >> need to consider the

extension or construction of the deadline from 2013 to 2014 on the condition that spain will present a convincing budget plan for 2013 and 14. >> ren said the reason for the extension are an economic slowdown and the capital injection into the ailing banking sector. now, this is the second time since march that the eu has relaxed the fiscal target for spain. but ren stressed that spain is a special case. the president of the european council says it's time for japan and the eu to begin negotiating a free trade deal. herman rompuy said he plans to visit japan in the next ten months to begin talks on a partnership agreement. former japanese prime minister met with rompuy on wednesday.

hatoyama is in the belle gin capital leading. hatoyama quoted rompuy as saying he wants to discuss the launch of the talks with prime minister yoshihiko noda in july. japan and the eu are in the final stages of preparatory talks to begin epa negotiations after more than a year of discussions. some eu members remain cautious. they want japan to do more. the nikkei and the topix sharply down this morning this morning. i'll leave you with a look at the markets.

many feared it was a day that would never come. aung sang suu kyi is traveling outside myanmar. and was banned from leaving the country. we're joined from our bangkok bureau with details. >> it's yet another milestone in myanmar's ongoing process. the country's opposition leader suu kyi has begun her first trip abroad in 24 years. aung sang suu kyi flew in. the pro-democracy leader was greeted by many people from

myanmar who were gathering at the airport. >> she last returned to myanmar in 1988 and became a leader of the democracy movement but long periods of house arrest followed. she refused traveling abroad fearing she would not be allowed back in myanmar. she was awarded the nobel peace prize in 1991. but she was unable to accept in person. at the invitation of david cameron in june, she will visit britain where she previously studied at oxford university. her itinerary also includes a stop at oslo. suu kyi will give a speech on women's participation in society at the economic forum held in the thai capital on thursday and friday. she's also expected to brief representatives of her country on the status of the

democratizization. first up on her tour was a suburb of bangkok. she saw the difficult lives of myanmar immigrants in neighboring thailand. >> reporter: a big crowd of myanmar workers are awaiting the arrival of aung sang suu kyi. >> reporter: this is the enthusiasm shown to myanmar's democratic icon. thousands of myanmar workers in the province gathered to cheer

aung san suu kyi. a seafood processing center and hundreds of thousands of people from myanmar work in the seafood industry for low wages. the workers were the audience for her first speech abroad in 24 years after a forced silence in myanmar. she called on the myanmar immigrants to return home and participate in building a democracy. >> translator: she is the only hope we have. whatever hope we have left is now with mother suu kyi. >> reporter: 29-year-old sorlai is one of the current people to flee myanmar. he was forced to carry weapons for the military. he fled ten years ago and had to leave his son behind.

now he works at a salt refinery earning about $13 a day. the long rule of the regime made him reluctant to return to myanmar. but the visit by aung san suu kyi has changed his stance. >> translator: because the situation in myanmar is better, i should prepare to go back home for good. >> reporter: aung san suu kyi's visit has given the immigrants more hope. but how far the democrati democratizization process will go is uncertain. nhk world, central thailand. >> suu kyi is also planning to visit a refugee camp located on

the border this weekend. myanmar had a productive labor force. as the last frontier of asia. with an eye to tap into the potential, japan is helping the country set up its first ever stock exchange. >> reporter: tokyo stock exchange has signed an agreement with myanmar central bank. moves are on the way to set up the first stock market in the country. the aim is to deepen bilateral ties and promote investment in funds. >> the idea of working together for a long time. i think we believe that here is very true for us.

>> reporter: a japanese business partner who helped to ring the bell. he is the president of a college in myanmar. it was created by japan's group together with the local. the plan is to expand to set up the new exchange. he has lived in myanmar for 14 years. he stayed behind even when many left the country due to u.s. and european sanctions. he has created a wide network with key figures. he wears ethnic clothing to work to fit in with the local society. while working on the project, he runs into strong competition from south korea. in the end, the deep trust he

had earned over the years made all the difference. >> translator: japanese people take time and nurture relationships. it's not all about money. i think that our culture struck a cord with the people in myanmar. >> reporter: a major japanese bank is also making myanmar ahead of its competitors from other companies. has joined hands with myanmar's leading bank. aiming to test the partners' network to japanese funds when the local market opens its door. in myanmar most payments are made with cash since automatic

machines are not so common there yet. >> translator: this is myanmar's leading bank. its methods are the mos advanced for this country. >> reporter: plans to recommend to the local partner that it will rely on machines and other systems to help boost operation and improve. japanese funds are to play to boost the local economy. and gain. the tryout has just begun. nhk world. >> and that wraps up our bulletin. people in japan's northeast

are focused on overcoming the 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." an elderly woman who has survived a pair of tsunami have been telling other people how they can save their lives too. to get her message across, the woman relies on an old fashioned technique. she works from a picture story painted illustrations that say company her narration. >> reporter: 87-year-old yoshi tabata presents her picture in her city.

tabata lost her family to the tsunami. she was eight years old at the t time. she plays the main role in her story. she has been telling her story for over 30 years to warn people about the danger of tsunamis. >> reporter: this is the area of miyako city, tabata's hometown. >> translator: this is where my house used to stand. >> reporter: 78 years after the first tsunami, tabata was threatened by another large one. the water swept her house away. but it didn't touch her. she had managed to reach safety at her younger sister's house on a hill. tabata says she was able to survive two major tsunamis thanks to the advice of her

grandfather who also survived one. >> translator: he always told us if an earthquake hits, we should each run away. he told us to run to higher ground otherwise a tsunami would get us. >> reporter: she stressed there's not much time. so don't feel you have to wait for your family to gather. tabata wants to use her picture story show to spread her grandfather's lesson to as many people as possible. >> translator: she taught me how tragic tsunamis are and made me think about a tsunami hitting some time in the future. >> translator: i realize that i need to talk with my family about what to do if we confront

a disaster. >> translator: if there's one thing i would like people to know, it is this. it's up to you to save your life. i really hope that i can make young people realize this fact as it's so essential. >> tabata wants people all over the world to listen to her grandfather's warning. so last year she published her picture story in a book with an english translation. now let's take a look at the world weather forecast with rachel ferguson. >> a bit of a cooler day, overcast in tokyo. not likely to see any of those thunderstorms of earlier in this week. however, it will be overcast and maybe a few showers later on. 20% to 30% chance of some showers. most areas are looking settled. down to the south there will be heavier rain coming off this potent rain band wch is just startingease outf nt

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>ashenothn y ghhe n. sant ell mheceont nd 30.s. .heey menheic ny asncd fromloda onay 22nd ithe first to dk days laterith its od ansuli. e spacecraft's mission was compted smoothly and the agency had achdlt goal with its new private sect partner. > dha wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi i oings. yñk6k6k6+l+l+lclk+lclcl+y