. united front. the leaders of russian and china meet in beijing and agree on a common approach to syria. western powers have been trying to bring about a regimee change in syria. but representatives of russian and china have blocked the efforts. the presidents have met to strengthen their strategic partnership. we report from beijing. >> reporter: russian president

vladimir putin is in beijing where he held talks with the chinese president. this was his first visit to china since returning to the presidency in may. pew tan said that the two countries share common interest in many fields including international affairs, the economy and technologies. putin says that ties between russian and china have developed to the highest level ever and he wants to develop them even farther. the chinese president wants to strengthen the partnership in energy immediates. they discussed syria saying that they seek a political solution. they agreed to take a coarser stance on military intervention. the summit opens on wednesday in

beijing. the body was formed by russian, china and central asian countries. putin will have talks with ahmendinejad who will attend as an observer. analysts say that putin is trying to counter moves by the united states and other countries over syria and other issues. the united nations says syria has agreed to allow humanitarian workers and supplies into four sites. but human rights activists are skeptical they will be able to provide assistance. officials from united nations said that syria granted access to workers from the world food program and seven ngos.

wo will arrive at several cities. >> whether this is a breakthrough or not will be evident in the coming days and weeks and be measured not in rhetoric, not agreements but in action on the ground. >> the officials say at least 1 million people in syria are in urgent need of assistance as food and medicine are in short supply. human rights activists in syria say that government forces are continuing attacks. 56 people were killed in the country in the past two days. the presidents will meet up later in the day. they are taking part in a two-day security summit with the leaders of four central asian nations. they are trying to combat terrorism and keep secessionist movements in check. they will lead the discussions

of the shanghai cooperation organization. hu regards stability at home as the top priority ahead of a leadership change later this year. putin is expected to urge other members to rally behind russian in opposing a missile defense system that nato plans to deploy in europe. a fleet of indian warships has arrived in japan for a joint naval drill. countries in the region are concerned about regional security. >> reporter: the four indian ships, including a destroyer sailed into the bay near tokyo before docking on tuesday morning. the crew will prepare for the

simulated search and rescue mission on sunday. >> translator: i hope the joint exercise will help deepen exchanges between the two countries. >> reporter: the joint drill is held with china's military presence in mind. they have asserted a more strong stance in the south china sea. sunday's drill is held in line with an agreement reached in november to increase contacts between the two country's military forces. >> and we look forward to developing greater interoperability and adopting the best practices that we could share from this exercise. >> reporter: japan and india are not the only country wary of

china's moves in the east and south china seas. msdf crews are preparing to begin three-day exercises with u.s. and australian naval ships on wednesday. the joint fleet will practice anti- submarine warfare. >> we are trying to have a joint peace. >> reporter: these drills will help their personnel build up their skills and at the same time they say it's a chance for them to strengthen ties with their allies in the region. it's been a manic few days for investors and financial leaders. we now take a look at the business desk. it's only wednesday today but seems like it's been a full week. >> seems like a new crisis every day. it gives you an idea what the

leaders are dealing with every day. there was an emergency conference call yesterday and the group of seven industrialized nations reaffirmed their stance to deal with the european debt crisis. the finance ministers and central bank governors of the g7 major economies held an emergency conference call on tuesday. japanese, u.s. and canadian officials reportedly urged eurozone participants to take quick action to clear away the bad loans held by spanish commercial banks. a german spokesman said that european officials explained in the conference call the current state of the eurozone to the other members. that is as part of the groundwork ahead of the g20 summit. a spokesperson declined to comment specifically on what was discussed about the spanish

commercial banks. but the spanish government is working with an auditor to figure out how much money would be needed to boost the capital of the country's banks. spain can ask for support through the eurozone's bailout fund if necessary. meanwhile the u.s. treasury department said in a statement that the g7 nations discussed the global economy especially monetary and fiscal union in europe. the department said the members agreed to keep a close watch on the european debt crisis ahead of the g20 meeting this month. the dow jones industrial average snapped four days of losses. the service sector data helped ease some of the negative sentiment. the dow ended the day at 12,127. that is a gain of 1/5%. now we go to the tokyo stock

exchange. some positive economic data but a ways to go to make up for recent losses. >> exactly. we did see a bit of a bounce in the dow but it was down around 6% in may. so still has some ways to go. but we saw the ism, nonmanufacturing or services data show an expansion and all be it a small one but nevertheless a positive trend for the job sector in the u.s. let's look at how things are hoping in tokyo. the nick kay and topix trading positive. we may see gains in the shares which had been oversold recently especially kia exporters which have been hit by the stronger yen recently. m nintendo has a new line-up of games consoles that will be

unveiled at a trade show in los angeles. that will be a focus for that sector. but really the big picture continues to be growth in the u.s., china and european markets and how the yen has been pushed into a safe haven asset, if you will and how the japanese government is dealing with that. and that of course was touched in the g7 conference call that you mentioned as well. and also the concerns about the yen, to the g7 and and also some of the wording there, which the g7 leaders said that they were in agreement as to any moves that the japanese government may take. let's look at the foreign currency levels this morning. and you can see the dollar yen, it was reported that the g7 had no clear direction on the yen. and pushed the dollar/yen to

just under 79 compared to lower 78 before the conference call. we can clearly see there has the the yen has backed off a tuck. >> speaking of europe and its currency we have the european central bank meeting later on wednesday. what is expected there? >> exactly. the european central bank will be a major focus. we'll see what they say later on. but the major issue there, spain's debt issues and also if the european central bank makes moves on rateshat will ease pressure on the japanese government to intervene. the yen has backed off a touch and that has helped the nick kay and the topix so far in the positive today. >> thanks a lot for that update. now trade mensters from the asia pacific cooperation forum

agreed to accelerate efforts for closer regional economic ties. the ministers from the 21-member forum issued a chairman statement as they ended talks in russian. the statement calls for swifter preparations for creating a regional free-trade zone by 2020. it sets the goal of concluding a transpacific partnership free trade agreement and free economic ties for up to 16 nations. each apec member is encouraged to come up with a list of environmentally friendly products by september when the ministers meet again. tariffs will be lowered by 2015 as agreed on by apec and it asks member nations to refrain on raising duties on certain items to protect their domestic industries. the japanese trade minister

wants to see more result at the apec meetings in september. >> translator: the asia-pacific region has strong potential. promoting comprehensive economic cooperation in the region is very important in making best use of that potential. positive start for our stock markets open this hour. i'll leave you with a check on those.

tokyo electric power company is defending the way it handled the nuclear accident last year. the report counters criticisms made by a government panel. workers have been telling their accounts to the utilities since last june. hydrogen explosions occurred at three reactors after the march earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plants power. workers at the number one reactor didn't know that the emergency cooling valves were closed and the system wasn't functioning. but tepco says it was impossible to check the valves because there was no power. the company says it needs to reexam the system for total blackouts. and at the number three reactors, weak batteries stopped the emergency schooling system for nearly seven hours. it says employees underestimated the risk of the batteries going

flat. but tepco had to stop the system to protect a water injecting mechanism. the panel will issue the final report by late july. 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" at 1 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." the advanced industrialized countries of the world are continuing to struggle. a global financi crisis has mutated into debt crisis for europe. the economies of emerging countries are developing at a rapid pace. the result is a shift in the centers of power and wealth. relationships between countries are changing none more so than

great britain and its former colonies. britain used to rule vast areas of the globe. today, the empire is a faded memory and so are the riches it once provided. the country is struggling with debt, government and private. companies are accepts buyout offers from other countries. hear rods has been in business since the 1800s. two years ago it was taken over by a middle eastern investment fund that is based in qatar, formally a british route. jaguar lost its roar. india's tata group came to the rescue. a $2.3 billion takeover deal was

signed in 2008. it was another sign of the rise of the former colony and a shock for many britains. but many other accept that times have changed. a view suppressed by british prime minister david cameron when he visited india in 2010. >> britain is actually rebuilding some of its manufacturing thanks to indian investment. i mean tata is now the largest manufacturer in britain. >> reporter: far from resentencing the foreign takeovers, some long established businesses are embracing the trend. black cabs are a part of london's identity. this company used to make more than 3,000 black cabs a year. output is now half that figure and earnings have stalled. the cab maker is cutting costs

and looking for new customers overseas but it can't go it alone. for that reason it sold a 20% stake to a chinese automaker. most parts used in the company's black cabs are now imported from china. the ceo has no complaints. >> always had a problem selling internationally because of the cost base and the structure of the company and we were heading to a cul-de-sac. the business was coming under more and more pressure. gili was the lifesaver. >> earlier we spoke with a correspondent in developing and developed countries. >> the rise of emerging countries is a story affecting the whole world especially zban't in britain.

>> the british empire was one of the largest in the world. and india was the jewel in the crown. britain also controlled parts of china. remember british gun boats started to open war in the 19th century which forced the chen dynasty to give up control of hong kong. but these are all long in the past now. these days british employees work for indian bosses and indian investment in britain is on the rise. even for china it is no longer britain and other western powers but it is beijing that is often calling the shots. >> talk about trading places now. the global shifts of power, population in developed countries is decreasing and the opposite in developing countries. >> it is an important factor to explain the rise of the emerging nations. the world's population passed

the 7 billion mark last october and it is forecasted to keep on growing. but what is interesting here is where exactly this increase is taking place. the trend varies considerably by country and region. the united nations surveys estimate that asia's population will exceed 5.1 billion in the middle of the 21st century and in africa it will reach 3.5 billion. on the other hand populations are expected to decrease in industrialized country. high birthrate is a recipe for fast development. a large pool of young people provides the country with working force and high consumers demand. >> japan used to be the second largest economy in the world and now it's the third.

>> a british magazine the economist carried an article in april analyzing the economies of asian countries. now, japan is steadily overtaken. the article compares gdp in terms of people's purchasing power. japan was overtaken by singapore and hong kong in the 1990s. the economist says that on this benchmark, south korea will become richer than japan within five years. the key point to take from all of this is how quickly, how fast this change is happening. the shifts in economic power and population will change. how we look at the world and on current trends this is a reality we will be living in the not so distant future.

stargazers pulled out their telescopes and special glasses today. they did that last month during a rare solar eclipse. this time they are watching another spectacle known as the transit of venus. people in japan are able to see venus slowly crossing the surface of the sun. the event occurs when the sun, venus and earth line-up. people last saw the phenomenon in 2004. the next chance to view the transit of venus from anywhere in the world will be in 105 years. many in tokyo, including myself were hoping to see the transit of venus today but unfortunately the weather isn't cooperating. sayaka mori has the world weather picture. >> i was looking forward to the event today but unfortunately the rain will continue into this

afternoon. the severe storm is situated south of japan. it is packing winds of 108 kilometers per hour and aimed for the east islands. it will hit the islands around noon. you will see 80 millimeters of rainfall and sustained wins of 72 kilometers per hour. it looks like it will continue to move away from japan and become a remnant lowly thursday morning. things have improved across western japan but as i mentioned light showers will continue in central japan into this afternoon. but tomorrow, clear skies nationwide. but because of the influx of the severe tropical storm high winds and strong winds could be a concern on the pacific coast for a couple days. meanwhile a strong low pressure system is producing a thunderstorm and risk of hail in

northern china. that will continue the move towards the east. and rain in china will likely spread into the east coast of the country through tomorrow. down to the south, a southwest monsoon will produce a wet day on the indo-china peninsula and the philippines throughout the day. temperature wise heating up to 32 degrees in hong kong with isolated showers here. 27 in shanghai, cloudy conditions with 28 degrees. tokyo cooling down to 22 but likely warming up to 26 as we head into thursday. heading to the americas. a lot of things going on. we have a potent low pressure system sitting over the northwestern corner of the u.s. producing stormy conditions here. we have tornado warnings and watches in montana. rainfall warnings in british columbia and alberta and mountain snow in the northern rockies. the isobars are dense meaning

that strong winds are blowing here. in the south, also windy but dry. conditions are ideal for wildfires from wyoming down to arizona and a stationary front lingering across the southern tier of the u.s. producing thundershowers but conditions will improve as we head into your wednesday. as for the highs, 34 degrees in houston and 30 degrees in oklahoma city. the heat is extending all the way up to the north affecting winnipeg. 33 degrees expected on your wednesday. finally let's go over to europe. a strong low pressure system moving over the british isles and the western continent is expected to move into central europe producing thundershowers and then we have a more potent system affecting eastern europe producing thunderstorms. 24 in moscow and the same for kiev. after a long period of cold weather the temperatures are moderating to more typical

levels in london and paris. that's it for me now and here is your extended forecast.

the chinese president and russian president vladimir putin are taking part in a security summit with the leaders of four central asian nations drafting plans to combat terrorism and keep separatist movements in check. they will lead the discussions of the shanghai stabilization cooperation. chinese leaders want to equal separatist movements. putin is expected to urge other members to rally behind russian in opposing a missile defense system that nay to plans to deploy in europe. and that's all for this edition of "newsline" i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. ????o