rescue call. mediterranean island nation joins the cue for a european union bailout. european union leaders wake up every day fearing what might happen next. the small nation of cyprus has confirmed some of their fears. government leaders there have asked their partners in the eu for a bailout. cyprus is the fifth eurozone country to make such a demand. government officials did not specify how much they need, but they said they would use the funds to shore up their troubled banking sector. banks suffered heavy losses earlier this year on their holdings of greek government bonds. eu leaders asked member nations

to contribute when the alliance bailed out greece. euro group chief jean paul juncker said in a statement he and his colleagues will review the situation and respond soon. of course cyprus isn't the first nation to make such a request. ai uchida, give us a little bit of a background. >> experts are specifically worried that this crisis is going to be a domino effect. we can't forget that 17 countries use the same currency and yet they differ vastly in financial health. as catherine mentioned, cyprus is the fifth nation in the eurozone that asked for financial aid to the eu, though cyprus' economy is small and analysts expect the impact on markets to be limited, but it is one more sign that europe's credit crisis won't be easy to solve. now, the eu has already started providing rescue funds to greece, ireland, and portugal in

return of strict austerity measures. on monday, the spanish government officially asked the european union for financial assistance to prop up its struggling banks and just hours later, cyprus made the same move. and when it rains, it pours. u.s. credit rating agency moody's cut the ratings of 28 spanish banks also on monday. it's yet another blow to spain, after the agency lowered its assessment of the country's government bonds earlier this month to just above speculative status. the latest bank downgrades ranged from one to four notches, the largest banco santander a two notch reduction to baa2. bankia was cut two knocks to the speculative rating to ba2. many other banks are also now considered below investment grade. moody's sa the towngrades are

due to a forecast rise in uncollectible loans due to the collapse of spain's real estate bubble, in addition to the impact of the rating cut of spain's sovereign debt. meanwhile u.s. stocks ended lower in new york following further concerns about spain's banks and the bailout for cyprus. investors were worried that this week's eu summit might fail to contain measures for the european debt crisis. the dow jones industrial average fell 1% from last friday's close and ended the day's session at 12,502. for more details on how stocks here are trading this tuesday morning we are going to go to ramin mellegard, who is the at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, looks like europe is wiping every else off the table once again despite some positive data out of the united states. >> definitely, very good morning to you, ai and really investors taking the markets lower and looks like taking a turn for the

worse in this final trading week in june, and a lot of focus there with investors coming to grips with not only the eurozone debt issues but also further growth questions in china, the u.s. and europe, and also some volatile trading that we've seen in commodities and currencies, but let's have a look at how the nikkei and the topix are trading off this tuesday morning, both down, 8668 for the nikkei and the topix at 740. we did see of course stocks in europe and the u.s. fall, also following the further uncertainties in the eu, and the summit, which is due to kick off this week. lot of investors questioning whether some of those issues can be fully resolved and that's really hanging over the markets, and as you mentioned we also had moody's downgrading 28 of spain's banks, and that late on monday and that of course follows moody's downgrade of spain's sovereign debt which we saw just a couple of weeks ago

on june 13th, which means the markets pretty much also sidestepping any good news. we did have new home sales out of the u.s. yesterday, which showed its highest rise in two years, but that was pretty much side stepped. we'll also keep track of commodity related stocks and energy stocks. we have seen investors swinging in and out of precious metals, and at one stage we did see gold actually, gold was up about 1%, wti crude oil prices actually down three-quarters of a percent at around $79, as you can see there on the screen, so some commodity-related stocks will be following here as well. ai? >> with spain and cyprus formally formal ly requesting bailouts. what can you tell us about the currency markets? >> let's have a look at some of the pairs here with the dollar/yen and euro/yen coming

up there. under 80 yen, 79.67-73 and the euro/yen under 100 yen, 99.70-75. so a lot of focus there on the summit, which is scheduled for thursday and friday this week, but what's clear so far is the markets have actually lowered their expectations of any resolution to the banking situation, a lot of also disagreements of what eu, weaker eu countries want and what germany, which is the strongest eu country, can actually give. so we'll see how that plays out. back to you. >> all right, ramin. thanks a lot for that update, ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. now both the nikkei and the topix are down just about half a percent this tuesday morning. that is the latest for me from this hour. i'll leave you with a check on how other asian markets are opening this hour.

eu foreign ministers have confirmed a ban on imports of iranian oil. the ministers have been frustrated in efforts to get the iranians to halt their nuclear program. so the sanctions will go into effect on sunday as planned. nhk world's takashi ichinosa reports from luxembourg. >> the sanctions that have been agreed will be implemented from the 1st of july an embargo on iranian oil imports. >> reporter: eu foreign ministers approved the embargo in luxembourg on monday at a meeting over iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

this followed last week's meeting in moscow between iran and five permanent members of the u.n. security council plus germany. minister also also ban eu-based tankers transporting oil. experts forecast the total exports will be cut by 20% or one-half, if the united states' ban is included. the iranian government has said it will continue its uranium enrichment despite this blow to its weakened economy. >> does this complete oil embargo help toward filling the gaps? >> those sanctions are there to try and keep that pressure, in order that the regime in iran understands that this is about trying to get them to take those concerns seriously and address

them. >> reporter: eu representative catherine ashton said she hopes to resolve the nuclear standoff through dialogue. takashi ichinose, nhk world, luxembourg. even the scope of mohamed morsi's powers is in question. nhk world's jun takahashi reports from cairo. >> reporter: after the big celebration lgs of morsi's victory, people are still occupying the square to protest against the military governments. egypt remains in upheaval. the military has passed laws limiting the new president's powers. young protesters in cairo's tahrir square are not happy. >> translator: i will be here 'til the military withdraws. don't let them make laws or a constitution on their own.

>> translator: the military regime used to hand over power. >> reporter: the spring military council ordered the dissolution of egypt's parliament after ruling over the constitutional court. the council also revised a provision of the constitution seizing parliament's power to approve budgets. morsi was supported by many young people involved in last year's uprising. now, these supporters are watching to see how he deals with the military. >> translator: i will support morsi as long as he works toward reform. but if he takes the wrong direction, i will act to get us back on the right track. >> reporter: as the first freely elected president of egypt, morsi faces many trials ahead to keep his nation on the path to democracy. jun takahashi, nhk world, cairo.

an iranian news agency reported egypt's new president is willing to restore ties with iran. the two countries severed diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago. mohamed morsi reportedly said he wants to establish a strategic balance in the middle east. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad issued a statement congratulating morsi's victory. the u.s. defense department says it will proceed with plans to deploy its os spray aircraft in okinawa. the u.s. military is planning test flights in late july at its iwakuni base in yamaguchi prefecture western japan. it will then move the craft to the futenma marine station. local objections to the plan increased after two osprey crashes in three months, one crashed in morocco in april, killing two soldiers, another

went down in the u.s. this month. u.s. department defense department personnel last week briefed japanese officials on their investigation into the crashes. they reportedly said the aircraft passed all safety checks. people in japan's southernmost prefecture have been remembering one of the bloodiest chapters in their history. the battle of okinawa ended on june 23rd, 67 years ago. an annual memorial service took place on saturday. the war left lasting scars on the island. a look back at history shows us why. >> april 1945. u.s. forces land on the main island of okinawa. they have the advantage in troop numbers and fire power, but the japanese army puts up fierce resistance. the american advance is slow. and each advance comes at a huge cost in lives. artillery and bombs pound the tropical island. the intense barrage flattens whole mountains.

locals call it iron rain. many civilians are killed. some are caught in the cross-fire. others drafted by the japanese army perish in combat. the casualties include schoolgirls, mobilized as nurses. the brutal fighting continues for three months. the final death toll including american soldiers 200,000 people. half are okinawans, one in every four living on the island. u.s. forces built bases on the island. from here it could stage raids on japan's main islands. 67 years later, the bases remain. the u.s. military has more than 20,000 troops deployed on the island. and okinawa remains its most strategically important site in east asia. >> despite those events, memories of the war are fading. the population of okinawa is aging rapidly. one woman has spent more than

two decades trying to ensure the horror does not happen again. she shares her experiences with students across the country. >> reporter: michiko miyagi is a storyteller, and the subject is personal -- the battle of okinawa. she is 86 years old and has spent 24 years as a peace guide, recounting her experiences. >> translator: my body doesn't work as well as i'd like. it's hard. >> reporter: this is miyagi's old school, the one she left, to go to war. >> translator: how old were you when the war broke out? >> translator: i was 16. so i was 19 when the war ended. >> reporter: the imperial army sent her to a field hospital as a nurse with her classmates.

>> translator: one soldier kept telling me he was scared. doctors were going to amputate his leg without anesthesia. they used a saw, so it made a ripping sound. it was terrible. >> reporter: memories that most people would rather forget. why does she talk about them? miyagi's hometown is now home to a u.s. military base. she lived right beside the base for decades. the sound of warplanes constantly overhead reminds her that peace is fragile. >> translator: i have a sense of crisis so much so that i feel like war could break out today or tomorrow. but young people don't know war

so they are content with the illusion of peacetime. >> reporter: miyagi lost 33 classmates. before her last talk, she announces her retirement at the memorial to the victims. >> translator: i want to continue talking about my experiences, but my body just won't let me do so. i'm very sorry, but it's time to put an end to my career as a peace guide. >> reporter: this is talk number 319 for miyagi. it is also her last. >> translator: what do you want young people to do now? >> translator: it's hard for you to understand why war breaks out, or why there are military bases.

young people have to work together to think about those issues. old people like me cannot do that. i count on you. ♪ [ applause ] >> the peace guide's own story has come to an end. the hope for peace she says is now in the hands of younger generations. >> one young person has already taken up the torch. a student who listened to miyagi's story while visiting okinawa and later moved to the island.

she's now telling stories about the war as a bus guide. 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." preparing for disasters is a part of life in japan. seismologists and emergency officials know the 2011 earthquake and tsunami won't be the country's last so they're constantly working on contingency plans, one involves finding shelter for people who are stranded, should a quake cut power and shut town trains. officials have learned a lot from what happened on march 11th last year. some of the lessons have come from sendai, the city closest to the quake's epicenter. nhk world's ryuta seki shows us what happened there. >> reporter: on the evening of

the massive quake, the center of sendai was engulfed in total darkness. there were no lights to be seen except in one building, the sendai trust tower. drawn by the lights, crowds of people gathered inside the building. the quake that afternoon brought the entire transportation system to a halt, stranding many visiting businessmen and tourists. hiroshi yoeshkawa is from tokyo. he was in sendai on business that day. he had no idea where to find shelter until he spotted the lights in the sendai trust tower. >> translator: when i saw those lights shining out at the complete darkness, i felt so relieved. i headed towards them as if drawn by a magnet. >> reporter: the 180-meter tower is the tallest building in northeast japan.

opened just eight months earlier, its structure is designed to absorb earth tremors. because it houses offices and a hotel, it has a large generator that can supply enough electricity for three days. thanks to twitter and other social media, people flocked to the building. some 3,600 people stayed there for as much as a week. experts say the same thing would happen in tokyo and other cities after a similar natural disaster. >> translator: if a massive quake hits a major city, it will cause power outages in most areas. but in districts with many skyscrapers, the lights will stay on because more high-rises have emergency power generators. in that case thousands will flock to them, just like they did in sendai. >> earlier yuko autotannie filed

with ryuta seki, who filed that report. >> what were the main problems that occurd after so many people converged on that sendai high-rise? >> first of all, there was not enough food or medical equipment for the evacuees. buildings like this stock enough food, water and emergency supplies for the staff and tenants but not for people from outside. it's unfees able for them to stockpile provisions for large numbers of evacuees. another problem was that the tower was not officially considered a public shelter. >> translator: ouruilding wasn't designated as an official shelter for evacuees. so that meant we didn't receive emergency supplies or other forms of aid from the authorities. >> another issue was ensuring people's safety. the management of the building was unwilling to shelter the evacuees due to worries about the legal standing, if any injuries were sustained on the premises.

>> translator: as the building management, we bear the responsibility. the question of whether we might be exempted from this responsibility in the event of an emergency is something that needs to be addressed. >> so is anything being done to tackle these issues, then? >> experts say it's vital for local authorities and companies to work together to draw up measures to ensure that people can find shelter with as little disruption as possible. >> translator: city authorities need to know ahead of time how many people can be accommodated in each of the buildings and be prepared to guide people to them following a natural disaster. at the same time, it's essential that plans are drawn up dealing with the most efficient way of utilizing the limited resources available in each area, including evacuation facilities, and stockpiles of food and medicine.

>> the lessons learned from the situation in sendai will be essential for planning ahead for future possible disasters, not just in other parts of japan, but in cities all around the world. >> nhk world's ryuta seki there. south koreans have been dealing with some unusual weather. people in seoul are facing their worst drought in more than 100 years. sayaka mori joins us with her forecast. today a rain band is lying over the southern islands of cue yew

shoe with lots of heavy rain and thunderstorms and the heavy rain will extend as we head into tomorrow. the same frontal line is i don't think along the yangtzee river and down toward the south a newly developed tropical depression east of the philippines, it could become a tropical storm by tonight and continues to head towards the main the philippines so more heavy rain is coming down across much of the country over the next several days. temperature wise, 27 in beijing, 27 in chongqing with heavy rain on the hot side, 31 degrees and 26 in shanghai on your tuesday. all right, heading over to the americas, tropical storm debby is hovering over the gulf of mexico, right now packing sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour, almost stationary. it could speed up a little bit

and head towards the florida peninsula. it will likely make landfall in northwestern florida by wednesday afternoon and cross the peninsula and head out to sea as a tropical depression by friday and could become a tropical storm once again over the sea. tropical storm force winds and heavy rain are already affecting much of florida. actually 180 millimeters of rain has been reported over the last 24 hours, in addition to that, more than 200 millimeters is likely in northern florida over the next 48 hours. total rainfall could be 630 in some locations of this area, is really prone to flooding. in addition to that, high waves and rough seas are going to be a big concern over the coast and we have a threat of tornadoes in southern georgia into florida, into tonight. all right, as for the rest of north america, wet weather along the eastern seaboard will dissipate. however, eastern canada and new england states will continue to

see heavy rain into tuesday. out towards the west, there's a risk of severe weather in and around montana, we're talking about severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds and even a risk of a tornado but to the south, still on the hot side and windy side so conditions are favorable for wildfires. 39 in denver so baking hot here. 38 degrees in houston, but out towards the east, looking mild at 24 degrees in new york city. all right, finally, let's go over to europe. stormy weather is shifting towards eastern europe, but instead getting dry across central europe and out towards the west some scattered showers are affecting much of the british isles, but nothing on the severe side. to the south on the hot side, 39 degrees expected in madrid and lisbon on your tuesday. all right, here's your extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.