glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." i a&m catherine kobayashi in tokyo on may 15th. diplomats accuse a man of being a spy. they ordered ryan fogle to leave the country. officials say he was detained late on monday. they say he's a cia agent

working under the guise of a diplomat. the alleged fogle offered to pay an officer $1 million a year to spy for the u.s. he was handed over to the u.s. embassy after keeping him in detention for several hours. the russian foreign ministry summoned the u.s. ambassador in moscow. they demanded that fogle leave the country without delay. they said provocative actions in the spirit of the cold war will not promote mutual trust. north korean leaders are taking a break that put the asian pacific on alert but they haven't let their guards down. he says the country is using policy to keep tension high on the peninsula. the korean workers party amended its rules in 2010 making the liberation of south korea a

goal. pyongyang made the amendment two months before they ordered their troops to shell the south korean island of yong pong. he said the leadership of kim jong un can force citizens to sacrifice themselves and says they will continue to make threats and provocations. one recent action by north korea suspended a program that was a rare symbol of cooperation on the peninsula. the jointly run kaesong industrial zone hasn't been running for the past month. now, south korean leaders are pushing to get back raw materials and products from the complex. kaesong is located in north korea close to the border. firms from south korea suspended operations in april after the north pulled out all its workers. the last workers from the south left earlier this month. the south korean president park is calling for dialogue so materials can be recovered as

soon as possible. this is not the first time her administration has offered to hold working level talks to break the deadlock on kaesong process. but authorities in pyongyang have rejected negotiations. a senior policymaker was fired by the chinese after he took to the internet. the pourer of online whistle-blowing in the fight against corruption. a social networking site was used to accuse him. the editors said he threatened a mistress in the 1990s while working at the chinese embassy in tokyo. since this case came to light,

people in china have been posting messages online saying social networking has exposed corruption or that the state is corruption. rescuers spent much of tuesday searching for survivor s of a boat accident in myanmar. about 100 rohingya muslims had evacuated and were trying to flee a tropical storm. they moved to cramped camps after an outbreak of violence in 2012. between muslims and myanmar's majority buddhists. a spokesperson for the u.n. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs says the boat hit rocks and capsized after leaving pauktaw township. afp is quoting a rohingya muslim who lives there and said many passengers are feared dead. aid workers called for an evacuation, because the storm is expected to tear through the temporary camps that dot the coast.

about 140,000 people live there in flimsy tents. most are rohingya muslims who fled the complex with buddhists last year. they're considered illegal immigrants who came from bangladesh. and most are denied citizenship. anti-muslim sentiment complicated the evacuation effort. >> translator: we are worried that there is no protection for us here. the government has just announced that a storm is coming soon. but there is no support for us. >> u.n. officials estimate about 69,000 people are living in low-lying areas that are at a high risk of flooding and landslides, authorities fear the cyclone could make the humanitarian crisis in the temporary camps worse. they say the resulting damp conditions could lead to an outbreak of disease. a cyclone hit this part of myanmar in 2010. two years earlier another cyclone slammed into the country

devastated the delta and killed more than 140,000 people. e experts with japan's nuclear watchdog are poised to make an unprecedented announcement following and investigation at a nuclear plant. nhk has learned that a reactor sits on an active fault. the unit could be scrapped if the operator is unable to disprove the findings.

panel members spent six months analyzing the ground beneath the reactor 2 the nuclear plant. they'll release their final report in the day. the draft report in january said it's highly possible the fault under the unit is active. the power company has provided photos to disprove conclusion. government guidelines ban the construction of reactors above active faults because of concerns about damage from earthquakes. managers with japan atomic power company say they will finish their own survey into the fault by june. members of the nuclear regulation authority panel say they may review the report if the operator makes new findings. they plan to decide what to do with the reactor as early as next week. officials from a nuclear power plant in taiwan have invited the media to see the

safety measures of their facility. construction isn't finished. political squabbling has delayed the project for over 10 years. taiwan has six other reactors. most are in the populated area near taipei. reporters viewed the japanese made reactors. they also saw pools for fuel rod storage and the turbine generators. officials from the taiwanese utilities stressed the plant's resistance to earthquakes and tsunamis. watertight seal gates provide cooling water to the reactor. the company also explained a sim that sends cooling water to the reactors from a reservoir located on high ground. it can operate in a total power outage. public protests to stop the project have increased. people complain about construction problems and safety concerns after fukushima. a local tv station took a survey. 70% of respondents wanted construction suspended.

the taiwanese government plans to hold a referendum on the project. investors are putting their modern in the u.s. dollar and i stocks. ai joins us with more on that. looks like a bull market. >> it does, doesn't it? we're seeing a bull market and share prices are rebounding from tuesday's loss. the nikkei stock average has topped the 15,000 mark, the highest level in more than five years after key indices in the u.s. extended their record high. the dow jones industrial average ended up 15,215, up an eighth of a percent and the s&p 500 up 1%. now, to ramin with the tokyo stock exchange. the market ended down yesterday

but looks like they had a boost today. >> they are. the u.s. economy beginning to show signs of improvement and words from federal reserve officials does look to back that up as well. let's go back to those opening levels again and let's see where the nikkei is trading. 15 thousand 15 up, 1 3/4%. interesting to note the nikkei and dow jones industry average are both trading in the 15,000 levels. topix at 1,250. yesterday, we did end on a negative note and positive note today after the nikkei surged on more than 1,000 points in the previous six trading days. earnings in japan still a bit of focus and today we highlight reports from today's mega banks. and the different financial groups, all to report after the markets close today. the big fo

on sony. u.s. listed shares jumped more than 10% at the close after one of the major shareholders propose that the company spinoff its entertainment business. that really spiked the share price. we'll track that today here as well. i know you will have more on that later as well, ai. investses are focusing on economic data that affects currency and the most important pairs, the dollar yen, ai. >> i'll get to that sony story in a minute. speaking of currencies, where does the dollar/yen stand ahead of data later today? >> the key economic driver, let's look where that stands right now. the dollar holds strong against the yen. to the focus remains on economic data. the production and economic jobs due out later this week.

dollar, 102.21-22 and euro doll dollar, expectations that the federal reserve may soon phase out its quantitative due to signs of an improving economy. industrial production in march was actually better than consensus. definitely the focus there on the nikkei, which is above 15,000. back to you, ai. >> thanks a lot for that update, ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. a major shareholder has proposed sony should spinoff its entertainment business to rebuild the core electronic sector. according to a stock holder it could boost sony's price by as much as 60%. daniel is this founder of new york based hedge fund third point. the company holds 6% of sony's

shares. he is known as an activist investor. he met the top investor at the electronic makers head office tuesday. he suggested sony should spinoff its entertainment arm and cellophane to 20% of its shares in the u.s. stock market to secure funds for sony's revie revitalizati revitalization. and sony should focus resources on highly profitable areas to rebuild its struggling tv, pc and mobile phone businesses. in response, sony said in a statement that the entertainment business is important to its growth plan and is not for sale. it said the firm will continue holding constructive talks with shareholders. tax evasion and transfer of personal and corporate accounts to banks in other companies is drawing criticism in the european union. a growing number of people are keeping money in outside countries amid harsh austerity

measures in the region and they failed to reach agreement to find way to curb the practice. the members of 37 member countries met in brussels tuesday and agreed to start talks with five non-eu countries including switzerland and lichten stine for exchange of wider rang of bank account information. there's still wider measures such as swapping bank account information among eu members. officials from luxembourg and austria said new rules should come first. they're cautious about disclosure of bank account information for privacy reasons. the finance members will continue the privacy discussion scheduled for next week. the nikkei is still trading above 15,000. i'll leave you with a check on other market figures.

the decrease in the value of the yen has helped increase the number of tourists who want to travel to japan. an estimated 850,000 people visited from overseas in march, a record for the month. but even with the savings on the currency exchange, budget travelers still find japan expensive. those who go to the affordable city of osaka can find a more affordable home away from home. >> reporter: this was built decades ago and used to cater to

japanese guests and nowadays most are foreign. the budget travelers find the rate attractive. the price for one night starts at $15.so these days 90% of the are usually taken. >> i'm traveling on a budget so looking for a cheap hotel. it's difficult to find a cheap place so this is really like special. >> reporter: several decades ago, the district where the hostel is located was home to thousands of day laborers. economic times were better then and construction booming. the area drew job seekers from different parts of japan. when the recession set in, jobs disappeared and many workers left. in the '80s, 25 tho,000 lived h. now, it's a 15th of that. to bring in more stomers,

local hostels have started taking in foreign tourists, like backpackers. >> translator: we learned that there weren't many cheap hotels for foreigners so we decided to try catering to them. >> reporter: japan's government is trying to attract foreign tourists. but meeting their diverse needs has been a challenge for locals not accustomed to foreign ways. this district already has 10,000 low priced rooms so it is exp t expected to attract a lot of backpackers. if that's to happen, some things have got to change. this professor teaches international tourism. he has also set up a visitor's center to help foreign tourists in the area. >> translator: to attract more tourists, japan needs to accommodate visitors, like many overseas tourists who don't

spend too much money. we need to offer more options. >> reporter: like maps foreigners can read. this old map was located at entrance to ide. he decided to make a bilingual version, adding english descriptions. he asked local high school students to help him. they completed the map in april and put it up at the train station. >> translator: i want this map to be a symbol that welcomes foreign tourists to the district. >> reporter: right now, only about 10 hostels in the area accommodate overseas guests. other owners find it daunting to cater to people who don't

understand japanese or understand the culture. >> translator: first, i can't read the ill fa bet. if foreigners are going to stay here, we have to remodel the rooms. >> translator: many hostel owners want to welcome overseas tourists. they're not ready to act. i think they have to open up to new ideas. >> reporter: the former lab laborers' district is not yet a full-fledged tourist area. but economic necessity is convince i convincing hostel owners to welcome overseas guests. we turn our attention to singapore where defense equipment makers have turned out in record numbers at an international maritime exhibition. naval and maritime officers are browsing the products.

they're showing off their latest technologyings including radar equipment and unmanned helicopters. ships are also on display at a nearby port. the uss freedom is among them. the u.s. navy's first combat ship that can operate close to shore. military commanders deployed the vessel last month near singapore, part of the obama administration's strategy to increase its military presence in the asia pacific region. indonesia is trying to build up their naval power. china has been intensifying its maritime activities in the region. analysts with the a private research agency says these nations will acquire about 1,000 new vessels over the next twenty years and the region is expected to become a larger market than europe for maritime defense equipment. the u.s. and iran are putting their diplomatic differences aside to fight for a common cause.

they're fighting to keep wrels wrestling in the olympics. the international olympic committee is considering dropping the sport starting in 2020. members of the american, iranian and ssian wrestling teams spoke in new york. athletes were invited to join an international event. it's part of the campaigat was launched after the ioc's annt >> russia, the united states and iran make up -- are the three best wrestling nations in the world. there's a lot of commonalties around that. and our friendship goes pretty deep through wrestling. certainly, i think all of us believe that that sport is the foundation for good things to happen. >> an iranian national coach says wrestling is woven into culture and history and has been part of the modern olympics for more than 100 years. wrestlers from u.s. and iran will compete ian

w yo's gnd ctraldnesday at station. we're keeping an eye on a storm in the bay of bengal. keeping an eye on it heading towards bangladesh. >> that's right. it's located central of this bay and still affect ing ting the i. 's bn affecting the eastern location and the areas with the refugees, the area we're really concerned of. right now, packing winds of 75 kilometers per hour. that's the sustained winds.

gus of5. sotimeit cld be more its mong athe speed 12 kilometers a mile. it is not a fast moving system at all. it looks like it will be making landfall possibly thursday, late thursday hours local time as cyclonic system. it is going to be maintaining its intensity. that's going to be bad news, because ilstormy weather across islands and also towards these coastal areas. i know that the myanmar government is already evacuating people here, but really all the low lying people in the tents with the refugees, this is going to be a big concern here. and you can see the intensity, the accumulation of this rainfall could be as much as 150, maybe even more. finally it will be becoming a deep depression as it makes landfall. but until then we'll keep a very close eye on this system for you. now you saw another red patch coming up in this accumulation photo, but that is the south china area that we have been

tracking there as well threw to this stationary front. this is going to be bringing about 100 millimeters of additional rainfall in hunan province. this could easily trigge flding and landslides. out towards the north we have a low pressure system that brought thunderstorms across north korea as well as northeastern china. that's going to be pulling io northern jap. we're going to see unstable conditions across the north. we cannot rule out tornadic activity, but considering yesterday, we saw summer temperatures, take a look at this video. now summer sunshine and warm southerly winds have pushed up temperatures in much of japan. nara city in western japan saw temperatures with a high of 31 degrees. continue the average for this time of year is 24 degrees. the excessive heat is easing today but the temperatures will remain on the high side today as well. it looks like we already skipped thrainy seas andent stight to suer. temperatures will lower than yesterda but 112 locations

across japan s temperatures exceeding 30 degrees. down towards the south, though, in okinawa, this is where the rainy season has started yesterday. now, temperature-wise, 24 degrees in tokyo. and seoul at 22. we're looking at 30s in the tropics. now, over towards north america, quick look in eastern canada, we've till got that low and snow.system bringing rain here in tario we he a system bringing very heavy rein. back behind that, fire weaer it's going to be really windy. in chicago, down to 28 from 31 degrees. i'll leave you now for your extended forecast.

one more story before we leave you. a canadian astronaut whose postings from space made him a

star has returned to earth. chris hadfield's messages and photos from the international space station drew thousands of fans across the word. the 53-year-old captured several stunning images of earth and has many followers. one photo showow mt. fuji and tokyo on the right. ♪ ground control to major tom >> hadfield even recorded a version of "the space odyssey." he and two crewmates spent five months aboard the space station. during that time, the canadian prided a running commencement on life in space. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. thanks for joining us.

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