it's friday, july 12th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. senior officials 20 two days meeting face-to-face and didn't always see eye to eye. they wrapped up the annual strategic and economic dialogue in washington and got into trouble over the issue of cyber attacks. two minsters from each country attended the closing ceremony. barack obama agreed to foster a

new relationship. minsters and diplomats tried to build and invited business leaders to join in the discussions. william burns took time to discuss strategy. u.s. and chinese officials will keep talking to address accusations both sides have made about cyber attacks. >> we are pursuing issues such as cyber enabled threat of through the newly created cyber working group formed under the strategic security dialogue. >> officials from the united nations should mediate. they should help set up the rules for cyber security to prevent any unnecessary disturbances. a u.s. support said china has the most active and diverse missile program. the chinese military is expanding the military of nuclear warheads that can reach the u.s. experts at the national air and

space intelligence center compiled the assessment. they said china has been deploying the 31 a intercontinental ballistic missile. this has a range of 11,000 kilometers putting the u.s. mainland within reach. they are starting to deploy anti-ship missiles. they want to prevent u.s. aircraft carriers from getting near chinese waters. china is suspected to soon deploy a new submarine launched missile. this will let chinese submarines target parts of the u.s. they said china can raise warheads capable of hitting the u.s. to well over 100 in the next 15 years. north and south koreans were supposed to sit down to talk about reuniting families separated by the korean war. the north koreans postponed the talks just a day after they proposed them. officials said they would prefer to focus on restarting the

industrial complex. employees from both countries worked together there and they shut down the park in april. from south korea, they suggested both sides concept rate on reopening the industrial zone. they accepted proposals to talk about reuniting families separated during the war and resuming a joint tourism project. they suggested those talks take place in the village. the north koreans backed out. officials say talks on reopening the industrial park will resume as scheduled on monday. diplomats from south korea have long consulted those from japan in their approach to north korea. they will keep working with the u.s. counterparts in dealing with pyongyang. japan's vice foreign minster met with the first vice foreign minster. relations have been strained over historical and territorial

issues. last week the ja upon these and south coreekorean minsters met the first time in months. they agreed on a relationship in a constructively manner. the foreign official said kim said improving relations will require that the japanese make sincerests to restore issues. a severe summer heat wave is hitting middle eastern nations. it is affecting work and religious events in the holy month of ramadan. dubai has seen the daytime highs exceed 40 degrees celsius recently. inland it topped 50 degrees on tuesday. starting this month, officials have banned construction firms from any outdoor work in the afternoon to protect workers's health. violators may be fined up to

$8,100 u.s. workers are not supposed to eat or drink from sun up to sundown for an entire month. >> translator: it's really hot. the summer is even harsher because you can't drink water during the daytime. >> translator: it's very hot, but i have to work regardless of the sweltering heat. otherwise i can't make money if are my family. >> the temperature in kuwait exceeded 40 degrees in recent days. weather officials forecast that next week the mercury will surge past 50. >> high levels of radioactive cesium has been found in fish caught off the coast of northeast of tokyo. they say it's the third highest level found in marine products in the region since the accident at the fukushima nuclear power plant in march of 2011. local government officials say 1,037 bequerels were detected in

japanese sea bass. more than ten times the government safety limit. in april of 2011, more than 1,000 bequerels were detected in fish caught in the region on two occasions. researchers are investigating why such a high level was detected in fish more than two years after the accident. time for the latest in business news. investors are feeling confident. american central bankers will stick to the tune of easy money policies for a while. we go to the business desk. what makes them so sure? >> they listen to speeches and statements and minutes. they base their trades on what the fed will do next. that's one reason why they closed at record highs as federal reserve chairman ben bernanke's comments reassured investors that the bank will

continue its monetary easing policy for sometime. the dow jones rose 1.1% to end at 15,460 reaching an all time closing high. the s&p surged setting a new record and the nasdaq closed at the highest level since 2000. for more on the japanese markets, let's go to the tokyo stock exchange. following a strong performance overnight, how are tokyo stocks opening? >> good morning. investors don't seem to be encouraged by the developments in the u.s. here are the opening levels for friday, july 12th. we will see if we can get the opening numbers up for you. we are having a technical difficulty. the nikkei is lower at 14,428 points managing to close in poz tir territory at the end of

thursday's volatile trading session. the broader topix is slightly higher. we are being looking at a weekly jobless claims report with the number of americans claiming unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in two months. that further boosted market expectations though the fed will continue support for the u.s. economy. all this prompted investors to sell the doctor that fell against a brought range of currencies. the yen is at 98.73-75 against the yen falling to as low as mid-98 during the trading hours. they extended losses against the yen overnight as the bank kept monetary policy unchanged. markets will look on more direction from reports on u.s. producer price index and consumer sentiment due later today. let's have a look at the

euro-dollar. 1.3090-3092. the dollar lost some ground. checking on euro yen at the bottom of the cream is at 129.24-34. it's set to rise against most major currencies. as both central banks are leaning towards loose policies. the bank of japan's governor gets upbeat comments on the japanese economy aftermarket closed on thursday. this may pp investor sentiment hoar. the banking giant and wells fargo later in the u.s. and we will see how that plays into the markets here in japan. >> sorry we couldn't get the numbers up for you, but it is a mixed picture.

from the tokyo stock exchange. free trade negotiates on are urchd the transpacific partnership will get a briefing later this month. the country will be the newest member to the trade group. nations engaged in the t approximatpp will be engaged and they will only be allowed to join from the 23rd when it gets all the necessary approval. a special session will be provided so japanese delegates can catch up on current topics. they will send 100 delegates and they they aim to fully understand so japan's position is reflected in the these records are being made available for the first time. that's the latest in business for this hour. i will leave you with a check on

markets. people in japan are nine days away from a vote that could alter their landscape. abe and his ruling liberal democrats are campaigning hard for support trying to

consolidate their power. abe and the ldp control the lower house, but hold the majority of sits in the upper chamber. that created division where legislation can be tricky. in the days leading up to when japan decides, they will be looking at the issues and hearing from voters about what matters to them. candidates from the nine parties are running in the election. the groups qualified for political party status. they include long established parties and others that are relatively new on the scene. several groups are fielding candidates. 433 candidates including independents are running in this election. if you ask people in japan to list the issues that will be on the top of their minds when they go to the polls, many will mention energy policy. the future of nuclear power has been a matter of public debate since 2011 when an accident crippled a plant in fukushima.

all of japan's 50 commercial reactors were off line. citizens launched demonstrations against a decision to restart two units. since then the passion for protests has faded. nhk world went to find out why. they processed against atomic energy and plans to restart idle reactors. sometimes thousands of people gathered. sometimes hundreds of thousands. they organize some of the demonstrations. he went through people showing so much passion. >> more than 60% of the japanese people, especially these people in society's opinion is very strong against the nuclear power

plants. >> but month by month, he watched their passion fade as people shifted their focus to other issues. >> translator: reconstruction for the disaster is much more important than the nuclear issue. >> translator: nuclear plants are a complex issue because there so many points of view. i don't have an instant opinion. >> translator: i would like to see nuclear power plants restart. electric bills are too expensive. he is trying to reignite a nationwide discussion. >> we're lose opportunity to shift the society towards nuclear power-free. >> he said he is frustrated. japanese seem to have forgotten

about the risk nuclear plants pose. without nuclear power, utility companies are importing more oil and gas. they started to pass those costs on to their customers. they have been pushing to restart reactors. so have the executives of big corporations. they say japan needs a stable energy source. the and his ruling liberal democratic party have been making the same argument. they support the nuclear industry provided it is well-regulated. >> translator: nuclear power plants that meet requirements shall be restarted in accordance with professional judgment. >> they say they wanted to abolish nuclear energy in the

future, but so far failed to present concrete ways of achieving it. the fukushima accident exposed the risks and expense associated with nuclear power. japanese have been complacent. >> day by day, that's the memory of what the impression is going back. >> the u it ility companies have started the process of restarting the nuclear power plants. we must let the memories of that fate regardless of our personal views on nuclear energy. it's clear that more on how to empower the country is essential. nhk world, tokyo. >> we will be covering a number of issues ahead of the upper house election. during the day, we will examine

the challenges leaders face from relation to the u.s. to ties with neighboring countries, china and south korea. >> prime minister abe goes towards the economy and gets back to growth. he is setting his sights on amending the constitution, but his party must make a strong showing so it can push policies forward. less than a year after putting abe in power, they have a chance to judge him on his record. don't miss our special coverage leading up to the election right here on "newsline." >> experts are in japan to work on predictions, hoping technology can limit the impact of extreme climate conditions. officials from the u.s., russia and europe convened near tokyo. they are talking about improving observations of weather

phenomena and predicting heat waves and extreme storms could mininize development. developers created a next generation satellite. they plan to launch it next year. the developers say it can track ty fans and take readings every 30 seconds. >> translator: the satellite could be very helpful in monitoring the environment as well as giving better meteorological data on disasters on cooperation, we can use this next generation satellite. >> the participants conclude their suddenly meeting on friday. more than 100 illustrators from around the world teamed up if are an exhibition for important memories. the show from hand to hand was inspired by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

>> an exhibition featuring work from the book is currently running in tokyo. it features the art of 110 contributors from hand to hand from seven countries. the artists were asked to think about the future and the context of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. the idea came from the organizers concern about the future of the children of the world. since march last year, exhibitionists have been held in five european countries including italy, slovakia and the netherlands. >> this piece called when is the scariest thing on earth is by japanese artist that features the nuclear power plant and an og ogre's face. for a clean future, it depicts a girl watering a baby windmill.

>> i'm grateful for the understanding and support shown by people around the world. >> i'm very sad that they lost their town. >> this is one of the artists. her work, apple rabbit one is based on the damage caused by the fukushima accident. people would be surprised if a lot of apples fell from the sky so who could have imagined that radio activity would fall from the sky. >> as time passes, memories fade. i made this work to remind people of the problems we face. >> this is walter of the

netherlands. his work, the mountains famous for 100 million solar cells depicts countless panels with mt. fujy and cherry blossoms. his message, japan as a land of the rising sun speaks about natural energy rather than nuclear power in japan. as well as taking part in the exhibition, he ran a workshop for children while in japan asking them to draw pictures based on a big machine to improve the world. by putting the children's pictures together, hoe created the machine through art. he hopes that the experience will teach children that by connecting to others, they have the power to change the world.

>> all the problems in the world will be solved by this machine. i try to stimulate them to see that they can do something terrific too and it's not -- you get intimidated by all these ideas that come streaming at you, but there is some in you too and i love to make the children happy with their own drawing. >> by highlighting the anxiety caused by the disaster, these projects can help children walk hand in hand towards a brighter tomorrow. >> the organizers say they worry the lessons of two years ago are fading from people's minds and they plan to tour japan for the next 18 months. >> thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast tracts of land are still waiting to be restored. and more than half of fishing ports on the pacific coast must

be rebuilt. people in north eastern japan face challenges following the 2011 disaster, but step by step, they are moving forward. see their stories, every wednesday on the road ahead right here on "newsline." >> time now for a check on the weather. people in southwestern japan and taiwan are feeling the effects of a powerful typhoon heading their way. we have the latest in world weather. >> good morning, catherine. as you can see the system is tracking ever so closely towards the i lands of japan and it will be moving into taiwan in the next 72 hours. it's a strong ty fan we have been tracking that is going to be affecting the southwestern islands already with waves up to 12 meters high. taiwan is still feeling those waves up to about three meters, but the stormy weather will impact around the big city of

taipaias been seeing this very stormy weather after it makes land fall it will be decreasing intensity and moving towards southern parts of china over the weekend. and as you can see it will be a gusty effect as well as drenching downpours to talk about. there is a rain band that is bringing hefty amounts of rainfall across japan and north korea as well as parts of china. 100 millimeters have been found in the past 24 hours, even more. 170 have been found here in north korea. into 72 hours, we are likely to see 200 millimeters of rainfall across the korean peninsula and 100 millimeters of rainfall here. since tuesday, they have been finding 240 millimeters of

rainfall. accumulation is not at all welcomed. to the south, taipai will be in the bulk of that very heavy drenching significant amounts of rainfall that could cause significant travel disturbances in and around the big city here. talking about the rain, there is another factor to it. the very strong pacific high both combined are bringing heat across southern china. and western and central japan. advisories are posted again today on our friday. temperatures are soaring into the 30s and much of these regions at 35 with plenty of sunshine. is down to the 20s, but tokyo yet again at 35. sunshine. do stay away from that heat if possible. let's move over to the americas where we have been talking about severe weather in the eastern seaboard. this is capable of spawning tornados and large hail and damaging winds.

down towards the south, it's a ghost of that tropical storm now over towards the bahamas and that is likely to bring rainfall. we are seeing showers across the four corners. lots of phenomena here across the area. a video from phoenix. a huge dust storm blew through a suburb of phoenix and lower visibility to several kilometers. this is called ha boob and monfor the desert community. it usually disappears within minutes, but is very dangerous. if you are traveling in your car, the low visibility can be hazardous. los angeles at 28 degrees and phoenix reaching up to 39. oklahoma city is up to the mid 30s yet again and cooling across the eastern seaboard due to the cold front passing through. i will leave you now to the extended forecast.

. >> that is all for this edition of "newsline."

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. o

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