glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's tuesday april 7th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. japan's imperial couple is about to make a journey to pay respect to the past and look to the future. they'll travel to the pacific island nation of palau to a major battleground of world war ii. the official visit comes ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of the war and is aimed at bringing the two countries even closer together. emperor akito and empress michiko's two-day tour begins wednesday. their schedule includes a visit to peleliu to pay their respects to the war dead.

the island was the site of a fierce battle between japanese and u.s. soldiers during world war ii. palau's president, tommy hemengesau, says residents are looking forward to their arrival. >> we are very honored and very appreciative of the now planned visit of the emperor and the empress to visit palau as we remember the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. >> remengesau says palau and japan must console the spirits of the dead. he says the anniversary is an important occasion to mourn those who died and to pray for peace. palau was under japanese control for about three decades until the end of the war. remengesau says he hopes the visit will allow the people of japan to learn more about palau. now, people in palau are getting ready to host the imperial

couple. senator mark rudimu has fond memories of meeting them more than three decades ago. he traveled to japan as part of a school exchange between the two countries. he visited the palace and met the couple, who were then the crown prince and princess. >> and i hope he finds it memorable like how we found japan, very memorable to us as young kids when we visited japan back then. ♪ >> and members of a dance group have been rehearsing traditional numbers they'll perform at a banquet. >> a little bit nervous, but excited as well. we've been preparing for a long time now and we're all ready. >> they hope the emperor and empress will enjoy the culture of palau. members of a japanese education ministry panel are

changing textbooks to reflect the government's view of sovereignty. they're adding more references about territory the correspondent controls and claims. the panel screened more than 100 junior high school textbooks to be used next april. they say the content must clearly state the senkaku islands in the east china sea and the takeshima islands in the sea of japan are the country's inherent territory. the materials will now refer to japan's territory more than twice as much as current textbooks. japan controls the senkaku islands. the government maintains the islands are part of the country's territory. china and taiwan claim them. south korea controls the takeshima islands. japan claims them. the books are to be shown to the public across the country next month. local boards of education plan to decide by the end of august which to use. south korea's foreign ministry has lodged a protest over the changes. first vice foreign minister cho

teong summoned japan's ambassador to the country. cho called the reference to the takeshima islands unjustifiable. besho rejected the protest. and a spokesperson for the ministry expressed anger at a news conference. >> translator: japan has made another provocation by escalating its unjust claim to south korea's inherent territory. >> the spokesperson said instilling a distorted perception of history in the next generation is tantamount to repeating past mistakes. a u.s. state department official has again called on japanese officials to move a u.s. air base in okinawa. spokesperson marie harve said the relocation of the marine corps tuten ma air station should proceed as planned. >> construction of the replacement facility a meaningful result of many years of sustained work between the united states and japan and a critical step forward toward realizing our shared vision for the re-alignment of u.s. forces on okinawa.

>> harff made the remarks after suga met okinawa governor o'nagga on saturday. suga sought understanding from onaga on the plan. it calls for moving the base to a less populated area in okinawa. but onaga says he will continue to demand the plan be scrapped. he opposes constructing a new base in the prefecture. investors are wondering when the federal reserve will raise interest rates, and some aren't fully convinced of the economic recovery in the u.s. ai uchida joins us now from the business desk. good morning. tell us what's going on in the markets. >> good morning, catherine. the unimpressive jobs data out of the u.s. last week that worked to push up and down the markets. investors took it as a clue that the fed won't be raising rates for a while longer but a weaker labor market is a warning for the rest of the economy and that worked to push the dollar down. but overnight on wall street

investors seemed to con trailt on the possible timing of a rate hike and markets rallied. let's see how markets here are starting the day. ramin mellegard joins us for that from the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, ramin. what are you seeing so far? >> very good morning to you, ai. indeed u.s. markets look to have shrugged off the disappointing u.s. jobs numbers. we saw the dow jones industrial average and the nasdaq up by about 2/3 of a percent. tokyo share prices also ended lower but not such a steep decline and we're definitely seeing markets sidestepping some of that negative sentiment and they're trading higher. of course lingering concerns about the strength of the recovery in the u.s. economy and the timeline of course for the fed's raising of rates but let's have a look at how the nikkei and topix are reacting. pretty positive. this tuesday april 7th both indexes up so far in the first few minutes of trading. just a remind dwrer nikkei despite ending monday down by 37 points -- i was going to say percent. it had been down nearly 200

points before that. so that markets did recover a touch giving investors here some confidence heading into this week. also as you mentioned there the dollar has somewhat rebounded and that should add some positive sentiment as well for exporters. also we need to keep an eye on oil-related shares. we saw another 5% gain in wti crude in new york on monday boosting energy sector shares. as a result analysts believe there may be growing demand especially in the asia region. i'll be watching out for petrochemical firms, refiners, oil and gas field developers as well as of course trading companies which use a lot of commodities in their business. in a similar context japan, as you're going to be covering ai is also look at alternate energy sources as well. ai. >> exactly. we will be covering the government's energy targets this morning. but first, what about currencies? what can you tell us about the dollar? >> yeah we've seen a slight pop

higher in the dollar-yen. look at it now. 119 -- mid-119 levels. traders selling the yen following the rise in u.s. stocks. the dollar actually rose against the euro mainly on profit taking according to analysts. the dollar's gain was due to thin trading volume due to the holidays. a lot of traders coming back now, though. turning to gold prices touched seven-week highs. investors began to gain confidence that the fed may delay its rate hike. we shall see, of course. now, on monday the new york federal reserve chief said that once tightening starts the pace actually may be a little bit shallow or a little bit week. but the minutes from the last fed policy meeting are coming up on wednesday. a lot of investors want to see what the thinking of fed insurance is with regards to rates. here in asia stocks rallied on the dollar's rebound. but also i want to keep track of the tech sector. samsung electronic also came out and said it did not use qualcomm chips in its latest smartphone. so we'll watch out for that sector as well. that's all for me.

back to you. >> okay ramin. thanks a lot for that update. well, officials at the japan business federation or keidanren, have compiled a proposal to be presented to the government for its discussions on energy mix. they are proposing that the ratio of nuclear power reliance in 2030 should be more than 25% of the country's energy needs. >> translator: keeping a certain level of nuclear power plants is necessary for japan's energy policy and for global measures to fight climate change. >> keidanren officials say the ratio of renewable energy sources such as solar power should be about 15% and thermal power should cover the remaining 60% or so. they say their proposal is for a stable supply of power at economically efficient prices. officials also say that in addition to restarting nuclear reactors at power plants that have been confirmed as safe consideration should be given to

rebuilding such facilities. people at the government have been working to decide on its energy mix plan which will impact greenhouse gas emission. they have to present their targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions at a u.n. climate change conference or cop 21 at the end of the year. people at the japanese environment ministry see hydrogen as a promising energy source for the future because it doesn't emission carbon dioxide. they're conducting an experiment that uses excess energy generated by wind power to produce hydrogen. ministry officials launched a trial project two years ago in southwestern japan to generate power with a floating wind turbine. it produces 2,000 kilowatts of electricity. that's enough to meet the needs of about 1,800 households. but power cables in the area can't handle all that electricity. the people conducting the experiment use the surplus to produce hydrogen. they store it in tanks and liquid form.

workers took the liquid hydrogen by ship to a nearby island. it will be used as fuel to heat water. >> translator: developing our technology could promote introduction of reusable energy. reducing carbon dioxide emissions so that we can help curb global warming. >> ministry officials are looking into the possibility of someday using hydrogen to power aught month automobiles and ships. well, nato say japanese food made from fermented soybeans. it's known for its sticky, some might say slimy texture. consumers outside japan often don't care for it. one japanese food maker is trying to give the dish a wider, more international appeal. >> reporter: people on the streets of lyon are trying a distinctly japanese food for the first time, and they're finding the texture challenging.

>> translator: i don't like it at all. really. >> translator: it's slimy. >> translator: it's weird. it makes me feel ill. >> reporter: a nato maker is trying a different approach in an effort to change people's perceptions. people from this company arranged to give the dish a debut at one of the world's largest food fairs in france. they used a special bacteria to produce nato that's less sticky than usual. they hope to market this new variety in order to get it onto dining tables all over the world. >> do you have a sample? >>. >> reporter: one french chef was very interested.

he took the product back to his restaurant and tested it. he beat the nato until it was almost liquid then added fresh dairy cream and lemon to turn it into a sauce. the chef served his creation with vegetables broiled in garlic. >> translator: it's a superb dish and a wonderful combination with very good texture and flavor. >> translator: i think if it's used subtly nato onatto can enhance western cooking. >> reporter: the president of the japanese company got in touch with a potential client. a major french quiche maker with a worldwide sales network wanted to learn more.

>> translator: how do you eat this? with meat? in soup? >> reporter: the manager wants to test out the natto in his cooking to see if it goes well with other ingredients. he demonstrated a variety of combinations with other foods. this one's with blueberry. >> translator: super. wonderful. >> reporter: next the quiche company taste-tested natto with olive oil used to marinate truffles. >> translator: the flavor exploded in my mouth.

>> reporter: they decided to use natto in a quiche that would be suitable for vegetarians. >> translator: people in europe showed a deeper understanding of natto than we had expected. that was a big difference and a nice surprise to what we had imagined. >> reporter: nagata isn't standing still. next he hopes to have business talks with companies in italy and germany. >> and that is the latest in business for this hour. it's back to catherine now. >> thanks very much ai. well japanese authorities are looking to head ahead of the spreading popularity of drones and the accidents they can cause. a government panel has been tasked with creating rules for flying unmanned aircraft. transport ministry officials met on monday to draw up regulations for the proper use of the drones. they will cover the safety of the devices and the skill of the people operating them. the move comes as drones have

become increasingly common across the country for both professional and personal uses. some regulations are already in place. permission is required to fly awn manned aircraft near an airport and people flying them higher than 150 meters must file a report. but no rules have been established for flielg drones at low altitudes leading to crashes and unapproved uses. >> translator: it is important the government first appeals to people to be aware of their manners when using drones. >> reporter: the panel plans to come up with a set of rules by this summer. the momentum for renewable energy in japan has been growing since the fukushima nuclear disaster. large-scale solar power plants have been built around the country. but as nhk world's soichira

soichira sakai reports, they've been targeted for theft. >> reporter: thieves made off with four kilometers of power lines from this facility in shiga prefecture last fall. the whole weight, four tons. and it was worth more than $83,000. a different plant in the prefecture was hit twice around the same time. >> translator: i never would have thought this would happen again. >> reporter: in fact more than ten such thefts have occurred in shiga. police suspect the bandits targeted the copper that the lines contain. the value of copper has been rising steadily and the copper using power cables is almost

100,000 pure. >> the market for copper has expanded with rapid development of asian countries. exporters and brokers are trying to get a share of it. >> reporter: over the past five years copper prices have tripled. that makes the solar plants even more tempting as targets. many of them are out of sight in mountainous or rural areas. this one spreads across 70,000 square meters. it lost 2,800 meters of wire in a heist last fall. a high fence surrounds the facility. and security cameras failed to deter the intruders. >> translator: someone got in by

making a hole in the fence. >> reporter: whoever it was seems to have known the hole was in the camera blind spot. the cable had been placed in a container so it could not be seen from outside. >> translator: usually it's covered like this. >> reporter: the company suspects someone with inside information acted as an accomplice. >> translator: the heavy lines are concentrated in this part which is called the trunk line. the thieves knew what they were doing. the line appears to have been cut with a specialized tool. >> reporter: police think a ring of copper thieves is to blame. as the investigation continues, managers are trying to prevent a recurrence. they've upgraded the security.

if a cable is cut then the system will sit on the lot day or night. but the cost of suchfof such vigilance is significant. >> translator: we're trying to find a balance between reducing the expenditures to run the system and improving security. that is our big challenge. >> reporter: the energy that arrives free from the sun generates a cost. soichira sakai, nhd world. experts are warn baying cost of war not often considered. they say ancient artifacts and sites in conflict zones are targeted and the destruction is having a serious cultural and historical impact. nhk world's jun yotsumoto sat down with one man working to protect them. >> reporter: kazeya yammauchi has spent decades working to protect ancient artifacts

including the buddhist monuments at bamiyan in afghanistan. yamauchi said sites around the world are facing threats from natural disasters. but he says destruction caused by people is having a different impact. >> translator: the destruction by human hands made the incident so shocking. the footage showing the buddha statues being damaged indeed shocked the world, including us here in japan. >> reporter: yamauchi and his team travel around the world, conserving sites. he said he and other experts need to learn more about why the artifacts are being targeted. yamauchi said the bamiyan attacks and the recent ones in iraq and syria seem to have similar motives. >> translator: maybe they chose

to destroy the buddha statues in bamiyan as a symbol of their act to delete past culture, history, and memories. actually, in iraq after the war libraries and archives were burnt down. some intellectuals were assassinated. this is not widely known, but it happened. the recent attacks in syria and iraq may also be part of their desire to change, demolish or reset history and culture. >> reporter: yammauchi says culture is a human life itself. he says if people are deprived of it they'll have a harder time remembering and understanding the past.

>> realistically we can't go there and directly protect the sites because of the ongoing violence, but what we can do is help people at refugee camps to save their traditional culture. it's important to maintain a strong interest. >> it's time now for a check of the weather. people in tokyo are seeing gray skies this morning. meteorologist robert speta joins us with more in world weather. >> catherine, what we're going to be looking at for not only today but the next several days is still those gloomy skies. we're look at some light rain showers across most of japan. a few thunderstorms are popping up. even in the miyazaki prefecture we've actually seen winds gusting upwards of about 80 to 90 kilometers per hour with some of these thunderstorms. but for the most part it's light to steady rain. not just japan. parts of south korea extending to central and eastern china and even toward the southeast we are seeing this stationary boundary. the main reason for this is the wintertime air mass off toward the north and then we have the summertime air mass in the

south. you get this boundary, it just sets up right in the middle of that and it starts to bring these heavy rain showers. it's also dividing these air masses quite significantly. for example, down toward southeastern china we're talking about taipei also into hong kong as well, we're looking at some heavy rain showers, or light to moderate rain showers that is actually. with temperatures into the mid 20s. so feeling much warmer. but in the north things are rather cold. actually in ulan bator only 1 there for your high on your tuesday. and it's actually staying relatively chilly over the next several days. what this translates into in japan is that stationary boundary continuing to linger for now but it's going to start to push down into the south. so temperatures are going to be dropping with that. for example, in sendai look at this 20 degrees for your high on your monday. then as we go ahead into tuesday only expecting 13. similar conditions in tokyo, farther southwest into kyoto. the good news is wednesday into

thursday sunny skies and winds will start to work their way back in and eventually rebuild those temperatures. you want to have a sweater, at least a rain jacket on hand for the next 24 hours. let's talk about what's going on in south america. some severe weather has been taking place here. actually across bolivia, what we have been seeing is this area of thunderstorms push over the last several days. that's been bringing the threat of some flash flooding. some video we have coming out of here specifically in santa cruz where on sinned the heavy rain came down and caused some large swaths of the metropolis here to become flooded. local transportation was brought to a standstill. you can see intense rain's hit the area. people scrambling to get to higher ground. storm drains were unable to support this onslaught of water and many people actually had to leave their cars on the roads here after they became stuck in the flash floods. big reason for this flooding we have been seeing is not only the thunderstorms. that's localized. but this el nino that has been taking place. i know you hear that word quite

often but the big thing you want to take from this is the sea surface temperatures off the west coast here they are above average. that has been helping to pump in that moisture on shore, not just here but also over toward peru and northern portions of chile. we have been seeing severe flooding recently and it does look like we're go to see some more rainfall here in your forecast. as we take a look at europe i do want to mention high pressure off toward the west. if you do have hay fever in the british isles even down through france you do want to watch out for that. even some unstable weather through portugal. but the big topic in the hot spot for weather is going to be here in the balkan peninsula. some strong winds. even the threat of tornadoes out there for you. and i do want to wrap up here in the americas because there is that threat of severe weather as well later on this week. for now we do have some thunderstorms in the southeast but it's this area toward the northwest. it's a cutoff low right now. it's going to move onshore, bring some much-needed rainfall and eventually work its way toward the east. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook. ♪

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

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berlin. glad you could join us and here's how our highlights of the past week have shaped up this time around -- how tomorrow's cars will be driving themselves. jason decaires taylor and his underwater art.

scenes of switzerland. the enchanting landscapes of engadin. cars that drive themselves. it's one of the coming trends in automobile manufacturing. and while mercedes and audi are already well on the way to developing computer-driven vehicles, another model was turning heads at the gen