hello and welcome to "newsline." it is wednesday, may 13th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a strong earthquake has hit northern japan. japan's meteorological agency say it is focus of the 6.8 magnitude quake was off miyagi prefer below the pacific ocean. the agency has not issued a tsunami warning. officials say the tremor was observed from the northeastern region of japan to northern hokkaido. so far, no major damage has been reported. the operator of fukushima daiichi nuclear plants says no issues have been found. the operator of the onagawa nuclear power plant says officials have not confirmed any trouble.

railway operator shinkansen bullet train say they temporarily halted bullet trains in the region in order to confirm safety. officials at the meteorological agency say it was the first strong earthquake to hit the region since july 2011. an expert say it is tremor can be considered an aftershock of march 2011. he says in the past four years quakes measuring around magnitude 7 have been observed about once a year off northeast japan and the pacific ocean. he says aftershocks on a similar scale might come in the next week. people in nepal have felt another strong jolt beneath their feet. a powerful earth quake on tuesday sent many into the streets fearing aftershocks could topple even more buildings. authorities say at least 60 people were killed across the region. officials with the u.s. geological survey say the quake had a magnitude of 7.3. they estimate its focus 76 kilometers east of the capital

kathmandu. japan's meteorological agency says it appears to be the strongest aftershock of the quake that devastated the country last month. many people spent the night in makeshift tents fearing more tremors. >> after five days we went to the home and now after two weeks again this happened. very scary. >> translator: another quake may occur again in the night so i'm spending night outdoors. >> police say that 45 people were killed in the districts. they say over 1,100 people were injured. the damage also reached neighboring india and china. 17 people died in eastern india. chinese media is reporting a landslide triggered by the quake killed one woman in a car in the tibet autonomous region. american military leaders say a helicopter deployed for disaster relief has gone missing.

they say six u.s. marines and two nepalese soldiers were on board. the japanese government says the lingering issue of citizens abducted by north korea is unrelated to the arrests of people with ties to a pro-pyongyang group. japanese police arrested three people on tuesday on suspicion of illegally importing mushrooms from north korea. japan bans trade with north korea as the country has carried out missile and nuclear tests. the three include the son of the chairman of the general association of korean residents in japan. the pro-north korean body is regarded as the de facto diplomatic mission of the north. the association says the arrest has no legal grounds, is extremely unjust and is the act of fascists. the japanese government says the police investigation is based on law and evidence and says this is a separate matter from the negotiations with north korea on the abduction issue.

>> translator: japan is urging north korea to carry out an investigation and report promptly and honestly on the missing japanese. >> nearly one year has passed since north korea promised a full investigation into the fate of the missing japanese nationals, including those who were abducted. the japanese government says north korean agents abducted at least 17 japanese in the 1970s and '80s. twelve of them are still unaccounted for. pyongyang reacted sharply last month after japanese police raided the home of the association's head over the suspected illegal trade. it told japan that intergovernmental meetings could not be held on the investigation into the abductees. some japanese officials predict that north korea will retaliate for the arrest. south korea's parliament has adopted a resolution on tuesday criticizing japan's efforts to get some of its modern

industrial sites included on unesco's world heritage list. the lawmakers say japan is trying to glorify the sites where many koreans were forced to work. the resolution calls japan's campaign diplomatic provocation. the lawmakers say the actions could have a grave effect on peace and stability in northeastern asia. the resolution urges south korea's government to take steps on the matter. some officials in south korea oppose the nominations. they say korean people were forced to work at a number of the facilities during world war ii. japanese government officials say the historical significance of the facilities comes from before the early 20th century. they say that doesn't include world war ii. our correspondent says south korean foreign ministry officials would likely take a hard stance on the heritage bid in a meeting with japanese leaders. japanese officials released data on the current account, the

broadest measure of trade and invest wmt the rest of the world. ai uchida joins us. >> officials have for sometime now reported positive numbers and this morning people at the finance ministry said the numbers for march stayed in the black for the ninth straight month. they credited income gains and an improved trade balance. the surplus for march came in at nearly 2.8 trillion yen, that's more than $23 billion. japan's trade surplus stood at $5.6 billion, officials say a slide in crude oil prices from a year earlier helped the trade balance returning to the black. exports rose 10% in yen terms from a year ago. imports fell 16%. and returns on overseas investment grew. the primary income account shows how much japan earns from its foreign investments. this account showed a surplus of $19.4 billion.

so let's see how markets are reacting to those trade figures this morning and after the losses on the european and u.s. markets. on wall street the dow jones industrial average ended just above 18,000 that is down .2%, the tech heavy nasdaq closing in at just above 4900. that was a loss of about a third for more, we are joined by ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. what are you seeing so far? >> given the losses on wall street and the slight fall in the dollar it's no surprise we're seeing losses here at the open. so let's have a look at opening levels for the nikkei and the topix for today. and you can see they're both indexes trading in the negative. now just sort of quick reminder nikkei gained back the losses yesterday, small one and ending pretty much flat on the day and now following wall street lower. investors focused on positive

corporate earnings. boosting market sentiment after posting the first net profit over $680 million in 5 years so that was boosting some sentiment there. electronics is the result of a merger between hitachi, mitsubishi and nec and ill really focuses a lot on the automotive chip sector of the markets and watching that sector, as well. ai? >> you mentioned the falling dollar. it does look weaker against both the yen and the euro. where are some of the pairs trading right now? >> having a look at the levels right now, the dollar as you say is weaker against both currencies. investors still waiting for further signals when the federal reserve may decide to raise rates and data in the first quarter if you remember showed conflicted signs on the u.s. economy and any lag in that decision to raise rates would weigh on the dollar. according to analysts.

greece remains a focus, although we may see a little bit of positives. there we had reports of the european central bank to decide against tougher terms for the country's funding requirements. of course we'll follow that. now, also we need to watch out for energy related shares chls you are looking at brent crude oil prices there and it was up 3% and west texas intermediate up more than 2%. now, earnings here of course remain a focus and telecom giant kddi announced tuesday to expect record profit for fiscal 2015 of around $4 billion. largely on gains in smartphone use earls. so that's a big sector there, as well. also little bit of focus on financials. may have to pay compensation for damages of mortgage financing deals struck before the 2008 financial crisis. also, asian indexes, let's focus on shanghai composite, really a

star performer again outperforming a lot of indexes. rising to extend monday's 3% gains. data on china's april factory output and retail sales due later today will be a big focus. that's all for me. back to you. >> okay. thanks a lot for that update. we'll check in with him in a few hour's time. a bill that would help the u.s. president accelerate the transpacific partnership free trade talks is deadlocked. they blocked immediate yours to begin debate on the trade promotion bill. the fast track legislation would give president obama greater authority in trade negotiations. it's aimed at speeding up negotiations over the tpp pact involving 12 countries. senate and house committees approved the bill last month. senate republicans are taking a lead in the effort to secure the early passage. some democrats are tuesday voted

against a motion to begin deliberation on the bill. they're concerned the tpp could threaten american jobs. the fast track bill is now expected to pass the senate later than next week as was initially expected. a japanese researcher says artificial lighting is harming the country's main staple crop. rice. he's finding street lamps are impacting the plant's growth and come up with a bright idea to solve the problem. nhk world ria tamia explains. >> reporter: an exhibit at the recent lighting equipment show in tokyo drew a lot of attention. the reason was the street light. it's not having a negative effect on rice. it's the first time that such lights are being marketed in japan. >> translator: i was amazed. i didn't know about this. >> translator: this will be very useful because there are many rice paddies near street lights.

>> reporter: the street light was invented by a professor at yamaguchi university. he's been studying the effects of light pollution on rice plants for ten years. yeah ma motto began to look into the effects of artificial lighting on crops by observing a rice paddy at the university. he found that rice plants exposed to the glare of street lights at night experienced a delay in their development. normally in late summer when the nights begin to grow longer rice plants sense that autumn is approaching. and begin to produce fruits. but street lights misleads the plants into sensing that the days are still long. resulting in stunted growth. professor yeah ma motto

investigated the effects of light pollution on a number of farms. this area does not have street lights. farmers were concerned that light pollution would affect the quality of rice and result in lower prices. but others were also worried about safety. >> translator: many female college students use the road in the evenings. there have been calls for putting up street lights. >> reporter: to develop a street light that's friendly to both humans and rice plants professor yam motto decided to find out which type of light has a negative effect on rice plants. in experiments, he repeatedly shown about 300 different wave lengths on rice plants. plants exposed to red light and

yellow light were late of producing ears but those exposed to blue light and green light produced fruits normally. yamamoto also discovered another way to diminish the negative effects. by flickering a led light at the rapid speed, undetected to human eyes. he succeeded in further minimizing the effects on rice plants. >> translator: this won't cause plants to suffer from light pollution while providing light at night. i have found something that serves both purposes. >> reporter: the product was finally ready in march. it will soon light up foot paths and adjacent to rice paddies. it costs twice as much as the regular street light but the manufacturer intends to explore new markets.

>> translator: i am pleased that i am off to a good start to help society. i hope this product becomes widespread. throughout japan and other east asian countries that cultivate rice. >> reporter: the light developed by the professor is friendly to both humans and rice plants. and it's to shine a new light on rice farming around japan. rie tamiya nhk world, yamaguchi. that's the latest in business news in this hour. i'll leave you with a check on numbers.

russian opposition activists have published a report that says the russian government is deeply involved in the war in ukraine. the report includes evidence compiled by the murdered opposition leader, boris nemtsov. opposition members announced the publication at a news conference on tuesday in moscow. nemtsov collected evidence for the report before he was shot dead in central moscow in february. he was a vocal critic of president vladimir putin. the document says at least 220 russian soldiers were killed in fighting in eastern ukraine last summer and earlier this year. the death toll is based on the number of coffins transported to russia and interviews with relatives of those who died. the report says russians who joined the armed separatists in eastern ukraine were paid up to $1,700 a month. it includes photos of russian tanks and anti-aircraft missiles that are believed to have been taken in eastern ukraine. opposition members say the

military intervention has increased russia's financial burden, worsened relations with ukraine and harmed russia's standing in the world. putin has strongly denied the military's involvement. francois hollande has become the first french president to visit cuba. he met with his counterpart, raul castro. the two men met in havana on monday. official details of their talks have not been released. media sources from the two countries report that the leaders discussed ways to boost cooperation. hollande also delivered a speech at a university in havana. he indicated hope that the united states will ease economic sanctions against cuba. >> translator: as you know, france's position has always been that embargoes hindering development in cuba should be lifted. >> hollande also met with former president and revolutionary leader, fidel castro. they spent about an hour discussing economic sanctions

and other issues. france is apparently trying to boost economic ties with cuba as the united states works to normalize diplomatic ties with the country. authorities in southeast asian nations are dealing with a growing problem off their coast. they're seeing more and more muslims from mean mar arriving by boths every day and they're now trying to cope with thousands of migrant who is are looking for a safe haven. more from nhk world's reporter. >> reporter: a thousand refugees landed on the islands late on sunday and were detained. many of them were muslims from mean mar. myanmar.

>> translator: i don't have any relatives in malaysia but we have come because there's no food back home. >> reporter: malaysia's one of the richest countries in southeast asia and has a large muslim population. it appeals to those 0 poesed in myanmar and wanting to escape poverty in countries. in western indonesia, at least 600 boat people arrived on sunday. they were taken to a sports hall and given food. they're thought to have left myanmar and bangladesh heading to thailand. the international organization for migration has warned that more migrants will die at sea. >> they have stopped coming to land and we have also seen a stop in the depar churls from bangladesh. so in the meantime, what we have are people enroute and we have people who are waiting offshore

who can no longer land and so we think that there's many thousands of people who are stranded at sea. >> reporter: they are denied citizenship in myanmar and suffered in deadly clashes with buddhists three years ago. since then the u.n. estimates 80,000 have been snuggled out of the country. dozens of bodies of people believed to be victims of human trafficking were recently unearthed in a jungle in southern thailand. the area is a stopping point for people smugglers. thai police arrested local officials including a mayor. they say the crisis requires an international solution. >> translator: thailand is in the middle of this criminal network between the origin and the destination. we need an international body to mediate between the country of origin and the country of destination. and we need to get our own house in order. there are issues here the government needs to address

because the authorities have proven they are not effective. >> reporter: the u.n. says 25,000 muslims and bangladeshis left by boat of january to march this year nearly double the number a year earlier. nhk world. officials with russia's space agency say they're postpone ing postponing the launch of a soyuz spacecraft because of safety concerns. a russian cosmonaut, japanese astronaut and u.s. astronaut were to be on the mission. it has been delayed from may 27th to late july. their decision comes after an unmanned cargo ship failed to reach the iss two weeks ago. they say the cargo ship couldn't enter its planned orbit due to a problem with the rocket's third stage. they say they will send another unmanned cargo ship in to ship

in early july to confirm the safety of their rockets before launching the soyuz. japanese astronaut underwent training at a center on the outskirts of moscow and on may 7th, passed his examination. the agency says his return to earth in november hasn't changed but the schedule of experiments he will conduct aboard the iss will likely be affected. it is time far check of the weather a. strong tropical system is approaching the marshall islands in the pacific. mai shoji joining us with the details. another round of severe stormy weather that could be felt across these islands. notice this sprawl of clouds. that's the system but not really a confined figure as you can see. it's disbursed and quite tell that it's moving as a snail pace. it is a very slow movement. what it does is going to be accumulating a lot of that rainfall so that's certainly going to be the primary threats of flooding certainly will be a huge issue here.

this is severe tropical storm dolphin and we have some typhoon watch already in place in guam and placed in saipan so stormy weather to impact the islands starting tomorrow and keeping a close eye on this for you. the rain will certainly be the key. here across japan we had a lot of stormy weather yesterday especially on the pacific side. we have some images coming out from there. there's the typhoon noul that killed two people in philippines and numerous homes destroyed and now hit japan. heavy rainfall in the pacific coastline. broken umbrellas scattered around tokyo this morning following the wind storm, the remnants of typhoon noul and max winds up to 123 kilometers per hour. around 11:00 p.m. tuesday night.

people's hats flying around as you can see there. well now it's low pressure system, however, that's a damage that it brought. 122 kilometers per hour reported in haneda airport and canceled numerous flights and about 100 millimeters of rainfall in hakone in a short time span. that system affecting hokkaido and across much of japan, still some high winds and high waves so not a day to be venturing out in the ocean but carrying that heat from the south and it is going to be heat stroke that we should be affair of. we are looking at these kind of temperatures, for example, in tokyo, reaching up to 30s all the way into your friday. we are looking at some really hot weather to continue throughout the latter half of this week. so, please drink a lot of water and spend more time in air conditioned places. don't get too much sun. so, do avoid that. another area we are looking at with the high temperatures are

in eastern parts of china. and the heat's up to about 30 degrees. beijing reaching 31. another area where heat stroke should be prevented. here across europe now, this problem here across greece is bringing flooding concerns, impassable roads and flooded houses is what we are seeing in greece right now with lots of hailstorms reported out here. that's pooling into turkey with some heavy rainfall. another system is impacting poland and germany. we have gusts reaching over 100 kilometers per hour reported here and that's likely to continue to persist. poland germany, hungary, those are some areas where there is going to be some very wet and windy conditions. but out toward the iberian peninsula, reaching 40 degrees. i will leave you now with your extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobiyashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

>> 2015 is the un's international year of soils designed to raise awareness of the importance of the ground we walk on. and, as if that weren't reason enough to be focusing on all things earthy, then it just so happens to be global soil week as well, with experts of more than 70 countries meeting here in berlin. hello and a very warm welcome to global 3000, where we have the following stories coming up. parched earth -- concern over

worldwide threats to soil quality sun, skis and snow -- meet the people skiing for a new afghanistan