to hammer out an agreement. >> i think there is a clear will on both sides now to complete this agreement and to keep at it until we get there. >> eu foreign policy chief serves as the coordinator for the world powers. she said the negotiations have entered the most delicate phase.

they're more concerned about the quality of the deal rather than the timing. negotiators are still believed to bed a odds over inspections of facilities where iran is suspected of developing nuclear weapons. sergey lavrov says an arms embargo is also a major issue. french foreign minister laurent fabius told reporters that negotiators are focusing on three main points. they're discussing possible limitations on nuclear research and development, a flamework to reinstate sanctions if iran violates its commitments and how to clear suspicions of nuclear weapons development. he cited these point last month as conditions for striking a deal. leaders in the eurozone have given greece a new deadline to submit a debt plan to avoid bankruptcy. ramin mellegard, it seems like we're at yet another critical juncture. >> so much to-ing and fro-ing between dwrees's creditorgreece's

creditors and the government. thursday will be key. they've requested a bailout and they want the proposal by tend of thursday. eurozone leaders held an emergency meeting on tuesday in brussels. they discussed how to deal with greece after voters rejected austerity measures proposed by international creditors. european council president donald tusk said greece's prime minister has asked for a fresh bailout package, but he says alexis tsipras must submit a comprehensive and specific structural reform plan. >> both sides of the negotiations share the responsibility for the current status quo. this is why today i called all leaders to try to find consensus. which will be our common success. >> the leaders of eurozone nations and 28 european union member states will hold separate talks next sunday. they'll study greece's proposal and discuss their response. time to check on the markets. although uncertainties over

greece still linger u.s. stock prices reverse their research sharp sell-offs and ended higher on wednesday. the dow jones industrial average ended up 0.5% and the tech-heavy nasdaq inched higher closing up 0.1%. let's now go to may yoshida who is covering the moves for us at the tokyo stock exchange. what are you seeing so far? >> good morning, ramin. investors are getting over their fears of greece but focus of trading will still be on greece as well as china and oil. let's see how tokyo markets kicked off this wednesday morning. here's how the opening levels the nikkei closed down 0.5% at 20273. the topix is down 5.5% as well. time is running out for greece to submit a new prose posal to its creditors for a third bailout. an economist i talked to said that a spillover from greece to japanese markets is extremely

low given that very very few japanese banks hold greek bonds. however, we do need to watch out for china, though. hundreds of companies have halted trading in their shares after the shanghai composite plunged 28% in just three weeks. many market players expect the decline to continue for a while. investors are selling off chinese stocks not just in shanghai or shenzhen stock markets but also in new york where e-commerce giant alibab ba group holdings dropped 0.7% the lowest since its debut. worries over china are pressuring commodities as well. crude oil futures dropped to a three-month low while copper prices plunged to a six-year low. continue to keep track of the energy and resource sector here in japan. aside from energy stocks a couple of key stocks that i want to watch out for. first up the operator of convenience stores announced record high profits for the

march to may quarter and also a social networking and mobile gaming firm. and it said it will raise up to $160 million through public offerings outside japan. >> mayu a lot of focus on currencies right now. very choppy with that greek debt crisis going on. what are some of the levels right now? >> exactly. very choppy. overnight the euro touched a five-week low against the dollar. but then it's rebounding just a little bit. it's now trading at 1.0997. worries about greece and its creditors to reach a new bailout deal pushed dealers toward safe havens like the dollar and the yen. that makes the dollar/yen 122.47. that's it from me. i'll give you with an update in a couple of hours. back to you. >> great. thank you very much. we'll look forward to that. japanese officials have

released the latest data on the current account. the balance for may remained in the black for the 11th straight month. finance ministry officials say the surplus in may came in at more than $15 billion beating market expectations. the current account is the broadsbroad broadest measure of trade and investment with the rest of the world. the deficit was $3.9 million. it fell 1% in yen terms from a year ago, imports decreased 10.3%. returns on overseas investments grew. the primary income account shows how muchp jaen earns from its foreign investments. a surplus of $16.4 million. japanese and u.s. trade officials are set to resume their talks on the transpacific partnership. the meeting will get under way in tokyo on thursday and it's aimed at paving the way for concluding a bilateral deal. high on the agenda will be the question of when the u.s. would remove its tariffs on japanese

auto parts. washington wants more than ten years to eliminate the duties on engines, gear boxes, power steering and other parts that compete with u.s. products. but for the most other parts, both sides are making arrangements to abolish tariffs five years after the tpp takes effect. officials are expected to discuss measures in case either the u.s. or japan violates agreements. they're negotiating to allow japan to impose tariffs on imports other than automobiles if the u.s. were to violate agreements. now, leaders in china know the rise of their economy comes with more responsibility to the global community. they've been trying to do their part by boosting aid to developing countries. but some who are already on the receiving end of chinese aid are worried. nhk world has more on that. >> reporter: afghanistan depends

heavily on foreign aid. the country is struggling to recover from decades of civil war and confusion after military intervention. china is one country offering support. but aid from beijing hasn't been put to full use. this is a hospital in afghan capital cabkabul. the hospital has buildings built by chinese aid. construction of the hospital cost $40 million. it is equipped with some modern equipment including dialysis machines. and the wards are busy with people seeking treatment and tests. but a closer look around reveals the hospital isn't operating at full capacity. much of the medical equipment

donated by dhin is not in use and never has been. chinese donors installed the machines, but they provided little explanation of how to use them. >> translator: we don't know how to use these devices. >> reporter: that's not the only problem. i'm in the second on the fifth floor. i'm going upstairs for now. well, as you can see, no one is here. it's almost empty. workers finished building the hospital in 2009 but it remained unused for more than four years. after much criticism, the hospital finally opened last year. but one-third of the building is

still closed. hospital officials blame china for this. they say the aid donor ignored the fact that afghans do not have experience or funds to run a modern hospital. >> translator: all china did was build the hospital. chinese officials didn't think about how to run it. >> reporter: government officials in kabul have taken the matter up with china. they are asking for more support to put the hospital into full operation. they're still waiting for a response. the hospital is just one example of chinese overseas aid, but the challenges facing the project have exposed the need for the country to improve its approach to providing aid.

reporting for nhk world from kabul. and that's it for business news for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on the markets. the cost of hosting the 2020 tokyo olympics and paralympics has gone up. officials say the price tag of building a new stadium for the games will be higher than expected. the japan sport council will operate the new national stadium. members of the council held an advisory meeting on tuesday. jsc officials explained that the construction cost is about $730 million more than that of the original design determined in may of last year.

they say the total cost is now expected to be about $2 billion. they said most of the increase in cost will be spent on building two gigantic arches over the stadium. the officials also said that the project will go ahead without the installation of a retractable roof until after the olympic and paralympic games. the construction cost of the roof is not included in the revised expense. the plan was approved unanimously at the meeting, but the cost is about five times that of the main stadium for the london games in 2012 and the beijing games in 2008. >> translator: i understand the cost is high for the stadium's uniqueness, as some say, but i believe it's compelling to a certain extent. it's better if we look on the bright side and build the stadium to promote japan to the world. >> the government needs to figure out how to secure financial resources for the construction and also convince taxpayers in tokyo to chip in $400 million to cover the cost. the construction of the new

stadium will start in october, to be finished in may 2019. officials at the united nations have been taking stock of a 15-year effort to stamp out extreme poverty and improve people's lives. they say the millennium development goals went a long way toward reaching the targets but gaps remain. nhk world has more. >> reporter: toward the end of the 20th century, an estimated 1.9 billion people worldwide lived on less than $1.25 a day. the latest u.n. data showed that the number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by half to 800 million over the past 15 years. the u.n.'s final assessment of the millennium development goals also showed progress on education. primary school enrollment rose from 83% in 2000 to 91% this year.

officials say efforts to fight diseases such as hiv/aids and malaria have made gains as well. they say more than 6 million deaths from malaria were averted between 2000 and 2015. members of the general assembly reviewed the results on monday. the initiative consisted of eight developmental goals to achieve by the end of this year. >> these successes should be celebrated throughout our global community. >> reporter: but ban says more must be done. officials note that areas of dramatic improvement in many regions have been offset by persistent challenges elsewhere. for example, mortality rates among pregnant women and children under 5 remain very high in some regions. tetsuo kondo is with the u.n. development program in tokyo.

he says there are reasons some goals haven't been met. >> i'd say always the lack of capacity and poverty institutions, effective democratic process, and transparent and accountable use of financial resources, and then to develop a human capacity. that causes the non-access of the people to the hospital for effective medical care, for effective education and clean water. >> reporter: kondo says developed nations like japan should play a more active role in providing adequate technologies and resources to developing countries. but he also touched on the role of developing nations. >> now the people who are using these resources should be more

structured and try to be effective to deliver results. >> reporter: u.n. officials are now setting their sights on the next 15 years. members plan to adopt a new set of developing goals for 2030 in september at the general assembly. mitsuko nishikawa, nhk world. ♪ people across the globe have commemorated 70 years since the battle of okinawa, but memories of the fighting remain. more than 200,000 died, both members of the military and civilians. the son of a former officer who survived retraced the footsteps of had his now deceased father. nhk world reports on the journey. >> reporter: he started on the path by sorting through his dad's belongings. he found a notebook that his father had written with descriptions of the battle.

>> translator: don't die, do your best survive and go home. >> reporter: yasuo was only 23 when he commanded a platoon in the japanese army. he filled almost 150 pages of the notebook with accounts of what the soldiers went through. many of the entries involve anguish over their death. he had 140 men at the beginning of the battle. at the end, he was one of only ten who survived. >> translator: i pictured the battle sites, but i'm not sure how i'll react when i actually visit them. >> reporter: using the notebook as a guide, he went to the sites

where his father had held. one person in the area showed him a cave where the platoon had taken shelter. >> translator: is this a cartridge case? >> translator: yes, it is. >> translator: 20 millimeters. >> reporter: yatsuo himself was seriously injured. hes with taken to another cave that had been set up for first aid. students had been called out to take care of the wounded. this woman was one of those nurses. >> translator: i could hear them moaning, it hurts, it hurts. whenever they saw me they asked

me to help them right away. >> translator: the circumstances were grueling. if those students were in high school they must have been just 15 or 16 years old. they helped me with everything. i'm deeply grateful. >> translator: i'm moved to learn that he was thinking about us too. i wish i'd known this before when he was still alive and well. >> reporter: he also visited the peace memorial park built on the site of the final battle of okinawa. this stone monument is engraved with the names of those who lost their lives. he recognized one of the names from the notebook. it was a member of his father's platoon. his father had ordered the soldier to carry a bomb and crawl underneath an american tank. a suicide mission.

>> translator: it says though my father killeded him. i feel very sorry about this. i think my father probably wrote about this because he wanted to pass on his story. i must share this with members of the next generation to teach them what happened here. >> reporter: he now has a deeper understanding of his father's experiences in okinawa. he says he will mourn the victims of the war and hope for peace for the rest of his life. reporting for nhk world. readers of a major u.s. travel magazine have weighed in on the best places around the world to visit and they've chosen kyoto as a top spot for the second year in a row. "travel & leisure" announced on

tuesday a list of the top ten destinations. the magazine's website notes the japanese city was a ancient capital for more than a thousand years and preserves imperial history. it pointed out kyoto has more than 10,000 temples and shrines. charleston in south carolina comes second. and cambodia where the angkor wat temple is located took third spot and rome rounded out the top five. it was based on culture and arts and cuisine. in other news japanese astronaut tack u ya on ishii is scheduled to blast off into orbit next year. onishi is the former airline pilot. he qualified as an astronaut in 2011. he's set to travel to the international space station next june aboard a russian spacecraft. and he'll be the 11th japanese

astronaut to explore outer space. he met on tuesday with japan's science and technology minister hack ukubun shimomura. he hopes to have as many chances as possible to communicate with youngsters during his stay in space. >> translator: i hope children will take an interest in science through space. if they play important roles in space and other fields in the future, that will boost the country's technology. onishi will train for his mission in japan until later this month and then in russia and the united states. well the typhoon season hasn't kicked in just yet but people in japan and eastern parts of asia have seen a number of storm systems building up in the western pacific. mai shoji has more in her world weather report. >> good morning. you know what? it's been 13 years since we saw

three storm systems develop over the pacific during the rainy season. it's not yet the peak of the typhoon season and one is very strong and one will become a very strong typhoon and one is also affecting taiwan as well as the philippines. this has been lingering here for quite some time. the gusts are packing 12 kilometers per hour. this is linfa. it's still carrying moisture from the west. that's providing severe flooding across the western coast. even in manila all schools are canceled. linfa is a stationary event. it will be building up rainfall where we have a report of about 00 millimeters in the past hours. and that's going to be traveling all the way in towards southern china making for another round for flooding rainfall. as you can see, just behind

that, the westerly flow in towards luzon won't be finished yet. there's not a relief in sight. this is typhoon chan-hom. it will make its way towards the southwestern islands of japan. people are really bracing for this already. then it may travel to taiwan and into southern china where the land is very well staturated. now, noncha is a very strong typhoon status. it is likely to become a violent, the highest level of typhoon status before it reaches the mariana island. good news is a lot of these islands are uninhabited. so there's not a lot of population there. but do watch out because into the next coming days it may even reach in towards the islands of japan. as for the rainy season we're looking at it lingering over

south korea. it could lead to flooding and is the surge of the indirect impact that will make for another round of rainfall here in the tokai region. then down towards the south, the daito islands, it will be making 108 kilometers per hour gusts and up to 7 meters waves already on our wednesday. across here in the americas we're looking at a series of summer storms and flash floods have been occurring in parts of nevada and in kentucky. we have videos from both of these locations, actually. this is out of kentucky. homes becoming submerged following intense rainfall on tuesday. travel was impacted after several cars were swept off the road. and in texas, firefighters had to rescue a woman after her vehicle became stuck on a flooded road following this heavy rainfall. and the strip in las vegas resembled a riverfront location

in the desert monday. this is due to north american monsoon after thunderstorms in the area but no buildings were damaged. however, many drivers found themselves stuck in fast moving floodwaters. just don't drive and don't drown because the water looks shallow but it actually could become very deep. we're actually looking at flash flood watches still in place across nevada and parts of kentucky kentucky. we'll see another round of very heavy rainfall. here's our outlook. and i'll leave you for your extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. i'll be back with the latest at the top of the hour. do stay with us on nhk world.

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textile producer in ghana who feels the same pain as the guccis and pradas of this world. and here's what's coming up over the next half-hour. taxes are boring?! meet african trainees who want to change their country though -- through better administration. education is key -- how an indonesian social entrepreneur is giving young people hope and opportunity. and habitat alarm -- how mayan villagers in mexico are trying