welcome to "newsline." it is thursday, march 10. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. early thursday, according to south co south conortheastern direction. south korea media say it traveled 500 kilometers. on heightened alert. currently in the middle of annual joint training drills with the u.s., largest ever. the exercises started monday and are heavily criticized by north korea. last week, the north fired six

projectiles into the sea of japan, either rockets or short range missiles. on wednesday, state run media ran claims that the country has miniaturized musized nuclear mi. coinciding with past joint exercises. pyongyang this year's preparations for war. the north's supreme command issued a statement in february, warning of retaliation. >> it threatens the targets south korea's presidential blue

house and military basis on the mainland. both countries have been preparing in case the situation escalates. in march 2013, the north korean army unilaterally ended fighting in the korean war invalid. pyongyang said it would take further action. in 2014, they launched ballistic missiles into the sea of japan. it was believed the missiles were short range scud. it appeared to be scuds. japanese leaders condemning the launch. >> translator: it's a clear violation of u.n. security resolutions. it is extremely regrettable, since they just adopted a new resolution following the recent missile launch. >> prime minister shinzo abe in

coordination with the united states and south korea. he also called for ensuring aircraft and ship safety. so far, no reports of damage. he urged quick communication of information to the public. foreign ministry officials have launched a protest to the north through the japanese embassy in beijing. in other stories we're following this hour, the united nations has resumed plans on ending the civil war in syria. negotiations involve representatives of the syrian government and opposition groups. the last round of discussions broke down more than a month ago. >> the focus would be on substance on the agendas in other words, on new government's constitution and elections. the future elections in 18 month time. both presidential and

parliament. >> they will not run for more than ten days. he indicated the discussions will be based on a u. nunchn. sy peace process for syria. he brushed aside assumptions that a two week long cease-fire will expire soon, saying it is open-ended. the u.n. believes about 1.8 million people live in besieged areas without access to humanitarian aid. the foreign ministers of france, germany plan to meet on sunday. iran's islamic guard corps test fired ballistic missiles for the second day in a row on wednesday, shrugging off criticism. they announced through local media they fired two ballistic

missiles, hitting targets 1,400 kilometers away. washington indicated it may raise the issue at the u.n. security council. iran struck a landmark deal in july with six major powers to curve its nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions against it. it has insisted it will not make concessions on its missile program. local media have quoted the revolutionary guard saying the more sanctions and pressure iran's enemy apply, the more iran will develop its missile program for defensive purposes. observers say they show off an antiwest force. reformists who support them scored major gains in the elections last month. real estate mogul donald trump has won three more states in the u.s. republican party's presidential nomination race. the victories bring him a step closer to becoming the party's

nominee. republicans on tuesday held selection process in four states. trump won mississippi, michigan and hawaii. part of the movement is what i said before, the people want to be involved. we have democrats coming over. very importantly. we have independents coming over. >> on the democratic side, former secretary of state hillary clinton won the mississippi primary, while her rival, senator bernie sanders, clinched victory in michigan. clinton is still in the lead, but her loss in that key state, leaves her camp with some concerns. both parties, the focus is on the so-called mini super tuesday on march 15th. five states will hold primaries that day. myanmar will begin the president selection process.

it's leader is barred from the presidency by the constitution. however, her chosen candidate is virtually guaranteed to get the post, because of the commanding majorities in both houses. the upper and lower houses will each select one candidate on thursday. two people certain to be backed by the nl d. the military that ran the country for years will later announce its own candidates and the full parliament will vote for one of them next week. gripping a country that has experienced political changes in recent months. >> translator: the presidency is all we're talking about at the moment will finally know the nominees on march 10th. >> november's general election resulted in a landslide victory for the nld, but the 2008 written by the military bars sue chee from becoming president,

because her two sons have foreign nationality, as did her late husband. changing the constitution requires the support of more than 75% of lawmakers. the military controls 25%, giving it an effective veto. she has been negotiating with the powerful commander in chief, general line, but recent meetings appeared to make little headway. she said she would rule from behind the scenes from choosing a proxy leader. she said she would be in her words above the president. it is time now to take a look at the latest in business news. spring is when people at japanese companies talk wages. union leaders negotiate on employees' behalf. it happens every year, and this year is of course no exception. ai joins from the business desk. >> it is said every year, one company holds a lot of sway in the direction of wage negotiations. that would be auto giant toyota.

executives have agreed to pay their employees more for two straight years now, and they say they're willing do it for a third, but they're cautious about the amount. sources say toyota management plans to give an across the board wage hike during the ongoing annual wage negotiations. as toyota is projected to have a record profit in the year through march, the hike may be smaller than what union representatives want. they requested a monthly increase of 3,000 yen, or about $26. the executives are citing a tougher business environment due to desell rating growth in china. the union leaders sticking to the demand, which is half the figures they wanted last year. the annual negotiations will reach their peak next wednesday, when major corporations will give their replies to union requests. falling commodity prices in global markets being felt

throughout japan's economy. trading among companies for the 11th straight month. the bank of japan say the producer price index for february was off 3.4 from last year. the decline is due to cheaper scrap and waste, which flunged nearly 27%. other factors, oil and coal. they were down by more than 21%. nonferrous metals dropped by about 12%. let's check on markets. share prices in tokyo opened higher on weaker yen is boosting export relatded issues. major electronics, including toyota, nikkei average up at 16,780. they're leading the advance on a bounce in oil prices. u.s. crude futures climbed to a three month high, gasoline declined.

wti went above $38 a barrel. all right, let's see what is happening with currencies. traders regaining their appetite after oil prices rose. the dollar is higher, now right around $1.13. the euro is gaining some ground against the dollar and the yen. currency traders waiting for the european central bank meeting. they expect policymakers to take further easing measures. let's take a look at what is happening at other markets across the asia pacific region opening this hour. we're seeing mostly positive picture so far. kospi trading higher. australian shares up too. just shy of 0.10%. march 11, 2011, massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern japan. triple meltdown at the power

plant, spreading radioactive material over a wide area. we're looking at the region and its people five years on. remain in place for communities near the stricken plant, but one enterprising farmer preparing for the day he is allowed to return and plant the seeds of a new industry. nhk world kaeko oso explains. >> reporter: ready for picking, a ray of hope to a gray landscape. the town lies within the 20 kilometer of the zone around the nuclear plant. in 2013, residents were allowed to re-enter the town, but only during the day. people are still prohibited from living there. he comes here everyday to walk on his farm.

he saw his vegetables wouldn't sell for safety concerns. so he shifted to growing flowers. >> translator: people would stop their cars to appreciate my flowers. they seem to be impressed. after all, everyone likes flowers. >> town officials have confirmed that the flowers are safe. the prefecture is supporting him with equipment and technology. officials have to extend the flower growing project to all 12 municipalities stricken by the disaster. >> translator: some people wonder if they should continue to live in the evacuated areas. we need to motivate them to come back, and engage in agriculture. we'll give farmers personalized support according to their

needs. >> he started the main flower market in tokyo. today, he has come to do some research. he is deciding what flowers to plant in the year ahead, and he wants to know which ones fit the best price. >> translator: i'm thinking of planting jenshen, because i don't see them in the market. >> translator: best not to grow purple. they're everywhere. remember, it's quality that counts. >> he wants younger people from other regions to understand the current situation. once a month, he invites university students to work with him in the field. >> translator: i hope he will

have more people and thrive. young people have fresh ideas. i want them to eventually take the lead in the community. rerival should begin while we work on agriculture. >> officials say that they expect people will be allowed to live in some parts of the town next year. the work being done by comera, may tell. nhk world. and that's the latest in business news for this hour. back to catherine. thanks very much. the japanese government has been working to reduce radiation exposure due to the nuclear disaster, but people are still concerned. one scientist has been actively

engaged in assessing the radiation problem to help residents better understand the risks they face. nhk world reports. >> analyzes if there is any radioactive materials on the food. he is an expert in nuclear ph physics. he was working with students from japan and overseas. >> we have confirmed that the peach that we enjoyed today didn't contain detective level. >> what he has been trying to check is the level of internal exposure in fukushima. internal exposure occurs when people ingest radioactive materials. they may cause cancer or other diseases. knowing the japanese government hasn't done much about internal exposure, he voluntarily started checking for it.

over the past five years, he has examined about 50,000 people. two years after the accident, a resident of fukushima brought her two year old daughter. after the accident, she was worried about her daughter's health. she found no signs of internal exposure.terribly afraid, altho imagined the worst, i was able to understand what was happening. thanks to his prompt action. i was so relieved to find nothing was wrong. i was so happy. i was almost crying. >> he knew there were no devices that could measure radiation in newborn babies. so he developed one himself. he tested more than 5,000

children. >> we found nobody who had detachable level of radiation. >> he wants to know more about another effect of the radiation. it's radioactive iodine, which can cause cancer, especially in children. it's important to discuss the matters with local youth. he brought a spanish interpreter. students asked her if there is any similarity between ch chernobyl. >> right now, you can't say anything about it. right now, you can say screening. maybe in the future, screening continues. if the rates go up, then maybe you could say there is radiation. >> in these five years, not just our data, but other data as well

has shown that the radiation risks to people, both external and internal in fukushima, in the region where people are allowed to live are low enough. and my work, of course, contributed to this and that's my pleasure that i had a chance to work on this. >> he thinks the research alone is not the final answer to solve multiple issues in the future for people in fukushima. he says it's important to keep monitoring everyone's health, and to share the information with people there. nhk world, fukushima. march 11, 2011, an earth quake strikes japan, setting you have off a catastrophic, nuclear plant sent spiralling out of

control. learning lessons from the tragedy, but still a long way to go. journey from disaster, stories of resilience and remembrance. right here on "newsline." workers have started procedures to shut down a nuclear reactor in central japan, one day after a court injunction to do so. the power company workers have started to insert control rods into the number three reactor on the sea of japan. it will take about ten hours. the district court ruled on wednesday that they have not offered an explanation how it would prevent or deal with accidents in other emergencies. injunction also included the shutting down of the number four reactor, but the operator had already done so due to a technical problem last month. the officials say they plan to promptly launch an appeal.

a pitcher with the giants japanese professional baseball team has apologized for his involvement in illegal gambling on baseball games. three pitchers with the same team admitted to betting offenses last october, and were disqualified indefinitely. he said at the time, he couldn't confess to having a hand in the same gambling scheme, because he was assured by some people involved that everything would be all right. >> translator: i engaged in the betting on baseball games. i'm sorry. >> he said he is sorry for dispinti disappointing fans and players. he is the fourth giants' player to have bet on baseball. they've questioned players about possible misconduct but found no further problems. he said he got scared, because people involved with the

gambling get phoning him. he said he decided earlier this month to come clean, after the team launched fresh investigations. three top officials of the giants have announced they will step down to take responsibility for the matter. a powerful storm sweeping across the u.s. deep south. people in texas are now dealing with the aftermath. meteorologist robert speta joins us with the latest. >> yes, this is a very slow moving storm system, and residents across much of texas and now moving over to louisiana and mississippi have been feeling the effects of this. i want to show you some video of the damage coming out of eastern texas there. let's go ahead with this, because this is from some of these storms that moved through not so much the flooding, but these damaging winds. actually in parker county, 64 kilometers west of fort worth,

seven homes were completely damaged. we had numerous vehicles destroyed, trees down, power outages interest been reported. national weather surface reported a tornado was in the area, according to radar. so it may have caused some of that damage you see there in those images taken in the overnight hours. it is continuing to drift off. on wednesday evening, the big threat now is this consistent preexception, yes, severe weather threat is still there, possibility of tornadoes, even thunderstorms flaring up, the big issue, we have the area down here towards the south and it's been funneling that moisture out of the gulf mexico, you've been looking at some areas reported in louisiana, a state of emergency has been issued out here. the ground is saturated. the accumulation forecast, this is not going any where very fast. still additional 150 millimeters of precipitation could occur,

resulting in additional flooding. really an ongoing story for a lot of our friends back here. back towards the east, southerly winds fueling the moisture, but warmer temperatures. if you're up and down the east coast, new york, washington, philadelphia, you might be thinking is it june, july, because that's where the temperatures are right now. record breaking warm temperatures. new york, philadelphia, washington dr washington, d.c., pushing into the 20s. actually it should linger around until thursday, erie, pennsylvania, drop off, but it gets a move on it and cold air behind it. look at the significant drop there by friday. meanwhile, the other side of the country, i do want to mention, we have some persistent moisture in the pacific northwest, 100 millimeters, the threat of some flooding out here, flash flood warning in parts of oregon

towards washington. let's move to europe. back-to-back storm system as cross the mediterranean. parts of italy, extending here. you do want to be on guard for the possibility of some delays or cancelations with your flights. they're going to be passing by. fair weather from germany. all right, let's talk about what's going on out here. heading out to memorials here on friday. a big topic, how the weather is going to be lingering across this area. really across the north. big thing is there is going to be a few pockets of some snow showers in these areas there, an even in the early morning hours into tokyo as well. precipitation temperatures should be cold enough for some of the white stuff to come down. no major problems, but don't be surprised. back towards the north, high pressure dominates, bringing in the cooler air and clear skies.

hopefully by the weekend, it will clear up. here's the extended outlook.

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

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