welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, june 7th 8:00 a.m. in tokytokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. ban ki-moon announced his intention of running for a second five-year term as secretary general of the united nations. he's almost certain to be re-elected as no other country is fielding a candidate. >> at this morning i sent a letter to the membership of the general assembly and the council, offering humbly myself for consideration for second term as secretary general of the

united nations. >> ban told a news conference at u.n. headquarters in new york on monday. he says tackling global warming continues to be his priority. he also referred to the unrest in the middle east. >> act now before it is too late. let me say it again. this is once in a generation opportunity to advance freedom and democracy. >> the former south korean foreign minister became u.n. chief in january, 2007. he has been criticized by some european countries for lacking leadership and failing to address human rights issues. but china's u.n. ambassador said u.n. ambassadors from asian countries and unanimously agree to ban's re-election. the five permanent members of the security council have also backed him for a second term. ban has built an alliance with the obama administration to

address foreign policy issues to the united nations as much as possible. ban will serve through the end of 2016 if he wins his second term. nhk world, new york. the japanese government will restructure its nuclear organizations to clarify roles and responsibilities if a nuclear disaster occurs. nhk has obtained a draft of a report. report says the government will make the nuclear and industrial safety aswren genesee ingent from the ministry of economy, trade and industry. it says the operator of the fukushima daiichi plant, tokyo electric power company should improve the design of its nuclear plants to ensure that cooling systems continue to function in the event of a serious accident. the storage pools for the spent nuclear fuel are located too high in the troubled plant and have hampered efforts to cool

their reactors. the report also says the government will conduct a study on nuclear safety with the help of the international community to identify ways to strengthen global nuclear safety. the government's nuclear disaster task force reviews the dra draft report on tuesday. it will be submitted to the ministerial conference on nuclear safety in vienna june 20th. the director general of the international atomic energy agency will propose measures to strengthen nuclear safety at an upcoming international conference. yukio amano made the remarks in his opening speech at the iaea board of governors meeting on monday. amano reported on the agency's activities such as sending a team of experts to japan last month to assess the safety issues following the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. he said the team is done preparing its final report to be submitted to the iaea

ministerial conferce in vienna starting june 20th. >> the coming ministerial conference in june will be extremely important, and it will determine the way ahead for the nuclear safety after fukushima accident. i plan to make some practical suggestions, drawing upon experience in assisting member states in the area of nuclear safety. >> he suggested that the iaea will look to forming a global nuclear safety framework at the meeting. an internal document from the agency also reveals that an emergency response office called an off-site center was nearly dysfunctional at the time of the plant's nuclear accident. the document obtained by nhk contains details about the malfunction of the center five kilometers from the plant. off-site centers had been established at 22 locations near

nuclear plants in japan after a criticality accident in ibaraki prefolk her in 1999. officials of the local governments and police and self-defense forces are supposed to gather at such offices in the event of nuclear accidents. the document shows the center near the plant suffered a power outage soon after the quake. an emergency diesel generator did not work at all. communications were down and other critical functions were lost. the document shows that officials from only three out of more than 20 organizations went to the center seven hours after the quake. the next day, radiation levels in the center began rising after an explosiont the plant's number one reactor building. on march 15th, the authorities decided to relocate the center's functions to the fukushima prefectural office 60 kilometers from the plant. germany decided to shut down

all of its nuclear power plants by 2022 as a result of a policy review prompted by the accident at japan's fukushima plant. chancellor angela merkel's government approved country's new energy bill on monday. the government says that of germany's 17 reactors, it will not restart eight whose operations were suspended for safety inspections or problems and that the rest will be scrapped in phases. the bill is to be sent to parliament for debate and expected to be enacted by next month. nuclear power generation accounts for 22% of germany's electricity supply. the government plans to make up for the loss by increasing power generation using coal and gas. it also plans to increase its use of energy generated from renewable sources from the current % to 35% by 2020. the government initially supported promotion of nuclear power generation, but public objections to nuclear energy

grew rapidly after the fukushima accident. germany is the only group of eight country to abandon nuclear power generation. this week on "behind the headlines" we have a series of future reports leading up to the three-month anniversa of japan's devastating earthake and tsunami and the nuclear crisis that followed. we're starting things off in yamagata prefecture in northeastern japan. it's located far away from the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. concerns linger that agricultural products grown there may be contaminated with radioactive substances. now, farmers are trying to find ways to cope with the drop in rice sales abroad. they're fighting these food fears by giving their clients access to key information. mouainsfice are stored in this warehouse.

a total of 20 tons of rice is awaiting export from warehouses like this. >> translator: the rice was supposed to be shipped overseas from mid-march to late april, but shipments have been canceled. >> the town of shoni, yamagata prefecture is 180 kilometers northwest of the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. it's known as japan's biggest rice producing communities. the ceo of an agricultural corporation founded by eight local farmers. the farmers began exporting rice two years ago. they aim to expand overseas sales to offset sluggish business in the domestic market. >> translator: cooking instructions are written in four different languages on the back of the bag. >> reporter: boosted by the rising popularity of japanese cuisine, the company jointly

with the trading house developed its customer base in 11 names and rritories. including australia, europe and asia. last year, they exported 120 tons of rice. about 25% of their output. they were planning to double the amount this year. but after the nuclear accident in fukushima, all export deals worth 60 tons were canceled. >> translator: we were expanding our sales rou s roots to paris, london, belgium and other countries and beginning to identify who our customers were when the accident happened. i feel both regret and disappointment. it took us three to four years to develop these sales. now we're back to square one. >> after the cancelations, sato asked a research lab to test the rice intended for export. no radioactive substances were detected.

the company sent out translated copies of the test results to their over seas customers. japanese restaurants in new zealand and hawaii resumed trading. but other customers have yet to return. there are few signs of exports going back to predisaster levels, but sato has begun growing rice in 100 hectare patties, the same as last year. >> translator: we just have to stick with what we've been doing. if we persevere, i believe that we can regain people's trust in japanese products. >> by sending out certificates to foreign buyers proving that their rice is radiation free, and was harvested before the disaster, the company hopes to have satisfied export requirements. now, they plan to communicate with each client directly, hoping to resume selling their

rice. >> communication is key, isn't it? earlier, we found out more about concerns that japanese food may be contaminated with radioactive substances. >> nhk world joins us in the studio. as we saw in the report, inaccurate information about the japanese food supply has been spreading around the world. what kind of impact is that having on the economy? >> the government says, porting in april dropped by 23% from a year earlier. but that doesn't affect japan's trade because food only accounts for part of the percent of the country's total exports. the main concern is the seafood exports provided by producers in the tohoku region, the area ravaged by the tsunami. some farm and fisheries workers went out of business because of some damages caused by rumors

about the safety of the food supply. so the government has a guideline in place to compensate people in areas where shipments of products have been banned. >> nearly three months after the disaster, some governments still have restrictions on japanese imports. what can you tell us about that? >> since accident at fukushima daiii, 40 countries o regions have been imports of japanese agricultural products or require certification that test for radioactive substances have been conducted. the problem is farmers and exporters have to go through a complicated process to prepare this type of documentation to get certificates. linking their food to private labs for testing and reporting results to local governments. besides taking a whole day for the test, farmers have to pay nearly $200 per item. the government is considering subsidizing thes tests. >> now, last month the leaders

from china and south korea visited japan and supported government's assertion that japanese food -- i mean food from the northeast is safe. does that mean those governments will change their restrictions on japanese food? >> well, china has placed a blanket ban on food and agricultural products from fukushima prefecture and 11 other prefectures located near the damaged nuclear plant. recently it decided to ease its restrictions. also dropped requirement that documents that an item has been tested for radiation must be submitted for some imports. this will apply to dairy products, vegetables and seafood, but south korea still requires certificates for imports of food from fukushima and 12 surrounding prefectures. >> what is the japanese government doing to protect farmers and fishermen from the impact of false information on japanese food supply? >> local governments measure the

level of radiation on food products before shipments go out to markets. at the fukushima prefecture, a small fish and japanese trout were found to have exceeded limits for radioactive substances. shipment is halted and fishing has been totally suspended. in several areas surrounding tokyo, cesium was detected in japanese sea weeds and shipments have been halted. so the ministerial health and welfare says so far products reaching consumers are safe. the government has been explaining to other countries about its efforts to monitor food safety. for example, ministry of agriculture and fisheries had sent high-ranking officers to the eu and china to ask them to ease restrictions on food imports on japan. the government plans to hold

food fairs and running advertisements about the safety of japanese products. >> nhk world. hi hiroki, thanks. our future reports leading up to the three-month anniversary of japan's march 11th disaster will continue. on tuesday, find out what a man from iwate prefecture is doing to revitalize a traditional dance after the tsunami nearly washed everything away. we follow him to tokyo as he honors the thousands of japanese who died. wednesday we'll get the behind the scenes story from a japan self-defense force pilot who worked tirelessly to rescue survivors on march 11th. thursday's feature will look at the psychological impact of the accident a fukushima daiichi. people living near the nuclear plant have plenty of concerns about radiation. we travel with japanese and u.s. doctors who are trying to help them.

a security conference in singapore last weekend was the first ministerial level summit to take place following a rise in tensions among china, vietnam and the philippines. the focus of attention was on how china would respond to the elevated sense of vigilance in the international community over territorial disputes in the south china sea. nhk world has more. >> reporter: three-day forum which ended on sunday, discussed the recent trip, the security in the asia pacific region. it was the first time for china to send a representative to the annual meeting. the minister renewed -- >> translator: all countries have their own core benefits when it comes to disputes of sovereignty. that is, issues related to land

territory, territorial waters, and airspace. >> reporter: southeast asian countries, aggressive stance. vietnam protested the obstruction of its maritime activities by boats in the sea. cricize cna for transporting building materials to islands in the region. >> translator: vietnam demands that china act in accordance with established international agreements. >> insecurity is generated when materials are possibly constructing certain structures are found in the areas. >> reporter: in the face of such iticism, china's peaceful approaches to the issues.

he has attempted to decrease tension by carrying out with countries involved in the disputes. >> translator: china is doing its best to maintain peace and security in the south china sea. there is an open path to dialogue between the concerned countries. >> reporter: continues to build among southeast asian nations, he was left with no choice but to stress the importance of dialogue. china's recent diplomatic effort is a mix of hard and soft approaches. the international community, however, is sure to keep a strict eye on china's increasing military presence in the region. nhk world, singapore. and in other news, the tokyo metropolitan government has introduced on monday summer work

hours to save energy ahead of expected power shortages. shifts are staggered with the first starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending at 4:15 p.m. the government aims to cut power consumption by 25% at its head office in central tokyo, which has 9,500 employees. it will expand the measure to other workplaces with a total of 25,000 employees including branch offices. >> several employees have been assigned to go around the office early in the evening to make sure no one is working over time. japanese student furukawa is

getting ready for his first mission to the international space station. he was accompanied by an american and a russian astronaut. they spoke behind a glass partition to protect themselves from colds and infections. >> furukawa said he hopes that people suffering from the march 11th disaster in northeastern japan will recover soon. soyuz is scheduled to blast off at 5:12 a.m. on wednesday, japan time. all right. now let's take a look at the market figures.

and welcome to your weather update. we're still keeping a close eye on this rainy front. our seasonal rain front that stretches right across east china, or rather east asia and still looking at heavy rains.

the core of the really heavy stuff right now falling below this low pressure area, so the southern islands of japan have already been reporting pretty hefty showers in the overnight hours and that's looking set to continue throughout day. some showers will also be moving through the southern half of sw japan as well while the tail end of the frontal line bringing rain into the southern end of china although it should be easing more as we head through the rest of today. by the evening hours, heavy stuff should be gone and hopefully looking for slightly drier conditions. northeast china, meanwhile, will remain wet as well. widespread area picking up on showers. heavy rain could be developing tonight. watch out for that. for southeast asia, also talking about plenty of tropical activity, too. showers and thunderstorms across philippines in toward the indo china peninsula and the bay of bengal, also, plenty of showers hitting area alonghe bay. toward india, too, west coast,

that is, continues to see rain linger along the coastline. it is going to be another wet day here. highs for tuesday, pretty warm conditions, 36 degrees for beijing. really hot for you. 27 in seoul. fairly warm as well. tokyo remains at 25. slightly cooler than yesterday. gray clouds will make it feel a little better as well. over toward the americas, central america looking at lots of activity going on here. tropical activity starting to pick up. two lows and both looking active already. this one just south of mexico looks like it may be developing into a tropical cyclone within the next 48 hours. we'll keep a close eye on that one. also large low pressure area here in the caribbean as well already bringing hefty showers to areas like jamaica, haiti, as well as cuba. central america, too, looking at plenty of thundershower activity. watch out for flooding as well as landslides. now, for the u.s., the core of the really heavy rain is going to be featured here in the

intermountain west. also chances of severe thunderstorms tonight. do want to watch out for that as well. widespread area here across montana, idaho, wyoming, looking at flood watches and warnings. river levels are getting very, very high. highs on tuesday, still looking pretty hot toward the east coast, getting up to 30 degrees in new york. now for europe. it's going to be still an unsettled picture, really across the region, especially continental europe. thundershowers, again, really over a wide area. some stormy weather could be feature ed in parts of the scandinavian peninsula, as well, especially near the low pressure area here. for the british isles, another low is going to bring more persistent rains. perhaps not thundery here. definitely more rain to come over the next few days and temperatures remaining mild aross the board here. 20 degrees for london. 21 in paris. 26 degrees in berlin. the same also for vienna. central europe, in particular, still looking pretty warm. then 33 degrees for athens, really hot weather for you again

on tuesday. all right. that's a look at your weather for now. here is your three-day outlook.

our lead story this hour. the japanese government will restructure its nuclear organizations to clarify roles and responsibilities if a nuclear disaster occurs. nhk has obtained a draft of a report. the report says the government will make the nuclear and industrial safety agency the country's nuclear regulator independent from the ministry of economy, trade and industry. it also says that the operator

of the fukushima daiichi plant should improve the design of its nuclear plants to ensure that cooling systems continue to function in the event of a serious accident. the storage pools for the spent nuclear fuel are located too high in the troubled plant, and have hampered efforts to cool the reactors. the report also says the government will conduct a study on nuclear safety with the help of theternational counit to identify ways to strengthen global nuclear safety. the government's nuclear disaster task force reviews the draft report on tuesday. it will then be submitted to the international atomic energy agency ministerial conference on nuclear safety in vienna, that starts june 20th. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the next hour. hope to see you then. -- caions by vitac -- www.tac.com