running for cover. the euro slides to lows against the yen not seen since the year 2000. investororsesea lot of threats out there. they are worried about the health of spanish banks, the effect that will have on european debt and the pace of u.s. growth. they are heading for the exits. the euro fell to its lowest

point against the japanese yen in 11 1/2 years. the fears about the health of spain's financial sector and political uncertainty in greece are leading to worries about a deepening of the crisis in the eurozone. it was the lowest exchange rate since september 2000. investors say their concerns about the eu debt prompted them to sell the euro. a new report about slowing growth in the u.s. made them sell off the dollar. they turned from those currencies to th perceived safety of the yen. but investors here in japan aren't fans of the strong yen. let's turn to ai uchida from the business desk. tell us why the strong currency works negatively against stocks. >> catherine, many companies here are export dependent, and the yen is their instrument to make the -- any kind of foreign trades. but if the yen is strong it eats into their profits so that's why we often see currency markets affecting stock markets

negatively. so let's see what the picture is like today. for that we're going to ramin mellegard who is at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, good morning to you. a brand new month here. how are we starting it off in tokyo? >> very good morning to you ai. yes, indeed. the strength of the persistently weak euro really playing into the stocks here. so the strength of the yen really, and as you said eating into corporate earnings for japan. having a look at the levels this morning, 78.50 to $54 yen and euro/yen persistently there at the lower 97 levels. 97.03-08. it was trading around 111 at the end of march. and dollar/yen trading around 84 yen back in march. you can see the yen has strengthened considerably. and the strong yen is the focus here. the strong yen comes at a time when the bank of japan is aggressively trying to reverse that trend which started back in

february and march. but now it's really getting caught up in all the volatile currency moves brought on by the eurozone concerns which have seen the euro fall significantly against both the dollar and the yen. turning to stocks it w not a good month ovall with the dow down 6% for may. on the back of fears of an exit from the eurozone by greece. banking crisis in spain as well as the economic data recently which has shown both slowdown in china and the u.s. the nikkei currently down there as you can see. the topix trading lower as well by 1%. the nikkei lost 10% in may and sentiment also hampered because of the dire earnings reports we had also from a lot of japanese companies reporting in the earnings season last month. a lot of them recording net losses for the year. for inance were tracking the likes of sony panasonic, and all of them also now coming out and saying that they are going to make a lot of drop cuts and also maybe change their global sales strategies.

and, of course a lot of that has to do with the stronger yen that we've been seeing which is eroding a lot of their profits. ai? >> ramin, while european debts are dominating market sentiment, there's still crucial data due out from the u.s. later today that we really cannot ignore. >> yeah exactly. you are talking about the jobs da. thnonfarm payrol and unemployment data. we've been waiting for that all week. it's a crucial piece of economic data. the markets will be focusing on that. even maybe putting aside the eurozone debt issues just for today to see how the world's biggest economy is doing as far as the jobs picture. let's not forget it's an election year as well. that's going to be a crucial factor. not only for economists but for politicians as well. but really the strong yen the focus here and it's pushing down the nikkei and topix this friday, june the 1st. back to you. >> thank forthat ramin. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. both tokyo indexes down about 1% so far this friday.

in now investors are shifting their money to other safer assets as well. u.s. and german government bond yields reached record low levels. money flowed into u.s. and german government bonds on thursday. this was to avert lifics as worries mounted over the spanish financial system. ten-year u.s. bond yields fell to a record 1.5%. this was partly due to concerns over the u.s. economic outlook as shown by weak data for jobs and manufacturing. meanwhile, german bonds were down to a record here as well. 1.1%. sources say that moves to reduce risk will continue unless measures are taken to somehow stop the european debt crisis from spreading further. investors are also buying japanese government bonds as another low risk asset. the look at the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government shows that it's currently at 0.828%. now the iri voted on

whether to radify a european union treaty that demands tighter fiscal discipline for their country. results are expected later on friday. the treaty requires all signatories to write into institutional law a requirement that fiscal deficits must be kept below 0.5% of gross domestic product. economic sanctions can be imposed on any country that fails to abide by this agreement. now the eu wants the treaty to come into force next january. ireland is the first of the25 eu signatories to hold a referendum on the issue. recent opinion polls in ireland showed a majority in favor. however, a growing number of people are rejecting the treaty as a symbol of severe austerity measures and spending cuts. ireland was bailed out by the eu and the imf after it was hit by a financial crisis in 2010. if irish voters reject the

referendum it could affect their eu bailout. >> i voted yes. very reluctantly, but i dn't see any better option. >> i voted no because i don't really believe voteing in something that i don't believe is going to work. >> i will leave you with a look at the figures. human rights activist chen guangcheng has urged china to

learn from eastern democracies like japan or south korea and establish its own style of democracy. the blind activist escaped house arrest in the chinese province of shandong in april and sought protection at the u.s. embassy in beijing. he left for new york on may 19th. cheng delivered his first formal speech in the united states on thursday. >> translator: china should model its own democracy on asian countries like south korea and japan. >> chen said it is unprecedented for the chinese government to allow him to study in the u.s. he added that ion of seeking asylum. he says the treatment he received was unforgivle. while studying at new york university he plans to write a book detailing his thoughts and experiences. the 1989 chinese military crackdown on tiananmen square protesters left many people dead

or wounded. relatives of the victims have demanded the government review the incident before the 23rd anniversary. on june 4th 1989 the military fired on students and other democracy demonstrators who had gathered in beijing. however, specific details of the incident remain unknown. on thursday, 121 mothers and other relatives of the victims released a statement on the internet. they demand that the government clarify what happened in the crackdown and pursue those responsible. the statement says it's becoming extremely difficult to bring a fair resolution to the incident and people worry about their future. the relatives claim issues such as human rights violations the gap between rich and poor and corruption among bureaucrats have only gotten worse over the past decade. they also say that while the economy grew rapidly under the hu jintao, they missed an

opportunity to democratize politics and reassess the tiananmen incident. tokyo police have sent public prosecutors documents on the chinese diplomat suspected of illegally obtaining a foreign registration card. the former first secretary at the chinese embassy in tokyo allegedly applied for the card at the tokyo ward office in 2008 by hiding his official status. poce asked the 45-year-old diomat to submit to questioning last month, but he refused and returned to china. investigator sades lee used the card to open a bank account so he could collect consulting fees from japanese companies. they say a tokyo-based food company deposited $19,000 into the account in several payments. other companies transferred tens of thousands of dollars into the account. police suspect lee of profiting from his position in violation of an international treaty banning diplomaticnvoy from

such acvity. syrian government forces are continuing their attacks on civilians. the forces launched fresh attacks in the past two days on the central town of houla where more than 100 people, mostly women and children, were massacred last week. a human rights group in the country says troops loyal to president bashar al assad shelled the city killing seven people and wounding many others. a local activist told nhk that the government troops fired more than 20 rocket shells into houla for half an hour thursday morning. the government forces also attacked other places across the country killing more than 40 people on wednesday alone. the free syrian army made up of soldiers who have fled assad's military has given the government a deadline of friday noon for ending its assaults on civilians. they warn that they will begin to retaliate if the deadline is not met. most members of the u.n.

security council are calling for additional sanctions against syria. >> i think with the massacre in houla, we have reached a low point in this conflict. >> but we do not have the luxury of time. people are dying in large numbers every day. >> the new sanctions would be further punishment for president bashar al assad's continued crackdown on civilians. nhk world has been covering the situation in damascus. >> reporter: uniformed security forces and plain-clothed soldiers patrol the central district of damascus. they're on every corner. automatic rifle in hand. the security check is meant to prevent anti-government protests from spreading in the capital. we tried to interview syrian

people, but most of them quickly moved away from tv crews. they don't want to attract attention from security forces. those who did speak with us tended to suppt present assad. we asked them about last week's killing of more than 100 people in the central town of houla. some said they knew nothing about it. others called it a conspiracy by foreign countries. the conflict is continuing to have an impact on the daily life. electricity and gas are in short supply. fo prices ha nearldoubled in the capital. some shops have closed. >> translator: sales have plunged because customers are

afraid to leave their homes. >> reporter: u.n. observers are meant to be keeping things safe in theory, anyway. they are monitoring a tenuous cease-fire from their base in damascus. more u.n. units are arriving, but the assad regime has full control of the capital. government forces accompany the observers where they go. there are concerns about the effectiveness of their monitoring mission. and so as countries around the world discuss what to do about syria, life for syrians just keeps getting harder. they have been living in turmoil for more than a year now. at this point they have no sign when things will get better. yujori futor nhk world, dascus in other news we're following here on newsline, the

unmanned dragon space shuttle is the world's first privately owned craft to dock with the international space station and successfully return to earth. u.s. firm spacex developed the spacecraft. it splashed down in the pacific ocean at 15:42 utc on thursday roughly 900 kilometers off the coast of california. the dragon was launched from cape canaveral air force station in florida on may 22nd. e unmannedraft lt the space station at 9:49 utc and fired its engines for the last time. it was exposed to temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees celsius as it re-entered the earth's atmosphere. >> this couldn't have gone better. we look forward to doing lots more missions in the future and continuing to upgrade the technology and push the frontier of space transportation. >> previously, spacecraft that achieved the feat had been developed by the united states or russian governments.

the testuccess wilexpa the possibilities for private sector space exploration. it will also give a huge boost to the obama administration's policy of pushing space development led by private business. people around the globe are observing world no tobacco day. it's a day to raise aware balance the health risks of smoking. researchers at the world health organization estimate tobacco kills almost 6 million people every year. this includes deaths by secondhand smoke. w.h.o. leaders chose tobacco industry interference as their theme this year. they say more manufacturers are taking governments to court for restricting sales of their products. one in australia, for example, filed a complaint against the government for decision to ban package designs that attract consumers. >> there's no way any industry especially the poto bako industry can intimidate and

threaten a government when they are taking appropriate action. >> w.h.o. leaders are calling on governments around the worldo ugherestrictions. getting smokers to butt out in japan has been harder than in any other industrialized nation. the government supports the tobacco industry. so that means the anti-smoking message is smoked out. but health authorities are pushing for change. nhk world miho fukinaga explains. >> reporter: an estimated 22 million adults in japan do this every day. that's around 20% of the population. it's down from 50% in the 1980 but the smoking rate is still higher than it is in the u.s. australia or some asian countries. the tobacco business act went into effect in 1984 to secure tax revenues. former w.h.o. director says the

law makes it difficult for health officials to get people to stop smoking. >> translator: the act has caused contradictions in the country because some measures for tobacco control are included in the act. >> reporter: japanese leaders are trying to change the situation. but it's slow going. they hike the tobacco tax in 2010, but that did little to encourage smokers to butt out. cigarettes in japan's -- the most in industrialized nations. nine years ago they agreed to toughen anti-smoking laws. they introduced legislation to prevent second-hand smoke exposure in public ples. but here in their own cafeteria it only took effect earlier this month. smokers in the lower house building now squeeze into this

designated area near the cafeteria. tadeka chairs the committee on rules and administration. he proposed the ban which won support across party lines. >> translator: politicians may be behind on banning smoking. >> reporter: w.h.o. officials want japan's health authorities to do more to curb tobacco use. they say the country has been slow to alert the public to the dangers of smoking. they point out warnings cover at least half a cigarette pack in 30 countries. even more nations require images. but in japan, it is limited. >> translator: no matter how much the government supports the industry, there's no question about the toxicity tobacc japanese leaders should emphasize the dangers more

clearly. >> reporter: health officials want to cut japan's smoking rate to 12% by 2022. they believe that will give smokers a push towards curbing the habit. government leaders have never set a numerical target. they will decide this month. two recent earthquakes struck northern italy in may, not only killed people and destroyed buildings. they also heard the local cheese industry. producers of parmesan cheese say the quakes have made tons of their product unfit to sell. nhk world's kyoto glance reports. >> reporter: many diners wouldn't dream of turning down

parmesan cheese. but producers have to meet exacting standards if the cheese is to be classified as parmesan. milk, for example, must be taken from the cow at specified times. in all, the quake damaged 300,000 wheels. this year's production may fall by more than 5%. now i'm -- since the earthquake hit the area cheese were falling down and 25% of the products god damaged. that means the cheesemakers will lose almost $38 million. even the quality of the undamaged cheese is at risk. the warehouse lost some equipment that ensures the cheese ages properly.

ivan heads the group that produces parmesan cheese. the earthquake hit two years after he set up the business. it had just started turning a profit. >> translator: the cheese affected by the quake will not meet the standards for being sold as parmesan. i want to salvage the cheese from the warehouse as quickly as possible. >> reporter: amid europe's debt crisis, people there have been buying less cheese. so the producers hope to make up for the slump by selling the cheese abroad in countries like japan. japanese buy more than other asians. >> translator: our overseas

sales will definitely be affected. the drop in cheese shipments is likely to result in a slight increase in the price overseas. >> reporter: parmesan cheesemakers still don't know how much he's they'll be able to sell. but no matter which way they slice it they know it's going to be a tough year. kyoto glanz, nhk world, modena. >> what a shame there. well i don't have my rain boots on today, and it seems that may have been a bad call. let's go to rachel ferguson for an update in the world weather forecast. >> absolutely true. i suppose it plans on what time you are planning on getting out of the office today. certainly the will be some thundershowers from the afternoon. take a look at our maps and see what's going on. i've been hearing that a lot of people saying that the rainy season has started here in japan. and you can be forgiven for thinking so.

it's been quite wet. a few rainy days this week already and another one today. it's not the rainy season just yet. what's happening is the ground temperatures are improving so it's getting warmer. and then when we get some cold air coming across aloft with the system we can get that impact with sudden showers and thunderstorms. that's what's happening once again today. further down towards the south, though is where we'll find the rainy season in full force. along this band the southern japanese islands, taiwan being affected by ongoing heavy rain for the last couple of weeks. the southwest monsoon is helping to bring heavy downpours for southwestern china. all of that moisture coming off the bay of bengal. northeastern india as well as parts of bangladesh and myanmar seeing heavy rain into the weekend. you'll also notice we have a tropical depression. this one just sitting to the east of the philippines. it looks set for some strengthening over the next couple of days. in fact could become a tropical

storm even by tonight. it's going to be heading towards the north. looks like it will swerve off to the northeast of japan coming close, but not actually making landfall. that's a long range forecast though. and these systems are quite unpredictable. so we will definitely keep your updated with that. check back with us. 25 degrees in tokyo. and, yes, wet from the afternoon. not a great start to the weekend. it is so hot, though up in beijing. 32 degrees. 31 we have in taipei. 30 in shanghai. you can see that heat rising up to the north and improving ulaanbaatar's temperature after a fairly chilly week. into north america, severe weather today is going to be impacting parts of the ohio valley down into texas. this is actually your overnight along this front is where you'll see the severe weather. it will shift further to the east during the course of your friday. much of the east will be looking very unsettled and wet. particularly down here in the southeast. of course you'll know the southeast got a drenching from

that tropical system beryl which is n continuing to move out east away from the u.s. over the atlantic. more severe storms are going to come down through the plains. after texas gets rid of one storm system yet another is going to be moving in towards the northwest. and then further up to the northwest, rainy system coming in to bc and down into washington state. the southwest staying dry and extremely hot. we're getting severe heat warnings in phoenix, for example. 44 degrees for the high. parts of southern califora and southernevada will alsoe sufferin under that extreme heat. as we head on into europe things are looking very unsettled for central locations. it's going to be gusty, widespread rain for germany. and coming into poland there. and then down across the southeast, or along the mediterranean, short time heavy rain and thunderstorms are likely. a cold front descending. that's going to continue to drop temperatures. although it stays very hot in the southwest, on your friday madrid 34.

32 in lisbon. these temperatures will also drop into sunday as the cold front makes its way down. so think you are seeing about 27 in madrid on sunday. should feel a little more comfortable. leave you now with your extended forecast.

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