candlelight vigil. a record number of people in hong kong mark the anniversary of tiananmen square. and make an appeal to the chinese government. tens of thousands of candles ss lit up a park in hong kong. the people holding them came to remember the victims of the crackdown in tiananmen square.

they were commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the protests in beijing beijing. 180,000 people took part in a vigil. police put the number at 85,000. participants called on chinese governme officials to change their account of the events. the official story says a group of students provoked a riot. the demonstrators also demanded that chinese leaders do more to improve human rights on the mainland. the media spotlight on chen guangcheng has increased scrutiny. communist party officials are preparing for a change of leadership this fall and the government has been cracking down on pro-democracy activists. >> i feel the chinese communist party is also tightening its control over the people of hong kong. we have to strongly oppose this.

>> about 600 young people joined a candlelight vigil in taipei. university students organized the event. they showed a film of the crackdown and participants prayed for the victims. one of the people who led the protests in beijing spoke about the importance of the democratic movement. kaishi now lives in taiwan. they hope chinese authorities understand how taiwanese see human rights. >> translator: i want many young people in taiwan to remember this incident. we want the chinese to know that we take this matter seriously. >> reporter: chinese and taiwanese officials are working to strengthen economic ties. they remain far apart on issues such as democracy and human ghts obal leaders are concerned about the world economy, particularly following the

equity sell-off over the last few trading days. ai uchida joins us from the business team. what are leaders doing about it? >> exactly those concerns. they were planning to talk about it already in mexico at the g-20 summit later this month. perhaps because of the global stock sell-off on friday and monday, several of them are taking virginia steps. finance chiefs of the group of 7 leading industrialized nations will hold an urgent conference call on tuesday toiscuss matters including the european credit crisis. a spokesperson for canada's finance ministry told nhk of the upcoming discussions among the finance ministers and central bank governors japan, the united states canada and four european countries. officials will discuss spain's banking problems and concerns over the possibility of greece leaving the eurozone. they'll also talk about recent indicators showing an economic slowdown in the united states. another aim of the call is to

confirm the developed countries are all on board towards stabilizing markets ahead of the scheduled g-20 summit later this month in los cabos, mexico. u.s. stocks ended mixed overnight. while the nasdaq finished a touch higher. the dow jones industrial average fell to a 5 1/2-month low on a slew of recent weak economic numbers. for more we're going to go to our ramintheatat the tokyo stock exchange. what can you tell us about the open? >> economic numbers have not really been that favorable of late. we had the u.s. job numbers on fridays. and also factory orders slipping in april. we had those numbers coming out of the u.s. just yesterday. so not looking that good. let's have a look at the opening levels here and, in fact for the nikkei and topix, we're seeing a touch of a rebound. a little rebound here. not a huge amount but still, both nikkei and topix trading higher.

let's not forget that yesterday the nikkei actually touched the year's low to date and as we alsoeported, the top hit lows we hen't seen since the early 1980s. so a bit of a rebound actually from those lows. all of this of course comes on the back of fears of a fiscal meltdown in europe with a possible greek exit. banking crisis in spain. high bond yields in spain and italy and also slow jobs growth in the u.s. so the next question is how japanese companies are going to deal with this slowing growth in the global market. so we've -- a lot of focus on japanese automakers. which have had to actually increase a lot of their sales just to thwart or to fight against the rising strength of the yen. not an easy task when you look at consumer demand and growth in china, europe and the u.s. actually being cut back. so those are some of the major

impediments for a lot of the japanese companies. a lot of the exporters. nu numura securities will be coming out with its outlook for 2012 and 2013. that will be ieresting to see. from the semiconductor industry japan electronics association is also going to come out with trade statistics for the semiconductor industry. of course, the high-tech industry, the semiconductor outlook is a key factor in seeing how the high tech industry is going to be faring as well. but let's have a look at the currency levels as well. yen, obviously, a main driver of stocks over here. 78.32-35 dollar/yen. we're seeing the recent yen buying stopping a little bit on cautions over possible currency interventions. ai? >> so that would mean a lot of focus on what central bankers will do then? >> yeah very quickly, i'll just say that the chairman bernanke

of the federal reserve is going to be speaking on thursday. we got the european central bank meeting -- policy meeting on wednesday. nvd, of course a focus on what the bank of japan may do to stem the strength of the rising yen. for now, back to you ai. >> ramin, thanks for that update. that was ramin mellegard live from the tyo stock chan. >> ll japan's keeping the door open on the possibility of joining discussions on the transpacific partnership free trade agreement. japan's trade minister yukio edano spoke with ron kirk on monday on the conditions under which japan could participate in the talks. the two officials met on the sidelines of the gathering of apec trade ministers in the central russian city of kazan. kirk reiterated that further liberalization of japan's markets inhree categories which are vehicles insurance and beef is a prerequisite for

japan joining the tpp negotiations. >> translator: the u.s. request comes from various centers. but japan and the u.s. have agreed to continue talks based on mutual consideration. >> the tpp is seen as a step toward achieving economically liberalized trade in the asia pacific region. meanwhile, in tokyo, japan's new agriculture minister says the government needs to provide the public with more detailed explanations before deciding to take part in tpp negotiations. >> translator: sufficient information has not yet been disclosed. i think the government needs to create more national discussion. >> we are seeing a bit of a rebound on tokyo stock markets this morning. i'll leave you with a check on those numbers.

delegates from the international atomic energy agcy will resume talks friday witheprentates of iran. the head of the nuclear watchdog says he hopes to restart an investigation of the country's suspected weapons program. aiea director general yukio amano spoke at the agency's board meeting in vienna. >> i wish to inform the board that a meeting between iran and the agency has been scheduled

for june 8th in vienna. i invite iran to sign and implement t document a soon as possible and to provide early access to the site. >> the iaea suspects iran has been developing nuclear weapons at the military complex. the country's leaders have refused to allow iaea inspectors access to the site. north korea's military is threatening to attack several south korean media outlets for criticizing the north's leadership under kim jong-un. the military issued what it calls an open notice through the state-run media on monday in connection with media coverage of an ongoing event in pyongyang. the notice says the south korean media portrayed the event involving 20,000 children as a staged attempt to show that the public supports kim. the military says the media must offer an apology or face an attack.

it identified the newspaper and two other newspapers as well as broadcasters including a public broadcaster as being the targets of a possible attack. it's the second time this year that north korea has warned of a mitary attack against south korean media organizations. defense leaders and security experts from 26 nations have wrapped up their annual security forum. they not singapore for the so-called shangri-la dialogue. they focused on something of concern to them all. the new u.s. military strategy for the asia-pacific. >> and by 2020 the navy will reposture its forcesrom day'oughly 50/50 percent split between the pacific and the atlantic to about a 60/40 split. >> security analysts believe

leaders at the pentagon are trying to counter the weight of china. chinese officials are building up their navy. their neighbors say they have become increasingly aggressive. officials in china and the philippines, for example, both claim sovereignty over the scarborough shoal in the south china sea. they've been locked in a maritime standoff for nearly two months. stl, panetta has dismissed the notion that the new strategy targets the chinese. >> all of the u.s. military services are focused on implementing the president's guidance to make the asia pacific a top priority. >> the chinese defense minister did not attend though officials in beijing won't say why. instead, they sent a senior official from the military research institute. he said the meeting is not the proper forum for resolving disputes. >> the conference is intended

for mutual communication. >> panetta held meetings over the weekend with security leaders from across the region. security analysts are trying to figure out how the american strategy will play out and how the chinese will respond. earlier, our shery ahn spoke with kuni miyak whoi specializes in foreign affairs at the canon institute for global studies. >> what's behind the u.s. decision to increase its forces in the pacific? >> you know whenbama announced this new policy this january, i think many here were a bit skeptical about what the real intention would be. but i think by referring to specific number like 60% or something, i think the panetta had successfully reassured the friends in asia that the united states is serious about the rebalancing towards east asia. >> now china has been rather

reserved with its respons to thisift. why is that? >> well, you know may not be the best comfortable place for china to start because the united states is very serious about it and probably the asean countries may wish to gang up against china because of the rise of military -- military rise of china in that part of the world. so probably together with the united states and maybe japan and korea could gang up against china. so they don't want to be seen as being scohed in singape. i think that's one of the reasons. the second reason could be a political -- domestic politics. they are -- no new military leaders in china want to be seen in singapore being criticized. and i think that's one of the reasons why they didn't show up. >> and just as we saw earlier, tensions are mounting between china and the philippines.

how far do you thing u.s. will get involved here? >> the u.s. wishes to deter china on the water. not necessarily containing or fighting even china. that's not the intention of the united states. i think what they want to do is to maintain the traditional legal framework of the high sea which is the freedom of navigation on the high sea and china might challenge that aspect. so that's why the united states wants to deter china, but at the same time d'tant fig or contain. that means probably they wish to ask the philippines and china, both sides, to be more constrained so that there will be no escalation of the conflict in the future. >> mr. miyaka thank you very

much for your time. >> you're welcome. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show y their struggles and their suesses on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." next an update on one of japan's nuclear plants. nuclear crisis minister has met the fukui governor nishikawa to discuss restarting the oi facility. prime minister noda explained to the public why the plant must be put back online. he explained the government's efforts to enhance nuclear safety and sought the governor's support. >> translator: the government has worked to increase nuclear safety since the accident at fukushima daiichi. some safety standards are

provisional and have not yet been legislated. restarting the oi reactors will require special monitoring. >> translator: such new arrangements must take effect immediately to reassure fukui residents. prime minister noda must assur the public that nuclear plants are important for the country's economy, not just for meeting short-term demand. this is needed to win public support. >> nishikawa urged that noda directly seek public support for restarting the plant. last week seven prefectures issued a statement on restarting the plant's number three and four reactors. the prefectures urged the government to make an appropriate ymt. and they assumed any decision to restart the plant would be mporary. noda later met ministers responsible for nuclear power issues. he said they were win something

local consent. he said he'll take the responsibility for making a decision if authorities in fukui prefecture and ohi town approve a restart. after meeting nishikawa, hosono explained to reporters the government's position. >> translator: fukui prefecture has accumulated knowledge and it's the way experts discuss the issue. we're waiting for fukui's decision. >> the government plans to call a ministerial meeting to make an official decision to restart if fukui's governor approves such action. officials at japan's nuclear safety commission say they found evidence that the agency bowed to pressure from utility companies when drafting nuclear safety measures more than 20 years ago. the commission found archived documents after a parliamentary panel began investigating the fukushima daiichi power plant accident that was caused by a

total loss of power. according to the document the nuclear watchdog set up a task force in 1991 to study the effects of such an event. the commission says archive documents show utility company officials opposed any concrete rules on how to deal with such events. they argued that there was little risk of a total power loss. the task force decided not to add power loss measures to its guidelines. the commission also revealed that the task force even based its report on a draft prepared by the utilities. >> it is inappropriate that the agency based its report on the utility's draft. we are very sorry. volcanic activity is a fact of life. 110 volcanoes in japan could

erupt any time. the country is a world leader in volcano research and works with many other nations that face the possibility of eruptions. nhk world reports on one joint program. >> reporter: indonesia is near the top of countries with the most active volcanoes. one of the most active is mt. merapi in central joba. an eruption two years ago sent ash and hot volcanic gas flowing down its slopes. around 390 people died. the village was wiped out. >> translator: that house was buried under five meters of ash and the people living there died. >> reporter: more than 380,000 people had to evacuate their homes.

professor masato iguchi of kyoto university has been working on disaster prevention programs in indonesia for over 20 years. iguchi visits indonesia many times a year to help at a center that monitors early signs of volcanic eruptions. the center has monitoring equipment supplied through a japanese aid program. satellite observations detect the slightest ground movements. but it's not fool-proof. >> translator: there's no data since april 7th. >> reporter: there was not enough power because trees were blocking the sunlight from reaching the solar panels. iguchi explains the importance of constant observation to local officials of the technological

developmental center. >> the earth movement is less than.01 meters. >> translator: the deep magma chamber is swelling. it's very slow at present, but we assure it means the next eruption must occur. your agency is responsible for monitoring merapi. monitoring must never stop. >> reporter: work is also under way to draw up detailed evacuation manuals for each community close to the volcano. >> translator: we have to use this road when evacuating. the other road is closer to the river and could be hit by sudden floes of volcanic ash and rocks. >> reporter: the manual will be completed within four years and local people will be given full

details. >> translator: it's essential that people take steps to protect themselves. i hope nobody is killed in the next eruption. well people in southern japan are protecting themselves or taking steps to do so as they deal with the effects from a typhoon this morning. sayaka mori tells us more in her world weather forecast. >> good morning, catherine. that's right. a strong typhoon is producing stormy conditions across southe japan. right now situated very close to the okinawa island packing winds of 126 kilometers per hour with gusts of 180. still has weakened a little but still a strong typhoon. waves could reach 9 meters along the coast today. as for the projected path it looks like it will move parallel to the shoreline of mainland japan. so strong winds and high waves could be a concern along the pacific coast over the next few days.

in terms of rainfall it's already produced 210 millimeters of rain in parts of the mimami islands and an additional 200 millimeters for southern islands of japan and 100 millimeters for southern kyushu over the next 24 hours. it looks like the bulk of heavy rain will move out to sea in the next 24 hours. the outer bound of mauer will produce showers along the pacific coast as for the rest of japan. brief heavy showers are expected across parts of northern japan from this afternoon. out towards the west scattered showers will expand across much of the southern half of india. more intense rain can be found in northeastern india, myanmar as well as bangladesh. but conditions will not be as bad as yesterday. as for the highs, 31 degrees expected in hong kong with some sunny periods here. 26 in shanghai. tokyo coming in at 26 degrees, though almost the same as yesterday.

all right. head into the americas a long frontal line is stretching over the southern portions of the u.s. this is where cooler air is meeting with warm and humid air from the gulf of mexico. it looks like severe weather will likely continue in parts of the southern plains overnight monday. and over the next 24 hours, heavy rain will move towards the south gradually up towards the north. there's a potent storm which is very slow moving system sitting over the northwestern corner of the u.s. and western canada producing a risk of severe weather in some areas. and mountain snow in the higher elevations because the system is dragging cold air from the north. we will show the temperatures in just a moment. but to the south, very warm windy and dry. conditions are ideal for wildfires, particularly in utah and nevada overnight monday. as for the highs, very cool in vancouver. 13 degrees which is about 5 degrees lower than average. 14 degrees in seattle. but ahead of the system very

hot, 30 degrees expected in winnipeg on your tuesday. all right. head into europe. looking dry across much of the british isles where people are celebrating the diamond jubilee. however, a system will move in to produce wet conditions across much of the british isles and the western continent over the next 24 hours. unstable weather in central europe will finally move out from the region by the end of tuesday. temperatures remain on the chilly side in berlin with 14 degrees and 20 degrees in vienna. but we are going to see temperatures warm up as we head into friday. all right. here's your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour -- tens of thousands of peopl joed acandlelight vig nil hong kong. they were commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the crackdown in tiananmen square. the event organizer says 180,000 people took part in a vigil. police put the number at 85,000. participants called on chinese government officials to change their account of the events in 1989. the official story says a group of students provoked a riot. the demonstrators also demanded that chinese leaders improve human rights on the mainland. communist party officials are preparing for a change of leadership this fall and the

government has been cracking down on pro-democracy activists. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. do stay with us. we'll be back with more updates at the top of the hour. we'll see you then.