welcome to "newsline." i'm keikichi hanada in tokyo. here are some of the stories we are following this hour. nuclear power plant operators in japan decided to scrap two aging reactors. as annual wage negotiations in japan wrap up many workers

are looking forward to big pay wages. managers in companies affected by the march 11th disaster are rethinking their business models in the hope of being better prepared for any community calamities. nuclear power plant operators in japan will scrap two aging reactors. that brings to five the number of reactors to be decommissioned aside from those at fukushima daiichi. directors of the power company say they'll scrap a reactor at their plant. members of kyushu will dereact a plant. they say it would be too expensive to upgrade reactors. they had relatively small output. the government introduced tougher regulations after the

fukushima accident in 2011. all nuclear reactors in japan are offline. while the people who run kyushu plan to scrub one reactor, they are looking to restart another. the plant in southern japan could be up and running as early as june. the nuclear regulation authority approved equipment designed for the number one reactor. it involved earthquake and susan am yip resistance. the utility must apply for nra site inspection. that process could take more than two months considering how long the reactor has been idle. the plants number one and two reactors became the first to clear the new tougher regulations in september. japan's prime minister is keeping tight lipped about the statement that will attract close interest from people around the world.

shinzo abe is preparing to issue a declaration to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii but he says it won't help to comment on matter while still taking advice from experts. former prime minister started the practice in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the war's end. he expressed feelings of deep remorse and offered a heart-felt apology for japan's aggression in asia. ten years later the then prime minister sent a similar message using of the text. a law maker from the ruling liberal democratic party said there's been relentless media speculation on the statement. he said many people are wondering whether the prime minister will use words such as cologne rule aggression and apology. abe wouldn't give anything away. he said first there needs to be

a thorough review of japanese history before the war. he said he entrusted that task to academics and historians on his expert panel. >> translator: as members of the administration, the comments we make on this matter could turn into a political, diplomatic issue. the result would be that it's difficult to conduct a historical analysis in a cool-headed fashion. >> abe said he opens people will look at jip actions from a broader perspective. he is expected to issue the statement in august. japanese government officials disclosed a list of items they designated special secrets under law enacted last december. the list was handed to members of the main opposition party. at the end of last year the officials used a law to gather

382 items to secure the information deemed to be very sensitive. the nearly-disclosed list covers 135 of these items. designated as special secrets. many were designated by the cabinet secretary and foreign ministry. the national police agency the coast guard and other government bodies also put items forward. the opposition democratic party members say the other 247 have not been provided by the defense ministry as of tuesday. they say officials have designated photos taken by intelligence-gathering satellites and information on terrorism as special secrets. members say the list include documents of nuclear and missile development as well as the abduction of japanese people. and that a new law public servants or anyone who leaks the secrets will be imprisoned. democratic party members

received the list two months after they demanded officials disclose the information. party leaders say they will continue to monitor the government's management of the special secrets. benjamin netanyahu and his right-wing part siy appear to have won election. now more for forming a government begins. no need to ask why this man is smiling. >> translator: against all odds we achieved great victory for

likud. >> reporter: a great victory because many thought the right wing likud party was in trouble. they tried to bury us cried this supporter, but we won. the leftist zionist union presented the biggest challenge, but it finished several seats behind the kud. israeli's went to the polls with a sense of purpose this time around. voter turnout was the highest in years. many are concerned about the economy and the rising cost of living. >> have a very very hard life here. everything is very expensive. they have to work very hard to bring the money back home. >> reporter: netanyahu promised to pay attention to the economy, promised to make social welfare a priority but he spent a lot of time talking about security. the kud warned of the danger

radical islam and in the final days of the campaign netanyahu made a move to woo hardline conservatives. he said he would not allow the palestinians to establish an independent state considered a corner stone of mideast peace negotiations. a bold statement and reversal but not so surprising given netanyahu's record. jewish settlements in the occupied west bank expanded under his rule and clashes over them are frequent. he's also overseen two of the last three wars in gaza. many palestinians don't consider him the peace partner they need. u.s. officials are trying to sound unmoved, despite the prime minister's hard right turn. >> only two-state solution that results in a secure israel alongside a sovereign and independent palestine can bring ever lasting peace to people. >> reporter: it could mean further friction with president

barack obama. >> iran's quest for nuclear weapons. >> reporter: relations worsened after the israeli prime minister spoke to congress and criticized rein iran's nuclear program. even the right and left wingl short. so the newly-formed party will likely determine who becomes the next prime minister. he is a former likud member who left the party over differences with netanyahu. he is expected to throw his support behind the likud-left right or zionist-led left. it would allow for the formation of a coalition government. that job will likely fall to netanyahu, meaning he would be on the road to becoming israel's longest serving leader. jrnlgs. now to what's happening in the world of business. big day for workers in

japan. managers of japanese companies have responded to union demands for higher wages. people at the headquarters of the japan council of metal workers unions listed figures they handed over. it consists of 2 million workers in auto electronics and other industries. toyota executives agreed to an annual monthly raise of $33 in base pay. that's 2/3 of the amount requested by union leaders, but it does work out to a record for the company. nissan negotiators agreed to over $40 and over at honda, $28. managers and labor leaders at japan's six major electronics majors agreed to raise base pay. workers will be getting paid an extra $25 a month on average. >> translator: japan's economy is an important phase for coming

out of deflation. our response is equivalent to an increase of 3.6% in annual wages. i think this amount meets various expectations. >> attention on whether small and mid-size companies will follow suit. japan logged a trade deficit now for the 32nd month in a row. the figure for february was down sharply from earlier thanks to lower prices of crude oil. finance ministry officials say the trade deficit total roughly $3.5 billion last month, nearly half the size for the figure last february. the ministry's preliminary report shows exports came in right around $49 billion. that's a gain of 2.4% from a year earlier. japan shipped more cars to the u.s. and middle east during the month. imports were down 3.6% to nearly $52.5 billion, largely because the cost of crude oil imports plunged by around half in the

same period. the ministry officials say japan's trade deficit could keep on shrinking as long as oil prices continue their slide. rapid real estate development caused an oversupply of new homes in china. some consumers are waiting for prices to drop further. analysts say this has caused sluggish real estate investment. housing prices in many major chinese cities continue to slide. officials at the national bureau of statistics say they fell in 66 of 07 cities making ten straight months when majority of cities recorded declines. prices rose in two cities and unchanged in others. new prices fell 0.3% in beijing despite generally strong demand there. they were down 0.1% in shanghai. >> let's get a check of the markets. many investors are taking a wait-and-see stance ahead of the federal reserve policy meter

dater today. they are waiting to hear whether fed chair janet yellen will drop hints of the timing of a rate hike. in tokyo investors cheered on the news of pay rises and climbed to 19,500 the first time in nearly 15 years. shanghai composite rose for the sixth day in a row and renewed its nearly seven day high up more than 2%. the fall in new home prices fueled hopes for stimulus. mixed picture in terms of the overall region. hong kong higher falling on momentum on shanghai. jakarta closed out the day lower after they decided to keep their rate unchanged. sydney and seoul flat. people who have been doing well in japan's bullish stock market have been investing in real estate as the economy shows a moderate recovery. that helped to stop the slide in

the average price of commercial properties the first time in seven years. officials at the land ministry conducted a nationwide survey of land prices as of january 1st. this covers more than 23,000 locations. the average price of commercial land was unchanged. residential land prices were down for the 7th straight year. the margin of decline shrank the seventh consecutive year. land prices rose 1.8% from a year earlier. it was spurred by low interest rates and tax rates and pushed up residential property by 0.4%. recent opening of a bullet train line helped push up the price of land in front of the station in kanazawa by more than 17%. construction of hotels and commercial facilities has been booming near the station. >> tourists fro other countries have been making a beeline for japan due to the weaker yen.

the number spiked last month during the lunar holidays and set a monthly record. officials at the national japan tourist organization say in february 1.4 million people visited japan up from a year ago. the's the highest since officials began collecting data on this back in 1964. the number of tourists from mainland china more than doubled to 360,000. hong kong rose about 70% to 110,000. both numbers are record highs. tourism officials say the upward trend is likely to continue. they expect more to visit for the cherry blossom viewing season which is right around the corner. well the earthquake and tsunami of march 2011 damaged factories and infrastructures at many companies. now managers are better prepared to deal with disasters.

>> reporter: workers at this plant produce things for cars. they had to stop after the march disaster. it took six months to fully resume resume. the building itself avoided serious damage but power cables shook loose leaving the plant without power. the metal parts fixing the racks to the ceiling weren't strong enough. so things ground to a halt. >> translator: we never expected this. we cannot make our products without power, air, gas and water. this is our achilles' heel. >> reporter: the firm spent about $82 million to reenforce the racks and other parts at 12

factories across the country. the company has also changed its strategy. it started keeping stock piles of parts and materials, something it didn't do before. having these stock piles as backup means it can continue operating after a major disaster. all this raised costs, but management decided to place a higher priority on being better prepared. >> translator: we don't want to keep stock, but we must think about the best way to hedge our risks. our decision was that we should keep backup stocks. >> reporter: the disaster also opened the eyes of managers of mpp. engineers at the company are now working to improve their communications infrastructure.

the firm digitizes patients' records for hospitals and clinics. the tsunami damaged all that was saved in the server. >> translator: the data loss created serious problems for our clients. we tried to restore the information, but once it was lost, there was no way to recover it. >> reporter: so a local doctors association and others came up with the idea of keeping the data outside the hospitals. digitized medical records were placed for safe keeping in an online cloudism system. they will be able to access medical records if the patient grants them permission. when the system was launched two years ago, about 70 medical institutions had access. starting next month it will

expand across the prefecture with 500 institutions taking part. >> translator: japan is expected to face another natural disaster in the future. we believe it is our mission to make sure we're prepared. and to expand this network nationwide. >> reporter: they are making their preparations for another disaster, together with the clients to help develop systems that can stand up to any eventuality. >> let's get you a recap now of the markets.

the exiled governor of iraq's northern proverbs says speaking out against the involvement of shiia militia in the fight to retake mosul. he rejects the group's participation and operations to drive the islamic state militants out of the city. most of the population is predominantly sunni. he fled after extremists took control last june. he is now living in iraq's kurdish autonomous region and expresses a strong opposition during an interview with nhk. >> i refuse to have militia in mosul. people will refuse to have any

militiaa with sectarian vision. >> he says people there aren't allowed to use mobile phones or leave the city. sectarian violence has flared up in tikrit after militants took part in the ongoing operations. about 20,000 shiia fighters have fought in the battle far exceeding the number of iraqi forces involved. the world health organization has held its first ministerial talks on dementia. the head of the w.h.o. says a comprehensive plan is needed to tackle the issue. delegates from about 80 countries took part in the two-day conference in geneva. two of these countries, japan and germany, are experiencing rapid population aging. w.h.o. director general margaret chan says the world is facing the complex problems of dementia. >> dementia has a large human

cost, it has a large financial cost. both of these costs are increasing. you do not have a comprehensive and affordable plan for coping with the tidal wave of dementia. >> the w.h.o. says about 47.5 million people have cognitive impairment and 60% of them live in low or mid-income countries. the number of sufferers is estimated to reach 75.6 million by 2030. the conference aims to raise awareness of the need for action against dementia in less developed nations. the delegates explained how medical and nursing care for affected people can make their lives easier. chan says the w.h.o. plans to establish an organization to enable countries to share information and know-how about dementia.

it's time for check of weather. jonathan, clouds are spreading across east asia after very warm day. will we need umbrellas for thursday? >> i think so as this cloud area shifts to the east is bringing in the moisture. when that happens, we will see that precipitation taking place. going throughout the overnight period into thursday by friday the low associated with this will be pushing off to the east and we should see a drier weather pattern as we head into the weekend. here it is that cloud cover pushing to the east. we've been talking about this disturbance developing over the eastern side of china. it is lifting over the korean peninsula and bringing a warm factor to it. we are talking about highs around 20 degrees in tokyo as we

see the rain coming into the picture. it will take time for it to exit. i think it's going to progress throughout thursday. then we'll see the rain and sunny skies returning by friday. i want to point out this icon next to the philippines, that was once bobby. it is no longer considered a tropical system. i don't think it will produce any real rainfall for the philippines. the big rain maker is moving into japan. here is a look at the forecast for thursday. 20 in tokyo. 18 seoul. shanghai and chongqing looking for clouds and rain. in australia, nathan has become a category 3 cyclone. notice the interesting track this system has taken. it is now making a 360 degree turn over the past couple of weeks moving toward the west. it will be intensifies more

expecting to have a big impact when it comes to winds and the rainfall. please prepare yourself for those of you on the northern coastline of queen land. this will rise as we head to the latter part of this week and continuing toward the weekend. speaking of rain i want to take you over to europe where an area of cut-off low pressure system has rained itself out over italy. so i think we are going to see improving conditions. we've been dealing with this rainfall the past few days. now we should see more in terms of sunny conditions we have another low here moving in. so spain and portugal you'll be seeing some wet weather as we go throughout wednesday. eventually that will shift toward the mediterranean sea by thursday and head back into italy. it's not going to be a long extended period of dryness. 17 rome high pressure dominated. elsewhere across europe sunny

skies in warsaw and berlin. wrapping things up with a look at north america, this low pressure system is moving out of texas into oklahoma and is a big wet weather maker. high pressure toward the east is driving us and the cold air into the eastern side of the united states. temperatures are going to be cooler than what we've experienced the past couple of days. another low coming out of the rocky mountains will produce precipitation as we go throughout wednesday. here is a look at the forecast. rain denver with a high of 18. los angeles, you needed rain for quite some time. you'll get some of that as another low drops into southern california. 24 degrees. east coast into the single digits from toronto to new york and into washington, d.c. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here is your extended outlook.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm keikichi hanada. on behalf of our team, thank you for staying with us.

>> in what he is -- describes as a great victory, benjamin netanyahu invites others in the israeli government to join him without delay. our correspondent tells us how another netanyahu termite change things. the israeli leader opposed leaving iran with infrastructure s. and russia says there's no question that it will be handed back to ukraine. a very good day to you. defined opinion polls -- defying opinion