kyo. welcome to "newsline". here are some of the stories we're following this hour. police in tokyo are trying to determine whether a drone landed on the roof of the prime minister's office. they say it could have happened any time during the past month. china's wrapping up the pressure on corrupt officials. authorities released the names of 100 so-called economic fugitives. they vowed to track down.

and cherry blossoms symbols of peace. a man in japan honors his father's wishes by sending trees to battlegrounds of the 20th century. authorities in tokyo are piecing together details about a drone found on the roof of the prime minister's office. they are trying to figure out who flew it and when. they say it could have landed any time in the last month. police are studying footage from surveillance cameras located near the office. they say staff discovered the drone wednesday on the roof. they had gone there during a training session for new employees. investigators say the last time anyone had been up thereas a month ago and there was no drone at that time. exclusive photos obtained by nhk shows the device was carrying a container filled with liquid and marked with a radioactive symbol. they found traces of cesium inside. police have stepped up surveillance around the prime minister's office and the diet building and keeping a look out

for any suspicious activity and asking nearby buildings to lock entrances to roof tops. the chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said the government will tighten regulations on unmanned small aircraft. >> translator: we will immediately look intoetting up operational rules on drones and reviewing regulations. we will hold meetings with related ministries to respond to these kinds of incidents. >> officials with the chinese drone maker told nhk the device that landed on the prime minister's office may be one of their products. representatives for the company dji say it may be a model called the phantom. that's the same model that crashed on the white house grounds in january. the incident prompted the company to update its software and created a no fly zone for its drones in central washington with a radius of 25 kilometers.

officials are making similar updates for other countries. the company says it has provided information to japanese investigators. japan's nuclear regulators continue to take steps to restart the reactors in central japan. they say their work will not be affected by a recent court decision blocking a restart. officials met on thursday to review progress at the number three and four reactors at kyushu electric power plant. the meeting is the first about the reactor since a district court issued a provisional injunction earlier this month. kyushu electric power officials told regulators they will explain the details of new facilities which are necessary for restarting the reactors. measures reviewed at the meeting include an earthquake resistant seawall and facility to serve as a base for recovery efforts in the event of an accident. the regulators accepted the

utility explanation. they will proceed with what screenings and inspections can bel performed. in february inspectors confirmed regular argue lators met new standards. but the operator cannot bring the reactors back online unless the court decision is overturned. nuclear regulators say the injunction will not affect administrative procedures regarding reactors. meanwhile officials with kyushu electric power in southern japan say they have been planning to restart the number one reactor at the sendai plant in mid-july. they have previously said early july. they submitted the new schedule to the nra on thursday. regulators began inspecting the number one reactor. power company officials told regulators they do not have all

the necessary documentation. and there could be a further delay. regulators told kyushu electric power that the new inspection schedule keems unrealistic. officials with the utility said they will reconsider. residents nearby had tried to prevent the restart but a district court this week dismissed their request. all of japan's nuclear reactors are currently off line. utilities must meet new regulations after the fukushima accident in order to restart them. chinese government officials are going global with their fight against corruption. they've released the list of 100 economic fugitives they vowed to track down. the government's anti-corruption watchdog posted the list on its website. the people listed are mostly former officials and company executives. they are accused of taking bribes embezzlement and other crimes. the website show their photos

and former jobs alleged crimes and suspected countries are thought to have escaped to. president xi jinping has been cracking down on corruption among bureaucrats and executives of state-run enterprises. local media report the china government has provided list of fugitives to the u.s. and is calling for cooperation. u.s. president barack obama has turned up the heat in his fight against climate change. he used an event on earth day to highlight his belief that greenhouse gas emissions must be cut more quickly. >> action can no longer be delayed. that's why i've committed the united states to lead the world in combatting this threat. >> obama said climate change poses a growing threat to national security. he underscored his hope that at that u.n. conference will produce a deal making greenhouse gas cuts mandatory for all governments. government officials are

thinking about how to meet japan's energy needs in the decades ahead. gene otani has the details on that story and other business news. gene, what are they planning? >> they are putting their heads together to think what the best energy mix is. they are trying to figure out the best mix of power sources to meet future energy needs. they compiled a draft of the plan for the year 2030. it calls for reducing dependence on nuclear power to lower levels than before the fukushima accident. they have been holding meetings since january. nuclear power should make up between 20 and 22% of japan's total energy supply. the figure was 28% before the nuclear accident. japan's dependence on other energy sources has risen since then as all nuclear reactors are off line. that's driven up fuel costs. ministry officials decided nuclear power is necessary to bring down prices and cut

greenhouse gas emissions. the plan calls for more than doubling the amount of energy from renewable sources, green energy currently accounts for a little over 10% of the total surprise. that's a rise between 22 and 24%. power from renewable source will exceed that from nuclear energy. the ministry plans to present its draft plan to experts on tuesday of next week. checking the markets tokyo stocks climbed to a fresh 15 year high. the nikkei average closed up 0.27% at 20,187. analysts say investors are expecting many firms to report strong earnings in the weeks ahead. south korean shares jumped to a four year high. the kospi ended at 2173 snapping a two day losing streak. moving on to chinese markets the shanghai composite extended its

gains to hit another seven year high. the index finished 0.36% at 4414. chinese factory activity data was weaker than expected. finally in hong kong the hang seng index ended down 0.38s at 27,8237 after hitting a seven year high earlier on thursday. it's surged 12% so far this month. investors locked in profits by selling recent gainers. market players are keeping a close eye on hong kong soaring stock price. shares in asia's financial center reached their highest level and a flood of investment money from mainland china is behind the strong rally. here's the details. >> reporter: since the beginning of this month, telephones at this hong kong brokerage have been ringing off the hook.

mainland investors have been calling to buy local shares. hong kong listed chinese businesses are in red hot demand. these companies may not be known internationally but their stock prices have been posting jaw dropping gains. >> translator: we're ten times busier than usual. >> reporter: one of the reasons for the surge is price differences between the hong kong and shanghai markets. many chinese companies listed in hong kong are also trading in shanghai. but shanghai has been overheating in recent months. stocks of the same firms in hong kong are about 20% cheaper. buyers have been hunting these shares. easing financial regulations in china have also helped ignite trading in hong kong.

last november a new trading system started in hong kong and shanghai. up until then only institutional investors authorized by the chinese government have been able to buy hong kong listed stocks. but individual investors couldn't. now, however, they can also tap the same markets through the shanghai. that's not all. at the end of last month chinese authorities announced plans to allow mutual funds to participate in trading in both cities. this sent mainland investment money pouring into hong kong. shenzhen is a booming chinese city located next to hong kong. a series of investor seminars were recently held there. this is a seminar in shenzhen hosted by hong kong brokerage.

individual investors are hungry for tips on how to trade stocks. the securities houses now trying to grab new clients before the plan goes into effect. >> translator: the stock price has more than doubled. so easy to make money. >> translator: i want to know more about the hong kong stock market. >> translator: under the new system with shanghai the number of mainland chinese customers has increased ten fold. mainland capital will completely change the hong kong financial industry. >> reporter: as china pushes market deregulation the rising tide of investor money from mainland china is changing the

financial landscape in hong kong. major japanese automakers produced fewer cars domesticically in 2014 compared to the year before. that's the first drop in five years. the companies made just over 9 million vehicles during the year through march. that's down 4% for fiscal year 2013. consumers bought fewer autos mainly due to the consumption tax hike. automakers shifted some production to the brisk u.s. market. the figures for march alone were down nearly 7% from a year ago marking the ninth straight month of decline. news was better for exports. number of vehicles shipped overseas last month rose 2%. analysts are focusing on how much exports will push up domestic production.

>> they have raised the age limit for airline pilots because of the shortage. and expected demand ahead of the 2020 tokyo olympics. the new rules require pilots age 65 and over to undergo stricter health checkups. they can only fly with ones who are younger than 60 and flight hours will be limited. in 2004 they raced the age lip split from 62 to 64. pilots have not been involved in serious incidents. it will boost the pool of those eligible by about 60 over the next five years. the space travel business is rapidly growing in the united states and japanese companies are climbing on board. >> reporter: this is one of the world's largest space business trade fares. 165 companies and organizations from across the planet took part when it opened in the united states.

this two passenger spacecraft developed by u.s. venture firm xcorps attracted a lot of attention. this spacecraft will eventually be launched to an altitude of 100 kilometers. passengers will experience zero gravity for five minutes then return to earth. the space tours could start by next year. each ride costs $95,000 person. despite the hefty price tag the company says 300 people have already signed up. >> space flight is i think, more exciting more enjoyable. it's not nearly as physically demanding. >> reporter: but industry leaders say it could become much cheaper. this is a seven passenger spacecraft. it's mounted on top of a rocket and launched into space. the operator says it's good for 25 journeys which will cut down on costs.

>> it's very much like when the computer age grew up in space there will be more journey, more vehicles, and as that happens there will be more science that gets done. >> reporter: japanese companies are not going to be left behind. last december japan launched the asteroid probe. it's predecessor was the first in the world to bring back dust samples from an asteroid. they helped develop the product. it contributed to the success of the mission. the device is called an impactor. it fires metal projectiles into an asteroid to create a crater from which dust and rock samples are collected.

the device is made of stainless steel and copper. the company successfully welded the two metals together. the company was at the trade fair showing off its products. >> translator: our company may have a chance to enter the space market if we have technologies that u.s. companies do not. >> reporter: space travel from the u.s. is on the brink of becoming possible for many more people. and japanese companies have high expectations for the business. and that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.

the cherry blossom season has come and just about gone in most of japan. as always it signaled the beginning of spring. the blossoms have become a symbol of post-war reconciliation thanks to a man who grows them and then sends them abroad. >> reporter: cherry blossoms make any place look more cheery. this place has been named sunshine on hopes it will shine on people like the sun. the pink blossoms make a striking contrast with the blue sky. this man sends cherry trees around the world. his father created the strain to press his wish for peace.

trees have been delivered to more than ten countries and regions. many of them were the sites of fierce battles in the mid-20th century. vietnam is one such place where people died as japanese troops moved in. about 7,000 cherry trees have been planted along the main street of the capital hanoi. they can be found in front of the japanese embassy, at school yards and other locales. >> translator: people say that they have become symbols of peace. we have been month mosting that message for many years. i'm very happy about this. >> reporter: his father died 14 years ago. he taught agriculture at a vocational school during war time. when his students left to go to battle he pointed to a cherry tree and told them to come back to that spot.

many never did. the war situation grew worse for japan. he received reports of the deaths of the young men he had known. >> translator: my father said he told them to come back to the cherry tree. but more than half of them died. he said he was very sorry. >> reporter: he got the idea of creating a new variety of cherry tree that would bloom in any clamt to climate to mourn for his students. he worked on cross fertilizing them for 30 years. what worked was a combination of the taiwan cherry and the amagi-yoshino. taiwan cherry with stands hot where. amagi-yoshino puts up with the

cold. this cherry tree was born of that parentage. he sent more than 50,000 trees to countries where his students died including china, south korea and the philippines. after his death, his son took over the project. he's been sending 3,000 seedlings around the world each year. this year the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, the trees are making its way to myanmar for the first time. [ bell ] temple in the city is dedicated to soldiers in the area who died in myanmar. 8,000 were sent to war. more than 5,500 never returned. 1,000 trees will be sent where fierce battles were fought.

>> translator: my father kept sending trees until he died. i want to continue what he started. it's a project that will last my entire life. >> reporter: he has been carrying prayers for peace around the world. each year as the flowers bloom the prayers are heard loud and clear. you're watching "newsline". i'm james tengan. a volcano has erupted in southern chile. authorities ordered thousands of residents to evacuate. the eruption of the calbuco volcano sent a thick plume of ash and smoke 16 kilometers into the sky. government officials issued the highest possible alert warning. they urged more than 4,000 residents within a radius of 20 kilometers to evacuate. officials said most of them have moved to a safe area. local media say the 2,000 meter volcano last erupted in 1972.

southern chile has also seen another volcano erupt last month. people in southeastern australia are still reeling from the strongest storm in a decade. we're the details is our meteorologist from our weather desk. >> very strong system affected the east coast of new south wales over the past three days and that includes sidney. you were battered by one month's worth of rainfall in several hours. weather has improved right now. however, they are still dealing with recovery efforts. we have some impressive video coming out of the city. take a look president it shows the water rushing along tracks next to the platform. this time. lapse was captured over a 45 minute period wednesday morning. a train station looked like a river bank as you can see after days of heavy rain and stormy weather pounded sidney. the storm is doing more than just flooding the insurance council has declared a

catastrophe due to the wild weather. so far four people have been killed due to the system. now the system has weakened has shifted towards the south so precipitation has gone from most part of new south wales but this system still creating rain but not on the heavy side. the worst is finally over across australia. now let's go asia. looking quite fine over northern portion of china but storms spreading in to south korea and north korea by saturday and a low pressure system over northeast india. this system has been with you over the past couple of days because of severe weather at least 42 people have been killed due to hail stones as well as flooding over northeast india and this system will likely sit here for a while. scattered rainfall for much of the indochina peninsula and

temperatures are on the rise over northern portions of asia. take a look at these highs. ulan bator 23 degrees on friday. tokyo staying quite warm and still over 20 degrees over the next three days. let's enjoy the warm weather. now let's go the americas. we talked about severe rainfall over eastern portions of the united states due to heavy rainfall, a sinkhole opened up in parts of it. take a look at this footage coming out. a sinkhole found near two homes because of the sinkhole actually many people have evacuated from this area. now the system has gone so precipitation has gone across many part of northeastern portions of the united states. that's good news. but actually temperature are on the low side so some areas saw snowfall. take a look at this picture coming out of pennsylvania. you can see some light snow

covering lawns. temperatures will stay quite chilly for the next couple of days and snow will likely linger for a while in several places like buffalo into the rest of the work week. now across the south severe thunderstorms are happening over the southern plains, so far on wednesday. six tornadoes were reported in texas along with large hail and similar conditions happened over the southern plains and lower mississippi river valley into your thursday. temperatures are going to be heating up in houston at 30 degrees and 22 degrees in atlanta and still chilly over the north as i mentioned, chicago 11 trees for the high on thursday. here's your extended forecast.

there's nor come here on nhk world so stay with us.

ny a way to stop migrants from dying in the mediterranean sea. and in sicily, hundreds of more migrants have been rescued. the french fry minister said -- the french prime minister said five terror plots have been wanted. and in yemen, the saudi led coalition despite announcing the end two days ago. fresh tries to place overnight. ♪