!o stories that we're following this hour. officials with j pan's meet logical agency are watching

mount -- >> and people in japan travel to places near and far during the holiday period known as golden week. mt. hakone is a popular tourist spot, but seismic activity is rising. they have raised the left to volcano and it is hurting businesses hard. officials at the meteorological agency say that have measured the quakes for a week. >> the pressure from the gas has become slightly. >> they have raised the alert level for the volcano from one

to two. it says that people should not approach the crater. >> based on the level of size activity and the movement of the crust, we do not expect an eruption. >> officials say a minor eruption could take place in the mountains owakudani. authorities ban entry to hiking trails within three kilometers. that came at a bad time for people who wanted to spend their spring holidays in the area. a roadway leading to the valley is out of service. >> today we want today go to the top of the mountain. we're a little bit disappointed. >> local businesses are feeling the effects. this shop owner says the number of people visiting his store this past weekend was down about

70%. >> this is causing us a lot of trouble. we can't do anything without visitors. >> reporter: local authorities are trying to minimize the impact on tourists. they stress that the side of not-gonot no-go area is limits. they have checked hotels and inns in the area to make sure they're sufficient, but experts say the earthquakes could continue for more than a month. nhk world, tokyo. >> thank you for that report. members of japan's ruling democratic party are seeking ways to put pressure on north korea. they plan to form a, woing group to consider increasing sanctions over the country. north korea set up a special committee last july loo took into the fate of the missing

japanese including those abducted. pyongyang has failed to report on their investigation. the lpd will operate under the task force party issue. the members will consider reenstating the restrictions between the countries that were put in place last year and they will discussion additional economic sanctions. they same to decide on the sanctions before the summer. the size of the task force said they will do all they can to put pressure on north korea so progress can be made in resolving the abduction issue. the japanese government says north korean agents kidnapped at least 70 japanese nationals in the 70s and 80s, 12 are still unaccounted for. people are heading to the polls to cast their votes in england. david cameron is the head of the

conserveative party. he plans to hold a referendum by the end of 2017 on whether britain should leave the e.u. they stress the economic draw backs of such move. labour hopes to regain power. they say the gap between rich and poor has widened. the latests polls suggest that neither is going to secure a majority. the junior coalition partner are lagging in the poles. the pro independent scottish national party and the united kingdom independence party have been gaining popularity. they're draining support from the major parties. the polls will close at 10:00 p.m. thursday local time. officials will start counting the votes immediately after that. more people from around the

world are choosing to spend their holidays here in japan. a new report reveals what makes the country such an attractive destination. gene otani has the details on that. >> we have been telling you about the record number of visitors especially from other asian countries. officials are welcoming those numbers and they're getting recognition for their hard work. they're celebrating a report that ranks japan in the top ten travel spots worldwide. officials put japan ninth out of more than 140 countries and territories. the first time they have given japan a top ten spot. they looked at almost 100 factors. and they ranked japan at the top in seven of them includes

hospitality, infrastructure and low threat of terrorism. they ranked japan 119th on price competitiveness and they said that dragged down their overall position. other asian countries that did well was singapore hong kong and mainland china. officials want to build on their success and they have seen the number of people that have spent their holidays and they're hoping for a bigger slice of the action. about 150 firms and organizations worldwide and a travel fair in shanghai. officials promoted hundreds of tourism sights to travel companies and tourists. local government officials and staff took part. many were there to advertise lesser known spots in addition to bigger city destinations like tokyo and osaka.

>> competition to attract chinese tourists is heating up around the world. japan hopes to win their share by promoting bunt tourism resources and topnotch customer service. >> last year the number of people from mainland china that travelled overseas topped 100 million for the first time. it was up more than 80% from the previous year. some investors are reacting nervously to comments by janet yellin who said she thinks stock valuations are high. tokyo shares dropped down 1.23%. the stronger yen also weighed on exporters.

they say they're caution ahead of the u.s. jobs data due out on friday. in shanghai they ended at the lowest point in weeks. the index tumbled nearly 2.8% to 4112. they are worried that they will reign in high levels of margin financing financing. the index in hong kong dipped 1.27%. sidney fell to a fresh three-month low, and it was a one month low. indonesia down .7%. drones are in the sights of

u.s. egg layregulators. they will begin testing long-range drones. >> the federal aviation administration announced it at a trade show. saying they conduct test flights that will take drones beyond the range of operators. they fly over vast areas to conduct such tasks as crop inspection. tv networks are key to use them in urban areas to shoot foot amg for their news reports. in their draft regulations in february, the faa says they must fly in a range where they can be seen by their operators. and they ban nighttime flights and routes that go above people

but it triggered protests from business operators. they say they will draw up regulatory plan that reflects the test results. one of tokyo's largest night life districts just got a new look due to the opening of a large scale retail and dining complex. now loc business owners are hoping to take advantage of that debut by making even bigger changes. >> the center of attention is a life side statue of one of japan's best known movie stars, god god godzilla. it is part of a building featuring a hotel, dozens of restaurants, and a 12-screen cinema. business owners are hoping the complex will bring more people to the area. during the past 30 years, visitors have fallen by half.

this man works for a local shop owner's association. one change he noticed it an increasing number of touts on the street and not all of them are on honest. police reported a steep rise in the number of people being lured to bars with promises of cheap prices only to be slapped with high prices. they were originally told the charge was about $35 for 75 minutes. they were drinking with bar girls that ordered wine at $7500 per glass. police say in the past month alone, they received nearly 300 reports of similar cases. that's about ten times more than the same period last year.

>> it's because there are not many customers. they feel desperate and they become aggressive. >> business owners want to revive the neighborhood by making it safer. so they're taking advantage of the opening of the building to introduce new measures. one of them is the idea of concierge. they will provide guests with information about restaurants and bars to be enjoyed safely. they have also created a guidebook for that purpose. it contains only businesses they have checked and approved. the shops must adhere to certain conditions. including no touting, no ties to crime syndicates, and a clear

pricing system. the idea is to drive customers to good shops and drive the bad ones out of business. the concierge's need to take responsibility for the places they recommend to customers. so they're going out and personally visiting all of the bars and restaurants. >> translator: do you get any foreign customers? >> they can come with a japanese friend. >> this is quite a fun place for foreigners. >> can they come in by themselves? >> yeah i think so. only one or two or of speak english, so they would have to use body language. >> they are visiting all types of bars and restaurants. >> translator: we want to be able to show people that they can have a good time at the places that we have checked and

proved. >> the guidebook already includes 120 bars and restaurants. all approved by tetani and his colleagues. that is it for business news, i will leave you with the markets. japanese lawmakers are discussing what could be the most deivisive issue in their

history. members of the lower house commission on the constitution gathered for the first time since a general election last year. they wanted to choose the topics on which they're focus. there is a constitutional amendment task force in the democrat party that says revisions are essential. >> translator: discussing forward looking revisions that suit the times and reaching conclusions are important duties for us in the diet. >> for now the suggests commission members have topics already put forward. they include a cause on emergency responses and a provision on fiscal discipline. they also include a wider interpretation of rights including the right to live in a healthier environment. he accused the party of going against the principals of

constitutionalism. >> the government has already changed their sbrepinterpretation. >> commission members should consider issues from the perspective of supplementing the current constitution. i another member who represents the junior party in the ruling coalition says they should use new ideas to strengthen the current constitution. the japanese communist party opposed any changes to the constitution. the representative for the party of future generations pointed out that the constitution was not created by the japanese public. he called for a national

referendum. commission members want to hear a wide range of opinions from voters. they plan to hold a public hearing next month. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is getting support to an officer who will become the first member to take command of a multinational commission in the sdf's 60 year history. he will hold the multiforce antipiracy mission for about two months in bahrain. the prime minister told him to faithly carry out his duties. >> i will work hard to respond to the mandate of the japanese people. >> ito also met the chief of joint staff. he said they will open a new

page for the sdf. the commander serves as a liaison and does not issue orders to troops. they say ito's appointment was not change the inclusion of the right to self-defense. >> workers in japan are taking a breath, they have just taken care of customers during what is known as golden week. a popular traveling time. we have more. >> airports and train stations in japan were packed on wednesday as the golden week holidays come to an end. people headed back from vacations and trips to see

relatives. one area attracting visitors was the coast of the sea of japan. a line linking the area to tokyo opened in march. tourists flock to the city that is known for their historic row houses and traditional japanese garden. >> the region is also famous for seafood. the owner of this sushi restaurant says he was busy serving customers. sales rose by 40% from the same time last year. >> translator: i think we showed

tourists that this area has delicious sushi ingredients. >> reporter: people also visited a popular attraction at this time of year a man made valley with towering walls of snow nearly 20 meters high. people waited for about two hours to board buses to get to the area. the line stretched up the stairs to the third floor. clerks at the information desk had their hands full. on the final day of golden week people on the northern island of

hokido were treated to cherry blossoms blossoms. the flowers gradually opened further and further north as the days become warmer. now that golden week is over people around japan are settling back into their regular routines at work and school. astronauts are one step closer at a company called space x for testing a capsule to carry sbeem prison. it blasted off from a space flight. they're part of a system

designed to save the crew in an emergency. space x engineers needed to test them. they hope it will start carries astro astronauts too and from the space station. partly cloudy skies is the forecast for us here in tokyo with a current temperature reading of 23 degrees celsius. we have the world weather update starting with the u.s. tornadoes are affecting many parts of the united states. 46 were we ported in the mid part of the country from nebraska to texas. this area is called tornado alley because it is often hit by tornados and may is the peak of the tornado season. i want to take you to oklahoma to show you the damage. a series of tornadoes touched down in southwest of oklahoma on

wednesday including a major one that hit about 32 kilometers from the capital city. there has been no immediate reports of injuries but some structures were damaged. this area was under a tornado emergency. flooding and heavy winds were reported in this region. we still have a significant storm system over the u.s. and this is a boundary of three different air masses. one from the humid and warm air from the gulf of mexico the other is dry and cold air from the rockies. severe weather will likely lap through the weekend. more tornadoes, gusty winds, damaging winds, and large hail will cause damage. now we have more systems to mention of the atlantic.

this will likely intensify too, a likely tropical cyclone. we'll update you on it's progress. and reports from germany. i want to take you to a town to show you the tornado. a massive tornado ripped through northern germany on tuesday leaving devastation in it's wake. this is amateur video of it passing through the country side. dozens were injured. in hammburg, people were caused. cars were destroyed, trees uprooted. emergency services have begun the clean up preparations. the tornado make sere now affecting the balkin peninsula.

another rotation can be found over the pacific. this is more gigantic. this is a typhoon that will likely intensify to a very strong typon and then may hit by the weekend. wind gusts could be 200 miles per hour. gusty conditions expected over the weekend over the northern half of the philippines. over 200 millimeters of rain could fall. heavy rain falling over the south of china because of a frontal system. an additional 100 millimeters of rain could fall. temperatures are still on the warm side 26 degrees for the high in tokyo.

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on there in decades. polls say the ruling conservatives and their labor rivals arnett and neck but smaller parties could tip the balance. a france -- a french court rules taped phone conversations between nicolas sarkozy and his lawyer can be admitted as evidence in court. a coalition deal in israel sealed two hours before the deadline. prime minister benjamin netanyahu lines up the slimmest majority with the backing of the far right.