tokyo. welcome to "newsline". here are some of the stories we're following this hour. the bbc is projecting prime minister david cameron's conservative party will secure a majority in the nation's general election. judge saudi arabia has offered to suspend air strikes against rebels in yemen to allow delivery of humanitarian aid. and we look at recent talks between a key member of taiwan's

political leadership and china's president. british prime minister david cameron says he's ready to don't lead a united country. nearly all the ballots have been counted in thursday's general election and the nation's public broadcaster is predicting cameron's conservative party will secure a majority in the house of commons. the bbc projects the main governing party will clinch the majority of the seats. >> i want my party and i hope a government i would like to lead to reclaim a mantle we should never have lost a mantle of one united nation one united kingdom that's how i will govern if i'm fortunate enough to form a government in the coming days. >> the main leader of the opposition party said his party faced an uphill battle. >> this is clearly a very disappointing and difficult

night for the labor party. we haven't made the gains we wanted in england and wales and in scotland we saw a surge of nationalism. the pro independent scottish national party has increased its number of seats from six to more than 55. >> it's historic. you know the political ferment has shifted. many people in the uk said election results are surprising. immediate kwa predicted no party would be able to secure a majority. leaders of saudi arabia say they are prepared to introduce a humanitarian cease-fire in yemen. they say the five day truce would allow workers to reach civilians in need of aid. a saudi led coalition of arab countries launched air strikes against rebels six weeks ago. violence in the region has

killed around 1400 people including civilians and injured 6,000. saudi foreign minister held a news conference with u.s. secretary of state john kerry inry had. -- in riyadh. >> translator: the kingdom is thinking there could be a ceasefire for a period of five days in yemen. it would allow for the delivery of relief aid to the brothers in the country. if the houthis and their allies are committed to that. >> aid workers say fighting and a lack of fuel is hampering the delivery of daily necessities. the rebels have been demanding saudi halt air strikes as a condition for a ceasefire but they haven't officially responded to the proposal. american leaders are trying out a new strategy in the battle against the islamic state group in syria. ash carter said his nation has

begun training fighters for ground combat. analysts say this is part of a broader effort to build a force capable of fighting the militants. >> this program is critical. we expect a second group to begin training in the next few weeks. >> carter says they will provide support to rebel ground troops with ground support and surveillance. he added the fighters are vetted very carefully. the u.s. military aims to train about 5,000 fighters this year. the chairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff says he believes the government of bashar al assad is losing momentum against the rebels. u.s.-led coalition air forces have begun launching air attacks against the militants since last august but not been considered

fully effective because of the lack of ground troops able to provide assistance. russian authorities are trying to determine who is responsible for the deadly sinking of a trowlor. they charged an official with accepting bribes in return for overlooking mised safety inspections. it capsized on april 2nd. 57 crew members died and 12 others remain missing. investigators say five days before the accident the firm that owns the vessel bribed the official who is now facing charges. they are also questioning another official who they allege allowed the ship to leave port without sufficient safety checks. now one of japan's leading companies has released its latest financial results. gene otani joins us from the business desk with more on the earnings result by toyota motor. what's the story? >> toyota officials say group's

operating profit for fiscal 2014 hit a record high and forecasting a third straight record profit in fiscal 2015. toyota had an operating profit of about $22.9 billion in the business year that ended march. that's up 20% in yen terms. sales in japan decline after a buying spree ahead of the consumption tax hike in april last year. but sales of the united states and europe increased and the weak yen pushed up profits. toyota projects profit for the current fiscal year at $23.3 billion. they expect strong sales in the u.s. they plan more cost-cutting measures. the automaker is targeting global sales of 10 million vehicles. that's roughly the same amount the group sold in 2014. there's increasing concern that china faces further economic slow down. exports and imports fell in april from the same month last

year. customs authorities say there were declines in shipments of clothing, shoes, personal computers and other items to japan, europe and southeast asia. exports were down 6.4% to $176 billion. that's the second straight monthly drop. trading of steel and automobile related materials decline pushing down imports. that's amid sluggish investment and real estate and corporate equipment. they total just over $142 down 16.2%. that marks six straight months of falling imports. experts say the slow recovery of the global economy has weakened exalternativaltern external demands. >> tokyo stocks rebounded from a one month low. the nikkei average ended at 19,379. auto related shares were bought on the weaker yen but gains were

limited as investors were cautious ahead of u.s. jobs data due out later today. the shanghai composite index rebounded. over the week the benchmark shed 5.3% it's biggest weekly loss in five years. investors fear regulators may tighten control on margin trading. hong kong finally snapped a six day losing streak. the hang sang index ended at 27,577. speculation on the launch of a stock trading link with shenzhen support market sentiment. i want post ad 2% weekly loss. sidney failed to rebound from its three month low. the s&p/asx 200 index end ad touch lower at 5634. the index shed about 3% on the week. in other markets in asia-pacific

region, seoul was down 2.6%. philippines composite ended down by almost .7 of 1%. indonesia was up by .6 of a percent. consoles and software are selling better overseas for nintendo. the company has announced its first profit in four years. nintendo officials say the firm posted an operating profit of about $206 million for the business year that ended in march. they say the weaker japanese currency helped boost profits on the sale of the home video console and game software in the u.s. and europe. overall sales fell 3.8% in yen terms from the previous business year to nearly $4.6 billion. officials say that's because sales of the 3-ds game console were lower than expected.

japanese telecom operators softbank is taking a stake inia ma da. official -- in yamada. softbank will buy a 5% stake in yamada. softbank officials hope to improve their sluggish sales. yamada reported lower profits for the year that ended in march. the idea is to create a new business by linking yamada's home business with softbank's business. work continues rebuilding from the 2011 earthquake and orders are flooding in ahead of tokyo olympics in 2020. there's some solutions. >> reporter: a new hotel is

going up in tokyo and the construction crew is hard at work. the kind of work that puts bodies to the test. >> this is hard on my back. >> reporter: construction work in 1990 it was 4.5 million. at last count it was down 1 million. managers say they have a solution. workers will strap on this device invented by a start up firm. it takes the heavy out of heavy-lifting. i'm about to lift something that's more than half of my weight with this support suit. let's give it a try. it's heavy but not as hard as i

thought. feels like somebody is pushing up my lower back. it all works automatically. a sensor is on the skin. the device uses this data to support the user in bending and raising the lower back. according to its maker, the robotic suit can make a heavy object feel up to 40% lighter. >> translator: if we can alleviate the burden of carrying heavy stuff workers can concentrate on areas that need their expertise. >> reporter: strong work is an industry requirement. this worker is inspecting wall tiles on an apartment building. these inspections are mandatory. damaged tiles can peel off the wall posing a hazard to

pedestrians. the 2011 earthquake created more demand for tile checks. the damage is often hidden. changes in temperature and humidity cause tiles and materials under them to expand or shrink. over time gaps can emerge and tiles can drop-off. the inspectors main tool is a well trained ear. >> this one sounds normal. there's no space underneath. but this sound suggests there is a gap and there's a risk of the tile falling off the wall. >> reporter: a major construction firm developed this machine. it checks the tiles one by one and at high-speed. a hammer taps on the wall as it glides along.

a microphone in the robot picks up the sounds and the on board computer identifies damaged tiles. tiles displayed in white are risky ones. the system also generates a detailed analysis showing different degrees of damage. >> translator: as you can see robots can do the job fast. and create an inspection report accurately and efficiently. we think there is a great merit. >> reporter: construction managers say the tight labor market is not a temporary fix. that means it's here to stay. and that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.

efficientlies of a hot spring resort town near tokyo are warning visitors about continuing volcanic activity. they are providing information in english about areas off limits on mt. hakone. nearly 170,000 foreigners visit the area each year and the number is on the rise. the leaflets explain no entry zone is limited to the area.

officials plan to distribute the leaflets in chinese and korean as well. >> translator:. we want to emphasize safety because visitors from foreign countries believe that japan is a safe place. >> the japanese meteorological agency is warning of a possible minor eruption that could affect areas around the volcano. it urges people not to approach the crater. agency officials are conducting an on site survey for the first time since the warning. shallow volcanic earthquakes continue to register in the area. the agency is keeping the alert for mt. hakone at a five. the head of taiwan's leading political party has met with china's president.

it was the first time in six years that the leaders of the nationalist party and communist party had spoken. as people in taiwan grow more wary of china's influence experts are trying to predict what impact the meeting could have on taiwan's presidential election next january. and the future of their relationship. >> this was chu li-lien's first visit to china since he was elected in january. he is a rising star within the party, and many people are hoping he'll run for president. during the talks, chu called for greater unity. and china's president seemed to agree.

>> reporter: chu also spoke to university students in shanghai and beijing. he said he wants to open channels of communication between young people. some critics in taiwan say that stronger relations with china would only benefit the wealthy. chu said he would like to implement policies to expand economic opportunity for youth. >> translator: we should work together for the benefit of future generations. i want to increase opportunities for taiwan's young people and new companies. and i want to create more chances for people to find jobs.

a reporter tells us about the significance behind the visit to china. >> chu is walking a fine line here. he wants to emphasize the nationalist party strong presence and ability to negotiate with china on equal terms. last year students opposed the economic agreement with china at the assembly building. the instance was widely feared that taiwan could be absolved into china, but the nationalists consider their conciliatory policies. the democratic progressive party has called for taiwan to distance itself from china. an expert in taiwan said the impact of the talks could be significant.

>> translator: chu li-juin said he wants to make sure that the benefits of taiwan's relationship with china trickle down to the middle class, two small and mid-sized companies, and to young people. he also showed an interest in joining the asian infrastructure investment bank and in creating a regional economic partnership structure. the fact that china showed support for the nationalist party is a big step forward. >> the nationalist party is in the process of selecting its candidate for president. chu has expressed reluctance. he's expected to decide by next week whether he will run. public response to the meeting with president xi will be a factor. the democratic party's

presidential candidate says that she hopes to maintain the status quo between taiwan and china, but she hasn't announced any specific policies. and opinion poll by a major taiwanese newspaper suggests she is the front-runner. he believes that the role of the democratic progress party should be limited. the two parties will be keeping an eye on public opinion as they craft their campaign strategies. and many voters will be looking to see their visions for taiwan's relationship with its giant neighbor. thanks for that report.

we here in tokyo are enjoying summer-like weather without the humidity. currently 22 degrees celsius or 71 degrees fahrenheit. however worrisome news for people in the philippines as we find out in this hour's update. >> we're watching a tropical system over the western pacific. ti fond noh is getting closer to the philippines. but it's not a huge one. the rain bands are not affecting the philippines yet. because it's compact it can contain energy and also it can deteriorate rather quickly. now the system will likely intensify to a strong typhoon, wind gusts up to 270 kilometers per hour by the time it reaches the east coast of the philippines over the weekend. the center will move across

luzon over the weekend and up to the north to taiwan and southwestern islands of japan as we go into early next week. very strong winds, heavy rainfall are expected to occur over the philippines into the weekend. wind gusts are going to be between 270 kilometers in the center and heavy rainfall nearly 200 millimeters at most. so flooding is going to be another concern. and after that as i mentioned the system will likely reach in aenl a and around taiwan and okinawa on tuesday. rain from southern china into japan, this is a seasonal frontal system. the system will be energized by the typhoon. heavy rain will pound mainland japan. now let's go the americas. we have ana over the atlantic. this is not a tropical storm, actually this is a subtropical system.

it's not a tropical system because it contains cold air in the upper atmosphere but regardless of the definition it is expected to produce significant weather event over the eastern portions of the united states. right now packing winds of 75 kilometers per hour. the system will reach the coast of south carolina by sunday evening local time. we already have some watches in effect along the south carolina and also north carolina that means tropical force winds are expected to occur by your saturday. this will likely become a low pressure system and move along the east coast as we go through next week. and many cities such as new york city as well as washington, d.c. could be battered by the storm so stormy conditions will happen in these places on your monday. please watch out for that. meanwhile you can see another batch of heavy rain in the center of the united states. we are seeing severe weather once again over the mid-part of the united states on your friday. this system has spawned at least

48 tornadoes over oklahoma city or over oklahoma state on wednesday. tornadoes flattened homes, swept cars downed power lines and snapped trees and one woman who sought safety in her storm shelter died when it flooded. very significant weather event happened over the mid-part of the united states and because the system still is a strong one more stormy conditions once again on your friday for the southern and central plains. more tornadoes and damaging winds and thunderstorms in these locations. watch out for severe weather. meanwhile temperatures are going to be quite low over the west coast and rain is likely to happen over california as well as nevada where rain is much needed. that's good news. that's it for now. here's your extended forecast.

and that was this hour's news and weather from our studios here in tokyo. thanks for watching.

david cameron in the u.k. election. unexpected narrow majority in parliament. the labour party and liberal democrats suffer major losses as a result. deputy prime minister nick clegg is resigns as the head of the lib dems. and marking 70 years since the end of world war ii on the european continent. ♪