"newsline" i'll be joined by oat from the business desk later on as well as our meteorologist. we start off with a quick look at the hour's top stories. a japanese zoo association will stop acquiring dolphins caught by a controversial method. tokyo electric power investigators are shedding new light into what went wrong in

the days following the 2011 nuclear disaster. and international drone exhibition has opened in japan with new technologies on display from 50 different manufacturers. a japanese >> association made a key decision that determines its future. it will revise how to acquire dolphins and stay with a global zoo body. it was facing expulsion from the world association of zoos and aquariums. >> translator: member facilities of our association will not acquire dolphins caught by dry fishery%. >> the board members made the decision on the issue. a majority of member facility wanted the association to remain part of the world body. member aquariums had 300 dolphins by the end of 2012.

many were captured through dry fisheries off the town of taji in western japan. the method involves using sound to herd dolphins in to koefs. officials argue the japanese facilities obtained dolphins that ran counter to ethical rules. and they suspended their membership a month ago. it gave the group until thursday to present measures to address the issue or be expelled. tokyo electric power officials say emergency ventsing procedures may have failed to activate at one nuclear reactor following the 2011 disaster. they have been investigating the fukushima daiichi plant to prepare for its decommissioning. engineers say they did not find high levels of radiation in piping connected to a device called a ruptured disk. water vapor and radioactive materials should have pasd through the disk during venting. tepco officials say they will

continue to gaptinvestigate how the radioactive release occurred. >> translator: we'll continue on site investigations and simulation analysis. we will also analyze the details of the situation after the accident. >> crews attempted to vent the containment vessel to release water vapor and radioactive materials. pressure inside the vessel did not drop in four days after the accident the reactor was damaged. investigators believe this caused the release of a massive amount of radioactive materials. they say this is why most plant workers were forced to temporarily evacuate. the exiled president of yemen has made a plea for peace. haidi al abadi said dialogue is the only way to end the conflict. al abadi called a three day

meeting of tribal chiefs and leaders. representatives of the rebels did not attend. yemeni officials ss set a precondition for dialogue. they called for an end to violence. resolution 2216 demands the rebels withdraw from areas they captured and give up their weapons. the meeting ended as a saudi-led coalition carried out massive air strikes against yemeni positions. the coalition supports the haidi government. fighting conin the southern city of aden. the insurgents fired artillery towards saudi arabia from the northern border area. saudi troops are preparing for counter attacks in the border province of jizan. military commanders mobilized tanks 30 kilometers away. let's see what's happening on the business and financial fronts with gene otani who is

here with some encouraging news about japan's economic climate. >> seems like there's some improvement. officials at the cabinet office released preliminary gdp figures for the three months to march. they say improved spending by households and businesses added up to second straight quarter of growth. the economy expanded by 0.6% in real terms from the previous quarter. that works out to analyzed growth of 2.4%. consumer spending rose by 0.4%. analysts say the effects of a consumption tax hike in april of last year seemed to be waning and better employment and wage conditions may have helped as well. housing investment rose by 1.8%. that was the first increase in a year. capital spend climbed by 0.4% due to improved company profits. but imports of items including natural gas and chemical products remain high.

>> translator: the key is to have a favorable economic growth cle that's steadily working. companies' bottom lines improve, and that boosts the economy. in other words, better corporate results will stimulate consumption and capital spending. continuing the cycle is very important. >> he said corporate spending improved but it's still weak. he said government intends to provide support for firms. shoo shoppers in japan have been tightening their purse strings since last year's but as the impact of the hike weakens consumers may be returning to the stores. >> reporter: in this housing exhibition latest models are being shown off.

housing sales have been in a slump since the tax hike but managers say things are starting to turn around. company managers say more visitors are company and the attitude is changing. >> translator: i'm thinking of buying a house. >> my company's performance has improved since the second half of last year so i feel more optimistic. >> reporter: housing starts have been in a slump for over a year but this march the tide finally turned. rising stock prices and wages. the company that built this house says business for the first quarter of this year is up about 9% compared to a year ago. but orders are still about 9% down from two years ago but they think they hit bottom. >> translator: the number of

customers is edging up. the good thing is that we're seeing people who are serious about buying a house. >> reporter: business is picking up in the retail sector too. at this department store in tokyo, sales of luxury goods slumped after the tax hike last april. but they have since rebounded and top pre-hike levels. the store is catering to a growing number of foreign tourists. the store has set up a tax refund desk for foreign customers. in february sales here inched up from a year earlier when consumers were rushing to beat the tax hike. >> i come here every maybe two or three months. the price is more reasonable. >> reporter: unlike their counterparts however, many domestic shoppers are still careful with their spending. >> translator: i think it's important to spend only on

things that i really need and to buy with good quality in mind. >> reporter: the department store has launched a strategy to boost sales. >> translator: this is our new summer item. we started selling summer items about two weeks earlier than last year. >> reporter: the idea is to lure customers by putting new items from the summer season on display this april. managers say it gives customers more time to enjoy shopping. department store executives say sales for may so far are good. >> translator: customers are selecting items more carefully than ever. we must provide something that they don't have or something that's unique. and i temple that they really want. >> reporter: this economist says consumer spending in japan will continue to recover helped by

wage increases and low crude oil prices but says the recovery lacks strength. >> translator: salary hikes are not enough to make up for the tax hike and the weaker yen. so it will take more time before the economy fully recovers. real income has increased from last year but people are saving not spending. >> reporter: as the japanese economy continues its moderate recovery consumers are starting to become less cautious. corporate managers are now working harder to get them to open up their wallets. checking the markets the gdp figure was much higher than analysts estimated. that boosted investor confidence. it closed at a 15 year high. the index rose more than 0.8%

ending at 20,196. that's the highest it's been since april of 2000. weaker yen also helped exporters and total market value of the company's listed on the first section of the tokyo stock exchange hit an all time high. investors in china remain bullish. shanghai composite rose more than 0.6% to 4446. chinese authorities have announced guidelines for economic reform and contributed to the upbeat investor sentiment. shenzhen composite index rose to a record high ending the day at more than 2%. shenzhen stock exchange increased the number of stocks to 500 ahead of a scope to link up with the hong kong exchange. other markets, hong kong ended down nearly 0.4% wiping out yesterday's gains. indonesia extended its three week high ending up by .4 of 1%.

kospi rose 0.9%. the weak yen easter holiday end and cherry blossom viewing tours brought a record number of people to japan last month. officials at a national tourism organization have released preliminary data showing just over 1.76 million foreigners visited in april. that's up more than 43% from a year earlier. the highest number of travellers for a single month since officials began collecting data in 1964. people from mainland china made up the largest share at just over 400,000. that's up more than 110% from april of 2014. visitors from taiwan rose almost 30% to 335,000. the figures for china and taiwan are at all time highs for a single month.

travellers from south korea totalled more than 300,000 up 57%. people from thailand hong kong and the united states also came to japan in record numbers. tourism officials predict the trend will continue as more flights are connecting japanese regional cities and foreign countries. lower fuel surcharges will lead to more people visiting japan. the weaker yen and the prospect of rising land price are making the japanese property more attractive to foreign companies. that's else seems to be a promising source of investment. there's an event in tokyo to attract overseas buyers. organizers say it's the first such event ever held in japan. they say that construction projects in the lead up to the 2020 tokyo olympics are making foreign firms more interested in purchasing property. one major developer has a display showing its plan to

build four complexes around one of tokyo's busiest train stations. >> translator: it is important to make pr efforts to the world. if some investors are interested in our business we want to talk to them as partners. >> overseas firms say they are becoming more bullish on the japanese property market. >> the economic environment, real estate should be beneficiary of what's happening. we should see that. a lot more international interest in japan, real estate. >> officials at a private research institute say foreign purchases of real estate were worth nearly $10 billion in the business year that ended in march. higher than any previous year. japanese consumers are spending more. sales at major supermarkets have increased over the same month

last year. it's the first rise in 13 months. officials at the japan chain store association say purchases rose 6.4%. sales of electric appliances rose 1.8%. clothing rose 8.4%. food was up 7.5%. the rise comes after a dip a year ago due to the consumption tax hike in april of 2014. officials say sales of food clooting and other items continue this month. they expect wages to further boost consumer spending. many people are still keeping a close eye on their household budgets. that's it for business news. i'll hand it back to you james. >> thanks gene for those updates. francois hollande is urging countries to make a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases. he's preparing to host the u.n.

climate change scheduled for december in paris. >> translator: we have 200 days before clock. >> he said so far only about 40 countries have submitted targets to the u.n.. he stressed the need for financial support to help developing nations reach their target. he spoke at a meeting in berlin to delegates from over 30 countries, including japan, the united states and china. they worked on a new framework to tackle global warming. the goal is to create a framework that the nearly 200 members of the u.n. conference in december can agree to. japan is one of the countries that have not yet handed in targets. the environment minister says he understands some countries want japan to announce its target as soon as possible.

>> translator: i told the delegates that the prime minister plans to explain japan's ambitious target, which is in line with the international standard, during the upcoming g-7 summit. >> climate change is expected to be at the top of the agenda at the g-7 summit scheduled for next month in germany. drones are making headlines across the world for causing security scarce at public buildings and famous landmarks. as authorities develop new laws to govern their use, an international drone exhibition is opening up for the first time here in japan. >> reporter: people have gathered to study drones and learn about their newest capabilities. 50 japanese and overseas manufacturers are demonstrating their products. some drones are attracting

attention for their weight. this french made device is just 420 grams and has a high resolution camera. this major japanese security company plans to use the drone to enhance security services. small unmanned aircraft will monitor suspicious activity in offices or factories. drones can be programmed to chase intruders and send pictures to security officers. this japanese company developed a drone that detects cracks and defects in infrastructures such as bridges and roads. >> translator: as our society is ageing we'll increasingly depend on robots. drones are the next step in robotics. they will help us with some of the work now done by humans. >> reporter: but recent incidents in japan have raised the alarm over the used of unmanned aircraft. a drone carrying radioactive sand was found on the roof of

the prime minister's office last month. a 40-year-old man was arrested. another one came down at this famous temple. officials quickly banned drones from the area. tokyo's metropolitan government has a ban on their use in city operated parks and gardens. japanese lawmakers have proposed legislation to set no-fly zones around key facilities and to require people to register when they purchase a drone. expo participants are aware of the risks and concerns. they say regulation is necessary and they ask users to stick to the rules. >> translator: we've asked our customers to get flight permission for specific locations beforehand. risk management has to be in

place because drones might fall. >> translator: it's true drones have caused some bother. it's high time that officials from the government industry and academia work together to find ways to prevent accidents. >> reporter: drones can travel to many places where humans cannot and people agree they have much to offer but they need to be controlled and experts warn their down side needs further discussion. >> thanks for that report. members of the global casino industry have gathered at a trade show in macau. they have their eyes on japan where legislation to legalize casinos is under consideration. the three day global gaming expo asia opened on tuesday. u.s. casino industry groups host

the annual event, one of the largest of its kind in asia. at one of the booths visitors can spin a virtual roulette wheel. also on display is an internet gambling system that let users play a game remotely. macau post the highest revenues in the world even though growth slowed down last year. markets in southeast asia are expanding including those in vietnam and the philippines. participants at the trade fair have high hopes for japan where a bill to legalize casinos was submitted to the diet last month. >> definitely a market that has tremendous capability and will be a key market for us if gaming is regulated in that jurisdiction. >> 180 companies from asia, europe and the u.s. are taking part in the event. now currently in macau the

forecast calls for scattered showers with highs around 30 degrees celsius or 85 degrees fahrenheit. here in tokyo it's fair partly cloudy with a temperature reading of 24 degrees celsius or about 75 degrees fahrenheit. we have this hour's weather update starting off with the u.s. plains. >> yes, at least 27 tornadoes were reported on tuesday in the southern plains. yes may is the peak month for tornadoes. typically we have about 270 tornadoes a month. however, so far this month we've got nearly 250 so it's been a very active month this year and we are expecting more tornadoes to happen into wednesday because this system is still capable of unleashing more severe weather from texas into alabama. tornadoes, thunderstorms and large hail as well as damaging winds are expected to occur on wednesday. in addition to that heavy rainfall, in fact oklahoma city you have been dealing with the wettest month on record so far.

more rain is expected. we have flood warnings widely posted for oklahoma state. now spotty showers for the west good news for california as well as nevada where rain is much needed. meanwhile cold air is coming in from the north. that's cooling temperatures and also causing some snowfall late season snowfall for eastern canada. you can see beautiful sight in eastern canada. temperatures will be as follows. still much chillier compared to where they should be. only in single digits in chicago. 8 degrees for the high. down towards the south much higher than normal 30 degrees for miami, atlanta as well as houston on wednesday. now let's go the southern hemisphere and let's talk about what's happening over colombia where a fatal flood occurred on monday. i want to take you to this area to show you the issue. rescuers continue to search for more bodies on tuesday after deadly flood and landslide hit the area. 65 people were killed and 100

are still missing. dozens of homes were swept away on monday. people are staying in shelter as recover efforts continue. rescue dogs were sent out to help with search operations. it's a wet month for you and, in fact, about 300 millimeters rain has already fallen in the past seven days. more rain is anticipated for the next several days. we have landslide alerts posted for the northwestern portion where the disaste hit. so flooding mudslides will be a continued risk for you. rainy season for southern china as well as southern islands of japan. it's called the plum rain season. nearly 460 millimeters of rain fell in just 24 hours in quandong province. more rain is expected for the next several days.

some areas will see an addition of 200 millimeters enough to cause more flooding as well as land slides and a batch of rain can be found over the west coast of myanmar as well as thailand in the monsoon season for you. again, rain will likely continue for the south of china, taiwan as well as many parts of the okinawa region. rain as well as higher than average temperatures continue into the weekend. taipei 26 degrees for the high on thursday with rainy weather, thunder showers could be happening over hong kong from thursday into saturday. and temperatures will be in the 30s in taipei on sunday. thauts it for me now. up next is your three day forecast.

>> a japanese zoo association made a key determination to affect its future. it will za wazoo body. it was facing exfrulgs the world association of zoos and aquariums. >> translator: member facilities of our association will not acquire dolphins caught by dry fisheries. >> board members of the japanese association of zoos and aquariums met on wednesday. they say a majority of member facilities wanted the association to remain a part of the world body. the chief says the decision was reached because of the global body's demand.

but the group does not deny the culture of dry fisheries and whaling. member aquariums had 300 dolphins by ten of 2012. many were captured through dry fisheries off the town of taji in western japan. the method involves using sound to herd dolphins into coves. officials say that ran counter to ethical rules. they suspended their membership a month ago and gave the group until thursday to address issues or be expelled. a senior official told nhk by phone the decision is big progress. he says the group will discuss their membership within a few days. with that we conclude this hour's "newsline". stay tuned for newsroom tokyo live at the top of the hour. i'm james tengan in tokyo. thanks for watching.

headlines. a breakthrough in southeast asia on the mike green -- on the migrant crisis. they will take in thousands of people stranded at sea, but not for longer than one year. the iraqi army says it has pushed back an attack by islamic state militants outside ramad i. the isp to go over that -- the i ask route took over that s week. the president in burundi postpones elections by a week. also coming