hour's "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following this hour. authorities in malaysia say they've unearthed dozens of bodies in the country's northern area. they suspect the victims could be rohingya muslims fleeing from ma yien mar and bangladesh. u.n. officials are calling for more aid for nepalese who are still struggling after last month's massive earthquake.

and the contest for the emperor's cup went down to the wire at the may sumo tourney. we'll tell you who came out on top. malaysian authorities say they've made a grisly discovery near camps believed to belong to human traffickers. they say mass graves could contain the bodies of ethnic minority rohingya muslims trying to flee myanmar and bangladesh. the country's home minister says the remains were found in a mountainous region near the thai border. local media say there could be several hundred victims. they suspect the dead include those murdered for being unable to pay human traffickers. thai authorities exhumed over 30 bodies of rohingyas from mass graves in southern thailand earlier this month. countries in the region are becoming more alert to the plight of myanmar's rohingya muslims. the united nations estimates around 8,000 are living near the

border with bangladesh. nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa reports. >> reporter: people stranded on this boat are jumping into the ocean to retrieve food aid dropped by a helicopter. many on the boat are lying on the floor. they look malnourished and extremely frail. myanmar's rohingya muslims do not have citizenship. u.n. officials estimate more than 3,000 migrants are still adrift at sea. an nhk crew has entered the state of rakhine, near myanmar's border with bangladesh. clashes there three years ago left many people dead. since then, the rohingyas there have been pushed into isolated areas. many rohingyas make their living farming and fishing, but they face hardships farming poor land

with no rice to move freely. >> translator: we need to get approval from the police just to leave our village. >> reporter: this boat anchored to the pier was carrying migrants. they managed to leave their villages but were later caught when the boat was seized by myanmar's military. they say they were adrift for three weeks with little food. japanese foe tojournalist uzo ota has covered myanmar for 20 years. he says the situation of the rohingya minority is the result of discrimination in the country. >> translator: i think people who are not rohingya feel superior to them because they have the rights and all the benefits of citizenship.

>> reporter: more than 200 rohingya muslims now live in japan. this man recalls living in myanmar. he says he was not allowed to go outside his town. he says his parents died a few years ago with no medicine or access to medical treatment. neighboring countries thailand, malaysia, and indonesia last week agreed to set up temporary shelters for the migrants. but they have yet to decide when and where the shelters will be built. regional leaders are scheduled to meet on friday in thailand. they will discuss the growing problem of migrants fleeing violence and persecution. mitsuko nishikawa, nhk world. >> thanks for that update. u.n. officials are appealing for more aid to help people in nepal still living outdoors after last month's massive earthquake. around 700,000 homes were damaged, and they say many need support before the rainy season

begins. more than 8700 people in nepal and neighboring countries were killed. >> translator: we still have aftershocks. we don't know what to do. >> reporter: u.n. officials say over 450 health facilities were destroyed. they also say about 870,000 school children may not be able to resume their classes later this month because of the damage. u.n. resident coordinator for nepal told nhk on sunday reconstruction efforts are still a long way off. >> we hope the international community strongly supports us in terms of what time we have available and what we need to do to get the populations in those areas supported with the bare minimum, which would be shelter material and food stuffs. >> reporter: mcgoldrick says they're racing against the clock before the monsoon season begins next month. he says heavy rain could cause

mudslides and further isolate villages in mountainous areas. a strong earthquake hit tokyo and surrounding areas on monday afternoon. no injuries have been reported. the magnitude-5.5 quake struck north of tokyo. its focus was 56 kilometers deep. it did not trigger a tsunami. tremors were felt in a wide area of japan's main island. the strongest jolt was recorded in ibaraki prefecture. >> translator: it felt like the world was wobbling. the shaking lasted for about a minute. >> translator: we were using oil and gas at my workplace, so everyone panicked. >> the quake temporarily disrupted trains and other public transport in tokyo and surrounding areas, but no major damage has been reported. experts are calling for precaution against aftershocks. >> translator: weaker tremors could occur within a week. >> officials say strong tremors

could have loosened the ground in some places possibly leading to falling rocks or landslides. and it's assuring to know the crippled nuclear facilities in fukushima were not affected by today's jolt. on a business note. also feeling ri assured is the beleaguered utility company. >> well james, some positives in the infrastructure sector of the economy. tokyo electric power company, or tepco, and mitsubishi corporation have won a contract to build a major power plant in qatar. this is the first overseas project tepco has successfully bid for since the 2011 nuclear disaster. the utility is the operator of the fukushima daiichi nuclear power station. the two japanese firms won a contract to build and run a thermal power plant as well as a desalination facility. the total value of the project is $2.5 billion. the companies will take a

combined 30% stake in a firm to be jointly launched with qatari state-run enterprises. the joint venture plans to operate the plants for 25 years starting in 2017. tepco's initial share in the new company will be limited to 0.45%, but it's looking at raising that to 10% later this year. the nuclear accident had a severe effect on tepco's bottom line. the utility wants to improve its finances by winning more projects overseas and the middle east is one of the areas where it sees promising business opportunities. now, japan's trade balance is moving in and out of positive territory. we saw a surplus in march for the first time in nearly three years. the balance last month then dipped into the red. but it's down more than 90% from a year earlier. finance ministry officials say their preliminary trade balance for april registered a shortfall of almost $440 million. that was despite exports rising

8% and imports falling 4.2% from a year ago in yen terms. a rise in shipments of automobiles to north america and electronic parts to china were the main reasons for the increase in exports. cheaper fuel prices helped to reduce the bill for imports. the total cost of inbound shipments of crude oil and liquefyied natural gas fell by about 35% each. investors in tokyo remain bullish. they've pushed the nikkei average to another 15-year high. the nikkei rose 0.7% to close at 20,413, extending its winning streak to a seventh day. the weaker yen helping to boost a wide range of shares especially export-related issues. now moving on to chinese markets. the shanghai composite jumped more than 3% closing above the key mark for the first time in more than seven years.

analysts say investors bought shares in securities firms, and that's after government officials announced the start of a cross-border investment scheme for mutual funds with hong kong. now, sydney rose 1% closing at 5,721. that's the biggest one-day gain in a month. a rebound in iron ore prices supported a rise in a resource-related shares. most markets in southeast asia were lower. indonesia retreated from five days of gains. the philippines and malaysia extended their losses. hong kong and seoul are closed for a holiday. one of japan's long-silent minority groups is finding its voice. a recent survey suggests 1 in 14 people in the country are members of the lgbt community. they say they're tired of living in the shadows and calling for equal treatments. one group paying attention is big business. nhk world explains.

>> reporter: japan's rainbow pride is four years old and bigger than ever. organizers of this year's event say half a million people showed up, up four times from last year. the strong turnout this year demonstrates the growing interest in the lgbt market. about 90 companies and organizations are running booths here. that's double the number from last year. from finance and cosmetics to the internet airlines, and noodle shops, the companies taking part are as diverse as the sexual types in the crowd. the booth offering portrait sketches belongs to a major appliance maker. >> translator: the power of lgbt

people to spread our brand by word of mouth is very appealing. their community is strong and very tight, so information spreads instantly. >> reporter: same-sex marriage is not legally sanctioned in japan, but that didn't stop them. they tied the knot in front of tens of thousands. courtesy of a wedding planner. the company says it's getting more inquiries about same-sex weddings. >> translator: more couples are speaking out. we believe this trend will surely boost the number of same-sex weddings. >> reporter: research shows lgbt consumers have a distinct

profile. they're willing to spend more on lifestyle goods. advertising company denzu estimates the market is worth about $50 billion and growing. >> translator: $50 billion is our estimate for just the lgbt market. if their friends and supporters are included the market is going to be even bigger. >> reporter: one way to win those customers is to show solidarity. apparel chain gap is doing just that. this outlet got a rainbow makeover. inside staff put up a photo exhibition in support of diversity. customers seem to approve gay and straight alike. >> translator: we bought the same t-shirts to get this

rainbow badge. >> translator: i'm lesbian. gap is supporting us so that makes me want to shop here. >> reporter: gap managers say the campaign is paying off. they've seen customer numbers spike during the rainbow event. >> translator: we want people to like not just our brand but also the lifestyle we are supporting. that makes us stand out from our competitors. >> reporter: japan's lgbt minorities are finding their voice, and businesses say they've found a new market. the two sides are still getting to know each other but a promising relationship is taking off. nahoko yamada nhk world.

sales at japan's major restaurant and fast food chains fell in april for the second straight month. officials at the japan food service association said april sales were down to 2.7% from the same month last year. the officials blame mcdonald's japan for pushing down the overall figure. sales at the company have slumped with a series of food safety scandals. fast food outlets saw sales fall more than 7%. businesses at pubs and japanese-style taverns was down by over 6%. but family restaurants were up about 3% due to strong sales of relatively high-priced menu items. and that's all for business news for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on the markets.

japanese prime minister shinzo abe has instructed cabinet ministers to ensure that public and private sectors will work together to prevent cyber attacks. he says it's a priority as the nation works towards the 2020 olympics and paralympics in tokyo. abe issued the order on monday at a government task force on cyber security. >> translator: we must boost our ability to appropriately deal with all issues including highly designed crossover cyber

attacks, more than ever. i ask you to advance your efforts in an effective manner by crossing over barriers of ministries and agencies. >> a draft strategy was presented at the meeting. it calls for guidelines and measures against cyber attacks in energy, medical service, and other sectors to be drawn up. officials will aim to promote industries related to countermeasures by using government affiliated funds. the draft also includes efforts to improve investigation skills. the government wants to have an approval of their strategy at a cabinet meeting next month. japan's public security chief is calling for more effort into intelligence gathering. japan must seriously address threats ahead of the 2020 games in tokyo. they cited the kill of japanese nationals by islamic state militants. the incident made it clear japan

faces threats. he referred to a group of seven summits scheduled for next year in japan as requiring special attention. >> translator: i want the intelligence network expanded so that we can gather all terror-related information accurately. >> he also wants more information to help bring home nationals abducted by north korea. the japanese government says north korean agents kidnapped at least 17 citizens in the 1970s and '80s. and he said the country's building up its military strength by developing nuclear and missile capabilities. preparations are being made for japan's prince and princess to visit brazil in the autumn. japanese government officials say they'll attend events to commemorate 120 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. the prince and his wife will start their two-week trip in late october. they'll meet the brazilian

president in the capital and attend various ceremonies. the prince is expected to make a speech promoting relations between japan and brazil. sumo fans saw the action in the may grand tournament in tokyo go down to the wire. our sumo expert hiro morita tells us all about the thrilling finish inside the ring. >> after 15 days hakuo were tied for the lead with three losses each. he was aiming to capture his first top division championship while hakuo was in pursuit of his 35th title. here's how it played out. the mongolian dynamo wants to

win and put pressure on hakuo. he gets a deep grip and keeps up the forward pressure to rack up his 12th victory. h hakuo must now win to force a playoff. he uses speed to gain a deep inside position. he tries to raise him upright, but he launches and hendssends him out of the ring.

>> congratulations to terunofuji for winning his first emperor's cup. now here's how the young mongolian developed his skill and strength to become such a force to be reckoned with. terunofuji trained at one of the sumo power houses. he's known for having a good physique and while training with the yokozuna and other seniors, he grew even stronger. terunofuji's improved strength was evident in this fight. the two go chest to chest. while he allows the right

outside grip he counters with a throw. terunofuji has become the sixth man from the country to accomplish the feat. the 23-year-old terunofuji also received the fighting spirit prize and more importantly a boost to the second highest rank. the official announcement of his promotion will be made on wednesday. >> thanks hiro morita for that update. for you sumo fans around the world, if you have any comments on this tourney, do send them into nhk world. from powerful sumo wrestlers to power-packed storm systems. jonathan oh is here with the hour's weather update. starting off with a part of the u.s. that continues to be battered.

jonathan? >> hello. we have been talking about these storms that rolled through the united states for the past couple weeks. they're different weather systems, but we are still seeing the same areas, especially for the southern plains, constantly getting hit by these strong storms. the combination of seeing the warm air coming in from south along with the cold air from the north and the dry air from the west, that combination has led to flooding and some very powerful winds and tornadoes as well. i can show you the video. this may look particularly familiar to you. this is a familiar sight. the heavy rainfall with flash flooding. we're seeing these severe storms in texas and in the surrounding states. you can see also the very strong wind damage that took place from the storms on sunday. unfortunately, it has killed at least two people submerging roads, and leaving thousands without power. more than 2,000 people had to be rescued or evacuated. you can see here that members of the fire team in oklahoma had to -- are actually taking the time to remember one of their own after he was reportedly

killed when the storm drain swept him away in terms of the water sweeping him down into a storm drain. on top of that more than 2,000 people had to be rescued. officials saying 41 apartments also getting damaged from these storms. on top of that all that rain you saw the scene there is. we already see in oklahoma city the wettest month on record for may. the previous record was 369 millimeters of rain. we're now at 482. wichita falls already beating their record. dallas, texas, you're knot far away from also beating the monthly record as well for your area. so it's not looking good because we had even more rain and possible severe storms ahead of the frontal system with that warm air pushing in. we have the possibility of seeing strong storm storms. another low east of the rockies, producing the risk for strong thunderstorms. cannot rule out any tornadoes. please make sure you're paying

attention to the weather situation. rain in denver with thunderstorms, high of 19. 28 in houston. even as far south as miami and atlanta, you're looking at the chance for thunderstorms as we go through memorial day. now as we look at the forecast for east asia we are looking at this rainy season front that is bringing lots of rainfall especially into taiwan. look at had. more than 900 millimeters of rain during the past few days. that's a lot of rainfall, even for a rainy season standards. we're definitely looking at the possibility of even more flooding. that frontal boundary continues to linger over the area. the high pressure is bringing drier conditions into northeastern portions of china, the korean peninsula, and also into most of japan. the southern islands of japan, you'll continue to see heavy rainfall. some areas seeing 100 to 150 millimeters of rainfall. southern taiwan another 200 millimeters of rain possible. flooding concerns are still in place. temperatures near 30 degrees in seoul and tokyo. also down toward the south. plenty of rain from taipei into hong kong for tuesday.

as we look at the forecast for europe, we do have a low over the balkan peninsula along with a cold front coming in from the north. that's going to keep the central portions of the continent wet throughout monday. dry toward the west into the iberian peninsula. highs in the 20s for madrid and also into lisbon. also dry conditions into moscow and kiev through monday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

for feature stories and special reports, just log on to our website. while you're at it, do send us a message. i'm james tengan in tokyo.ñ

>> hello everyone. we're broadcasting live from paris. here are the headlines. spain's ruling people's party suffers its worst election result in more than 20 years, as the leftist period of time rises. the conservatives will now have to form coalitions in 13 of the country's 17 regions. >> 139 mass graves have been found in malaysia right next to a thai border. human trafficking is rampant in the region with smugglers allegedly keeping migrant in jungle camps. many are thought to have died from disease or starvation. >> and dheepan