some of the stories we're following this morning. >> sepp blatter announced he's stepping down amid a corruption scandal days after he was elected for another term. rescue crews in china are desperately searching for hundreds of passengers still trapped inside a capsized cruise ship but bad weather is slowing

their efforts. and japanese police have served a new warrant to the man of suspect ad flying a drone to the prime minister's office. they say he attached an illegally modified flare. a corruption scandal rocking the world of soccer has reached the man at the very top. fifa president sepp blatter was re-elected just days ago for a fifth term. now he's announced he's stepping down. >> translator: i have thoroughly considered my presidency and the last 40 years of my life, which were closely related to fifa. and this wonderful sport of football. my re-election does not seem to be supported by everybody in the world of football. balloter announced his intent to resign at fifa headquarters in zurich just for you days earlier he celebrated

his re-election with a promise to steer the organization through rough waters. u.s. authorities are investigating corruption in the world cup bidding process. last month they indicted 14 individuals including two fifa vice presidents. federal investigators say they were part of a bribery scheme totalling more than $150 million.million million. sepp blatter has denied any involvement. the "new york times" on tuesday quoted several u.s. officials who said they are trying to build a case against him. the officials said they hope to win cooperation from some of the fifa officials who have been indicted. soccer fans weighed in on the latest development. >> translator: i think it's a good thing and he shown have offered himself as a candidate knowing the scandal touched him

and his team. >> i don't know who will be the next president. i think it's a good decision on behalf of fifa. >> reporter: a former player posted his views on social media. he says sepp blatter's resignation means the beginning avenue era of soccer. he said fifa has turned into a money making machine and needs to get back to its roots. but some people in the sport expressed surprise at the turn of events. japan co-hosted the first world cup held in asia in 2002 with south korea. >> translator: the president seemed very confident after the election. so it's a mystery what happened since then. it's a pity that the person at the top of the soccer world is

resigning. in this kind of situation. >> reporter: officials say an election to choose a new fifa president will take place in december at the earliest. until then sepp blatter will still be at the top. >> thanks for that update. rescue crews in china's yangtze river are looking for anyone who might have survived the capsized cruise ship. 19 people have been confirmed dead and just 14 rescued. most of the 456 passengers and crew members are still missing. the ship went down monday night. a team of 4,000 is involved in the rescue mission including divers firefighters and soldiers. but they have been facing

challenges. heavy rain continues to fall here making their job even more difficult. officials think some passengers were carried downstream. security along the site is tight. police officials are keeping media away. nhk world crew members were allowed to film at the river with a time limit and under supervision. you can see the capsized ship. chinese authorities have cents in more boats and divers in an attempt to find survivors. residents say the weather was also bad at the time of the accident. >> translator: we were engulfed in thunderstorms, wind and rains must be worse on the river.

>> reporter: officials detained the ship's captain and chief engineer who are among those rescued. the two men said the vessel was caught suddenly in the tornado and capsized quickly. marine engineers say the ship's structure may be part try to blame. the four story high decks make the vessel vulnerable. when there's strong winds water can gush inside. relatives of passengers have made to it the site. this woman says her parents had been looking forward to the cruise. >> translator: i just want to see them. >> reporter: they are growing more and more frustrated with the lack of information and slow pace of the search. we'll have more updates four here on "newsline". japan's emperor and empress

welcomed aquino. he's on a four day visit and first state guest from the philippines in 13 years. the imperial couple greeted him on wednesday at the palace entrance. they were forced to move the welcome ceremony inside because of rain. the crown prince and prime minister shinzo abe also attended. the emperor is reported to have said he's delighted with the president's visit. aquino expressed appreciation for japan's support over the years. he invited the couple to the philippines. the governor of okinawa met with a senior senator in washington but john mccain and the mayor couldn't bridge their differences to relocate an air force. japanese and u.s. government officials have agoode to move

futenma to the coast. they met behind closed doors on tuesday. mccain is chairman of the senate armed services committee. he told mccain he fully understands japan-u.s. security alliance but said the people of okinawa remain firmly posed to the relocation plan. mccain indicated his support for the project. >> translator: i'm glad to tell people of okinawa how mccain feels about the plan. yus senators ended weeks of intense standoff and passed surveillance reform legislation that allows the federal government to harvest large amounts of personal data with certain restrictions. senators approved the bill on

tuesday by a majority vote. president barack obama later signed the measure. lawmakers approved the bill more than 40 hours after a law authorizing bulk collection of personal data by the national security agency expired. that law was enacted shortly after the september 2001 terrorist attacks. the reformed version allows the government to continue surveillance activities on a case by case basis and requires court authorization. in a statement obama stressed the importance of enabling the government to resume the operations. he said it would allow security professionals from text the nation. iraqi government forces are stepping up their fight against islamic militants. but they are fighting back with suicide attacks. government troops and shia militia men are in a fierce battle to retake the stiff ramadi. it was captured in mid-may. local officials say government

forces launched air strikes against militant strong holds in northern and western iraq. shiaighters captured a base on tuesday about 70 kilometers north of baghdad. militants are packing armored vehicles with explosives to carry out suicide attacks on military and police compounds. iraqi media report the militants closed a dam in ramadi to cut the water supply to supporters of government forces. members of an international coalition pledged support for baghdad's plan to retake ramadi. top diplomats from 24 nations and international organizations met in paris. they discussed strategies to take down the extremist group. iraqi prime minister revealed plans to boost military and police forces and recapture the city. u.s. secretary of state john kerry join the meeting by telephone. he said the u.s. will start supplying anti-tank rockets to iraqi forces. members of the coalition released a joint statement urging world leaders to you

night in the fight against islamic state militants. they called for long term commitments in the form of air strikes and military aid and they say they will protect ethnic minorities and historical sites threatened by the insurgents. delegation at a u.n. meeting in germany are trying to set the stage for a global agreement on climate change. officials from industrialized countries are urging those from developing nations to submit their goals for cutting emissions. delegates held a second day of working level talks in bonn. just 37 of more than 190 participants have presented targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020. those that have submitted plans include the european union and other major economies. officials to end cap the rise on global temperatures. they want to keep them within two degrees of levels before the

industrial revolution. japanese officials plan to propose a 20% reduction. now a familiar name in electronic appliances will resort to more drastic measures to stay afloat. >> we are talking about sharp here. the ailing electronics maker has decided to cut wages in an effort to rebuild its finances. the sharp group posted a net loss of $1.8 billion for the last business we're that ended in march. company executives will reduce wages for rank-and-file employees by 2% and those for managerial posts by 5%. over time benefits including holiday pay will also be cut. the changes will be effective from august to march next year. sharp's restructuring plan also calls for cuts to its domestic workforce of about 3,500 jobs at the end of september. employees aged between 45 and 59

will be subject to the voluntary retirement program. the company plans to sell its head office building in osaka. executives say they aim to post a net profit in fiscal 2017. japanese automakers suzuki came up with a new design aimed at female drivers. the company hopes the car will help it through the downturn caused by the tax hike on many vehicles. designers researched young women car buyers over a year in developing the new model. the car come in pink and beige body tones that female drivers said they like. the suzuki offers storage space in front of the driver and front passenger seat. engineers also made the cars frame 120 kilos lighter than the previous model resulting in more fuel efficiency. japanese sales have been falling

year-on-year for five straight months. the automobile industry group says many drivers are women. checking the markets tokyo share prices extended their losses after breaking a 12 day winning streak yesterday. the benchmark nikkei average closed 0.3% lower at 20,473. some analysts say a relatively stronger yen weighed down sentiment but many avoided active trading ahead of the european central bank meeting today. in china, the shanghai composite ended a touch lower after choppy trading. that's its first decline. data from hsbc showed activity accelerated in may but that didn't have much effect on the market. many bank shares were sold on concerns that possible interest rates could harm their revenues. australia's s&p/asx 200 index ended lower.

the country's economy expanded 2.3% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. in other asian markets hong kong hang seng rose 0.7%. energy related shares led the rise. kospi fell for three days in a row amid concern about the mers virus. takata has apologized a hearing at the u.s. house of representatives. the government announced they are expanding the recall of damaged vehicles to 400 million vehicles. >> we deeply regret each instance in which someone has been injured or killed. >> kevin kennedy is the executive vice president of takata subsidiary, tka holdings. he said the firm found long term use in warm and humid conditions could cause the airbags to malfunction but he believes the danger posed by the product is

small. many at the hearing said takata has not made clear why the recall was expanded nationwide. takata officials said it was to make sure of safety measures. the firm says the recall was expanded because of the possibility of manufacturing problems. the number of japanese people on welfare has hit a record high. officials say elderly households that need financial support continues to rise. welfare ministry officials says more than 1.6 million homes were on benefit in march. that's 4,000 more than the previous month. households with members 65 or older accounted for half of the total or 790,000. total welfare recipients reached a record of nearly 2.2 million. decades of deflation and recession made japanese shoppers more frugal and food retailers responded by stocking inexpensive products. but as the country's economy continues to improve, consumers

are looking beyond the cost of what they eat and focusing on quality instead. now a look at how some retailers are responding. >> reporter: this green grocer is located in south wherein japan. many of the vegetables it sells are more expensive than those sold in supermarkets, but there are long lines at the cash register. and sales are growing. the store provides background information on its products. >> translator: these japanese garlic shoots are only available this time of year. >> reporter: to win customer confidence, the management emphasizes that its produce is safe. >> translator: the staff here answers all my questions. i trust them.

>> reporter: in tokyo, this fish vendor takes his shop to the streets. one piece of sword fish costs nearly $5. high-end fish goes for about $12, but sales are brisk. >> translator: $62. $82. >> reporter: the average customer spends about $40. the vendor's commitment to freshness is behind his popularity. he cuts and trims the fish as soon as he gets it. >> translator: i pay more than i would at a supermarket, but everything is fresh and delicious. >> reporter: for years, this supermarket chain used low prices to lure customers. but now company managers are trying new strategies. they used to buy huge quantities

of low-priced products. then deliver them to stores. now each store is allowed to choose its products in response to local tastes. this store started with its produce department. the manager knew his customers cared more about freshness than price, so he decided to buy directly from local farmers. >> translator: it's very tender. >> reporter: despite the higher cost, produce sales have grown by 20%. the focus on customer satisfaction doesn't end at the sales floor. shoppers who buy meat here can grill it up for free on the store's terrace. company officials opposed the plan at first. they thought it might be dangerous, but the shop's staff forged ahead.

>> translator: it's yummy! >> reporter: about 10,000 customers used the grills in four months. sales of meat went up. and people bought more vegetables and drinks as well. >> translator: it's up to stores to figure out what customers in their areas want and provide products that meet their needs. >> reporter: as retailers shift their focus from low prices to higher customer satisfaction, they're hoping their sales will continue to heat up. that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.

japanese police have served a new arrest warrant to a man suspected of sending a drone to the prime minister's office in tokyo. the incident sparked controversy across the country over,000 regulate unmanned aircraft. the drone containing a contanner of radioactive sand. the man turned himself into police and indicted last month for obstructing the duties of prime minister's office. he told investigators he flew the device to show his opposition to nuclear power plants. authorities also suspect he illegally modified one of two warning flares mounted on the drone. they say he possible sesd gun powder taken from dozen of shotgun bullets.

the new warrant was served on violating the explosives control law. government officials have drafted new regulations for drone. they want to allow people to use drones only during the daytime. they also want to limit operation near airports and in densely-populated areas. overcast skies is the forecast for us here in toix with highs 23 sellcelsius. we get an update on the rainy season front. >> yes, the rainy season started yesterday in kyushu. typically the season continues for six weeks. now a seasonal front is now located to the south of japan and that's sending out moisture to the pacific side of japan, the heavy rain is falling over

the east areas of kyushu. heavy rain is going the east and by thursday things are clearing up. we're looking for a return of sunny weather on thursday. gloomy weather, rainy weather will come back on friday and staying that way into early next week. now tokyo, we're not in the rainy season yet but it will likely come soon across tokyo. rain is affecting taiwan and the south china and as we have been reporting the ship capsized late monday and people there are search operations are still under way. the front has shifted towards the south so the worst is over and cooler weather is waiting for you coming up on your thursday. temperatures are going to be quite high in taipei 30 for the high, 33 in hong kong and very hot with daytime thunder showers in bangkok on thursday.

now let's go the americas. there are a couple of tropical systems over the eastern pacific. we have two hurricanes actually. this will move away and should weaken and this one here is blank blanca. it will become a category 4 system after wednesday. it should weaken to a tropical storm but get very close, could reach the baja california peninsula by early next week. the southwest coast of mexico will likely feel high surf and rip currents within the next couple of days. now a front and low pressure system are causing bad weather over the northern half of the plains. we have very dramatic video coming out of south dakota. take a look. this is called super cell and this is impressive time lapse video of a huge thunderstorm hitting the small south dakota town of black hawk.

bonnie fleming was about five kilometers away from the storm when she captured the storm cloud on her cell phone. this happened over a time lapse of 0 minutes showing a black cloud engulfing the town and more super cells could form over the central portion of the united states because the system will stay here for a while. the worst conditions will happen around colorado as well as nebraska into your wednesday. more tornadoes could happen and large damaging winds could happen and heavy rain will likely increase the risk of flash floods too. on tuesday, two tornados were reported across wyoming as well as north dakota. now rainy weather for the east coast of the united states and temperatures are going to be down to the teens in the u.s. capital on wednesday. and finally over europe mostly dry but messy picture across the north. thunder shower will happen over the scandinavia peninsula. temperatures quite warm in many places. here's your extended forecast.

one more story before we go.

a seal found strand on a japanese beach has been nursed back to health and is once again free. the northern seal turned up two months ago on a beach. her neck got tangled up and was badly injured. an aquarium took her in. those tending to her said she didn't eat very much at first but has recovered since then and so has her appetite. >> translator: she's in such good condition now that she even tries to threaten people and put on close to 22 kilos. all of us are very pleased to release her back into the sea in good health. a crew transported the seal to a spot about 30 kilometers from the coast and then let her go with hopes she will quickly re-adapt to life in the wild. and with that we conclude this hour's "newsline". i'm james tengan in tokyo. thanks for watching.

stion by eyewitnesses. would we have won the world cup without accessing allocated money to the caribbean? certainly yes. as you are aware, and as you look at the voting patterns, you will see that we did not get all votes, we only got two of the three.