it's 7:00 p.m. on a tuesday here in japan. welcome to nhk "newsline," i'm james tengan in tokyo. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. smoke signals. u.s. researchers pick up increased activity at a north korean lab for processing plutonium. hopes dash. europe reports the first wave of

migrants and turkey criticizes the response to the refugee crisis. fresh face. japan students and parents attend university entrance ceremonies with hope and concern. u.s. researchers say they have detected suspicious activity at a north korean nuclear facility. they have zeroed in on a laboratory complex used to produce plutonium, the material used in nuclear bombs. the researchers at johns hopkins university released what they say are recent satellite images of the complex. they say in recent weeks exhaust plumes were detected from a thermal plant used to reheat the main plutonium reprocessing lab. the plumes may indicate significant activity is or will be under way in the lab. it remains unclear what that activity is. the top u.s. intelligence official warned in february that north korea could start extracting plutonium at the complex. james clapper said it could happen in a matter of weeks or months.

under an agreement in 2007, north korea disabled the reactor in exchange for international aid. but authorities in pyongyang say last september that the complex had resumed normal operations. south korea's defense ministry says north korea fired three surface-to-air missiles toward the sea of japan last week instead of just one as initially reported. ministry officials had said a short-range missile was fired from an eastern province and landed in the sea of japan. but a spokesperson for the joint chiefs of staff now says north korea fired two more missiles immediately after. he says the other missiles disappeared from radar several seconds after they were fired. he says the ministry did not give all the details of last friday's launch because the missiles were only surface-to-air, which are not banned by the united nations. senior officials from japan and china say it is important to steadily implement u.n. sanctions on north korea for its

recent nuclear test and ballistic missile launches. china's special envoy met his japanese counterpart in tokyo. >> translator: we had a frank discussion on the full implementation of the u.n. resolution. both sides agreed to cooperate on the issue. >> he was asked if they discussed the disputed south china sea. beijing is increasing its presence there. >> translator: i'm not in charge of the issue. it has nothing to do with japan. >> wu is scheduled to meet executives of japan's governing parties. government officials say he may be aiming to discourage japan from highlighting the south china sea at the g-7 minister's meeting planned for next week in hiroshima. a swedish research institute said military spending rose for

the first time in four years amid conflicts in the middle east and rising tensions in the south china sea. the global military expenditure totalled about $1.86 trillion last year. that's up about 1% from the previous year. the united states tops the list accounting for about 36% of the total. the institute estimates that china's expenditure rose 7.4%. saudi arabia is conducting air strikes against its insurgents in yemen. it's expenditure grew 5.7%. there are no big changes in the standings of the top 15 countries that are combined spending accounts for more than 80% of the total. japanese lawmakers are debating the merits of one of the world's biggest free trade deals. gene otani has that and other

business headlines. >> lawmakers have opened talks on whether to open a transpacific partnership. prime minister shinzo abe said the prospective deal between 12 pacific rim countries represent a big opportunity for japanese farmers. abe was responding to a question from a ruling democratic party lawmaker. >> tracy: the tpp will open a huge agricultural market for japan. it will enable its farmers to set up sales channels overseas and the compete globally. >> the prime minister said the deal would boost japan's gdp by $130 billion. he said the results would improve the lives of people across the country. abe also said the tpp would help japan offset its population decline and achieve robust long term get. the opposition democratic party's policy chief accused the

government of concealing the details of the negotiations. but economic revitalization minister said it is bound my strict confidentiality. leaders are set to spend big on public work projects to buoy the economy. they plan to use most of their new fiscal year budget in the first six months. >> translator: i explained our plan for the budget and i asked the ministers to get on board. >> ministers want to spend 80% of the budget, or nearly $110 billion by the end of september. they'll be putting the money into roads, ports, sewer systems and much more. they'll also be assigning cash to school buildings. the last time the government set out to spend money this fast was in 2009 just after the global financial crisis hit. >> check egg markets the nikkei

fell below 16,000 closing at the lowest level since february. for details we go to the tokyo stock exchange. >> reporter: the yen gained ground against major currencies amid risk off sentiment. investors sought safer haven assets sending tokyo shares lower. the nikkei finished at 2.42% at 15,732. the topix was also down 2.6%. the dollar/yen broke below the 111 level and hit the lowest level since october 2014 and benchmark futures slid again. wti futures fell below $36 a barrel. market players can see countries agreeing to freeze oil out put

at january levels. petroleum supplier was down and mitsubishi corporation fell 4.5%. banking sectors suffered the most. it was hurt by bank of japan's negative interest rates policy. banks are trading lower. some investors are hoping the boj will do something at their policy meeting later this month. >> thanks very much. let's move on to other markets. shanghai, the shanghai composite gained by 1.5%, 3053 for the closing number climbed to a three month high. many investors are cheered by the government's supporting measures. hong kong, hang seng dropped by

1.6%. 20,177 is the closing number. the hang seng posted its biggest one day lost in six weeks on falling crude oil prices. kospi index dropped and finished at its lowest in a month. indonesia was up. sidney slipping, again lower oil prices dragging down the resource heavy index. employees at big firms are about to get a base pay raise for the third year in a row, but across a much wider cross-section of the work force, the picture is less rosy. on average, staff got smaller winter bonuses than the previous year. labor ministry officials surveyed 33,000 businesses with five or more employees. they found on average bonuses

fell 0.3% to a little over $3300. they say one reason for the dip is part-time workers now make up more of the workforce. people in the finance and insurance industries saw their bonuses fall nearly 6%. workers in the transport industry lost more than 7%. thosose in the electricity andns industries had a a better time it. the average bonus increased 4%. in the i.t. sector, bonuses were up more than 5%. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following today. reserve bank of india policymakers have cut the rate by 25 basis rates to 6.5%. lowest level in more than five years. they say inflation is expected to accelerate modestly. toyota motor and microsoft worked together to collect data that could drive a whole lot or make driving a whole lot easier. they set up a new company in texas to gather information from japanese and u.s. drivers.

they will provide real-time nonotification on traffic jams d calculate insurance premiums. they will develop artificial intelligence for self-driving cars. bank of japan has injected $11 million into the markeket through purchases of exchange traded funds. under the scheme the bank is only buying funds with stocks from firms that support working parents and research and development. cutting-edge technologies developed in japan have made their mark around the world. now a group of researchers and entrepreneurs is bringing japanese high tech to a new arena. nhk reports. >> reporter: an event in tokyo drew people keen on integrating technology in a sport. they show how two-wheel vehicles can be used to race around an obstacle course.

another idea is modern-day sumo wrestling that uses armor and special footwear for extra high jumps. the events' organizes want to help japanese tech companies carve out a new niche. >> translator: we aim to promote spororts that merge whwhat's kn as cool japan pop culture and japanese high technology. >> reporter: this vehicle is modeled after chariots used for racing in ancient rome. drivers change direction by pulling on the reins. the maximum speed is 35 kilometers per hour. a motor in the front wheel powers the vehicle. it's possible to attach a wheelchair so disabled people can also enjoy it.

two graduate students dreamed up the device. they used crowdfunding to raise about $9,400 for development costs. >> translator: our device lets people experience the fun of operating a vehicle and the feeling of speed. we want to develop a sport everybybody can enjoy. >> reporter: another one is already finding commercial success. at this game arcade in tokyo, you can put on some reality goggles and a sensor and fight an opponenent. dinosaurs and d monsters create by computer graphics and shoot yoyour arm and a a fireball sho out. i hit them again! the developers said their game system could also be used for a new type of combat sport. they're fine-tuning the functionons and the rules.

they hope to introduce a sport people will enjoy for a long time, not a temporary fad. >> translator: we believe a new genre of sports that incorporate technology w will emerge. we calall it techno sports a an want t to help blaze the trail the market. >> reporter: with creativity and hard work, people are findining new and enjoyable obligations for japan's technologies.. nhk world. >> and that's it for business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets.

turkey's president is criticizing the european union's response to the migrant crisis. a deal between his country and the eu led to the first deportations from greece monday. about 200 people were expelled, most are originally from afghanistan and pakistan. >> translator: they put up barbed wire to stop these people from entering. we don't know how many people died in the aegean sea. but we rescued 100,000. we picked them up with our coast guard boats and continue to do so. >> the president accused european countries of not doing enough. despite being wealthier than turkey. the agreement with the eu aims to return migrants that are in greece. in exchange, the eu u would

resettle more than 70,000 syrians currently in turkey as well as other incentives. the goal is to stop the flood of people reaching europe as they flee war or poverty. some warn it will not work. >> translator: thehey captured those who want to go, but they'll try again. we can't keep them in turkey by force. they're nonot happy about livin in turkey. neither r are we. they don't want to stay here. they're just using turkey y as entrtry point. >> and the influx into europe continues. early tuesday morning, an nhk crew saw a turkish coast guard boat land a group of refugees trying to reach greece. fears are mounting in greece. this woman arrived on the island of lesbos two weeks ago. >> translator: we clamored to come here over the sea. we would rather die than being taken back to turkey.

>> many of the refugees think they may be forcibly sent back. the u.s. president and head of nato reaffirmed their partnership in the fight against terrorism. president barack obama and u.n. secretary-general pledged to continue working together to defeat islamic state militants. the two met in the oval office at the white house. obama said they began by discussing the terrorist attacks in brussels last month that killed more than 30 people. the islamic state g group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. they discussed ways nato could counter militants. that could include place where's the militants may be expanding their reach such as libya. >> we are continuing g to cooperate in an ongoing basis about operations potentially in areas like libya whehere youou the beginnings of a government.

> we contribute to the e u.s efforts to degrade and destroy isil. >> obama said nato continues to be the corner stone of collective defense and u.s. security policy. his remarks contrast with recent comments by donald trump republican front-runner for the nomination. trump called the alliance obsolete and too expensive. ? specks of a nuclear reactoror in western japan has entered the final stage. nuclear regulators said in july that the number 3 reacacr at the ikata a plant had met the new regulations for nuclear facilities. the japanese government introduced t the regulations afr the fukushima dadaiichi acaccid inin 2011. inspectors with the nuclear regugulation authority will che the condition of about 400 pieces of equipment.t. they include pumps to o inject water into t the reactor to coo it. >> translator: the reactor has been offline for about five years.

we will rigorously carry out the inspecections in a carefulul an deliberate manner. >> the reactor is designed to use conventional fuel and a type a mixture of plutonium extracted from spent fuel and uranium. the plant's operator planso restart the reactor in late july. >> april means the start of the school year for students here in japan while they face appreciate academic challenges it's their parents who often struckle at this time of year. nhk world's takafumi terui explains why. >> reporter: april in japan is marked by more than just the famous displays of cherry blossoms. it's also a time for budding students to start university. entrance ceremonies are being held across the country toto sh off their curriculum.

the president of the tokyo university of technology gave a rare speech in english. >> do not hesitate to see the world as you shape your own future. [ applause ] >> reporter: and helping them shape that future is their parents. each year, more and more are in the audience. it was standing room only where at this auditoririum in tokyo where paparents exceeded t the number of students. >> translator: parents didn't come to the ceremonies when people of my generation entered universities. >> translator: i think parents tend to care for their children more than ever because of the reduced birth rarate. >> reporter: they're also atat e ceremony to get information to ease their concerns over rising tuition. >> translator: our financial situation isn't good and we're considering getting some support. >> reporter: results of a study by the japan student services

organization say college students paid a little more than $8,000 a year in 2014 for tuition. the figure is the highest ever since it started tracking costs in the 1960s. it also says more than half of university students receive scholarships and loans. the ratio was around 20% 20 years ago. one university prepared information on costs and funding. >> translator: we compiled the leleaflet because we're receivi more inquiries on educational expenses. we see serious cases and we felt it necessary t to address them. >> reporter: the country's law makers are debating setting up assistance programs that students have no obligation to repay. they say doors to education must be open to everyone, despite their financial background. takafumi terui, nhk world, tokyo.

famous kabukiza theater in tokyo is trying to attack more visitors. officials with kabukiza company say the new program will be for shows in june and possibly for other months. each performance will last about three hours. officials say the theater now basically has two shows a day with each one lasting four to five hours. they say some have said this was too long for people not familiar with kabuki. price of tickets for the shortened performances will be cheaper. the company said it's trying to get in on an expected increase on foreign tourists in the lead up to the 20 olympics and paralympics. in past years they would offer three performances a day only in august. rescue efforts are under way

in pakistan after flash floododg and mudslides killed at least 60 people. unusually heavy rain continued for several days over wide areas of the country's northern and northwestern regionsns. the e downpour wasashed away infrastructure and caused houses to collapse. mudslides from the rain have cut off roads in the mountainous areas, a place that attracts foreign mountain climbers at this time of the year. emergency persrsonnel are trtry to reaeach stranded d people. and we have the outlook for flood stricken pakistan followed with forecasts for other parts of the world. >> the weathther has improved. rain has let up, so that's good

news, but yes, drenching rainfall in western pakistan during the weekend. many people. were killed. thousands of people were stranded by landslides and many accidents across northwestern portions of pakistan. and in fact, about 300 millimeters of rain have fallen in some areas. that's quite a lot for this region and for this time of year, about two to three times more fell in just four days or so. rain has left, so weather is good at this moment. but in northern areas we'll see some snowfall. across india, it's dry thanks to a high-pressure system and temperatures are quite high today. meanwhile, showers w will contie to gririp northeastern porononsf india as welasas bangladadesh. so, risk of flooding will likely remain in place through the weekend. talking about heavy rainfall, a stationary front has been dumping lots of heavy rainfall across the southern portions of china. some areas had up to 130 millimeters of rainfall.

the area of heavy rain will likely move into the province along the yangtze river basin. there is a chance e for heavy rainfall along with thunderstorms. the e severe weathermakewiwill likely move into southern portions of the korean peninsula as well as much of japan into thursday. it's going to be a quite wet day on thursday in many portions of japan. talking about heavy rainfall, flash floods have been taking place in fiji due to heavy rainfall. nadi had about 400 millimeters of rain in just 72 hours. that's twice the amount we normally see during the entire month of april. so again, flooding is occurring across this area. anand we are lookingt twtwo mor stems momoving intnto fiji. so, more heavyaiain is anticipated d at least into the nextxt threeays s oro. the risk of flooding will remain inin place throughouthisis wk. as opposed to that, quite dry across many portions of southern australia. thanks to strong northerly winds that are quite high and the

temperature was ite e high toy. but there's a cool front located over the south. this system will likely move into this area that will cauaus some raiainfall and at the same time temperatures will drop. so take a look. temperature weather about 26 degrees on tuesday in sydney. thanks to northerly winds, temperatures could be rising on wednesday. due to the cold front, temperatures will be cooling down to 24 degrees. more average levels expected. melbourne about 30 degrees on tuesday down to only 17 degrees tomorrow. let's go to northeastern portions of the americas. looking quite dry but t at theh same time quite chilly. it was very chilly yesterday. for example, boston, you had daily heavy rainfall, daily record snowfall for this time of year. boston had 12 centimeters of snowfall monday. so quite chilly, and chilly temperatures will likely remain throughout this week a and anotr system wilill moveve into the g

lakekes region by wednesday, an that will move into northeastern portions of the united states by thursday. temperatures on tuesday are as follows. 5 in new york city. 7 in washington d.c. and across the flip side, quite high, about 30 degrees expected in l.a. all right. here's your extended forecast.

>> as we near 28 minutes past the hour of 7:00 p.m. on a tuesday here in japan we end this edition of nhk "newsline".

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