here in japan it's 7:00 p.m. on a wednesday. i'm james tengan in tokyo welcome to nhk "newsline." here is the top stories for this hour. refusing to give up. rescuers continue to search through mud and debris in southwestern japan even as people brace for more tremors. evacuees staying in their cars face a serious health

problem known as economy class syndrome. tweaking the numbers. japan's mitsubishi motors admits it falsified test data for 600,000 vehicles. japan's nuclear regulators give the go ahead to extend the life span of two aging reactors throw the operator says it will be years before they come back online. rescuers continue to scour a village in a mountainous part of southwestern japan even as people brace for more jolts. authorities say the death toll from last week's earthquakes in kumamoto rising to 48. they're digging through piles of dirt in a bid to find three people who are still missing. and they say the number of those with injuries exceeds 1,000. >> officials with the meteorologist logical agency are warning people in the area to stay alert.

>> reporter: the seismic activity is continuing. >> the chief seismologist forecasts heavy rain for thursday and says that means there could be more landslides. more than 100,000 people are taking refuge in cars and other temporary shelters. >> translator: i'm freezing. it was really cold during the night. >> translator: i have been sleeping outside because my dog is not allowed inside. >> some services are returning to normal. the shin khakansen bullet train partially resumed operations sunday. >> translator: i'm glad supplies are starting to be delivered. >> people in many areas are still without electricity, water and gas. >> with so many people taking refuge in cars and temporary shelters health experts are warning of a new threat that's left one person dead.

kato kato reports. >> reporter: these are parked in this town but the facility was damaged in the quake's aftermath. the cars now serve as homes for thousands of people. the cramped spaces are leading to serious health problems. the formation of blood clots. in medical terms, it's called deep vein thrombosis. it's also known as economy class syndrome, as it often affects air travellers. at least 20 people have been diagnosed with the potentially deadly condition. it's just another thing to worry about for akiko. she moved to mishiki from tokyo one week before the quake and now lives in her car with her husband, four children and their dog. >> the car is very.

[ laughing ] small for six people. so physically they look fine, but emotionally, of course, they're having a lot of stress because every time the cellphone rings with the alarm, the earthquake alarm, my twin girls are shaking, and they cry. so, yeah. of course they are suffering. a lot. and under stress. >> reporter: but she can get advice from a medical team. >> translator: doctors and nurses have visited to instruct evacuees on precautionary measures. they're examining people to check for blood clots, and they are offering advice such as wearing compression stockings to help improve blood flow.

>> translator: people should drink a lot of liquid to stay hydrated and move around, especially walking. >> reporter: the medical team says not moving around could cause more complications, the result in deterioration of body systems known as disuse syndrome. the health ministry has made leaflets for evacuees. they encourage more activity as they try to avoid any more consequences of the quakes. keita kato, nhk world. authorities say it's still difficult to get in and out of affected areas and supplies are low. they're working hard to get help to people who need it. officials shipped bottled

water, food, blankets and medical supplies from central japan to a port in oita prefecture. >> translator: i hope we can get the goods to people in affected areas as fast as possible. >> staff at korean airlines delivered water on a flight and officials at another south korean carrier have donated almost $100,000 to kumamoto prefecture. a major japanese auto maker admitted to misconduct involving fuel efficiency tests. gene otani has the details along with other top business stories. >> officials at japan's mitsubishi motors says workers falsified data for 625,000 vehicles. they say the misconduct involved four types of mini vehicles. >> translator: i believe the data were intentionally

falsified. investigations are under way as to why it was carried out. i myself was not aware of the incident. but i feel it involves the responsibility of management. >> he says the company has halted production and sales of the four models. two models were sold by mitsubishi and the two others produced for nissan. they say the manipulation came to light after officials at nissan pointed out problems with the data. officials at toyota motor are anxious to get their assembly lines up and running again following the series of earthquakes in southwestern japan. the car company suspended assembly lines at most of its group plants around the country after the quake struck. it plans to resume operations in phases starting on monday. toyota officials say they want

output to resume at the company's main plant as quickly as possible. the strong tremors also forced a major parts supplier to suspend operations, which disrupted supplies for toyota. officials say they think they'll be able to secure enough parts by relying on domestic ntorinves and through other means, but they say some other assembly lines, including those in southwestern japan prefectures will remain suspended until next thursday. \s let's get a check on the tokyo markets. share prices ended higher r the second consecutive day but trading was volatile. for the latest market moves we go to our business reporter, giang nguyen, at the nhk market studio. >> tokyo shares climbed above the 17,000 mark in the morning, following a rally on wall street. after having pushed past the key level, profit taking kicked in and that limited the gains for the day. the closing levels for this wednesday, april 20th. nikkei added .2% ending at 16,906.

the topix gained about the same margin. .2%. energy sector ended higher. wti crude climbing above $41 a barrel and oil refiner idemitsu kosan was up 5.6%. showa shell added nearly 4%. mitsubishi motors was the nik i nikkei's biggest loser, tumbling more than 15% on reports of possible misconduct in its fuel economy tests. now to currencies. the dollar-yen paired dipped below the 109 level during tokyo trading hours and the euro traded in a narrow range as investors awaited thursday's european central bank meeting. >> thanks very much for that report. >> moving to other markets. in the asia-pacific region. shanghai, the composite declining by 2.31%. 2972 the closing number there, the lowest finish in three weeks. many investors had less hope for further stimulus measures after

recent positive economic data. taiwanese stocks dropping 1.4%, 8,514 for the closing number. parts suppliers for apple dropped after shares of the u.s. tech giant declined. hong kong's hang seng index falling by almost 1%. some market players took profits from yesterday's three-month highs. sydney meanwhile a gain by .5%. a rise in iron ore prices pushed up major mining companies. >> here is a look at other business stories we're following today. >> cheaper crude oil helped to keep japan's trade balance for. imports rose in terms of volume but low oil prices pushed down their overall value by nearly 15% year on year. the value of exports shrank off more than 6%. annual trade balance in fiscal 2015 in the red for the fifth straight year.

shipments of home appliances in japan grew more than 5% in fiscal 2015. officials at the japan electric manufacturers association say the growth was the result of brisk sales of high-end products. they say domestic shipments stood at about $20.4 billion up 5.7% from a year earlier in yen terms. and the first increase in two years. it wasn't only people living in japan who got to enjoy this year's cherry blossom season. officials at the japan national tourism organization say more than 2 million foreigners visited the country last month marking a 31.7% increase over last year. and it is the highest monthly figure ever. the officials estimate foreign travellers spent roughly $8.5 billion during the first three months of this year, up 31.7% from a year earlier. the biggest spenders were people from mainland china. japanese apartment owners are facing a vacancy problem with one in five rooms on

average empty. they're innovating and relaxing a decades-old rule allowing tenants to make improvement on their own. here are what do-it-yourself rentals look like. >> this salary manager in tokyo, a so-called diy friendly apartment. he has decorated the walls to his own unique taste. >> translator: the motive of my painting is a water site in the woods. i also built a shelf to put potted plants on. >> the rent is roughly average for the neighborhood. but tenants can paint the walls or drive pins into them. >> translator: i wanted to have the freedom to change the interior of my apartment. >> reporter: the owner of the apartment is a major renter. last year it leased about 25,000

diy apartments. >> translator: we hope that people feel attached to the apartments they have renovated and live there for a long time. >> reporter: old homes are also being leased out as diy-friendly properties. this 46-year-old home was vacant for about half a year. the owner was reluctant to do costly repairs and decided to allow tenants to renovate it instead. this new tenant has knocked down a wall between two rooms to create a big living/dining room. >> translator: this window used to be small, but i made it bigger. >> reporter: a small window has been renovated into a bay window wide enough for people to sit on. a wooden deck is accessible directly from the living room. an architect himself, he remodeled the home with the help of friends. the cost, about $11,000.

he got permission for the remodeling plan from the owner. a contract says the home can stay as it is when he moves out. >> translator: diy-friendly reports allow young people like me to live in detached houses. people who are willing to renovate unpopular old homes can find them attractive and valuable. >> reporter: the real estate industry is struggling with empty properties. allowing tenants a free hand to renovate might help reinvigorate the market. >> that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.

japan's nuclear regulators have moved one step closer to extending the life span of two aging reactors. it's the first time they've gone that far under strict rules introduced after the 2011 fukushima accident. reactors one and two at the talk ahma plant in central japan are currently off line. they're more than 40 years old, longer than the life span permitted in principle under new regulations. reactors 40 years or older need approval of nuclear authorities to keep running. e regulators examined the

takahama reactors and listened to views from the public. some argued that the authorities are underestimating how big an earthquake could be. but the regulators decide to move forward with the process. the decision is only the first step towards extending the reactors' life span. operator kansai electric has to submit documents by july 7th giving details about quake resistance. company officials say it will take three years to meet all the criteria and switch the reactors back on. operators of some japanese nuclear plants face a complex task, decommissioning old reactors. one utility says it will get help from a u.s. firm that specialis in the process. japan atomic power company signed a contract with energy solutions on wednesday. the utility says both sides will work together to scrap its number one reactor in central japa it says the firms will also

cooperate to decommission reactors for other plant operators. energy solutions has dismantled more than ten reactors in the u.s. and other countries. it possesses advanced technology for nuclear waste reduction and disposal. >> we look forward to working with the government and parties in japan to transferring our expertise and our management experience to japanese decommissioning. >> japan atomic power company runs four nuclear reactors and wants to scrap two. like many small towns across japan, the popular ski resort has been struggling with population loss. enrollment at one high school

was so low that it was in danger of closing. we're told how the town is using the school's most popular attraction to try to turn things around. >> reporter: the beginning of the schl year, hakuba high school held a ceremony to welcome entering students. >> translator: freshman students, welcome and congratulations. your time here will be historic for hakuba high school as you will be the first to study under r brand-new curriculum. >> reporter: hakuba high school has tradition and location at the foot of the japan alps it was natural for grooming olympic skiers. however, enrollment gradually declined as students opted to apply to urban institutions. two years ago, education

officials thought about shutting it down. however, if the school closed, families might move away and businesses would suffer. so a plan was devised to revive the school and they convinced the prefecture to go along. one aspect was creating a new curriculum. international tourism was on obvious choice. students from across the country were encouraged to apply. english and practical tourism skills are basic subjects. an official visited local businesses including those owned by residents from other countries to ask for their support. . >> please forgive me.

my poor english. >> reporter: this hotel agreed to accept interns from the program. >> thank you. >> thank you for your cooperation. >> we every year are looking for a staff, and it's very hard to find because it's a seasonal business. japanese working with us in the hotels, it's beneficial for us. >> reporter: he also travelled to tokyo and to western japan in search of would-be students. he talked about the course of study and the way of life in hakuba. >> translator: i explained that we are using community resources to promote international tourism studies. i asked people to come see for themselves this winter. [ applause ] >> reporter: hakuba and another ridge bought an inn to be used as a dormitory for students who come from other parts of japan.

to control costs he and others pitched in to put together the desks and beds in the dorm room. 38 students started in the progm in early april. 13 are from elsewhere, including tokyo. >> translator: this community has many people from other countries. i want to gain practical english skills through daily conversation with them. >> translator: i am happy that many young people chose to come to this school. our efforts have made off. we'll do all we can to support them so that, in three years, they will say they made the right choice. >> reporter: the students won't have to go far to make use of what they learn. tourists from afar arrive every

year. nhk world, hakuba. scientists warning that one of the seven wonders of the natural world is on the brink of collapse. they say more than 90% of the great barrier reef has succumbed to coral bleaching. the problem is said to be caused by rising water temperatures. the phenomenon was first noticed in the 1980s but they say it has escalated in recent years. a survey by the australian government and a research body found bleaching at 93% of 911 individual reefs. the damage was most extreme in the northern 1,000 kilometer stretch of the system. one reseaherarnedhe blching cod affectlmost l of the coral ecies. said if they' lt some could ta decadesr longero recor. lastear unesonsidere puttg the ree onhe world

endangered list but dropped the idea after the government submitted a conservation plan. it's time for the weather. here in tokyo it's 17 degrees celsius or 62 degrees fahrenheit. for this hour's world weather update, let's hear about potential floods in southern china. >> torrents of heavy rain hitting the southern andastern portions of china over the past several days. funam province hit by over 300 millimeters of rain in 24 hours. during the previous 24 hours more heavy rn fell so at least six people have been killed due to flooding and several structures damaged. the system will likely move into the south of south korea as well as western japan as we go into thursday. some areas like kumamoto will see heavy rainfall starting thursday, which shod continue into early friday. the total rain from the storm could be up to 170 millimeters. the ground is very loosened due

to many earthquakes, so additional rain could cause some landslides as well as mudslides and gusty winds probably up to 108 kilometers per hour. so more houses may collapse or severely damage due to strong winds. so it's going to be a stormy thursday across kumamoto. rainy weather on thursday in kumamoto. dryer on friday. saturday it will be wet once again. going into tuesday and wednesday, more rain is anticipated. so tough conditions will likely continue. across north america, historic events are happening across the southern locations, unprecedented amounts of heavy rain have fallen in the houston area. this graphic shows how much rain fell in just five days. areas near houston had over 450 millimeters. so heavy rain is causing severe flooding. take a look at this video coming out of texas. heavy rainfall is causing serious flooding, and six people

have been reportedly killed in texas. on tuesday rescue crews were deployed to an assisted living facility in spring, texas beings where 50 residents and staff were trapped by flood waters. a river flood warning remains in effect for southeastern portions of texas because more rain is anticipated. the heavy rain maker is still located over the mid portions of the united states, the tail end of the front will continue to affect xas. so more rain is anticipated for houston and the lower mississippi river basin. and across the northern areas of north america there is another strong low pressure system causing windy conditions across eastern canada. so we have floods -- rather, blizzard warnings in effect across the northern portions of quebec. watch out foreavy snow and stro winds. i want take you t the north pole to show you a tough marathon event that took place during the weekend.

the earth's coolest race took place saturday in the north pole marren tho. 52 competitors from 18 countries braved minus 41 degrees celsius to run the race inxtreme conditions. the race was delayed by a week due to the severe weather conditions that caused the landing strip in the ice gap to crack, preventing runners and officials from arriving. the event took place on the waters of the frozen arctic sea ice. and several snipers were placed around the marathon circuit to protect the runners from polar bears. >> that's it for now. here is your extended forecast.

for future stories and special reports log on to our website, and you can follow nhk world on twitter and facebook. for morññçoçobq

host: this is "france 24." livenow for 60 minutes around the world. these are the headlines. donald trump and hillary clinton win big in new york could the primary victories bring them ever closer to locking their party's nominations. the france government wants to prolong the current state of emergency declared after the terrorist attacks in november, but that extension needs parliamentary approval.