live from our studios in tokyo. this is nhk "newsline." i'm james tengan. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. assessing damage. officials in japan are still examining the extent of destruction as people continue to struggle with the day-to-day. and beijing's taipei is

apparently increasing. nhk learned that china is restricting the number of travelers to tie twan wan. experts are excessing the damage from two powerful quakes in southwestern japan. they want to find out why some structures survived and others collapsed. a team of engineers is surveying damage around kumamoto castle, a wel well-known landmark. more than 50 sections of its stone walls collapsed. they're trying to determine how the quake affected the ground underneath. they found major cracks in at least six areas. the castle was originally built around 400 years ago. the engineers believe the soil underneath the stone wall is weaker than under some other sections of the structure. they're looking at ways of making the castle more resilient against future earthquakes. >> we want to find the best way to restore and rebuild, so the sections that collapsed in the

quakes won't fall down again. a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hit the kyushu region early on the morning of april 16th. that was two days after another powerful jolt shook the area. 49 people died in the two quakes. one person is still missing in a village of minamiaso where they're having massive landslides. dozens of earthquakes are still occurring daily in kumamoto and oita prefectures. more than 1400 have been recorded, with an intensity of 1 or higher on the japanese seismic scale. about 10,000 people are still living away from home. nhk world's takafumi terui filed this report from the hardest-hit town of mashiki. >> reporter: it's been raining hard since this morning here. you can see damage from the

earthquakes everywhere. take a look at this house just behind me. it's totally collapsed. the tiles from the roof are scattered on the ground, and the roof itself is so close to the ground that i can almost touch it. and on the road, there are cracks all over this place. and look at that house. it's also severely damaged. town officials have inspected all the homes in the area and for those considered too dangerous to enter, a sign is posted labeling it unsafe. other houses, although damaged, are for now still okay to enter. this man can no longer live in his house. damage from the quake was too severe. the ceiling could cave in at any moment.

and the walls have cracks large enough to let in light from outside. he and his wife were not hurt. >> translator: that chest of drawers fell down. it made a huge racket. the ground was shaking so much that we couldn't escape. >> reporter: he runs a gardening business, but since the earthquake, he's had almost no work. >> translator: most people are barely surviving. it's hard for them to get enough food to live on. >> reporter: they spend their days trying to go through the debris. they spend their nights at an evacuation center. the center is still crowded with evacuees. so much so that many people continue to sleep in their cars parked outside. during the day, it looks like there are parking spots

available, but if you look closer, you can see plastic bottles, bicycles and other objects holding spaces for the evening. if evacuees don't reserve a space, they might end up without a spot for the night. some 500 people are still sleeping in tents provided by an aid group and local government. >> translator: i can't return to my house because it's too dangerous. the walls have collapsed. >> translator: at first i was sleeping in my car, but i can spread out more here. >> reporter: the local government's answer for the people is building temporary housing and placing people in unoccupied public housing throughout the prefecture. but with at least 1,000 homes totally destroyed in this town, the 160 new temporary houses being built fall short of the need.

furthermore, japan's rainy season is approaching, making the need to move people from their cars and tents to indoor shelters all the more urgent. takafumi terui, nhk world, kumamoto. china is limiting the number of visitors to taiwan. the sources tell nhk that authorities instructed travel agents to cut down on the available applications for permits to visit taiwan. taiwan issues the permits but china can limit the people allowed to visit by controlling the number of applications that travel agencies handle. through 2015, more than 4 million chinese visitors brought taiwan over $5 billion from tourism-related businesses. media in taiwan reported that visitors from the mainland plunged by 30% from last year. south korea will soon take

part in a u.s.-japan missile defense exercise for the first time. a south korean defense ministry said they'll send a military equipped missile. it will be held off hawaii in late june. it will involve training and detecting ballistic missiles. south kor south korea decided to join to better respond to threats posed by north korea's missiles and ballistic missiles. it prompted seoul and washington to discuss the possibility of a missile interception system. china strongly opposes its creation in south korea. a chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said the situation on the korean peninsula remains complicated and sensitive. he called on cub countries to take full-headed responses and refrain from actions that would

escalade the situation. south korean officials are accusing the local subsidiary of auto for cheating on emissions. the south korean government says that plans to fine the local unit of nissan for manipulating a sports car that runs on fuel. nissan officials dani wrong doing. officials at the environment ministry said they have ordered nissan korea to suspend sales of th mod a reca 81f em. th pn to feissan abo $280,000 and file a criminal complaint against the head of the local subsidiary. the officials they found that settings on an emission reduction device violated the country's exhaust regulations. they found it after testing 20

diesel molds. the device directs some exhaust gas back into the engine. the officials say it stopped operating when the engine's temperature reached 35 degrees sell see us is. it improves the mileage but increases the amount of exhaust gast gas. the officials say the ministry's test showed nitrogen oxide emissions of 20 times higher than the required limit. nissan officials responded to the allegations, they say the qashqai has been properly certified in accordance with south korean law. they added nissan never manipulated devices. they say they will continue talks with south korean authorities. checking the markets. share prices ended up higher. for details we go to our business reporter phoebe am row sew at the tokyo stock exchange.

investors brought back on friday. the yen rebounded somewhat against the dollar. let's take a look at the closing levels on this monday, may 16th. the nikkei finished up 0.3% closing out 16,466 and the broader topix gained 0.1%. manufacturers ihi and mitsubishi electric were up more than 3%. su m.i.m i sumitio the firm is seeing rising demand for the product from overseas travelers to japan and strong sales in china. but it was not all positive news

on the earnings front. heavy machinery make eer is down 15%. investors are waiting for inflation data for april on tuesday and japan's data for january to march on wednesday. from the tokyo stock exchange. >> phoebe, thank you very much for that. moving on to other markets in the asia-pacific region. in shanghai gaining by.84%. sentiment improved after the security regulator denied any reports it would crack down on mergers and companies raising funds. in thailand up by.21%. 1397 for the close there. the country's economy in the first quarter grew faster than expected by government and tourism spending. hong kong gaining about.84

despite weak economic data. investors picked up bargains following a three-day losing streak. shares in the philippines climbing by a percent. on expectations the new president will provide support to the economy. indonesia, however, declining there ..63%. continuing to famie ing tto fal. three months after -- the measure has fallen short of the goal to stimulate investment. the government bond has stuck in the minus territory and lead to a decline of mortgage rates. they expect the lower cost of home loans will give consumers money to spend on other items. it prompted major banks to lower mortgage rates to record lows. some borrowers are taking advantage of i are financing.

japan's major banks say refinancing applications more than tripled from the year before. the applications were housing loans were up only 10%. the boj governor expects companies to leverage the negative rates to actively invest the equipment. >> interest rates are at the lowest we've experienced. companies have unprecedented opportunities financially speaking. >> but commercial banks aren't so optimistic. their consumption activity index has yet to confirm a recovery. >> companies aren't jumping on the opportunity to invest. they don't appear to be in the mood. corporate clients aggressively take out loans. >> officls at thbank of japan sathey tak aittle mo time f theffects of negatiates to sprea roughoutheealecony.

three jor banki gros in japan reported earnings for the fiscal year in march and ending results are mixed. mitsubishi said the net profit fell almost down 14%. mizuho was up 9%. they project the profit to fall by 10%. they expect revenue from domestic lending to shrink due to the bank of japan negative interest rate policy. here is a look at the other business stories we're following. prices of goods traded among companies in japan felt in april for the 13th straight month. officials at the bank of japan said the producer price index was down 4.2% from the same month last year. it lead to cheaper crude oil and ore commodities.

nhk learned a group in japan will set up new safety rules for farm goods in line with international requirements. the japan gpa foundation plans to launch the new requirements in september. they stipulate, for example, they want to check a source before it can be deemed safe. let's take a look at the business calendar for the week. on wednesday, government officials will release japan's gdp growth for the january through march quarter. on the same day chinese officials will publish their monthly survey of new home prices in 70 cities. the government will relax lending rules leading to price rises in nearly 90% of those cities in march. on the next data coming out on capital investment. on friday finance ministers and central bank governors of the group of 7 economies will start a two-day meeting. the talks in sendai come ahead of the g 7 later this month.

every monday we ask an expert to share their view. we hear from a senior economist. schultz is expecting positive gdp growth in japan for the last quarter. >> japanese economy was coming out of a negative growth late 2015, and is now regularlily growing a little bit stronger. however, i expect the first gdp growth is still around 0 percent for the overall number. annualized it will be 0.2%. very slow growth. but increase in positive growth because we have stronger numbers already for march for production, for wages. >> despite head winds from the stronger yen and the earthquake last month he expects slightly higher growth in the current

april to june quarter. >> we should expect the economy is growing in the second quarter. so from april on about 1% of the additional growth. the reason is companies have basically been reducing their investment plans beforehand. they are now looking into household sector has become more optimistic on a little bit stronger wages. and the government is planning to support the economy more strongly with supplementary budgets and the bank of japan will most likely will support the economy. >> that's a look at business. i'll leave you with the markets.

g-7 environment ministers have wrapped up their meeting in japan with the adoption of a joint statement. they agreed that their countries will try to submit strategies to cut greenhouse gas emissions to the united nations before 2020. it was the environment ministers first meeting in seven years. they discussed global warming, recycling, and ways to reduce food waste. under the december paris climate accord, countries agreed to submit long-term strategies by 2020, but the g-7 ministerare agreeing to do that sooner. the ministers also adopted a framework that aims to reduce food waste around the world by half by 2030. and a look at the business

south korea's president reshuffle her inner circle. it brings in a new chief of staff and being watched in tokyo. the outgoing chief of staff is known for having deep connections to japan. lee byung-kee is a former ambassador to japan. he was involved in negotiating last year's agreement for those referred to as comfort women. local media say lee is stepping down to take responsibility for the governing saenuri party's defeat in last month's general election. the former seoul mayor is taking on the post. observers are watching whether the change in staff will affect bilateral relations. south korea, officials there are taking final steps to bring a new law into effect to deter corruption. but skeptics say it could hurt the economy by weighing on personal spending.

the law would cover spending on public servants, media, and private school employees. lavish spending encourages bribery and other forms of corruption. it would cap spending on governments of about $40 and entertainment roughly $25. people who spend or receive more than those amounts will be subject to criminal punishment. some say the ceilings are unrealistically low. others say consumers might slash spending on gifts for major holidays. the chosun ilbo newspaper carried a critical article. it said the law could reduce sales of popular gifts, and damage domestic industries. the rio olympic and paralympic games are four months away. despite all the excitement they'll bring, it can be hard for disabled athletes to find sponsorships, including in japan. our next story is about a blind

soccer organization that's found a way to make its own money, by teaching one of the game's essential skills. >> reporter: a team sport like no other. blind soccer requires constant communication. as the players follow a ball that makes a sound, they rely on their teammates' voices. off the field this communication is also proving important. it's the basis for a business training program helping the blind soccer association to raise funds. >> translator: the paralympics are coming to tokyo in 2020 and that's got people talking about blind soccer, including businesses. our seminars are a key source of income. >> reporter: this brokerage has just signed up for the seminar to foster better teamwork among its employees and improve communication with clients. >> translator: there have been

times when my clients or co-workers didn't seem to understand the information i gave them. or my answers to their questions. >> reporter: 60 employees turned up for this session. >> translator: explain to your partner how to do this exercise. watch me. >> reporter: first, a warmup exercise. the participants work in pairs, taking it in turns to be blindfolded. >> translator: stretch your arms out, then rotate your shoulders. make a big circle. >> translator: my shoulders? >> translator: i mean your arms. >> reporter: they learn the importance of using expressions that are accurate and clear. in this game, the player in the middle tries to touch the ball. guided by voices and the sound of the ball. it's all about active listening. >> translator: when your partner can't see, it's harder for them

to understand what you're thinking or what you want to do. i realized how important it is to put yourself in their shoes and think about what you can do together. >> reporter: to date, around 100 companies have taken the program, earning the association about $90,000 per year. >> translator: if we can expand this project, we can use the earnings to improve the players training. >> reporter: to compete at the highest level, athletes need funding. blind soccer has come up with an approach that can serve as a role model for other disabled sports. time now for weather. cold weather brought unseasonal snowfall to parts of portugal during the weekend. for the forecast let's go to meteorologist sayaka mori. >> well, it's warming up. and yes, it was quite cold across parts of the iberian

peninsula, even snow fell and some people took advantage of the unseasonable sight. take a look at some video from portugal. unseasonably cold air flowed in to western and central europe over the weekend. the cold air caused late season snow in the highest mountain range in portugal. thanks to the snow, a ski resort reopened. people enjoyed the winter sports during the weekend. nice. now, it's warming up across the iberian peninsula as i mentioned, but northern and central europe will see cooler than average temperatures on monday, as well as tuesday. the area where cooler air meets with warm air, there's a chance for severe weather across the black sea region, so there's a chance for thunderstorms, gusty winds, and heavy rainfall. so watch out for severe weather if you are in bulgaria, as well as romania and surrounding areas.

temperatures are about 10 degrees cooler than normaln central europe. 14 degrees in berlin, vienna 13 degrees and 14 degrees expected in warsaw on your monday. cooler temperatures expected to ntinue for the next couple of days. now, the rainy season has started in the southwestern islands of japan. the onset was seven days later than average in the okinawa region and only about five days later than average. the seasonal frontal system will continue to affect the southwestern islands of japan. rainy weather should continue throughout the week. the extended front is swinging through western japan, so areas like kumamoto will see heavy rainfall into tonight. due to many earthquakes the ground is quite loosened so additional rain could raise the potential for flooding as well as landslides and mudslides. rainy weather should reach central japan including tokyo tomorrow morning. it's going to be quite gusty

across many portions of japan. so it's going to be a quite wet day and windy day across many portions of japan on tuesday. tokyo rainy weather with a high of 20 degrees. kyoto 25 degrees with sunny weather and a rain chance for your tuesday. on wednesday, sunny weather should come back, temperatures expected to reach early summer-like levels as we go into the latter part of this weekend -- week. 33 degrees for the high in kyoto on friday. so watchut for heatstroke. and across north america, it's going to be a dangerous day on monday across the southern plains. there's a chance for severe weather across the north of texas, as well as the western half of oklahoma. watch out for tornadoes, thunderstorms, and large hail. the heaviest rain will fall across the coast of texas. we have flash flood warnings still in place. rain could raise the potential of flooding, so watch out for bad weather. if you see flooded roadways, don't try to drive through because the water depth could be much deeper compared to what you think. back behind us, dry and quite

warm. there's a chance for fire weather across texas or rather new mexico as well as arizona. so watch out when you use fire. across the east, it's generally dry, and temperatures expected to warm up. finally. 18 degrees for a high for the u.s. capital. 17 degrees for the high in new york city on monday. and across the opposite side, 22 degrees for los angeles. that's it for now. here is your extended forecast.

and that wraps it up for us on nhk "newsline." a special report on okinawa

hello and welcome to "live from paris." let look at what is making headlines this hour. 50 years since the beginning of one of the most firemen. in china -- most violent peri ods in china's history. further turmoil in brazil as the president awaits trial over impeachment. protesters have been taking to th