welcome back to "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. japan has tested a warning system that will be used to inform the public of danger resulting from a rocket launch planned by north korea for later this month. >> the fire and disaster management agency on thursday tested the j-alert system in 26

municipalities in the southern most prefecture of okinawa which lies near the rocket's expected flight path. test day information was relaid in two drills at 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. local time. the prefectural government relayed the information to the municipalilities. the drills included an audio test broadcast while the text warned of a supposed attack targeting okinawa. in the case of real danger to citizens, local governments would relay the information by public address system and other means. >> translator: the system is aimed at being prepared for eventualities. we'll give appropriate safety information to our citizens. >> and we're joined in the studio to tell us more about this j-alert system. tell us how does this system work? >> they transmit crucial information in times of crisis. usually natural disasters. it automatically activates community public address systems

all over japan and issues a warning sound. >> has the government ever used the system before? >> yes, and it was successful in the hokkaido town, the system helped local residents evacuate quickly after the massive earthquake triggered tsunami on march 11th of last year. the town's disaster preparedness system srted automatically receiving the tsunami warnings. one minute later, town officials broadcast an evacuation alert to the residents. >> this time it's used for a different purpose, right? >> that's right. the government has decided to use a system in connection with north korea's planned rocket launch. this will be the first use of the system for purposes other than natural disasters. an early warning satellite will first detect the rocket launch. it then relays the information to the defense ministry and the prime minister's office. it takes just one or two seconds for these alerts to reach the

municipalities. but some procedures today indicated inadequate preparation. the words that appeared on the computer screens were national safety information. and areas concerned, okinawa. these expressions were originally written for contingencies like military attack. so some military experts say that these expressions might cause uncertainty among local governments. they also point out that they could convey the wrong sort of impression to the international community that japan is dealing with the launch as if it's an armed attack. >> right. thank you jun yotsomoto reporting. japan's self-defense forces have completed deploying their pac-3 interceptor missile system to okinawa. they are under strict orders from the defense minister to shoot down any possible debris from the rocket that could land on japanese territory.

the unit equipped with a pac-3 system arrived on ishiaka island. ground self-defense force units have been dispatched to guard the pac-3 system and undertake rescue and relief operations in case of injuries from any falling rocket debris. about 40 troops were transferred from western japan to nahao on wednesday. another 4land troops will be deployed to three southwestern islands. the defense ministries also sending three aegis-equipped destroyers to the east china sea and the sea of japan. russian space agency officials say they will decline north korea's invitation to have their experts observe the launch. an agency spokesperson says this is because a launch of any kind would constitute a clear violation of u.n. security council resolution. the russian government has expressed a concern about the launch. in declining invitation, it

again urged the north to exercise restraint. north korea has also invited experts from japan, the united states, and other countries, but the japanese government says it will not send observers. south koreans go to the polls on april the 11 tot choose members of the country's national assembly. but getting young south koreans to vote has been a challenge in recent years. they just haven't shown much interest in politics. as nhk world reports, their selection might be different. >> the campaign is heating up in its final days. on city streets, candidates make their pitch. amid all the hoopla, this group is encouraging young people to vote.

the organization is clled the 20s party because most members are in their 20s. their goal is to give young people a voice. kim jong won represents the group. he says that young people will be a driving force in changing society. >> the election is a special opportunity. if political policies reflect our opinions, it will be easier to change society. that's why i have created this group. >> reporter: the group uses twitter and facebook to get people in their age group interested in politics. they've gathered complaints and opinions on politics from their thousand or so online members. the opinions have been announced at an event before election day.

>> the average hourly wage for part-timers is $9 in britain. $8 in canada and $6 in new zealand. less than $4 in korea. we must utilize our right to vote and create a better environment. >> only 28% of people in their 20s voted in the last general election. kim and his group aim to change this. one of the reasons behind young people's interest in politics is their desire to influence issues that affect their lives. one of them is unemployment. young people like to gather in this area of seoul. the majority of the students here are university graduates. but they haven't found a job yet. they are looking for work while studying for exams. >> i am taking the exam to become a police officer. i failed three times. finding a job is difficult.

so i'm trying to become a public servant. >> reporter: at lunchtime, long lines of students queue up for meals. a cup of rice with sausage, ham and other simple ingredients. this fast food costs about $1.70. for many, this is what they eat every day. unable to land full-time jobs, they find temporary work. they are called the 80,000 yuan generation because that's about what they earn. some young and old are trying to improve conditions. they are getting involved in

politics. last month, he set up a political party called the young people's party. all its members are in their 20s and 30s. >> translator: i used to be one of those young people who had no interest in politics. but i realize if my generation were stuck in this lifestyle, they'd find it very difficult to achieve their potential. >> reporter: after university, he worked at a convenience store and held other odd jobs. he saw how difficult it is to make a living. and he began to feel the issues affecting his generation needed immediate attention. seven candidates from around the country are running for the young people's party. he plans to visit 100 universities across south korea before election day. >> i believe that the time has come for young people to be more proactive in finding solutions to their problems.

i want to build a world in which everyone can fulfill their dreams through hard work. young people are speaking up. if the politicians are listening, south korea's youth may have a chance to forge a better future. anna jung, nhk world, seoul. food inspectors in japan are asking farmers to pull more products from the market because of concerns about radiation contamination. the government introduced new regulations last sunday lowering the limit for radioactive cesium. it's part of a wider strategy to deal with the fallout from last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. the stricter standards affect rice and various vegetables. the government slashed the legal limit for cesium. it was 500 becquerels per kill gram. now it's 100. health ministry officials say inspectors measured between 100

and 110 becquerels of cesium per milligram in samples of bamboo shoots harvested in chiba prefecture. the levels were three times higher in shiitake mushrooms grown outdoors in northeastern japan were found to contain 30 becquerels of radioactive cesium. under the new regulations, farmers have been asked to voluntarily refrain from shipping these products to market. the government is considering ordering a compulsory suspension of all shipments of contaminated bamboo shoots. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says her country will lift some sanctions and relax investments restrictions against myanmar. sunday's pro-democracy leader

saw aung san suu kyi gain a seat in the lower house. her national league for the party won a landslide victory. at a news conference in myanmar secretary clinton praised the elections. >> the result of the elections represent a dramatic demonstration of popular will that brings a new generation of reformers into government. this is an important step. >> clinton said the u.s. will name an ambassador to myanmar. and begin steps to ease a ban on financial services. she added that a longstanding visa ban will also be relaxed for the country's senior government officials and lawmakers. but clinton said organizations and people that block the reforms remain subject to sanctions. myanmar's president thein sein says he's ready to work with the party of aung san suu kyi. thein sein spoke with nhk in his

first interview since the elections. nhk world has this report. >> reporter: the interview took place in phnom phen where the president thein sein attended a summit. he praised the new government inaugurated last year. it took over after the autocratic rule by the country's military leaders. the national league for democracy led by aung san suu kyi -- thein sein endorsed the elections. the vote was closely watched by the international community as a test of myanmar's quest toward democracy.

>> reporter: the number of seats won accounts for less than 10% of all the seats in parliament. after the election, aung san suu kyi called on the ruling party to call for more democratization. in the interview, president thein sein responded positively to this call for the first time ever.

>> reporter: -- is to boost its economy, one of the worst in southeast asia. to do that it has to get economic sanction lifted by western countries. the president expressed hope that the recent by-elections will help achieve it. >> reporter: known for its rich

natural resources, myanmar is often called the last frontier in southeast asia. many countries are paying attention to its economic potential. president thein sein is expected to visit japan later this month. he expressed hope for japanese investment and economic assistance. >> reporter: president thei thein sein's government will likely need to bargain with nld. the party needs to win the next general election in three years' time.

they will be watching for signs of the cooperative relationship with nld that the president has stressed. nhk world, phnom phen. debt worries in europe resurfaced on wednesday. this caused spain's government bond yields to shoot up again. the yield on the ten-year bond rose to 5.7% at one point. the spanish bond market was heavily sold following a disappointing auction of new bond issues. late last year, spain's bond deal had climbed to nearly 7%. this is a level that would make it difficult for the country to rehabilitate its finances on its own. but the yield dropped in early march to the upper 4% level. last month, spain lowered its target for cutting its budget deficit. that's because credit worries are affecting the economy. this has rekindled market

concerns about the country's ability to regain fiscal health. european central bank officials are aware of these concerns so they decided to leave its key interest rate at a record low 1%. this marks the fourth straight month the central bank has kept the rate unchanged. >> down side risk to the economic outlook prevail. they relate in particular to a renewed intensivecation of tensions in the euro markets and their potential spillover to the euro area real economy. >> europe is taking measures to tackle its credit problems. in december and february, the central bank extended loans to european commercial banks. altogether, they amounted to over 1 trillion euros or about $1.3 trillion. last week, the 17 eurozone nations agreed to expand the

bailout. at an auto show in new york, carmakers are showcasing larger models this year due to strong sales in the u.s. the 2012 new york international auto show opened to the media on wednesday. 35 automakers are taking part. america's general motors unveiled a large sedan. it's the tenth generation of its flagship model. japanese makers are focusing on larger vehicles that have a bigger profit margin. nissan's midsize sedan made its worldwide debut. toyota and honda also revealed sedans of a similar size for their luxury brands. new car sales in the u.s. market remain firm, despite rising gasoline prices. many auto executives expressed their optimism over the outlook for sales. and russia's largest automaker has started making a new car in a joint venture with

nissan and renault. production lines kicked off on wednesday at the factory located southeast of moscow. russian prime minister vladimir putin attended the ceremony. putin told factory workers that russia's auto sales last year had recovered to levels shown before the financial crisis. it's now the second biggest car market in europe and ranks the fourth large nest the world. top executives of the three firms signed the first car off the line. the joint operation aims to make 280,000 cars each year. >> translator: it has a bright future. >> russia has fallen behind in developing new cars recently, so the russian government is taking steps to revitalize the industry. it's giving substantial financial support to the auto sector and promoting alliances with foreign carmakers. automakers see india as an exploding car market.

more of them also see the country as a manufacturing and export base. toyota is one of them. they've began shipping small size cars made in india to south africa, another growing market. a ceremony to mark the occasion was held at a port near a southern city on wednesday. mechanics altered the cars for south africa with a harder suspension. that's to ensure a more stable high-speed drive as highway travel is more popular in the african nation. toyota aims to export 20,000 units to south africa each year. more japanese and south korean automakers with plants in india are positioning the country as their new production platform and increasing exports of cars made there. >> translator: we succeeded in remodeling india-targeted cars for south africa. i look forward to seeing more moves of this kind.

chinese researchers in northeastern china have unearthed fossils of an unknown species of large feathered dinosaur. the new discovery could provide clues to studying the evolution of the animals. the researchers say the fossils found in the province of lianing have been identified as a nine-meter long dinosaur species. these resemble the primitive feathers found on smaller dinosaur species. experts say it has been widely believed that large dinosaurs were featherless since they had difficulty controlling their body temperature. the discovery will be published on thursday in the british journal nature. it's a beautiful sunny day in tokyo. sayaka mori joins us with the

world weather forecast. >> we are experiencing crystal blue skies in tokyo and very warm temperature as well. but there is a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. but it will be short lived just about a couple of hours. up towards the north, winds are starting to die down across much of northern japan. but the risk of high waves will continue throughout the day and cooler air will flow into northern japan. so that's going to produce snow to much of the area from tomorrow and that cool air will affect the rest of japan. so tokyo on saturday, the high is expected to be only 12 degrees and sunday about 13 degrees. as for china, the southeastern corner of the country will see rain intensifying. and, in fact, as much as 100 millimeters is still possible in the next 24 hours. the ground is already very well saturated so the risks of flooding and landslides are very high here.

down towards the indochina peninsula, because of daytime heating and remnants of a tropical storm, thunderstorms are still developing here. as for the americas, we can see this triangle-shaped cloud here indicating very active weather is still going on. as many of you know, lots of tornadoes touched down in texas and hail the size of a baseball have been reported. and on thursday, the threat will slowly shift towards the lower great lakes region, i should say, the lower deep south region, including augusta where the masters golf tournament is taking place. the risks of severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging wind and even tornadoes will continue here throughout thursday. and now towards the west, there's a -- there are a couple low pressure systems bringing wet and windy conditions across much of the western portion of the u.s. and western canada.

as much as 15 centimeters of snow is possible in alberta over the next 24 hours. as for the highs, staying in the single digits in vancouver as well as seattle, but to the south, heat is hanging on. getting up to 29 in houston and 32 degrees in miami. finally, let's go over to europe. unstable conditions are still going on across much of the southern continent from the iberian peninsula into the balkan peninsula. heavy thundershowers gusty winds, hail will likely continue throughout thursday. and up towards the north, things are getting clearer across much of the british isles. snow will hit northern scotland. and heavy snow will continue across the west coast of norway. as for temperatures, staying on the chilly side in moscow with only 4 degrees. to the south, lots of warm temperatures getting up to 17 degrees in kiev which is about 5 degrees higher than average. and 23 degrees in athens and out

towards the west, getting up to 16 degrees in paris with a lot of sunshine. all right. here's your extended forecast.

and we end this edition with a view from yoyoghi park in tokyo. yes, the cherry blossoms. japanese people's favorite season has finally arrived. and we'll be seeing many people

under these trees for cherry blossom viewing parties for a week or two. thank you very much for watching, and do stay with us. i'm yuko aotani.