power switch. the chairman of japan's biggest utility asks shareholders to approve a government bailout. the people who run tepco electric power company have seen change after change over the past year. now they're trying to bring about one that will alter the nature of their business. they asked shareholders to accept a public bailout that would nationalize the utility effectively. shareholders gathered in tokyo. tepco owns the fukushima nuclear power plant. >> translator: first, we the entire board of directors, want to deeply apologize for the

trouble and worries caused by last year's accident at the fukushima nuclear power plant. >> executives outlined tepco finances and propose shareholders accept an injection from the government of,0 $12 billion. the vice governor criticized the utility for its failure to explain the rate hike. and people owe posed edopp nuclear power demonstrated across japan and elsewhere ever since the accident in fukushima. some gathered outside the meeting they want shareholders to join their movement to stop the use of nuclear power. >> reporter: people came here joined by common belief, that nuclear power is dangerous.

some came from as far as germany to share this message. >> today our responsibility for a catastrophe that harms the whole world and that brings the blue planet to a black planet. >> translator: tepco officials do not have the right or ability to operate nuclear plants. the accident at fukushima has not ended. investigates into it are not over. >> reporter: people here say it is time for the tepco officials to take responsibility for what happened at fukushima. tepco shareholders passed protestors on the way into the meeting. some suggested company leaders need to rethink their business model. >> i want tepco officials to think of ways to keep a stable supply of electricity while securing safety. >> reporter: as shareholders

say, nuclear power is a necessary part of energy mix in japan. >> translator: we need nuclear energy because we don't have enough electricity in japan. we also need it for the japanese economy. >> reporter: company officials are planning to repair several reactors, along the sea offp jan coast. first they have to win over the public. members of the shadowy international group found their way into places they shouldn't have been. the hackers known collectively as "anonymous" say they attacked several japanese government web sites. official as the finance ministry were working away when they detected an intruder. ministry officials shutdown part of the site after the hackers tampered with the content. the altered page included a photo of an overseas protest

rally, a message opposing the restart of the nuclear plant in japan and another statement by the group. the hackers got into the web site of the supreme court. users had difficulty accessing it for more than an hour. the hackers altered pages of the land ministry two. anonymous claimed responsibility for both cases. users had difficulty accessing the web sites of the governing democratic party. and the opposition liberal democratic party. anonmuss release aid statement protesting japan's new copy right protection law and threatened to attack government web sites. anonymous is a loosely linked group of hackers they communicate mainly via internet forums. hackers from all over the world seem to be taking parts in the group's activities. anonymous opposes the tightening of regulations on the internet. the group has attacked web sites of governments and major corporations to oppose stricter controls. anonymous has also voiced opposition to the suppression of

free speech in arab countries. fighting in syria is getting closer to the capital. nine people killed tuesday on the outskirts of damascus. many others were wounded. a human rights activist says government forces bombarded a suburban area with rockets and mortars. the activist says at take began in the middle of the night about 10 kilometers from the city center. most of the victims were civilians. government troops also opened fire in another suburb of damascus. the government operations appear to be aimed at preventing free syrian army fighters from entering the capital. activists say more than 130 people have been killed over the last two days. the head of u.n. peacekeeping operations says the conflict is preventing observers from carrying out their work. sources say the security council meeting and it is too dangerous for the monitors to resume their

duties. the observers suspended their mission early this month. he said, the syrian government has barred the government from using satellite phones. but he said, the team is still engaged in limited monitoring activities. u.n. and arab league envoy kofi annan as invited delegates to discuss syria in a meeting on thursday in geneva. russia's u.n. ambassador said his country would participate. >> -- has accepted the invitation of kofi annan to come to geneva. >> u.s. officials oppose the meeting. the turkish prime minister has warned the syrian military to stay away from the border. syrian forces shot down a turkish war plane last week. two pilots are missing. the rules of engagement for turkish armed forces have changed he said.

any military element that approaches the border and poses a security risk will be treated as a target. syrian government officials blamed turkey for the incidents. they say the military plane violated their nation's airspace. russian president vladimir putin is urging israeli and palestinian officials to resume peace talks. he called on both side to void any move that would jeopardize the process. putin met with mahmoud abbas. the palestinian president in the west bank town of bethlehem. he held talks with benjamin netanyahu. the russian president criticized the israelis for building settlements for jewish immigrants in the occupied west bank and east jerusalem. he called on the palestinians to exercise self-restraint in seeking u.n. recognition for the independent state. abbas said negotiations with the israelis reman hin his key goal. he said only talks can achieve peace. he asked for putin's

cooperation in restarting the process. the talks were suspended two years ago. monday after the credit ratings of spanish commercial banks were downgraded by moody's. italian leaders are also struggling to shore up their finances. they say an injection of state fund into an ailing major bank is inevitable. the italian authorities decided to give a capital infusion to the bank. the amount will be up to 2 billion euros or $2.5 billion. the government will buy up the bond issued by the bank. this will then boost the capital foundation of the financial institution. european union officials are demanding that banks increase their capital by the end of the month to demonstrate their health. officials at the bank say they were n able to secure the necessary funds by themselves.

so they asked for help from the government. the eu president will propose integration into banking supervision at the eu summit that be guns on thursday in brussels. he will suggest intro ducts duc common euro zone bonds. he issued a report, entitled towards a genuine economic and monetary union. he drew up a plan for the next ten years with three other eu leaders. the report proposes integrating bangi banking pervision. it also calls for member nations to get approval from the eu if they need to issue government bonds above a certain level. another proposal is the introduction of common bonds issued by member nations. but a heated debate is expected as germany and other members oppose the bond plan. their concerned that richer

countries will have to cover the cost for debt-ridden members. now let's take a look at what is taking in south korea. our reporter in seoul, sue choi. >> reporter: one reason is a massive outage that gripped the country a year ago. the power failure affected 1,620,000 households and businesses across the country. [ siren sounding ] >> reporter: last week the government conducted blackout drills that involved 28 places like companies and hospitals. in seven cities. assuming about 20 minutes of power outage. the drills were designed to provide korean people for major blackouts that could shut down subways and knock off traffic signals. companies are also chipping in, they're launching their own power saving campaigns.

sk telecom set up a management for the building. it automatically controls room temperature based on several factors, including the number of people present and the temperature outdoors. all of the conference rooms are equipped with automatic light sensors. whenever people go in or out of them, the sensors monitor the movements and turn the lights on or off. all of these efforts have paid off. allowing the company to cut power consumption in the building by about 20% a mo >> we have built this energy management system in three office buildings. we are monitoring temperature differences in and outside the buildings. we are going to expanned td the temperature to cover 20 buildings by year end. >> lg electronics is pushing a

power saving campaign. at its factory, workers shout out a campaign slogan at lunchtime. about 10 of them have set up an energy watch dog. it checks on the daily energy usage of the factory. the effort is helping minimize power losses. as an alternative energy source, solar power generation has also started at the plant. and more than 20% of its lighting has been switched to led. >> translator: the manufacturing industry stands out as a heavy power user. we are conducting a number of industrywide campaigns to raise awareness among employees and save on electricity. we are also using led. solar power, and other renewable sources of energy.

and actively expannding our investment in this field. >> reporter: retailers are frying to get by with less electricity during the summer months. this department store used to rely on air conditioners. to reduce power consumption they decided to open entrance doors two hours before business hours to let the cool morning breeze in. the department store has another solution. it makes ice during the night, when electricity demand is low. and then uses it in daytime to cool the circulating air. these plastic balls cover one basement floor of the store. they generate enough cold air to keep the entire building cool. various energy conversation attempts, bo by the government and by big businesses are spreading across the country, that's bracing for another sizzling summer. as temperatures begin to rise, however, it's becoming increasingly urgent for more companies to join the efforts.

>> reporter: now let's take a look at moreic noming news. south korea concluded a free trade agreement with colombia monday. south korea has eight fta partners. the two nations are trying to put the fta into effect next year. colombia would remove tariffs on cars it imports from south korea within the next ten years. meanwhile, south korea would lift levies on coffee, bananas and products from the south american country. south korea's population has topped 50 million people. but due to a falling birth rate, it is expected to peak at slightly above 52 million in 2030, and decline to the 40 million level by 2045. that wraps up today's report from seoul. right, sue choi in seoul. the japanese prime minister will

encounter a new set of problems, passed a bill that would double the consumption tax to 10%. now dozens of members are expected to leave noda's ruling democratic party. the government got support from the opposition liberal democratic party and the ally. the bills were sent to the upper house for approval. 57 members of noda's party voted against, including ozawa. ozawa suggested he would leave along with lawmakers close to him. noda is to decide whether to take disciplinary action against them. the opposition liberal democrats insist the dissidents should be punished severely. that would increase the chances of those members leaving the ruling party. members of the opposition groups are expected to limit their cooperation with the democrats to the tax bills t they are hoping for an early dissolution of the lower house and a general election.

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." priceless historical buildings dotted around northeast japan. many were damaged or destroyed in last year's disaster. in most cases the owners must repair the buildings them selves. and unlike national treasures they're not covered by government funds. that means they face demolition. one man is leading a project to repair and preserve the buildings with private sector fund. but some worry that the project could actually hamper reconstruction from the disaster. >> reporter: fishing is in the blood of the people of

kesennuma, myagi prefecture. it took away a lot of other things too, remnants of their past. some of the historical buildings in kesennuma have been left look this for more than a year. 40 structures were part of the skyline before the disaster, now most of them are either damaged or gone. the japanese government designated five of them as national cultural assets. this man grew up nearby and has seen many of them since he was a boy. now, he studies and teaches architecture history and conversation at the university of technology. in 2006, an earthquake shook historical structures to the ground on the indonesian island

of java. he rushed in to help. and he has done that elsewhere in japan too. >> translator: i can't save peoples' lives. but i can save history and culture. those are most important to people. >> reporter: the president of the brewery that is 106 years old. he grew up in one of the historic buildings, the company headquarters. the tsunami washed away the first floor. that sent the second floor crushing into the buildings next door. >> translator: when it rains, water floods in here.

>> translator: more than a year has passed since the disaster. but no improvements have been made. i feel really sorry. >> it will cost more than $600,000 to repair the building. he can't afford that on his own. so, last year, he applied for a demolition permit. he heard about what sato was planning to do, secured a promise of funding from an international preservation group. then he explained how engineers could rebuild the missing first floor. then, place the second floor on top of it. he convinced sato to save the building. >> translator: after talking to him, i am relieved to find out

that the repairs will be taking shape soon. >> reporter: sato, and others, hope to have city authorities include restored structures in the city plan for urban renewal. >> we have lots of hardships now. but it will be too late in 50 or 100 years to regret the loss of historical structures. our descendants will definitely be thankful to us for presevering important architecture. we are joined from sendai, japan. he seems pretty confident he can repair the buildings. how will the process work? >> right some of the damaged buildings will have to be moved to be repaired. crews will use a japanese traditional method. they use an elevation of parts

or all of the structure and then use rails to move it away. the method has been around for centuries. and it has a proven track record. crews use it to move the japanese prime minister's off shore residence during a 2000 period of renovation. inn the case of the company headquarters. the washed away first floor will be rebuilt using reinforced concrete. the second floor is intact, will be placed on top b and joined with bolts. and it will allow likers to relocate and repair structures as they wait for officials to firm up their reconstruction plans. >> many people in the region lost their homes and businesses in the tsunami, how do they feel about plans to repair and preserve historical structures? >> residents agree buildings that have become part of the regional landscape and symbols of the community are precious.

but they haven't reached a conisn't sco consensus on what to do with them. >> translator: i can't imagine losing these old buildings. i've seen them standing there since i was a kid. i want them preserved if possible. >> i want authorities to give prior to to protecting our present rather than old buildings. >> officials have yet to decide on a redevelopment plan more than a year after the disaster. that is the biggest issue dividing citizens. nothing has been decided including what to do with land that sank after the quake and whether people can live and do business there again. kidding what the residents have lived through the last year, many lost homes, businesses, and workers clean up the rubble and they want to move forward. still, when they look into the theater what they see includes reminders of their past. >> thank you very much, jun.

that was jun yotsomoto, in sendai, japan. now let's go straight to sayaka mori. at the weather desk. >> debby has been weakened to a tropical depression and moving all across northern florida. so tropical storm warnings have been canceled along the west coast. right now, sustained wind are 55 kilometers per hour. so wind are starting to die down. it will likely head out to sea by wednesday afternoon local time and redevelop over the waters. winds are starting to wha ing i. heavy rain will continue. some areas have received over 500 millimeters over the last several days. and dealing with flood situations. let's take a look at images coming out of florida. torrential rains from debby have -- flooded streets. and homes in northern florida.

parts of the main interstate highway were closed on tuesday due to the floods. in the tampa bay area, roads are completely washed out. residents tried to salvage belongings from flooded houses in low-lying areas. unfortunately, an additional 75 millimeters or locally, 120 millimeters is likely unn lly i northern florida over the next 24 hours. risk of flooding will remain. up toward the north there is an area of heavy rain in new england, states as well as eastern canada. heavy rain will likely continue into your wednesday morning. and back behind it, we have got a high-pressure system keeping things dry and very hot. and out toward the west, there is a low pressure system bringing stormy weather in and around the saskatchewan, actually large hail has been reported. but to the south, conditions are quite different, dry and warm, conditions are ideal for wildfires once again. particularly in utah and nevada on your wednesday.

temperaturewise, heat warnings, and watches have been issued across the ken tral pocentral p the u.s. 36 in denver. 39 in oklahoma city wednesday. houston is looking at 37 degrees. and 44 degrees expected in phoenix. all right. head into asia. a tropical storm its situated east of the philippines. this is takasuri. wind are 66 kilometers per hour. it will likely get close to or make landfall by late thursday and severe tropical storm by friday. it is projected to hit southern china, by saturday, local time. it's still far from the, the philippines. but bringing lots of ample moisture and heavy rain across much of the philippines. enhancing the southwest, monsoonal flow. of course, stormy conditions in the forecast across much of the country over the next several

days. we will keep you posted on its progress. meanwhile, seasonal rain ban is affecting the river valley and southern japan, actually, yokoshima received 115 millimeters of rain over the past 24 hours. in addition to that 180 to 200 millimeters is likely in southern regions over the next 24 hours, accompanied by thunderstorms. it looks like rain, not too heavy though will impact the rest of the pacific coast over the next 24 hours. heading up towards the north, we have a loon ine of thundershowe developing over northern china. all right, that's it from me now. here is your extended forecast. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." from tokyo, thank you for watching.