obamacare upheld. the debate over the u.s. president's saying? ch -- president's signature policy moves from the courts to the campaign trail. barack obama has won a victory in the highest court in the land. the supreme court upheld his plan to reform health care noucnow his republican opponents are gearing up to open the battle on another friend. nhk world's matthew field reports from washington. >> reporter: barack obama pushed through an overhaul of health care as a pillar of his presidency. some americans question the legality of the individual mandate. the requires americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine. the justices of the supreme court said the individual

mandate is constitutional. >> today's decision was a victory for people all over this country whose lives will be more secure because of this law and the supreme court's decision to uphold it. >> reporter: americans buy medical insurance on an individual basis. as a result, one in every six people in the u.s. its not insured. obama signed his health care law two years ago. it allowed every citizen access to medical coverage. but republicans have krit sidcr reforms as restrictions on personal freedom and concerned the change maze lead to tax hikes. the court's ruling means health care reform will remain in clas. the administration called it the signature accomplishment of obama's presidency. the republicans are expected to try to repeal the law in congress and certain to make it an important issue in the run up to the presidential election

this november. matthew field, nhk world, washington. many in the u.s. don't have insurance for another kind of care, the one covering their teeth. one in three americans is not getting the dental treatment they need simply because they can't afford it. nhk world's shoko masomoto has the story. >> reporter: it is 4:30 a.m. and already there are 1,000 people in this line. >> i have been here since #. 30. yesterday. i haven't slept. i feel fantastic. >> reporter: they have come for a dental care fair sponsored by local charities, low income and unemployed people who cannot afford to visit a dentist can get basic treatment here free of charge. sandy perezton hasn't seen a dentist in two years. she needs a crown on one tooth. however, only simple treatments are provided at the fair.

preston has been unemployed for two years since the company she worked for went bankrupt. she is a single mother raising a daughter on low income. she had to move in with her parents. a crown would cost about $1,500. so instead of going to a dentist, she has just been taking painkillers. >> i would prefer to get the dentist to fix it correctly so i wouldn't have to take the medication. because i don't like to take a lot of medication. >> reporter: in the u.s., government health care programs are available to people over 65. those with disabilities. and certain low income families. but most people have to get health insurance from private companies. and even the government programs don't cover dental services generally. dental care is very expensive for those without insurance.

a root canal treatment costs around $900. and a crown is about $1,000. last august, an unemployed man died after an infection in his wisdom tooth spread to his brain. he couldn't afford to get it treated. it is not the first time this has happened in america. in february, the u.s. senate issued an alarming report on the dental crisis facing the country. it said that as many as 130 million people, more than a third of the population, have no dental insurance. a growing number of americans are turning to dentists outside of the country for affordable treatment. one company in arizona offers so-called dental tours to mexico. arizona resident jean mann signed up recently.

the round trip takes over 12 hours. this town just inside mexico has about 300 dental clinics. every year, some 15,000 americans cross the border here in search of dental treatment. this clinic has state of the art equipment. mann's treatment goes smoothly. the cost about a third of what she would have paid in arizona. >> saved $200. i am really happy. really happy. >> 99% of the patients they came from the u.s. and we want -- they feel like -- they are in one of the clinics in the u.s. >> american dentists are alarmed by the number of patients seeking dental care abroad. >> i have had patients come into my office that have treatment in

mexico. some of the work is not bad. but some of it is really bad. we would like to be able to treat those individuals. >> reporter: unless new measures are introduced in the future, millions of americans will have to continue relying on charity for their dental care or just grinning and bear it. shoko matsumoto, nhk world, phoenix, arizona. >> more children will have access to dental care, but many adults will be left uncovered. now moving on to syria, president bashar al-assad, agreed to an interview. he told state television in iran he would rule out any international effort to intervene in syria. assad said foreign pressure would not influence what is going on within his country's borders. he said no one know house to

solve syria's problems as well as the syrians do. he also said, his troops would continue to attack opposition forces. he said his government had a duty to annihilate what he called terrorists. government and opposition forces have not let up even after they agreed to a u.n. cease-fire. mep be members of the opposition say troops killed 100 people wednesday alone. diplomats from the u.s., russia and key players will meet in geneva on saturday to try to find a way to stop the fighting. the obama administration has exempted two more countries from financial sanctions that is against iran. china and singapore will not be pe penalized even if their institutions do business with the iranian central bank. secretary of state hillary clinton said u.s. officials granted exemptions because the countries have significantly rue du

-- reduced the amount of crude oil. they enacted a law that pe penalized institutions. u.s. leaders hope to pressure the iranians by choking off all revenues. european officials coordinated with the americans. the old embargo will take effect on sunday. clinton said iranian leaders will understand more fully the urgency of the choice they face. 20 economies, including china and singapore have qualified for sanctions. -- exemptions. >> off the harmful effects are ripling around the globe. they have even reached china, the world's second largest economy. >> reporter: this french

newspaper tells the story of a chinese businessman buying a respected french winery. the buyers' company is headquartered in the autonomous region in inland, china. beside wine it makes med icinal liquor. the winery sold for about $12.5 million. acquisitions like this are often the butt of jokes about chinese money big up europe. >> translator: it's become available because the euro crisis pushed down the cost. >> reporter: but not many chinese businessmen are benef benefiting from europe's economic problems. the on going debt crisis is

hampering china's economic growth. exporters cope with the dropping demand. in may, manufacturers confidence in the country's economic outlook dropped for the first time in six months. as a result, you come across an unusual sight at qingdao port where imports of iron ore arrive. in the past, 10,000 trucks rushed here every day to load the iron ore for delivery. but nowadays there are few trucks as business gets worse, companies need less steel made from iron ore. now as much as 10 million tons is piled up at the dock. because china had bought more iron ore than any other demand prices falling around the world. at the iron ore exchange in

beijing which opened in may, both prices and sales volume have slumped lower than any one had foreseen. >> translator: steel makers are pessimist ache boic about the s. i don't think the market for iron ore will improve any time soon. >> nhk world's correspondent joins us from beijing. what are the impact are flagging exports having on china's economy? >> china is spending less money in the domestic market. they're well aware that prosperity depend on selling chinese overseas. now other countries are buying fewer goods from china, the chinese are adopting a cautious outlook for their economic future. and one sign is people and the companies reining in their spending. an expert says the program also rising in relatively small

domestic effort in arapid effort to get it to grow. >> one reason is there is a bigger market out there. i think if -- we have -- tried -- we have -- keep an eye on the domestic market rather than -- focus exclusively on international market -- then the situation would be different. >> so how is the chinese government responding to the economic slow down? >> well, the people's bank of china, the country central bank cut deposit rates by a quarter percent in june. the reduction is the first in years. this monetary easing as it is called is aimed at increasing the money available to chinese so they can keep spending. the bank hopes the move will ease the strain on the economy

caused by lop ed bd by lower ex. move the could be risky after the start of the global crisis in 2008, china's government announced a massive stimulus plan to encourage people to spend. this improved economy, but also raised concerns about the real estate bubble, so another stimulus package including monetary easing could pose a similar risk. some experts say, to create enough jobs for china's 1.3 billion people, and to ensure social stability, the economy need to grow 8% a year. but the international monetary fund says if the debt crisis lead to global recession, china's growth could fall to 4% in the worst case. the growing concern about downward spiral in which china's slower growth threatens the global economy. we need to keep a close eye on how china's leaders react to

economic problems in europe >> right, thank you very much. we have a handful of japanese economic indicators for you. the employment rate improved in may for the first time in three months. the internal affairs ministry on friday said the country's jobless rate came in at 4.3%. that is down 0.2% points since april and marks the first decrease since february. the ministry said the number of people without a job was just under 3 million while those unemployed numbered about 63 million. meanwhile, job availability rose for a 12th consecutive month. the labor ministry said there were 81 positions for every 100 jobs. the ministry says the job situation is showing signs of

improvement in the disaster-hit northeast. businesses have not yet fully resumed in marine product processing, which is the main industry in the stricken areas. japan's manufacturers turned out fewer products for a second straight month. the industry ministry said industrial output fell 3% from the month before. a big factor behind the drop was a lower output of autos due to falling demand in debt-stricken europe. looking ahead, the ministry expects a 2.7% rise in june. it is predicting production increases for electronic parts for autos and personal computers. household spending rose for the fourth month. the ministry says households of two or more people spend an average of $3,640. that is up 4% from a year earlier in yen terms. auto purchases surged thanks to government subsidies for buyers of eco-friendly vehicles.

people spent more money on travel compared with a year ago when the earthquake and tsunami wiped out leisure plans. meanwhile, the average income of wage earning households rose .7%. ministry officials say household spending is on the mend, but however they are kau shaus -- cautious about the future because the rate of increase is slowing down. consumer prices fell. the first decline in four months the internal ministry said it was down 0.1% from a year earlier. the ministry said gasoline prices fell due to low er crude oil prices in the global markets. it also said, the prices of televisions were down sharply from a year earlier. last year, tv sales surged ahead of shift from analog to digital.

media magnate rube earth murdoch will split the company of news corporation. it will concentrate the company's managerial resources on the tv and movie businesses which are more profitable than publishing. the new entertainment company will consist of newscorps's fox broadcasting and 20th century fox film. the publishing company will include newspapers like "the waul street journal" and "the times." newscorps c.e.o., rupert murdoch will be chairman of both companies. murdoch stressed the significant of the stress saying it will accelerate both companies' growth and boost long-term profits for shareholders. fans of one kind of art gathered for the largest exhibition of its kind, but they did not come to see any picasso's or van gogh's. these artists work on people's hands. their canvass are nails.

>> reporter: nail art can be as beautiful and colorful as walking through an art gallery. gentleman fan's largest nail art expo was held last month in tokyo. many professionals came to learn the techniques. an essential tool for the m manicurist -- there is a long tradition behind the nail clippers. the clippers are usein almost all japanese nail salons. >> translator: they cut beautifully so i can work quickly and get excellent results. i love them and i can't do without them anymore. >> reporter: this bamboo cross section shows how finely these clippers can cut compared to others. other clippers crush the bamboo. these clippers leave a clean cut. the clipper maker has a long

tradition of crafting cutting tools. they have been hand making all their clippers for almost 100 years. employees at the factory work on some 50 processes to make the clippers like tempering and polishing. the most important process in making sure the clippers are sharp is called aiba. here, two blades are joined to match perfectly. nails are positioned between the blades to be clipped off. so to get a clean cut, the blades must align without any gaps. any spaces are filed away. he is the oldest craftsman at the workshop and master of the process. >> translator: the difficult part is to learn the feel. i mean feeling where the file is on the blade and how much to file off.

>> reporter: he judges the size and angle of the gap. he then decides where and how much to take off and carefully files the blade. he cannot see the blade which is hidden by the file. he can take off 100th of a millimeter. in the process of aiba, he uses his skilled hands to adjust the file and create the perfect edge. it is a world which relies on highly developed senses. he has been working on this particular skill for 65 years. >> translator: we value hand crafting our products with care. many of the processes can be mechanic. mechanized. i wonder how much heart a machine has. a craftsman is made of flesh and blood, so his skills mature every day. that is what makes man and machine different.

>> reporter: the sharp hand made nail clippers are gaining more and more fans, especially in germany, britain and italy. japan has a famous tradition of crafting blades. the artisans creating these cutting tools believe in the fine sensitivity of the human body and are still working today to reach a higher level of perfection. >> the skill to match the blades, aiba, is being taught to four other craft members. up next weather world forecast with sayaka mori. let's talk about east asia, a seasonal rain band appropriate du -- producing heavy rainshowers in china, and will spread to the whole of the korean peninsula saturday and could ease excessive drought conditions and temperatures will be cooling

done to 24 degrees in seoul on your saturday. some of the precipitation will be also spread into western japan, but the northern half of the country including tokyo will stay largely dry into the weekend. down towards the south, southwesterly monsoonal flow is producing lots of heavy rain across the southwestern coast of the indochina peninsula as much as or more of rain has fallen in central thailand over 24 hours. more rain is coming down in northern regions, 400 millimeters over the past 24 hours. the reason is we have a tropical storm, tokasuri, heading in, towards, southern china. sustained winds are 72 kilometer bars, with gusts of 108. it will likely hit the hong kong area by saturday morning, local time, as a tropical storm status and quickly weaken to tropical depression.

as much as 100 millimeter is likely or more is likely in a span of 24 hours in the province. that could certainly raise the risks of flooding as well as landslides. all right, head into the americas the we have got a line of thundershowers from the northeastern states down out toward the midwestern states. and actually there is a risk of severe weather in the eastern half of the great lakes region overnight thursday. out towards the west there are a couple of low-pressure systems starting to produce light to moderate precipitation along the west coast of british columbia as well as the the pacific northwest. and unfortunately, rain will not cover areas like utah, nevada, colorado, where definitely rain is needed. and out towards the east excessive hot conditions are still on going from -- from the central plains into the eastern seaboard. let's take a look at the forecast, forecasted highs on your friday. reaching 41 degrees in nashville

which is about 10 degrees higher than average. 33 in chicago. and 37 in new york. actually the hot conditions will likely continue into the weekend. all right. finally, let's go over to europe. a strong low-pressure system its affecting the british isles spreading heavy rain particularly in the northern uk. at associatated fronts are starting to produce rain in the scandinavian peninsula, germany, france. you can see -- torrential rain will impact northern germany this afternoon. down toward the south. dry across most mediterranean countries. getting up to 34, in madrid. 28 in rome. heat conditions are covering central europe, reaching 29 in berlin. 31 in vienna. temperatures will rise even more as we head into the weekend. look at this, 35 degrees expected in vienna on your saturday and sunday. and it looks like -- the, balkan

peninsula is expecting much warmer than average temperatures over the weekend getting up to 37 in budapest, 10 degrees higher than average. here is your extended forecast.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ our top news once again, the obama administration exempted two more countries from financial exemptions against iran. china and singapore will not be penalized even if their financial institutions do business with iranian central bank. secretary of state hillary clinton said u.s. officials

granted exemptions because the countries have significantly reduced the amount of crude oil they buy from iran. the u.s. congress enacted a law last year that penalized foreign institutions that do business through iran's central bank. u.s. leaders hope to pressure iranians to abandon their nuclear program by choking off oil revenues. european union officials cou coordinated with the americans. iranian leaders will understand more fully the urgency of the choice they face. 20 economies, china and singapore have now qualified for exemptions. and that's all for now in this edition of newsline. we'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. so do join us then. thank you very much for walking. thank you very much for watching.