hello, you're watching "newsline." i'm shery ahn. let's get started with a look at the headlines. japan's prime minister has announced more details of his economic growth plan. they include bold deregulation moves aimed at revitalizing the japanese economy. french leaders say they have found proof that syrian government troops used a deadly nerve gas sarin in the country's civil war.

the u.s. government is upping the pressure on iran over its nuclear program. treasury officials have blacklisted what they call a shadowy network of firms generating huge funds for the iranian leadership. japanese prime minister shinzo abe likes to talk about the three arrows he'll use to revitalize the economy. he's already fired off one to get more capital flowing through the markets and another to pump more government money into the economy. now he's shooting off his third arrow, a plan for growth. he aims to increase japan's per capita income by over $15,000 in the next ten years. and he says deregulation is the key. abe outlined his plans in a speech to business leaders in tokyo. >> translator: deregulation is the start of the growth plan.

there are many outdated rules. we will eliminate barriers that hamper business. >> officials plan to present a draft of the plan later today to a panel on industrial competitiveness. they hope to gain cabinet approval on june 14th. now, here's what nhk has learned of the plan so far. it has three key goals. the first is to revive the industrial sector. government officials plan to raise corporate capital spending by 10% in the next three years by expanding tax incentives. and they say they'll create strategic economic zones that make way for deregulation. the second goal is to create and support new markets. officials say they'll encourage the public and private sectors to export advanced medical technologies and services. they plan to do this by creating ten overseas medical facilities

over the next five years. they also want to lift a ban on online medicine sales. the third goal is to increase revenues from overseas. officials plan to triple exports related to infrastructure by 2020. they also want to sell more goods to countries that have free trade agreements with japan. their goal is to increase these transactions from 19% of all international trade to 70% by 2018. now, investors are closely watching how the government will structure the third part of prime minister abe's economic plan. now, i earlier spoke with nhk world's business reporter and asked her for insight. now, we have seen growth plans in the past, many administrations have drawn them. how is this plan any different? >> well, shery, you're right. we've seen seven growth plans over the last seven years, so it's really difficult to put something entirely new on the menu.

but the government officials i spoke to said the plans differ from others in that there's a determination to get things done, to solve controversial issues that have plagued society for years. so they set a numerical target with clear deadlines. they said they'll boost corporate capital spending by awarding 2 trillion yen within three years, bringing it back to peak level financial crisis levels. they also said they're trying to set up day-care facilities for 200,000 children in the next two years. mothers across the country have been demanding that for a long time. and officials say they aim to double both agricultural exports by 2020 and farmers' income in the ne decade. however, critics say their plan isn't ambitious enough. some members on the government panel initially demanded deeper cuts to corporate taxes to invite more overseas businesses and increase international competitiveness. the abe administration didn't go ahead with that for fear of

adding to the already huge deficit. business owners were asking for deregulation in the agricultural sector that would allow corporations to own farmland. but abe didn't approve that idea. he's probably being cautious not wanting to put too much pressure on farmers ahead of the be national elections schedule next month. and experts point out there's not enough deregulation, especially in the labor market. and deregulation made this plan quite conservative. >> given all that, how effective do you think it will be? >> abe is trying to keep his promises by adopting the key performance indicator often used in the business sector. instead changing the goal as soon as he realized you can't achieve it, something we've seen a lot of in this country. government officials said they'll pick up the pace or find other means to respect the target. abenomics has been considered fairly successful in its early stages because it's winning investors back.

abe was able to show he can carry out what he said he plans to do. and that includes more public spending and mormon tear easing, as you mentioned. but the market's been shaky in recent weeks. some investors have called into question if abe's determination to bring about change through structural reforms and deregulation is enough. abe is set to introduce his plan at the g-8 summit later this month. whether he'll be able to win support will depend on if he can convince people he can deliver on his policies even after next month's election. >> and for more business stories, let's now turn to ron madison. >> well, market players were pretty keen to see details of prime minister abe's growth plan here in japan. let's see how this all played into the stock market today. trading was pretty volatile as investors waited for more direction. analysts say abe's announcement did not offer any positive surprises. so investors sold off their holdings including the exports.

the nikkei, as you see, down almost 4%, 13,014 at the close. the last time we had the index below 13,100 was back in early april. on to other markets in the region, losses were pretty much across the board today. investor sentiment continued to be weighed down by prospects that the u.s. fed may scale back its money-boosting measures. australia's benchmark index was down today 1.3%. it finished out the day at 4,835. market players received a report showing gdp growth was lower than most forecasts. the australian economy grew 0.6% in the first quarter. that's compared to market expectations of 0.8%. in china, the shanghai composite closed down just under 0.1%. the hsbc purchasing index showed growth in may. that was pretty much unchanged from the previous month. well, japan's diet has passed a bill for setting up a

blic/private sector fund to help boost infrastructure projects. the government aims to include the projects in its growth plans. the fund is expected to be created later this year. it's designed to expand the government's private finance initiative, or pfi. under the program, construction and management of public infrastructure systems are entrusted to private sector firms. new pfi projects under consideration include selling management rights of airports to the private sector. another plan is to use pfi for repair work on the aging tokyo metropolitan expressway. with the backing of the new fund, loans for pfi projects can have a government guarantee worth up to about $3 billion. the government aims to triple the value of pfi projects to about $120 billion over the next ten years. officials at japan's fisheries agency are to give financial assistance to fishermen that are affected by rising fuel costs. and this has, of course, been triggered by a weaker yen. the country's fishery lobby has been seeking government help as

the declining yen has hit the industry. squid fishermen across the country are halting fishing operations amid surging fuel costs. rallies have been held since fuel prices went up. the ministry is now drawing up a plan to cover 75% of the increase. now, that's if the price rises to at least 95 yen per liter. the men industry also plans to subsidize the fishing industry's energy-saving efforts. the government will shoulder half the cost of introducing l.e.d. lights on fishing boats and replacing engines with fuel-efficient tanks. people in china have been watching their currency rise and japan's fall. and some don't like what they see. the yuan stood at the 13-yen level in january, but it has climbed steadily, touching the 16 yen mark in may. that's an appreciation of about 20% in just a little bit more than four months. now, the change is happening as economic growth in china has slowed. and it's hurting companies that rely on exporting their products to japan.

nhk world's reporter tells us more. >> reporter: an exports products fair was held in guangzhou in may. chinese garment makers and buyers from around the world flocked to the fair. the yen's rapid advance was beginning to make its impact felt among chin kneese firms. we asked companies at the trade show how the yen's fall is affecting them. 19 out of 32 firms exporting to japan said it's having a negative impact in that it has more negative than positive effects. exports to japan account for more than 30%. this maker of baby clothes was exporting its products to japan.

now the company says it has to rethink the plan if the yuan gas further strength. >> translator: if the yen continues to weaken, we wouldn't be making profits even if we exported to japan. it wouldn't make economic sense to go ahead. >> reporter: we found out more as we continued to talk with other company officials. >> translator: is yours different from this survey? this survey is being conducted by the chinese government among exporting companies. >> reporter: at the fair, as it turned out, china's commerce ministry was doing a survey similar to ours. the ministry asked many questions.

they included how the yuan's rise is affecting sales and how much they can withstand its trends. the questions revealed the chinese government's growing concerns. we set out to talk with people at an exporting firm. this garment maker produces women's wear like ploblouses an dresses. it makes about 55,000 clothes a month and 90% are exported to japan. the firm is known for its fine clothes, and it continues to do business with japan even when the yen was falling. but a japanese buyers has asked the maker to cut its prices by 10%. >> translator: the labor cost is growing, and buyers are demanding price cuts.

we wouldn't be able to survive if the dollar went up to 110 or 120 yen. >> reporter: the yuan keeps on rising, dealing a heavy blow to chinese exporters, and they are likely to continue placing trouble just like japanese companies once did when the yen was strong. nhk world, guangzhou. more recalls to tell you about from toyota motor. it announced it's going to be recalling more than 240,000 hybrid vehicles worldwide, and they do include the prius. company executives say they found potential braking problems. the automaker filed the request to the transport ministry on wednesday. the two models recalled are the prius and the lexus hybrid hs250h. the vehicles were made sometime between march and october 2009. the ministry says this are mechanical design flaws in the

brake parts which could crack while the vehicle runs. so far 49 complaints over braking problems have been filed from drivers in japan. all right. that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's get a check of the markets.

french leaders say they have proof that government forces in syria have used a deadly nerve agent in their civil war. foreign minister says french scientists have tested samples point to the use of sarin gas. >> translator: there is no doubt that it was the regime and its accomplices. >> fabier told a french television station that a line had been crossed. he said french leaders will talk with their allies about what to do next. he said all options are on the table including military action. but he said they should not block an international peace conference. u.s. and russian diplomats have been trying to bring together representatives of president bashar al assad's government and opposition forces. now, in washington, white house press secretary jay carney said the united states still needs more evidence. >> we need to be able to have the kind of evidence that is --

can be corroborated and reviewed if we are going to make policy decisions. >> carney said that the french announcement was entirely consistent with previous assessments by the u.s. he repeated the u.s. position that if chemical weapons were, in fact, used in syria, they would have been deployed by government forces. president barack obama had indicated that he may take military action if chemical weapons were indeed used. but he's been cautious about further involvement in syria out of concern over his country's tight fiscal condition and getting caught up in the turmoil there. now, united nations investigators are also weighing in. they say it's likely that chemical weapons have been used in syria. the investigators cited four attacks during march and april. but they did not specify which side used them. chemical weapons are banned under international law. the investigators say they're very concerned about routine

killings and torture by both sides. u.s. authorities are stepping up economic sanctions against iran over the country's nuclear program. they're freezing the assets of what they say is a major network of front companies controlled by iran's leadership. officials of the treasury department are also banning 37 firms in iran, germany, south africa and elsewhere from doing business with u.s. companies and citizens. they say the firms are directed by an organization controlled by senior iranian officials including supreme leader eye ayatollah khomeini. they say companies profit which generate and control massive off-the-books investments to evade sanctions. earlier this week the obama administration authorized penalties against foreign financial institutions handling transactions in the iranian currency. the new sanctions come ahead of

iran's presidential election scheduled for june 14th. nato has decided to strengthen its defense against cyber attacks. defense ministers from the 28 member countries discussed the issue on tuesday for the first time. >> we must identify what more we need to do to address cyber threats which are evolving as we speak. >> rasmussen said that nato had to deal with over 2,500 attacks on its computer systems last year. the ministers agreed to boost the organization's capabilities to protect its networks. they plan to make the defense system fully operational by october. the ministers also decided to set up rapid reaction teams. they will work to minimize damage and track down the hackers if nato's computers are attacked. now, u.s. officials suspect the chinese military has been directly involved in some of the past cyber attacks on the united states.

the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant says he has found a leak in a tank that stores water contaminated with radioactive substances. officials at tokyo electric power company say they confirmed the leak shortly after noon on wednesday. the tank is used to store water from a reservoir where leaks were discovered in april. it's one of about 1,000 tanks used to hold contaminated water. tepco officials say water is dripping from a joint every three to four seconds. they say they're investigating the leak and that so far there has been no rise in radiation levels at the plant. now, a tepco spokesperson says there's no possibility of the water reaching the ocean. tepco has been relying on external tanks to store the contaminated water. workers pump more than 100 tons of water into three reactors every day to cool the spent

fuel. the fuel then contaminates the water, and the liquid has been leaking into the reactor's basements ever since the meltdown two years ago. water is also entering the buildings from the ground. about 400 tons of it seeps through cracks every day and becomes polluted. engineers keep pumping c contaminated water from the buildings into storage tanks. now, a tepco official said in april that they're sticking with this method. they're also trying to decontaminate the water. they say they have a device that can remove almost all kinds of radioactive particles. but experts are questioning how long they can rely on tanks to store the ever-increasing contaminated water. and japanese regulators have announced more details about new safety guidelines for residents near nuclear plants. they want to help people prepare for potential accidents. officials with the nuclear regulation authority say if an accident is likely, local

governments should distribute iodine tablets to households within five kilometers of the plants. iodine helps prevent the thyroid gland from absorbing radioactive substances. municipalities outside the five-kilometer radius will be ordered to store emergency supplies of the tablets. they can give them in advance to residents outside the five-kilometer radius. rapid distribution would be difficult. regulators have decided that the central government instead of municipalities will be in charge of monitoring radiation levels. government officials will set up a monitoring center near etch plant. they'll instruct municipalities and utilities to gather data for them to analyze. thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast tracts of land are still waiting to be restored. and more than half of fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt.

people in northeastern japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster. but step by step, they're moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on "the road ahead" right here on "newsline." let's now bring in robert speta for a check of the weather. robert, we have seen more reports of severe weather in the united states. will things start getting any better for them there? >> well, shery, this is the time of year may throughout june, we do see severe weather especially the central plains even extending off towards the east. and here going through the rest of thursday, it does look like more severe weather is in the forecast. all around kansas, western oklahoma, continuing to push off here towards the east. this very slow-moving frontal boundary which is going to be bringing, well, more gusty winds, up to 100 kilometers an hour possibly, large hail, still the threat of tornadoes with it. don't expect a large outbreak,

but that lingering threat will continue to be here, even extending through arkansas and missouri. also out into arkansas and missouri is the heavy rainfall we have been seeing. a lot of these rivers have already crested and all of that water is continuing to flow downstream. so much of the mississippi river under flash flood watches at this time. talk about the heavy rain and that risk of flooding. take a look at that area into the darker purples moving out into the gulf of mexico. not an organized system. not a named tropical system, but it is tropical, and it will be bringing some heavy rainfall across much of the florida peninsula. you've got flights in and out of miami, up to tampa bay, even ex-tending into jacksonville. you want to watch out for this. not uncommon to see lightning storms here in the florida peninsula. but the problem, this is going to be slow moving and it will be dropping a lot of rainfall. some areas the next 72 hours could see about 200 millimeters of rain. pooling up with that water especially in low-lying areas along the roads. don't try to drive through it. very well you could get stuck up in it. as far as temperatures, miami

with a high of 28. oklahoma city at 29. much of the desert southwest, you've just been baking in the heat. los angeles at 23. but a little farther inland, getting into the high 20s. about 10 to 15 degrees above average for this time of year out here. but let's take a look at europe. well, this tells the picture out here. much, much clearer skies for the most part. we do have the remnants of the upper-level low which has just been cut off and sitting here in and across central and eastern europe. still expecting about 40 millimeters, maybe up to 60 millimeters of rainfall and some isolated storms. but the good news is that the worst of it looks like it's over. the problem is still you had an abundant amount of rain over the past week now across much of the czech republic, southern germany and southern poland. all that water has to go somewhere. it's con

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley.tonight a conversation with elisabeth moss. junes to be handed out on 10. we are glad you joined us. a conversation with elisabeth moss is coming up right now. >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day

by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. elisabeth moss left madison avenue and ventured to new zealand, where she stars in a crime thriller. it is from your