we will keep fueling the investigation and evaluations. >> thanks very much for that, hiroshi. for today's nuclear watch. >> 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, 1:00 p.m. japan time on "newsline." >> the u.s. economy grew and the department of commerce released preliminary gdp figures to june. consumer spending grew 1.5% in compared to the first quarter. disappointing figures due to jobs figures. the growth rates gained 2% during the first three months of the year. consumer accounts for 70% of economic activity. it grew 1.5% in the second quarter compared to the first quarter. dit disappointing figures weighed down with employers failing to create 100,000 jobs. we spoke with eathan harris at bank of america merrill lynch. >> little bit of better news relative to what we've been hearing in recent weeks. however, the economy is clearly slowing down. we expect

we will keep fueling the investigation and evaluations. >> thanks very much for that, hiroshi. for today's nuclear watch. >> 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, 1:00 p.m. japan time on "newsline." >>> one of the highest ranking syrian defectors is visiting country, rallying support to bring down the government of bashar al assad. former brigadier general met foreign minister, they are believed to have discussed the possibility of cooperation between turkey and syrian defectors. he fled his country and sought asylum in france in early july. before arriving in turkey, he visited saudi arabia, he's trying to figure out where other nations will help draw up a timetable. he is urging opposition groups to unite. he says it's unthinkable to think assad will remain president as syria disintegrates into a state of civil war. but they have yet to find a leader. it rem

when hiroshi heard about the work, he asked for help. reroots volunteers have now cleaned a third of his land. it's enough space for canno to sow some seeds and reap the rewards. cabbage, corn and more. >> translator: without the volunteers, i couldn't have imagined recovering this far. thanks to their health. i can take one, two steps forward. >> hiroshi's volunteers are booked up for the next month. he can't remember the last time he had a day off. >> if you saw the piles of rubble back then, and the ground ruined by salt water, it's hard to think that crops can be grown again. but the farmers here are different. they will go at it and try. farming is their lives. so we want it keep helping them until their lives get back to normal. >> hirose hopes the efforts of his reroots group will reroot a part of the country the tsunami all but ripped away. nhk world, sendai. >>> we're back to the rest of the weather forecast with mai shoji. mai. >> we have been monitoring the tropical storm. it is aiming and directing towards the cree yn peninsu