motegi said they will do their best to be at the table. economic revitalization minister is in charge of the tpp file. he said the gap between the japanese and americans is gradually closing. japan needs the approval of all 11 countries involved in the discussions, four members have yet to sign off. the u.s., canada, australia, and new zealand. >>> japan's top business leader has expressed hope to strengthen ties with mexico through his country's participation in the tpp. japan business federation chairman made the remark when he met the mexican president enrique pena nieto in tokyo. >> translator: mexico is a very important production setter and consumer market for japanese companies. we, japanese businesses, hope to further strengthen the economic relations between japan and mexico through the tpp. >> he noted that mexico has concluded free trade agreements with more than 40 countries and regions and has access to their markets with 1 billion consumers. the mexican president called on japanese businesses to increase investment in his cou

trade and industry minister motegi asks them to fix the problem. >> translator: i would like you to make sure that contaminated water won't leak into the sea. >> reporter: the assurances from tepco have not calmed residents. >> translator: the leaks should never have happened in the first place. regardless of whether or not the water has reached the ocean. tepco should deal with the matter more seriously. >> reporter: crews face another problem too. they're running out of space. they've been filling up the pools and hundreds of tanks, but the tanks are nearly full. and the integrity of the pools is in question. so the people who run the plant are searching for somewhere else to put water that just keeps on coming. nhk world. >>> an armed group has ambushed a convoy of u.n. peacekeepers in south sudan. 12 people died. the you need nations says the attack occurred in the eastern state of jongli. the victims are five indiana soldiers and seven civilian staff members. nine others were injured. >> the secretary general is appalled by an attack on a convoy this morning. he calls on the governm

industry minister motegi has criticized tepco's handling of the issue. >> translator: i regret tepco's slow response to the problem. >> tepco executives say there is no risk that contaminated water will leak directly into the ocean. but the volume keeps increasing. workers are pumping about 400 tons out of the reactors each day. >>> executives at tepco must also comply with new safety standards. nuclear regulators announced the measures. the rules will apply to all of japan's electric power companies. they cover disaster preparedness and they set stricter requirements for restarting idled nuclear reactors. nuclear regulation authority commissioners drew up the new standards in response to the fukushima nuclear accident. the commissioners approved a draft version of the standards. they'll take effect by mid-july. the rules require operators to prepare for significant nuclear accidents and major earthquakes and tsunami. operators of older reactors must install power cables that are resistant to fire and back-up pipes for cooling reactors in an emergency. power company executives must bui

industry minister motegi has criticized tepco's handling of the issue. >> translator: i regret tepco's slow response to the problem. >> tepco executives say there is no risk that contaminated water will leak directly into the ocean. but the volume keeps increasing. workers are pumping about 400 tons out of the reactors each day. >>> executives at tepco must also comply with new safety standards. nuclear regulators announced the measures they will apply to all of japan's electric power companies. they cover disaster preparedness. companies must also meet stricter rules for restarting idled nuclear reactors. >>> nuclear regulation authority commissioners drew up the new standards in response to the fukushima nuclear accident. the commissioners approved a draft version of the standards. they'll take effect by mid-july. the rules require operators to prepare for significant nuclear accident and major earth kwaqua and tsunami. they must install power cables resistant to fire and back-up pipes for cooling reactors in an emergency. power company executives must build facilities to house emerg

japan's economy trade and industry minister toshimitsu motegi was invited to attend. the ministers are there for two-day ministerial talks of the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum. acting u.s. trade representative demetrios marantis read the statement declaring that 11 countries had officially approved japan's participation in free trade talks. >> tpp ministers noted that japan's participation in the negotiation will underscore the economic significance of tpp. motegi later told reporters that the tpp talks are expected to be held in july in addition to talks in may and september which have already been decided.o be to talks in may and september which have already been decided. >> translator: the approval of japan's participation will make it easier than before for us to collect tpp-related information, and we will prepare accordingly. >> he also said japan will be firm in the talks to protect its interests. japan's participation is expected to start in late july. >>> venezuela's new president has promised to be firm with the united states. nicholas ma dour row