japan time here on "newsline." >>> delegates from the international atomic energy agency will restart talks on friday with negotiators from iran. the head of the nuclear watchdog says he hopes to restart an investigation of the country's suspected weapons program. >> japanese officials are wanting to keep their toes in the water. they met on the sidelines in russia. kirk reiterated that further liberalization of three markets is a prerequisite for japan's joining the negotiations. >> the u.s. requests come from various sectors but japan and the u.s. have agreed to continue talks based on much y'all consideration. >> japanese leaders are still divided about joining talks on the agreement. japan's newing a cultture minister says that the government needs to provide the government with more detailed explanations before deciding to take part in the negotiations. >> translator: sufficient information has not been disclosed. >> rr will ramp up production where markets are rapidly expanding. >> the japanese automaker is building the plant in a suburb. with an annual capacity. their aim to tr

>>> hello there, welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, june 5th, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo, i'm catherine kobayashi. a record number of people in hong kong marked the 23rd anniversary of the government's violent crackdown in beijing's tiananmen square in 19 89s. the event organizer says 180,000 people took part in a candle light vigil on monday. participants called for the chinese government to change its account of the incident. the official story says a group of students provoked a riot. the demonstrators also demanded chinese leaders do more to improve human rights on the mainland. the recent media spotlight on blind activist chen guangcheng who fled house arrest last month has brought greater scrutiny of china's human rights issues. >> translator: i feel the chinese communist party is also tightening its control over the people of hong kong. we have to strongly oppose this. >> the government has been cracking down on pro democracy activists as it prepares to reshuffle the bureau standing committee this fall. >>> delegates from the international atomic energy ag

>>> hello there and welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, june 14th, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> syrian government strongholds have said the crisis in syria now resemble a civil war. the free syrian army has resumed attacks on government troops following a series of civilian massacres. the country's state television on wednesday said that government troops had cleansed the northern town of haffa from terrorists and restored calm and claimed huge amounts of weapons had been seized. reportedly resulting in many civilian causalities. meanwhile, air raids have continued on opposition strongholds in central and eastern syria with tanks firing on the ground. a human rights group in syria says more than 100 civilians were killed between tuesday and wednesday alone. >>> russia and iran have, again, rejected any foreign intervention in syria. the two countries have long-standing friendly relations with damascus. russian foreign minister and his iranian counterpart met reporters following talks in tehran on wednesday. he said russia doesn't support any administ

we look very red today. >> nice color on you, catherine. >> "newsline" colors today. i hear there's a tropical storm or, rather, tropical activity out in the pacific. tell us about that. >> that's right. we are looking at the potential for a tropical storm. right now it's a tropical depression out here they're the caroline islands. quite far down there just to the bottom right of your screen. this looks like it's going to become a tropical storm and head up towards the northwest. we want to keep a close eye on it. we already have a lot of very heavy rain and strong gusts falling along a front that's been stretched out across the southern japanese islands, taiwan, and affecting eastern china the last several days. what we're going to see is a little bit of movement with this system. it's going to be starting to affect parts of western and central japan today. but unfortunately, it's not really shifting away from the southern japanese islands or taiwan so we'll see ongoing heavy rain in land that's already saturated. okinawa maybe seeing 120 to 150 millimeters of rain i

us on this edition ever "newsline." it is friday, june 29, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the u.s. supreme court upheld president barack obama's healthcare reform law. the court ruled on the legislation on thursday saying that the individual mandate, the requirement that americans buy health insurance or pay a tax, is constitutional. more than 20 states had challenged the law. >> 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. >> the verdict means obama's health care reform stays in place giving him a huge boost in his re-election bid in this autumn's presidential vote. the opposition republicans are expected to ramp up their campaign to retake the white house by promoting their policy of scrapping the law. >>> companies in japan are constantly searching for rare earth metals to create products millions of people crave. smartphones and hybrid cars are just a couple of examples. but a supply of these minerals is limited. university of t

"newsline."orkers at n's fukushima at the damaged their latest extremely high lev radiation insid houses two. tokyo electric robot building wedne video tepco ay insteading of 880 r on the area is 4.5 feeters containment tepco that lead reactor moved images by the robotaven't helped t exact route traveled. spokespersonsfound no major damage rts believe reactased the largest amount radiation during the determined how it cont tepco officials repair the reactor, and thendecommissioning but they say radiation often stromding. take apinpoint the vessel. that's what their stuke. last earthquake proved be good the whole. experts survey in if the buildingsurvives an not. gearing up to make theirngs as quake he nhk world's tomoko kamata reports. >>on simulated what ha 2,000 buildings acr. after a f shaken for three entire ceiling fell down. you see the quake damaged the ccess hanged bents and tokyo destruction company be examining resistance of the ceilings. previous method of ceiling jolts as strong as th

>>> welcome back to "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. japanese police say they are closing in on the last suspect from aum shinrikyo still on the run. they've released security video of a man they say is katsuy katsuya takahashi. police released three photos. two were taken on monday. they show takahashi withdrawing money. they say the account was registered under a false name. and the third photo is one takahashi submitted for a company identification card. investigators showed the photos to another cult member they arrested on sunday. she confirmed that the man in the pictures is takahashi. he's the last of a list of suspects wanted for the sarin gas attacks in 1995 on the tokyo subway system. the national police agency has asked offices across the country to search for the fugitive. they say he could have left the kawasaki area with the money he withdrew. >>> nokuchi was one of the most wanted fugitives. she was caught sunday and has been cooperating with police. they are learning more about how she spent her life on the run. she was

the his app early as next 's all for this edition "newsline." do stay with us.

. >>> now, a quick look at some of the other stories we're following here on "newsline" starting with renewed conflict in the middle east. palestinian islamic group hamas has carried out its first cross boa border ait cans against israel in more than a year. they are fired in on tuesday. there are tho reports of casu casualties. israel launched four air raids on the gaza strip on monday and tuesday killing six palestinians includinging four militants. the united states has criticized syria in its annual trafficking and persons report on tuesday citing its poor efforts to fight human trafficking. the u.s. places syria in the group of worst offenders with

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's tuesday, june 26, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the embargo is part of the sanctions against the iranian states nuclear program. nhk reports from luxembourg. >> an embargo on iranian oil imports. >> foreign ministries approved embargo in luxembourg on monday, over refusal to hold iranian enrichment. this followed last week's meeting in moscow when iran and five permanent members of the u.n. security council plus germany. ministers will also ban eu-based firms from insuring recruiting uranium oil. oil experts will be cut by 20% or one-half if the united states ban is included. the iranian government said it will continue its enrichment despite the blow to its weakened economy. >> does this new oil embargo help toward filling the gaps? >> those sanctiore there to try and keep that pressure in order that the regime in iran understands that this is about trying to get them to take those concerns seriously and address them. >> eu representative said she hopes to solve the nuclear standoff through dialogue. nhk w

on newsline. >>> political tensions swirling around the persian gulf have raised concerns about energy. members of forum will gather next week in st. petersburg, russia. they'll discuss ways to stabilize energy. the global deman for natural gas has been increasing. delegates have agreed to boost the output of natural gas throughout the region. japanese representatives will explain the disaster at the power plant. >>> modern japan's big three makers is turning its focus to alternative energy. engineers helped build fukushima daiichi. executives have announced they'll develop japan's largest ever solar powered project nearby. the engineers will build several solar power station as long the coast. construction of new houses was bound after the disaster last year. the area was designated a tsunami risk zone. construction is scheduled to start next march. the plans are expected to begin operating in 2014. they'll provide up to 100 megawatts of electricity, enough to meet the demands of 30,000 homes. >> translator: the project will be a big step forward for our reconstruction. and it will se

welcome to nhk world "newsline." wanting to bring in the reinforcement general james thurman is asking the u.s. government to deploy more u.s. attack helicopters to guard against action against north korean forces. thurman announced the military would be on the peninsula on a high readiness. he revealed a plan to introduce the amount of apache helicopters from the 24. you wants to prevent attacks like the 2010 shelling of a south korean island. he also says he requested more troops to staff a unit equipped with the patriot three missile defense system, the technology can defend against ballistic or short range rocket attacks. thurman added the u.s. will work with the south korean army to enhance cyber attack counter measures and north korean has been threatening to attack their southern neighbors. activity is reportedly on the rise. talks between pakistan and the united states over supply routes to afghanistan hit a bump in the road. here the details. the united states says it's withdrawing a team of negotiators from

welcome to nhk world "newsline." syrians have been locked in conflict for more than a year now. and there are no signs the situation will improve any time soon. things have actually gotten worse since last week when u.n. cease-fire monitors temporarily suspended their activities. a human rights organization says at least 128 people died thursday. violence has erupted almost everywhere in the country. the number of dead after 15 months of fighting is now estimated at well over 10,000. government forces tightened their siege of the city of daraa in the south and duma in suburban damascus. tanks blasted away at rebel strongholds. troops loyal to president bashar al assad also continue to hammer away at the central city of homs. they reportedly killed 13 people who had taken refuge in a school. a syrian air force pilot is seeking political asylum in jordan after crossing the border and landing his mig-21 jet fighter. reports say an increasing number of government soldiers have deserted their positions. the u.n. security council has confirmed its observers will stay in syria. the mon

japan time here on "newsline." >>> a japanese photo journalist is using his pictures to tell a ory about the dangers of radiation. has spent decades documenting how testing effects people in the islands in the pacific. now the 72-year-old is using what he learned to help residents of fukushima prefecture who are dealing with the aftermath of the nuclear accident. >> reporter: began photographing victims of nuclear experiments in the islands nearly four decades ago. he and his wife lived there for several years to better understand the situation. >> translator: i want to do more than just take photos. i want to act as a messenger. build a bridge between the marshall islands and japan. >> reporter: the u.s. government took control of the marshall islands after world war ii. it carried out 67 nuclear tests there between 1946 and 1958. it did make a powerful hydrogen bomb. the radioactive material reached islands hundreds of kilometers away. among them rongelap island. it took american authorities a few days to evacuate the island. three years later, they declared it safe. and islanders retu

japan time here on "newsline." >>> the japanese government has admitted to another case of withholding reliable data about the fukushima accident. the u.s. government offered the japanese government a map showing the spread of radiation soon after the nuclear accident occurred at fukushima daiichi. however, the japanese authorities did not release the data to the public. the u.s. energy department created the map using data collected by u.s. aircraft from march 17th to 19th last year. it shows radiation spreading northwest from the accident site. energy department provided the map to the japanese foreign ministry on march 18th and 20th. after that the ministry passed on the data to the science ministry and the nuclear and industrial safety agency. however, neither body released the information. they also did not notify the prime minister's office of the data. a senior science ministry official says he thought the u.s. government should release the information. he added the japanese government publicized the results of its own radiation surveys from data gathered at 180 locations. >>> a

welcome to nhk world "newsline," executives at the tokyo electric power company have spent the last year analyzing what went wrong the day an earthquake and tsunami disabled one of their nuclear facilities. their final report offers a different view compared to other investigations, but it leaves some key questions unanswered. >> translator: as the company that caused the accident, we have a social obligation to carry out a thorough investigation. we must learn from the findings and make them public. >> tepco execs say the probe involved assessments and sper views with with about 600 staff. the report says the staff made everything they could to deal with unexpected events. they blamed staff for not properly operating the emergency cooling system. tepco's version of events is critical, but says government interference made matters worst and left to deal with the accident. it sites then prime minister as the example. he inspected the plant from a helicopter the day after the crisis started. the report also says he was also constantly on the issue issues words and asking people for informa

here is your extended forecast. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> that's all for now on this edition of "newsline."kyo, thank you for watching.

japanime here on "newsline." >>> the best children's books teach us lessons.ometimes it's about hope. others it's about overcoming odds. an author and illustrator in japan are focusing on those themes in a new picture book they created. it's inspired by a story from last year's disaster a tale about a community that found a symbol of hope buried in the debris left behind by the tsunami. the dem stragtss are shown now at a gallery in tokyo. k world takes us there. >> reporter: walking inside this small gallery in central tokyo is like flipping through the pages of a picture book. 30 original pieces of artwork of a new children's book are on display. the illustrations are fun and geared toward young readers, but the story itself is quite serious. >> translator: i wanted to illustrate how personal relationships bring about hope. >> reporter: cans of hope is inspiredy a true story. a story based on what happened here at a fish processing and canning factory in ishinomaki. it's been in operation since 1957. the march 2011 tsunami destroyed the plant along with much

and that's all for this edition of "newsline" i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. ????o

>>> hello and welcome to this edition of "newsline." it is wednesday, june 13th. 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm katherine kobayashi. >>> president hamid karzai is asking and calling for an end to international air strikes in afghanistan. he says the operations must stop to protect civilians. but nato commanders don't entirely agree. this report from kabul. >> reporter: karzai told the news conference on tuesday that afghan and the united states have agreed to prevent a recurrence of such a tragedy. >> no bombardment of civilian homes for any reason. it is completely banned. absolutely banned. absolutely. >> reporter: the announcement comes in the wake of last week's air strikes by u.s. and other international forces in logar province that killed 18 civilians, mostly women and children. the international forces said the international forces said they believed that militants were hiding there. but the u.s. lieutenant general, second in command in afghanistan, said u.s. forces can carry out air strikes in self-defense, even in residential areas, if they think that they are at risk. u

japan time here on "newsline." >>> one of japan's biggest real estate companies has announced plans to build a huge solar power plant in the disaster hit northeast. the plant will be located on a golf course forced to close after last year's nuclear accident. mori trust plans to invest more than $50 million in the ten maegwatt facility in izimizaki prefecture. the company hopes to begin building in october and start providing electricity by the summer of 2013. it will gradually expand the plant generating enough electricity to supply 3,000 households. mori will sell the electricity to regional utility tohoku electric. new legislation requiring power firms to buy locally generated renewable energy comes into effect next month. >> translator: i believe it is important to use the golf course as a renewable energy factory. the project will help bring life back to the local community. >>> the people of japan have been invited to offer condolences over the death of prince tomohito mikasa. a cousin of emperor ahiko. he died at the age of 66 after a long battle with cancer that required him to

the talks will resume on tuesdayle. >>> that wraps up this edition of "newsline." do stay with us. we'll be back with more updates at the top of the hour.

we'll show you00 p japan time he on "newsline." >>> cover your head. that's what teachers tell their students whenarthquakes strike. last year's march earthquake proved that advice may not be good enough if the whole ceiling is coming down. release aid survey that even if the main structure of a building survives the earthquake, the ceiling may not. construction companies are gearing up to make their resistant as much as the rest of the structure. >> reportedemonstration simulated what happened inside 2,000 buildings across japan on march 11th of last year. after a mockup room at a factory was shaken for three minutes you see the quake damaged the joints of the wires suspending the plaster board ceilings. ceilings in most buildings are hanged beneath the upper floor to make room for ducts and pipes. soon after the disaster a tokyo construction company began examining the earthquake resistance of the ceilings. the engineers showed that the previous method of ceiling construction couldn't withstand jolts as strong as the march 11th quake. suspended ceili

japan time here on "newsline". >> the first international research project on longevity has been launched in five countries with high life expectancy rates. experts from japan, france, denmark, sweden and switzerland are carrying out the work. they aim to find the reason why or the reason behind the longevity. 250 people will turn 100 this year will be interviewed in each country about their health and lifestyle. blood samples will also be taken for genetic analysis. the research in japan is being carried out in tokyo, okinawa and three other prefectures. researchers started visiting the participants at their homes in tokyo this month. they interviewed the centenarians and their family members about their health and tested their capacity for exercise and memory. professor saito of the graduate school is taking part in the project. >> translator: it is a meaningful study to find out how well they maintain their longevity and health. >> professor saito says the number of people aged 100 or older will continue to rise. >>> about 5,000 ducks have stopped the traffic in a city in eastern china

japan time here on "newsline." >>> now some of the stories we are following this hour. prosecutors in norway say a man on trial for last year's mass murder rampage should not go to prison. they say he should receive treatment for mental illness instead. and he is accused of opening fire in oslo last july. a verdict is expected next month at the earliest. the court must decide if he can be held responsible for his actions. >>> the u.s. journal "science" published controversial research on a deadly bird flu virus. this followed debate that information could fall into the hands of bioterrorists. that scientist created strains of the h 5 n 1 virus that could be transmitted person to person through the air. they say publishing research could help prevent a flu pandemic. government officials in april retracted their call on the magazine not to publish the paper. >>> ecuador's president says his country is studying the request for political asylum from julian assange. he said assange must meet his government avenue conditions for asylum. these include proving that his life is

japan time here on "newsline." >>> next an update on one of japan's nuclear plants. nuclear crisis minister has met the fukui governor nishikawa to discuss restarting the oi facility. prime minister noda explained to the public why the plant must be put back online. he explained the government's efforts to enhance nuclear safety and sought the governor's support. >> translator: the government has worked to increase nuclear safety since the accident at fukushima daiichi. some safety standards are provisional and have not yet been legislated. restarting the oi reactors will require special monitoring. >> translator: such new arrangements must take effect immediately to reassure fukui residents. prime minister noda must assur the public that nuclear plants are important for the country's economy, not just for meeting short-term demand. this is needed to win public support. >> nishikawa urged that noda directly seek public support for restarting the plant. last week seven prefectures issued a statement on restarting the plant's number three and four reactors. the prefect

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." egyptians are marking another milestone in the arab world's democratic transition. election officials have declar d mohamed morsi as the next president. he's become the first president in egyptian history. morsi captured more than half the vote in a runoff election a week ago. he defeated ahmed shafiq. the margin of victory was more than 3 percentage points. >> the rivalry between the muslim brotherhood and military has defined egyptian politics for decades. morsi will become the first president from outside the military in generations. nobisa degawa is a former middle east correspondent. what is the significance of this presidential election? >> well, egyptians have chosen their leader for the first time in their history. morsi is also the first president who is not from the military and first islamist in office. before the election, the nation's ruling military council made decisions in line with the wishes of supporters of the mubarak government. but democratization is under way in

>>> welcome back to "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. currency traders in tokyo and shanghai are doing something they've never done before. they've started direct trading between the japanese and chinese currencies. the yen/yuan deal has raised expectations of increased financial transactions between asia's two largest economies. brokers made their first trades at the start of the day on the trading floors of japanese banks. the initial exchange rate was set at 12.33 yen to the yuan. japanese and chinese officials agreed to the deal last december. the arrangement removes the interim step of converting to and from the u.s. dollar. direct trading will reduce transaction fees and lower the risks involved in settling trades. investors see a lot of threats out there. they are worried about the health of spanish banks, the effect that will have on european debt and the pace of u.s. growth. so they are heading for the exits. the euro fell to its lowest point against the japanese yen in 11 1/2 years. the fears about the health of spain's financi

here's your extended forecast. >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

welcome to nhk world "newsline." troops on both side of the civil war have shown little regard for a united nations' cease-fire. government and opposition forces are now engaged in battles across the country. and the opposition may be taking the fight to the capital damascus. the heaviest fighting is taking place in an area that's seen a lot of it the past year, the central city of homs. the opposition-free syrian army has reportedly fought off government forces and taken control of a main transportation route from the north. the rebels are said to be heading to damascus. government troops are carrying out air strikes using helicopter gun ships and planting land mines along roads leading to the capital to block the advance of opposition forces. human rights activists say at least 130 people have been killed over the past two days. >>> former leaders of the two countries signed a statement 12 years ago aimed at improving relations. the workers party newspaper published an editorial marking the anniversary. the editori

japan time, here on "newsline." >>> preparing for disasters is a part of life in japan.eismologists and emergency officials know the 2011 earthquake and tsunami won't be the country's last so they're constantly working on contingency plans, one involves finding shelter for people who are stranded, should a quake cut power and shut town trains. officials have learned a lot from what happened on march 11th last year. some of the lessons have come from sendai, the city closest to the quake's epicenter. nhk world's ryuta seki shows us what happened there. >> reporter: on the evening of the massive quake, the center of sendai was engulfed in total darkness. there were no lights to be seen except in one building, the sendai trust tower. drawn by the lights, crowds of people gathered inside the building. the quake that afternoon brought the entire transportation system to a halt, stranding many visiting businessmen and tourists. hiroshi yoeshkawa is from tokyo. he was in sendai on business that day. he had no idea where to find shelter until he spotted the lights in the sendai

here on "newsline." >>> students were buzzing this week at a junior high school in northeastern japane excited about the return of a long-lost friend. a basketball swept away by last year's tsunami. the ball's journey across the pacific ocean took several months and washed up on the beach in the u.s. state of alaska in march. two fed-ex pilots delivered the ball to the students. a high school student in alaska discovered the ball. it is inscribed with the school's name. everyone at the junior high school survived the tsunami but the building was destroyed. the students now use another school's building. school officials say they may display the basketball for everyone to see. all right. sunny skies here in tokyo, but there is a severe tropical storm in the pacific. let's now turn to rachel ferguson for the updates and the rest of the world weather forecast. >> that's right we have a severe tropical storm heading towards the philippines right now. this massive cloud you can just see to the bottom of your screens. this is severe tropical storm, currently moving west at 25 kilometers an

>>> hello there, welcome to "newsline." it's monday, june 4th, 8:00 a.m. in toke you. i'm catherine kobayashi. one of japan's most wanted suspects has finally been captured of 17 years on the run. japanese police have arrested one of the two remaining fugitives from the cult that carried out the 1995 gas attack on the tokyo subway system. police say 40-year-old naoko kikukhi was taken into custody in tokyo. she was put on a nationwide list. it killed 13 people and sickened 6,300 others. the suspect told police she was involved in producing the saran gas. kikuchi is suspectsed of being involved in two more plots carried out by the aum cult. police released updated likenesses of kikuchi in february and increased the reward after one of the last three fugitives was arrested in january. >>> japan's prime minister yoshihiko noda says he will reshuffle his cabinet money oz part of his plan to pass bills to raise the consumption tax. he called on the main opposition party to begin discussing the issue. >> translator: i have repeatedly talked about social security and tax refo

japan time here on "newsline." >>> executives at tokyo electric power company have spent more than a year analyzing what went wrong on march 11, 2011. the day an earthquake and tsunami disabled one of their nuclear facilities. their final report into the accident at fukushima daiichi offers a different view, compared to other investigations. but it leaves some key questions unanswered. >> translator: as the company that caused the accident, we have a social obligation to carry out a thorough investigation. we must learn from the findings, and make them public. >> tepco executives say their probe into the accident involved on-site assessments at interviews with about 600 staff members. the report says workers did everything they could to deal with unexpected events. and it argues they generally took appropriate measures. the government panel investigating the crisis in contrast blamed staff for not properly operating the emergency cooling system. tepco's version of events is critical of politicians. it says government interference made matters worse, and led to failures in dealing wit

we'll successes on "the r ahead" a japan time on "newsline." ced industrialized continuing tostruggle. a crisis has mutated into debor europe of countries are at a the result i in tnters of wealth.een countries changing more so britain and used to rule vast area faded are riches i the country is struggling wit compan accbuyout oth countries.as been i twoen over at fund tha based in britisha's tata group rescue. takeover signed in the rise of tmer c shock many times anged. view suppressed byminister david cameron visited20 is actually some of its to investment. now the largest >> reporter: far fromresentencing the foreign takeov established trend. black a part ty. this company moreck year. half that figure maker is costs for new custo overseas but it alone. it a 20%inese automaker. most parts the company's cabs imported from china.o has no lways had a internationally b cost base and thethe company and we heading l-de-sac. theoming and more gili correspondent in develo of the wholeorld in empire was one in t and india was the n also parts ofritis

. >>> that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo.hank you very much for watching.

welcome to nhk world "newsline." tokyo electric power company has lost billions of dollars since japan's disaster disabled one of its nuclear plants, fukushima daiichi. it needs more money to stay afloat, lots more, so tepco shareholders have approved a plan to accept a government bailout. now the state owns more than three-quarters of the utility's voting rights. shareholders gathered in tokyo for their annual meeting. tepco is still dealing with a costly cleanup and compensation payments related to the 2011 nuclear accident. >> 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 daiichi nuclear plant. >> executives outlined tepco's finances. they explained why the utility needs more than $12 billion in public funds to help turn things around. shareholders then approved a resignation of the current chair and president, quick to take responsible for the manage many of the company and fukushima accident. their replac

. >>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm katherine kobayashi in tokyo. do join us again.

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." many japanese are still worried about nuclear power generation after last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. so on friday, prime minister yoshihiko noda tried to reassure the nation that nuclear power is safe and necessary. he said it is vital that the ohi nuclear power plant in western japan be restarted soon or the nation can expect power shortages. >> translator: it is my view that ohi nuclear power plant reactors 3 and 4 should be restarted to protect the lives of citizens. we seek the consent as we host municipalities after which due procedures will be taken. to secure prosperity and humane conditions for citizens, accessible and stable supply of energy is indispensable. nuclear power has supplied roughly 30% of all energy in japan. if the supply is halted and is not permitted to resume, the japanese economic society cannot be sustained. >> the prime minister spoke to the public as part of a deal with the governor of fuk prefecture. the speech was necessary to gain t