. >> aso is in germany for a meeting of finance ministers and finance chiefs from the group of seven nations. before the g-7 meeting, aso spoke with jack lew. they reconfirmed agreements made at past g-7 meetings including refraining from targeting exchange rates for competitive purposes. they agreed that excessive and disorderly fluctuations in exchange rates can threaten financial stability. the currency moves have not yet come up at the g-7 discussions. the meeting ends friday. >>> foreign visitors to japan have often been frustrated by the lack of network connection services for mobile phones. but that is changing. more companies are starting to sell s.i.m. cards aimed at travellers. mobile phones need them to operate. nhk world's akiko okamoto takes a look at the growing market. >> reporter: a new telecom business has been launched in this tokyo area. i'm in a shopping mall that is popular with foreign tourists. this vending machine sells s.i.m. cards. >> credit cards can be used to buy s.i.m. cards for internet access. passports are used to verify user i.d.s. this machine reads

airbus engineers and other experts short listed five for the final round in hamburg, germany. members of each team took their turn of pitching their ideas to a panel of judges and audience. the students from university of tokyo proposed using drones to guide airports safely from airports to nearby nesting grounds. they were the first japanese team to make final round. students from netherlands came up with a material that harvests energy from vibrations in jet wings. their idea won the competition. >> translator: i'm happy with the result because i thought any of the finalists kos have won but to be honest i really wanted to be number one. >> that's all for business news for this hour. i'll leave you with a check of the markets. >>> the world's most popular sport has been rocked by scandal and allegations of corruption. american and swiss authorities have indicted several high ranking fifa officials for their conduct off field. they suspect the men accepted millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. >> reporter: it's an ugly situation for the world's most lucrative sport. ni

the founding members in the g 7 are germany, britain, france and italy. they are expected to exchange views with japan, the u.s. and canada which have not applied to join the aiib. before the meeting. >> translator: i want to refrain from commenting about foreign exchange rate levels and their movements. but i think it is most desirable that currency rates move stably. >> kuroda says that the exchange rates may be discussed at the meet bug he doesn't think it will be high on the agenda. >>> chief negotiators in the transpacific partnership free trade talks have wrapped up their latest round of talks. the officials are reportling some progress but they failed to narrow their differences over intellectual property rights. the meeting took place for 12 days through wednesday. they concluded talks on preventing standards for industrial products to become trade barriers. eight of 21 negotiation categories have been settled. some progress was made on correcting preferential treatment for state-owned businesses and rules for treating tariffs on individual sigh t

chances of large hailstorms out here across bigger picture, though, the iberian peninsula, france, germany, these are areas where you're likely to see clear skies, maybe cloudy skies in berlin. enjoy that sun while you can. i'll leave you now for an extended forecast. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do join us again at the top of the hour. we'll be back with more updates. xnóx michaela: hello and welcome to "global 3000." education means a chance to escape poverty, to build a better future for yourself and your children. that's backed up by many statistics, and that's also what our correspondents around the globe keep reporting back to us. but in the united states, of all places, more and more young people find themselves trapped by the costs of launching a career. we find out why, and here's what else we have coming up for you over the next half-hour. debt traps -- how student loans are plaguing the lives of young americans. magic mountains -- how the andes provide drinking

chances of large hailstorms out here across bigger picture, though, the iberian peninsula, france, germany, these are areas where you're likely to see clear skies, maybe cloudy skies in berlin. enjoy that sun while you can. i'll leave you now for an extended forecast. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do join us again at the top of the hour. we'll be back with more updates. if you're thinking about adding a new deck, or replacing an old one, you might want to consider this - you could have a deck that's longer- lasting, bug- resistant, and earth- friendly by choosing a recycled plastic lumber product. plastic lumber doesn't need sealing, staining painting, or waterproofin g. it looks great and some companies offer a 50- year warranty on their products! these materials look and feel like real wood to us but bugs aren't the least bit interested in chewing them. and even if you live in a damp climate, plastic lumber won't rot! although plastic lumber generally costs more your deck will still be standing while ordinary wooden decks will be long

and south korea are among the 21 members of the world heritage committee and officials will meet in germany next month to screen recommendations. >>> japan and south korea mark the 50th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic ties, but lately, those ties have come under strain. relations between the countries date back over a thousand years. in the 17th century, korean kings sent representatives to japan, a practice that continued for 2 1/2 centuries. now a group of japanese and south koreans retraced the step of the diplomatic missions in effort to revive a feeling of peace and prosperity. on friday, the walkers arrived in tokyo at the end of the journey. nhk world's reporter has more. >> reporter: people from japan and south korea kick off their walk with a celebration in seoul. the journey has been held every two years since 2007. participants walk most of the day. they average about 30 kilometers a day. the majority of them are japanese. it's difficult for participants to get to know each other. it makes for quite a journey. >> translator: we decided to promote friendship between s

and south korea are among the 21 members of the world heritage committee and officials will meet in germany next month to screen recommendations. >>> japan and south korea mark the 50th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic ties, but lately, those ties have come under strain.s between the countries date back over a thousand years. in the 17th century, korean kings sent representatives to japan, a practice that continued for 2 1/2 centuries. now a group of japanese and south koreans retraced the step of the diplomatic missions in effort to revive a feeling of peace and prosperity. on friday, the walkers arrived in tokyo at the end of the journey. nhk world's reporter has more. >> reporter: people from japan and south korea kick off their walk with a celebration in seoul. the journey has been held every two years since 2007. participants walk most of the day. they average about 30 kilometers a day. the majority of them are japanese. it's difficult for participants to get to know each other. it makes for quite a journey. >> translator: we decided to promote friendship between south kore

good news is the low toward the north is moving east so some clearing conditions there in poland and germany. i will leave you now with your extended outlook. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. -on this edition of "native report," we attend a summer youth program at the university of wisconsin-eau claire, we visit leech lake tribal college and learn about the development of the campus, and we revisit the "cobell" litigation. - --by having all these lands held in trust for individual indians. -we also learn something new about indian country here from our elders on this "native report." narrator: production of "native report" is made possible by grants from shakopee mdewakton sioux community and the blandin foundation.

climate change is expected to be at the top of the agenda at the g-7 summit scheduled for next month in germany. >>> drones are making headlines across the world for causing security scarce at public buildings and famous landmarks. as authorities develop new laws to govern their use, an international drone exhibition is opening up for the first time here in japan. >> reporter: people have gathered to study drones and learn about their newest capabilities. 50 japanese and overseas manufacturers are demonstrating their products. some drones are attracting attention for their weight. this french made device is just 420 grams and has a high resolution camera. this major japanese security company plans to use the drone to enhance security services. small unmanned aircraft will monitor suspicious activity in offices or factories. drones can be programmed to chase intruders and send pictures to security officers. this japanese company developed a drone that detects cracks and defects in infrastructures such as bridges and roads. >> translator: as our society is ageing we'll increasingly depend on robo

investor confidence data showed a sharp fall for may in germany which caused a sell-off in the euro and bond yields falling as well. investors rushing into the safety of bond. domestically we've been covering earnings for the past two weeks here. a lot of focus on a lot of companies which have shown a spike in higher dividend payments, share buy backs and pretty positive growth forecasts as well. however, one source of negativity according to analysts, has also been some of the recall issues for takata. i know that you're going to go into a lot more detail on that but i will of course cover share price action for takata and, of course related auto sector stocks as well. ai? >> sounds good ramin. i did want to ask you about currency. you mentioned data in the u.s. gave a leg up to the dollar. where are the key levels now. >> housing starts wa a bit of a boost for the greenback. dollar/yen 120.68 to 73. also the euro on the flipside of course, weakened falling at one point 1.5% against the dollar after that decline in german investor confidence data. now the sell-off in the common currenc

just a few days ago a f 3 tornado hit germany and injuries nine people and leaving over 100 homes damaged. the severe weather maker has slightly shift today the north and impacting the north of italy on the friday and going to the first part of saturday. there's a possibility of severe thunder stornls and wind and tornados. the mountains will be covered by heavy snow fall and temperatures are down to the 20 degree mark on your friday. here is the extended forecast around the globe. . >>> a man that help poplar rise and won the hearts of many woman along the way is finally setting down. the 42-year-old actress is mar rig later this year. they became romantically involved in february. pay's start of japan in 2003 when he starred in the winter drama. the role made him a household name in china and asia. in 2008 he was awarded the cultural merit for helping to spread the culture around the world. ' leader of the randy's failed coup is reportedly arrested. the -- of burundi's failed coup is reportedly arrested. the latest on the developing story. the united nations calls for action over the ba

people in many areas of germany are trying to recover after a powerful storm caused widespread damage. mai shoji has the latest. >> yes, catherine, we have been talking about the ongoing storm systems that are sweeping across central parts of germany and central parts of europe, especially in germany and we have some images coming out from here because there was a tornado that touched down through here. it was a large tornado that swept through germany on thursday leaving several people injured and many homes damaged. no casualties are reported. two of the injuries reported were due to late thing strikes and not directly associated with the tornado. after conditions cleared, many residents were seen accompanied by emergency personnel patching up the holes left in their homes. a separate tornado f 3 intensity hit germany injuring nine people and leaving over 100 homes damaged. now, the system will be lingering further toward the east and affecting much of italy and in toward these areas and the balkans, but looks like the system will still be providing many severe weather across german

however, a drop in germany's growth numbers may have dampened overall sentiment. we did see the d.a.x. index falling over falling over 1% as a result of that. >> a weaker dollar was behind the decline in european stocks. where does the pair stand now? >> the dollar is lower against the yen and the dollar -- and the euro i should say, beg your hard. it's 119.18 the dollar/yen right now. the investors are waiting for further signs when the federal reserve may decide to raise rates after lackluster data on wednesday. producer price index today and central output on friday in the u.s. will be the next guides. dollar was weaker against the euro so we'll keep track of that. in asia investors will be watching any measures to boost growth in china and australia as well as emerging economies. we have seen that plunge in commodity prices in the last three months. that has affected australia and they rely heavily on china for their sales. domestically investors will weigh up the business climate in japan after a report showed business sentiment improving for a fifth straight

another system is impacting poland and germany. we have gusts reaching over 100 kilometers per hour reported here and that's likely to continue to persist. poland germany, hungary, those are some areas where there is going to be some very wet and windy conditions. but out toward the iberian peninsula, reaching 40 degrees. i will leave you now with your extended forecast. >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobiyashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. >> 2015 is the un's international year of soils designed to raise awareness of the importance of the ground we walk on. and, as if that weren't reason enough to be focusing on all things earthy, then it just so happens to be global soil week as well, with experts of more than 70 countries meeting here in berlin. hello and a very warm welcome to global 3000, where we have the following stories coming up. parched earth -- concern over worldwide threats to soil quality sun, skis and snow -- meet the people skiing for a new afghanistan

that paves the way for a formal decision at the world heritage committee meeting in july in bonn, germany. japanese officials have decided to consult with their south korean counterparts before then. >>> the head of taiwan's ruling party has held talks with chinese president xi jinping. it was the first time that the nationalist party and the communist party have spoken. experts are trying to see what impact it could have on taiwan's presidential election next january and the future of the relationship. >> reporter: this was his first visit to mainland china since he was elected chairman of the nationalist party in january. he's a rising star within the party and many people are hoping he'll run for president. during the talks, chu called for greater unity. >> reporter: and china's president seemed to agree. chu also spoke to university students in shanghai and beijing. he said he wants to open channels of communication between young people. some critics in taiwan say that stronger relations with china would only benefit the wealthy. chu said he'd like to implement policies to expand econ

and reports from germany. i want to take you to a town to show you the tornado. a massive tornado ripped through northern germany on tuesday leaving devastation in it's wake. this is amateur video of it passing through the country side. dozens were injured. in hammburg, people were caused. cars were destroyed, trees uprooted. emergency services have begun the clean up preparations. the tornado make sere now affecting the balkin peninsula. another rotation can be found over the pacific. this is more gigantic. this is a typhoon that will likely intensify to a very strong typon and then may hit by the weekend. wind gusts could be 200 miles per hour. gusty conditions expected over the weekend over the northern half of the philippines. over 200 millimeters of rain could fall. heavy rain falling over the south of china because of a frontal system. an additional 100 millimeters of rain could fall. temperatures are still on the warm side 26 degrees for the high in tokyo. >>> for future stories and on there in decades. polls say the ruling conservatives and their labor ri

and germany ten-year government bond yield hit this year's high around 0.6%. so the yield gap is shrinking to its narrowest since late march. and also want to touch on earnings in japan. a lot of companies will be reporting earnings and one of the big names, nintendo. we'll keep track of how a lot of shares trade and a lot of the asian indexes later in the morning. that's all for me. back to you. >> ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. >>> the greek prime minister and european union president have been tackling a stumbling block. they have been talk on the phone on pension reforms. both sides want to show that talks for a bailout plan are making progress. the meeting took place ahead of the meeting on a greek bailout. talks have been stalled. that's blocking greece from getting a 7.2 billion euro bailout. fear is growing that the country may default on its debts. on wednesday the european union, the european central bank and the international monetary fund announced their joint statement. they stressed they are working together so that the meeting of

northern germany was devastated by what is thought to be a tornado on tuesday. one person in hamburg was killed by fallen debris and dozens of cars are destroyed and houses and hundreds of trees were uprooted by the stormy conditions. this will likely move towards the east as we go into the next couple of days. that's it for now. here's your extended forecast. >>> that's all we have this hour on "newsline". i'm ross mihara in tokyo. thank you for watching and have a good day. cccccccccccccccccccccccccccc the u.k. general election and the conservatives and labor arnett and neck. hours left for the israeli prime minister to put together a coalition government or face being forced out by a former ally. controversial words from a southern french mayor. he let slip his office -- sump and forbidden by french law -- something forbidden by french law. plenty more on the british elections, including hit by the global oil price

and the tornado threat i think that's tapering off in germany as we go ahead through your wednesday, but it's still moving off towards the east. there is that threat into wednesday into thursday for those of you across parts of poland. tornadoes not just a central u.s. matter out here. it does occur quite often here into europe especially once we get into the transition season. you get the cooler temperatures over towards the west. look at all that warm air in the southeast. athens up to 30 for your high. do want to wrap things up here in the u.s. i mentioned tornadoes not only a u.s. thing. they are still occurring out here. into new mexico we had a report on your tuesday. the threat is still there wednesday and even thursday as this is continuing to linger. it will bring the threat of damaging winds, hail and maybe even tornadoes. also still have some thunderstorm potential into the mid-atlantic states. main reason temperature contrast. d.c. at 27 new york at 19. i'll leave you with your extended outlook. >>> we have one more story to share with you before we go. people in japan ce

for a formal decision at the meeting of the world heritage committee scheduled to start late june in germany. however, south korea, one of the 21 countries on the committee, opposes the nomination because korean people were forced to work at some of the facilities during world war ii. japan plans to explain the historic significance of these facilities to concerned countries as part of efforts to get them designated as world heritage sites. >>> more japanese consumers are willing to pay a premium for custom-made products. companies see that as a promising business opportunity. sony has started studying earphones designed for individual users. store clerks made models of customers' ears. officials say the earphones have less sound leakage. they claim users don't feel tired when they listen to music for hours on end. >> translator: the custom-made earphones are special. i want to save up to buy a pair. >> translator: if more people are willing to spend money on custom-made items, they're likely to become widely available. tailor-made products have a business potential. >> staffers at home appl

more in the east in germany. ahead of the low the temperatures are warming up. look at rome. 31 for your high on tuesday. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. ó announcer: "euromaxx highlights." and here's your host, anne o'donnell. anne: hello and a very warm welcome to "euromaxx highlights," where we put together the best bits of the week for you. let's have a look at what's coming up. dynamic designs -- danish architect bjarke ingels is in big demand all over. traveling man -- gunther holtorf spent 26 years driving around the world. and living sculptures -- artist willi dorner presents performance art of a different kind. "think big" is his motto, so it's no wonder architect bjarke ingels has won numerous accolades and awards for his work. the dane is one contemporary architect with a plan to make sustainability practical and easy to do.

more in the east in germany. ahead of the low the temperatures are warming up. look at rome. 31 for your high on tuesday. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. ' 'l. anne: hello and a very warm welcome to "euromaxx highlights," where we put together the best bits of the week for you. let's have a look at what's coming up. dynamic designs -- danish architect bjarke ingels is in big demand all over. traveling man -- gunther holtorf spent 26 years driving around the world. and living sculptures -- artist willi dorner presents performance art of a different kind. "think big" is his motto, so it's no wonder architect bjarke ingels has won numerous accolades and awards for his work. the dane is one contemporary architect with a plan to make sustainability practical and easy to do.