Country teeters on the brink of civil war. Japanese and north korean officials will meet again next tuesday face to face. Theyll discuss the makeup of a committee that will investigate the fate of japanese abductees. Leaders in tokyo say north korean agents kidnapped at least 17 japanese nationals in the 1970s and 80s. They believe hundreds more may have been taken. Their north Korean Counterparts promised last month to set up a committee to conduct a full investigation. Junichi ihara will head the japanese delegation. Hes negotiation with tomito in beijing. Japanese leaders want to know in advance. Theyll consider lifting some sanctions if theyre convinced authorities will conduct an effective investigation. North korean officials reneged on a similar agreement several years ago. The members of japans Ruling Coalition have been trying to find Common Ground on one of Prime Minister shinzo abes key policies. He wants japan to be able to exercise force to defend countries it has close ties with. Now, leaders of the liberal Democratic Party and new komeito say theyre closer than ever to reaching a consensus. Members of the Coalition Parties held their ninth round of talks on whether to revise the National Security poll sis. Government leaders in the past have interpreted the constitution to mean japan cant exercise the right to collective selfdefense. New komeito members have been cautious about supporting abes plan. The ldp agreed to amend the wording of conditions that would allow japan to use force to make the limits clearer. New komeito members say they approve of the changes. The proposal now says japan can use force if a foreign country with close ties comes under attack, if japans existence is threatened and if theres a clear danger to peoples rights. The term clear was added to danger. The draft says japan would only use force for selfdefense. It says that could be interpreted under International Law to include collective selfdefense. Translator officials in the Ruling Coalition have been discussing the wording of the draft. If they Reach Agreement that a reinterpretation of the constitution is necessary, we will put it before my cabinet for approval. Some new komeito members say the Party Leaders havent discussed the issue enough. They say they need to do more to gain the publics support. Members of the government and the liberal democrats hope to win cabinet approval of the changes as early as next tuesday. U. S. Military advisers are on the ground in baghdad. Theyve been deployed to evaluate the state of the Iraqi Military and to find ways to end the fighting. Their presence in the region comes as sunni militants wage a violent march towards the countrys capital. Nhr worlds korendo tago reports. Reporter sunni extremists with the Islamic State of iraq and the levant are expanding control near Northern Areas near the border with syria. Military forces with shia muslim government are trying to stop the isil advance with air strikes. United nations Officials Say at least 1,000 people have died in the fighting over the past two weeks. A majority were civilians. U. S. Secretary of state john kerry traveled to the region to show his country hes committed to keeping iraq from falling apart. He met with Prime MinisterNuri Al Maliki and gave details of the u. S. Plan to send up to 300 military advisers. Some of those advisers have already arrived to help the iraqi force. Kerry also visited the kurdish autonomous region in northern iraq. He met with the leader of the regional government, masoud barzani, on tuesday. In recent days, the Security Cooperation between the forces here in the kurdish area have been really critical to helping to draw a line with respect to isil. And also to provide some support to the Iraq Security forces. Reporter state department spokespersons say kerry told barzani that iraq needs to stay united. And they say he urged the minority kurds to cooperate in forming a National Unity government. Kerry expressed his concerns in an interview with abc news. Its in civil strife. I dont think its in civil war. It could get there, clearly. Reporter kerry says keeping it from getting there depends on whether maliki can form a National Unity government. He says the Prime Minister promised him to convene parliament in a week. [ chanting ] reporter but maliki has so far ignored calls to make his shiadominated administration more inclusive. And the conflict is only helping to deepen sectarian tensions. Iraqs top shia cleric, atally al sistani has called for people to join the battle against extremists. For now, talk is taking a backseat to violence. Kurando tago, nhk world. Young survivors from the south korean ferry sinking are back at school. Its been about two months since the accident. The sewol was carrying 325 secondyear students on an excursion from a high school in ansan near seoul. The vessel sank off the countrys Southern Coast on april 16th. 75 people were rescued. The students have been receiving counseling for trauma following the accident. Some parents of those who died were present on wednesday to offer encouragement. Choking back tears, a student representative read a message calling on people never to forget the victims. Translator im grateful to see the students return to school looking fine. Even though my son is not there anymore. School Officials Say they will continue counseling to help ease the students pain. Workers at the Fukushima DaiichiNuclear Plant have run into another problem. Theyre trying to plug radioactive leaks. But a deep layer of groundwater could be making it easier for toxic materials to reach the ocean. The layer runs about 25 meters below the surface. Earlier this month workers tested the water in a well near the number one reactor building. Tests showed it contained 4,700 becquerels of tritum per liter. Officials at Tokyo Electric PowerCompany Discovered the water pressure at this depth was lower than a layer above it. They say this makes it easier for con tamed water to spread in the deep layer. They suspect radioactive water could be spilling into the ocean. Tepco Officials Say the cause of the problem could be the ongoing construction of a seaside barrier. The work involves drilling into the deep layer, and this could be to blame for the lower pressure. Now, Officials Say they will speed up construction work on the barrier due to be completed in the fall. Militants have reportedly taken more than 60 women and girls in northeastern nigeria. Officials suspect its the work of islamist Extremist Group boko haram. The abductions took place in a part of the country worst affected by the groups increasing attacks. Local media say the militants raided a village outside maridugruri, capital of borno state. In april members of boko haram took more than 200 schoolgirls. The United States and other countries sent experts to nigeria to help with rescue efforts, but so far theyve failed to find any of the girls. The militant group has staged a number of attacks across the country. Theyre accused of setting off a bomb at a world cup soccer viewing site in yoga state. More than 20 people died. Boko haram members want to create a nation under their interpretation of islam. Japans largest automaker is hoping to take the lead in selling green vehicles. Ron madison has more from the business desk. Thanks, shery. Executives at Toyota Motors see a promising market for fuel cell cars. They decided to start selling the ecofriendly vehicles in japan by next march. Fuel cell vehicles run on electricity produced by the Chemical Reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. That means they dont emit any carbon die ox side. Executives plan to launch a fuel cell car that runs for about 700 kilometers on a single charge of hydrogen. They say theyll sell the model for about 70,000, mainly in metropolitan areas. They are also considering sales in the u. S. And european markets in mid2015. Translator selling fuel cell cars to the max market marks the start of our challenge to promote them. Other japanese rivals are also getting ready to enter the market. Honda plans to launch its fuel cell car next year. Nissan will start selling its model three years from now. Lets get a check of the markets now. Asian equities are lower. Tracking a pretty weak performance on wall street. Heres how major boards finished out the day. Investors booked profits from recent strengths in the market. Also they were cautious about ongoing violence in iraq amid higher oil prices. The nikkei average declining. 7 today. It finished at 15,266. Falling to a oneweek low. Analysts say the japanese governments growth plan failed to support overall sentiment. In sydney, the main index there down more than. 5 . 5,402 for the lowest close in a week. Mining shares took a beating after australia revised down its price forecast for both coal and iron ore. Manilas key index seeing gains up. 6 finishing at 6,834. Thats a fourth straight day of gains. Solid Consumer Spending in the philippines continue to attract buying on domestic demand related shares including retailers and real estate developers. Market players are increasingly concerned about the situation in iraq. Thats driving up the price of oil futures. The higher cost of crude oil means that motorists in japan are paying more now at the pump. The latest data from the Oil Information center show that as of monday the average retail price of gas was 167. 4 yen. That works out to about 1. 64 a liter. 4 yen higher from the previous week. Its now the ninth straight weekly rise. Analysts expect Oil Wholesalers to keep raising their prices. Sharp is back in the black. But executives at the Electronics Maker have apologized to shareholders for not paying dividends this Business Year. About 950 people attended sharps shareholders meeting. Strong sales of lcd panels helped the firm to record a positive result for the Business Year ending march. It was the first annual profit in three years. But president Kozo Takahashi says sharp has not improved its Fiscal Health enough to pay dividends. He says the firm will work to resume the payments by improving earnings from products like smartphones that use liquid crystals. Takahashi says sharp will also try to boost sales in the growing markets of southeast asia. Singapores Prime Minister wants the u. S. To help speed up talks aimed at reaching a regional free trade deal. Lee hsien loong says a compromise between the u. S. And japan on farm tariffs is key to success of the Transpacific Partnership agreement. And i think theres a good chance of this happening this year. Lee says reaching a deal mainly depends on whether members of the u. S. Congress approve it. They do remain decided, though. Lee wants the Obama Administration to work hard to win their support. Now, the chief negotiators from the 12 tpp participating countries are planning to meet july 3rd in ottawa, canada. Many Japanese Companies in search of cheaper labor have shifted production to other asian nations. But rising wages and political unrest are raising concerns now. Officials in okinawa are stepping in to provide an alternative. Theyre inviting firms to do business in the Southern Japanese islands chain and theyre offering some pretty hefty incentives. Nhk worlds keiko aso reports. Reporter this machine part manufacturer opened a factory in okinawa last year. The company chose this prefecture because of the generous government benefits. The factory is 120 hectare special economic zone. Factory Construction Costs here are subsidized. That means lower s eer startup expensions. The prefecture has expanded its tax benefits in april to sharpen the companys competitive edge. New enterprises in okinawa receive a partial exemptions from japans high corporate tax. Translator we plan to register this place as a bonded ar area. Reporter businesses can also benefit from bonded area status. They can process and product without paying customs duties. This Company Plans to assemble parts imported from elsewhere many asia into finished products. It can diversify risk by dealing with suppliers in more than one country. Translator competition is fierce. So weve pared our prices to the bone. Saving on duties allows us to cut prices by another 10 . Reporter 38 companies now operate in the area. But about half of the land is not occupied yet. Prefecture officials are emphasizing the short flight time between okinawa and the major asian business centers. They want to attract more industries with lots of employees to achieve sustainable growth. Officials in okinawa prefecture are using their advantages to try to appear to not only manufactures, but also the i. T. Industries. This Company Develops technology to transfer data using signals. It moved its head office from tokyo to okinawa two years ago. It was attracted by a prefectural subsidy for r d and Research Support from a local university. The company took part in a Promotion Event in taiwan last year. The trip was also subsidized by the okinawa government. The event led to a deal with a taiw taiwanese company. This summer the two businesses will launch a Payment System that uses audio technology. Translator in the future we want to make a deal with a company in hong kong. Then well target greater china, singapore, thailand, and of course vietnam. Reporter but keeping up with growth in i. T. Is a challenge. The prefecture is now building a large capacity data center. An underwater cable will connect the center to hong kong. Translator when businesses expand into asian markets, where should they be based . Singapore will remain an option, but okinawa could also become an important base for a japanese company. Reporter okinawas government is also offering its array of economic benefits to foreign companies. Officials are trying to persuade them to view this island as their land of opportunity. Keiko aso, nhk world, okinawa. That is going to wrap it up for business hour. Lets check in on the markets. Dried sweet potato is a popular japanese snack. But for one ambitious producer of the treat, the home market isnt big enough anymore. So hes growing his business on the other side of the world. Reporter the sun is shining and the crops are ready for harvest. But one mans thoughts are a long way from home. Katsuhima teranuma runs a company that grows, processes and markets sweet potatoes. For some time now, hes been itching to expand his business. His ambition has its roots in the fukushima Nuclear Plant disaster of 2011. No radioacttivity was detected in his produce, but consumers were worried, and sales plummeted by twothirds. The business recovered, but teranuma learned the best insurance could be to have different markets and production sites. Translator i have a growing desire to look for new possibilities. Go out into the world and explore the unknown. Reporter scanning the horizon, teranuma set his sights on east africa. Tanzania seemed like a promising place to start. Its a world leading producer of sweet potato. The man in charge of production at teranumas company is momoro terakato. Last september he arrived on a Fact Finding Mission arranged by an aide organization, jaika. Translator these are quite good fields. Reporter terakatas first discovery, the local potatoes are grown without pesticides or fertilizers. His next step was to see if he could process them. This involves steaming and drying. In tanzania, potatoes are normally boiled. Translator whats the sugar content . Translator 11 . Reporter the sugar content is lower than in japanese potatoes. Terakato soon noticed other differences. Translator the temperature is 30 degrees. And humidity is 26 . We dont get dry heat like this in japan. Reporter the next day . Translator i think another half day of drying should be all right. Reporter the drying process takes seven days in japan. But it took less time here because of the dry climate and strong sunshine. Translator its just like our sweet potato. Reporter some potatoes yield a better flavor than others. Translator these are very sweet. Reporter terakato is finally convinced. Tanzania offers lots of potential for transplanting the business. Back in japan, teranuma is convinced, too. Hes decided to set up a production plant in tanzania. Hes already arranged the funding. Three companies are investing 30,000 in the venture. The goal is to produce dried potato for conning sumpgs in tanzania and export to other countries. Teranuma is not alone in his excitement. These officials from the Tanzania Embassy and a Trading Company are equally impressed. The Production Method is simple, and its a great way to preserve sweet potatoes. They see Great Potential for it in their country. Its kind of late to go to africa and weve been struggling all along. If were assured its going to be successful in tanzania, it probably other private companies to go to tanzania. Translator were trying to create an environment in which we can learn together, Work Together and make a profit together. Reporter success will also mean more jobs for tanzanians. Determined to spread his wings, teranuma hopes to start production this year. We have more wet weather in japan today. Our meteorologist jonathan oh joins us now. Jonathan, we have on and off showers here in tokyo. How much rain is the country seeing today . Zbr hello, shery. We had some very high rain reports in a good portion of the kanto region because of the afternoon thunderstorms popping up over the area. You can see here in the satellite perspective where the clouds really just popped up in the most recent frames. Let me show you some video. Ill tell you how much rain we saw. In saita prefecture, we saw rain totals around 110 millimeters during an hourlong period. You can see here the rain in tokyo where people had to really hang on to their umbrellas because rainfall was quite heavy, and it looks like that were going to be seeing a lot more rain as we go throughout the next couple of days. On top of the heavy rainfall, we also saw 8,400 houses in the kanto region that lost power because of the intense storms that moved through the area. And the reason why were seeing the storms is because High Pressure is driving in cold air into the higher areas of the atmosphere. When the warm air down on the ground level starts to rise up thats when we see the storms really develop. And it looks like that were going to see this activity continue because the High Pressure system is only slowly moving toward the east. And so that instability remains. By the way, tokyo is not the only place seeing the rain. If you look farther down toward the south into kyushu and kagoshima down to okinawa, a lot of rain falling there because of the frontal boundary that is located across the Pacific Ocean into china. So it looks like that more rain is expected. This frontal system is slowly sliding toward the north. So beijing and shanghai also getting in on the action. But it looks like southern china, more rain, more flooding rains will continue as we go throughout the next few days. I want to draw your attention to a low pressure system down toward the philippines. This developed, and its something that well be watching out for. Regardless of whether it actually becomes tropical, it is going to bring a large amount of rain on top of the fact its already a monsoonal period. And so expecting rainfall totals as much as 100 millimeters as we go throughout the next 72 hours. Lets take a look at the americas where we are seeing some activity over the eastern half of the United States and into the southern portions of quebec. There is a history with this low pressure system over the ohio river valley producing tornadoes. There were four tornado reports out of indiana on tuesday. This system continues to bring rain and strong winds as it pushes toward the east. And we are now looking out for a low pressure system over the rockies. This is going to be the next significant weather maker when it comes to the possibility of some strong weather with strong winds and also some large hail. We may be even dealing with an isolated tornado. So make sure that you keep tuned to the local Weather Agency on that. 29 with thunderstorms in denver. 28 in oklahoma city. Again, the eastern half of the United States all seeing a chance for rain and thunderstorms for our wednesday. Were also talking about some very intense storms with large hail possible in the balkan peninsula. A low pressure system moving into bosnia, also serbia and into romania and bulgaria. Where some areas reported two to three centimeter diameter hail. So were looking out for large hail, strong wind gusts and possibly some tornadoes because warm air surging in from the mediterranean sea, cold air from the north, that clash is producing the very unstable weather. Lots of rain to talk about from germany all the way down into the balkan peninsula. So have the umbrella with you as you go out the door. Berlin at 17 with a chance for rain. 19 in warsaw. 25 with a chance of thunderstorms in rome. Hope you have a good day wherever you are. Heres your extended outlook. And thats all for this hour on newsline. Im shery ahn. Thank you for watching. no in the headlines this hour molecules out what washington a new reality rules out what washington had been looking for. Russian lawmakers rescind the resolution that allowed support the fragiles ceasefire in east the country teeters on the brink of collapse. And in india, people are voting in their third elections this year. 200 candidates are vying for 200 seat in the countrys new parliament