negotiations with tpp members began in january. japan has secured support for 4 out of the 9 countries involved. japan will send officials from ministries and agencies to washington for the u.s. negotiations, which start next tuesday. they'll start preparing for preliminary talks on the conditions for japan's participation in the tpp free trade negotiations. the u.s. government is likely to push for a further opening of japan's agricultural and automobile industries with precise requests. japan will decide whether to join the negotiations after assessing how the tpp will affect domestic markets. discussions will likely be a major focus on the final decision. >>> time for a recap of the latest market figures. >>> all right, that is the latest from business. back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. >>> major japanese milk producers announced screening tests for radiation will begin at 180 dairy factories in response from growing concerns from consumers. municipalities have been conducting checks before raw milk goes to dairies

>> that revolves around the trans-pacific partnership, tpp, and japan's prime minister noda is making that one of his central issues, but may come into a lot of opposition from the opposition party and also from other sectors, both domestically and in the u.s. ai? >> and the opposition liberal democratic party is likely to raise concerns as well as the farming lobby in japan. >> some opposition from those fronts, but japan's prime minister noda is trying to push that forward, especially since south korea set up its own bilateral deal separately last year with the u.s. as well as europe, and that has helped or is likely to help boost auto and electronics sectors, which japan competes heavily with with south korea. we'll check on that. the focus on toyota earnings today and guidance and outlook. back to you, ai. >> thanks for that. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. and let's also look at other markets that are open this hour. >> and that's the latest from business. >>> workers at fukushima daiichi are trying to cool the plant's number two reactor. they are injecting water i