Government leaders admit theyve lost control of eastern regions. Japanese consumers have cut down their spending since a consumption tax hike. Analysts are examining its impact on the nations economy. Chinese president xi jinping is calling for decisive actions against those behind an attack in a part of his country with a history of unrest. Armed assailants killed three people and wounded 79 others at a Railway Station in the western xinjiang uighur atono mouse region. Nhk World Reports from beijing. Security forces fanned out at a Railway Station in urumqi. The regional capital. They are investigating whats being called a terror attack. The staterun Xinhua News Agency says knife yielding mobs started slashing people at an exit. Then they set off explosives. Police havent announced any arrests. President xi jinping has just spent four days in the region where ethnic uighurs make up the majority. He stressed the need for tougher policing to deal with growing separatist unrest. He responded to the attack by saying, the battle to combat violence and terrorism will not allow even a moment of slackness, and decisive actions must be taken to resolutely suppress the terrorists rampant momentum. That momentum has been building for years. In 2009, a riot by uighurs against chinese authorities boiled over into a series of riots. About 200 people died. Uighurs and Police Fought again a year ago. 21 people, most of them police officers, were killed. Then two months later, an armed root attacked police stations and government facilities in tarpan area. 35 people died. Uighurs have grown increasingly frustrated by political and economic disparities with majority han chinese. And they resent the control authorities exert over their culture and religion, islam. They went to the region to make the case for unity. He said its vital to ethnic harmony. He noted in his statement after the attack that the separatism battle will be long term, complicated and acute. Nhk world, beijing. A u. S. Navy official says china will send four naval vessels to take part in a multinational drill next month off hawaii. The u. S. Exercise is one of the largest of its kind and takes place every two years. This will be the first time china participates. Personnel from more than 20 countries will take part in the rim of the pacific exercise. The u. S. Navy official says china is expected to send a hospital ship, two destroyers and a supply ship. The hospital ship will likely be part of a drill simulating relief work in the wake of a major disaster. The three other vessels are expected to join exercises to find piracy and drug smuggling. Chinas military has been increasing its maritime activities. Observers say u. S. Naval commanders invited their chinese counterparts to deepen their understanding of International Naval practices. Officials at the International Monetary fund are trying to bring some stability to ukraine. Theyve approved a multibillion dollar bailout to help the interim government deal with mounting debt as it tries to keep the country united. Prorussian separatists have a lock on eastern cities. The acting president says authorities are unable to restore order. Nhk worlds craig dale has more. Reporter the armed men in masks appear to be in full control of a good chunk of eastern ukraine. Prorussian separatists are occupying public buildings around the region. Members of the interim government in kiev now admit they cant do anything about it. Translator police and Security Forces in the regions of donetsk and luhansk are losing control and are unable to protect citizens there. Reporter the acting president says some law enforcers are cooperating with the separatists. He again blamed russian leaders for fueling the unrest. The uprising started nearly a month ago, shortly after president Vladimir Putin annexed the ukrainian republic of crimea. Prorussian groups want to hold a referendum on their future just as the crimeans did. Some want independence. Some are pushing to join russia. The crisis has brought leaders of different nations together to try to figure out a diplomatic solution. Japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe met in berlin with german chancellor angela merkel. Translator we reached an agreement to urge russia to play a responsible role in the international community. Reporter the u. S. And European Union have been trying to pressure putin by broadening sanctions against senior russian officials and companies. The european borders cannot, will not be changed through political intimidation or military force. And we have to be resolute in imposing cost. Reporter russian leaders have denied theyre behind the turmoil. And theyve criticized the sanctions. They say they wont retaliate, yet. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov says they want to give others the opportunity to calm down. But things seem far from calm on the ground in eastern ukraine. As the separatists expand their reach. Government troops stay well away, manning checkpoints on the outskirts of the occupied region. To make matters worse, ukraine is deeply in debt. The International Monetary fund has thrown it a 17 billion lifeline. We are trying to improve the situation so that the stability is restored. Reporter but it will take more than money to entirely restore stability. Ukrainian leaders say Russian Forces on the border are ready to invade. President putin has said only peaceful means could resolve this conflict, but sanctions, dialogue and International Agreements have so far failed. Craig dale, nhk world. I spoke earlier with a representative of the United NationsChildrens Fund in ukraine. Yukia moku has been based in kiev since 2009. Ms. Moku, thank you very much for coming in. Thank you. The unicef has raised concern about increasing number of displaced people from crimea. Right. Tell us whats happening there. Well, we estimate about 5,000 people displaced from crimea to mainland ukraine. 4,000 of them, 80 , are crimean tartars. They have different religion. They are muslims. They also have a tragic history during the soviet time. They returned to crimea only in 90s. Now in this unstable environment they feel discrimination again. But many stay to protect their property. Thats why women, children left. Displaced people are women and children. Whats the situation for those people who have been displaced . How are their lives now . Their life is very difficult. They went west. Its about 900 kilometer far from crimea. Because they feared to remain near crimea or russian speaking region. But they have there are in temporary shelters. Situations are difficult. Children are not going to school. And they fear everyday life. So we support them by providing food, shelter, also hygiene kits. We provide Recreational Activities for children who dont go to school. But the most difficult thing is that they dont know what will happen to their future. But if they decide to stay where they are now, they also face that the integration process in the community which is very different from crimea. The situation must be very difficult for children there. You mentioned children who have been displaced. How about the situation for the children in the rest of the country . How is this turmoil affecting them . Well, you know that eastern part of ukraine continues to be very difficult. We hear the report that some are closed in some cities for extended period of time. But generally speaking, people in ukraine are fearful in this uncertain environment. So they really dont know what happens next. In addition to that, the Economic Situation is so difficult, we know the state budget is largely cut, nearly 30 . It affects social Sector Services such as education, health and social welfare. Which hits most people. Children are one of them. But also the ongoing situation which is happening already psychological impacts on children is what we fear. What needs to be done . What can we do in order to help their situation . Well, first thing i would appeal is that behind the political insecurity crisis, there are life of people. Children, people. Were working with the government of ukraine but also with similar societies to really make sure all the social welfare systems does not get cut. But its very, very difficult in the kind of situation in ukraine. Including the control of Infectious Diseases such as polio. The immuniization coverage in ukraine is very low. The government of ukraine has to make sure that all the social Sector Services are in place. But to do that, we need to have the support from international community. So its not only politics and the economy, but really life of people. Especially children. Lets now turn to the latest business stories with ron madison. Well, analysts at the imf are concerned about russias economy and the effects of u. S. And european sanctions. So they downgraded their forecast for growth. Analysts have predicted growth of 1. 3 . But the head of the imf mission in moscow says the sanctions will slow the pace to 0. 2 . Difficult situation. Especially the uncertainty surrounding the geopolitical situation. And followup on sanction and escalation on sanctions. Weighing very negatively on the investment climate. Investors have pulled their money out of russia, too. More than 60 billion worth, in fact. Analysts at the imf expect that by the end of the year the outflow will add up to about 100 billion. Chinese Officials Say a key Manufacturing Index approved in april for the second month in a row. Authorities a t the National Bureau of statistics announced the purchasing Managers Index for april stood at 50. 4, up 0. 1 point from march and above that break even line of 50. Analysts say the second straight monthly increase suggests that the economy is improving at a moderate pace. The index had declined from december to february. Government officials responded to the decline with measures to support the economy, including an expansion of public works projects. Analysts say those measures had a positive impact on manufacturing, but not enough to sustain continued growth in the sector. All right. Very limited day of trading here in asia. Lets take a look at some of the markets that are open on this may day. Just two stock markets today. As you can see there, they have moved in opposite directions. Analysts say both tokyo and sydney shrugged off chinas manufacturing data. Investigators in tokyo focused on corporate earnings in the middle of the reporting season. In fact, the nikkei average has seen gains of 1. 25 finished at 14,485. Investors bought stocks on strong earnings from several companies. The biggest gainer was Musical Instrument maker yamaha. It reported a better than expected profit for the year that just ended. In sydney, the s p asx 200 index seeing a decline of. 75 . 5,448. Stocks have been under a bit of selling pressure after hitting a sixyear high on april 29th. The biggest losers were banks and mining companies. Iron ore prices in china, which is australias biggest trading partner, remain at twoyear lows. Managers at firms across japan fear consumers may be keeping a tight grip on their wallets. The consumption tax went up a month ago from 5 to 8 . That cut into peoples disposable income. Some managers are adopting new tactics to keep them spending. More from nhk world. Reporter millions of japanese people are enjoying the stream of holidays in spring called the golden week. Travelers typically head for distance destinations like europe and north america. But this year, things are different. Many people are choosing overnight and domestic tours in nearby asian destinations. Translator were off to vietnam. Well have a good time there. Reporter salespeople at one of japans largest travel agencies say many people are tightening their pursestrings. They say the number of travelers for the week is expected to be down about 4 from a year ago. So theyre already promoting packages for the summer. They say more customers are signing up for trips in july and august. Translator people became budgetwise after the tax hike and chose to go on shorter trips in spring. Many are instead looking forward to their summer vacation. Wed like to cash in on that demand. Reporter the higher consumption tax is also affecting the Home Appliance industry. Customers rushed to buy Electronic Devices just before the hike kicked in. But sales have tumbled since april 1st. A private Research Firm says purchases of cell phones and digital video cameras plunged over 30 during the first week of the tax hike. Managers in this store are desperate to reverse the trend. Theyve offered customers a bigger tradein deal for their old tvs. They are also promoting tvs with sharper images. They hope to lure consumers with a full lineup of brandnew models before the start of experimental 4k broadcasting next month. Tactics like this have kept the drop from post tax hike sales about 10 . Translator a tax hike doesnt mean that consumers will never by new tvs. Weve seen that demand still exists for new high quality models. Well continue working hard to tap that demand. Reporter many economists predict real growth domestic product will shrink by about 4 in annualized terms in the april to june period. One says the impact of the tax hike has been manageable so far. But he says lead finance leaderd to watch closely to see what happens after summer bonuses go out in june. Translator the additional burden on an average household will reach about 800 per year. The pain may not be felt immediately. But could start hurting slowly, like a body blow. Reporter concerns linger over the impact of the tax hike. Analysts are keeping a watchful eye on personal consumption. A Key Driving Force of the economy. Daisuke azuma, nhk world. All right. Sales of new cars in japan declined in april for the first time in eight months. This comes after the sales tax hike. Officials of Auto Industry groups say more than 345,000 new vehicles were sold last month. The figure fell nearly 5. 5 from a year earlier. The number of new cars sold excluding mini vehicles was nearly 190,000 units. Thats down 11. 4 . Sales of mini vehicles totalled more than 155,000, up nearly 3 . Thats because automakers introduced many new models. Among the major makers, nissan and suzuki posted sales increases. But toyota, mazda and fuji heavy industries, which is known for its subaru brand models, all saw double digit declines in their sales. Industry officials forecast that the decline in overall sales will continue for some time due to the impact of the consumption tax hike. Executives at japanese beverage maker suntory are toasting their acquisition of u. S. Group beam. Theyve completed a multibillion dollar buyout. Executives with Suntory Holdings paid 16 billion to create the worlds Third Largest manufacturer of spirits. They bought the firm behind jim beam bourbon as well as a range of other brands. They project that annual sales will reach around 6 billion. The people at beam suntory hope to take advantage of their bigger portfolio and a broader distribution network. They hope to use that platform to strengthen domestic whiskey brands and expand their global reach. Officials at major japanese Trading HouseSumitomo Corporation have announce add Renewable Energy project in the United States. They say theyre building a wind power plant in the state of texas. The facility will cost about 350 million. Its scheduled to go online in the middle of 2015. Itll include more than 100 Wind Turbines spread out over 10,000 hectares of land. The power plant will supply electricity to u. S. Businesses. Sumitomo Business Plan to deal with major u. S. Snack maker mars incorporated. Total output would be enough to supply electricity to 60,000 households. This announcement comes at u. S. State government leaders are urging private Sector Companies to use Renewable Energy. Major firms like google and facebook have been making investments in the wind power industry. All right. That is going to do it for biz this hour. After a few days of Severe Weather in the Southern United States, it looks like calmer conditions are settling in. Our meteorologist jonathan oh joins us now. Jonathan, can we say the worst is finally over for people there . Shery, i think so. We have been dealing in the Southern United States with a lot of tornadoes and strong, damaging winds. And also hail along with very heavy rainfall. It looks like now this particular system is trying to exit the area. It is still a slow moving system. But it looks like the cold front is sitting right along the edge of the United States toward the eastern seaboard. Hopefully it will finally clear the area as we head toward the weekend. I do want to show you some video that came out of the deep south from wednesday. This one is coming out of both pensacola and also into portions of alabama. And this is a lot of rainfall. 610 millimeters of rain fell in pensacola, florida, on wednesday. That flooded streets. That also stranded drivers. And, unfortunately, one person was reportedly killed by drowning in those floodwaters. These rains also hit parts of alabama. According to the National Weather service, it is the worst flooding to hit alabama since