wildfires are continuing to rage out of control in the amazon. brazil's president says his government lacks the resources to fight them. jair bolsonaro has accused other countries who give money to preserve the rainforest of doing hello there. so not for charity but to interfere with brazilian sovereignty. president macron of france as the festival comes last on the attempts of 30 degrees has insisted a key element to a dramatic close, of the brexit agreement, my time in hokkaido finishes the so—called irish backstop, in what feels like a world away is indispensable. from where it started. in the uk it was a heat wave back at at talks in paris with the british i have found a place that has the end of last month. no heat at this time round but over the weekend prime minister boris johnson, in a short time adopted so much mr macron said it was as it hots up we may well find and essential to preserve of japanese culture, political stability in ireland, but within that has found its own purchase of 30 or 3! in the way of expressing itself. south—east of england. further and the integrity north, iran is edge of high of the single market. pressure, we have athletic reasons, an attempt to repatriate some of the hundreds of thousands we have a weather front in the north of rohingya refugees of scotla nd we have a weather front in the north of scotland using some rain. but who fled myanmar, appears to have failed. those at the rhesus, that's only see not a single person boarded the crowd around early in the the vehicles laid on to take them who knows what the next 150 morning for topics low enough to from their camps in years might bring to this bangladesh, back to myanmar. bring stan drizzle around some of unique japanese island. more than 3,000 had those western hills. thatcher turned been offered a return. to left and the cloud within and the check that out, that is an act. 00:00:55,078 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 ‘soran bushi' plays. rent initially happy to officers north—west of scotland will ease away and head up towards another aisles. we'll get sunny skies coming the world wide fund for nature says in across southern england and

wales, the midlands and east anglia english rivers are being used as open sewers, with 86% of them failing to meet in the afternoon. that will boost clean—water standards. the temperatures to a high of 27 or 0ne expert has said there is no river in the uk so the temperatures to a high of 27 or so in the south—east of anger. further north where you hang onto that is safe to swim in. more cloud, whose temperatures are scientists are looking to the river ingol, stuck at 20 or 2! celsius. for the in north norfolk, as an example of a successful projects. richard daniel reports second day of the test match, it should be a dry day, for most of the ingoldisthorpe wetland, day i suspect there will be a lot of in north norfolk, a place card. it only —— really breaks up in where native chalk species thrive — iris, marsh marigold, the evening session. as we head into purple loosestrife. the evening session. as we head into yet 18 months ago the weekend, the high pressure still none of this existed. across europe, we are starting to draw some more heat from around that it is a man—made reserve built and push it northwards into the uk. to solve a man—made problem. but we still have a weather front dangling around in the north—west corner of the uk. that threatens one this is the river ingol, or two showers in the north—west of it's a spring—fed chalk river scotla nd or two showers in the north—west of scotland on sat there and perhaps with a very delicate ecology, western impossible in ireland. but an ecology that a few years ago elspeth the northern areas we have was being damaged by effluent more sunshine this time and further from the local sewerage plant that south we still have sunshine. contained phosphates and ammonia. latvians that heat is going to build the phosphate‘s a fertilizer quickly and push its way northwards, and some of the river life is really good as exploiting that but some perhaps getting the mid— 20s through of it isn't so what it does is it completely upsets the

balance of the river. the central belt of scotland, 27 on somethings thrive in it but a lot of the more sensitive species lose out and they disappear. 28 of the midlands, east wales and a high of 30 around london and the the solution? south—east. still the possibility of build a wetland. one or two showers in the north—west corner of scotland on sunday, driver effluent from the sewerage works enters at the top, northern ireland, cloud towards a passing through four shallows fossil first but otherwise sunny skies, that warmth continues to push interconnected ponds. passing through four shallow into scotland with the peak of the interconnected ponds. each full of plants that strip the water of the unwanted nutrients. heat around london and the south—east, 30 or 31. as we had an at the bottom, the clean, x—ray, some uncertainty, i think the naturally—filtered water re—enters the river. highest averages will get squeezed we think it will take out 90% into the south—east, cooling down of the phosphorus from the north—west. the chance of and 90% of the ammonia coming through it. large youth and shall —— that is remarkable, isn't it? thunderstorms move up from the near yeah, that's incredibly effective continent. this rain looks i could and that pretty much matches you conduct the north—west, maybe on what you could get with a conventional tuesday. sewerage works subgrade. they hope is that brown trite will one day recolonise this river. the wetland cost half a million, all paid by anglian water, which owns the sewerage works. this isthe first wetland of its type in england. this is the first wetland of its type in england. what we have seen here is it is actually doing a fantastic

job for us so we would like to do over 30 more of these across our region over the next sort of 5—8 years, once our plans have been approved by our regulator. the wetland treats about a million litres of effluent a day. wildlife is benefiting, so is the river — a simple solution that could now be replicated elsewhere. richard daniel, bbc news. now on bbc news, the travel show. this is japan's most northerly main island of hokkaido. for decades, travellers have been drawn here by its stark contrast to the rest of the country. it's anotherjapan, one that is wild, challenging and remote. it's an incredible experience! with distinctive communities. i've come to meet them and to find out more about the country's northern frontier.

this is bbc news. a very warm welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america, or around the globe. i'm mike embley. so, if you look out our top stories: to where i'm heading, that is japan's most brazil's president says his government doesn't have the resources to fight northerly point. but on the other side, the record number of wildfires raging across the amazon rainforest. just a0 kilometres from the japanese coastline is the great landmass, russia. france's president macron tells his british counterpart, now that is important borisjohnson, because it was russia expanding there can be no major changes eastwards that led to japan 150 to the brexit agreement. years ago to annex that island the buses bangladesh hoped and give it the name, hokkaido. would repatriate hundreds of rohingya refugees — but nobody would get on board. the island isn't small. and putting their necks on the line — one international body votes it's around one fifth of japan's to combat the "quiet extinction" of the world's giraffes. total landmass but nearly a century and a half after the move to fully populate hokkaido, still only around 4% of japan's people live here.

hello, hokkaido! but because of this relatively recent migration, the island that was developed by those first japanese settlers took on its own distinct characteristics, making it markedly different from the mainland. one of the immediate issues was how to live alongside what many agree to be the island's indigenous inhabitants, the ainu. i'd come to meet this man who recently returned to his heritage following in the footsteps of the ainu. for his ancestors, hunting animals was key to survival. today this means a fusion of modern and traditional hunting techniques like making use of every part of the hunted animal.

when the japanese settled here, the ainu were made to assimilate into japanese society. their traditional lifestyle was banned and so today, little of their old way of life remains. so, we're going hunting? hunting. excellent, let's do it. there are bears in this forest, i'm sticking close to him. so tell me, you go hunting every day?

until recently, those who openly showed their ainu status have faced discrimination. but with the ainu nowjust starting to get recognition injapanese law as indigenous people with their own distinct language and culture, things are beginning to change. so this is where the deer trap is, yeah? he is clearly disappointed that there isn't a deer in his trap here, so he's adjusting a little bit. between you and me,

i'm a bit relieved. look around you and you can see what attracts travellers here. stunning landscapes, but for young people seeking opportunities, this island doesn't make things easy. over the years japan has wrestled with economic challenges. hokkaido has been one of the areas hardest hit. in the previously thriving mining city of yubari, 90% of their population have moved away in 50 years. demographically, yubari is the oldest city injapan. probably the oldest city in the world and quite possibly the oldest city, ever. and at 80 years old, one of its residents has achieved celebrity status around japan.

konnichiwa. mascots are big business in this country and they don't get much bigger — or, frankly, scarier — than yubari's very own melon bear. a nod to the city's famed and prized fruit. why do you do it? but there is a much more serious side to melon bear — to entice tourists to yubari.

and maybe in one sense it has worked, because travellers are now coming here. ruins left by economic turbulence litter japan's landscapes and here it has sprung up the hobby called haikyo — exploring the abandoned buildings. look at this, this is industrial history, isn't it? just over a decade ago, yubari was declared bankrupt. those who remained were made to move into a small, central area of the city living

everything else abandoned. that places is like the old abandoned powerpla nt, sato—san, hosts art projects and helps people to explore. walking around, i'm left with mixed feelings because it so powerfully symbolises the decline of a once prosperous place, but i can also see why people love exploring here. there is a mysterious beauty to what is left behind. and making the most of disused buildings isn't just confined to the city.

and making the most of disused buildings isn't just confined to the city. in nearby nayoro, i've arranged to stay in a unique guesthouse. this man worked on trains most of his life. when he stopped working on the trains, he restored an old disused station house back to its former glory. so this used to be a railway line here?

in contrast to the japanese mainland, much of the urban life in hokkaido first developed around the rail infrastructure. some of the old train routes closed with the loss of industry but for some people, this is not the end of the line. this is an incredible experience. on an old disused railway line, very shuddery, but exhilarating! absolutely exhilarating! it's great, really good! it's a world away from this country's high—speed bullet trains, but what a way to experience the nature this is famous for.

i have got my sleeper carriage berth, so let's see where the night train takes me. goodnight.

when the japanese came to colonise hokkaido, they sent former samurai, with a mission to cultivate this island. that is one of the distinct ways it has developed — miles upon miles of beautiful landscapes. now one way to get close to nature as a traveller would obviously be to hike. but there is another uniquely japanese way. this is mochi pounding. what might look to the untrained eye as hitting rice as hard you can with a mallet until it turns squidgy, is in fact a highly skilled and refined process done to create a sweet delicacy known as mochi. i'm about to have a lesson from the real expert as to how to be a proper pounder.

i've got to be honest, this is extremely heavy. stomp, stomp, stomp. hokkaido‘s climate is perfectly suited to cultivating the sweet, sticky rice needed for mochi. the region around nayoro has become japan's biggest producer. every year here, local farmers hold a competition to find the best mochi pounders. how do you become a good mochi pounder like you? here we go.

how does hokkaido rate in terms of its mochi? now then, this is where he risks the use of his hands for the rest of his life. laughs. grunts. it takes 100 strikes of the mochi to make itjust right. and it's notjust about speed. i am told how you hit it will affect that all—importa nt final taste. now i'm obviously holding back here for fear of outshining my hosts.

applause. the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. or the tasting. so let's see what the judges say. laughs. that was not in the script! laughs. i reckon that was a fix. and after all that exertion, it's time for a well—earned rest. i'm heading south, where my trip comes to an end in hokkaido‘s main city of sapporo. it's a fitting place to finish the trip around hokkaido, because here in sapporo, they're hosting a dance festival that pays homage to the whole island's connection to the sea. it's the fifth largest

city in japan, sapporo, and hokkaido‘s biggest by some distance. and just down there is where the festival is taking place. yosakoi soran is one of the region's biggest international dancing competitions. teams dance to music which is all inspired by the hokkaido folk song soran. traditionally, this folk song was about hokkaido fishermen. it's come an awful long way since then! all: soran! and one of the teams here with their own take on this dance is. . .the russians! interesting, considering the history between the two nations. singing in own language.

hats off to them, really good. i had arranged to meet someone who had taken part in this festival many, many times, since she was a child. but finding one dancer amongst 30,000 others was proving a little trickier than i had expected. hi! konnichiwa! so you are a veteran of soran, of this dance festival, you're going to teach me about all of this? 0k. fantastic. so tell me, what makes this festival unique in japan? this yosakoi soran festival in hokkaido, you have two rules. first one, every team, every dancer, have this, naruko. the second rule is that, do you know... # yaren soran, soran...

soran music. ok, so what you're saying is, even though all the music might sound a bit different, and there is dancing and... inside each one you have the same melody. how does the melody go? # yaren soran, soran... and while it's something that clearly takes a lot of practice, i'm told that in my case, one hour should do it. that's what i have to wear? yes, yes! very happy. ah, 0k. ‘soran bushi' plays. a very public training session for newbies like me will be followed by a chance to take part in the main festival parade around the streets of the city.

tell me about the first time that you entered the festival, tell me about how it felt for you and what you did? ‘soran bushi' plays. yeah! a bit of attitude. attitude is really important. 0k, from the top. from the top! it's just dance move, on dance move, on dance move. so complicated! many of these dance moves are based on the tasks the old fishermen performed like dragging nets, pulling ropes and lifting luggage over their shoulders. can't you tell? 0k... laughs. that's only the practice.

we haven't even started the real thing yet! i have just had a rigourous workout and lesson. i supposedly know my moves and now, to cap it all off, we're going to do the whole dance around the square in front of the crowds. help! thanks you to your wonderful teaching, ifeel quite confident now that... 0h, let's go! ‘soran bashi' plays. the nerves have all gone. who cares how good you are? this is about community. festival. i'm getting it now! are you tired? no! yes, because exciting! 00:23:56,737 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 upbeat ‘soran bushi' plays.