this is bbc news. the headlines: the man suspected of attacking author sir salman rushdie has been charged with attempted murder and assault. hadi matar, of newjersey, pleaded not guilty. the writer remains on a ventilator in hospital. he's been subject to islamist death threats since 1988 following publication of his novel, the satanic verses. french firefighters have been tackling wildfires raging across the country, including a very large blaze near the south—western city of bordeaux. fire crews are exahusted from the unrelenting heat that has driven the worst wildfires for decades. experts say the extreme conditions are being driven by climate change. droughts have been declared in eight areas of england. the environment agency in the uk says that

after the driest summer in nearly 50 years, it would take weeks�* worth of rain to replenish water sources, while experts warn england's drought could last into the next year. now on bbc news, the travel show. oh, wow! look at the size of this place! this is tokyo stadium, and it was home to the football, the rugby and the pentathlon during the olympics, and i'm glad to finally be here. japan's delayed summer of sport finally got under way in 2021. my name's steve brown, and i was supposed to come over for the paralympic coverage. not being able to make it out was a huge blow. the whole thing about sport, it's not just about watching it, it's about feeling it, that immersive experience.

before i was a presenter, i was captain of the london 2012 wheelchair rugby team. when i was in hospital, sport was what got me out. it was definitely the building blocks to the person that i have become. tokyo holds a special place in paralympic history. it was all the way back at the 1964 games that the term paralympic was first used. but being disabled injapan hasn't always been easy. it's often seen as a country that values conformity and fitting in. so, at the end of this paralympic year, i'm finally getting the chance to explore japan and find out what life's like for those who stand out from the crowd. along the way, i'll meet some old opponents, discover a hidden tropical culture, and ride the waves with some adaptive surfing.

my journey across japan begins in the capital, tokyo, the world's busiest city, where i'm on my way to meet some former rivals. it's excellent to be sitting here watching the japanese paralympic team doing their training. so wheelchair rugby has got this nickname, murderball. and you can see why. it's the only full contact wheelchair sport there is. your opponent is going to be working very hard to knock you out of your chair. so you've got to work hard to knock them out of theirs.

the team won bronze at the 2021 home games. and i rememberfacing them all the way back at london 2012. so, very nice to see you again. of course, it was a very different games because of coronavirus. how did that affect you, not having the crowds here? how do you feel people's acceptance and understanding of disability is? do you feel like it's something that's maybe been hidden away a little bit?

this gym was specially designed for para—athletes and opened in 2018. in the build up to the paralympics, the government committed to introducing more barrier—free access across the country. we'll see how i get on as i explore more ofjapan.

here in tokyo, the subway system is said to be almost entirely accessible — even if some of the adaptations are a bit bizarre. so this is going to turn into a wheelchair lift, but they've had to shut everything off to make it happen. so i come on? yeah. you won't find many of these adapted escalators around the subway. normal lifts are far more common... brakes are on. 0k. yeah, no problem. ..and that's probably a good thing. 0k. and it's done. thank you, gentlemen. well, that was terrifying. but, on the surface, there are old pockets of tokyo that can still be

a challenge to get around. we're in golden gai and that translates as golden city, which is quite a strange name for a place no bigger than a football pitch. the place is just starting to open now. if i'd left it another hour or so, this would be starting to get much busier, and on these narrow streets, i think i'd have trouble getting around. see, look, this is a perfect example. there's no room for me in there. there's a step to get in, and the door�*s too narrow. a few blocks over, there's an area where another group of people are finding their voice. it's called ni—chime, and it's said to have the highest concentration of gay and lesbian bars in the world. i've arranged to meet nunu, who works here. and what's the attitude like to the lgbt community injapan?

nunu works at the 0nnanoko club, which calls itself a cross—dressing bar. the club welcomes people of all identities. nunu identifies as trans and was originally a customer here.

chatting and laughter this pocket of tokyo flourished because it gave people a space outside of the mainstream where they could express themselves without facing disapproval. but tradition still has a powerful hold overjapan, as i'll find out in the next stage of myjourney. now it's time for me to leave the capital on board one of their famous bullet trains. announcer: the train | at track number 23 is... what is happening? we are

trying to get you wheelchair space. some lines saw the number of wheelchair spaces on board treble in the lead—up to the paralympics, but it takes a while to find me a space. it's turning out to be quite a faff, i think. they recommend that you book it all up in advance to save all of this, you know? that doesn't work if you don't know you're travelling until an hour before you need to travel. all sorted. well, here we go then! i'm on my way to 0shima island, 1,000 kilometres west of tokyo and more than five hours by train, to an area that remains enthralled to centuries—old traditions and customs. that's a big flight of steps. whey!

no. 0k. he groans 0h! here we are. 0h! wow. getting up here might have been a bit of an effort, but it was certainly worth it. you don't see many places like this, do you? this is the 0kitsu—miya shrine. it was built in the 18th century to pay homage to a holy island some 50km off the coast. 0kinoshima has been worshipped for well over 1,000 years, lying between japan and the korean peninsula.

this museum tells the story of 0kinoshima all the way back to its earliest religious ceremonies in the fourth century. the island is a sacred place with a very strict door policy. have you seen the island?

more than 80,000 artefacts have been found there, which led to unesco naming it a world heritage site in 2017. but the old taboos mean only men can set foot on the island, and miki can'tjoin her male colleagues on archaeological expeditions. watching these videos, it certainly has got this kind of eerie, mystical power to it.

i might not be able to go myself, but one way that tourists can experience 0kinoshima is by trying a misogi ceremony, a special cleansing ritual performed by all the island's visitors. whoa! yeah, it's cold. face you, yeah? towards you? 0oh... 0oh! ok, i'm down. it feels, now i'm in, somewhat... ..exhilarating, in a way, relaxing... ..but i still want to get back out now!

is that enough praying? i'm heading now to japan's southernmost spot, 0kinawa, which is made up of more than 100 subtropical islands. it's a popular holiday destination because of its year—round warm temperatures. and back in 2007, it was the first place injapan to make a barrier—free declaration, a commitment towards making travel more accessible to all. i've heard 0kinawan culture has some distinct differences from the mainland, so i've come here to find out more.

applause. back in the 15th century, the ryukyu kingdom united the islands that now form 0kinawa. they were a trading people, and today an international influence can still be felt in their art and design, their architecture and in their food. 0k, well, this all looks very nice. i think i'm going to start with this. what is it? it smells strong.

has it got strong flavour? yes! 0k. he chuckles i need to wash it down. so what is this? that's nice, and it's quite smooth, fragrant. maybe i'm just washing down the... the fermented tofu. but ryukyuan culture hasn't always been embraced

by the mainland. in the 19th century, after it became part ofjapan, there was a crackdown on local customs. next on my tour, chiyako takes me 30km down the road to shuri castle. it's on the top of a steep hill, so i've brought along an extra set of wheels. so here we are, then. that was a big entrance into an open space. what happened here? i've come through and it's just a construction site.

that is the only way i can explain it. and it's such a shame. when it was standing, shuri castle drew around two million people a year. electrical system tore through the wooden palace, destroying all the main buildings. the debris has been cleared away and the site is once again open to tourists, where they can find out about an ambitious new reconstruction that's currently under way.

so this is smoke damage? yes. you can feel the weight of them. they were a real, solid piece. how many are you going to need to make? it's not the first time the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt. it had previously been bombed during the second world war, its reconstruction turning it into a symbol of 0kinawa's resilience.

it's tragic to see all this devastation, but with the reconstruction set to open in a few years�* time, maybe it's a chance for the ryukyu culture to get a bit more attention. here in okinawa, my trip across japan is coming to an end. but there's one more thing for me to try. so... ..this foot. 0k, we are one... oh, my goodness! surfing is a year—round activity on these subtropical islands, and taishi is an organiser for access surf, a local charity that helps people with accessibility needs like mine ride the waves. well, i have never been surfing before. please reassure me — how many people have you taken out already? i've got the wet suit on —

let's make the most of it, shall we? all right, let's go! i'm in. well, i've been in for a ritual, now i'm going in for recreational. yeah, i'm ready. let's go! yeah? yeah. this way round. with me safely on the board, the team run through a few basics. yeah, good. yeah. ok, so how do i fall down? i go over? yep. and i push the board away from me? it's better. 0k. so i push away the only thing that i want to grab? they laugh well, i think i've got the paddling. shall we try some surfing? yeah.

in my journey across japan, i've seen that it's a country that's still bound by tradition. but i've also met people who are pushing those boundaries. and here in okinawa, i've seen that there's more thanjust one traditional culture. for me, coming here in my wheelchair, there have been a few problems here and there. but opening up is a process, whether it's opening up to foreign travel after a pandemic or opening up to new ideas and experiences. and this has been one experience that i'm definitely going to remember. yeah!

hello. it is hot and it is dry. and for many, that will be the story for the remainder of the weekend. start of the new week, things do begin to change. it will become more showery and eventually cooler for all by tuesday. extreme heat is still the story, though, for much of england and wales. through the remainder of the weekend, the amber warning stays in place. very warm night across england and wales. lows in some areas around 20 degrees.

it does look like this will result in pretty intense thunderstorms across northern ireland and scotland through the course of sunday, and temperatures here will begin to ease back but we're still looking at the mid 30s, widely across england wales. 0vernight into monday the showers could particular larvae across the northern half of the uk, scotland, northern england. intense downpours in some areas causing some flash flooding. a little cooler here, the mid teens. but we're still looking at 20 degrees overnight sunday into monday. through monday daytime we will see this area of low pressure in the atlantic trying to get closer in to the uk. it does mean we are anticipating showers becoming more widespread across the western side of the uk through monday and heavy and persistent rain for scotland and northern ireland. it is considerably

cooler. temperatures are close if not touching 30 degrees across some parts of eastern england. the chance of showers here fairly slim. by tuesday, the probability of seeing showers will increase as the low pressure works its way a little further east, but these are showers that we are talking about so it does mean that some areas we were still ugly heavy downpours. a few miles on it, may be nothing in the way of rain but across england as well those rhys mcleod arriving and more unsettled weather, and a change in wind direction that temperatures do start to return to values closer to average for the time of year. wednesday was low pressure to the south of the uk it looks like of anything showers are possibly more of a given particularly for southern areas of england and wales were scotland and northern ireland i think will be drier, not cloudy. 0n be drier, not cloudy. on wednesday we could finally see meaningful rain across parts of england and wales. temperatures by then r and a red for this time of year. a little cool. 15

of aberdeen. for the end of the week, high pressure again, close by in the atlantic, starting to settle things down. thursday looks like there is a chance of a bit of rain still for scotland and northern ireland, and isolated showers drifting across into eastern england, but still again some areas such as the midlands not seeing anything on the way of meaningful rain through the course of the week as they slip through cracks. the high—pressure system or try to build again from the atlantic. at the same time he looks to build across southern europe. if we have easterly winds it could mean temperatures rising again into next week.

hello. welcome to bbc news. i'm simon pusey. our top stories: the man suspected of stabbing author salman rushdie pleads not guilty to attempted murder and assault. fires, drought and heatwaves. we report from france, where exhausted firecrews have spent weeks battling wildfires. the ground around me is smoking. there's smouldering embers here which very easily can be whipped up into yet another fire. one person is killed and dozens injured when high winds cause part of a stage to collapse at a dance music festival in spain. and more embarrassment for manchester united as they lose 4—0 to brentford in the premier league.