welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm shery ahn. a severe tropical storm is expected to make landfall in japan's southwestern island of shokoku on saturday morning. according to the meteorological agency. it's packing winds of up to 108 kilometers per hour with a maximum recorded wind speed of 144 kilometers per hour. the storm is bringing heavy

rains to western and eastern japan. a 75-year-old woman is missing after being swept into a swollen river while on her way to a shelter. two other people have been reported missing and 23 have been injured. on friday talas grounded 127 domestic flights. airlines have already cancelled 231 flights on saturday. they say more could be effected depending on the course of the storm. japan's new prime minister yoshihiko noda wants to quickly compile the third supplementary budget for this fiscal year. he says it's vital for rebuilding areas hit by the earthquake and tsunami in march. prime minister noda's cabinet was officially inaugurated on friday. noda later said disaster recovery is his top priority and that a temporary tax hike is essential. >> translator: the government needs financial resources to

implement its policies. reconstruction is important. we should discuss how to come up with the finances. >> noda said cooperation from the opposition is vital for passing the budget because the governing coalition controls only the -- to start working level talks with the ruling democratic party. at his first cabinet meeting, he asked members to list items they should include in the budget by friday. to a temporary tax hike within the democratic party. so noda faces a challenge of getting cooperation from his own party at the same time as working with the opposition. politicians, farmers, and business owners in fukushima prefecture are putting the pressure on tokyo electric power company. they want the utility to broaden the scope of its program to compensate people following the

meltdown of the fukushima daiichi plant. the prefecture's vice governor matsumoto and industry leaders visited in tokyo on friday. they met company president nishisawa. they will start procedures for full fledge compensation this month based on guidelines from the government. during the discussions, the cooperative head said the guidelines don't reflect all the damage caused by the nuclear disaster. >> translator: the compensation program must also cover damage not specified in the guidelines. >> shojo stressed people who fled their homes voluntarily and not under government order should also be compensated. he also wanted tepco to give

payouts to all for mental suffering. >> translator: we apologize for the trouble and inconvenience our company has caused. >> he also said that the utility will do its best to accommodate those effected by the accident. tepco will begin sending out applications for full fledge compensation on september 12th. after the meeting, matsumoto told reporters he conveyed the 2 million residents. he says he wants tepco to show more sincerity. in another sign of a slow down in the world's largest economy, no new jobs were created in the united states last month. figures from the labor department shows that august was the first month with no growth in non-farm payroll.

the department also revised down the number of jobs added in july from 117,000 to 85,000. the mining sector created 6,000 jobs in august. but the manufacturing sector lost 3,000 and the information services sector lost 48,000. unemployment was unchanged from july at 9.1%. president barack obama plans to lay out a new package of job creation measures next thursday. new york stocks plunged on friday after the report. the dow jones industrial average ended the day at 11,240, down 253 points or 2.2%. the dow was down for the second day in a row. and for insight on the u.s. employment situation, we spoke with dean maki.

>> telling us that employers have responded to the weakening gdp growth. and the debt ceiling debate by turning much more cautious. their business has slowed down. and they have in turn hired a lot fewer people. and that's what's showing through in the data right now. looking ahead to what's going to drive job growth is -- attempts to follow gdp growth, we think there is reason to expect some better numbers on the second half on gdp growth and with some lack for hiring to pick up modestly through the end of the year. the reason is that we are seeing less disruption starting to show through on the auto industry from the earthquake in japan. that's helping the auto sales

numbers modestly. we think that will continue. also consumers took a big hit from the surge in gasoline prices earlier in the year. gasoline prices have now come down substantially. and that is seeming to help consumer spending modestly. so we think that gdp growth improves a bit in the second half. syrian security forces have killed 18 people at anti-government demonstrations at damascus other other cities. demonstrations against assad were held across the country on friday. they attacked demonstrators with guns and batons. a human rights group in syria say 12 people were killed in damascus and six in other cities. antigovernment activists agitated by western countries

were trying to cause turmoil. meanwhile, the european union has joined the united states on banning oil imports from syria. the eu also added four to their targets for an asset freeze and travel ban. six cities are in the running to host the 2020 olympics. the candidate cities are tokyo, madrid, rome, baku, doha, and istanb istanbul. they all have to submit proposals by next february including plans for stadiums. the ioc will make its determination in december 2013. tokyo governor says having the

olympics here would be a way for tokyo to show the world how it's recovered from the earthquake and tsunami. tokyo hosted in 1964. it was to in the line to host in 2016 but lost out to rio de jier in row. and now here is your extended weather forecast. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching.

♪ yu-hu, whoa, hey, what are you looking at? want to fight? i am jumping spider and i know how to fight. we don't know why but humans around here are always trying to catch us. oh, no, there goes another one. since way back jumping spiders

and humans have had a strange relationship. we live in the seaside city in futtsu in chiba prefecture, which is about an hour's drive from tokyo. >> translator: small ones. >> reporter: this man is here to catch us, too. >> translator: a cap? >> reporter: no, it's not a cap. kenji puts a colander on his head and hunts us day in and day out. >> translator: whoa! five or six millimeters. has to be double that size. >> reporter: he hunts a few hours every day but he's not after just any spider.

this is the only one i got today. i can't share this. it's a tiny one. >> reporter: he has a reason for going after the big ones. we jumping spiders belong to the salticidae family and are only ten millimeters in size. we have a distinctive trait. for about a month between april and may we fight fiercely for our females. mercifulness, aren't we? we use our long forelegs to attack our enemies' behinds. long ago fishermen saw our savage battles and started spider tournaments. we grab each other like sumo wrestlers. the one that runs away loses. fighting spirit and guts win the match.

every year in early may a tournament to decide the grand tournament of spiders is held in futtsu. the men really get worked up at this time of year. he comes from a long line of fishermen. his diving suit weighs 50 kilograms. it's a tough job, and full of danger. he dives for about three hours. todays catch was 120 kilograms of trough shells. a good haul.

the first thing he checks after work is, of course, his jumping spider. the two are always together. he warms it to make it grow. his spider is named pochi. hey, pochi, you're out at sea now. i guess pochi didn't expect this. i have to keep it warm. the championship fires up the men in futtsu. this man is a top seed in the tourney. he's last year's grand champion kosaka. every year he goes to the hospital before the championship. how come? >> translator: i came here to

get my vitamin shot. i have to be in top shape to catch a good spider. i do this every year to put on a good fight. >> reporter: he works eight hours a day at a glass factory and hardly sleeps he spends almost all of his spare time taking care of his spiders. >> translator: i'm getting pumped up. >> reporter: kosaka is an outstanding spider trainer. he never cooks for himself, but for his spiders, it's a different story. eight ingredients are slowly simmered for this special drink that he concocts.

lettuce for fiber, strawberries for vitamin c. he gives this nutritious beverage to the spiders instead of water. he believes that this drink will make the spider's number one in futtsu. no, make that in the world. >> translator: i guess like my kids. >> reporter: you love your kids and want them to grow strong. and if there's a contest, you want them to win. that's why i devote myself and do everything i can. that's all. >> reporter: kosaka has a wife and 3-year-old daughter. his wife is a nutritionist and says that all the nourishment is lost when he cooks the special drink, so it's useless.

>> translator: i always pick on him, saying that he cares more about the spiders than us. but i let him do it. he can keep himself busy when he has the spiders to care for. otherwise, he'll do nothing and just lie around the house. he looks so happy. it's nice if the spiders are with him all the time. >> translator: well, i have to become the grand champion to thank her, don't i? >> reporter: kosaka's biggest rival is this man. he's two-time champion and veteran trainer sakuma who works at a local iron works. >> caught a whole bunch of them. >> reporter: to make his spider

the strongest, he feeds them flies. >> i treasure them for now. they're like family. >> reporter: he feels only soft just born female flies with the wings clipped off to make them easier to eat. treat it like royalty. maybe not. he makes his spiders fight and trains them like crazy. okay. let's go. >> reporter: he makes the good ones spar three times a day. no! get him. >> reporter: he ranks his spiders by the results and then decides which to enter.

moving their behinds up and down is called behind bowing. it shows they are fired up. >> translator: yeah, that's good! look, you quit. he's my number one. my god, don't broadcast this bit, okay? this one won't do. what got into him? >> reporter: he has no use for losers. this is how he trains the strongest and fiercest jumping spider. >> translator: there are other important things in life, but going crazy about spiders just these four weeks has so much meaning in them, value to me. at my age, you don't come across many things you can get into. that's why maybe just for now i

want to forget everything and look for that big spider. the biggest of them all. >> reporter: as the tournament draws near, more and more people begin to look for us. it's such a nuisance. but we become really special for the people in this community. daiki goes to elementary school. last year he got hooked on us. his recent worry is that the girls in the class are a little cold towards him. >> translator: this is my jumping spider. i take it with me because i don't want him to die or anything. >> reporter: forget about the girls, spiders are what's happening for the men of futtsu, right? what? computer games. i guess not many kids play with

spiders these days. daiki wants his friends to at least understand how much fun we are. today he's decided to show his friends how cool we are. >> they're creepy, yuck! >> reporter: wait a minute. hey, let's show them the savage battle between the number one and number two spider. >> hey, you're doing good. >> yay, he won! yay! see? my spider is the strongest. you all hate bugs. >> these are creepy. i can't. >> do you like bugs or do you hate them? >> we hate them. >> reporter: don't fret about it, daiki.

some day you will find somebody who likes spiders. ♪ we're used to being hated. but if you love us, we'll do our best to please you, you know? >> translator: hello? >> excuse us. >> what do you like? >> sorry, i saw a real good spider. i can't quit talking about it. >> who has it. >> gigantic spiders are the talk of the town. how big is it? >> i would say about 30 millimeters. >> 13? >> it's not that big but it's definitely more than 12 millimeters. >> i have a 12, for sure. >> sakuma who went to

investigate was shocked by its size. the strong rival may change the outcome of the championship. >> i told him it's a size larger than mine. he didn't believe me, so i put mine beside it and he said, oh, so it is a size larger than yours. >> and it's true. >> different age, different jobs. they have nothing in common. but when it comes to the spiders, they can drink and talk all night long. >> futtsu was effectsed by the great east japan earthquake and tsunami of march 11th, 2011. but despite the circumstances they decided to hold the tournament to lift the town's spirits. the 2011 grand championship of spiders in futtsu. more than 100 people gathered at the shrine.

>> yes! >> reporter: now it's kosaka, the number one contender's, turn. >> i'll do my best. >> he's my senior. >> challenger akio is a rookie. he's younger, but they went to the same junior high. akio works out at the gym and fed his spiders protein to build their muscles. akio's spider is a tough guy. his opponent, red rice, built his power on a special vitamin drink. red rice is a technician and knows how to get a good grip.

kosaka looks confident as the reining champion. yes, he won! what? akio won? >> what happened? well, you did your best. but i can't believe we lost to akio. >> it would have been the same with any spider. >> it was a really good fight. >> reporter: next one up, kenji. no? a relative passed away so he had to go, but his spider will take part. >> what can you do?

i'll go nuts if i stay. >> reporter: kenji couldn't give his best without his trainer and lost in the first round. and now the final to decide the 2011 grand champion. >> may the best spider win. >> and as expected, sakuma won his way into the final. his opponent with that gigantic spider. sakuma's is 10 1/2 millimeters. hiroshi's is 12 millimeters, a size larger. he doesn't mess around but goes head-on.

sakuma put all his hopes on the highly trained spider. he moves his behind up and down to show he's ready to fight. oh, he's doing good. he could have been killed in a second. it lasted more than four minutes. he lost. >> well, that's that. good-bye. congratulations.

well, it's over. that's it for this year. i'm glad i chose you. you lost, but that's how the cookie crumbles. he's only flesh and blood. but he did well. really grateful to this spider. >> reporter: it's a man's dream to train the strongest spider. this year it ended in real success. a very special one month in the seaside town is over.

now the men release their precious jumping spiders back into the wild. >> you were the runner-up. my spider, you did good. >> he lets red rice go in a secret spot. >> sure, i'm sad. but, i hope he will have strong children and maybe next year i'll catch a good spider that can be the grand champion. >> reporter: at last, i won't have to worry about humans bothering me anymore. okay.