welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima in tokyo with the news at this hour. wet doesn't describe what's this month's for going on in japan. talas soaked them a week ago, now they're getting ready to take another hit. tropical storm roke is churning out into the pacific ocean. the meteorological agency says

the system is about 190 east of naha, okinawa. it said the storm is almost stationary. roke is packing winds of almost 80 kilometers per hour near its center. heavy rain has started falling in western japan. this video is from the shikoku region. it's expected to bring up to 5 centimeters of rain an hour. tropical storm talas brought record rainfall there earlier this month. it left nearly 100 people dead or missing. we turn to rachel ferguson for more details. >> as we take a look at the predicted path, you can see as we were mentioning there, it is stationary, moving west-northwest very slowly. the winds are at 83 kilometers per hour currently and the gusts at 126. now the problem with a system like this that just wants to hover and rotate in the same

place, it means that the rain comes down in the same place. and that can really cause a problem for flash floods as well as mudslides and landslides. and it's not just the focus down here we need to worry about. we're seeing lots of heavy rain off the system coming down across the pacific edge of japan. you'll remember this was the area that was hit by talas, the typhoon that came through two weeks ago, it led to mudslides and fatalities. actually a cross the region. so this is not good news, in miyazaki prefecture we've seen some places picking up about 300 millimeters of rain just in the last 24 hours. into the next 24, this is what we're looking at. into saturday evening, anywhere you're seeing in the red, another 300 millimeters of rain is likely. it's going to be a very wet weekend. and there is great cause for concern here. back to you, i'll be back with more weather news later on. tropical storm roke has people living in the key

pennsylvania la peninsula on high alert. some rivers remain dammed up with debris following the landslides that happened earlier this month. it started raining on friday morning in tanabe city, whack yammi prefecture. officials say a total ever 28 millimeters had fallen by 6:00 p.m. local time. authorities are using a camera to keep an eye on this river. the landslides dammed it up and it created a lake. the clearance between the surface of the water and the edge of a built-up debris is more than 2.5 meters. the water level has stabilized for now. but officials describe the situation as dangerous. tanabe city has cordoned off a downstream district as a precaution. dammed-up rivers are threatening to overflow in nara prefecture. a number of residents have left their homes. >> translator: we set up the evacuation zone to protect

residents. because the dammed-up rivers could break with just a little amount of rain. devastating floods and a flood of criticism will be keeping pakistan's prime minister from attending a key international event next week. yusuf raza gilani says he won't travel to new york for the meeting of the u.n. general assembly. instead, gilani said he'll visit flooded areas and lead aid in recovery work. heavy rain has been falling in pakistan since last month. drenching the south. the disaster has killed 240 people. floodwater has inundated 920,000 houses and the crisis has affected more than 5.5 million people. pakistan's government is calling for initial assistance. prime minister gilani's decision to skip the united nations meeting is apparently aimed at deflecting criticism over the cost of his trip. local media reported he would spend at least $40,000 of

taxpayers' money every day. that would have paid for among other things, hotel charges for 80-person entourage that included family and staff. the south korean governments has apologized for a massive power blackout on thursday that left much of the country sweltering in the summer heat. knowledge economy minister, choi joong-kyung, told a parliament committee on friday that the government could not predict a surge in power demand and had to cut off a supply without prior warning. >> nationwide electricity consumption surged thursday, due to lingering summer heat exceeding the projected demand. korea electric power kopgs cut off electricity supplies without issuing a public warning.

the blackout left households and businesses in more than 200 districts without power for five hours. choi said the government will ask the public and private sectors to conservative electricity to help stabilize power supplies. power use by japanese industry marked the third-largest drop on record in august compared to the same month last year. that's because of the mandatory limitation for big power users following the march 11th disaster. the federation of electric power companies in japan said on friday that total electricity sold to industrial users in the month stood at over 23 billion kilowatt hours, down 5.8% from a year earlier. it was the sixth straight month of lower usage. tokyo electric power company saw industrial use decline by 12.5%. the largest drop for this time of year. the figure for tohoku electric power fell by just under 16%. households used about 15% less

electricity compared do a year ago, even though they did not have to cut down usage by law, the second-largest drop since august of 2003. when a cooler-than-average summer reduced the use of air conditioner. the eighth round of talks on the establishment of a free trade zone around the pacific, known as the trans-pacific partnership or the tpp came to a close on thursday, some participants have voiced concern about japan's delayed decisions on whether to join the talks. delegates from the united states, australia and several other asia-pacific nations gave a news conference after the talks in chicago. >> we can leave chicago feeling good about our progress. however, everyone should be realistic about what remains to be done. >> the u.s. chief negotiator told reporters that challenges remain on some issues, including exceptions to a tariff waiver program. she indicated that nine countries hope to reach a draft deal at the next round of talks in peru in october. vietnam's chief negotiator urged

japan to quickly decide on whether to join the talks. he said it will be more difficult for new participants to renegotiate as negotiations move forward. prime minister yoshihiko noda says the government will discuss whether japan should join the tpp talks. in an address to the upper house on friday, he said the government will reach a decision at the earliest possible date. >> translator: economic partnerships are essential for japan to reap the benefits of global growth. and prevent the nation's industries from hollowing out, will pursue high-level economic partnerships with other countries in a strategic manner. a japanese government panel has drafted two temporary tax increase plans to fund reconstruction of the region devastated by the march disaster. both plans involve corporate and

individual income taxes totaling some $145 billion. under the first plan, a 5% corporate tax cut, the government was hoping to implenty this fiscal year would be postponed for three years. individual income taxes are to be raised by 5.5% for ten years. the second plan also calls for a three-year postponement in the corporate tax reduction. but the income tax burden would be eased by increasing the tobacco tax. income taxes would be lifted by 4% for ten years. the two plans reduce income and local tax exemptions for salary earners. the government aims to submit the necessary enabling bills to the diet around the middle of next year. more than six months after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami, some 90,000 people are still waiting for life to return to normal. for now, they must be content with basic accommodation and basic food. in this edition of "the road

ahead" we meet a chef who uses his skills and experience to make life for the survivors more palatable. nhk world's yuko fukuyama has the story. >> reporter: meet ito, he's a chef who owns a french restaurant in iwate prefecture. since the march 11th catastrophe, he has been cooking and handing out food to stricken people nonstop. today he and two chefs were outside the prefecture are cooking meals for 170 people. the menu, features a nutritious variety of marinated vegetables, a rich soup, roast beef and pumpkin pudding. on any given day, it's normal for ito to travel for as long as three hours or more to get to a shelter. then, he cooks a meal that is heartier, tastier and more nutritious than the usual diet.

>> translator: oh, sure, lunch boxes were being handed out. but they were all the same. and didn't offer any real choice. in the end, people just lose the pleasure of eating. so i thought it would be nice to try and bring some of that pleasure back to them. >> reporter: even before the disaster, ito was involved in compassionate activities. for several years, he traveled across the prefecture to cook for families. he developed deep ties with many. several of his clients lost their homes on march 11th. others vanished. on this day, ito journeys to a city leveled by the tsunami. the majority of survivors now live in about 2,000 temporary housing units.

the local government's food distribution program has finished. now it's up to the locals to feed themselves. but with few opportunities to earn a living, many save money by spending less on food. >> translator: cooking takes time and it's quite a hassle. so this is a real treat. >> reporter: most victims of the disaster say that without the clear idea of the future, they don't feel like cooking. on top of that, the elderly find it difficult to buy groceries. they may not have transportation or they simply don't have the stami stamina. >> reporter: ito tries his best to give balanced meals centered on vegetables. he also wants to serve the kind

of food people ate before the catastrophe. >> translator: dishes like these are really hard to get around here. so we're very grateful. my kids really seem to love it. and it picks up my spirits when i hear them say that the food is so delicious. >> translator: it really perks me up when i hear that people look forward to our meals. in the end, it encourages me to keep on doing this. >> reporter: ito feels that his efforts are not just about feeding people, but also about helping them reconstruct their lives. today he visits a port city all but wiped out by the tsunami and a huge fire. >> translator: people who live here didn't see the waves coming. their houses were still

standing, but when they turned around, the tsunami was carrying off buildings. on this shopping street alone, some 30 people died. others saved themselves by hanging on to electric power cables. >> reporter: for the past three months, ito has been helping some women set up an eatery where locals can gather casually. before march 11th, most of these women were involved in growing and processing seaweeds and scallops. but the whole industry was sidelined by the giant wave. ito brought a grill that he ordered especially for the project. it should be ideal for cooking seafood and other local products that will be on the menu.

>> reporter: they try their hand at noodles and salmon and roll. only one single convenience store remains in the community. the shopping street in most restaurants were wiped out. so the idea behind the project is not just to provide a place that serves good food. it's also a base where locals can restart their lives. >> translator: i've been giving a lot of thought about how we could try to make people happier. i also made it through the tsunami. and i think we need to be able to move forward. >> translator: the stores and restaurants are gone. people have no place to meet. since the disaster, maybe some locals even pass by others without a word of greeting. that's why i think it's so important for us to provide a central place where people can

mingle. >> translator: this kind of eatery bears a great responsibility, because it's a place where people get together. that's why i really want them to work hard. at the same time, i'm also taking part. and i'm glad to be able to support them. >> reporter: and so food, necessary for survival, and a place to eat and mix with others provides people with strength and the will to work together for a better future. yuko fukuyama, nhk world, in iwate prefecture. nearly 100 other chefs have joined ito in bringing quality food to the disaster zones. others donate meat and some other foods. but it costs a lot of money to operate this project. its survival will depend on getting proper funding.

"newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss them on "newsline." time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by src, sri lanka. about 1,400 tamil refugees have returned to sri lanka over the past month after fleeing to india during the civil war. the latest group landed at an airport on thursday. most of them originally lived near the headquarters of the tamil insurgency. government statistics show that about 4,400 tamil refugees have

returned from india in the past two years. peace has prevailed in northern parts of the country since the defeat of the tamil insurgents in may 2009. first-time auto buyers in thailand have become eligible for a special rebate of up to $3,300. prime minister yingluck shinawatra promised the subsidy during her election campaign. to get the rebate, the buyers must place orders for new cars with the pricetag not exceeding $33,000. the scheme is valid until the end of next year. the first-time car buyers will only be reimbursed for one year and the scheme has attracted attention. on the first day of friday, a large number of prospective customers reportedly visited car dealers across the country. little kids tried their hand at making noodles at an international food expo in hong kong on thursday.

the 11-day expo is showcasing delicacies made from wheat. the kids prepared hand-pulled noodles and meticulously arranged them on a 100-meter-long painting of the great wall of china. over highlights included playful delicacies prepared by children, their parents and teachers, as well as pictures of noodles as eaten in ancient times. here are the latest market figures. 25 6 2

time for your weather round-up as we head into the weekend. first to eastern asia. we were talking about roke, this one might cause quite a problem as we head through the weekend. but there is yet another storm to think about this. this one is songka. as it comes closer to the eastern edge of japan, if we still have roke sitting there vicinity, then the two storms combined could mean a continued amount of heavy rain coming down across parts of western and up into eastern japan. so we'll be watching for that as we head into the beginning of next week. heavy rains also moving through

parts of the sea of japan side of the country and up into the north, northern tohoku could see about 120 millimeters of rain, this is coming off of a front being exacerbated by our tropical storm down here further towards the south. and then another area of heavy rain will be found in central china. this is going to get a little bit worse before it gets better. but by the end of the weekend it should start to settle down a bit. out towards the north is where we'll find the fairer weather, but it is going to be a little bit on the chilly side, 9 degrees in ulan bator, lows down around freezing. 20 in beijing. 29 in seoul and 30 in tokyo and fairly warm as we head further towards the south. especially in chongqing at 35. maria, the hurricane that we've been tracking for the past several days is now headed for newfoundland. we have warnings, tropical storm warnings, hurricane warnings posted across eastern locations. it's a very fast-moving system. moving at 7 2 kilometers per hour. it is going to be heading straight up through and then should start to lose steam after

it makes landfall. it's currently giving us winds of 130 kilometers per hour. stronger gusts with that, too. so we're talking about some heavy rain, as well as winds that could cause some structural damage. high waves and certainly some coastal flooding. now as we head back to look at what's happening across the rest of the u.s. and canada, for most of you in the east, you're going to be noticing some considerably cooler temperatures. across parts of the north, across the great lakes and heading in towards the northeast here, that's going to mean some freeze problems for many of you. down towards the south, just a bit of respite from those very hot temperatures you've been seeing for much of the summer. should really take the edge off some of that heat. we do have quite a lot of instability across the west and the south. this is going to be showers, maybe some thunderstorms as well. some early-season mountain snow up in the elevations of the rockies. and in terms of the temperatures, then to show you, 17 in winnipeg, 15 in chicago,

22 in oklahoma city and 24 in denver. this is an improvement over yesterday. i think the temperatures are going to recover. keeping the heat very far down towards the south in houston, 34 for you. and we have 32 in miami. all right. heading to europe then, lastly. most of the continent is looking pretty good out towards the east. and indeed central locations as well. high pressure is in place. finally seeing things ease off across the north here, too. we have yet another land front rolling in across the british is isles, it will be wet and windy for most of the weekend for you. and nothing too much to worry about in northern iberia, it will be a little unsettled and showery for you. temperatures fairly moderate into the west and central locations. the south still looking at the mid-summer heat and in the northeast, 15 in moscow and a cool 15 also for you in stockholm. here's your extended forecast.

the japanese pop group, smap will hold its first-ever overseas concert in beijing on friday. chinese fans have been waiting to see them after it was forced to cancel a performance in china last year. former chinese foreign minister, tan-de chen welcomed the group in beijing. preparations are under way at the cop sert venue with a gigantic billboard adorning the entrance.

>> smap had been due to hold its first concert outside japan last october in shanghai. but the collision of a chinese fishing boat and japanese patrol vessels in waters in okinawa prefecture last september strained bilateral relations. it led to the cancellation. and anti-japanese sentiment is said to have become widespread among the chinese since the country's policy of promoting patriotism in schools. many youth took to the streets to protest against japan in the wake of the september incident. still, japanese pop music and animation attract a strong following in the country. >> translator: now a days, young people in china can easily get information on japan through the internet. so japanese pop singers are popular in china, too.

>> plans for the concert were revived in may during chinese premier, wen jiabao's visit to japan. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ applause ] >> translator: the chinese government is using japanese pop culture as a tool to improve friendship between the two countries. beijing wants to create a favorable atmosphere for sino-japan relations ahead of a trip to china.

that's our broadcast this hour on "newsline," we'll be back with more news in half an hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo. thank you for watching.