welcome to "newsline." it is monday, september 26th. 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. defense companies are expected to have three plane models to compete for selection as the next main stay fighter jet. the defense ministry asked the companies to present specification and price of the latest jets on monday morning. three aircraft models will

likely be offered. the f-35 was jointly developed by the u.s. company lockheed martin and eight other countries. it has stealth capabilities enabling it to evade radar detection. the f-18 jet which has been in use by the u.s. navy since 2002 was developed by u.s. manufacturer boeing. and the eurofighter model was develop theed by four european countries. this fighter jet was employed by alternate during military operations in libya this year. in making their choice, the ministry plans to assess how japanese companies can be involved in the jet's production and maintenance as well as developing capabilities and establishing prices. the ministry plans to decide by the end of november. the new jets will replace the f-4 fighter jet. one of the self defense forces three combat planes. the model pro-introduced 40 years ago will be decommissioned in a few years.

u.s. and european fighter jet makers are competing fiercely to win the contract to sell their products to japan. the companies believe japan's decision will affect their ability to sell to brazil, turkey and other emerging economies. these nations are planning to introduce large number of fighter jets in the near future. we have a report from washington. >> yeerp peen makers are selling the eurofighter model. they think winning a contract with japan which has used u.s. jets will create a good chance for them to expand business worldwide. the united states meanwhile does not regard japan as just a customer. the u.s. attaches importance on orders from japan as a proof of the strong alliance. >> we have an extraordinary alliance with japan. they are one of our closest

friends, our closest allies. >> reporter: the u.s. regards it undesirable that japan buys fighter jets the main players of japan's defense from countries other than itself. >> we have a unique relationship with japan and we want to see our allies having the same capability-type aircrafts with as we do. there will be a lot of political tension. >> all players are kaurnsly watching japan's decision. the next generation of its fighter jets will play a main role in the country's air defense for decades to come. nhk world, washington. >> all right. we are joined for the latest in business news. japan is coming out of a three-day weekend. the markets have a bit of catching up to do. >> absolutely. the dow jones industrial average closed a touch higher on friday buthat is after two days of heavy selling. the global economic outlook

remains shaky. we are headed to the last trading week of the third quarter. let's see how things are in japan this morning. we will go to ra mean at the tokyo stock exchange. markets were closed last friday. how are things looking? >> the markets are gooep gearing up for the last quarter of the calendar year following a volatile, negative quarter in the u.s. and in the europe and the first fiscal year half in japan. just having a look now, this monday morning at the nikkei and the topix after that three-day weekend as you mentioned. and marginally lower. not a great move but still in the negative in the first few minutes of trading. the ni nikkei has been down 4%. wake data out of the u.s. and how all of that has played in to the the yen which has further gained against both the dollar and the euro. as a matter of fact, actually even dropping below 103 against

the euro, which was refreshing a ten-year low for the euro against the yen. now, the strong yen is likely to hit exporters and hold back a recovery in japan and its economy six months after the march 11th disaster. imf and the world bank meetings was a focus for toward and also with many questions unanswered regarding eurozone debt crisis and also how central banks may take further steps to avert a possible global crash. we've seen benchmark yields at record lows. stock markets caught between earnings, which have been hit by supply chain disruption is, as we know since the march 11th disaster and some fundamentals. then on the political front, we have seen infighting in japan and in the u.s. i, which has really clogged toward minds and kept a cloud over markets on that front as well. looking ahead this week, as we

come to the last trading week of september and looking forward to october, a lot of toward may be rebalancing their portfolios and books. we may see a tight range in these few days. again, next week we will have jobs data, manufacturing data and then, of course, a new set of earnings results for toward to deal with as well. a lot of factors dragging markets lower in the last quarter but may have some events which may provide a shift in sentiment. we'll see. for now the nikkei just in the negative. back to you. >> ramin, thank you i for that. now in other news, japanese automakers are expanding their operations in booming southeast asian markets. the move comes as exports are shrinking due to a strong yen and demand is sluggish in the u.s. and europe. mitsubishi motors says it aims to nearly double the market share in southeast asia to 12%

in four years. the target countries include thailand, independent neez yarks malaysia and the philippines and vietnam. to achieve this goal, mitsubishi plans to make thailand an export platform for the asian markets. it will build a new plant and double output in two years. the company will start to make compact cars in indonesia and malaysia also. toyota says it will boost its production kpaps capacity in indonesia by more than 60% and launch new compact cars there. nissan will also introduce over 10 new models across the region. now let's look at what is coming up in japan's business calendar this week. domestic auto production is due out on wednesday. a recovery in supply chains for automotive parts is feeding through to tangible improvements each month. automakers say their output is approaching pre-disaster levels. we will see a spade of economic indicators on friday. first industrial production, a

key gauge of corporate activity for august. and the jobless rate and the job seekers to job offers ratio for august will come out on the same day. the third indicator is on consumer prices. finally housing starts will come out on friday. the figure for july soared 21.2% compared to the previous year. this was due to resumption of home building that had been delayed by a lack of materials in the wake of the march disaster. now a lineup of numbers coming out this week in the united states. we start off with a key housing indicator. new home sales for august are out on monday. are consumers still anxious about the economy? we'll know more when the conference board releases the consumer confidence index on tuesday. it dropped to 44.5 in august. that's from 59.2 in july. august was the worst reading in more than two years. durable goods orders for

august are due out on wednesday. then the third reading of the gross domestic product for the second quarter is due out on the same day. consumer spending for august will be out on friday. going against the market consensus, it jumped 0.8% in july due to strong demand for cars. we'll see if there is more good news in august, as the economy needs to see strong consuminger spending to fully recover. now time to get a recap of the latest market figures.

that is all for now in business news. now it is back to catherine. >> thank you very much. four successive blasts hit the iraqi city of karbala on sunday killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 100. the first bomb attached to a motor bike exploded at a local government buildings. three detonations went off shortly after ward as people gathered to help those wounded by the first explosion. police say when the blast occurred many citizens were at the government building to apply for passports or other processes. an armed group attacked buses killing 22 previously. they were returning to the major shia holy city of karbala. police suspect that sunday's explosions were carried out by an extremist group amid confrontations between shia and sunni muslims. the united states will withdrawal its troops from iraq by the end of december.

a blast has occurred at a church on the indonesian island of java killing two and injuring more than 20 people. one of the dead is the suspected suicide bomber. indonesian security authorities say there was an explosion near the entrance of the church in a central javanese city of solo. one of the dead is a man who appears to be around 30 years old. local police suspect he detonated a device he had strapped to his body, given that his abdomen was badly injured. police are in the process of identifying the man and investigating the background of the attack. two foreign affiliated hotels? jakarta were attacked with explosives almost simultaneously in july of 2009 killing nine people. since that time no no major terrorist attacks have occurred in the country until now. myanmar's pro democracy

leader says she will work with the government that replaced the junta in march to push for democratization. in an interview with nhk, she said she felt that president thein sein, whom she met last month is ready to implement the necessary changes for democratization. >> how i see it is, we should not just guess at how strong or not strong the force to its change. i think we have to make it strong. this is our responsibility. this is our duty to try to make it as strong as possible. >> asked if she would participate in the government if requested to do so, kie aung san suu kyi said she could have to consult her party indicating she may take part in the league supports the move. she said that changes are insufficient until they have the support of many people and urged the government to take concrete

action, including the release of political prisoners. "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. and "the road ahead request" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline." japan's nuclear safety agency has instructed the operator of the stricken fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant to check if hydrogen is building up in its number two and three reactors. this comes after tokyo electric power company or tepco detected hydrogen in a pipe leading to the containment vessel of the number one reactor. a hydrogen explosion occurred on march 12th at the number one

reactor after the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. the government's nuclear and industrial safety agency on sunday instructed tepco to check pipes in the number two and number three reactors. the number three reactor suffered a hydrogen explosion on march 14th and the number two reactor had a hydrogen explosion on march 15th. the utility says it will measure the levels of hydrogen at the number one reactor before injecting nitrogen and taking other measures to prevent another explosion. the firm is expected to take similar measures if hydrogen is detected at the number two and number three reactors, as well. japan's economy, trade and industry ministry says it will support companies investing in geo thermal power generation projects. geo thermal generation uses high temperature steam produced by underground water heated naturally by volcanic activity. they predict it will be a key source of renewable energy in

japan. the country has many volcanos. a semi governmental government will offer grants or investment money for firms looking for suitable sites. companies need to raise huge amounts of money for the initial stages of the projects. generating a well for underground steam is expected to cost 65 million to $130 million. the ministry plans to guarantee firms debt to help them obtain loens for the projects from financial institutions. it will allocate the necessary funds for the plan in the next fiscal year's budget. a newspaper which continued publishing after it had lost its printing press in the march 11th earthquake and tsunami has won a special award. the ishinomaki hibi shimbun, a daily newspaper in ishinomaki city, miyagi prefecture was

awarded an award in taipei on sunday. ipi headquartered in austria, decided to give the award to the daily for its efforts under difficult conditions to provide news to the disaster victims. the six reporters wrote the news with pens on big sheets of paper because they could not use computers as the power was out. the handwritten newspaper was posted at various locations, including shelters and town hall. it provided information about the extent of the damage and survival information badly needed by those who were affected by the earthquake and tsunami. for six days, beginning the day of the disaster, after the disaster, the company released handwritten newspapers until they could use computers to print the paper. disaster-hit sendai airport in northeastern japan has resumed international services that had been suspended since the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. about 30 airport and government

officials attended the reopening ceremony at the terminal building on sunday. they offered silent prayers for the victims of the disaster. sendai airport stopped functioning after most of the facilities were submerge bd i the tsunami. the airport resumed domestic regular services in july but many international airlines delayed making a decision because they wanted to see the developments from the accidents at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. passengers boarded the first flight to seoul, south korea, on sunday. >> translator: i waited a long time to make this trip. i think i can help the reconstruction by taking a flight. >> reporter: flights to guam and taiwan will resume next month, and services to beijing will resume from march next year. the march 11th tragedy created creativity in the film

world. in the disaster hit city of sendai, miyagi prefecture a film festival was held this month. all the fims shown were the same duration, 3:11 seconds representing the date of the disaster. we see how japan's up and coming film directors worked on their small pieces in light of the disaster. >> reporter: children at play but the smiles and laughter soon give way to hints of the fact from the fukushima nuclear accident on people's lives. this animation entitled "the hands" unfolds with images of grieving and pray. simple sketches convey feelings

of growth and separation. the sendai short film festival opened on september 17th. the 11-year-old festival gives novice film directors a chance to move in to the spotlight. 41 entries were accepted this year for this category. the hole where the event where the -- the hall where the event is usually held was damaged in the march 11th disaster. a member of the organizing committee says they almost gave up holding the festival this year. they pressed ahead after strong encouragement from directors. >> translator: i was so grateful to know that there are film directors supporting even a

small festival in sendai. i realized the significance of keeping the festival alive. >> reporter: the requirement for this category was that all films had to be three minutes and 11 seconds long, and based on the theme -- tomorrow. this man's entry was shot in the tsunami devastated city of okintata in miyagi prefecture. it is the story of a team of engineers trying to rebuild a growing town. at night, they are haunted by a menacing force. >> translator: i was lost after the disaster. it seemed reality sur plast passed fiction, but i made the film driving myself forward,

step by step. that's how i motivated myself. >> reporter: never give up is shot in the style of a music video. the director has already won international akred dags for cities depicting the life of rapper tom. for the leading role, he chose a native of sendai whose friend remains missing due to the tsunami. ♪ never give up never give up never give up ♪ >> translator: i want people in sendai to know that the unprecedented disaster will not prevent us from keeping on doing

what we had been doing. tom and i both resolve to continue without ever giving up. [ applause ] >> translator: i like the films because they are not all dark, and i could see the perspectives of many people. >> translator: it's wonderful to see how things connect to the future. >> translator: it is a great joy if people who have never come to the festival before can discover what with films can be like. this year's festival is a starting point for the next festival. i'm determined to move forward. >> reporter: through our window of three minutes and 11 seconds, the 41 directors have given their take on the disaster that will shape japan for years to come. nhk world.

welcome back to your weather update. in east yaz a ya we are monitoring two tropical storm systems. one hatang approaching vietnam and another for northern vietnam. let's look at this one. nesat is packing piend winds of 120 kilometers an hour. not moving fast at 15 kilometers an hour but getting close to the northern end of the philippines. you can see the central philippines are seeing the stronger winds and the winds will intensify throughout the course of the day and even through tuesday as the core of the typhoon works across the northern end of the philippines. it will be stormy the next couple of days. plenty of rain, strong winds and high waves that you want to watch out for this. this will be a couple of days of stormy conditions. ahead of that, we have tropical storm tatang in the south china

peninsula. it is likely making landfall within the next 24 to 48 hours. wind speeds 65 kilometers an an hour. more strengthening is expected before landfall. once it makes landfall it should rapidly weaken. you want tobreak brace for stronger winds and rough sea conditions along the coastline. otherwise we are looking at fairly settled. china, the eastern side here, the southern end here will be looking at heavier rains due to the tropical storm season and out west, too, some scattered showers out here. as for japan, largely dry here, too, but the southern islands have been seeing heavy rain already. that is looking to continue today. the pacific side of southern japan may see some heavier showers throughout the day. highs are looking like this 22 tokyo. nice and cool. 27 in seoul and 26 for beijing.

over to the americas, we've got hurricane hillary heading out to see for now. we will keep an eye on the developments. showers are prevalent across the florida peninsula and the eastern united states, this area of rain spreads out, especially across the midwest with heavier rain possible. you want to watch for that. in the pacific northwest, too, remains pretty unsettled. a lot of moisture continues to come in off of the pacific. seattle's high at 17 degrees. and then vancouver at 15. quite cool here. denver heats up to 30 during the day time and chicago at 17. 23 expected in toronto. finally, a look at europe. some scattered thunder showers will continue across the southern end of italy. some of it is affecting the balkan peninsula as well. settled picture for europe but to the northwest, showers will move out of the british isles and aim for the scandinavian

peninsula looking to spread asweden and norway and denmark will feel the rain. for monday's highs, 15 stockholm, 24 berlin and 27 rome. still some summer temperatures here along the mediterranean. that's a look at your weather for now and here's your three-day outlook.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thank you for joining us.