it's 10:00 p.m. in tokyo, welcome to "newsline," i'm michio kijima. china will soon launch its first unmanned space laboratory as an initial step toward building its own space station this decade. cha ys the ten meter long cylindrical module jiuquan 1 will lift off from the jiuquan satellite launch center in northwest china on thursday. tiangong means heavenly palace

in chinese. the lab is already set at the launch pad. tiangong will dock with into orbit. the lab is designed to test the highly critical technologies needed to build china's space station. china's space project is said to be strongly connected with the military's fair. the project is said to increase tensions with the international community. >> 1970, china became the world's fifth space power when it put its first satellite into orbit. its experience with weather and communication satellites helped china to commercially launch satellites for overseas clients. in the 1990s, the country announced a three-stage manned space project. the first stage was the development of a manned spacecraft. thseco now in progre involved the launch of a space lab and the acquisition of docking and other technologies needed for short stays in space. the final stage is the construction of a full-fledged

space station for extended stays in space. saudi arabia's king abdullah has overturned a court ruling sentencing a woman to be lashed for defying the muslim kingdom's ban on women driving cars. the woman had been sentenced to ten lashes by a court in the western city of jiddah on tuesday inviting domestic and international criticism. human rights activists said the ruling displayed a severity of saudi arabia's discrimination against women. an influential member of the royal family announced the king's decision on the internet the situation. the king, who is seen as a reformist, recently decreed that women will be allowed to vote in some elections. his latest decision is being hailed by domestic feminists. the woman defendant said the king had removed the fear caused by the unfair ruling. japan's fukushima daiichi

nuclear power plant can be viewed as being a step closer to a state of cold shutdown. tokyo electric power company announced on thursday that the temperature in the number two reactor largely remained below 100 degrees celsius. bringing the mercury below the 100-degree mark at all three troubled reactors. but tepco still faces challenges, such as stabilizing the cooling systems, before a state of cold shutdown can be achieved. 100 degrees is a benchmark temperature for a cold shutdown. a goal for shutting down the number two reactor. the company is aimingo achieve a cold shutdown by the end of the year. under normal circumstances, a cold shutdown can be issued when reactors are halted safely and the water inside drops below 100 degrees. but since the fukushima plant has suffered nuclear fuel meltdown, the criteria are somewhat different. that's why a cold shutdown has been redefined as bringing the temperatures at the bottom of the crippled reactors to below

100 degrees. another requirement is cushing the release of radioactive substances so that additional human exposure near the plant can be limited to one millisievert per year or less. >> translator: we're satisfied that all three troubled reactors are below 100 degrees. it's very important to maintain this situation permanently. >> one of the hurdles to achieving the cold shutdown is the presence of contaminated water. water must be continuously injected into the reactors to keep them cool. but this produces 550 tons of radioactive water each day. whh ste coamat. an expert points out another major hurdle. >> translator: 100 degrees is only a benchmark point. and achieving this does not mean the reactors are safe. another major earthquake and

tsunami could strike. and the water cooling systems could suddenly stop working. if this happens, it's vital that the cooling process is resumed quickly. before additional melting occurs. an independent team of experts will soon start investigating the accident at japan's fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. members of the lower house of the country's diet passed a bill on thursday that outlines what the new panel will be able to do. the legislation won unanimous support. it gives the diet the power to assemble a ten-member team of experts. this panel will work separately from the government's investigation and verification committee, which was set up back in may. it will have the authorities t summon witnesses and demand suission of documents to clarify t cause of the fukushima accident. the independent panel must submit a report to the diet in six months. the bill to set up the team of

experts is expected to pass the upper house on friday. japanese experts on nuclear energy have held their first major gathering since the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant in march. the atomic energy society of japan plays a key role in the advancement of the nation's nuclear technology, and the training of engineers. tonight's nuclear watch looks as how japanese experts have had to rethink their views since the accident. >> reporter: the united states began the peaceful use of nuclear energy during the cold war. japan followed the u.s. by building its first test reactor in 1957. the atomic energy society of japan was founded two years later. its members include researchers at universities and other institutes and people working for utilities and manufacturers. they include some of the leading

figures in japan's nuclear industry. many of the society's 7,000 members work for tokyo electric power company. the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi plant. the society helps to promote nuclear technology and train researchers. it is also created safety standards for nuclear plants and made recommendations to the government and the nuclear industry. but the ongoing nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi has forced its members to re-evaluate their views on nuclear energy. at the conference, the society's president, saturu tanaka, who is also a professor at the university of tokyo, shared his thoughts about the accident. >> translator: the accident has had a huge impact on the people of japan and has caused them great worry. from a position of promoting the advancement of academic

resources and technology, we find the situation extremely regrettable. >> our reporter, yoichiro sake joins us with details on the conference. our conversation will be in japanese but we'll provide simultaneous interpretation as we always do. mr. sake says these scholars are representing neither the government nor the industry, why do they have to express their feelings of remorse? >> because many members of the atomic energy society of japan have been engaged in the development of nuclear power plants and the formulation of safety members. they're also the members of the government council, which perform safety reviews for nuclear plants. and they've been developing safety guidelines for nuclear power plants. so the members of the society think that they are partly responsible for not being able to prevent the crisis from happening. at the conference, many participants raised questions

about what went wrong and why. >> translator: we may have been avoiding discussion of the key issue of securing nuclear safety. it's unclear who is responsible and in what ways. >> translator: we must be able to discuss this freely. and achieve comprehensive evaluations within our organization. >> this professor at tokyo institute of technology, who is investigating the nuclear accident at fukushima, has this to say. >> translator: some say that we created a nuclear safety myth. but such a myth spread throughout society without us knowing it. this is undeniably resulted in days in measures to improve nuclear safety. >> did any members of the society look back and report on the accident?

>> a professor emeritus at tohoku university who is well known for his studies of tsunami, was invited as a guest speaker. who is quite unusual for someone who is not a member of the society to give a lecture at this conference. in a thesis published 23 years ago, this professor had warned about the danger of tsunami crippling electrical systems at a nuclear power plant. but his warning was not given much attention in drawing up safety measures for nuclear power plants. >> translator: it is important to use one's imagination when preparing for tsunami. we have to imagine how past tsunami would have affected today's coastal areas. >> how will the society and the japanese nuclear physicists, researchers, try to cope with the fukushima daiichi nuclear accident into the future? >> the most important thing is that evacuees from fukushima will be able to return home as

early as possible. the atomic energy society says it will work closely with experts around the world to help decontaminate the region as much as possible. to bring the crisis under control, fuel rods must be taken out from reactors and nuclear wastes must be disposed properly. to solve these problems, the society says it will disclose knowledge and skills and work hard to regain public trust. but even if the situation is brought under control, there's no assurance japan will continue to use nuclear power generation in the future. at the conference, some members voiced concern that nuclear power research may lose momentum in the future. others said the society might have been lucky in the attitude to put safety first. the researchers must reaffirm

the importance of safety once again. to gain support from the public. >> thank you, mr. osaki for being with us. >> that was ours reporter yoichiro osaki for today's "nuclear watch." german lawmakers approved a proposal put forward by european leaders that boosts the bailout fund to ease concerns about the debt situation in europe. in july, the 17 nations of the euro zone agreed to expand the so-called european financial facility stability. they've been taking their plan to lawmakers for approval. the german parliament approved the proposal on thursday, 523 lawmers voted in favor and 85

against this makes the country the 10th euro zone nation to contribute to the plan. germany's ratification is essential for the vote to move forward. the voting took place despite public discontent over the use of taxpayer mon tba out ee. top businesseaders from the nation's economyay they ou eanceoorationn the aftermath of the mch11 disast. e ads weren tokyo on thursday for thesiuses summitosd b theap siss ferion o kadonden. participants included the heads of private organizations from japan, china, india and south korea. after the summit, they drew up a joint statement and handed it to japanese prime minister, yoshihiko noda. it states that the leaders acknowledged the immense impact of supply chain disruptions in japanese automotive parts and other products on global

manufacturing stemming from the disaster. it goes on to say asia businesses will help japan recover and prevent any disruption isupply chains. th communique' addha t llhare their experience and kn-hbomeen reonse tnaon diste rtong prucon it also urges the goverents to promote free trade partnerships through frameworks such as the trans-pacific partnership. cuba has legalized the purchase and sale of autos for the first time since 1959 revolution, in part of the country's efforts to rebuild its economy. the government on wednesday said in a decree, that from october 1st, it will allow its citizens to buy and sell cars and to transfer ownership mongrel tiffs. foreign residents can also buy and sell autos and import a maximum of two cars. since the rolutio52 years ago, the country had bned buying and selling of autos by

individual owners. in april, the ruling communist party decided to partially introduce market principles to revive the chronically ailing economy. the government apparently aims to increase revenue by imposing a new tax on car transactions. many cubans welcomed the move. but some are voicing concern that an economy based more on market principles could widen the gap between the rich and poor. japanese mobile phone operators are launching new models capable of high-speed data transmission ahead of the year-end sales season. soft bank unveiled its new smartphone lineup on thursday. one model allows users to do online searches, play video games and upload or download videos at least one and a half times faster than conventional models. due to the increasing number of young customers who play video games on smartphones, the ability to smoothlyandle large amount of data is sential.

>> tralator: various kinds of da are being sent to you handsets in the blink ofn eye. data traffic will dramatically increase, more than we had ever imin. >> meanwhile, kddi, the operator of the au mobile network will release in october, new products with a data transmission speed that is five times faster than conventional models. and ntt plans to release new models next month as well. some businesses in hawaii are booming, thanks to the yen trading at historically high levels against the u.s. dollar. the appreciation of the yen has been a tail wind of th u.s. iojapase toust anally. >> reporter: hawaii is probably the most popular overseas resort destination for japanese.

even though the summer vacation season in japan is er eoe goi ththck of rong iss haiint. mae tourists have come here to take advantage of the bargain prices due to the strong yen. the amount of dollars snt by a japanese tourist in one trip has increased. a survey by the state of hawaii shows that 10% increase compared to last year. >> translator: everything is so cheap. i spent too much. >> translator: i'm happy i came here. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: japanese couples having weddings here are also increasing. newlyweds are seen in many places. we asked why they chose hawaii. >> the strong yen. >> the strong yen. >> translator: we always wanted

our resort wedding and it was cheaper to go overseas now. >> reporter: a leading travel agency says the number of couples making wedding reservations in hawaii has increased since july. >> translator: just for october, about 500 couples made reservations. that's the highest since launching our wedding department. >> reporter: more japanese are no bing rl tanii mang theosofheigh yen. time-share properties are especially popular. time-sharing aows sever peleo y condominium. thjownsse the condo for a week every year for around $50,000. >> this has two bedrooms and an ocean vi. >> when the owners buy a unit,

they need to pay about $1,500 per year to cover administrative and the hecosts. in addition,tan dficult toeshe uni during japanese vacation season. still, the presence of time-share properties owned by japanese has increased. more than half of the condominiums the companies sold this year were bought by japanese. >> translator: we expect a 20% increase in sales from last year. i think that's definitely because of the tailwind from the strong yen. >> reporter: businesses have high hopes that the strong yen will bring more money into the hawaiian economy. >> the united states is not doing well at all. but hawaii is doing slightly better in large part due to the

impact of the japanese visitors into hawaii. we have high expectations for the japanese market. >> that was nhk world's namakawa reporting from hawaii. time to check on stories we've gathered from broadcasters around as. we begin tonight sent b thi item sent by ddi, india. for the first time in 35 years, th pakistani commerce ministry is visiting india with the aim of boosting trade between the two countries. during the five-daysit, the pakistani official met with his indian counterpart in new delhi on wednesday. they agreed to double trade between two countries to $6 billion from the current $2.7 billion in three years. india has agreed to issue one-year multiple-entry visas to pakistani business people and they will be free to visit any part of the country. pakistan has created that it will consider giving india most favored nation status. india has already granted the

status to pakistan. bangkok police say they're going to install 13 high-resolution cameras on city roads to monitor speeding. the move is part of a campaign to insure roadsafety. the cameras are fitted inside life-sized dummies called j ja choiyi which means silent sergeant. the cameras will capture images of cars that violate the speed limit. they will transfer the data to traffic control centers and nearby officers, police will then mail fine notices to violators. china unveiled its first gold vending machine in the capital city ofijg. e device will go into operation on saturday. shoppers in china, the world's second largest user of gold, can withdraw gold bars or coins of various weights, based on market prices using theirashr bank cards. thdrawals are capped at 2.5

kilograms of gold. theachines could prove popular as an increasing number of chinese people are using the precious metal as a hedge against inflation. the country plans to install about 1,000 gold atms in secure locations over the next two years. such vdialready in use in brita united ste hi and welcome back. let's take a look at your weather conditions. starting off with asia. we want to talk about this typhoon nesat. it has swept through philippines, and it didn't directly hit hong kong. but look at what hong kong had to deal with. we have a video coming up from hong kong just today. now it has brought tremendous damages as you can see here. the effects of typhoon nesat

caused strtural damage. a lot of transportation has been suspended or canceled. the storm forced people to shut schools, courts and government offices so people are trying to clear up this mess right over here in hong kong. now as you can see, it's a large storm. typhoon nesat is going to be sweeping through hainan fairly quickly in a speed of 20 kilometers per hour and then towards the gulf of tanking it will downgrade and then make another landfall in northern vietnam, perhaps friday evening. as it travels over land, it looks like it's going to be downgrading into a tropical depression. but even though it's going to be downgrading, the accumulation of rainfall is going to be staggering. we have reports of 167 millimeters in hainan, additional of another 250 in western seaboards of hainan can be accumulated. a total of up to about 400 millimeters in just by, just from this storm in hainan. and southern portions of especially the coastal areas of

china is going to be accumulating. so upping the risk of flooding, landslides and mudslides here. we had a short break for philippines. the flooding conditions are not still completely alleviated yet. but yet again, another storm is heading its way towards luzon. it looks like it's going to be making landfall this severe tropical storm, nalgae, as a strong typhoon. as it intensifies, making landfall again about saturday evening. and then it looks like it's going to be heading towards in. round of ry srmontions will keep a ry now thissowhe inulk rno trelg. bunonlyhewo affectiirtly efomentioned ea b iocnaensusoi toeffby vy hvy rain as well. because these two storms are

enhancing the southwest monsoon. so thailand is going to be having that bulk of heavy rain upping the risk of flooding there as well. and the bigger picture, the low pressure system thhe cold front is going to be pushing into japan. so much of japan is going to be seeing showers and some isolated thunderstorms to come for you. on the other hand, korean peninsula, looking versue e mp ulan bator, 8 degrees for the high. and the low is well below freezing point. tokyo here at 29 degrees. here in north america, let's first talk about this tropical storm ophelia. which is moving away from leeward islands. so it is moving away from the land masses. it's a good news, however it looks lit's going to be tracking towards newfoundland, making landfall there maybe early next week. so we have to keep a close eye on this system. a couple oowreur is going to be very active his

is where severe storm may be enthere. anehind that it's going to bery per hour in someea cuma gog er stnginelser , s ll ne he at. rextd forecast.

this just in, tonight china launched its first space laboratory module an initial step toward building its own space station. >> the tiangong lifted off from the jiuquan satellite launch center in northwest china. tiangong means heavenly palace in chinese. the tiangong will dock with another unmanned spacecraft that will be launched within two months.

and that's our broadcast for 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, bye-bye.