deadly downpour. unprecedented rain inundates southwestern japan triggering flooding, landslides, and it's not over yet. welcome to nhk world "newsline." an extreme seasonal storm has sideswiped parts of japan. record rain drenched the kyushu region for the second straight day. at least 20 people have died and seven are missing. thousands of households are under evacuation order. forecasters say an influx of warm, damp air from the south is to blame.

that's fueling the seasonal rain front. hourly rainfall in saga city on friday afternoon topped 90 millimeters. record rainfall of around 100 millimeters per hour lashed ports of northern kyushu. all that water is making the search for the missing difficult. >> translator: i'm terribly worried. i just hope they will be found soon. >> rivers are rising and some are in danger of bursting their banks. the risk of mudslides is rising and officials issued evacuation orders or advisories to people living in those areas. more than 9,000 households in northern kyushu are under evacuation order. on top of flooding and landslides, people are warned to be on the lookout for tornadoes and thunderstorms. we'll check in with robert speta later in the program. china's fiscal fortunes are falling.

7.6 quarterly growth doesn't sound too bad if you look at state of things in the u.s. and europe. but for china, the april to june gdp figure marks a slowdown. the growth rate of its gross domestic product is below 8% for the first time in three years. it's been shrinking for the past six quarters. problems in europe and at home are to blame. the national bureau of statistics spokespersons says the figure is the lowest since the second quarter of 2009. that's when the global financial crisis pushed the growth rate below 7%. some analysts say the eurozone debt crisis is creating sluggish demand for chinese products, and that's weighing down on gdp. others cite weaker domestic demand because of uncertainties about the economy. national bureau of statistics spokesperson says the government is aiming to stop the economic slowdown. >> translator: the chinese government will continue to focus on steady growth,

strengthening and adjusting the policies in a bid to maintain economic growth. >> chinese premier wen jiabao lowered the country's growth target in march to 7.5% based on the ill effects of rapid growth. the level is down from last year's 8%. the government had been expecting a somewhat slower pace of growth in the past quarter, but the ongoing debt concerns in europe could further hurt the chinese economy. the eurozone crisis could dampen demand for exports and hurt domestic demand. some economists expect chinese authorities to resort to further interest rate cuts and other monetarying easing measures to support the economy. a ragged chain of rocks in the east china sea is casting a shadow over diplomatic relations between tokyo and beijing. the object of the dispute, the senkaku islands known in china as the diaou. the japanese government says they are part of okinawa prefecture, but officials from

china and taiwan have been challenging that claim since the early 1970s when surveys indicated the presence of oil resources in the area. decades later, the dispult remains very much alive. >> public opinion in china is once again focused on the territorial dispute with japan over the senkaku islands. the issue was revived in april when the outspoken governor of tokyo ishihara proposed to purchase the island from their private owners. yoke heeko noda said the central government is considering similar plans. >> translator: the point is for japan to administer the islands in a peaceful and stable manner. we're communicate with the private owners and working on a comprehensive plan. >> the proposal drew furious

comments on chinese online forums. >> translator: the chinese military should occupy the islands. >> translator: japan needs to pay for its attitude. >> monday's press briefing at the foreign ministry suggested chinese officials were ready for stronger action. >> translator: buying or selling china's sacred land is unacceptable. the government will do what it takes to protect her sovereignty over the islands. >> two days later, three chinese patrol boats entered waters near the islands and were challenged by japan coast guard vessels. the confrontation lasted several hours. >> translator: this was a significant case of trespassing into our territorial waters. we'll have to keep watching china closely. >> the incident occurred just 12 hours before both countries' top diplomats held talks on the sidelines of an asean meeting in

phnom penh. koichira gemba protested the intrusion. earlier, i spoke on the territorial disputes with professor akihiro from the university of tokyo. let me ask you point blank. how do you interpret chinese patrol boats entering japanese waters? >> i think there's not so much doubt that they were sent by the chinese government to express their distrust. the japanese government has the intention to nationalize some of the islands, the senkaku islands. so they wanted to express their unhappiness about this. >> all right. do you think some of china's intentions is appealing to their own people? >> the domestic context, i think we should point out two factors. one is the party congress is

approaching. this is held once in five years. it's a very important event in chinese politics and the new leadership will be chosen at the congress. so for the chinese leaders at this moment, it's a very delicate, sensitive political season and they don't want to be seen as a weak leader. so that's one factor. and the second fact sor is, as u know, the nationalistic sentiment in chinese society is rising very much. so this show of toughness against a foreign country is much welcomed. or if they don't do this, there will be a lot of protests coming from the chinese society. >> do you see similarities between scarborough shoal and senkaku? is senkaku going to turn into a scarborough shoal where the boats are fot going to leave? >> well, there's always a possibility that things might

escalate in the east china sea so both sides must act very prudently. and it's the same -- the situation in the southd china sea and the situation in the east china sea. same in the sense that the chinese claim sovereignty of the islands that exist in these two seas. and they're not ready to make any concessions about the sovereignty claims. so as far as that is concerned, the issues are similar. and we'll also in a similar position with the southeast asian nations that we have to find some constructive solution without touching upon, perhaps, the sovereignty issues because the sovereignty issues are very difficult to solve. and the chinese side knows this so their proposal to the japanese in the 1970s and onward as far as senkakus are concerned is that we will shelf the sovereignty issues and perhaps

conduct a joint development of the resources around the -- in the area. >> professor akia takahara from the university of tokyo talking to us earlier. people in china are involved in territorial disputes on another front. they are haggle with southeast asian nations over parts of the south china sea which is potentially rich in natural resources. chinese fishermen are part of this fight. a fleet of 30 boats is sailing in the region right now. analysts say chinese authorities sent them there to demonstrate their claim of sovereignty over various islands. chinese media say the contingent is scheduled to carry out activities in the south china sea for 20 days. one of the ships is a 3,000-ton vessel that will supply food and fuel to other ships. the fleet also has an ad hoc branch of china's ruling communist party. china is in disputes with southeast asian nations over the ownership of the spratly islands and other territories. foreign ministers with the association of southeast asian

nations focused on this territorial tug-of-war during their meetings this week in phnom penh but decisions over how to describe the disputes kept them from releasing a joint statement. japan is planning to start the first trial production of shale oil this autumn. the oil is contained in a sedimentary rock called shale found in bedrocks deep under ground. its excavation had been considered difficult for a long time. but the development of new technologies has made shale oil drilling easier and surging fuel prices have made this new source of energy more attractive. the united states has been trying to tap shale oil for some time, and now japan petroleum exploration company or japex plans to go ahead with the first test production in the country. the test is scheduled 1800 meters underground at the

iyukawa gas field. japex plans to test or plans tests at two other oil gas fields also in ikata prefect purp it's hoping to drill a total of 5 million barrels of shale oil. companies officials say they could potentially find up to 100 million barrels of shale oil in the prefecture. that's about 6% of oil consumed in japan in 2010. >> translator: i think we can maintain a stable supply of energy by developing a variety of new resources. >> advancing exploration and mining technologies have made it possible to develop new oil and gas resources like methane hydrate in the oceans around japan as well. such resources usually require considerable amounts of time and high costs before commercial production can begin. but expectations for the new development or the development of new natural resources are growing in japan amid escalating global competition.

people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead." every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda says he's making the revitalization of fukushima his top priority. the nuclear accident contaminated parts of the prefecture and devastated its economy. noda released a new plan aimed at turning things around. nhk world's mayuko ambe has the details. >> reporter: fukushima is a shadow of its once vibrant self. towns and villages surrounding the nuclear plant appear deserted. the ghostly figures of decontamination crews dot the landscape. tens of thousands of residents have been forced to live in

temporary housing. prime minister yoshihiko noda says fixing the problems in fukushima is his number one national policy. his cabinet approved a plan to revitalize the prefecture. it says his government will continue to be active in decontamination work. the plan sets a goal rev deucing residents' exposure levels to one millisievert per year or lower in the long term. that's in line with international standards. the plan addresses the mounds of toxic topsoil that are piling up because of the cleanup effort. it says government officials will consider temporarily storing the contaminated dirt on state-owned property. the impact of radioactive material on public health is one of the major concerns in fukushima. noda is promising to subsidize thyroid tests for children to

check for signs or symptoms of exposure. the plan doesn't mention raising subsidies for businesses operating in the prefecture, even though fukushima authorities strongly requested the addition. however, it does reflect the prefecture's goal of creating communities that don't depend on nuclear power. the prime minister wants to promote the introduction of renewable resources. his goal is for green energy projects to create jobs. the problems in fukushima seem to pile up with each passing month. 160,000 people still can't go home. a significant number of residents don't have work. some people in the prefecture say the new plan lacks concrete details. they want the government to work harder and work faster so they can restart the lives they were leading before the disaster

changed everything. mayuko ambe, nhk world, tokyo. last year's nuclear accident prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents around the fukushima daiichi plant. but several municipalities were evacuated only weeks later after radioactive contamination had already spread. now some evacuees are demanding special compensation from the plant's operator, tokyo electric power company. the district is located in the municipality of iitate. the government officials ordered the evacuation of residents one month after the nuclear accident despite high levels of radiation. 159 residents filed a claim friday with a state-backed legal arbitrator. they say existing guidelines don't cover radiation exposure caused by delayed evacuation. they are seeking $50 million from tokyo electric power company for mental distress and

damages to their property. >> translator: i wish the villagers had been told to flee right after the accident. we want our land and houses back. but since that's impossible right now, we're seeking to obtain proper compensation from the utility. >> radiation levels in nagadoro remain high. they are set to declare the district uninhabitable for at least ten years. they've expressed concern about the safety of nuclear fuel rods stored at fukushima daiichi. it contains more than 1500 rods, the highest number at the plant. they could pose a threat in the event of another earthquake. the plant's operator tepco says it's ready to perform a trial run to remove some of the rods. the trial run is part of efforts to decommission the plant. it will involve removing two unused rods from the spent fuel pool at reactor four and

transferring them to a nearby storage facility. the japanese government approved on thursday the safety measures for the test. they include checking radiation levels with an underwater camera to select unused fuel rods. the special container used for the transfer will be attached to four cables as a safety measure. tepco says it cannot reveal the date of the test for security reasons. if successful, the utility plans to start removing the rest of the fuel rods in 2013. facebook, the world's largest social networking service, boasts around 900 million active users. but rival networks in other regions are enjoying explosive growth. china has its microblogging service with 300 million users. russia's leading service has 100 million.

and very soon the middle east will have its own. >> now, there is going to be a new alternative, salamworld. >> the ambitious aim of this social network is to connect the 1.5 billion muslims around the world. nhk world's sunshine paklibar sheds light on this new arrival. >> reporter: salamworld is based in istanbul, turkey, on the border between the middle east and europe. >> as salamworld, our aim is open muslims to the world, and the world to muslims. >> reporter: salamworld is aiming to become the muslim version of facebook. it hopes to attract 150 million users within the first three years. the platform will be available in eight different languages commonly used by muslims around

the world. the staff are all muslim and hail from 12 different countries. they are putting the final touches to the design of the new site which will make its debut later this month. the site will reflect traditional islamic values. for example, facebook runs advertisements for revealing women's garments. on salamworld, images like that will not be allowed as they go against islamic teachings. >> let alone alcohol or other cigarettes, for example, advertisements. there's also more sexual advertisements on the social media sites. for me, i want to have a right to not to see them. >> reporter: the developers say islamist extremists will be excluded so the portal will be safe for everyone to use.

>> translator: we will exclude all messages that are too radical. our purpose is to spread moderate islam the way it should be, which is completely different from the extremists. >> reporter: given the huge numbers of potential users, the business world is watching closely. dubai is one of the most developed of the gulf states. for muslims food has to be prepared according to islamic principles. this halal fast food restaurant has become very popular in the muslim world with 72 branches, mostly in the middle east and africa. company officials see great potential for expansion if they advertised on salamworld. >> we'll get more business so the company will be gradually more popular in the world and it

will be a large scale business. >> reporter: there is a growing interest from businesses far from the middle east. muhammad runs a company in malaysia that produces 120 different kinds of cosmetics and health foods. because liquor is prohibited in islam, all the beauty products are made without the addition of any alcohol. >> if you're a muslim, you want to use things that comply to the requirements of the sharia. and if you use it, you use it without any worries. >> reporter: muhammad set up her business six years ago. now she's hoping to expand globally. even before it goes online, salamworld has begun registering users. mohammed signed up straightaway so she can set up a page for her business.

>> very nice. gives us a possibility of interacting within the community that we want to serve. so this is a very good focus. >> reporter: but salamworld's goals extend far beyond the world of business. >> translator: we want to create a site on the internet that is for all muslims, a place that's safe, a place where people can feel at peace. you could say we want to create our own country in cyberspace. >> reporter: in the past two years, internet use among young muslims has spread like wildfire. since almost half of all muslims are 25 and under, salamworld looks set to take the islamic world by storm. sunshine paclibar, nhk world, dubai. >> salamworld will be officially

launched on or around july 20th. robert speta from the weather team updates us on the heavy rainfall in southern japan and what to expect for the weekend here and elsewhere. robert? >> gene, still looks rather wet across this entire area. you have that big band of cloud cover still persisting from eastern china towards northeastern japan. earlier on today within a three-hour period, in kagushima prefect uupwards of 211 millimeters. that's record-breaking here. also in fukuoka about 150 millimeters. record breaking there as well. so still seeing these heavy rains continuing to persist and, unfortunately, on these already flooded areas, especially in northern kyushu, an additional 250 millimeters could be seen as that front continues to persist here. warm, moist air gets continued to pull out of the east china sea. that holds more moisture. thus, it's dropping this just very heavy amount of rain totals across the western japan.

over towards northeastern japan in the tohoku region, you could be seeing heavy rainfall going into your saturday. also this low pressure area over the korean peninsula because some strong thunderstorms could be flaring up here accompanied by large hail and heavy rain caution that risk of flash flooding. not only is korea and japan under the risk but central and eastern china. in hubai province, you've seen some reports of about 278 millimeters of heavy rain within the past 24 hours now. seen widespread reports of flooding here. any more rain which unfortunately looks like it's going to be occurring. about 200 millimeters could be falling within the next 24 into your saturday. it's going to pose that much more risk of increased flooding for you. south of the frontal, temperatures remain hot and tropical-like. hong kong, high 361. manila, 32 accompanied by afternoon rain showers and thunderstorms. and while it remains relatively cooler but still rather warm in seoul at 27 for your high on saturday. over to the americas, we're

continuing to watch monsoonal flow in the southwest. southern california over towards arizona. you are still seeing these heavy rain showers. that's bringing the risk of flash flooding, especially on some of the roadways where you see the rapid rise in water levels. you could see the roadway blocked out. don't drown, turn around. if you can't see the bottom of the road, don't drive through it. could be a sink hole in some of these areas. very dangerous indeed. don't even try that. north of that, let's look at this low pressure area producing the risk of dry thunderstorms. and with that, you could be spouting out the risk of wildfires as those lightning strikes could ignite dry areas in the northern rockies. farther toward the east, the cold front. that could be flaring up thunderstorm activity. possibly severe at times across the northern great lakes. large hail, gusty winds and frequent lightning for you. also in the southeast, wet weather here. a stagnant low pressure area has been camping out all week. and that's going to be continuing to make foul weather through your weekend. temperaturewise, hot in oklahoma

city with a high of 36. chicago, 33. winnipeg in southern canada into the low 30s as well. now over towards europe, a series of low pressure systems. one after another. we sound like a broken record with this conveyor belt. the same pattern has been remaining in place across northern europe. systems continuing to run around the jet stream here. and that's still bringing heavy rainfall. especially along the low country. you could be seeing rain totals 20 to 30 millimeters through your saturday. south of that it remains hot. madrid with a high of 31. rome at 28. farther toward the east, expecting a warm-up in athens up to 40. bucharest, 38 on your saturday. that's about 10 degrees above your normal average for this time of year. there's a look at the three-day forecast for the rest of you.

we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us.