welcome to nhk world "newsline." police in japan have arrested a group of activists from hong kong, on allegations they illegally entered japanese territory. the case involves the senkaku islands which japan controls but china and taiwan claim. coast guard spokespersons say seven activists on a fishing boat landed on the senkakus on wednesday in the east china sea. japan considers the islands part of its southernmost prefecture okinawa. police say the activists jumped off the boat and swam to uotsuri island. two of them went back to the vessel soon after landing. officers arrested the five activists who remained on the

island on charges of illegal entry into japanese territory. the fishing boat left hong kong sunday. it entered japanese territorial waters near the senkakus despite repeated warnings from coast guard patrol vessels. in 2004 a group of seven chinese activists landed on the island. japanese authorities arrested them on charges of illegal entry, and deported them. in 2010 a trawler collided with two japanese boats. research ships and fisheries patrol boats and other vessels from china have frequently entered japan's waters since then. prime minister noda announced in july his government is planning to purchase some of the islands from private owners and nationalize them. the top spokesperson say the hong kong activists ignored warnings and the incident is regrettable.

>> translator: we will strictly monitor the situation and do what is necessary in line with our country's laws. the islands are inherrant japanese territory both historically and according to international legislation, the islands are japan's and there are no territorial issues related to them. a bomb has ripped through a military facility in the syrian capital damascus, wounding at least three people. anti-government forces are claiming responsibility. syria's state television said the blast was from a truck bomb. the site of the explosion is next to a hotel housing u.n. observers. state media say no u.n. staff were hurt but three others were injured. the attack on the heavily guarded location suggests rebels are infiltrating the military. an official of the anti-government syrian free army told nhk by phone, they are targeting government troops.

he says they planted bombs at eight locations. state media has played down casualties from today's blast and claims 150 soldiers gather at the facility every morning. opinions are clashing in saudi arabia. iran opposes the move. the two-day emergency summit began on tuesday night shortly after syria's former prime minister warned the country is collapsing. saudi arabia's king abdullah opened the conference by calling on member countries to stand together. leaders of saudi arabia and quatar say they cannot protect the government since he's using weapons against his own people. ahmadinejad opposes the suspension and says isolating syria will not solve the problem. the vote will take place on wednesday and requires

two-thirds majority to pass. many countries support a freeze on syria's membership. people across japan pause today to reflect on their history and their future. they marked 67 years since the end of the second world war. as some considered how the country is struggling to rise again after the march 11th disaster. more than 5,000 people attended a memorial in tokyo, among them those who lost family members during the war. >> translator: japan's peace and prosperity today is founded on the honorable sacrifices of those who gave their lives against their will in the war. we must work to revive our country through efforts to restore communities devastated by the march 2011 disaster, in part for the sake of those who perished in the war.

>> participants stopped at noon for a minute of silence. then they stopped to listen to their emperor. most of those who were alive

during the war and lost family members are now more than 70 years old. this woman is 98 years old. her husband died on the island of luzon in the philippines. organizers placed pillars of ice near the seats. they were trying to save power after shortages resulting from the nuclear accident last year. people in other parts of the country are marking the anniversary in their own way. south korea's president is marking the end of world war ii by pushing the government to address an issue from that time. lee myung bak wants compensation for women forced to work in japanese brothels. commemorating the end of japan's occupation of korean peninsula, he said japan is a close neighbor and in which they share common values. >> translator: the issue of comfort women goes beyond our relations with japan. it was a violation of the human

rights of women during war time. this act runs against universal human ideals and what history should be. i demand that japan take responsible measures on the issue. >> the argument overcome fort women has long put a strain on relations, japanese leaders maintain the 1965 treaty that normalized relations resolved the issue. under the terms of the treaty, the south koreans agreed to give up the right to demand compensation over events that occurred during japan's colonial rule. they received economic assistance from the japanese government in exchange. but many south koreans began seeking compensation because they insist people didn't know about the comfort women issue when the treaty was concluded. japan supported a project to provide financial compensation to women forced into prostitution by its former

imperial army. people in south korea have kept up their fight. a court ruled last august the government's failure to negotiate compensation with japan violated the constitution and basic human rights. and in december, protesters erected a bronze statue in front of the japanese embassy in seoul, the figure of a girl symbolized comfort women. that same month, the president met noda and urged him to do something about the issue. he says so far he has not see any effort by the noda administration to resolve the dispute. so the president says japan's reluctance to address the comfort women issue prompted him to seek disputed islets in the sea of japan. he made the unprecedented trip accompanied by his culture and environment ministers.

the panese government urged him not to go. south korea controls the islets. the japanese say the territory belongs to them. they've launched an official protest. president lee did not mention his visit when he made his speech wednesday in seoul. our reporter asked an expert on japan/korea relations what's behind president lee myung bak's hard line substance on japan. a professor at tokyo's university. >> always saying this is a crucial issue, especially comfort women is especially after the judgment coming from the supreme court is a serious issue for the korean government. so please do something but the japan has never responded so sharply against his request. so that's why he was so much frustrated. but basically i think it's more like global contact saying, korea is now big powers.

we have to renegotiate against japan for japan -- it's legally or even diplomatically to take in his demand. >> how is the relationship between the two countries with change in the near future? >> mutual economic dependence has been very much established. so now we have having more than 5 million people going back and forth between japan and koreas and tourism industry will suffer if the relationship will be deteriorated. so it is for sure that the mutual dependence is just -- will just remain as it is. >> australian health authorities scored a win over high tobacco. they have upheld the strictest

cigarette packaging law. from december tobacco products can only be sold in boxes without logos. here's the report from sydney. >> reporter: the new rules ban tobacco companies from displaying color on any product for sale in australia. the new packs are ugly and that's the point. they are meant to take some of the glamour out of smoking. australia's attorney general applauded the court decision, which was being closely watched around the world. >> i'm very proud that it means that many other countries around the world, many others who are fighting for tobacco control and what's the next appropriate step in their country will take heart from the success of this decision today. and also of course, the successful implementation to come. >> australian health officials expect the new packs will discourage young smoker and

reduce heart disease and stroke. they are also counting on lower medical costs. australia has long been strict on smoking. cigarette prices are some of the world's highest and display of tobacco in stores is restricted. but one cigarette seller in sydney says the law goes too far. she's worried it will ruin her business. >> i'm not very happy with it. it takes away the customer's choice. it takes away their ability to make sure they are getting the product they've asked for. >> reporter: as the new law moved through the legal system, it met united opposition from four of the world's biggest tobacco companies, including phillip morris and japan tobacco. they say the law violates consumer rights and property. a japan tobacco official says the firm will examine the court's summary in regard to its future business. nhk world, sydney.

>> india's prime minister singh says his government will do all it can to encourage investment. he gave a speech at the ceremony in new delhi, marking the 65th anniversary of the independence from british rule. the prime minister expressed concern over india's economic slowdown and signified a sense of crisis about lingering poverty and inflation in the country. >> translator: if we fail to increase the pace of growth, it will most certainly affect her international security. >> he added his resolve to deregulate across a large amount of sectors including infrastructure and finance. it is aimed at attracting foreign money. the lowest level in three years, the slow pace is due to the impact of the eurozone debt

problems and domestic inflation. the singh administration is keen on letting foreign businesses make in-roads into india's retail market but the move is facing stiff domestic opposition. >> some japanese innovators are trying to find a new source of power in ocean currents. they want to develop more stable alternatives to solar and wind energy, which are affected by weather conditions. the people at ihi are joining hands with researchers at the university of tokyo. they plan to set up a propeller to convert the energy of ocean currents into electricity. the propeller will be 40 meters in diameter. they'll start testing next month in a large tank. they hope to put what they can learn to commercial use by 2020. >> translator: it's very difficult to build a device for an environment like the ocean. but we aim to overcome the obstacles by relying on our experience in building vessels

and marine structures. >> other firms have set similar goals. the people at mitsui engineering want to tap the power of waves by measuring buoes floating on the surface and others want to develop a propeller based system on their own and use the power of water currents at the bottom of the ocean. here are the latest market figures. japan is moving forward on

talks on entering the partnership. japanese farmers are looking abroad for markets, especially those producing beef. one of the three top varieties of premium japanese brands is already carving out a market in southeast asia. >> reporter: singapore, gushing with spending power, especially when it comes to premium beef. a single steak of omi beef west in japan costs over 120 u.s. dollars a serving. >> very soft, very tender. >> the first time i tried it, i found something very, very special that was unlike any other japanese beef that i had tried. >> reporter: last year 260 head of beef cows were exports. three times more than in 2010.

90% went to singapore. last november a promotional event was held in singapore. since then there's been a surge in exports of omi beef. one of shiga prefectures top cattle ranchers. every year he ships 1,000 head of cattle. he first started exporting to singapore four years ago, after demand in japan stopped growing. now he's got his eyes on another market. thailand. >> translator: bangkok is the business hub of southeast asia. that's why i'm looking to start shipping there.

>> reporter: sees thailand as an entry point to other southeast asian markets, such as vietnam and malaysia. bangkok now has over 100 restaurants serving beef barbecue. it's becoming widely popular. in may, he went to bangkok to discuss marketing strategies with local trading companies. they decided to focus on beef barbecue restaurants and supermarkets selling high quality beef. in some supermarkets, they set up counters and the beef is cut to order, as much or as little as needed. samples are handed out to draw in customers. >> it's delicious. >> reporter: slowly but surely, he's aiming to create a foothold in thailand for premium omi beef. he already has customers in

thailand. he plans to export 50 head of cattle this year and twice that number in 2013. >> translator: as a cattle farmer, i'd never imagined i'd be working as an exporter. if i produce really high quality beef, i think it will be appreciated abroad. this is a great opportunity to increase my exports. >> he and other cattle farmers in shiga prefecture are setting their sights on shipping omi beef to hong kong and the united states as well. myanmar has a diverse climate rich in trees and plants for botanists known as the final frontier. there was little study of the natural heritage for years but

researchers received permission to go and explore. nhk world joins their field trip. >> reporter: this research expansion took place at the natma national park. more than 3,000 meters above sea level, the path seems like a promising place to find many unique plants. this purple iris like plant is in fact a kind of ginseng which is found nowhere else in the world. rhododendrons are in full bloom at this time of year, start of rainy season. a researcher at the japanese public botanical garden, with permission from the myanmar

government, she has spent the last eight years looking for medicinal plants in natma national park. >> translator: i'm always thrilled by new findings, that's why i love working here. this is myanmar gensing, the leaves are split like your fingers. >> reporter: myanmar is abundant with plants that have potential as medicinal ingredients. discovered just five years ago, myanmar ginseng contains more healthy ingredient than the counterpart. plants that could have properties to whiten skin or

prevent bad breath have a also been found. she and her colleagues collected as many as 15,000 specimens from which they have identified 30 new plant species. but the researchers efforts are hampered by plant looters. local residents say many plants have nearly gone extinct in the past decade due to illegal looters. >> translator: due to the lack of manpower, we can't protect the natural vegetation. >> reporter: she is also worried that as myanmar continues its democratization and international economic development, more and more plant resources could be lost.

>> translator: once lost, plant resources can't he restored. i fear a situation where plants vanish before their true value has been discovered. >> reporter: myanmar's diverse plants have been hidden from the world for years. now the challenge is to speed up their study in order to preserve this invariable natural resource. nhk world, myanmar. >> for an update on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. >> the philippines have been badly hit by this storm but this storm looks like it will be bringing ample moisture to luzon.

it will continue for the rest of the work week. let's see what the track will be like. this is the tropical storm which is over water as of now, moving further away from luzon which is fortunate news. as i mentioned, they'll be continuing to bring ample moisture towards the western seaboards but move towards and approaching near hong kong. the accumulation of rainfall could be as much as 250 millimeters in some locations and this will be intensifying strengthening into a severe tropical storm as it approaches near the region. so you'll start to be feeling the winds to be -- to get stronger as well as squalls getting heavier as well as the day progresses. in the next 48 hours, it looks like it will be tracking it towards the province in china. possibly making landfall by friday. and also intensifying by thursday evening over water. on top of these rainfall accumulation issues, also the waves will be very high, about 5 meters high in any of these

coastal regions, strong surge -- storm surge and high tide also to be aware of. we'll keep a close eye on this system. very heavy rain found here over south korea due to the stationary front that keeps on lingering there. the accumulation already we have about llimeters or over 300 in some locations but additional amount could possibly reach 100 to 150 generally speaking. in this low pressure system, in -- along the seasonal front that is stretching over towards tohoku region, will be creating hefty amounts of rainfall, especially the western region will be seeing about 180 millimeters of heavy downpours, tornadoes cannot be ruled out from the thunderstorms that could erupt from the low pressure system. tokyo, 34 degrees temperaturewise, we're looking well above average due to the

high pressure system pressing overhead and keeping things clear. but very hot. 40 degrees. moving over to the americas now, a low pressure system over manitoba will move towards ontario. this will bring heavy amounts of rainfall, about 70 millimeters of down pour could be found. due to the cold front, we'll see severe activity here. behind it, cool air will be surging in so dropping temperatures, winnipeg at 22 degrees. you can see nothing cool here. phoenix at 44 and las vegas at 42 degrees. let's move over to the european continent. we have a very strong atlantic storm moving in towards the british isles and uk and ireland brace for gusty conditions and downpours. let's tyke a look -- take a look at your temperatures now. kiev at 19 degrees, dropping the temperatures down to the teens here and you're looking at london at 23. that's below average as well.

for rest of the workweek, you'll see like this. here's your extended forecast. we'll are back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.