diplomatic duel, earthing south korea to bring their dispute to the territory to the international court of justice. welcome to nhk world "newsline." they look like just a group of islets in the sea, but the territory at the center of a tug of war is much more than that. the south koreans control it. and call it tokdo. the japanese call it takashima and want it back. the japanese government wants it back. it's officially asked to take this longstanding dispute to the international court of justice.

the senior official from the japanese embassy deliver a diplomatic document along with the legal request, it proposes mediation by a third party. even before the delivery though, south korea's foreign minister rejected the proposa >> translator: there is no territorial issue over the islands. japan's proposal is not worthy of consideration. >> south korea has been asserting its control over the territory. president lee myung bak visited one of the islets earlier this month, a first someone in his position has made the journey. noda held a special cabinet meeting on tuesday to talk about how to deal with this issue. the ministers agreed to explain japan's stance to the international community. >> translator: we will take a resolute stance to submit the matter to the international court of justice.

increased tension here in asia, the rise of china's military is also creating friction. japan is concerned and so is the united states. they've been working closely together to deal with any potential problems. now japanese self-defense personnel and u.s. marines are preparing to hold their first joint landing exercise. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: 40 self-defense personnel boarded two navy vessels in okinawa. the navy will use its amphibious assault ship and landing ship. vehicles and containers were loaded onto the decks. a hover craft was loaded on the deck of the assault ship.

members of japan's self-defense forces have been training with marines based in california but this is the first time they'll take part in landing drills with those based in okinawa. u.s. military and personnel are scheduled to depart in a few days for tinian and guam province. the drill will employ marine vessels and helicopters. the exercise is viewed as a demonstration of bilateral corporation at a time when china is increasing its military presence in the asia pacific region. japan and the united states want to stage the first joint landing drill so that japan can learn from the u.s. how to beef up the defense of the southwestern islands. for its part, the u.s. wants to secure the japan's cooperation in stressing guam's strategic importance as it faces cuts in its defense budget.

nhk world, okinawa. >> president barack obama has warned syria against using chemical or biological weapons and mentioned military action for the first time. >> we cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people. we have been very clear to the assad regime but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. >> assad has made it clear his forces are ready to use chemical weapons if foreign troops intervene. government and opposition forces have not let up their fight for the northern city of aleppo. a japanese journalist covering

the battle was killed. she was a freelance journalist working for japan press. a colleague working with her said she got caught in the crossfire. they entered the aleppo on monday and soldiers who appeared to be with the government suddenly fired on them. sato said yamamoto was a few steps behind him. they lost each other. sato found her dead at a nearby hospital. she was a seasoned journalist with more than 20 years' experience. she covered the conflicts in kosovo, afghanistan and iraq. she talked with nhk last month about why she believed in the work she was doing. >> translator: covering conflict zones is tough, but i'll continue with my work. i believe there could be a chance to finish the war or contain the damage by reporting on what's happening on the ground however tragic.

the first uncensored papers in half a century hit news stands in myanmar after the government controls on the media. we have more details from bangkok. >> a significant step towards freedom of speech, the government on monday announced that all newspapers and magazines could now be published without needing official approval. readers have welcomed the move, but after decades of oppression by the military, some observers say it's too soon to celebrate. nhk world reports. >> authorities say they no longer need approval whatever the subject. even subjects such as politics and religion. readers greeted it with joy.

>> translator: it is good that censorship has ended. we can read honest reports and people can make informed decisions. >> translator: we didn't really want to read newspapers before but now they can be published freely and people can read them freely too. so i'm glad. >> censorship rules were enforced by the military government in 1964, back when the country was still officially known as burma, magazines and newspapers were required to submit all articles before publication. one of the regimes main weapons to suppress democratic ideas. the easing the censorship rules is an important symbolic step for the president sein. his government hopes to convince the international community myanmar is serious about reform.

the ultimate gain is to win economic doubts remain over the authority's commitment to freedom of speech. sanctions. just last month, journalists staged a demonstration after two weekly magazines were banned for publishing articles about politics. but observers point out the government could still put pressure on journalists and publishers if it doesn't like what they write about. despite the lifting of some measures, many people worry the government could continue to keep a tight grip on the media. after 50 years of repression in myanmar, the international community will be watching closely to see whether the government is really able to guarantee freedom of speech. turning now to vietnam where the united states has launched a project to cleanup lingering deposits of agent orange. u.s. forces sprayed the toxic chemical during the vietnam war to clear forests that provided cover for north vietnam fighters.

37 years after hoss tole its hoss toil its ended, many people still suffer from severe health problems. nhk world reports. >> reporter: a ceremony was held earlier this month in center of vietnam to mark the start of clean-up operations. >> this morning we celebrate a milestone in our bilateral relationship. the u.s. and vietnam are moving earth right here and taking the first steps to bury the legacies of our past. >> reporter: the u.s. military largest air base during the war. fighter jets took off from here to spray agent orange over jungles and forests. the airport was also used to store the chemical. toxins permeated the ground making it highly toxic. after a century, the vietnamese government lacked the technology

needed for proper cleanup. instead, it simply laid concrete over contaminated soil. the united states is paying for the decontamination project at the cost of $43 million over four years. work has begun on the parcel of 19 hectors. just a fraction of the area in vietnam that needs to be cleaned. in the meantime, dioxins continue to affect the vietnamese. a support organization says at least 5,000 people suffer symptoms linked to it. many of the victims were born after the end of the war. >> translator: outs of those 5,000 victims, 1400 are under the age of 16. they are the second or third generation of sufferers. >> the family moved there 16

years ago, their son too was born in 2008 with a congenital disease linked to agent orange. the condition also affects his development at the age of 4, he's still unable to speak more than a few basic words. the father works at the airport digging channels. he says his employers never told him the soil was contaminated. >> translator: i first heard it four or five years ago, i wish we had been warned earlier. >> the couple's daughter was born before the family moved there. she's in perfectly good health. he had anger at the united states. >> translator: i can't understand why the u.s. doesn't officially recognize the health impact of agent orange. this isn't just about our son.

the project is better than nothing, but it's already caused so many victims in vietnam. i want the united states to clean up all of the contaminated land. >> reporter: it's almost 40 since the vietnam war ended but many others have mixed feelings about the decontamination project that has finally begun. nhk world, vietnam. >> and that wraps up our bulletin for today. thank you for joining me. japanese electronics makers are struggling to combat the yen strength and sluggish sales. two major firms unveiled the newest models of their home

appliances equipped with special functions. panasonic announced six models of its refrigerator, washing machine, air conditioner and other appliances. each of the models can be controlled with smart phones. for instance, this washer displays the appropriate amounts of detergent and softener when it receives preregistered data from a smart phone. >> sales of these appliances are pretty strong. though we are struggling in other fields, we think japanese makers can be competitive globally with these product. >> the other maker that rolled outity latest models it mitsubishi electric. its air conditioner used an infrared ray censor to determine if anyone is in the room. if the machine determines there is no one, it automatically weakens its wind flow this three minutes and stops working in another 30 minutes to cut back on power consumption. japanese electronics companies

are betting on those home appliances because people are switching to energy saving equipment in growing numbers. the trend has been prompted by possible power shortages after last year's fukushima nuclear accident. japan's auto order hit a slump last month. now they are betting on a new midsize sedan it boost sales in north america. honda held a ceremony to unveil a new accord at their ohio plant. some 2,000 people attended. including ohio governor and local government officials. the accord accounts for nearly 30% of honda sales in north america. honda predict that sales will increase by 30% in the region this year. that would be a huge gain from last year. >> translator: the north american mark set becoming more and more important, given sluggish sales in europe. we would like to keep up the good sales in this region.

>> and now, here are the latest market figures. chinese are looking into ways to combat pollution that accompanies its rapid economic growth. a major polluter is ash from burning coal. but one chinese has discovered that innovative japanese technology can actually turn the ash into a pollution fighter. nhk world report.

>> 80% of the power fuelling china's high economic growth is generator by burning coal. but the process dumps ash into the environment and this causes serious problems. ash from goal cobalt fired hour plant in shanxi province collected inside houses in this village. the residence are concerned. >> translator: ash keeps building up no matter how often we sleep the floor. many people are becoming ill. >> reporter: fu runs a machinery plant. he is experimenting in a way to make the ash useful. >> translator: the environment gets polluted as wind scatters the ash everywhere. >> reporter: fan began by building a machine to burn and

solidify ash mixed with water. he thought people might be able to use the product as construction material. but nobody in china wanted to buy it. they purchase cement and other alternatives at low prices. so fan turned to japanese technology. micro organism in the pores inside this concrete, purrfide water, they are related to natural bacteria. japanese use them to ferment soy beans. bacteria cleans water by breaking down substances that cause odors. fan came up with the idea of using coal ash instead of concrete. he tied up with the japanese firm to make coal ash blocks containing bacteria.

they turned out to be more porous than concrete blocks so more bacteria can grow and more water is purified. in just two weeks, this water will look like this. >> translator: getting clean water is a very serious issue in china. i think the market potential there is huge compared to japan. >> reporter: many at this exhibition for water treatment technology in june showed interest in fan's coal ash blocks. >> translator: it is a wonderful technology that i would like to use. >> translator: lakes and rivers are very dirty in china. i think the japanese technology

can help us solve the problems of both coal ash and water pollution. >> reporter: the water purifying business in china is expected to grow and chinese plainly see they can make it happen with japan's superior know-how. nhk world. 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 will show you their struggles and their success says on the road ahead, every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." a team of nuclear energy experts in japan is set to launch their own investigation of last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant. the atomic energy society of

japan set up a committee of 40 specialists from universities and research institutes across the country. the panel's mandate is to pinpoint why the accident happened. officials from the government and tokyo electric power company will be interviewed as part of the investigation. they will issue a report by december 2013. >> translator: well reevaluate the atomic society itself and figure out why it failed it prevent the accident. we will reform it if necessary. >> but the new team is coming up against criticism. its experts are all from the same society and their first meeting was held behind closed doors. panels set up by the diet and government have already released reports but many questions remain unanswered. transportation officials in many countries are introducing or expanding high speed rail networks. japanese firms are hoping to be a part of the effort. the people at the central japan

railway company have unveiled a new bullet train fitted with state of the art safety features. nhk world has more. >> this is a new model called n 700a. it was shown to the media in central japan. it's equipped with improved brakes that can help it stop faster in emergencies, including a major earthquake. the maximum speed is 270 kilometers per hour. the train with the brakes needs 3 or 4 kilometers to come to a stop from that speed. the new system cuts the distance by 10 to 20%. the chassis is fitted with advance safety equipment,

sensors can identify problems with wheels and axles. the train can even compensate for scheduling delays. it has a device that constantly monitors track conditions to ensure greater speed in curves and on hills. the company plans to begin operations next february. >> translator: i believe our methods in technology are the best in the world. there is no question that our bullet trains will be he is noted globally. >> reporter: the united states, india and other nations will unveil their plans for high speed railroad networks in the coming years. japanese railway executives say they plan to build the strong safety record for the latest bullet train. so this technology will be found on tracks around the world.

nhk world, japan. for an update on the weather forecast, here is mai shoji. mai? >> we now have two typhoons to calk about. one is possibly making land equal around thursday local time. it'll be intensifying or maintaining intensity as a very strong typhoon. winds are picking up more than 24u7b kilometers per hour. that's enough to damage houses and also down power lines and trees. the winds are already picking up, sometimes it could be as high as 10 meters high, and that combined with storm surges, really coastal flooding. be a very huge concern. in the next 72 hours, the rain fall amounts could accumulate into some staggering amounts, 350 millimeters and this will be covering much of the island of

taiwan. so we really want you to be very cautious of this. and yes, another one is heading towards the similar direction. this has upgraded into a typhoon stat canus. looks like it'll be coming -- will become a very strong typhoon status by friday. it is moving very slowly but gust are picking up 180 kilometers per hour and the rain fall amounts could be some hefty amounts from this, typhoon bolaven as well. we will keep a very close eye on these couple of systems. also, we have a very active stationary boundary from the eastern china region into the korean peninsula and we already have a report of 160 millimeters that has fallen in china. additional comments could be possible, especially short time heavy rain of about 30 millimeters in an hour that could trigger flash floodings.

also in southern japan, things will be very unstable. take a look at these photos coming out from kyoto today. very striking lightning photos here. if you see dark clouds or rumbles of thunder, do take shelter. do not lie down or stay away from tall trees. now this is due to the warm air surging from the south. clashing with the upper cold air so the differential two air masses create these unstable conditions, frequent lightning, and also tornadic activity and not to mention these couple of typhoons are also indirectly feeding the moisture into these regions. so southern japan really do want to watch out for that. tokyo staying sunny and dry, 34 degrees, finally seeing those temperatures if normal territory. 25 degrees. let's move over to the european continent. things are going to be pretty unstable across much of the southern scandinavian peninsula as well as central portion of the continent and that could

associate with some hail, the size of about three to five centimeters in diameter and also 100 kilometers per hour gusts could be possible. so do be aware of that. and things are soaring in 30s across much of the south. budapest at 36 degrees. vienna still looking at 33. that's well above average. here in madrid, that's almost 40 degrees. still, 39. finally, that will be giving a relief in towards the end of the week. returning back it normal. already, paris looking at normal territories at 26 degrees. here's your extended forecast.

we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.