welcome to nhk world "newsline." japan's government has officially decided to buy the senkaku islands from a private japanese owner. the islands are claimed by china and taiwan. ministers in charge of the matter met monday. they say the purchase is aimed at ensuring safe navigation in the area as well as peaceful and stable management of the islands. the ministers say the islands are japan's inherent territory based on history and the international law. they add no sovereignty issue

exists. the government has already reached a basic agreement with the owner that the state will buy the islands for about $26 million. the cabinet will adopt the decision tuesday. >> translator: we never want the issues around the senkaku islands to have an impact on japan/china relations. we should avoid any unexpected incidents or misunderstandings. >> chinese foreign minister yang jiechi has summoned the ambassador. china's state-run news agency says japan's unilateral actions of buying the islands is illegal and invalid. he called on the japanese government to reverse its decision and refrain from infringing on china's sovereignty. representatives of taiwan's foreign office say they'll ask japan to refrain from taking unilateral action that would violate taiwan's sovereignty. they also urged the japanese government not to harm bilateral

ties and escalate tensions in east asia. prime minister yoshihiko noda is fending off contenders for the ruling democratic party's top job. the dpj is holding its leadership election this month, and noda is facing a challenge from three other candidates. the prime minister is running for a second term as dpj leader. party members elected him a year ago. they'll consider three other candidates this time around. they are former agriculture minister hirotaka akamatsu, former internal affairs minister kazuhiro haraguchi, and another former agriculture minister, michihiko kano. all candidates have submitted lists of 20 or more lawmakers who endorse them. >> translator: i have to rebuild the democratic party and continue to revitalize japan. i can't leave things unfinished, so i decided to throw my hat in the ring.

>> akamatsu, haraguchi and kano all criticize how noda has ruled the dpj including his decision to raise the consumption task. 336 democrats in the diet will vote on september 21st. democrats who are expected to run in national elections, local assembly members, and nearly 327,000 party members and supporters can cast ballots. the four candidates have 12 days to win these votes and those of undecided lawmakers. prime minister noda's campaign to hold onto the helm of the democratic party could get a boost from a new survey. an nhk poll suggests noda and his cabinet are picking up support. the approval rating for noda's cabinet is 31%. that's three percentage points higher than august. it's the first time in five months the approval rating has gone above 30%. the disapproval rating is 53%, three percentage points lower than last month. our poll also asked voters about a local group that's expected to become japan's newest political

party. osaka mayor will lead the new party. he wants to challenge the established parties, the dpj and ldp, in the next general election. the poll suggests 54% of voters have some or high expectations for hashimoto's party. and those with expectations, 40% say that's because the party seems better than other parties. earlier i spoke with nhk world's mayuka ambe to dig a little more about this new player on the political scene here in japan. so michael what would make voters choose hashimoto. >> many got to know todo hashimoto on tv. he gained fame by commenting on trials, legal issues and scandals on talk shows and news programs. he has a remarkable 258ent to articulate what people are thinking, so he attracted

viewers across japan. he used that fame to enter the political sphere. voters like his direct manner of speaking, and many find his proposals easy to understand. he describes his support as a third pole, an alternative to the two main parties in the central government. hashimoto has set out what some might call ambitious policies for the upcoming general election. for example, he proposed cutting the number of members in the lower house by half. he would cut the annual salaries of diet members, too, by 30%. and this may come as a surprise to some, but some incumbent lawmakers like what they hear. so far, seven members of the diet have suggested they're inclined to join hashimoto's team. >> why do you think we and so many other people are talking about this party? >> well, we've been seeing this kind of thing elsewhere. voters grow disillusioned with options and they turn elsewhere. that's what's happening here. let's look back a few years.

the liberal democratic party ruled this country almost without a break for more than half century. voters grew tired of the back-room politics, bureaucratic government, and most of all, they were frustrated with politics that didn't change. so they voted the democratic party into power three years ago. members of the dpj pledged they would change japan, break down the way politics had been practiced here. three years later, many feel little has changed. the ruling party did not follow through on promises to make expressways toll-free and to guarantee minimum pension for all japanese. instead, they did something they had not promised -- they pushed through the legislation to double the consumption tax. and many voters feel they can no longer expect much from mainstream parties. >> i remember those toll-free promises. so what can those voters expect from nippon?

>> it won't be easy for hashimoto and his colleagues despite their desire for change. there are 480 seats in the house of representatives. some have suggested the party will field about 300 candidates in the upcoming elections. our poll suggest more than half of the voters have either some or high expectations of him. but right now this party doesn't have one seat, and the poll that matters most is the election. >> nhk world's mayuko ambe. pro-democracy groups have held onto their veto power in elections in hong kong. they retain more than one-third of the seats in the region's legislative council. pro-beijing candidates secured 43 of the assembly's 70 seats in the voting on sunday. pro-democracy groups won 27 seats amid strong public dissatisfaction with the plan for schools to teach patriotism.

china's government attaches great importance to such education. voter turnout was 53%, up eight points from the previous election. hong kong is considering holding its first-ever direct vote for a chief executive of the territory five years from now. analysts say pro-democracy legislatures will likely be able to hinder efforts by the pro-beijing side if it tries to scree year to date an electoral system for its own benefit. another sign of a slowdown in the world's second biggest economy. china's imports declined in august for the first time in seven months. chinese customs officials said on monday that imports stood at $151 billion last month, down 2.6% from a year earlier. it was the first decline since january when business was slow during the chinese new year holidays. exports reached $178 billion. showing a 2.7% gain. the drop in imports is attributed to a slowdown in china's domestic economy. manufacturers imported fewer parts and machines to adjust to

falling exports of finished products to europe and other markets. the total value of trade reached $329 billion in august. though that's up 0.2% year-on-year, the pace of growth was the slowest since january. in the eight months through august, china's total trade rose 6.2% in value. that is substantially lower than the government's target of a 10% rise for the year. >> figures released today indicate that japan's economic recovery is losing steam. officials at the cabinet office announced a sharp cut in economic growth figures. the government now says gdp for the april to june quarter came to 0.7% in annualized terms. that's down from the preliminary figure of 1.4% released last month. in explaining the revision, officials noted that companies cut back on capital spending. government outlays for medical

services and other expenses also declined. government spending on public works projects following last year's march 11 disaster helped keep economic growth in positive territory. a suicide bomber has targeted the headquarters of the nato-led international security forces in afghanistan. coalition forces are investigating the attack which kipped at least six civilians. our bureau in bangkok has the details. the taliban says it is behind the bombing which occurred on saturday at the facility used by international security forces in the afghan capital, kabul. an attacker blew himself up as he neared the front gate of the facility. the bombing killed at least six civilians, including children, and wounded five others. the taliban has told nhk that the insurgent group began preparing for the assault months in advance. coalition forces said at a press conference on monday that the bomber was a 14-year-old boy and

that they are investigating the incident. the suicide bombing follows an announcement on friday that the u.s. government is classifying the pakistan base, taliban-affiliated haqani network as a terrorist organization. the u.s. froze the group's assets in the united states in a move that is hardening the taliban. here's our report. >> reporter: the haqani network has repeatedly launched terrorist attacks in neighboring afghanistan. the u.s. accuses pakistan of supporting the group, but pakistan dismissed it, wh which has become a sticking point in bilateral relations. the pakistani government raised the u.s. classification in a statement and calls the move a u.s. internal member. it adds the members of the network are not pakistani citizens and pakistan cannot answer for any of their actions.

the u.s. have often urged pakistan to mount military operations against the haqani network at its stronghold in northwestern pakistan. following the designation of the network as a terrorist organization, the usa could put even more pressure on pakistan to take action. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: meanwhile, the taliban is ramping up its resistance. one of the taliban members involved with secret talks with the u.s. in qatar gave a warning when he spoke to nhk last month. >> it will pay to have involved in the peace process, because when you are talking and you are trying to resolve the issue through peaceful means and at the same time, simultaneously,

someone from your group is -- it means someone is creating attackers in the peace process which is under way. >> reporter: other taliban member told nhk on friday the designation means the u.s. is choosing a military solution rather than peace negotiations. he added that now that the u.s. is demonstrating a hardline stance, his organization has no choice but to resist. hideki yui, nhk world, islamabad. china is building up its military presence in southeast asia and south asia. meanwhile, the u.s. military is keeping a close eye on china. the u.s. marine corps and the australian defense force are holding joint exercises which started in april. the two military forces are

training together in darwin, northern australia. the city is an ideal location for the u.s. military as it is close to southeast asia. it also faces the indian ocean. it is out of the range of china's ballistic missiles. the u.s. plans to increase the number of its marines in australia. some of the joint exercises were open to the media. nhk world's takeo nakajima reports on the program that is apparently a cause of concern for china and a source of interest for many other asian countries. >> reporter: this australian military training facility is located 130 kilometers southeast of darwin. this is northern territory australia. australians and u.s. marines are exercising the joint training using tanks.

the forces invited media representatives to a demonstration in which u.s. marines supported their australian counterparts. the media also observed joint live-shell firing drills. >> the training is to help us train with the united states marine corps. as we know, they've obviously been stationed in northern australia. we've come out here to support marine corps training and learn a bit from them and hope they can learn a bit from us, as well. >> reporter: u.s. president barack obama announced last november his plan to station u.s. marines in australia. troops are dispatched on six months' rotation, and are scheduled to be increased to 2,500 in the next five to six years. cooperation with the australian military in the asia pacific region will help the u.s. keep a close eye on china and will have

the added benefit of reducing costs. there is a strong demand for drastic cuts in military spending in the u.s. amid the ever-rising need to reduce the national deficit. but surrounding countries, including china and indonesia, are highly sensitive to the increased military cooperation between the united states and australia. takeo nakajima, nhk world, darwin. and that will wrap up our bulletin for today. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. government forces are pounding rebel positions in syria's main cities. the britain-based syrian observatory for human rights says nearly 100 civilians were killed on sunday across the country. government troops used tanks and helicopters to attack rebels in the south of the capital damascus. a staff member for unrwa, the

u.n. agency providing relief to palestinian refugees, was fatally shot on his way to work. the incident occurred three days after another staff member and his son were killed in a suburb of damascus. syria's state-run tv reports that a car bomb exploded on sunday night in the northern city of aleppo. the blast reportedly killed 17 people including several civilians. people across northeast japan are walking along a path to recovery. they've worked for 18 months to rebuild from the disaster in march of last year. over the next two days, we'll reflect on what happened and what's changed. people who were forced to leave the area around fukushima fukushima left behind almost everything. they left behind homes, photo album, the stuff they used every day. many left behind traditions.

so soma ware is one example. potters combine bigger and smaller molds to create a double layer. potters put one on every cup. they crack when they come out of the kiln. potters exported these to the u.s. after world war ii. the americans call this a double-walled cup or an idea cup. soma potters lost almost everything, but one potter is determined to preserve the art form he has practiced for most of his life. here's the story. >> reporter: his family has been making soma ware for 25 generations. he honed the craft ten kilometers from fukushima daiichi after the nuclear accident there forced them to

leave. the potters started new lives all over japan. >> translator: i can't go back to my hometown. i have to make a place where everyone can come and make potte pottery. >> reporter: hangai used government subsidies to build a new workshop with an oven. but his temporary home is an hour and a half drive away. the other potters live just as far or even farther. he and his family got permission to return last month but just for a couple of hours. the warning was that radiation levels were still high.

time had transformed his hometown. >> translator: pitiful, frustrating, sad. give us back our peaceful town. they said nuclear power was safe. they're liars. >> reporter: his old workshop was a mess. the earthquake knocked over shelves, splattering what he had made. the clock had stopped around the time life changed in northeast japan. hangai visited the graves of his ancestors. they preserved it for mothe cra more than three centuries. he promised them he would carry on the tradition.

his son is 20 years old and eager to learn. >> i want to take over from my father to preserve the soma ware and live up to hangai's name. >> reporter: he helped his father worked on the first order since the disaster. and hangai began selling pottery out of his workshop. >> translator: i missed it very much. i could not find it anywhere. >> reporter: then the day hangai had been waiting for came. one of his fellow potters stopped by his workshop. hangai is waiting for more of his old friends to visit. >> translator: the nuclear accident destroyed our community. to pass on traditional soma ware technique, we have to be patient and start again in a new place.

other potters will gradually understand. >> reporter: he started teaching young people again. he visited one of his students to deliver piece the boy had made. >> translator: i thought soma ware would disappear, but he's trying to restore it, so i worked hard like him to make this piece. >> translator: i keep on working for people who support me. i move on step by step to be closer to my dream. >> reporter: hangai believes he has the chance of keep iinging e tradition alive for generations to come. more than that, he is inspiring others to craft a new future. misato ishikawa, nhk world.

it feels like summer here in tokyo with above 30 degrees weather, but heavy rains in other parts. robert has more. robert? >> well, across much of central and western japan, rain showers and thunderstorm activity throughout the day. the past 24 hour, hokkaido saw about 2 1/2 centimeters. more was recorded in the past 24 hours in localized areas seeing about 77 millimeters in just a three-hour span. so very heavy rains being seen here. definitely a risk of some low-lying flash of flooding, not just off towards western japan, as this low-pressure area continues to linger across much of this region. it's going to continue to linger at least through thet several days, unfortunately. expect that across much of northern japan in and around the region, not expecting these widespread and heavy rain showers where you do need it. behind this, though, high

pressure is starting to ridge across the korean peninsula. that will be moving into western japan by about tuesday into wednesday afternoon, bringing some much clearer conditions as that front slowly works towards the east. around central china, though, as we continue to look towards the west here, some heavy rainfalls actually north of chongqing. you saw about 200 millimeters in the past 24 hours. flooding will be a risk but in chongqing in the next 24 hours you could be seeing about 2 1/2 centimeters. that is going to bring in risk of urban low-lying flooding across this area as that low pressure slowly drifts down towards the south. temperature-wise, still rem remaining rather hot in chongqing at 27 for your high, hong kong at 33. look over here, only 10. autumn is settinging in here. the low is going to be getting down near freezing through the overnight hours on tuesday going into wednesday. now to the americas, high pressure across much of the great lakes region, actually much of the central u.s. seeing absolutely great weather. this is keeping skies clear. into the overnight hours, going

to be getting cool as well. look at this front running away from the east coast of the u.s. this is moving into the canadian maritimes, already in the western portions of newfoundland. you have seen heavy rainfall, about 70 millimeters here. tropical storm and hurricane watches are in effect due to leslie here running in from the south. this affected bermuda over the weekend. now it is going to be running off towards the north and as it does so becoming extratropical in the north atlantic. around iceland you could be feeling the effects of this by friday. it's not going to be tropical at all, but high waves are going to be expected across much of that region. that high pressure we were talking about, bringing those clear skies. look off towards the west. a cold front running in across portions of the dakotas. behind that, much cooler temperatures setting in. talking about near freezing around the pacific northwest in vancouver and seattle could be getting down to very low single-digit temperatures. across the desert southwest, though, in los angeles, you've been seeing some heavy rain showers, flashflood watches in effect in southern california

towards nevada and arizona due to the mon soona flow from the south. los angeles with a high of 29, denver at 32. look at houston. rather hot for you at 32 as well here on your monday. over towards europe, a very strong low-pressure area moving through the british isles. all due to this cold front in here. rain showers and thunderstorms activity is going to be expected. some gusty winds as well. what's fuelling this is the difference in temperatures. out ahead of it, rather warm, above average in places like germany and poland. take a look at london. as this front goes by on tuesday, only 17 for the high. paris at 20. expecting this to get down to right around 15 to 16 degrees going into wednesday for your high temperatures. definitely have a jacket ready as autumn sets in across western europe. here's your look at your forecast.

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