disgust and distrust. okinawans react to a case of alleged sexual assault involving u.s. servicemen and wonder how it will affect the realignment of american forces in japan. people in okinawa have lived with u.s. military bases in their backyard for decades. american forces are supposed to protect them, and the rest of japan in the event of a threat. but many okinawans aren't feeling so safe around u.s. servicemen right now.

two navy personnel are accused of raping a woman. the case could further strain japan/u.s. security ties. investigators say the men attacked the women before dawn tuesday on a street in the central part of okinawa's main island. they say the suspected raped and injured her and then made off with some of her personal belongings, including her bag, mobile phone, and some of her clothes. the servicemen arrived in okinawa sunday and were supposed to leave for guam tuesday. okinawa governor hirokazu nakaima met john roos at the american embassy in tokyo. nakaima expressed grave concern the matter could irreparably damage trust between okinawa and the u.s. military there. roos told the leaders take the incident seriously and are extremely concerned.

>> translator: i wonder if u.s. servicemen are willing to abide by the law, and it gives me chills just to think that such people actually fly military planes. people in okinawa are losing their trust. >> just about everyone in okinawa has something to say about this case. some are angry. some are fed up. >> translator: i knew something like this would happen again. but i'm still shocked. >> it's really sad. i hope it won't happen again. >> i'm afraid the problem are remain as long as the base is around. i can only hope they make sure it won't happen again. >> a woman's group in okinawa is also raising its voice. members of the group are demanding restrictions on u.s. soldiers' activities outside the base. okinawa women act against military violence held a news conference. >> translator: how can u.s. soldiers commit such a crime at a time when okinawans are so

strongly defending the deployment of the military aircraft. >> the co-leader of the group expressed anger at this seemingly endless stream of such incidents. she says the u.s. military in okinawa had pledged to enforce discipline among servicemen after a similar occurrence in the prefectural capital naha in august. she said the group will send a petition to prime minister yoshihiko noda and u.s. president barack obama. she said the petition demands strict punishment for the two servicemen and limitations on what u.s. soldiers can do when they're off military bases. this case is coming at a time when tensions over the u.s. military presence in okinawa has hit another high. nhk world's yoichiro joins us. fill us in a little on the background to this alleged sexual assault. >> it followed the deployment of the deployment of the military

aircraft osprey to the station. folks opposed to the decision to deploy osprey in okinawa. they worry about the aircraft flying over residential areas because it has poor safety records. the japanese and the u.s. government fear the incident could further stir up okinawans anger over u.s. bases. the governor nakaima says that it has been accidents caused by u.s. servicemen and he's calling on the japanese government to work to improve the situation. he warned that otherwise japan/u.s. ties would deteriorate. more than 70% of american military facilities in japan are based in okinawa. it's a foundation of the u.s./japan security alliance. without the support of the okinawan people the alliance itself wouldn't exist. >> now the u.s. military is in the process of realigning its forces in japan. what kind of impact could this case have an those plans?

>> well, japan and the u.s. agreed to relocate the futenma base to another part of okinawa. but their plan has been met with fierce local opposition, and is years behind schedule. the relocation agreement came about because of another case of sexual assault back in 1995. three u.s. servicemen raped a 12-year-old girl. the incident enraged okinawans. as many as 100,000 people gathered to protest against the u.s. military presence. this latest case of sexual assault, along with the deployment of the osprey aircraft could further inflame u.s. military sentiment in okinawa. and further delay the move. people watching to see how authorities from both countries deal with this incident. in 1995 rape case brought japan/u.s. security ties close to a breaking point. if the japanese and u.s. government fail to act to create

appropriately they could put the future of at liance in question. >> all right. thanks very much. u.s. president barack obama and republican challenger mitt romney have held their second televised debate three weeks ahead of the presidential election. the debate on tuesday featured questions from more than 80 uncommitted voters. the atmosphere was far more heated than in their last encounter. >> in the last four years you cut permits and licenses on federal land and federal waters in half. >> not true, governor romney. >> so how much did you cut? >> here's what we did. there were a whole bunch of oil companies -- >> i had a question and the question was how much did you cut them by? >> want me to answer a question. >> how much did you cut them by? >> obama criticized romney for promising he won't increase the deficit but failing to address cutting middle-class taxes by calling only for eliminating legal loopholes. romney counterargued that

obama's administration has doubled the federal deficit instead of cutting it in half as promised. obama gave a lackluster performance at the first presidential debate. however, he sparked fiercely in the second round. according to a cnn poll soon after the debate 46% of respondents said obama won. while 39% chose romney. in the countdown to the u.s. presidential election, republican candidate mitt romney said he will designate china as a currency manipulator on his first day in office. following his statement, it seems the chinese administration may have taken some action on its currency. the yuan rose to a new high against the dollar in shanghai on wednesday. the yuan hit the highest level of 6.2525 against the dollar and it also set a record closing high of 6.2545. the currency's closing level has gone up about 2% in the past three months. but further gains in the yuan would hurt exporters, and could risk further slowdown in the nation's economy. sources say more chinese companies are halting their overseas investments amid such

risks. the body of cambodia's noda asked them to concentrate on this year's bucket. it was designed to achieve an annual growth of about 2%. these cell types have the potential to grow into any type of body issue.

another focus will be on bringing about a swift recovery from the earthquake of march last year. deregulation and promotion of loans for the private sector will also be discussed. the body of cambodia's -former king norodam sihanouk has arrived back in his homeland. patchari raksawong joins us from bangkok with details. good evening. >> good evening, gene. crowds of mourners gathered in phnom penh to pay their respects

to their former king norodom sihanouk's body arrived on a flight from beijing where he arrived on monday. he ruled cambodia for more than half a century through independence and civil war. his son, and the prime minister accompanied the body as it arrived home. cambodians crowded the airport to pay their respects. norodam sihanouk ascended to the throne at the age of 18. he led cambodia's struggle for independence in 1953. during the cold war sihanouk claimed a policy of neutrality but he wasn't shy of seeking assistance from both sides to help the cambodian economy. as king he was twice expelled from his country. once in a pro-u.s. coup, and a second time after his country

was invaded by the vietnamese. sihanouk was placed under house arrest for several years during the brutal rule of the khmer rouge in the late 1970s. that tragic period saw the deaths of more than 1.7 million cambodians. many of them were massacred. others died during forced labor. in 1991, sihanouk helped bring peace to his country with the assistance of the united nations. he played a key role mediating between armed factions and supporting reconstruction. during sihanouk's lifetime cambodia was buffeted by world affairs. this country was at the mercy of wider conflicts between the united states, the former soviet union, and china, as well as the ambitions of its neighbors, thailand and vietnam. king sihanouk was a symbol of

cambodian resilience over six turbulent decades. the body of sihanouk will lie in state at the royal palace for three months to give cambodians an opportunity to say farewell. that will be followed by a state funeral. now peace and prosperity are gradually returning to the country. many cambodians see the passing of their former king as the end of an era. the weak global economy is forcing companies to look for new markets to grow. even so, pakistan doesn't seem like an obvious choice. headlines from there often focus on political chaos and terrorism. discouraged a group of japanese companies from taking a closer look. nhk world reports from islamabad.

>> reporter: siakot is a city in east pakistan. at this garment factory, 150 men make uniforms for judo and karate. they work for japanese companies that moved its base here from china. >> translator: we are starting to receive orders from companies in europe, as well as japan. because of rising costs in china. >> reporter: pakistan's population is said to keep growing for the foreseeable future. more and more japanese companies see it as a promising market. the japanese company has formed a joint venture with local firm. their new factory began operations this month. the manufacture used in

automobiles and electric appliances. >> translator: this is a huge market of 1 0 million people. but steel consumption is just 38 kilograms. we can expect usage of steel to grow sharply as more people buy cars, motor bikes, and appliances. >> reporter: the biggest obstacle to doing business in pakistan is poor security. in the southern city of karachi, gunfire is rampant. in karachi when japanese people go out by car they usually take an armed security guard with them. this representative of a japanese company is one of them. he started traveling with an armed guard in june on the orders of his employer.

he keeps cash in the car to offer in case he's robbed. >> translator: this is a dummy purse with small amounts of cash. not having any cash could be dangerous. so i always keep this in the car. >> reporter: japanese corporations are making a calculated bet that expansion in pakistan is worth the risk. and they feel welcome in a country where anti-u.s. sentiment runs deep. pakistani president zardari this month invited a delegation of more than 30 corporate officials from japan to his office. he promised to support japanese companies doing business in the country. pakistan is a member of the so-called next level. countries that have potential to form the bricks in the next wave of emerging economy.

japanese firms hope to make inroads in to the pakistani market by pitching their advanced technology and know-how. nhk world, islamabad. that will wrap up our bulletin for today. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. scientists in the u.s. have developed a blood test whether a child will be born with down's seven dream. >> last year scientists at this california-based biotechnology company introduced a revoluti revolutionary blood test. it's said to be accurate as the

whether a child will be born with down syndrome. researchers at the company have been busy, they're analyzing blood from the note feather langds, israel and other countries. at this time the test requires sticking a needle into the ute truss. the new test carries no such risk. more than 20,000 women in the united states have already taken the test. andrea has miscarried in the past. when she was pregnant again, she chose the new test. her relates were negative and she had a healthy boy this may. >> i think by getting a yes or a no, it will help the parents

prepare for what they're about to encounter. the test, good or bad raises questions. genetic counselors who specialize in prenatal testing operate on genetic abnrm mallities. >> counseling staff will increase in the u.s., and they now number over 1,800. >> the test may soon be available in japan, here too people are debating the ethics. >> reporter: researchers at this tokyo hospital are preparing a clinical trial. >> we take a blood sample of 20

ccs and send it to the testing company in the u.s. >> the number of japanese women aged 35 and over having babies has roughly doubled over the past decade so more than 250,000 per year. for this age group, the chances of a fetus acquiring down syndrome rise significantly. only a few percent of japanese women currently under go down syndrome testing. but an increasing number of parents may learn that their child has down syndrome. what japan still lacks is a support system for decision making if the test is positive. this couple had no advice available. they gathered enough information

on their own. finally they found a specialist to consult. after learning what down syndrome meant, they decided to have the baby. >> there was no information and i didn't know anything about children with down syndrome. the thought that i might have given up on my pregnancy scares me. this month, members of the japan society of obstetrics and gynecology made guidelines so that the test issed a mensters con shen shously. >> i spoke earlier with a doctor who heads the center for maternal, fee tall and ne-yo

nato medicine. >> some kpaeps around the world have been working on genetic testing. while one way or another, this test will be used in japan. we have to scuddy how such prenatal tests should be carried out. the new test is less risky so i assume more pregnant women will want to take it. but there isn't a system in japan to support women who test positive to make appropriate decisions. my concern is more women may take test, get confused by the result and choose abortions. >> so what sort of system do you think is necessary? >> genetic counseling before and after the test should be made mandatory. the counseling will provide

prenatal womh information they need. that includes an understanding of the disability that might result. this test has limitations, those examineded should be limited to the highest group of pregnant women. for example 35 years old or older and those who have chromosomal, abnormal babies. >> what would you tell people who raise questions about the ethics of this test? >> the respect -- prenatal tests should not be used to give pregnancies with chromosomal abnorm tal mallities as a -- i hope people in japan will start this custom to improve the lives of disabled people. >> a storm is hovering south of

okinawa, for more on the weather forecast. >> the flooding we'll pull back and show you what this is heing towards. it's moving toward the specific side of the region and will be affecting the southwest islands

with dangerous rip tides and highways about six to nine meters of. you can see all? rain covering much of japan. and the really cold air is moving over japan. that's finally going to be tapering off into our tuesday. but we already have a report of 350 millimeters, eight millimeters in an arm. that seems to be still happening across much of the area for about 40 millimeters in an hour,

kind of brief outbreaks of showers and that's finally moving away, here in tokyo, we'll have some very severe weather. in the evening hours, we'll start to feel the very heavy rain. over towards the americas are very windy after the passing northwest of northwest. watch out for that. temperature-wise you can see the jet snaking here just south of that with centers of 35 and north of it. denver just had 18 degrees. the north still looks very messy, the scandinavian

peninsula will see the precipitation turn to white. windy conditions will still be prevailing across the region as well. but the cold front sagging from that low pressure system will target the northern iberia peninsula where the ongoing showers have already made the grounds very loose so flooding is going to be at very high risk there. you can see the temperature down at 15, athens at 29 degrees here's our extended forecast.

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