welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. pakistan's election campaign is about to wrap up. millions of voters will soon weigh in on everything from domestic issues to their country's role in the u.s.-led war on terror. japan's airways confirms it will put its 787 dreamliners back in service on june 1. the planes were grounded worldwide for more than four

months. and a japanese sculptor who lived through the earthquake and tsunami two years ago has changed his approach. he's using his art to share his new outlook of the world. people in pakistan have a lot to think about before the weekend. they vote in a general election on saturday. a wave of violence has overshadowed the campaign. but it hasn't drowned out the issues, which include everything from poverty to pakistan's place in the world. we are in islamabad leading our special coverage. >> behind me you can see the buildings of the national assembly and presidential palace against a background of increased tight security pakistanis will go to the polls this saturday in a general election. their votes will decide which

side will lead a south asian nation known as one of the most volatile states on the planet. the world is watching closely, too, as the result could also decide the next steps for the confusing alliance between pakistan and united states. pakistan has stood on the front line of the so-called war on terror for more than a decade now. and the country is still on a knife edge with anti-u.s. sentiment strong enough to influence the election's outcome. it was 2001 when the u.s. attacked pakistan's neighbor afghanistan in the hunt for al qaeda leader osama bin laden and aiming to oust the regime. then president pervez musharraf promised to cooperate with the u.s. in return to substantial aid package. but the country has paid a heavy price. insurgent attacks have killed more than 40,000 people during the past ten years.

after the killing of bin laden in a suburb of islamabad two years ago, bilateral ties with the u.s. reached a point of no return. pakistan's leadership reacted angry to the american raid claiming that sovereignty had been violated. with strong anti-american resentment, how to handle the u.s. is one of the hottest topics in the election campaign. he is a popular contender in the upcoming general election. his party pakistan moment for justice positioned itself more than any other party as anti-american. he's particularly opposed to the

is on going u.s. drone strikes flying over pakistan. >> translator: drone strikes are a complete violation of human rights. they're assassinating large numbers of innocent civilians. >> reporter: over recent years the united states has dramatically increased the use of unmanned drones to target muslims extremists in pakistan. but these strikes have also killed an estimated 400 civilians so far, fueling strong resentment among the population. the city is about 150 kilometers from the iran border. it's now home to many refugees who were driven away from other areas beuse of the constant threat from the sky. among them is malik, he also

three sons and one brother to a drone strike four years ago. they were all killed while attending a relative's funeral. >> translator: my grief is beyond words and most frustrating of all is that there's something i can do. >> reporter: anwar supports khan's moment of justice in the upcoming election. more people here are turning to the party because of increasing number of victims of drone strikes. >> translator: drone strikes kill innocent people. we are against them. mr. khan is a new star in the political world. i'm hoping that things will change if he takes power. >> translator: the government until now has given priority to the financial support against from the united states and has approved u.s. drone strikes.

but we are the victims of these attacks. >> reporter: khan's followers are against the problem of extremism, dialogue or military force. >> this war has created more extremism. today that is more extremism than before in pakistan. we will not take part in this insanity of military operations. no way we'll do that. we'll then have truth and reconciliation within our own tribal people. >> reporter: on the other side of the debate is the ruling peoples party. it has supported cooperation with the united states for the past five years. >> minister of foreign affairs says pakistan's relationship with the u.s. is crucial to counter the influence of extremists. she believes khan's opposition to the use of military force is unrealistic. >> unfortunately the political party that you mentioned seem to be providing ideological space

for the terrorists to dance around which we believe the pakistan peoples party believes it is not good for pakistan because pakistan needs leaders which are able to be strong on the question of terrorism. >> reporter: if the peoples party retains power, then the status quo with the u.s. is likely to remain. however, should the moment for justice gain significant ground, the future of ties with washington will hang in the balance. nhk world, islamabad. >> reporter: khan's campaign will be finishing from a hospital bed while he recovers from injuries sustained in a fall in the eastern city of lahore on tuesday. and we have with us mubarik from the islamic bureau. worsening anti-u.s. sentiment in pakistan is likely to have a bearing on the election now, isn't it? >> well, that's right.

in a recent opinion poll more people said a dislike united states more than those who mentioned india for the fall. few politicians therefore advocate close relations with washington. the only exception was former president pervez musharraf who returned to pakistan in march from self-imposed exile in a bid to run in election. but musharraf was arrested over crimes allegedly committed by his office and barred from the polls. >> reporter: now, what changes are expected following the election in terms of pakistan's policy towards the united states? >> well, the outcome of the election will make a big difference in pakistan's cooperation on u.s.-led counter terrorism and its handling of islamic militants taking shelter on pakistani soil. the pakistan peoples party h has run the country for the past five years under the president says it will continue to support u.s.-led campaign to some degree.

it also hints at the possibility of reinstating full fledged military operations against islamic militants. the largest opposition led by musharraf is a stronger on anti-washington but less so than in transparency. the differing stances mean that u.s. is concerned that pakistan anti-islamic operation might be suspended should the government be unseated. if islamic militants continue to operate from the country's northwest, it will have a grave impact not just on pakistan itself but also on efforts to stabilize neighboring afghanistan. and the pakistani military is there, too, it's a strong influence behind pakistan's foreign policies. that's one reason why the future of anti-terror operations depends on the next government's relationship with the army.

>> thank you. and that was nhk world's mubarik. pakistan is important for regional security it is the last of the international forces withdrawn next year. now tomorrow we'll look at the domestic challenges the country faces. i'm dhra dhirakaosal reporting from islamabad. the world's biggest fleet of boeing 787 dreamliners will soon be back in regular service. managers at japan's al nippon airways say technical glitches that grounded the planes for months will be fixed and the aircraft will take off on june 1st. crews modified the battery systems and conducted test flights to make sure the dreamliners are also safe. managers say the planes will fly on five international routes and 12 in japan. airlines around the world grounded their 787s in january because of problems with the

battery system. u.s. aviation authorities and japanese transport ministry said last month airlines could fly their 787s once they've made modifications in test flights. japan airlines also has a fleet of dreamliners. managers had already decided to put their planes back into regular service on june 1st. the government has decided to department garment factories across the country for structural flaws. 912 people have been confirmed dead in the collapse of the eight-story building outside dhaka two weeks ago. many of them are injured. police have arrested the building's owners on suspicion of keeping the factories open even though they knew the building was unsafe. the government has closed 18 factories that fail to meet the

safety standards. a fire broke out at another garment factory in dhaka on wednesday night killing eight people. the owner was among the dead. the newspaper of china's communist party has questioned japan's sovereignty over okinawa. they believe they belonged to taiwan. they took control of the okinawa in the late 19th century. they made the case that china was unable to assert its claim at the time. the scholars argue that they belong to taiwan. they took control after a war in the late 19th century. they made the case that china was unable to assert its claim at the time. the scholars argue it's time to reopen discussions. >> translator: the history of okinawa has long been of interest to academics. >> but she did not express the

government's view on the subject. chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said japanese diplomats have launched a complaint with their chinese counterparts. >> translator: if it is in line with the government, japan cannot accept it. >> suga said the chinese researchers were expressing their own point of view. a traffic control officer in north korea is being hailed as a hero. a state-run newspaper says he received one of the highest awarding for helping keep kim jong-unsafe. she is 22 years old. she was awarded the title hero of the republic. she risked her life to assist kim when he was involved in an

unexpected situation. analyst expect that kim's car was involved in an accident in pyongyang. ri has been on the job for five years. an editorial called on readers to follow her example. more than 10 million people ride the subways in tokyo every day. they carry people to nearly 300 stations all over the city. but they will grind to a halt if an earthquake knocks out the power. engineers with coke owe metro want to give each train enough power to get to the nearest station. they tested it on a run of 1 kilometer. the battery is nearly 40 times as powerful was one in an

automobile. a blackout in a subway tunnel can force riders to walk. two subway trains stops between stations, passengers had to walk through dark tunnels for an hour. subway workers can get passengers to a platform whe wherever a train stops. they are going to use water tanks to mimic rush hour situations. >> the engineers say they will make their battery system more reliable and then deploy it on all of their trains. a sculptor who lived in fukushima has been communicating through years through his art.

he is sharing with others what he learned from the disaster. we have his story. nhk world's chie yamaghishi has his story. >> the aroma of fresh wood fills the workshop. he's not just cutting logs. he's making sculptures and telling his story. >> translator: i was astonished to see the aftermath of the tsunami. in one moment, it destroyed the whole town and its culture. >> reporter: ando and his wife share a passion for sculpture. they lived in fukushima for 23 years. raised a son and daughter there. ando shares a connection with

nature and cosmos. he explores those rich relationships in his work. the earthquake and tsunami two years ago destroyed his house and studio along the coast. hundreds their sculptures were washed away. they lived just 30 kilometers from fukushima daiichi. the disaster there forced them to move 500 kilometers away. along the way, he met people who distributed gasoline to as many drivers as possible, putting themselves in danger of radiation exposure. when he and his family arrived, others helped them find a house and settle in. the experiences made ando refocus his place in the world and the connections between people.

>> translator: many people do not realize the power they have to make others happy, but they're wrong. they have that kind of power. >> reporter: ando took a new approach to his work. this piece depicts the embrace of man and woman in the chrysalis of a butterfly. ando says it represents hope after the nuclear disaster. >> translator: i got the message that we should not hold on to our anger, our sadness, or our suffering. instead, we can take a step toward hope.

>> translator: when i look at it, i feel overwhelming power. >> reporter: last month, ando published a picture book. in his story, a boy heads out to have some adventures. he shakes hands with air, the ocean, and the earth. then he shakes hands with a girl. >> translator: we can purify and overcome the negative legacy of a society with the love that is within us. >> reporter: ando doesn't plan to return to fukushima despite how he once felt about it. but he says he'll keep making sculptures to share with others the lessons he's learned. chie yamagishi, nhk world, japan.

rescue personnel from the southeast asian nations and their partners are conducting a three-day disaster drill. it is on the assumption that a massive earthquake and tsunami have occurred. they participated in a drill. it is based on an 8.9 mag any intuit earthquake has occurred causing a tsunami. the exercises began for years ago in an effort to improve disaster coordination.

rescuers helped workers escape from a quake-damaged factory. >> the injured people are being transported to the emergency bus. 50 japanese self-defense force personnel are taking part in the drill. they were involved in rescue opions after the earthquake and tsunami that struck japan in 2011. >> japan had the help of it's regional partners at the time of the march 11th disaster. such regular exercises will help improve mutual coordination. >> translator: the 2004 indian ocean tsunami left more than 224,000 people dead or missing. those participating hope to take this opportunity to learn from japan's experiences in the 2011

disaster and to share rescue techniques. here are the latest market figures.

heavy rain and flooding in southeast china. meteorologist robert speta is here with more on that. robert? >> owe, we're kochbting to watch a stational -- even in southwestern china, that front is remaining in place. a few hours back we showed you that video of the severe flooding. now this front will be continuing to drop this rainfall after continuous days of rain. in portions here, you could see 100 to 150 millimeters in the next 72 hours. there's good news here. by saturday into sunday, this front will start to set a little farther down here toward the south bringing some relief. it's still hot and muggy, definitely cloudy in the sky here, but the rain will start to let up.

not so much the case in taiwan. attached to this another front broke off. you're going to be seeing these rain showers by friday morning into saturday for tokyo. here in tokyo, temperatures really warmed up today. on thursday, just outside of tokyo, upwards of about 26 degrees was recorded today. that's record breaking for the month of may. if you're down here toward the south and the philippines, but up here, definitely a warm up. and you're going to continue to see that into friday. the capital here, getting up to that 26 degree mark. behind it, into korea, seoul is cooling off. that will move off to the east as well. 17 for the high on your friday. beijing, it will be warming up here. you have a roller coaster of temperatures. now into the americas, looking

at a frontal area pushing across. bringing several tornadoes, it will now shift off there across the midwest. that will bring rain showers across much of texas and oklahoma. portions of texas have seen drought conditions recently. too much rain in too short of a period causes a risk of flash flooding. that's a risk of stronger thunderstorms as well. it will be ping-pong to baseball sized hail. and then in the southeast you will see thunderstorm activity. going to the northeast as well. warm air will be coming in as well. washington drk gettic getting u here. you're still seeing thunderstorms along with that. here in europe, i want to key on the british isles.

we had a low part here all week. it has been bringing absolutely gusty winds and it's still going to be linkering. attached to that is this frontal area. it's really just a series of low pressure systems along it that has been bringing fairly wet conditions into the low country. that's going to continue to persist. and then over towards southeastern europe, it's really in the pabalkin peninsula where all of that. it will be affecting you in turkey by friday. 20s across the board except for london and paris. here is your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this

hour, i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thank you for joining us. have a great day wherever you are.

♪ "design talks." traditional japanese lighting. just looking at it soothes the soul. light can lend a special feel to interior spaces or create an entirely new city view. on today's program, we look at