it's thursday, july 11th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. senior officials from the u.s. and china have sat down around a table in washington and gone through the necessities of diplomatic protocol. but when they got to business, they had to put some of that diplomacy aside. they find themselves at odds over cyber security and competing economic interests.

delegates are taking part in the annual u.s./china strategic and economic dialogue. u.s. treasury secretary jack lew called on chinese leaders to do more to tighten cyber security. >> those who participate in the global economy including innovators and the holders of inte lengt wal property are preserved and protected from government sponsored cyber intrusion. >> u.s. vice president joe biden said chinese leaders should play a more responsible role in world affairs. china's vice premier said they would never undermine their national interests. >> translator: misunderstandings an differences of opinion are causing friction in the economic interests of both countries. we use die tlog minimize conflicts and avoid turning economic and trade problems into political issues. >> u.s. and chinese leaders launch the u.s./china dialogue in 2009. they hope to manage the complex

relationship between the world's two largest economies. egyptian authorities are escalating their crackdown on supporters of ousted president mohamed morsi. prosecutors accuse the supporters of inciting violence that has left more than 50 people dead. egypt's state-run news agency says the prosecutors have ordered the arrest of muslim brotherhood supreme leader mohammed badei and nine other senior members. they argue the men prepared weapons and issued orders for the murder of troops. members of the brotherhood have denounced the military coup that toppled morsi. they're demanding he be reinstated. the holy month of ramadan began on wednesday in most muslim countries. muslim groups in cairo say they fear the fighting will disturb their religious activities. they say they want to observe ramadan peacefully. residents of a town in canada are demanding answers after a train accident that

killed some of their neighbors. the head of the company that operated the oil tanker train says the driver may have failed to properly set the brakes. the cargo train ran more than 70 cars long it. rolled away from a station on saturday with no one at the controls. it derailed in the center of the town lac-megantic in quebec and then exploded. 16 people have been confirmed dead, 50 others are missing. railway company officials initially denied responsibility, but the president visited the site on wednesday. he acknowledged the possibility of human error. >> the fact that when the air brakes released on the locomotive as the train ran away would indicate that the hand brakes on the balance of the train were not properly applied. >> police are interviewing the train's engineer. he left the train after stopping it on a hill about ten kilometers from the crash site.

residents of rain-swept sichuan in china are reeling from major mud slides. more than 40 people are missing. people across the proprovince have faced heavy rainfall. a heavy slide took place wednesday in dujiangyan near chengdu. more than 40 people were engulfed by a massive torrent of muddy debris. and 12 people went missing in jiangyou when a 160-meter bridge washed away plunging six cars into the rising river. authorities have closed schools and they say they're making emergency checks of bridge, roads and dams. people from towns that were destroyed in japan's 2011 disaster are trying to get on with their lives, but their efforts to rebuild are being hampered by land and labor shortages. communities in the country's northeast are still recovering

from the earthquake and tsunami that struck two years and four months ago. residents living along the coastline are relocating to higher ground. workers in some towns are raising ground levels to prevent flooding by tsunami. but reconstruction is likely to take longer than expected as local authorities struggle to buy up land and find workers. cleanup efforts at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant have run into extended delays. 150,000 people living around the plant had to evacuate. they're still waiting to hear when they can go home. some evacuees are suffering from stress-related health problems. government agencies say about 2,600 people died after moving into temporary shelters or housing. workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant are struggling to cope with one problem after another. nuclear regulators say it is highly likely that contaminated water from the facility is

seeping into the sea. they'll form a working group to study the cause and find ways to stop it. the plant's operator tokyo electric power company has been reporting high levels of radioactive substances in a well near the sea since may. the firm said on tuesday that levels of cesium in a new observation well had risen to 100 times the level logged four days earlier. officials of the nuclear regulation authority discussed the problem on wednesday. >> translator: it is essential to find out why such a phenomenon is occurring. we need to identify the cause to come up with effective countermeasures. we should put top priority on measures to stop the leak. >> tokyo electric officials say they'll fully cooperate with the nra working group. the man in the cockpit of the fukushima nuclear disaster died this week. as manager of the daiichi plant,

masao yush irkida, struggled to it under control. >> reporter: he managed fukushima daiichi for nine months when he was confronted with the biggest challenge of his career. he was in charge at the time of the accident. he led a fight to bring the reactors under control. he recounted his experiences in november 2011, about eight months later. >> translator: after the accident, to be honest, i thought several times that i might die. i felt the plant was out of control, so i thought, this is the end. >> reporter: he sometimes struggled with the tensions of his job. officials from tokyo electric power company released video of a conference call that took place three days after the

accident. yoshide exchanged harsh words with officials from tepco and the prime minister's office. >> reporter: he did thins his own way. at one time officials in the prime minister's office told him to stop injecting sea water into one of the reactors. he ignored the request. in may 2011, doctors diagnosed yoshida with cancer of the esophagus. he left his post. officials with tepco insist that cancer was not caused by exposure to radiation. residents forced to leave the

area after the accident have mixed feelings. >> translator: he did his best. i admire him. >> translator: i think he's responsible for the accident. >> reporter: yoshida pushed those around him to do what they could even though he knew the gravity of what they were facing together. he said he wanted to go back to work even after he got sick. masao yoshida was 58. reporting for nhk world, tokyo. thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast tracts of land are still waiting to be restored. and more than half of fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt. people in northeastern japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster, but step by step, they're moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on "the road ahead" right here on "newsline."

south korea's president says she has no plans to meet japanese prime minister shinzo abe dashing hopes of a thaw in ties. park guen-hye says it is up to japan to make the first move. park has broken political tradition by meeting chinese and u.s. leaders first. she spoke to south korean journalists on wednesday. they asked about the possibility of a summit with japan. park said she has never ruled it out, but she said a summit would only be meaningful when it could help improve relationships. the president said at the moment japan is hurting the feelings of south koreans over a territorial dispute. she also raised the issue of so-called comfort women or women coerced to serve in japanese wartime military brothels. she warned that ties could weaken if such issues were raised again immediately after a summit. park urged japan's government to create an appropriate environment for holding a

summit. japanese leaders are rejecting a ruling from a south korean court on an issue that dates back to that country's colonial past. the court is ordering a japanese steelmaker to pay compensation for forced labor decades ago. lawyers for the company are appealing. four former workers filed a lawsuit seeking financial damages from nippon steel and sumitomo metal corporation. they said they were forced to work at steel mills in japan. that's from 1940 through 1945. the court ordered the company to pay about $90,000 to each of the plaintiffs. it's the first ruling of its kind in either south korea for japan. >> i never even dreamed that we would win the lawsuit. we really appreciate all our supporters. japan and south korea normalized relations in 1965.

the japanese government's stance is that the issue of post war compensation was fully resolved during treaty taurks but south korea's supreme court ruled last year the treaty did not invalidate the right to seek damages from the japanese steelmaker. japan's supreme court maintains individuals no longer have that right and its top government spokesperson says the ruling won't be accepted. >> translator: the japanese government's position is that the issue of seeking compensation was settled by the 1965 agreement. >> yoshi he'd da suing ga says japanese officials will make their opinion clear to south korea through diplomatic channels. the scrambles by chinese aircraft against the zwrapen air self-defense toers has fallen. that's according to data on suspected air space violations from april to june. ministry officials say 69 out of

a total of 115 scrambles during the three-month period were against chinese aircraft. that's fewer than half the record 146 scrambles from january through march. 31 interceptor flits were made against russian aircraft and 9 against north korean fighter jets during the most recent quarter. the ministry says it will closely monitor the situation to determine if the trend will continue. china's exports fell in june for first time in 17 months adding to concerns the world's second largest economy is losing steam. chinese customs officials said exports stood at $174 billion. that's down 3.1% from a year ago. the customs spokesman admitted the country's trade is now facing challenges. analysts say overseas demand fell amid a global slowdown,

that's hit the country's exporters. a surge in the yuan against other major currencies harm the competitiveness of chinese goods. imports also fell 0.7% to $147 billion. that brought total trade down by 2% in june. trade grew by 8.6% for the first half of the year slightly exceeding china's annual trade growth target of 8%. taiwan and new zealand have signed an economic accord designed to gradually abolish tariffs on almost all items they trade. it's the first time for taiwan to conclude a free trade deal with with a country with which it has no diplomatic ties. representatives from both sides signed the deal in new zealand's capital wellington. taiwan hopes the deal will boost exports of electronic equipment and petrochemical product. new zealand hopes to sell more dairy products and beef. taiwan's government hopes to use the latest accord as a stepping

stone for entry talks with more countries as well as the transpacific partnership. buddhist monks have taken to the streets of at least two asian cities to denounce the apparent bombing of a holy site in india. >> demonstrations took place in thailand and sri lanka days after the blasts at one of buddhisms holiest sites. authorities have called it a terrorist attack. monks rallied in front of the united nations building in bangkok. offering nizers say about 200 monks took part from south asian countries. a series of explosions went off on sunday in the vicinity of a temple complex in eastern india, a unesco world heritage site. two people were wounded including a monk from myanmar. no person or group has claimed responsibility. followers of bud him believe the

temple is where the buddha achieved enlightenment. >> we didn't want any terrorism for our buddhism. we want to have peace. we want to live in peacefully. we want harmon pe and we want to cease all the suffering from the world. this is our expectation. >> particular protests took place outside the indian high mission of columbo. monks from myanmar and bangladesh also took part. demonstrators called on the indian government to protect those sites for future generations. authorities have sent investigators to the town that is an attraction for pilgrims and tourists thanks to its numerous temples built from donations from buddhists all over the world. work has begun in thailand on a new factory for honda motor, strengthening the

country's reputation as the detroit of asia. the japanese firm competes with automakers from around the world all wanting to sell more cars to southeast asia's growing middle class. the thai prime minister was an honored guest at a ceremony to mark construction. the new factory will supply vehicles to thailand and other countries in asia and oceana. >> it st one of the key markets in asia region. the construction of the new plant assembly plant is a key part of this strategy. >> the plant is being built at an industrial zone east of bangkok. operations are scheduled to begin in 2015 with output reaching 120,000 car ks a year including smaller models.

honda also intends to expand production at another factory in thailand taking its toll output to about 420,000 units a year. competition in the thai auto market is fierce. sales rose to a record of 1.43 million units last year fueled by rising demand for middle income households. sri lanka's elephants are special animals according to buddhist's tradition. they're supposed to feature prominently at celebrations that are in full swing at this time of year. but the mood isn't what it used to be. the number of elephants has seen a worrying decline prompting one village to craft a replacement. >> reporter: this is sri lanka's traditional festival. it means a procession in the

local language. people parade along the streets wishing for plentiful rain before rice planting season. at the tail end of the procession is an elephant. on its back stands a religious casket normally kept at a temple. >> translator: elephants are the symbol of rain clouds. we believe the festival will bring the blessing of rain. the festival isn't complete without an elephant. >> reporter: but it's getting harder and harder to find an elephant for the festival. most festival elephants are supplied by asians. 15 years ago agents across the country had about 500 elephants to rent out. that number has since dropped to 140. many elephants are getting old and falling sick.

four out of every ten are no longer fit for work. >> most of the elephants, domesticated elephants, are old age now. we can't use them for their health. >> reporter: in 1975, the sri lankan government acted to protect wild elephants by imposing a hunting ban. all the elephants handled by the agents were caught by that ban came into effect. come festival season, people around the country scramble to find an elephant. this village has gone without for several years. >> the companies i called because of the crisis, it is difficult. >> reporter: the festival in this village has a history

dating back 80 years. for three months, the villagers have been discussing what to do. their solution is simple -- they decide to make their own. this man takes the lead. using mostly recycled materials keeps the cost to about $10. the price is low, but their effort is high. the elephant's ears and neck are movab movable. >> translator: the head is made with steel pipes and bamboo. >> reporter: he can't wait for his 8-year-old son to see the festival and understand the bond sri lanka's buddhists have with elephants. >> translator: i've never seen an elephant at the festival.

>> translator: i want to teach the importance of elephants to my children's generation. >> reporter: the day of the village festival has arrived, and there's an elephant in the parade for the first time in three years. he rides on top of the elephant with pride. it doesn't matter to him that it was man made. >> translator: even though there weren't any real elephants, i was happy an artificial one like this could take part. >> if we hadn't honored the tradition and used only dancers, our children, the future jenn generation, wouldn't know how elephants are supposed to be part of the festival. >> reporter: awareness of wild life conservation is growing in sri lanka. if the country can keep its cultural traditions and preserve its natural heritage, that

really would be something to celebra celebrate. reporting for nhk world. and that wraps up our bulletin. time now for a check on world weather with mai shoji. you've been keeping an eye on that storm that made landfall in the caribbean. what's the latest situation there? >> good morning, catherine. yes, as you may recall, we have been tracking the storm system, tropical storm chantal, but now it has become a remnant low pressure system just south of haiti. yesterday was the peak of the stormy conditions across the caribbean. let me show aw video coming out from the region. tropical storm chantal has lost some of its force but it is still threatening floods across the dominican republic and other countries. fishing has been suspended in santo domingo because of the rough seas. the remnants of chantal are expected to affect jamaica,

eastern cuba through thursday and then towards the florida peninsula by friday. so pulling you back, you can see this storm system still bringing cloud formation over the countries. it looks like it will bring the bulk of the rain across eastern cuba and also hispaniola. so there are still threats the of flooding. we'll keep a close eye on this and please take precautions for it. to the north of it really scattered thundershowers across the florida peninsula and in towards the ohio/tennessee valley. severe weather across the great lakes region and down into the tennessee valley, severe weather includes some thunderstorms acode wi accompanied with large hail and tornadic activity cannot be ruled out. another severe area is in the central to high plains. a tornado touchdown reported in colorado today and this is likely to continue. across the four corners region, we see scattered monsoonal

showers which could be on the heavy level. the temperatures down towards the south of that are 36 in oklahoma city. with these kinds of temperatures you're likely to see the pressures rise very quickly. only takes ten minutes for the inside of the car to heat ten degrees. please do not leave any living animals or children in the car unattended. bring water bottles if you need to travel. now across intercontinental asia, this has a clear eye defined right there with the cloud formation. you can see the spinning of this. it is a very big system. looks like it will be intensifying over the warm water. that will feed this system and make it a violent typhoon system by the next 24 hours. looks like it will be bringing very stormy conditions to the

islands of okinawa in japan, about 12-meter-high waves are likely in and around the area on friday. looks like it could even make landfall in taiwan or southeastern china over the weekend. the gusts are already packing 252 kilometers an hour. so life threatening rip currents as well as storm swell surge, these will be a huge concern. not only that but this is helping to feed the heat, too. take a look at these temperatures. soaring at 93 degrees in katsunuma. if it does rain again today in tokyo, that will be record history, consecutive days. tokyo still in the heat advisory area. we're likely to see those temperatures really reach that. north korea is receiving heavy rain across the area. temperatures are shaping up like this. 35 yet again in tokyo. in the forecast 33 both in bangkok and in manila with

chances of thunderstorms. i'll leave you now for the extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.