hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's friday july 23rd in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi with your updates. former north korean spy kim hyun hee will leave japan on friday, ending her four-day visit to meet the families of japanese citizens abducted by the north. the relatives obtained little new information on the fate of their loved ones but expressed hopes that her visit will help to resolve the long-standing issue. after arriving in japan on

tuesday kim met relatives of abdu abductees yaeko taguchi and megumi yokota at a resort town in central japan. taguchi's son spoke to reporters after the meeting and read out a message that kim wrote in his diary. >> translator: kim wrote me a message. "beloved son, your mother will return. please hold on with hope and courage, looking forward to the day when all of us can meet together." >> kim reportedly told yokota's parents that she had met their daughter once but had no other information. >> translator: kim didn't know anything about the things we most wanted to hear about megumi. we were disappointed. but she encouraged us by saying megumi must still be alive.

>> kim traveled to tokyo on thursday to meet other family members of kidnap victims. the families showed kim the photos of their missing relatives, but she reportedly said that she had never met any of them. however, the families said they were heartened to meet her and hope her visit to japan will contribute to resolving the issue. kim was sentenced to death in south korea for the 1987 bombing of a south korean jetliner. she was later pardoned and now lives in the south. japan and south korea have agreed to collaborate to increase pressure on north korea. they're aiming to prevent further provocations following the north's alleged sinking of a south korean warship. the agreement came in a meeting in hanoi on thursday between japanese foreign minister katsuya okada and south korean counterpart yu myung hwan. they're in the capital to tand meeting of the asean regional

forum. at a post-meeting news conference okada referred to the recent u.n. security council presidential statement that condemned the sinking. >> south korea's foreign ministry spokesperson quoted yu as saying both nations should pressure the north to refrain from acting against the international community. a senior u.s. official has brushed off north korea's condemnation of new u.s. sanctions against the country and its planned military drills with south korea. north korean foreign ministry official ri dong il said in vietnam on thursday that the u.s. moves represent an expansion of its anti-north korean and security in the peninsula. at a news conference u.s.

assistant secretary of state phillip crowley responded to the north korean comments. >> the very kind of actions that we've announced in recent days including military exercises that will be conducted in the near future are expressly demonstrating that we will be prepared to act in response to future north korea provocations. >> crowley said actions by north korea, including the sinking of a south korean warship, are the kinds of moves that actually pose a threat to stability in the region. he said the united states wants the north to cease its provocative actions and take the affirmative steps toward denuclearization it has pledged in the past. japan has agreed with the association of southeast asian nations that the country will cooperate from the planning phase to build and transport or build a transport and communication network as part of the economic integration of the region.

foreign minister katsuya okada and his asean counterparts agreed on the plan during their meeting in the vietnamese capital of hanoi on thursday. okada expressed support for the asean plan to start regional economic integration to be known as the asean community in 2015. he said this will lay the foundation for regional cooperation, adding that the proposal has a lot in common with japan's idea of an east asia community. he said japan wants to offer its experience and expertise in infrastructure building. japan aims to win orders in the region by doing so. the asean ministers accepted okada's proposal to set up japan's permanent office in the asean secretariat in the indonesian capital of jakarta. japan and china have agreed to start official talks next week with an eye on creating a treaty to jointly develop gas deposits in the east china sea. foreign minister okada and his

chinese counterpart yang jiechi made the agreement on thursday. they met in hanoi on the sidelines of the asean foreign ministers meeting. yang accepted okada's proposal that japan and china should hold a senior-level meeting on tuesday in tokyo. japan and china agreed in 2008 to jointly develop the gas fields in the east china sea, but china has since refused to enter talks on a treaty despite japan's repeated requests. the project has been a major diplomatic issue because joint development involves areas claimed by both countries. now let's take a look at the world of business with inez matsuyama. ines. >> thank you very much, catherine. the massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico is affecting other firms apart from bp. a japanese oil explorer has a minority investment in the offshore oil field, and bp is asking it to bear some of the compensation costs. the president of moex, a u.s. subsidiary of mitsui oil

exploration testified before congress on wednesday. moex has a 10% stake in the project. >> moex had no role in the selection or operation of the deepwater horizon rig. we are minority, non-operating investor. >> ishi says bp is entirely responsible for the operation of the oil field. but he added moex will give up its profits from the oil field for the time being. the money will be used to help compensate local residents and businesses and restore the environment. bp has a 65% stake in the oil field. it has agreed to set aside $20 billion for a compensation fund. it is asking moex and a u.s. energy developer that holds the remaining stake to cover part of the settlement costs. in a related story in the gulf of mexico oil spill, exxonmobil, royal dutch shell, conoco phillips, and chevron are spending a billion dollars on a rapid response system to contain

deepwater leaks. they announced recently that they will use the money to form a non-profit organization. the marine well containment company will develop a system that could be mobilized within 24 hours in water as deep as 3,000 meters. british energy giant bp has been struggling to deal with the blown-out underwater well. it isn't taking part in this project. the decision to launch this initiative appears to be aimed at demonstrating the intention to quickly respond to oil leaks in the gulf of mexico now that the u.s. government has decided to freeze deepwater drilling there. japan's largest business organization is discussing key political and economic issues at a summer conference. the japan business federation, or nippon keidanren, opened the two-day forum on thursday in kiruzawa. the chairman said the private sector should take the lead in returning the economy to a solid track and spurring growth.

some member firms called for lower corporate taxes and further deregulation. these measures would help them compete worldwide. others suggested that companies should develop human resources with a global outlook. sales in japan's supermarkets fell in june from a year earlier for the 19th straight month. the japan chain store association says sales at more than 7,800 outlets nationwide totaled 1 trillion 7 billion yen last month, or $11.7 billion. that's down 1.4% from the same month last year. the association also says hot weather led to the first monthly increase in clothing sales in 54 months. it says sales of t-shirts and swimsuits were particularly strong. but strong clothing sales were more than offset by poor sales of food and household commodities. the association expects clothing sales to remain strong due to the current hot spell. but it warns that overall sales

won't improve without an increase in household income. tokyo stocks followed wall street's lead and rebounded on friday morning. the nikkei 225 ended the morning session at 9,381 points, up 1.8%. investors took their cue from the dow's over 200%200-point surge. several u.s. firms posting better than expected profit boosted market sentiment. that's leading to more optimism in tokyo about japanese corporate earnings due out next week. checking currencies, u.s. and european markets also helping the dollar rise against the yen early friday. it's currently trading at 86.76-77, while the euro is at 111.8. but the currencies' gains are capped as traders wait for results from this weekend's stress tests on european banks. and here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the

benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. in other asian markets, hong kong's hang seng opened up 1.25%. now it's up 0.7%. the shanghai index for major blue chips, however-s down 0.1%. and in shenzhen the sse composite is down half a percent. we'll be back with more biz news later in the hour. back to the main news with catherine. >> thanks very much, ines. the international court of justice says kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from serbia in february 2008 did not violate international law. the court bases in the hague announced the judgment on thursday. the united nations had asked the court to rule on the issue. the icj said it considered that international law contains no applicable prohibition of a declaration of independence. nearly 70 countries, including the united states and japan, have recognized kosovo's independence, but serbia and other nations have not.

the icj's judgment is not legally binding, but it could pave the way for more countries to recognize kosovo's independence. serbian president boris tadic dismissed the court's verdict, saying his country would never recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of kosovo. ethnic albanians account for almost 90% of kosovo, where serbians live. the governor of miyazaki prefecture in southern japan says he wants to lift the state of emergency declared for an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease as early as next tuesday. governor hideo higashikokubaru declared a prefecture-wide state of emergency in mid may. residents were required to carry out thorough disinfections and postpone social events. restrictions for most regions were eased after livestock at risk were destroyed. however, when symptoms of the disease were discovered at a farm in miyazaki city on july 4th, the prefecture asked nearby

residents to stay on guard. areas around the farm are expected to be confirmed free of the foot-and-mouth virus next tuesday, allowing the resumption of livestock transport throughout the prefecture. the governor says even after the lifting of the state of emergency a disinfection system should remain in place until the disease is completely eradicated. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon will visit japan's two atomic-bombed cities early next month to appeal for a world free of nuclear arms. ban will visit japan from august 3rd to 7th. during his stay he's scheduled to meet prime minister naoto kan and foreign minister katsuya okada. they will discuss efforts to create a world without nuclear weapons. on august 5th the secretary-general will visit nagasaki, on the southern island of kyushu. the following day he'll attend a ceremony in hiroshima to mark the 65th anniversary of the u.s.

atomic bombing of the city. he will be the first u.n. chief to attend the anniversary event. ban has said he hopes to send a strong message that the world should rid itself of nuclear weapons. japanese olympic gold medalists have given a judo lesson to palestinian and israeli children to enhance peace through the sport. yas heero yamashita and koizui inouye held the joint class in jerusalem on wednesday after giving separate lessons to palestinians and israelis on sunday. 20 children from the palestinian territories and 30 from israel took part in the class. >> the joint class was held despite many obstacles including

opposition from the palestine judo association, which protested the event for political reasons. >> the two gold medalists plan to invite children from the palestinian territory and israel to an international judo competition in japan in december. it is mud that is playing a vital role in a south korean resort's plan to stimulate the local economy. thanks to a special type of earth, the beach town buryong is drumming up novel ways to lure tourists and spur new

businesses. >> reporter: buryong has 78 islands scattered off its shallow coast. known as the best beach town on the western coast, it's drawing a large number of vacationers in summer. the appeal of boryeong is not just the ocean and scenic beauty but the mud also. the mud festival is in full swing right now. the annual boryeong mud festival opened on july 17th. it runs through sunday. this year there are various mud-based events and attractions including a large bath and a sliding pool. >> fun. we're having a wonderful time. >> whoo! >> we're definitely enjoying the mud here. mud fest. >> reporter: the mud feels good. >> it's my second time going to the boryeong festival because i had so much fun last year. >> you can try for yourself.

this is really fun. >> reporter: although boryeong has long been known for its scenic landscape, the city had no major industries. officials then hit on the idea of taking advantage of 800 tons of a mineral-rich mud produced each year near the beach. the festival, which began initially to promote the local mud industry, has since become a major tourist attraction. but the festival is not just for fun, though. a presentation is made for prospective importers of cosmetics made from the beach mud. firms in nine countries, among them taiwan, india, mexico, sent officials to the presentation. >> translator: the boryeong mud is rich in minerals which are good for the skin. we're getting inquiries from around the world. >> reporter: the city began developing mud cosmetics back in 1996. the line-up has expanded to 30

products that include facial packs, foundation, and sun screen. annual sales totaled only about $170,000 at first, but they reached $3 million last year, thanks in part to the popularity of the festival. exports, mainly to japan, china, and the united states, amount to $300,000 a year. also during the festival a wide range of mud products are introduced and sold. they include baths as well as tissue paper made from the mineral-rich mud which officials say is good for people with sensitive skin. toothpaste uses mud extracts to improve its anti-bacterial effect. cook pots are said to release infrared rays and heat food ingredients quickly. >> translator: we want to develop various mud products to help the local economy.

we aim to make boryeong the center of the world's mud industry. >> reporter: these events are intended to increase the number of repeat visitors and international tourists and boost the festival's revenue. now it draws more than 2 million visitors. the organizers' efforts have paid off. the city's revenue from the festival soared from $3,000 in its first year to $44 million in 2009. >> translator: we're trying to make this event one of the world's biggest festivals. we also plan to turn the area into a mud cluster complex to attract even more people. >> reporter: from the annual festival to product development, the mud industry in boryeong is drawing attention as a business model for revitalizing the local

economy. rura lee, nhk world. next is a recap of the latest market figures. ♪ ♪ >> that's all for now in biz news. next is the weather forecast with saki ochi. hi there, and welcome back to your world weather update.

now, across east asia china has been seeing a lot of heavy rains falling and there's been all sorts of problems reported. here's a look at some of the latest footage we've got coming out from the country, showing you the situation. this first will be guangdong province coastline, looking at those high waves and very windy weather as typhoon chensu made landfall wednesday. hong kong missed the brunt of the storm system, but definitely heavy rains falling across the city, and conditions did get pretty stormy. meanwhile, central china also has been dealing with lots and lots of rain. flooding has been extremely severe for the past month. it looks like more rain is ongoing and the flooding remains quite critical. now, northern china hasn't been spared either. the north liaoning province picked up some record amount of rainfall, the highest in a

decade, in fact, which also triggered some widespread flooding. so overall it's been a pretty messy and serious situation across the country. here's a look at the weather patterns that we are seeing. tropical storm chanthu has weakened since making landfall, now in the guangdong province, expected to head in toward northern vietnam. that's where a lot of the rain is going to be headed. now, as it weakens further, those winds will certainly ease a little bit more, but a lot of rain falling across the region and more expected in the next couple of days, especially in and around hanoi, looking at some of the more heavier rains to be moving in coming days. big area of concern for you here. now, central china of course has been seeing a lot of severe flooding. it looks like more rain in store for you yet again. a very serious situation for northeastern china, though, rain is starting november away. those showers should ease today. so that at least is good news. here's a look at highs. 34 degrees in shanghai and 36 in

chongqing. so quite hot and muggy. 27 for seoul and then 35 in tokyo. it's going to be pretty steamy yet again across a lot of japan, especially central sections, looking at an expected high of 38, in gifu. 37 in kyoto. heat-related issues are going to be a major concern, so make sure to stay really well hide raiydr. over toward the americas. and in the caribbean we are watching a new storm system, tropical storm bonnie that just formed. this will be our second tropical storm of the atlantic hurricane season. it's now just south of the bahamas and expected to head in toward the gulf of mexico aiming for the lower mississippi valley, especially around louisiana. where likely it will make landfall. slow strengthening is expected in the next 48 hours, but already it's been bringing quite a bit of rain to the caribbean islands as well as the florida peninsula, and expect that to

continue. and that rainy area will head northward. all of you in this area really need to watch out and keep updated with what your local reports are telling you. that's a look at your weather for now. and i'll leave you with your three-day outlook. ♪ ♪ tinndged by etheir loved osa

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