hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's tuesdayed,a ug 3rd. 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon visits japan on tuesday to attend a ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of hiroshima. he'll be the first u.n. chief to attend the event. ban will arrive at narita airport near tokyo on tuesday afternoon. his trip is aimed at sending a message that the world should rid itself of nuclear weapons. ban will participate in the peace memorial ceremony in hiroshima on friday.

a u.n. official says former secretaries-general have avoided the ceremony as attendance could be read as a condemnation of the united states for the bombings. the official added, however, that the tide has changed with the obama administration's positive approach to nuclear disarmament. ban plans to visit nagasaki, another atomic bomb city in southern japan on thursday to hear directly from survivors about the devastation. during his japanese tour, ban also plans to meet prime minister naoto kan in tokyo. their agenda will include north korea's nuclear development. bon announced he will open an inquiry into israel's attack on a flo till youa in may. nine aide workers were killed in the operation. the u.n. chief launched the investigation panel on monday following a series of talks with israel and turkey. the panel will be made up of four members, including one israeli and one turk.

formerew zealand prime minister jeffrey palmer will be president. the group is expected to submit its first report by mid-september. israeli troops seized a convoy carrying supplies to the gaza supply on july 31st. last week a report was released that justified the shooting by its soldiers. turkey and other countries criticized the report. a senior u.s. envoy said the new u.s. sanctions against north korea are aimed to halt the country's activities that held fund its nuclear program. robert einhorn is the special adviser for non-proliferation and arms control for the u.s. state department. he's in south korea to explain the sanctions. deputy assistant treasury secretary daniel glaser is accompanying einhorn. the united states announced last month that it would strengthen existing sanctions against north korea and impose new restrictions on groups and individuals involved in nuclear

proliferation. the move followed the sinking of a south korean warship in march, allegedly by north korea. einhorn met with south korea's nuclear envoy, wi song nak and deputy foreign minister on monday. he told reporters he had got their understanding on the new sanctions. he said the new sanctions will target elicit and deceptive activities that provide north korea with hard currency for its nuclear and missile programs. einhorn said they will also stop the country's practice of breaking promises and then seeking dialogue. the state department official said he'll visit china to seek its cooperation. he said china's role is important because of its close relationship with north korea. einhorn will visit japan on tuesday to talk about the new u.s. sanctions.

the 1945 bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki marked the darkest days in japanese history. as we approach the 65th anniversary, we'll be bringing you special coverage here on nhk world. we're starting off with a story about a documentary. it looks at the life of an atomic bomb survivor. a woman who has struggled with the after-effects of radiation exposure. nhk world's tomoko kamata spoke with the film's director who is also a survivor and the subject's husband. ♪ >> translator: august 6th comes every year. i always come to the peace memorial park from our home in the suburbs. >> reporter: the amateur documentary film, "my wife's features" chronicles 50 years in the life of a stay-at-home mom. kiyoko kawamoto was exposed to the radiation from the atomic bomb when she was 19.

the film begins in 1958 on the day she gives birth to her first son and finishes in 2008. after suffering severe headaches and fatigue, kiyoko was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1968. her husband's camera clearly records how the illness caused by the radiation wears away her strength year by year. it's a very personal record made possible by the couple's closeness. >> translator: my head hurts. i want to take something for it, but i can't swallow. [ speaking japanese ] >> reporter: kiyoko's husband, akito, is 83.

he says he tried to show how the atomic bomb has cast a shadow on ordinary people's life for such a long time. >> translator: the film doesn't show what happened in hiroshima. it's a very personal story about the hiroshima deep, deep in my heart. >> reporter: for the past few years, the aging couple haven't been able to attend the august 6th memorial ceremony. after akito finished editing the film kiyoko was diagnosed with another cancer.

this is the only picture akito has been able to take of kiyoko since he finished the film. he had heart surgery last year and says he doesn't have the strength to shoot another film. so he wants the film to be seen by as many people as possible. >> translator: the atomic bomb is not just in the past. it cuts deep into our lives today. we lead ordinary lives, but the dark shadow of hiroshima never goes away. i want more people to know about the illnesses caused by the bomb.

>> reporter: the film is a chronicle of one family's agony, anger, and prayer. these aging survivors of the atomic bomb are putting their last strength into making their voices heard. nhk world will be bringing you live coverage of the peace memorial ceremony in hiroshima. join us at 8:00 a.m. japan time on friday. that's 11:00 p.m. utc on thursday. we'll be carrying the ceremony in nagasaki live on monday, august 9th. welcome back to "news line business." u.s. manufacturing grew for the 12th month in a row in july, but at the slowest pace this year. the institute for supply

institutes released monday fell to 55.5 from 56.2 the month before. the reading was better than expected, as many economists have been forecasting it would drop to 54. a reading of 50 signals an expansion. the chairman of the survey said the gain was mainly due to increases in employment, and inventories which offset declines in order and production. he also noted there were indications that demand was still strong in 10 of the 18 industries surveyed. manufacturing has been the main sector supporting the economic recovery so the market will be closely watching to see how well it performs in the next few months. the yield on benchmark ten-year japanese government bonds fell to 1.04% at one time on monday. the lowest since august 2003. investors bought the lowest bonds amid fears of a slowdown in japan's economic recovery. this along with rising concerns about u.s. prospects after gdp

showed the country's economy grew at a slower than expected pace in the second quarter fueled the bond buying. market players say it is clear that long-term interest rates are falling both in japan and the united states, while rate increases is not forecast for the time being. tokyo stocks are rally tuesday after the rebound overnight. the nikkei ended at 9687.47. export-related and banking shares led the gainers. to currencies. the dollar is following against the yen on tuesday morning. fed chairman bernanke cautious remarks about the u.s. economy are pressuring the greenback. it's currently at 86.41-45. traders also sold the euro. it's now at 113.73-78. and here's a look at the

latest long-term interest rates. this is a yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond currently. in other asian markets, the hang seng opened up 0.9%. the shanghai for major blue chips is down a fraction and the sse composite is down 0.2%. the united arab emirates announced it would ban some of the functions of blackberry smart phones starting in october. the uae government said on monday it would block functions such as e-mail and internet access from blackberry phones made by the canadian firm research in motion. the uae has 500,000 blackberry users. the ban on these functions is based on national security concerns as data sent from blackberry smart phones gets sent instantly as they are routed through overseas service. meanwhile, u.s. assistant

secretary of sfat philip crowley expressed his concern on monday. >> we're disappointed at the announcement. we're going to classify with the uae what's behind this announcement. but we think it's -- sets a dangerous precedent. >> four major department stores in japan released their data for july on monday. sales at three out of four department stores were down from the previous year. against the downward trend is isetan. its sales rose 0.6% in july. the firm attributes the increase to strong results in summer sales campaigns. in contrast, they fell 9.1% for mitsukoshi. the department store said the heat wave in july helped boost sales of summer items, such as pair sorasols and hats but that

jewelry and other expensive items didn't find many buyers. they said sales of mainstay women's clothing are still weak. in central tokyo, the vacancy rate in tokyo office buildings continues to rise. many companies are looking to streamline by moving to cheaper rental spaces or consolidating. >> reporter: tokyo's ward is full of office buildings like this nine-story one. a consulting company used to occupy the second floor. they vacated the building two years ago and the space has remained vacant since. a video production firm used to rent the fifth floor. they went out of business earlier this year and the space is still vacant. the company that leases this building also owns another one. they're struggling because of a lack of interest in their available spaces.

the nine-story building alone has racked up losses of nearly $200,000. the industry has truly hit rock bottom. i have no yet how long this current slump will last or when things will finally turn around for the better. >> reporter: to attract new tenants, the lease company spent about $70,000 on renovations in may. this entrance used to be dark and depressing. now it's bright and inviting. dirty spots on the floor have been removed and the entire floor has been given a fresh new coating to keep it clean. despite these efforts, there hasn't been a significant increase in inquiries. >> we had to draw on funds from the recent sale of a building we used to own just to keep the

firm going. >> translator: i've racked my brain you to find out what to do to keep us going. >> reporter: in june, the vacancy rate reached a record high of 9.14%. it is particularly high for new buildings at 40%. building owners compete for tenants by lowering their rent. over two and a half years, the average rent has fallen about 25%. as of the end of june, a 3.3 square meter space goes for $200. the increase in the number of newly constructed buildings is on the rise. this is also expected to worsen the situation. in 2011 and 2012, the number of

new buildings in the 23 wards of central tokyo is expected to exceed the average number of new buildings built in previous years. over the next two to three years, the vacancy rate could increase by as much as 23%. business owners are seeing their creditworthiness with banks decline. i expect that more building owners will go out of business. >> reporter: an improvement in the economy would halt the rise in vacancies and downward trent in rents. for the real estate industry, an economic turnaround couldn't come soon enough. >> next is a recap of the latest market figures.

that's all for nu in "biz news." the launch of a new tuna fishing boat in a town in miyagi prefecture gives many people hope their economy will improve. they boasted more than 200 boats at their peak in the pacific and indian ocean.

expensive fuel and international regulation have been hard on the town. we have more in this report. >> reporter: this launching ceremony celebrates a first. the first time in 16 years that a private inshore fishing vessel has been built here. >> translator: it makes me want to go fishing again. >> translator: i hope the new boat brings home good catches and energy to this town. >> reporter: a local fish processing company built the boat. this man runs the firm. not many fish processors in japan own a boat. the declining fishing industry prompted the decision to build.

many of the town's boat owners left the business as fish became scarce and the price dropped. compared to the town's heyday, only one-fourth the number of boats still operate. the once-vibrant fishing town has lost its spark. he worries that with so few boats, he won't get the fish he needs. >> translator: if we lose our boats, that means we're losing our fishing industry. we need to put a stop to that and increase the number. >> reporter: a local ship builder experienced in tuna fishing helped design the new boat. the larger, more energy efficient propeller improves fuel economy by 17%. also, the boat contains no help from the processing plant. the builder has lined the

storage tank with reinforced plastic instead of wood. this enables the fishermen to control the temperature to keep the fish fresh. hoping to attract a younger crew, the ship has bigger and brighter sleeping and dining quarters. innovation and the wisdom of the whole fishing community show up everywhere. the government subsidized the boat's construction. it paid 30% of the $4 million cost because the owners are saving energy and increasing profits. >> translator: we hope this brings a breath of fresh air to the inshore tuna fishing industry. it has become rather stagnant. we at the fishery cooperative hope we can help too. >> translator: we live off

fishing. we need to increase our catch. employ locally and manage our boats efficiently. >> reporter: as the towns folk would say, we cannot let the lights of the fishing boats fade. a new boat set sail with the fullbacking of the town's residents. another company is building an energy efficient tuna fishing boat. we hear it will be ready by the end of this month. now we take a look at the global weather forecast. hi, there. welcome back to your world weather update. japan today, looking at quite a bit of sunshine and another hot day for a lot of the country. however to the north, we've still got the tail end of this

frontal line. it is producing some showers. it's mostly going to be short periods of showers and downpours that develop. really changeable weather throughout today. the korean peninsula and china look quite nice. a little rain in the northeast. also light amounts of rain. that will include the indochina pep li peninsu peninsula. the monsoon rains are quite active and quite widespread, especially for pakistan, dealing with the heavy rains. you can see the low pressure system here. on the outer rim of it, we're pulling in a lot of humid air off the arabian sea. that's producing that wet weather. and the rain will linger for the next three days. at least this is the three-day outlook. a lot of showers and especially heavy rains on pakistan. a big area of concern.

it looks like flood conditions will remain quite serious for a while longer. as for tuesday's highs, we're expecting 33 degrees in tokyo, quite hot in shanghai. 37 and quite hot in tie pay as well. 33 in hong kong. should be looking at mostly sunny skies. as for europe today, rain is going to be approaching the british isles from the atlantic. we've got this it frontal line. there should be some rain on tuesday. however, nothing too heavy. it will be dry tonight. continental europe looking at rain will spread through central europe and start heading northward to the baltic states. some heavier amounts of rain could fall in parts of poland. that's something to watch out for. moisture will hang about the alpine region producing showers and thunderstorms. you could see stronger gusts developing. then out towards the east, still very hot. indeed, kiev at 34 in moscow, w

russia will still see very, very warm conditions this week. three-day forecast showing temperatures well above. in the mid to upper 30s. very warm conditions. it's been dry. that has not been good news for the wildfires. he's of here's a look at the current situation. shots of the western russian wildfires. 700 fires said to be burning as of monday. a state of emergency has been declared in seven regions right now. thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged. of course, not just those flames, but the smoke too, causing huge problems across western russia. moscow, too, has been blanketed in the thinking smog. it's going to cause breathing issues that will be quite dire for a lot longer. there is no rain in sight and

the air is pretty stagnate. ste take precautions if you are in the region. here is your three-day outlook.

as temperatures keep soaring in new japan, so do sales of a portable device that issues heat stroke warnings. the device monitors temperature and humidity and rates the risks of heat stroke at five levels. when the risk is high, a red light comes on and a buzzer sounds. the products comes in several models. prices range from around $12 to $23. released in june last year, sales of the gadget picked up sharply this year. construction workers and families with elderly people or small children are the main customers. the ne bumptbuta festival k

off in northern japan on monday. 30 illuminated floats depicting legendary heroes and ancient warriors paraded through the city's main streets. their spirit was little dampened from this year's rains. dancers jumped and shouted to the sounds of bamboo flutes and drums. the largest floats were five meters high and nine meters wide. the massive structures spun in front of the crowd. >> it's very, very amazing. everyone's energetic. the annual festival runs through saturday and is expected to draw around 3 million visitors. i found something to do this weekend though. looks like fun. that concludes this edition of "newsline."

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.