hello there, welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, august 24th, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. glad you could join us. here are your updates. japan's economy trade industry ministry plans to introduce an increase to help businesses such as lithium ion battery makers. the ministry will ask for $350 million to support businesses that can help japan achieve a 25% cut in emissions.

it will subsidize up to half the capital investments of companies making eco-friendly items such as lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicles and l.e.d. lights that raid yacht less heat. the ministry will request $175 million to help firms that export power plants and other infrastructure to emerging economies. it will also ask the ministry of finance to further deliberate on taxing fossil fuel. the proposed tax aims to secure funds to develop measures against global warming. chilean authorities have started sending food, water and other supplies to the 33 miners trapped underground since the cave-in on august 5th. they're about 700 meters below the surface near the city of copiapo. all the miners have been confirmed alive on sunday when a memo was sent to the surface during a search operation. it said that the miners were

taking refuge in an underground shelter. on monday, workers began sending capsules of water, nourishment, drugs and other supplies through a hole about ten sent ma meters wide. the shelter had only two days of supplies. it takes about one hour for each capsule to reach the shelter. it's expected to take almost four months to carve a tunnel wide enough to rescue the miners. there are concerns whether they will be able to survive for such a long period. japan's prime minister naoto kan is trying to rally support from party members to secure re-election as leader of the democratic party of japan. his main rival is likely to be party heavyweight ichiro ozawa. the leadership election will take place on september 14th. current prime minister naoto kan will run but former dpj secretary general ozawa is expected to mount a strong rival bid.

the winner will automatically become prime minister. on monday kan met newly elected party lawmakers to drum up support. he told them that he wants to stay on as party leader for the next three years. he is expected to announce his policy platform next monday. a group of ozawa supporters says it plans to formally ask ozawa to run against kan as early as thursday. ozawa is expected to decide whether to run by soliciting opinions from party groups including those comprising former members of the social democratic party and the disbanded democratic socialist party. only a few months ago when ozawa resigned as secretary-general over political funding scandals and his potential candidacy remains a divisive issue. in manila philippine police have stormed a bus hijacked by a former police officer ending a day-long standoff. 8 of 15 hostages were killed.

police and the hostage taker engaged in a fierce exchange of gunfire at rnd 8:40 p.m. local time. police killed the hostage taker in the gun fight. police say the bus was originally carrying 22 tourists from hong kong and 3 filipinos. 9 people, including women and children, were released. the bus's filipino driver later escaped. authorities have identified a hostage taker as rolando mendoza who was discharged from the police in 2008 for alleged involvement in drug related crimes and extortion. mendoza, who was armed with an m-16 rifle, was demanding reinstatement with the police force. the bus was stopped at the park in the capital. police say the area has been cordoned off, leaving the bus isolated. japanese police have learned that a former sumo wrestler and gang members tried to extort money from then ozeki champion

coat o midst kotomitsuki twice. police have been investigating a gambling and extortion scandal in the sumo world. two gang members linked to japan's largest crime syndicate the yamaguchi-gumi were re-arrested on sunday. they are suspected of extorting more than $1.1 million from kotomitsuki. police say one of the arrested gang members admitted to the charges but the other two have denied the allegations. the investigations have led police to believe that gangsters tried to extort money from the kotomitsuki. they threatened to expose his involvement in illegal betting on pro baseball. a memorial service has been held in tokyo for japanese who died in internment in siberia after world war ii. monday marks the 65th anniversary of the day soviet leader josef stalin ordered that japanese soldiers and civilians be sent to siberia and elsewhere for internment. on monday, 150 people attended

the memorial service at the chidorigafuchi facility. the memorial service was started seven years ago by a group of former attorneys and relatives of those who lost their lives during internment. house labor and welfare minister akira nagatsuma's attendance was first for a cabinet minister. he said the government will work hard to clarify how the internees were treated and collect their remains. japan's health, labor and welfare ministry estimates that about 575,000 japanese were interned, and that 55,000 died as a result of forced labor or exposure to severe cold.

a hotel in tokyo has launched a campaign to attract chinese tourists by offering traditional court cuisine served at an elite national guest house in beijing. about 60 people attended the opening event on monday at the prince park tower hotel. the chinese ambassador to japan and the japanese business leaders were among them. the chef and nine cooking staff from the diaoyutai guest house served the guests dishes containing fine ingredients such as shark fin and abalone. now, the hotel says it hopes to appeal to chinese tourists by learning the food techniques and services at the guest house where foreign dignitaries are entertained.

>> the number of chinese tourists to japan is increasing since the japanese government eased the tourist visa restrictions in july. chinese visitors have become the key to survival for japanese hotels. the u.s. military is reorganizing its bases around the world. today we're looking at the changes planned for asia, in south korea and japan. south korea carried out a joint anti-submarine drill with the united states in july in the sea of japan. the move came after the two countries concluded north korea was behind the march sinking of a south korean warship in the yellow sea. recent tension in the region has prompted the south to consolidate its military partnership with the u.s.

the u.s. is preparing to enlarge its military base at pyeontack south of seoul. the changes at the base prompted protests four years ago. about 100 families tried to fight a government order to move out. in the end, they were forced to leave their homes. people are still unhappy about the resettlement, but the opposition campaign has faded away. >> we need u.s. forces. we should coexist. >> north korea played a role in changing people's attitudes. it conducted nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. it also fired missiles. in march, the north was accused of being behind an explosion

that sank a south korean patrol ship. 46 navy personnel died. three months after the sinking, the united states and south korea decided to delay the transfer of wartime command of south korean forces until 2015. the u.s. was supposed to hand over power in 2012. south korea asked for an extension. >> the incident involving the south korean patrol ship proved our military is not capable of responding to unexpected threats. more and more people now think we should prepare for threats from the north. >> while tensions or relations between the u.s. and south korea are solid, it's a different story between the u.s. and japan. the main source of tension has been the relocation of an american marine base in okinawa.

75% of u.s. bases are concentrated in okinawa, including futenma air station. it's located in a densely populated area. anger over the bases flared up in 1995 after three u.s. servicemen raped a 12-year-old girl. things got worse in 2004 when a u.s. military helicopter from futenma crashed, damaging a university building and several houses. the mounting criticism prompted the governments to work out an agreement four years ago. they decided futenma should be moved near camp schwab in nago city, a less populated part of okinawa's main island. but before he was elected as prime minister, yukio hatoyama promised to scrap that deal. >> we have to take action so

that futenma air station will be relocated at least outside of okinawa prefecture. >> hatoyama started a review of the agreement last fall. it raised the expectations of the okinawa people. they pressured the former prime minister to stick to his words. in april, okinawa's governor called for the relocation of futenma outside of the prefecture. >> okinawa has taken on an excessive burden. the situation is clearly unfair compared to other parts of the country. it's almost discrimination against us. >> hatoyama wasn't just facing pressure at home. the u.s. government repeatedly asked japan to abide by the original relocation agreement. >> we've agreed to move expeditiously through a joint working group to implement the agreement that our two governments reached on restructuring u.s. forces in okinawa.

>> in the end, japan sided with its most important ally. hatoyama said that once he learned the importance of the u.s. military to security in the region, he had to back away from his plan. the people of okinawa were outraged. they shouted at hatoyama when he visited the island in may, telling him to go home. >> they are trying to fool us. it has already been hard, and now more. >> hatoyama's decision on futenma relocation plan prompted the social democrats to quit the ruling coalition. it was also one of the main reasons he was forced to step down as prime minister. but the anger in okinawa hasn't subsided. the futenma issue will continue to be a challenge for prime minister naoto kan's administration.

earlier hideshi hara spoke to junko noda to get more insight on this issue. >> why do south korean people seem to accept the u.s. military more than the japanese? >> the sense of tension toward north korea is much stronger in south korea, and the political situation is also different. in south korea, lee myung-bak became president in 2008. he's a conservative and thinks the partnership with the u.s. is important especially when it comes to dealing with the north. in japan, the democratic party swept to power last fall in historic election victory. former prime minister yukio hatoyama called for an equal partnership with the u.s., but hatoyama's attempt to review the futenma relocation plan ended up putting a strain on u.s./japan relations. a former u.s. senator told nhk the futenma issue has had a

negative impact on the two countries' alliance. >> i'm sure adversaries are watching this, and they know the strength of the u.s./japan alliance. and that strength is weakened by the fact that we can't make a decision on futenma. and that's too bad. that's not good for the relationship. it's not good for the perception of strength and confidence that we want our alliance to project to potential adversaries. >> what's going to happen with the relocation of the futenma air station? >> the japanese government says it will finish the relocation by 2014, which is the date the two governments set in 2006. japan and the u.s. are supposed to give details on the exact relocation and construction plan for the futenma air station replacement site by the end of this month. but it will be difficult to put the plan forward because of the opposition among the okinawa people. on top of that, japan and the u.s. are planning on dumping dirt and concrete into the sea to build a new runway so futenma

can be relocated north. to the u.s. camp schwab. they need the okinawa's governor's permission to do that. but right now the current governor isn't 100% behind the relocation plan. the u.s. government is dealing with its own problems. it wants to transfer 8,000 marines from okinawa to guam, but guam's local government has voiced concern about the u.s. military using up more land. a senior u.s. navy official also indicated the troop transfer may be delayed from the current 2014 target because of insufficient infrastructure on the island. >> thanks very much, junko. nhk world's junko noda. the japanese spacecraft hayabusa completed a round trip to an asteroid in june.

it was a world first in space exploration. much of the credit for the success goes to several men at a small factory in japan who developed some of the spacecraft's high tech instruments. next we take a look at the advanced contributions of the workers behind the achievement. >> after completing a seven-year mission, the hayabusa spacecraft returned to earth in june. it made headlines for bringing back samples from an asteroid 300 million kilometers away. this small metal working factory in tokyo and its five employees made the project possible. company president hideo yamazaki wins high praise for his

technological know-how. he was involved in the hayabusa project right from the start and built a trial capsule. in a few seconds, the capsule will separate from the craft. the device played a key role in bringing back samples from the asteroid. >> this is the first one. this was the first model of the capsule. >> how did the team fit the parachutes and the sample-gathering equipment into the capsule? yamazaki and his staff built a series of trial verg versions on feedback from the scientists. >> this is the newest heat-resistant material. the latest material. >> the temperature at re-entry can reach 20,000 degrees celsius. so the national space lab tested many heat-resistant substances to coat the capsule with.

yamazaki's factory was tasked with making products for the trial. >> i'm so happy to be able to contribute to the hayabusa's success. >> this is the blueprint for the test model of the hayabusa. drawing on his long experience, yamazaki suggested small changes. even though they work at a small factory, yamazaki's team was instrumental in developing cutting edge space technology for 20 years. despite all this success, yamazaki has concerns. >> how old are you? >> don't ask. this year i'll be 68. he has just turned 65, and he is 63.

>> not one staff member is under the age of 60. without successors to the business, the technologies developed over the years may fall into disuse. >> it's a big problem. i want to pass along the business, but this industry offers little opportunity. right now, we just don't have enough projects. so we can't really ask young people to come. >> yamazaki's factory also makes prototypes of precision instruments for large corporations. last year, his major client went bankrupt. in each of the last two years yamazaki's profits have fallen by 20%. right now there is not enough work to hire young employees to take over the business. >> there's no point in laying blame or pointing fingers.

as long as there are people who want to work, i would like them to have 80% of a chance if not 100. that's what i hope for. >> emerging nations like china are starting to overtake japan's manufacturing industry. now, japan's manufacturers struggle to figure out how to pass down their technological skills to the next generation and help the industry evolve. time now to take a look at the market figures.

hi there. welcome to your world weather update. we're going to start off with the update on tropical storm mindulle over the south china sea moving over the golf of tongkin. due to make landfall here during the overnight hours on monday. already brought strong winds in the area as well as torrential rains up to 180 millimeters recorded in parts of vietnam. and then we're looking for additional triple digit figures to fall in northern vietnam. flooding and landslides are going to be a big concern here.

maximum wind speeds right now 83 kilometers per hour. as you can see, it is going to be moving in at a shallow angle, then bringing some further rough sea conditions as well as damaging wind and those flooding rains are going to be a big concern here. taking a look at the bigger picture, you can see there's a lot of moisture coming in to central and western china as well, aided by this tropical storm. monsoon rains coming in. then also towards the north, that active frontal system is moving in to japan, northern japan, i should say. it has already brought some heavy rains to north korea. it's now affecting hokkaido of japan with flooding rains and it will continue to be very wet throughout your morning hours. spreading towards the south this afternoon. but staying dry in central and southern japan today. it's also going to be very hot here once again. 34 degrees in tokyo, hovering around 35 in western japan. in some cases reaching the upper 30s and staying hot in southeastern china again.

over towards the americas, very active storm system affecting southern mexico. this will be tropical storm frank that is really affecting the southern coast of mexico. it's just going to continue to move parallel to the coast here bringing very windy conditions and very heavy rain. could potentially become a hurricane later on in the week. so we'll keep you updated on that. as for north america, we've got this very large system impacting manitoba in central canada right now. it's not moving very much at all, so it will be bringing stormy and windy conditions for the next few days. severe thunderstorms likely to also erupt down in the central plains as well. looking much calmer towards the east coast but very unsettled in the gulf of mexico. it looks like another wet day up in british columbia, canada. 24 degrees escaping the rain in vancouver. it's going to be very hot, 37 for your daytime high. finally taking a look at europe.

areas around the mediterranean looking good, again dry and fine and very warm conditions overall. but towards the north it's going to be very ensettled. windy and wet in places, especially for southern scandinavia and that heavy rain moving into central europe as well. heavy rain has also been affecting scotland up in the uk. so here you need to stay put during the overnight hours. but looking much drier and calmer for your tuesday across the british isles. london will be sunny on your tuesday. 22 degrees. paris as well could get spells of sunshine and thundershowers and vienna with 24 degrees. here's the extended forecast.

japan's economy trade and industry ministry plans to request a budget increase in fiscal 2011 for help nurture

eco-friendly businesses such as lithium ion battery makers. the ministry will ask for $350 million to support businesses that can help japan achieve a 25% cut in emissions. it will subsidize up to half the capital investments of companies making eco-friendly items such as lithium ion batteries used in electric vehicles and l.e.d. lights th s that radiate less . the ministry will request $175 million for firms that export power plants to emerging economies. it will also ask the ministry of finance to further deliberate on taxing fossil fuel. the proposed tax aims to secure funds to develop measures against global warming. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the next hour. see you then.