this is "newsline." glad to have you. it's thursday october 21st, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. we have a big day for numbers out of china today with gdp figures just out. here's ines matsuyama with the details. ines. >> thank you very much, catherine. hello. chuna's national bureau of statistics says china's gdp group 9.6% in the three months through september from a year earlier. the third quarter gdp growth slowed from 10.3% from the previous period, marking the

second straight quarter of slowdowns. it is also the first time in a year that gdp growth was in the single digits. the chinese government has been taking measures to cool the economy, and those are possibly reflected in the slower growth rate. the british government will cut its spending by 80 billion pounds, or $120 billion, by 2014 to slash its fiscal deficits. the uk's massive budget deficits in fiscal 2009 amounted to 11% of its gdp, one of the worst among industrialized countries. >> today is the day when britain steps back from the brink. tackling this budget deficit is unavoidable. >> chancellor of the exchequer george osborne unveiled the plan before parliament on wednesday. under the new plan the government of prime minister david cameron plans to reduce its deficit to around 1% of its gdp by 2015. the plan calls for cutting the defense budget and studying the

country's social welfare programs, including putting a cap on child benefit payments. the government said the cuts may lead to savings of 81 billion pounds. authorities have already decided to raise the value-added tax by 2.5% to 20% next year. the federal reserve says the u.s. economy continued to expand but at a modest pace between the september and october period. the fed's business survey, or so-called beige book from 12 regional banks was released on wednesday. the survey said retail spending slightly improved in some regions but consumers remained price conscious. they're largely limiting purchases to necessities. it also said the housing market is still weak. as for jobs, the report said hiring remained limited. many firms are reluctant to add to permanent payrolls given the weak economy. the fed's open market committee will meet again on november 2nd. and a senior u.s. treasury

department official has urged developed and emerging economies to cooperate on currency policy and allow exchange rates to fluctuate more freely. the remarks come ahead of a meeting of group of 20 finance ministers and central bank officials in south korea this weekend. the officials said the g20 can play an effective role in promoting cooperation on currency exchange rate issues. emerging countries would take a hit if a major economy undervalues its currency. the statement reportedly meant to pressure china to let the yuan appreciate. the official dismissed criticism that america eased its monetary policy to push the dollar lower against currencies of emerging economies. the official added the recovery of the u.s. economy is also crucial for other g20 nations. the dollar briefly doiptd upper 80-yen range on the tokyo foreign exchange on thursday morning. this comes after the greenback had slipped briefly to the same level overnight in new york. increased speculation of further

monetary easing by the u.s. led to more dollar selling. this briefly pushed the greenback to the lowest level in 15 1/2 years. later the yen lost against the u.s. currency on reports about u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner's comment that there is no need for the dollar to lose more ground against the yen or euro. this prompted buying of the dollar. the dollar's currently trading at 81.23-25. turning to stocks, tokyo share prices rose mid thursday morning following the yen's sharp decline against the dollar. the nikkei gained nearly 100 points at one time. however, the stock average ended the morning session at 9,400 on the dot, up 0.2%, or 19 ticks almost up. exporters -- electronics and auto issues. here's a look at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark 10-year japanese government bond. in other asian markets, hong kong's hang seng is now up 0.4%.

the shanghai key index for major blue chips is down 0.7%. and in shenzhen the sse composite is slightly up, 0.3%. back to the main news with catherine. >> thanks very much, ines. the heavy rains that have been pounding the amami islands in kagoshima, southwestern japan, have killed two people and left one other missing. the islands are bracing for further downpours through thursday night. the meteorological agency says some parts of the island have received 900 millimeters of rain since tuesday. the area has already had about three times its normal rainfall for october. two female residents of a nursing home in the city died when the facility was flooded. and another woman went missing after her house was hit by a landslide. some 2,600 residents of amami oshima island have been evacuated or ordered to evacuate their homes. and 20 people are stranded in a

village on the same island. about 150 local elementary and junior high school students were unable to return home from school on wednesday after the roads were washed out. weather officials are urging caution due to flooding and mudslides as the region is expected to get up to 200 more millimeters of rain through friday morning. the united states has announced a plan to sell $60 billion worth of weapons to saudi arabia over the next 15 to 20 years. if congress approves the plan, it would be the largest ever arms sale to a foreign country in u.s. history. assistant secretary of state andrew shapiro disclosed the plan on wednesday. he said sales will include 84 f-15 fighter jets, 190 apache and other helicopters, and precision-guided missiles. high performance radar systems are also being offered. observers say the move is aimed at helping saudi arabia contain the growing military power of iran in the middle east. iran continues to pursue its

nuclear program. it test-fired an advanced ballistic missile last december. >> this proposed sale has tremendous significance from a strategic regional perspective. and it will enhance saudi arabia's ability to deter and defend against threats to its borders and its oil infrastructure, which is critical to our economic interests. >> shapiro said the u.s. government has already consulted israel on the deal and that there were no objections. israel has long been opposed to arms sales to saudi arabia, saying it would tip the military balance in the region. afghanistan's election commission has revealed the extent of alleged fraud in last month's national vote. it says about a quarter of the ballots cast in the parliamentary election were invalid because of irregularities.

the election commission received preliminary results of the vote count on wednesday. 249 seats were at stake in the september 18th lower house election. the commission says 1.3 million of the 5.6 million votes cast were suspected of being rigged. it says one out of ten candidates were allegedly involved in irregularities. the commission has already reported the allegations to an investigation body. the choosing of parliament members was viewed as a vital step for afghanistan to stand on its own ahead of the withdrawal the pullout is scheduled to begin next july. but many cases of fraud were reported since the start of the election campaign. the irregularities included the forging of ballots and voter registration cards. despite the fraud allegations, the commission says the election was a success and plans to announce the final results next month. korea gas corporation, or kogas, has won the partial right to develop two out of three iraqi gas fields at an

international auction. a total of five consortia placed bids at the wednesday auction in the iraqi capital, baghdad. the three auctioned fields have gas reserves of 310 billion cubic meters, 1/10 of iraq's total. kogas won the right with the consortium to develop the akkas gas field in western iraq near the syrian border and another field as part of a different consortium. the third field went to a kuwaiti-led group. no japanese companies took part. it was the third international auction for oil and gas fields in iraq. kogas also won a deal last year. >> it is our strong wish that we will continue to expand our friendly relationship with iraq. and we will very closely collaborate with the iraqi government. >> electricity shortages plague the middle east country, which wants foreign companies to develop its gas resources and

quickly generate power. but the unstable security situation means that business uncertainties loom. tokyo's haneda airport has opened a new international terminal building and a fourth runway in a fresh bid to become a major international hub. people lined up outside the terminal building when it opened at 4:00 a.m. on thursday. the airport's first passengers arrived aboard a chartered flight from hong kong. haneda's new offshore runway has also opened. the five-story terminal building boasts floor space of 154,000 square meters. it features a shopping mall modeled on 17th to mid 19th century edo period streets, with animation character shops.

the airport will open regular international routes on october 31st for the first time in 32 years. it will be linked to 17 cities around the world, including new york, honolulu and paris by early next year. the japanese government plans to promote the combined use of tokyo's haneda and narita airports to make them a competitive hub against their asian counterparts. the government has drawn up a metropolitan airport plan to boost the number of international flights using the two airports by 80% over the next four years. that would mean a total of 370,000 flights annually, which is higher than at airports in singapore and south korea. the government's new scheme calls for using haneda, which will be open around the clock, to handle late night and early morning flights when narita is closed. it also aims to increase the number of overseas passengers using haneda on business trips, because of its easy access to central tokyo.

narita also plans to boost terminal capacity to accommodate bargain airlines with an eye on attracting new passengers. the government plans to sign an open skies agreement with the united states to largely ease regulations on airlines from both countries. it also wants to reduce landing fees, which are three to four times higher than those at other major airports in asia. websites offering discount coupons are attracting attention in japan. one strategy proving especially popular is known as flash marketing. basically, steep group discounts for a limited time only. the first such site appeared in april, and there are now more than 50 going head to head. so what's driving their rapid growth? >> reporter: every morning tokyo resident hisayo aoki makes a

beeline for her computer. since august she's been hooked on internet sites offering group discount coupons. the coupons are only sold if enough customers apply for a deal within a certain period, normally 24 hours. the big appeal of these sites is the steep discounts. prices for most of the goods and services on offer are reduced by more than 50%. aoki has so far bought more than $240 worth of coupons for restaurant meals and services at spas and massage parlors. >> translator: the websites offer cut-rate prices for all sorts of goods and services that i have wanted to get for the longest time. till now i couldn't afford them. i love it. >> reporter: internet venture

firm kiku media opened japan's first discount coupon website in april. this flash marketing has expanded rapidly. the company sold 90,000 coupons in the first five months. the strategy is simple. the company publishes discount coupons on its website after getting a request from a shop. a customer buys a coupon. if enough people buy the coupons, the website firm receives a commission of 20% to 50% of the coupon's value. to help drum up business, the discount website uses microblog service twitter. an employee constantly checks for posted messages and replies to them immediately. he posts an additional photo of the set menu. in this one case alone, just 30 minutes later, that new photo had attracted 270 more visitors.

>> so it is. it's like a viral spread. and it happens very quickly. and if you combine the use of twitter with really attractive deals, it means that we have a very high probability that most of our deals will spread very quickly when we launch them on our site. >> reporter: another discount coupon firm, gruppon japan, started a website in july. the firm is currently promoting its client shops. >> translator: let's do this! >> reporter: with branches in tokyo, nagoya, osaka, and fukuoka, the company is looking to expand operations nationwide. ita kobayashi is a sales rep of the nagoya branch. on this day he visited a sushi restaurant which opened three years ago. the restaurant's regular customers were mainly middle-aged or elderly.

now the eatery hopes to lure a younger clientele. kobayashi stresses the effectiveness of advertising through his company's website. he tells the restaurant managers that his site is popular among young people and that coupon buyers will definitely come to the restaurant. he also says steep price cuts on set menus would encourage customers to buy. >> translator: this set menu costs about $70 including all you can drink. we can halve the price to $35. >> translator: a bigger cut, please. >> translator: $34? >> translator: how about $33? >> translator: okay. that's below cost but we'll cover it in the advertising budget. >> translator: 1 in every 200 customers who use discount coupons at our restaurant could become a regular customer within one or two years.

if regular customers gradually increase, our profits will grow. >> reporter: with consumers increasingly sensitive to price, many retailers are willing to try discount coupons to pull in customers. the initial reaction has been promising. only time will tell, however, whether flash marketing is here to stay. next is a recap of the latest market figures. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> and that's all for now in biz news. >> thanks very much, ines. well, the u.n.'s biodiversity meeting is now under way in nagoya, japan. international delegates at the so-called cop10 conference have been discussing how to preserve flora and fauna. one agreement made so far aims to revitalize satoyama. that's the japanese term used to describe rural settlements where humans live in harmony with nature. we go to one part of japan where a project to save satoyama is under way. >> the highlands in tochigi prefecture lie about 150 kilometers north of tokyo. mountain ranges here have served as satoyama since dairy farming began after world war ii. many of the dairy farms in this area have been run by local families for generations.

but the soaring cost of cattle feed along with an aging population have forced nearly half of the farms out of business. locals used to cut down trees in this forest for use as firewood and charcoal. but this area has remained untended, leaving underbrush to grow unchecked. the resulting lack of sunlight has radically changed the vegetation. one company in japan is trying to restore areas that used to be satoyama, places like these. it wants to bring back the gift of the forest. a tokyo-based recycling company is producing and selling milk as part of an effort to revive satoyama. it's raising about 20 free-range cows in an eight-hectare forest. the cows feed on undergrowth,

and their manure fertilizes the forest. the promotion of the natural cycle helps to restore satoyama. >> translator: we are trying to create a beautiful forest and raise healthy cows. we're trying to earn profits by selling milk and ice cream. we can only call our effort a success if we succeed at both. >> reporter: a reduction in underbrush has allowed people to tend the forest. conditions have improved since the company launched the program a year ago. people are now using the forest effectively. logs are turned into firewood or used to grow mushrooms. but the company has faced problems raising the cows. >> translator: we failed to match the pace of the cows' grazing with the rate that grass

grows. >> reporter: sometimes the cows ate so much that grass could not grow quickly enough. the quantity and quality of feed affects the amount of milk cows produce. when the company runs short of feed, it gives the cows hay. on this day it had a meeting to report on its efforts. >> translator: we need certain controls to raise cows. for example, limiting the number of cows, raising them in a more spacious area and shortening the time they spend in the grazing area. >> reporter: the company's milk is on sale in the greater tokyo area. it's promoted as a product of forest-grazing cows. this project has yet to generate profits. but the company's work to restore the forest and its benefits is helping to revive

satoyama. ichigo kataoka, nhk world, japan. hi there. welcome back to your world weather update. we're keeping a close eye on typhoon megi that continues to move very slowly over the south china sea. it is steadily approaching the southeastern corner of china, due to make landfall here by the end of the week. further intensification is likely during the day but maintaining that strength generally over the next few days. now, you can see the strong winds still impacting the northern end of the philippines. we'll start to feel the effect of the storm in taiwan. fujian as well as guangdong later today starting with strong winds. could potentially see dangerous high waves as well. and of course there's going to be torrential rains, looking at over 100 millimeters to accumulate in parts of taiwan in the next 24 hours. and the weather is, of course,

going to be going downhill this week. and so do brace yourselves if you are in the area. one fortunate thing is it is going to stay away from hainan island and the indo-china peninsula where people have been dealing with severe flooding since last week. still looking at widespread flooding in many areas in thailand under flood waters. now, flood watt querz are starting to recede in some areas, but the situation looks very, very serious and critical. still, residents tried to save whatever they can from their submerged homes here. now, over the next couple of days, dry weather likely to prevail across the indo-china peninsula, but come weekend heavy rain expected to start up again in central and eastern thailand. flooding has been a big concern across the southern portions of japan as well. amami island dealing with severe flooding here. and it looks like more heavy showers will continue over the next 24 hours. so do look out for those brief heavy showers that could certainly trigger more flooding problems.

elsewhere across the region cloudy skies for much of japan, looking at wet weather down in the pacific side of the country as well. and then over towards the north, look for some wintry precipitation for mongolia. 8 degrees in ulan bator. as for north america, well, not much has changed. we've still got that wet weather affecting british columbia, canada. and then thunderstorms still moving eastward across the four corners of the u.s. looking at this tropical layer over the caribbean as well, that could intensify as it heads into cuba and jamaica. that's something to watch out for. we've got 31 degrees in miami today. staying mild across the south. but chilly up in the northeast. as for europe today, miserable weather for central and eastern europe. widespread area getting thunderstorms and wintry weather. especially for central and eastern -- western russia, that is, as well as scandinavia looking at lots of snow and sleet in the forecast in the

upper elevations. elsewhere looking at quite severe storms to break out, especially near the frontal system. do watch out for that severe weather activity. over toward the west it's a different story, staying calm with good spells of sunshine across spain and portugal. rather chilly here as well for france and the uk. 11 degrees in london. 11 in paris. and definitely feeling like autumn. quite wintry in berlin. 8 degrees for your daytime high. here's your extended forecast now. ♪ ♪

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♪ just taking a look at this story once again, china's national bureau of statistics says china's gdp grew 9.6% in the three months through september from a year earlier. the third quarter gdp growth slowed from 10.3% from the previous period, marking the second straight quarter of slowdowns. it's also the first time in a year that gdp growth was in the single digits. the chinese government has been taking measures to cool the economy and are possibly reflected in the slower growth rate. and that wraps up this

edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.