glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it is thursday, september 8, 9 a.m. in tokyo. rescuers are still searching for people missing in a tropical

storm that tore up western japan, leaving 54 people dead. 53 are unaccounted for. in gojo prefecture, heavy rain trigger erd a mudslide. a fire brigade and south defense forces are working in the city. local residents look for belongs in the wreckage of houses destroyed by landslides. >> translator: i hurt to find photographs of my husband. and grandchildren. >> the land ministry has begun surveying fur areas where landslides created lakes. there is concern lakes may overflow and cause damage down stream. the ministry will deploy buoys to monitor water levels in the lakes. the devies will be dropped by

helicopters and transmit around the clock data by satellite. the storm left a trail of destruction, including damage it a world heritage site. parts of an ancient stone-paved pilgrimage route were covered in mud. the shrine was hit by rocks and also covered in mud. they are part of sacred sites on routes in the key mountain range designated as a world heritage site in 2004. local officials and members of the shrine plan to assess the extent of the damage and rebuild. joined now with the latest in business news, ai, good morning. >> good morning. the u.s. markets snapped a l three-day streak of decline. let's go tokyo for the stock

exchange. ramin are, how are things looking? >> a court ruling set that germany could continue to help with bailouts for economies and also an austerity plan in italy, helping with positive sentiment. that is pretty much playing into the markets right now. having a look at opening levels for the nikkei is up over a hundred points in the first couple of minutes the and the topix is trading well as well. that is a 2 1/2 years closing low the previous day. we are seening continuation there for the positive move. many stocks were near lows yesterday and the day before. and some sectors had been heavily eversold. that's why we are seeing the move higher an largely the move lower had been on the back of moves in the u.s. and europe. we are seeing a lot of those rebounding now with a strong upward move for a lot of those stocks. financials, autos and tech

sector stocks will be a focus here as they were heavily involved in the volatility recently and not only that but also involved in the currency moves which have been affected by stock moves as well. having looked at currency levels as well, the dollar dropping back just a touch against both the euro and the yen which may further affect exporters here. another focus on the yen is also on japanese companies have been dealing with that. as many companies now trying to increase overseas sales ratios, trying to mitigate some losses on currency moves and likes the toyota, nissan and tech sector giant such as cannon an panasonic made moves to increase production overseas and import back to japan. the bank of japan wrapped up its two-day meeting yesterday, refraining from moves to boost the economy. the bank of japan said that the domestic economy has been picking up steadily.

also, that exports were on the way up, since the disaster on march 11. we are going to closely monitor all of those stock and sector moves and you have some information about some recent economic data that we have just before the markets open here. back to you, ai. >> thanks, ramin. i will get to the economic indicators in a minute. but first, countries with excessive debts -- proposing sanctions including termination of financial aid from the european union. he also suggested a withdraw option for euro zone members that cannot maintain fiscal discipline. the move comes five days after greece indicated it may not be able to meet its budget reform

targets. the announcement rekindled concerns about the euro currency. it is unusual for euro zone government to make such a recommendation. it may underscore growing impatience among the more fiscally conservative euro zone members. now on to some fresh economic data. we have two indicators for july which have just been released. japan's current surplus decline ford a fifth month in a row, the trade balance stayed in the black for a second month in a row. the finance ministries said in preliminary report on thursday that the surplus for the month totalled over 990 billion yen or nearly 13 billion dollars. that's decrease of 42.4% in yen terms from a year earlier. the tree balance stood at more than 1.6 billion down 86.3% a year ago due to higher prices of commodities such as crude oil. for a second month in a row,

trade balance was in positive territory. imports rose 13.6% while exports fell 2.3%. the income account surplus rose more than 18 percent in yen terms to more than 16 billion dollars due to increased dividends on security investments. meanwhile, machinery orders are down 8.2% from the previous month, marking the first decline in three months. the cabinet office said that major machinery makers received about 9.4 billion worth of domestic orders in july. the figure excludes ships and power plants. orders from manufacturers decreased 5.2% while those of nonmanufacturers fell 1.4%. large declines were seen in metal and precision machinery. now back it catherine. >> thanks very much, ai.

japan'sing ary culture minister breeched on the government's aim to decontaminate local farm land. visiting the village on wednesday, he checked on experiments his ministry has been conducting since may to remove radio active material from rice patties and other fields. one experiment included the scraping off of top soil. the result is 75% reduction in radio active sees yum. the actions have helped reduce the amounts of radio active cease yum from 2 to 3 beck rales from soil for farmers to plant rice. the minister met with the deputy mayor of the village and expressed his intention to decontaminate the rice fields. >> unless radio active materials are removed, villagers cannot return home. >> we will decontaminate the patties as soon as possible. >> a village mayor near the

disaster streak in fukushima daiichi plant is set to visit chernobyl. fukushima university says over 20 medical and other specialists and officials will make the eight-day trip in october. the mayor near the plant will be with them, the first local village mayor to visit the ukrainian disaster site. the group hopes to visit the site of the 1986 chernobyl accident to see what measures were taken to decontaminate the areas. the mayor hopes to learn about compensation systems for public health checks. japan marks the six-month anniversary of the devastating earthqua earthquake, sue ntsunami cries

thinks sunday. this recovery will take many years. that's too long for some hard-hit businesses in the northeast. they are looking for ways to get back on track now so they won't have to close for good. that's why some of them took advantage of an impromptu market that is sprang up last weekend south of tokyo. and nhk world craig dale takes us there. >> this is the market. the name means friend in japanese. this battered region could sure use one about now. they come here with ramen noodles, sweet treats and pickled vegetables because their businesses are on the line. the tsunami swallowed her denim factory and she lost most of her stock. >> 4 to 5,000 that day. washed way. >> she is proud of the 30 or so muddy pairs they managed to sl vaj. they are durable, she says.

like the people here perhaps, they have lost almost everything but they're still fighting to survive. canadian johnston is stepping in to help. she has lived in japan for nearly three decades and organized this event. >> it is not charity. it is helping them rebuild their businesses. they appreciate that approach as opposed it taking hand outs. >> helping businesses from northeastern japan get back on their feet is one another important. another pressing issue is the follow the fukushima daiichi. high levels of radio active materials is around the plant. they must be extracted before it gets into the food clan. >> the situation is more dire than moests people would think. >> canadian engineering technologies is here promoting a kbleks system to help fungus draw radiation out of the soil. >> the faster your plants grow, the faster can you take these

things out of the eco system essential essentially. >> the thoughta radiation is lurking in the food supply is making people weary. >> we buy australian beef. >> yet another hurdle for these businesses, some of which are located here in fukushima daiichi, their fight to stay afloat will no doubt be a long one. >> the community rebuilding and starting with the bottom up for the companies that lost everything is going it take probably i would say, about ten years. >> and so hope is on offer at this weekend market. hope that with a little help from some friends, these businesses will get by and maybe one day thrive again. craig dale, nhk world, japan. >> in other news, clina expressed hope that a visit by the new prime minister will help mend bilateral relation chess deteriorated over the past year. wednesday marks one year since chinese fishing boat rammed japan coast guard vessels in

japanese waters in okinawa prefecture. the captain of the fishing boat was arrested. china's foreign ministry spokesperson held a news conference on wednesday but did not refer to the incident directly saying only that china has repeatedly clarified its position. the foreign ministry spokesperson did refer to a phone conversation on tuesday between noda and bell in which they agreed to deepen mutually beneficial bilateral relations. >> i welcome a visit by new prime minister to china at some appropriate time. >> at the time of the incident, chai gnaw launched a protest and suspended exchanges with j pan. anti-japan demonstrations erupted across china and public sentiment in both nations was adversely effected. newly declassified diplomatic documents show that former u.s. president richard

nixon decided to return to the island in the east china sea to japan in 1972. now the islands reverted to japan along with okinawa after coming under u.s. rule at the end of world war ii. the documents show how then u.s. undersecretary of state earl lexus johnson played a key role to help resolve the issue. the dongments reveal that he compiled a history of the islands for nixon in 1971. he also said that taiwan itself use used to acknowledge they were part of okinawa. johnson previously served as ambassador to japan. taiwan had diplomatic relations at the time. johnson org ued that taiwan wanted it gain access to natural resources to the islands by insisting on sovereignty. the papers say that nixon made the decision after consulting then national security advisor

henry kissinger based on johnson's assessment. >> the march 11 disaster, the september 11th attacks. two anniversary, one source of indepth coverage. join nhk world for japan, six months on and 9/11, defining a decade. then on sunday, september 11th, we will mark the an anniversaries. september 11th is the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on new york. to mark the disaster, news 9 brings you a special series all this week, 9/11, defining a decade. on that september day, ten years ago, almost 3,000 people lost their lives. in this next report, how family members deal with their grief. nhk world reports.

>> jim mccalfry is a fire fighter in new york. he was dispaf he was dispatched to the world trade center after the 9/11 attack. but by the time he got there both towers collapsed and both billowed everywhere. during the chaos, jim lost someone close. besides being a fellow firefighter, orio palmer was jim ae brother-in-law. his team was among the first to arrive at the site. right away, they started rescuing survivors. orio was like a brother to jim. he keeps a recording of orio's last transmission.

orio's crew had wasted no time climbing to the 78th floor of the south tower. >> in about two minutes later -- down came the twin towers. one after the other. new york's iconic buildings have vanished from the skyline. >> these guys were going about their business professionally, selflessly, and consistently, the way he pressed on, that keeps us pressing on. in his memory. >> among the victims was orio.

and about 300 other firefighters. mount mountains of debris hampered the body recovery. orio's remains were never discovered. the debris was moved to landfill where it was sifted for bodies and personal effects. during the decade since then, about 1,600 bodies have been identified. but up to 9,000 human remnants are still unidentified. since then, jim has been in touch with others also waiting for the return of relatives remains. on this day, sally reaganhart called on jim. she lost her son, who was also a firefighters. >> we're both in the same situation that neither of us have ever had any recovery. >> a tenth anniversary memorial service will be held at ground zero on september 11th.

people who lost family members are invited. but jim and sally won't go. they feel the anniversary has no meaning. >> it's easier because it is ten years but sometimes you realize that it really never goes fully away. >> meanwhile, charles wolf managed to move on, despite his grief. his wife, katherine, was working for an investment firm on the 97th floor of the north tower. no trace of her was found. at the time of the attack, the couple had been living close to the world trade center. charles still lives there. >> now it's like a scab forming on your skin. if you cut it. it mends everything backing to and slowly things are knitting

back together. her spirit is still alive, okay, in heaven. but the body is gone. so i have to carry on. >> as the day approaches, the they continue to mourn for those they lust. but while some move on, closure for others seems beyond their reach. nhk world, new york. next in the final report of our series, we examine security in afghanistan. we now take you to libya where a spokespersman for gadha says he has fled the country. he says that gadhafi is safe and healthy and in high spirits. a convoy of more than 200 vehicles carrying forces crossed the border near niger monday.

however niger says gadhafi is not in the country. the transitional council says one of gadhafi few remaining strong holds in southeast tripoli srendered to opposition forces. but loyalist forces elsewhere continue to refuse to lay down their arms. a plane carrying a russian hockey team crashed killing 43 people and leaving just two survivors on wednesday. the yack 42 aircraft was taking members to a game in the bell rushian capitol when it duck need the river near the airport northeast of moscow. local airport officials say that plane was unable to get enough height. the hockey team is one of the best in the russian professional league.

russian president and prime minister putin have expressed condolences to the victims. and welcome back to your weather update. we have a new tropical storm system that joined us. looking quite small right now in the pacific. this will be froerm kulap that is starting to head into the northwesterly direction. looking like it is aiming for the okinawa islands later on this week as we head in towards the weekend. it is an major system yet. winds about 56 kilometers per hour with gusts slightly higher that not that. it is likely not going to be intensifying too much moreover the next few days, so that is good news. however, definitely rough sea conditions as well as some winds and rain will be skpeexpected ie island later on. already we are looking at moisture getting pushed in towards southern japan with the storm system and that's what is

going to be bringing in rain again. two areas already hard hit by the other tropical storm system, talas last weekend. this is the same area, including the key peninsula that we will look at, with the hundred millimeters of rainfall from tonight into friday morning. especially hard hit areas. more rain coming your way. we could see more flooding and landslides situations. meanwhile, towards china, again looking at widespread showers. although nothing too severe here. moving in toward the cold sign to include areas like shanghai. towards the southeast, the india china wsh. maybe heave year falls today. as for highs, 30 degrees in tokyo. slightly cooler here. looking pretty pleasant at beijing as well. cooler here, 11 degrees is your

high and night time lows are falling below the freezing mark. so it is getting down right chilly here. as for the americas, in the atlantic, clouds forming a hurricane here, slowly aiming for the bahamas. looks like right along the western side of the islands here. also been bringing remnant moisture in towards the east coast of the united states. coupled with this frontal system. a low here too. we are looking at severe weather threat or flooding event again for parts of the mid-atlantic region in towards the northeast. areas like pennsylvania and new york, a particular watch for flooding problems. definitely potential for that as we look at more rain coming your way tonight. . otherwise a pretty dry picture for the united states. in the gulf of mexico, another wet spot here. this is another tropical storm system that just formed. looks like that will bring rain towards the southern mefrm mexico. thursday's high, 23 in chicago and denver.

much cooler, warmer i should say. hotter. 38 degrees is your high thursday. that's some of the hottest temperatures we have seen so far this summer. finally a look look at a point of activity. remaining on the northern half of europe. lofts wind and rain, some thunderstorms in the mix as well. really spreading from east to west throughout the day today and staying nice and dry over the south and still looking a the warm kegs here. athens coming in at 33 degrees. all right. up next is your three day outlook.

our lead story, rescuers are still looking for people missing after tropical storm talas tore up western gentleman upon leaving 43 people dead. 53 are unaccounted for. nine people remain missing after heavy rain triggered a mud slides. some 200 members of the police, fire brigade and self-defense forces are working in the city.

local residents look for belongs in the wreckage of houses destroyed by landslides. >> translator: i hope to find photographs of my husband and grandchildren. >> the ministry has begun surveying for areas where landslides created lakes. there is concern that the lakes may overflow and cause damage down stream. the ministry will monitor buoys in the lakes. the devices will be drop bid helicopters and transmit round the clock data by satellite. the storm left a trail of destruction, including damage it a world heritage site. parts of an ancient stone paved pilgrimage route were covered in mud. the shrine was hit by rocks and also covered in mud.

they are part of sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the key mountain range designated as a world heritage site in 2004. local officials and members of the shrine plan to assess the extent of the damage and rebuild. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us. b=1,ullll-