rocky relations. the south korean president stokes tensions over some islands in the sea of japan. he finds himself caught up in a controversy, even as he deals with another. the south korean president had to apologize over a corruption scandal involving his brother. now, japanese government officials are demanding that the president cancel his visit to some islands at the center of a dispute. government sources say lee is planning a trip during the day

to some islets in the sea of japan. the japanese call them takeshima. the south koreans refer to them as dokdo. south korea controls the islands. the japanese government maintains they are japanese territory. government officials say a visit by the south korean president would seriously damage relations. they say japan will react strongly if the visit goes ahead. >> to mark the occasion a landmark ceremony took place at the site of a former u.s. base now heavily polluted by dion. here's our report from danan. >> it's been 37 years since the war ended. u.s. and bed lambist government wills finally work together to clean up asian agents used in combat. it's a historic moment for

people on both sides. >> the u.s. and vietnam it are moving earth right here and taking the first steps to bury the legacies of our past. this morning we celebrate a milestone in our bilateral relationship. >> reporter: the u.s. government has provided $43 million to eliminate the dioxin left behind from the production of agent orange in parts of what is now tanan international airport. in the four-year project more than 70,000 cubic meters of soil will be gathered in iron containers heated to over 300 degrees celsius and soaked into carbon dioxide, chloride. it was held in a city in central vietnam. it was home to a u.s. base during the vietnam war.

even today dioxin is being detected in high concentrations at the city's airport. to date washington has the cause of the agent orange and its symptoms that have been affecting some people. behind the u.s. decision to have removed the dioxin, we'll start any connection is its intention to strengthen economic with vietnam. china is currently increasing its products in the south china sea. a great many people are still suffering in other polluted areas along the country. d42 and the legacy of the war

still has a long way to go. nhk world. the united states will formally tell japan that the cause of the april crash of the military transport aircraft was human error, not a mechanical defect. the u.s. government is expected to convey the conclusion of its inquiry into the crash of an osprey in morocco to a japanese team of experts visiting the u.s. next week. the u.s. marine corps plans to conduct flight training in some locations in japan before deploying the mv-22 tilt rotor aircraft in okinawa. op sfligs to the deployment has been spreading nationwide because of the frequent crashes of the hybrid helicopter airplane. the u.s. has already informed japan's government of its preliminary conclusion. it denies the aircraft had a mechanical or systemic failure. with the final u.s. judgment, defense minister will visit okinawa from friday next week to

explain government measures to insure the safety of the aircraft, but people in okinawa are expected to take issue with the central government stance. they say the conclusion that the osprey is safe is simply a u.s. public relations ploy. >> hiroshima, nagasaki. they mark a brutal conclusion to a brutal conflict. world war ii ended 67 years ago this month. "newsline" is looking back on the lessons of 1945 from the fight to abolish moouk weapons to the efforts of younger generations to promote peace. our special coverage war to peace lessons of 1945 continues until friday, august 17th. >> it's been 67 years since japan became the first country in the world to suffer from atomic bombing. in the closing days of world war ii u.s. president harry truman

authorized the use of atomic bombs on hiroshima and nagasaki. the pain and anguish are seared in the memories of those who survived. while president truman never met any of them, one of his grandsons did. he came face-to-face with survivors from nagasaki and hiroshima. nhk has the story. >> reporter: he is 55 years old and a grandson of former u.s. president harry truman. daniel works as a journalist and had long wanted to visit japan to learn about the impact of the atomic bombings. >> these were people who were greatly affected by a decision that my grandfather made, greatly affected by war. i think, yeah, i will always -- i will always feel the struggle, especially when i'm meeting survivors because that's hard.

they have been through hell, and that's just what it is. >> 79 koma experienced the atomic bombing of nagasaki. he lost his mother and two sisters in the attack and he was exposed to radiation. for the past 67 years he has suffered from a sense of sadness and frustration. >> translator: neither president truman nor any of his successors has apologized for the inhuman act of dropping atomic bombs on population centers. this is incredibly frustrating for us, the victims, even today. >> kobo still harbors ill feelings towards the united states, but he decided to meet daniel on his recent visit.

the day set for the meeting between the grandson of the man who ordered the bombings and the survivors arrives. koba was one of those who experienced the bombings. >> i am the oldest grandson of former president harry s. truman. i remember thinking at the time that it was very important to understand what happened in hiroshima and nagasaki and understand the whole condefenses of their great grandfather's decision. >> the survivors told daniel their stories of experience of the bombings and about the affect on their cities. >> translator: dead bodies were scattered throughout our neighborhood. i had the ground dug up where my home had been, but the remains of my family could not be found. >> daniel listened to the

harrowing experiences related by each of the survivors without commenting on any particular participant's story. >> reporter: do you think you got your message across? >> translator: i don't know, but i hi it was very brave of daniel to come here. that impressed me. >> i understand that this is not going to be an easy thing for everybody. i mean, if you just forget about all this, and i stay over m united states and never talk to anybody from japan, that's easy, but that doesn't change anything. for me the responsibilities is to continue that, to try and do what i can to make sure that nuclear weapons are not used against human beings again. i'm not quite sure how we can all go about that, but i think a

good start is to listen to the victims and learn the lesson. >> daniel says he plans to pass on the stories told by the survivors in a book to be published in the united states. he hopes it will help to convince people of the suffering brought about by the use of moouk weaponnuclear weapons weaponweapons. the chinese authorities say growth in the country's factory output fell in july to a three-year low. this indicates that china's economy is slowing down. the downturn is threatening the profits of the nation's small and midsized firms. officials at the national bureau of statistics say industrial production last month rose by

the 9.2% from a year earlier. the pace of increase is the lowest since may 2009. that's when the chinese economy suffered in the aftermath of the collapse of u.s. investment bank lehman brothers. economists say the lower figures are due to china's weak exports and domestic demand as the debt crisis in europe continues. the officials also announced last month's retail sales in china. the data showed only a 13.1% rise compared to a year ago. it indicates weaker personal consumption. economists are concerned over a possible decline in corporate earnings. people are now expecting more economic stimulus measures such as further monetary easing. a global food agency says a drought in the united states has raised food prices worldwide. it's warning of tighter grain supplies if the unusual weather continues. the united nations food and

agricultural organization says its food price index rose 6% in july compared to the previous month. by category, the prices of grains, such as corn and wheat, jumped 17%. the fao says the condition of the u.s. corn crop is expected to worsen as the drought continues. it also predicts a poor wheat harvest in russia. the agency says that from 2007 to 2008 food supplies got worse as many countries restricted food exports. it's calling for international cooperation to prevent a similar situation. the olympic volleyball games are testing more than players' skill. they have to contend with ball aerodynamics beyond their control. a japanese company has developed a technology that's putting complete power in their hands. >> reporter: it's practice time for a professional japanese 're serving the ball without a spin.

it's considered the ultimate power serve that's hard to receive. this is a serve with a spin. this version is a no spin serve, but the ball sways and keeps it from landing on target. >> translator: sometimes it's impossible to receive the ball when wind and other factors change the path of its movement. this kind of thing often happens in close games. >> reporter: ball manufacturers wanted to create a prototype that would affect the players' skill. one company decided to take on the challenge. for inspiration this engineer watched the players for an idea. >> translator: we wanted to develop a ball that landed where

players aim. >> reporter: he first analyzed the air currents that surround the volleyball. smoke was used to see the air flow. it became clear that more air was distracted by a nonspin ball than the spin ball. on a smooth surface the air current quickly draws away from the ball. this causes an air void to form behind the ball. the ball then sways and goes off the path. he began a process of trial and error. he wanted to find ways to keep the void from forming behind the ball. one day when he was walking up a spiral staircase an idea dawned on him. applying a raised nonslip design on to the ball's surface might be the answer. this might make it possible to control the air current. then the size of the void could

be reduced. >> translator: we first tried different shapes, such as circles and triangles. we experimented with a number of prototypes. >> reporter: the hex gone shape was most effective in reducing the void and stabilizing the ball's path. he covered the ball with a hexagon pattern. air clings to the irregular surface and envelopes the entire ball. with and without the hexagon surface they could see how the void and swaying was reduced. they tested their newly developed ball with the volleyball shooting machine. traditional balls didn't land in the target area, but what about the new ball? most new balls landed within the

target. >> translator: we are no longer at the mercy of the ball's unpredictable movements. now we can compete fairly with all our skills. >> translator: we've made our best effort to come up with this version, but we want to continue our research and develop an even better ball in the near future. >> reporter: sports can be entertaining, but the best games are also made by many people behind the scenes. this includes the skillful ball technology engineers. the olympic games are a good p.r. opportunity for london's culture. visitors found some unusual art in the streets around the olympic venues in east london. mhk world reports. >> reporter: i'm here in east london, and everybody is looking

at hussein bolt. an australian artist painted this mural in time for the olympics opening ceremony. it's become a tourist attraction in east london. >> this is by an artist from bristol. >> reporter: tourists featuring graffiti are also seeing a spike in interest. east london is a magnet for young aspiring artists with its cheap rents and multi-cultural scene. the walls of shops and houses now have their original interpretations of the olympic games. >> i thought it was really neat to see how a lot of these pieces were just recently done. >> you definitely see london in a different way, so it was a really good look at the part of london that as a tourist you don't normally see.

>> reporter: building owners usually think of graffiti as a problem, but in some cases, it can actually increase the value of the property. the people of london will remember the olympics for many years to come. graffiti art will be part of that legacy. akiro saheki, nhk world, london. saudi arabia is one of the most conservative arab nations, especially when it comes to women's please in society. women have long been banned from working in the service sector. the fwrgradual change is arrivi at least when it comes to selling underwear. >> reporter: from the muslim shopping mall saudi arabia is a male-dominated society everywhere. >> translator: women should defer to their husbands.

>> reporter: islam teaches that women belong m home. >> reporter: jeddah is one of saudi arabia's major commercial cities. in its shopping malls, the salespeople are almost all male. seven years ago it became legal for woman to work in the service industry, but religious groups oppose this move. they said that allowing woman to come in to close contact with many men would be disruptive to saudi society. as a result there still be very few women working in retail stores. however, things are beginning to change. it has been only very recently that woman has been able to work in stores selling lingerie. the change came about due to one woman's effort. she teaches at a job training

center for woman. she says lrp many times m past when the way she was treated while buying underwear for herself amounted to sexual harassment. >> translator: it wasn't just my bust size. sometimes i would be asked even more detailed questions. i was very uncomfortable. in other countries women work in underwear departments. >> reporter: she started up a facebook called called enough embarrassment. she created it for woman to express their opinion on this and other issues. fatima shot a situation she experienced twice. in the video a couple visit a store and are shocked when the employee asked the woman's bust size in front of her husband. three months after setting up a facebook page, fatima had more

than 10,000 women following her. many posted descriptions on their own experiences. fatima's action made huge waves. she was even asked to speak on the mainstream media. >> reporter: in january one year after fatima launched her facebook page it was reissued by saudi arabia's king abdullah. from now on only women would be allowed to work in women's lingerie departments. thanks to fatima's efforts, more women are being hired in saudi arabia to work in shops. the change marks a major step forward for woman's rights in this traditional society. >> i used to be a housewife, but now i dream of opening my own

shop. >> reporter: it played a major role in the arab supreme movement to bring democracy to the middle east. now social networks have helped to give woman in saudi arabia a way for their voices to be heard. nhk world, jeddah. >> we have been tracking a storm in eastern china. it's weakening after batterle the area with strong winds. we get the latest from our weather desk. >> it is weakening. we now have a tropical depression where we have a few afternoon just a few days ago. however, that just means that the winds have died down. we're still seeing a very potent system in terms of the rainfall. some places have seen up to 300 millimeters of rain. almost 300 millimeters of rain the last 24 hours. we're going to be seeing an additional maybe 100 to 200 millimeters of rain over kwooi quite a wide area in the next 24

to 48 hours. we're still dealing with some very heavy rain here, and a high risk of flooding and landslides. elsewhere northern japan is going to be getting some heavy rain and strong winds coming in. there's actually a storm approaching, but it will be a rep nant low by the time it reaches hokaido. nevertheless, strong winds and really heavy downpours here as well. as you can see, western japan is starting to get very wet, as is the korean peninsula. a strong human flow is coming up from the south generated, in part, by our storms sitting in eastern china, so we're going to be seeing thunderstorms here and rainy day for much of central japan as well as we head on into saturday. now, the philippines is another place that's been dealing with incredibly heavy rain. parts of the manila metropolitan area have over 900 millimeters of rain by tuesday. almost a lil meter of rain, and it has led to a widespread flooding situation. s you can see, there are more showers to come in the next 48

hours. not quite the heavy stuff we've been seeing over the last few days, but any more rain is going to be very unwelcome and will add to the risk of further flooding, mudslides, and landslides. temperatures are going to be cooling a little bit in the korean peninsula. seoul is at temperatures 34, 35 for the last few days. coming down to 130 30 with the rain moving in. it stays hot inland. all right. let's head over to see what's happening with tropical storm ernest wroe. it's moving across southern mexico at the moment and is expected to become a depression fairly soon. moving west at 10 kilometers an hour, the wind speeds at 85 with stronger gusts still, but we will see the system continue to weaken. there's still a lot of precipitation. another 100 to 200 millimeters is likely over the next 48 hours, so there will be a high risk of mudslides and landslides. particularly in the upper elevations that could see even more rain locally. talking of rain is going to be

very wet across much of eastern parts of the u.s. and up into eastern canada as well. some strong thunderstorms along this front coming up from texas right through into the upper new england area. you could even see a few tornadoes with this. very strong winds, hail, and also heavy rain. much of the continent is looking fairly dry. l.a. up to 34 degrees. other parts of arizona as well as other places in southern california in nevada, too, you're going to be seeing temperatures around the mid 40 mark. some pop-up thunderstorms, but generally things are looking dry and pretty hot. especially down towards the southwest. take a look at the temperature in madrid today. 43 degrees. southern france, telus, 37. we're even getting 27 in london. i think this is the hottest day of the olympics so far.

and beautiful sunshine all day. saturday and sunday look equally good. dipping down to 21 on saturday, but back up to 25 on sunday. do enjoy that. i'll leave you to your extended forecast.

>> and that hes all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi many tokyo. thanks for joining us.

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