hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's now 8:00 a.m. on august 7th a wednesday. i'm ross mihara in tokyo. iran's new president hassan rowhani opened the door to negotiations. at his first news conference as president. he says he's determined to resolve a dispute over the country's nuclear development. rowhani says work has begun to build relations with iran's neighbors and international community.

his stance is in stark contrast to his predecessor, mahmoud ahmadinejad. he said he is ready to hold talks on the nation's nuclear development. he said concerns will be removed through negotiations. >> translator: i'm optimistic about the prospects of holding mutually beneficial negotiations. i believe it's possible. >> but he said iran will not abandon its nuclear program of enriching uranium for peaceful purposes. he urged western leaders to lift economic sanctions against his country. rowhani also hinted at the possibility of district talks with the united states after years of stalemate. >> translator: if the united states shows goodwill toward iran, the door to talks is open. even if it's america. >> western leaders want to resume nuclear talks with tehran

as early as next month. observers say rowhani's remarks could set these talks in motion. the philippine navy has gained another warship amid territorial disputes with china in the south china sea. ♪ the frigate sailed into the philippines on tuesday. the bay was formally the site of a u.s. navy base. the 3,250-ton cutter was used by the u.s. coast guard. >> translator: the arrival is proof of our resolve to have an armed forces that can truly defend our country. >> the philippine navy has about 130 warships, mostly small or mid-sized.

it is the second large type the philippines has received from the u.s. people in myanmar are celebrating the 25th anniversary of a nationwide pro democracy uprising. in august of 1988, the government used force against 200,000 protesters led by students and killed or injured more than 1,000. now the country's leadership is supporting the event organizers to show how far myanmar has progressed with democratization. about 3,000 people attended the event. participants included those who joined the uprising and now live overseas as political refugees. the government issued temporary visas for them. former political prisoners also joined the gathering. the leader of the uprising spoke of working with the government. >> translator: there is a hope that there are some forces on the other side who are willing to work with us toward a goal that we all believe in.

>> the opposition leader will deliver a speech at the event that continues through thursday. parts of china are experiencing acute water shortages amid the lingering summer heat. daytime highs since july have frequently risen above 30 degrees celsius inland in the country. the temperature in shanghai rose to a record 40.6 degrees celsius. on tuesday. this equals the record set in july. china's state-run cctv says about 4 million hectares of farmland have suffered drought. 4.5 million people are short on drinking water. the situation is particularly dangerous in provinces. hydroelectric power stations in these areas have halted operations to provide water for farmers and households. the chinese government has offered emergency cash assistance to about 4 million

people so they can buy daily necessities. people in hiroshima have a japanese comic about the horrors of atomic bombs has been published inindeea. it is not a signatory to the nonproliferation treaty. it was released at an event in the capital on tuesday. author depicketed bomb survivors and their families struggling with psychological damage and the after effects of radiation. india-based translated the stories. she hopes it will encourage young indians to think about peace and abolishing nuclear weapons. >> translator: i particularly want younger generations to learn about the lingering facts of radiation from atomic bombs.

it can span several generations. >> it is very touching because i am just reading this ai want to promote it. >> it is due to be sold at book stores across india. august 6 marks 68 years since the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of hiroshima. urged the japanese government to lead the way towards abolishing nuclear arms. about 50,000 people gathered at the peace memorial park. the area is close to the epicenter of the bombing on august 6, 1945.

>> translator: something like this should never happen again. i oppose any war. >> the participants prayed in silence at 8:15 a.m. it was the exact time the bomb was dropped. [ bell sounding ] the mayor spoke of the nuclear weapons. >> translator: the atomic bomb is the ultimate inhumane weapon, an absolute evil. hiroshima calls on the japanese government to strengthen ties with other countries to pursue abolition. >> prime minister shinzo abe said japanese people have an obligation as citizens of the only nation in the world to have been atomically bombed. >> translator: we have a responsibility to make a world

without nuclear weapons. >> people arrived at the memorial park throughout the day to offer prayers. they spoke about nuclear arms. >> translator: i can't understand why nuclear weapons are necessary. they're designed to kill people. i am absolutely against them. >> translator: hiroshima should be the front runner in the campaign to pursue the abolition of nuclear arms. >> prime minister abe said japan is trying to rid the world of nuclear weapons in its own way, yet he defended the government's position of refusing to sign a statement rejecting the use of nuclear weapons. abe made the remarks after he attended the hiroshima peace memorial ceremony. >> translator: we regret that japan did not sign the statement, but we would like to

continue looking for ways to include ourselves in efforts for nuclear disarmament. >> he also said japan is taking initiatives at the u.n. to curb the use of such arms. the statement was submitted to a preparatory committee for the 2015 nuclear nonproliferation treaty review conference in april. japan refused to sign the statement because the wording "under any circumstances" conflicts with its national security policy. many people are trying to preserve the memory of the tragedy in hiroshima. among them is a group of students who have re-created a virtual image of the city before it was destroyed. nhk world's yuzo ota reports. >> reporter: just 900 meters south of the dome marks ground zero. before the explosion, government buildings stood everywhere.

those structures can now be seen as computer images made by high school students. for example, the former prefecture of this building and the surrounding streets. the students are learning how to make computer graphics at a high school in hiroshima prefecture. their teacher is supervising them. he wants to make sure that as the older generation dies, memories of the bombing will not go with them. so he got the students involved in the documentary about hiroshima before the explosion. >> translator: i was afraid that in the future, fewer kids would know even less about the bomb. my idea was that if students replicated the old town, they would learn something.

>> reporter: hasegawi and the students went around the city looking for ideas to help them with their images. there's a memorial for the people who were killed. an office once stood here. >> translator: strolling about the area allowed me to understand the extent of the bomb damage, and that would help in producing our cg. >> reporter: after returning to school, the students put their research to work, and the old buildings took shape. to make the graphics look more real, they decided to include people doing everyday activities. to make sure they got everything just right, the students interviewed survivors.

they asked all kinds of questions about life before the attack. >> translator: we learned a lot from the survivors. i want to make the images of people look as authentic as possible. >> reporter: but it's not easy r or recreate the clothing of the war era. >> translator: women don't take long strides like that. we're trying to make the figures look realistic, not like statues. >> reporter: the students keep

the people of the 1940s in mind. finally, they finish their work. a man dressed in national uniform at the entrance to the prefecture office. on the street, a woman wearing loose work pants typical of the era. the information from the survivors helped make the computer images more life like. >> translator: before, i only knew that the atomic bomb was huge, that it destroyed the town and many people died. but i want many people to learn what i came to know through this project. >> reporter: these images simulate people as they went

about their daily routine. and through this project students get the clear idea of what was lost forever. yuzo ota, nhk world, hiroshima. it will be used in a documentary film scheduled for release in 2015. hiroshima, nagasaki. the atomic bombing killed hundreds of people in an instant. "newsline" is looking back at what happened then and what happened since. don't miss our special coverage.

later this week people in nagasaki will hold a service to remember their city when it was attacked. ♪ >> reporter: music to keep the memories alive. the pianist's improvisation was inspired not just by the atomic bombs, but by the piano itself. made in the united states around 1920, this piano was in the city of hiroshima when the bomb exploded. it has been preserved just the way it was with shards of glass still embedded in its wooden surface. >> translator: it really makes me feel as if the piano still

remembers what happened that day. i hope my performance can convey that memory to everyone in the audience. >> reporter: a slide show tells the story of the piano and its young owner. akiko kawamoto was a 19-year-old student living in hiroshima. she was born in 1926 in los angeles where her father was working at the time. the piano was bought to commemorate her birth. when akiko was 6, the family returned to japan together with the piano and settled in hiroshima. akiko loved playing the piano more than anything else. she often wrote about it in her diary. akiko was about one kilometer from the epicenter of the explosion working with a student mobilization corps.

she died a day later from radiation exposure. akiko's parents left her bedroom exactly the way it was when she was alive, including the piano. but recently, akiko's brother entrusted it to a peace group so that people could hear it actually being played. after hearing about the piano, he was keen to bring it to tokyo for the event on saturday. ♪ >> translator: it was as though he was having a conversation with akiko. i was thinking about the meaning of peace as i listened.

>> it's so easy to forget things. and i think hiroshima is something that we should never forget. so we want to keep this event so that people would remember. ♪ >> reporter: he wants everyone who hears the message of peace to talk about it with others. he believes that if nobody talks, then nothing changes. nhk world, tokyo. new technology is helping innovators stake out new ground. nhk has more on what is being called the maker movement.

>> reporter: this pan-sized box posed shock waves in the industry. when connected to a video camera the device can deliver high video over the internet with high resolution and high energy sound all without a computer. the broadcasting device was developed by a company. the company has only ten employees. used to work for panasonic. he says when he tried to develop a digital camera with with built in the company said the market was too small and the idea too risky. disillusioned he started his own business at 29 years old. >> translator: we used ordinary digital camera parts.

we created really innovative software to make live distribution possible. it is so exciting to create totally new products for people at the cutting edge of culture. >> reporter: the device for live distribution has gone through social networks and is now sold in 17 countries. the business environment in the manufacturing industry has changed significantly over the past few years. when he wants certain parts he searches using online market places. a number of suppliers pop up on the screen and he can chat with sales reps about their stocks, prices and delivery dates. it used to take one or two weeks to meet and compare suppliers but now it takes only half a day. development aside, all the steps

in the process are outsourced to reduce cost. the finished products are sent to contractors called fulfillment houses who take call of stock, customer orders and shipments. these changes in the business environment give people with no experience in the manufacturing business a chance. used to be a musician. he entered the manufacturing industry after he began using free software for product design. his company's electric fan produces an air flow familiar to a natural breeze. they are nearly ten times as expensive as ordinary fans but they are selling well. these innovative double blades are key. unlike a conventional electric fan blowing air in one direction

this product disperses the air like a shower. in addition it consumes only two watts of electricity. major firms don't put much energy into fans as they concentrate on more profitable air conditioners. he can come up with this idea because he is a newcomer. >> translator: the leading consumer electronics company assumed nothing new could occur in the electric fan market. but i think every product has a role to play and changing the fundamental naturer of a product is itself a realinnovation >> reporr: younge companies are thriving in the w business environment. thr successes are encouraging radil changesn not only what products a being made but how they are being made.

nhk world, tokyo. next let's take a brief look at the market figures. people in vietnam are on watch of a tropical storm. >> we have been talking about the heat over muchf eastern

asia. but heat has also fed the cyst ism to become a tropical storm status. it was a tropicalal depression and now heading towards northeastern vietnam possibly making landfall late tonight into thursday morning local time. already will be bringing stormy conditions towards the country of vietnam. packing winds of 90 kilometers per hour. it is not going to be a huge one. it will be drenching rainfall where tropical storm debby has brought flooding conditions in the past several days. more than 200 millimeters found in and around hanoy. we will keep a close eye on this system. the summer pacific high sitting in the similar areas. we have heat warnings and

advisories still posted wide across east asia. 40 degrees for shanghai. in japan we have the early warning already for the high possibility of extreme heat that will continue for the next ten days. so other countries are seeing on going story. average range around this. a lot of these areas are seeing well above your average range. please drink plenty of water and saturday and sunday, the weekends are looking hotter in some locations. if you can try to reschedule your outdoor activities which are planned for this weekend. now, towards the southern areas on top of the heat we are experiencing extreme drought conditions. the precipitation that unfortunately is not enough to ease that anytime soon. other places here across east

asia. 21 degrees. chances of thunderstorms here. thunderstorms are also quite heavy across the central plains across the north american continent due to a cold front. already touching a tornado in north dakota. it has the capability of spawning more tornadoes. for wednesday these systems are going to be merging and becoming one huge storm maker. so tomorrow we are looking at more severe thunderstorms to come across the region from northern texas and into the great lakes region. it is still quite hot across much of the arklatex region reaching 38 degrees in houston with plenty of sunshine. now to europe. it is quite hot across the eastern areas here, as well, due to the african heat moving all the way to the south. the jet stream meanders to the north and east and south. western areas unstable area

continues. we had a report of 115 kilometers per hour gusts reported in the czech republic. we have eight centimeter dynameter hail reported in germany. temperatures are shaping up like this and it will be continuing to be very hot across the central locations. so do be precautious for heat stroke. i'll leave you now for the extended forecast.

that's all for now on this edition of "newsline". i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. we'll be back with the latest at the top of the hour. thanks for joining us on nhk world. 

>> you need to know that mark mazzoni wrote this that here -- of course it's the first thing i would tell you. he is going to tell you. even more interesting than the fact that he wrote it here, he was here or it was while he was here that max was born. we are a full-service lace. [laughter] we handle books, families, personal lives.