welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. u.s. leaders are pointing allies weigh possible military action. there's progress in a humanitarian issue between north korea and japan.

experts have arrived in the north to search for remains. and some women in china are finding new ways to cover up during their day at the beach. united nations officials investigating alleged chemical weapons attack in syria say they have postponed a second day of inspections. the united states and some european nations are putting pressure on the syrian government with the possibility of military operations. the u.n. experts left a damascus hotel on tuesday, but they later said they put off their inspections for a day due to security reasons. they called on all parties to cooperate so they can conduct inspections safely. the alleged use of chemical weapons that killed hundreds of people including children happened last wednesday in a suburb of the capital damascus. the opposition forces and the government blame each other for the attack. >> we know that the syrian regime maintains custody of these chemical weapons.

we know that the syrian regime has the capacity to do this with rockets. >> u.s. media reporting that the united states and its allies are considering the option of a limited military operation including the use of cruise missiles. the u.n. investigators are analyzing blood samples from patients and soil taken from the sites of the attack. attention is focused on whether the ongoing investigation will provide evidence that chemical weapons were used. syrian foreign minister challenged the u.s. to present proof backing up its accusations. he told reporters that no country would use chemical weapons on its people and that they will defend themselves using all means available. a russian foreign ministry spokesman is accusing u.s. leaders of making up reasons to launch an attack in syria. he says america and other western countries should act responsibly and observe

international law. >> translator: the attempts to get around the security council and to once again create artificial unsubstantiated pretext for the armed interference in the region may result in new sufferings in syria. >> he says a decision by the u.s. to postpone a meeting with russia was regrettable. diplomats from the countries were due to discuss the use of alleged chemical weapons in syria. workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant discovered they have a bigger cleanup effort on their hands following a leak of highly radioactive water. they found out last week that the toxic water had seeped out of a storage tank, one of hundreds on site. now they've learned it may have

flowed in two directions. last monday crews found more than 300 tons of highly radioactive waste water had leaked from the tank. the water escaped a low barrier through a vav used to drain rainwater. workers detected high levels of radiation inside a nearby ditch. now officials with tokyo electric power company say inspectors observed high levels near a valve on the other side of the tank. officials fear contaminated water may have flowed out of there too. and they worry the runoff may have seeped into the ground. so they've decided to remove soil from a wider area than they had planned. they still don't know what caused the leak or how far the contamination spreads. they suspect some of the water may have flowed into the ocean through the drainage ditch. the japanese government is trying to speed up decontamination work in areas near the plant. they plan to introduce new equipment that will help lower radiation levels. authorities at the environment

ministry had hoped to finish most of the cleanup at 11 municipalities near the plant by the end of next march, but they had to push back the deadline in seven areas. the work there is going slower than expected. officials have had difficulty gaining the approval of people who live in the area. residents are worried about the effectiveness of the cleanup. and authorities have been struggling with a lack of storage facilities for contaminated soil. ministry officials will introduce a new type of device to help speed up the work. the equipment uses water to remove radioactive substances and then gathers up the contaminated liquid. officials at japan's nuclear watchdog are determined to make safety standards in their industry more stringent. they say they'll force power companies to regularly test nuclear plants for resistance to earthquakes and tsunami. the officials at the nuclear regulation authority agreed to make the checks a legal requirement. they oblige utilities to conduct

so-called stress tests using computer analysis every five years. plant operators will also have to calculate the probability of severe accidents such as the one at fukushima daiichi in 2011. the regulator plans to introduce a range of new safety measures by december after consulting the public. japanese aerospace officials are trying to work out what went wrong in the lead up to an aborted rocket launch. they say a computer glitch may have forced the cancellation just seconds before the new model was due for liftoff. engineers at the japan aerospace agency plan to send up the epsilon from their launch pad in the southern prefecture. it would have been their first launch of a new model in 12 years. but the launch control system automatically stopped 19 seconds before liftoff. the agency's project leader says the engineers found no sign of a problem with the rocket, but he

says the computing system mounted inside it may have sent wrong information back to the command center. the system automatically checks the rocket to make sure it is okay for launch. >> translator: we'll carry out a thorough investigation into the possible causes of the trouble and take all necessary measures to correct it. we'll also verify those measures to make sure that we launch the rocket in perfect condition. >> morita says a second attempt at a launch could take place within three days. officials hope the new rocket will be a cheaper and more efficient way to send satellites into in their mainstay h2a rockets. japanese researchers are

looking back into history. they've arrived in north korea to search for the remains of japanese who died at the end of world war ii. north korean leaders have shown openness toward the mission. some diplomats are wary of the north's motives. nhk world reports from pyongyang. >> reporter: the researchers are in north korea to inspect sites where japanese were buried. >> translator: we have come here to identify the sites where the japanese were buried. and we want to share the information with north korean officials who are conducting research on what they think are japanese remains they have found here. >> reporter: japan ruled the korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. officials of the country's health ministry say 35,000 japanese died there of hunger or

illness at the end of the war. the remains of 20,000 are buried at about 70 sites. but for decades a lack of diplomatic relations prevented members of their families from visiting. then japanese and north korean diplomats sat down together for the first time in four years. >> translator: both sides have agreed to seek a meeting with higher level officials in beijing as soon as possible. >> reporter: north korean workers have been digging at the sites. they've found the remains of japanese, parts of clothing and personal items. authorities have allowed about 30 japanese to watch. they include researchers and victims' families. but the two sides have not

agreed on dna testing. so the only way to identify the remains is to match survivors accounts with what north korean officials say. north korean leaders have suggested the opening talks with diplomats from japan, south korea and the u.s. they say they are open to a range of topics including humanitarian issues such as access to the burial sites. but diplomats are suspicious. the north koreans say japan must provide compensation for its colonial rule. and they may be granting concessions through financial assistance for their fragile economy. nhk world, pyongyang. a senior chinese diplomat has poured water around the prospect of top level talks with japan. vice foreign minister says

china's leader is unlikely to meet prime minister shinzo abe on the sidelines of the g-20 summit in russia. lee says japan is to blame for the strain in ties over the senkaku islands in the east china sea. japan controls them, but china and taiwan also claim the islands. prime minister abe has called for talks with the chinese president xi jinping as soon as possible and without conditions. but lee says the chinese leader has no plans to meet. >> translator: at this time there's no basis for the talks. how can we set up this kind of summit that japan says it hopes to hold. >> china demand recognize a territorial issue exists between the countries. the dispute over the senkaku islands has prompted coast guard officials to strengthen ranks. they plan to add 2500 personnel. that would be the largest

increase in four decades. chinese government vessels have entered japanese waters on a regular basis since japan nationalized three of the islands last september. their presence is expected to grow because china is building more ships. japanese leaders say the islands are an inherent part of their territory in terms of history and international law. coast guard authorities plan to put a team of 12 ships in charge of patrolling around the territory in the future. they still need to build six of those vessels. the team would likely be based on ishigaki island in okinawa. the coast guard is expected to request about $2 billion from the government to fund the surveillance program. an american military aircraft has another mark of its already spotty safety record. the crew of an osprey made an emergency landing in the southwestern united states. no one was hurt, but the incident will likely fuel opposition to the deployment of

the tilt-rotor aircraft in japan. the osprey was on a training flight. they say it landed near a base in nevada. they haven't disclosed if the aircraft was damaged. they say the emergency landing is under investigation. u.s. military commanders are deploying 24 osprey at the base in japan's southern most prefecture of okinawa. local residents are opposed to the move. they're worried about their safety because the aircraft has been involved in a series of crashes. 12 men working for government-affiliated programs in afghanistan have been executed by the taliban. >> reporter: the taliban appears to be stepping up campaign in violence. the executions occurred in two separate incidence over the weekend but only came to light on tuesday. six men were reportedly

kidnapped on sunday in the relatively stable province of herat in the west of afghanis n afghanistan. the victims all work for a world bank program managed by the afghan military rule rehabilitation. five of them are affiliated with an international nongovernment organization. reuters says earlier the same day six other men were executed in the eastern province of paktia. the men were afghan drivers and the taliban killed them after accusing them for working for the government. the taliban are increasingly targeting civilians who they believe are cooperating with the government. the development adds to concerns about the prospects for peace in afghanistan as most foreign combat troops prepare to withdraw by the end of next year. india has enjoyed years of economic rapid growth, yet the country remains home to one in four of the world's poor. the lower house in parliament on monday approved a plan worth nearly $20 billion to provide cheap grain to lower income

households. the governing coalition will face elections in less than a year's time and the opposition is accusing it of creating populous policies designed to win votes. the program still needs the approval of the upper house. if adopted, it would give some citizens access to cheap rice and crop subsidized by the government. dealing with poverty is an urgent problem for the government. about one in every two children in india is underweight. the plan would make about 800 million people eligible for food subsidies, approximately two-thirds of the country's entire population. the prime minister's government last month used executive order to sidestep a deadlocked parliament and begin distribution of subsidized food. the next general election is scheduled to take place by may next year. before the last poll in 2009, indian national congress president led her party to victory on the back of populous programs such as boosting employment in rural a and loan waivers for farmers.

and that wraps up our bulletin. the latest round of the transpacific partnership free trade talks is now going on in brunei. and officials of some private groups are wary about the u.s. playing a strong leadership role in these negotiations. they say they want japan's help in working out a fair agreement. representatives of trade groups and nongovernmental organizations have met negotiators from the countries taking part in the 19th round of tpp discussions. >> violence, taking into consideration the differences in development and social and economical realities are fully conscious. >> asia, i think we can stick together to do the way that we want and hopefully japan can

speak up based on -- in a sense. not the american way. >> a senior official of an australian farm group expressed hope that japan will provide wider access to his country's exports of rice, beef and wheat. >> i understand with japan that they are agriculture industries do what is protected or kept out, from our perspective very important to us. >> japanese officials are hoping to maintain teariffs on rice an other key farm products. volvo has unveiled a newly developed technology that automatically stops a car from colliding with a bicycle. volvo's system applies the brakes when windshield cameras as well as radar and infrared ray bumper sensors find an object in front is getting

dangerously close. the technology works even when a bicycle faulters in the path of a car. systems have trouble detecting fast-moving bicycles, but the company says its swifter imagery analysis by the windshield cameras helps prevent a collision. >> if we look into the data, the national data, we can see that cyclist is one of the top three fatalities in traffic. so that's why volvo now launched the cyclist detection functionality. >> the company plans to price the system at around $2,000. people in china are crowding onto beaches to get some relief from the summer sun. they've been reminded for years to cover up, but these days some women are taking the advice to another level. nhk world's hiroshi hamaguchi

explains. >> reporter: this beach is a popular resort spot. on sundays it attracts a couple of hundred thousands people including young groups and families. they are having fun. they look good in swimsuits. most people do. these women are not wrestlers or bank robbers, they are following a fashion. it's called -- there are small holes for the eyes, nose and they appeared here a few years ago. they became a hit with middle-aged women. >> translator: i'm worried about

sunburn. women also want to be beautiful. we don't want to get burned. >> translator: i'm using mine for the first time this year. i think it's great to protect my skien. >> reporter: face bikinis come in many colors and designs. some are like fashion items. we can't see their faces, but we can guess they're having fun. at least they're not sunburned. >> translator: i think they're novel, but they're kind of bizarre. >> reporter: it's not just the fashion behind the face bikini boom. it's also the huge outbreak of algae. the algae multiply in the warm sea. china is having an unusually hot summer. it's hard to enjoy swimming in a sea like this.

qingdao authorities have already removed more than 70,000 tons, but it's hard to keep up with how quickly the algae grow. the algae are harmless, but local businesses worry that it drives business away. however, sales of face bikinis doubled last year. translator: they're selling better than last year. there's so much algae in the sea. i think people want to protect their faces when they go swimming. >> reporter: the face bikini stops algae from getting caught in people's hair and sticking to people's faces. it's become a must-have item for some locals who swim every day. >> translator: if i wear this, the algae don't stick to my

face. it protects you from sunburn, algae, jellyfish, anything. >> reporter: not everyone will find the face bikini attractive, but for the women of qingdao, its practicality has its own special charm. hiroshi yamaguchi. nhk world, qingdao, china. >> interesting. china's rise brought it wealth and powers. income gap divided people, pollution threatens health and disputed seas threaten relationships with neighbors. find out of the challenges china faces on "newsline." a tropical storm is hitting the philippines. it comes just as the southeast asian nation was recovering from several severe storms this year. meteorologist robert speta has been following the situation.

robert. well, today we have the tropical storm still pulling off to the north-northeast of luzon. you can see the big massive cloud cover over the center of the philippines. most of it's being sheared off to the west. so what we're seeing is heavy rainfall across, well, much of luzon out here. still seeing about 200 millimeters. we've seen reports right around 1 hurkds millimeters in the northern portions of the philippines in the past 24 hours. this really looks like a decent risk of flooding in some areas here, even landslides. the good news is that the storm system itself is continuing to pull off here towards north. and what we're going to be seeing is that rainfall in the philippines start to decrease in intensity. you could still be seeing pop-up thunderstorms, but really the bulk of the rain is going to switch off towards the north impacting you there into taiwan still see about 200 millimeters here. and also seeing pretty gusty winds across the southern japanese islands along with high waves about three to six meters high in some areas here because

the storm system's actually expected to continue to intensify. japan meteorological agency expects become a weak typhoon at one point before it starts to weaken out and continue to track off here towards the north. if you're in kyushu, don't expect it to be a typhoon by the time it gets to your area. a big rainmaker by the weekend. hokkai hokkaido, we have a separate storm system, not tropical, but this one has been bringing some heavy rainfall. northern hokkaido we saw one report about 90 millimeters in a one-hour span there. about 180 millimeters in just three hours. that's record breaking for the month of august. pretty small but potent storm system. it's going to continue to work its way off to the east. some break in the middle. then we have another storm system pushing across central and eastern china. eastern china has been seeing rain showers from this. it's going to be widespread about 50 to 150 millimeters rain in some areas here. not welcomed at all. you've been seeing some pretty severe flooding.

all week we've been showing you these videos. show you another one out of eastern china here. four people were rescued by firefighters after heavy rain caused rising mountain currents here on monday. the four who had been having a barbecue in the mountains when the torrid started raging were found by firefighters. they were stranded in about 30 meters of water. the firefighters used a rope to help all four to safety. good news at the end of this, all were rescued. all too often we see these stories end in tragedy. so some good news out of there. bad news does look like it will bring more heavy rainfall, even across the korean peninsula. and most of japan by the weekend picking up heavy showers accompanied by our tropical storm. by that time it will really be mixing with that low. but just widespread rain as that continues to push through. temperatures are cooling off though as well. beijing with a high of 29. yesterday was in the 30s. ulaanbaatar getting up to 16 here going into wednesday. take a look towards europe. the big topic is this low pressure area spinning in

central europe. it's pulling in that moisture out of the mediterranean. you can see that cloud cover pushing in from the southwest towards the northeast. some storms in this going to be dropping heavy rainfall, even some large hail, gusty winds with it as well. the main topic is the heavy rainfall though. past 24 hours saw reports about 65 millimeters. still a short-time heavy rain out here could be about 30 to 40. so what that means is there's a risk of flash flooding a this does continue to push through. the good news behind it, if you want some cooler temperatures, it does look like that is the case. london a high of 22, paris, 24. even towards the iberian peninsula, 29, lisbon, 29 madrid as well. that's a look at the world weather. here's your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

♪ hello, everyone. today we're visiting a group of people as they prepare lunch. the ingredients are mushroom stalks, the outer leaves of cabbage, carrot peels, the pith of bell peppers and meat scraps. what are they making? the ingredients are chopped, salt and pepper added, sir fried and mixed with mashed potatoes. wait a minute could this be?