hello and welcome back to nhk world "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. russian leaders use their influence with counterparts in syria. foreign ministers sergey lavrov urged the syrian leaders to turn over their chemical weapons saying it might help to avoid a military strike. >> translator: in the establishment of international

control over chemical weapons in that country would allow avoiding strikes, we'll immediately start working with the syrian government. >> lavrov urged syrian government leaders to join the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. he presses argument in a meeting in moscow with his syrian counterpart. and they said the government welcomes russia's proposals but he said they're concerned about the security of the syrian people. the united nation's secretary general said he might ask them to transfer the chemical weapons for a safe place for storage and destruction. he said a political solution is the only viable way out of the syrian crisis. he pressed for an international meeting on syria as soon as possible and urged all parties in the conflict to take part. more and more japanese people are pleased with the job the prime minister and his cabinet are doing. and nhk poll suggests the

majority of them support the leadership of abe. more than 1,000 people answered the phone interview. 59% said they support abe's cabinet. 23% said they do not. most supporters say they like the cabinet because it's better than the alternatives. the second biggest group said their hopeful about the government's policies. almost half of the dissatisfied said they don't expect much and 20% said abe's lib control democratic party is not their party of choice. people were asked to name japan's most pressing issue. 27% were concerned about nuclear plants. 20% said they want measures to boost the economy. 16% highlighted social security reforms. 64% said they felt positive about the cabinet's economic policies. 29% of respondents said they disapproved. japanese leaders have said they'll take charge of leaks of

radioactive water from fukushima daiichi plant. 75% of respondents said they supported the effort. 18% said they were against it. people in japan are expecting the olympic games in 2020 to provide an economic boost. we talked to our rather, we have this report. >> reporter: the market in tokyo started the week with strong gains following japan's win. investors here in tokyo's financial district are celebrating and they hope the country's olympic 3wid will help share prices. >> translator: i expected to add to economics. >> translator: we're hoping that heading to 2020, the olympics will have a positive effect on the economy. >> reporter: after prime minister abe took office last year, tokyo stocks started to rebound hitting the 15,000

level. but share prices dropped in may over concerns of a possible winddown of u.s. monetary easing. stocks have since been sluggish and traded in relatively low volumes. investors believe that the olympics will help. >> translator: i predict share prices will pick up as the successful olympic bid will attract foreign investors. that will help boost the already-recovering earnings of japanese businesses. >> reporter: businesses are acting. some have launched olympic sales. this one sells cakes decorated with swimmers and athletes. >> translator: expectations are high and i think people will be more inclined to shop. >> reporter: bid committee officials in tokyo estimate that the service, construction and other industries will see around

$30 billion worth of economic benefits for 2020. they also project more than 150,000 new jobs nationwide. railway and other transportation infrastructure primarily access the news are also expected to be upgraded. but some analysts have expressed concern about how much the eventual costs may be. tourism is a part of the government's growth strategy. it plans to attract around 20 million foreign visitors a year with promotions based around the olympics. the lodging sector has also began changes. this hotel is replacing its beds. staff are laying this carpet to enhance the japanese atmosphere. >> translator: i'm sure an

increase in foreign guests will be a big opportunity for our business. >> reporter: the olympics will kelyoost the economic activity in both the public and the private sectors. but the question is -- whether a prime minister abe will be able to use the world's biggest sporting event to revive the economy and manage the country's finances at the same time. nhk world, tokyo. a suspected unmanned aircraft was spotted flying near japan's airspace above the east china sea on monday. the defense ministry says the aircraft was flying and crossed the median line that bisects the east china sea halfway between

japan and china but did not enter japanese airspace. the aircraft then left the area and moved to the direction of china. ministry officials say there appeared to be no cockpit on the plane. if confirmed this would be the first appearance of a drone in this area on record. the ministry says it will analyze photos of the aircraft to identify its nationality. the chief cabinet secretary told reporters the defense ministry made the disclosure as it was a highly unusualcident. >> translator:llontinue to closely monitor the waters and airspace around the islands in the easthina sea to protect japanese territory. the u.s. special envoy on north korea called for a concrete steps toward its denuke nuclearization kicking off a east asian tour glen davis

landed in seoul to meet with officials. all members of the stalled six-party talks with north korea. >> our view is that, of course, we can't get back to six party until we see a much greater degree of willingness on the part of north koreao take the steps that it has already promised to take. >> chinese officials are planning aympoum on the issue for next week. hundreds of muslim gunmen are clashing with police on the islands in the southern philippines and at least six people have been killed and others have been taken hostage. the rebels opposed ongoing peace talks between another muslim insurgent group and the government. the group demands complete independence from the philippines, which has a catholic majority. they report that between 200 and 300 heavily-armed rebels landed

on the island from several boats at dawn on monday. they entered the city where they fought with government troops. at least two members of security forces and four civilians were killed. >> translator: i saw them roaming around and knocking at the door of my employer's house and they got the people inside and took them away. >> the fighting has spread to surrounding coastal communities where the rebels have taken more than 100 civilians hostage. the airport and other facilities in the city are now under strict supervision of themilitary. the rebels belong to the national liberation front which is opposed to peace talks with the government on the island. >> we want to establish our own government. not autonomous government but we want to independent for our nation. >> the government has been in

talks with a separate insurgent group, the moral islamic front and in a 2012 deal brokered by malaysia the two sides dwraeed to set up an autonomous government in the region in 2016 but the agreement was rejected by the faction clashing with government forces. the fighting between the government and separatist groups started in the 1970s and more than 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict. and 2 million have fled the region.

the head of the international atomic energy agency set his sights on fukushima and he said the inspectors will visit the nuclear plant to investigate a leak of radioactive water. the chief was speaking at a board meeting in vienna. >> the leak of contaminated water at fukushima daiichi is a matter of high priority that needs to be addressed urgently. >> the agency's experts visited in plil april to checken on the plan's decommissioning and recommended measures for the long-term management of liquid waste. they committed $470 million to the toxic water leak and plan to isolate the plant from groundwater with a wall of frozen soil underground. >> the announcement by the japanese government of a basic policy for addressing this issue

is an important step forward. >> japan's u.n. ambassador s to the iea board. and he said japan will keep them updated and cooperate fully. the disaster in fukushima forced almost 150,000 people from their homes. more than two years later, certain areas, the ones shown in red on the map remain in the no-entry zone. government officials say people won't be allowed to return for a long time. exactly how long, no one knows. people from the town are scattered throughout japan. we have this report of their story. >> reporter: this is a 65-year-old man that's lived in this former school building for more than two years.

this former high school near tokyo, is the evacuation center still housing disaster survivors. about 100 people from the town live here. their average age is 70. ikota is the commanders leader and he has no income apart from his pension. the operator of the fukushima daiichi plant gave him nine month's worth of compensation part of the 2 1/2 years work he's been promised. he's unsure about his future and worried about his elderly neighbors. many of them have to buy boxed meals. they can't cook for lack of proper facilities. they sleep in classrooms divided by cardboard walls. >> translator: it's really quite

a miserable existence. i've been wondering why we've had to live like this and for so long. >> reporter: their home town is a few kilometers from fukushima daiichi. 1400 fresidents evacuated to th school right after the disaster and they may never see their homes again. he showed us pictures of his hometown. >> translator: there were so many of them. it was really gorgeous. >> reporter: parade of the calvary passing near his house. people cheering at a traditional festival. these are scenes of normal life before the accident. >> translator: we know we can't go back. it's just so cruel from our

point of view. >> reporter: the officials plan to close the evacuation center and trying to find apartmentless nearby and evacuees don't have to pay rent for the first two years but after that, nothing is certain. this man is 91 years old. he says that he wants a house where he can live the rest of his life in peace. if he can't go back to futaba. >> translator: my life is so pathetic now. i feel like i've lost out by living so long. i would have liked to have died ten years ago. >> reporter: many residents say they'd rather remain in the school than be scattered and

isolated in, yet, more temporary housing. but he says he doesn't know what to do. >> reporter: he says he will stay at the evacuation center until the last moment to see everyone off. after that he says he'll created a network or the former residents to keep track of it would early that live alone and need assistance and he says helping one another is the only way they can insure they were community will survive. -- their community will survive. back to you.

a major south korean newspapers is reporting the country has decided to take part in the train pacific partnership free trade talks. if the report is confirmed, it will effectually reverse south korea's position on the negotiations. the ministry of trade industry and energy denies the report. it says it has yet to decide. but the ministry admits it is studying the potential economic impact of joining the tpp. until now south korea had shown little interest in taking part in the talks. it already has a free trade agreement with the u.s. the newspapers reports that the government changed its mind after japan joined the talks in july and chinese officials began to show interest. major japanese soft drink company has agreed to acquire the beverage unit of a major british pharmaceutical firm. they say the deal with

glaxosmithkline and they will acquire the sports drink brand and fruit drink from gsk. the sales of these products total more than $800 million last year. >> translator: we've been able to acquire two brands that have strant not only in europe but there is emerging markets. with this deal we're also aiming for affects for our business in asia as well. >> the beverage and food is trying to find bigger markets because of stagnant growth at home. time for the latest in markets.

people who live in one part of the west african country rely on water for their way of life. and the village is built over a river. they fish in it and they travel on it. but there's trouble beneath the surface. nhk world's got this report. >> reporter: ganvie lies at the river at the mouth of the area. this lake village is the largest in africa. some piernl call it the venice of africa. it goes back three centuries and covers an area of 200 square kilometers. the city has been nominated as a heritage site. they make their living from

fishing. and they travel around on boats and this means a rescued town. it is said to have been established by people fleeing from the slave trade. all houses and other buildings are made of wood and reed. raised above the surface to avoid the rising levels during the rainy season. this hotel is no exception. even the mosque stands above the water. >> translator: this town has a raised church and hospital. people even give birth over the water. >> reporter: but the idealic appearance can be deceiving. it's actually, in big trouble.

human waste is discarded into the river. the purification system cannot cope with the growing number of residents. the water has become badly contaminated. but people keep using the water and getting sick. >> translator: residents chain of diarrhea. their poor health is probably due to the dirty river water. >> this man grew up in the village. >> reporter: 15 years ago, he set up an ngo to urge the locals not to drink river water. through pictures, a colleague explains the dangers.

>> translator: this person drinks river water and gets sick. >> translator: i will be careful not to drink water from the river. >> translator: in order to explain to all our residents how dangerous our water is, we have to train people who can spread the word. >> reporter: this work has started to bear fruit. more and more people drink water from the well. 13 new ones have been drilled under the water. and the number continues to increase. he's also asking the government to collaborate in building proper toilets. >> translator: please, build new

toilets to stop polluting the river we cannot live without water. that's why it's so important for the entire community to help manage the village's water safety. >> through their dedication, more villages are learning how to lead a healthier life. nhk world, genvier. time for our check on your weather. good morning. it's a nice and sunny start to the day here in to goy. what can we expect up ahead? good morning, catherine. it will be another day of typical autumn weather acrossup, thanks to migratory high pressure system. it's located to the cease of the country so because of a north easterly winds we may see a little bit cloudier conditions across the pacific coast including tokyo today. it was a sunny across the korean peninsula yesterday but things are changing. and a new system forms from

southwestern china extending all the way up toward the korean peninsula and rain could become heavy across south korea and china and the province ps up to 100 millimeters is likely. for the area to the south a low pressure system is set to into vietnam while intensifying the southwest. and severe weather is likely in places. had reports of hail in laos which is not so common because usually temperatures are too high to create such frozen stuff. temperatures will be at 33 in bangkok for the high with thunder showers. 24 degrees in the provinces so cooler. tokyo at 29 degrees. and akeita, 27. nice to see the beautiful flowers. look at these pictures. buck wheat flowers are in fulton bloom. the chefs use the buck wheat to

make thin noodles and the seas will be harvested at the end of the next month. the freshly harvested noodles is rich in flavor. very cute flowers. and across the americas, we're seeing some flooding rains once again across the four corners region due to the intensifying of the monsoonal flow. burned areas due to wildfires are really prone to flash floods. up toward the north, a severe weathermaker is traveling over the great lakes region while producing a threat of severe weather even tornados cannot be ruled out in some places. a severe weather across the great lakes region and set to to the east as we go into wednesday. and as for temperatures, very high across chicago to new york city and washington, d.c. on tuesday. toronto at 34 degrees. much hotter than average

conditions into wednesday. but back down to normal on thursday. similar conditions for the rest -- for the northeastern u.s. intoour friday. temperatures are like a roller coaster ride. very tough conditions for the them to contend with. and finally, in europe an area of wet and windy conditions are expanding east and west across much of the continent. we have some rain warnings posted for the southern parts of norway. northern italy and southern parts of spain watch out for flash floods and temperatures will be mild and cool across the west. 16 degrees in london. 18 in both paris and berlin. and vienna going up to 29 degrees. warsaw, it was 24 yesterday but going back to the teens on tuesday. here's your extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of nhk. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thank you very much for joining us. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> i see some repeaters in the audience. this is the fourth event of five that we are hosting to celebrate the centennial of woodrow wilson's inauguration as president in 1913. we had a dinner last night at wilson house, which included an interview with the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee, ed royce.