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u.s. agents collected records on 17 million phone calls between last december and january of this year. >> wow! we're not going to comment specifically on every issue and as a matter of policy we made clear the united states gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations.

>> connie said obama reassuassu merkel and he today not say whether u.s. agents had done so in the past. officials in seoul say their counterparts in pyongyang plan to release six south koreans. the men have been held in detention on charges that they el legally entered north korea. a spokesperson for south korea's unification ministry said authorities in pyongyang sent a knowties saying they would return the men on friday. >> south korea welcomes the northeast action paced on humanitarian grounds. return the

detainees right now. a north korean online laterally cancelled the reunion of families separated by families of the korean war in the 1950's. a deadly typhoon struck the island south of tokyo last week. local officials are now being extra cautious about natural disasters. they may issue an islandwide evacuation order on friday one day before another typhoon is forecast to arrive. tie fine wypha destroyed dozens of homes. among the 8,300 residents, 31

people were killed and 13 are still missing. local officials are looking at the latest data from the meteorological agency. they plan to urge island residents and disaster-hit areas to finish evacuating before typhoon francisco arrives. police and firefighters are helping elderly residents reach evaluation centers as quickly as possible. more mudslides are due to continuous rainfall on the island. and invited to the japanese government say japan atomic energy commission should no longer set the country's nuclear policy. the commission has been setting policy since 1956. members of an advisory panel agreed that japan atomic energy commission policy has become superfluous and they question the member's neutrality and say official there is have promoted nuclear power. panel members agreed to keep

discussing the issue. the governor of japan's southern most prefecture is trying to keep local fishermen safe when boats from taiwan operate in the same waters. he's pushing the central government to create rules that would help to prevent accidents near the islands near the sea. and meeting with chief cabinet secretary today, and he said that he wants leaders in tokyo to talk the taiwanese officials about how to handle accidents between fishing boats. the governor said fisheries agreement reached in april by japanese and taiwanese leaders threatens the livelihoods and safety of crews from okinawa prefecture and that agreement allows the taiwan neice fishermen to operate in some parts of japan's exclusive economic zone near the islands. japanese and taiwanese fishing boats collided off the islands last month. the islands are controlled by japan and claimed by china and taiwan. leaders in tokyo maintain the

islands are japanese territory and in terms of history and international law. the chief cabinet secretary said he and his colleagues will study the demands and act on them. a warrant to end western japan set a legal precedent for how atomic bomb survivors are compensated for their medical bills. p prep prefectural laws and only if they live in japan. the court awarded more thanl $13,000 do a man and the you were born. he was a baby in hihiroshima whe bomb was dropped. all three survivors later moved to south korea and received treatment.

they applied to the asaw can prefectural government for compensation but were rejected. the court ruled that that decision was illegal. it's the first time this has happened in a case involving a-bomb survivors overseas. a supporter of the plaintiffs wrote out a comment by the living survivor. >> translator: many people like myself are suffering because there's a limit on the money we can get back for medical treatment. i want the japanese government to accept the osaka district court decision. >> osaka prefecture officials say they'll consult the health ministry and other organizations on how to respond to the ruling. japanese leaders are set to approve a bill that could curtail public access to information on a wide range of issues. cabinet members are expected to approve the state secret protection bill during the day. legally and privacy experts come

together to share their concerns. >> translator: secret information, it should not be shared with other government papers. secrets have to be safe so they can be made public some day. >> the bill would allow the government to designate particular information related to national security at "secret." government employee who is leak such information could face up to ten years in prison. in the united states, executive orders stipulate in detail the designation and declassification of secret public documents. the u.s. national archives and records administration has the authority to check for information that's being deemed "classified" unnecessarily. the national archives of japan has no such authority.

as people of asia's emerging nation rush to develop their economies, their efforts create environmental problems. one of them is increasing amount of waste and what to do with it. a local governments and businesses in japan have some solutions. >> this city is indonesia's second larges city with 3 million people. its economy and population is growing rapidly. so is the amount of trash and that's creating a problem. this is the only disposal site in the city. 1500 tons of garbage is dumped at the site every day.

at this rate, the site will be full in a few years. as the city searches for ways to handle all of the trash, a waste recycling company from the city in western japan has started operating here in march. workers efficiently sort recyclable waste like plastic and metal and items for composting. as a result, the amount of garbage has dropped by 50%. new jobs have been created as well. this is a sales representative for the recycling company. he says that the indonesia waste and recycling market offers great business opportunities. >> always on site, in japan, a lot of it would be recycled. now the recycling gets done and locals earn money and there are many business opportunities here. >> the city government also

supports the company's expansion into the area. for ten years, the japanese city has also advised about waste disposal. last november, officials from both cities agreed to an environmental sister-city relationship. they introduced a local company with the technology and know-how to help improve the living environment. now the administration manages the project from the japanese side. together with the other cities they set off to meet their indonesia counterparts. they discuss the problems about the company they plan to build converting raw garbage into compost. the key to cutting back on the future waste of the city. however, there's a problem. even though it's been three months since both sides agreed to the plan, construction hasn't

started. >> the work should be under way. but our hands are tied. >> reporter: the officials keep saying that national government authorities must authorize construction. they say that will take time. negotiators on both sides had bargained intensely. they promised to urge the indonesia government to authorize building the plant. >> translator: the japanese are very enthusiastic so we must work harder, too. we want to make this a beautiful city. >> translator: we have to keep working hard in order to get more japanese companies to take on the waste disposal business here. >> business people see a great opportunity in improving the living environment of asia's emerging economies.

the government and local companies work together overseas. this could become a good model for expansion of japanese businesses into emerging nations. >> delegates from the association of southeast asian nations are working together to improve the way they handle the natural disasters. the ten-member nation staged a drill in the vietnamese capital of hanoi. about 2,000 police, firefighters and military personnel took part. we have this report from hanoi. >> reporter: these countries are conducting search and rescue operations together. the participants are shown -- they started a process of searching for survivors and providing emergency treatment. they also use boats and

helicopters to rescue people stranded on the roof of their flooded houses. they do this on a regular basis and this month, a strong earthquake shook the area. this has been causing widespread damage in the indo china peninsula in the rainy season. two years ago, floods also struck in thailand. water engulfed industrial compounds causing massive disruptions to global supply chains. participants tested out a communication system by japan and it enables member states to accept requests for help from another country and share information about what they can do to help. >> it provides an opportunity for all of the participants, the rescue people, strategic levels,

to meet and discuss and know each other and network, which is very, very important. >> reporter: as the countries cater to a 600 million consumers combined, they are a major force for growth in the global economy. but major disasters are constant threats to their industry. the countries are trying to globalize more closely to influence the way they deal with them. nhk world, hanoi. fashion is growing into a big business in indonesia. this appeals to the country's rising middle class as well as muslim fashionista's around the world. we have this report. >> reporter: modern fashion had a show this year at the second annual indonesia fashion week or

ifw in jakarta. indonesia's biggest fashion event. the basic idea of muslim fashion is to emphasize bodily modesty. head scarves are required. indonesia has a slight live different take on the muslim look. a wide variety of head scarf styles, colorful fabrics and some designs accentuate the body line. this innovate tif look blends traditional and modern style. it's getting attention throughout indonesia and around the world. dina is a director of isfw. >> it's time for us to make the world to realize that we have a -- the style in fashion. >> reporter: indonesia's middle class is growing as a country's economy expands. more and more shopping malls catering to middle class people with money to spend are being built in jakarta. and western nags is weaving its

way into the indonesia's cultural dpa brick as major international brands of stores in these malls. muslim fashions with a modern touch are also gaining popularity. this store sells clothes designed by a luxury muslim fashion brand. >> muslim fashion is more modern now and it matches the international trends. >> reporter: more and more young women are wearing muslim fashions, a stylish casual wear. these women came to shop for new clothes, too. >> translator: i can wear these with jeans, unlike traditional muslim fashions, indonesia embraces western culture. it's between east and west. >> translator: nice to meet you. >> reporter: jane is a i think indonesian designer showing the muslim fashion trend. in 2006, she started her own

muslim fashion brand aimed at young consumers and her designs are getting attention in indonesia and abroad. models wearing her creations are runway regulars at international fashion shows. >> translator: this one combines an indian motif and one from on old indonesian kingdom. this one was influenced chinese designs with a japanese kimono influence. >> reporter: some muslim fashion companies are selling their clothes online to reach international markets. this dot com produces muslim apparel produced by 83 fashion houses. the number of orders from international consumers is rising day by day. >> this is very, very good.

the designer can expand their talent and can expand their creativity. so that's the biggest professional opportunity. >> people can express themselves and want to become part of the modern society and they need to express it through their fashion. >> reporter: the indonesian government says it will continue to support and strength to be country's fashion industry. the goal is to make indonesia the world center of muslim fashion by 2020. nhk world, jakarta. let's take a look at the latest market figures now.

a treaty that was created and that created the world's first nuclear weapons free zone in latin america and the caribbean has won this year's future policy award. the four four-year-old award recognizes policies that contributed to sustainable and peaceful societies and this year's theme was disarmament. the world future council and the eninterparliamentary union announced it on wednesday. the treaty was local prohibits the testing, use and production of nuclear weapons in latin

america and the caribbean. the treaty was signed in 1967 by 14 countries in the wake of the cuban missile crisis. it was the first treaty seeking to created a nuclear weapons' free zone. 33 nations from the region including cuba, hat ratified the treaty by 2002. >> today, latin america is one of the most secure regions in the world from nuclear conflict. therefore, it's also most able to deploy its economic capacity and resources for economic and social development rather than expanding them on unproductive nuclear arms races. >> the award could influence nuclear arms reduction in other countries and regions. it is time for a check on your weather with our meteorologist. good morning, all week you've been keeping an eye on a powerful storm affecting people in southwestern areas of japan. what's the latest now? >> it's francisco has been lingering in the southwestern islands of jaech since whence and stormy conditions there.

and we've seen some changes today as you can see, the clouds are starting to disorganize. so it has slightly weakened and starting to move toward the northeast while gradually speeding up. it's now a severe at tropical storm packing winds of about 160 kilometers per hour. i've got the winds right there. now, the system will likely pass south of japan into the weekend and probably reach areas south of canto saturday morning local time. so a parts of the island could become stormy starting tonight and into saturday morning. waves could be at high as eight meters and rainfall of about 250 millimeters. the system is not going to affect the big islands but it's actually indirectly affecting a western japan. we have this frontal system francisco is feeding from the moisture so lots of heavy rain is falling. now, to show you some the situation, look at this video.

this is the area 90 millimeters of rain fell in parts of western japan in this prefecture. heavy downpours are leading to floods caused by drainage from the mountains. water is overflowing from underground sources as well. authorities are forcing residents to evacuate hard-hit area this is morning. now, in some places, you've got about 500 millimeters of rain. that's actually record-breaking rainfall. and still, an additional 100 millimeters are likely for a wide area with locally 300. so it could cause flooding as well as landslides. further toward the south we've been watching another typhoon. this is expected to affect the islands with full force. waves would be as high as 7 meters with likely from this afternoon into this evening. now, across the american continent, we have a shot of cold air affecting the eastern half of the u.s. bringing really cold conditions. temperatures may go down below

freezing in some places in the morning hours and in the northwesterly winds are causing lake skt snow up to 15 sent miers likely in some places. out toward the west, looking dry but we may see some mountain snow across the four corners region and temperatures are really up towards the north in the single digits in places like winnipeg, chicago and toronto and in the low teens in boston as well as new york city on your friday. finally, across europe, a strong low pressure system has moved away from the western continent but new system has approached once again, for the western continent. the most severe area is across the iberian peninsula. very large scale damaging winds and tornadic activity is likely on friday. temperatures are as follows. really mild in many places. 18 degrees in london and 19 degrees in paris. extremely warm for this time of year across the center and eastern part of europe. look at this. 22 degrees for the high in

budapest and 26 on the last day of the business week. that's it for me now and up next, your three-day outlook.

an i tailian tv program has won top honors at this year's japan pride international contest. for educational tv programs. the contest is hosted by nhk.

the 40 the anniversary event attracted 331 entries from 57 countries and territories for tv programs and audio visual presentations. >> the prize goes to cultural shock. [ applause ] >> the grand prix went to cultural shock produced by italy's artist. the program is a cross media attempt to look to video and the internet that encouraging audience participation. the show follows young people who travel to their native country to accomplish a mission through webcasting. the tv documentary challenges stories was produced by the public israel broadcasting authority. it won top honors in the primary age children category. the first in prize in the youth category went to the online game, mission u.s., flight to freedom, produced by a public

media, 13 wnet based in new york. and that's all for this edition of nhk. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

>> i'm the executive vice president of the wilson center. i want to welcome all of you today. the wilson center was chartered by the congress as the official memorial to our 28th president. it is the nation's key nonpartisan policy form for tackling global issues through independent research, open