hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, september 11th. i'm catherine kobiyashi in tokyo. u.s. president obama is preparing to lay out the plan to strike out at the islamic strait. he will outline the strategy to defeat the militants. many are expecting to him use more air strikes to target the stronghold and members of his administration are already trying to build a coalition. secretary of state john kerry met with iraq's new prime minister to confirm that he was on board. he got down to work earlier this week with the new cabinet. kerry said he was encouraged by the plans to reconstitute the

military and his commitment to political reform. he said his government's role is to defend iraq but he said he expects some help. >> the united states and the world will simply not stand by and watch as isil's evil spreads. >> kerry will head on to saudi arabia. he'll try to persuade leaders from across the middle east to cooperate with obama's plans. and we'll have the president's speech live in about an hour. do stay with us. in other news, president of ukraine says he'll grant more autonomy to pro-russian separatists to keep his country together but pore shen coe said the regions will remain part of ukraine. >> translator: we will not give up the sovereign structure of our state, the issue of independence or our territorial integrity.

we remain a united state. >> government and separatists leaders agreed to a cease-fire last week to end more than five months of fighting. the terms include special status for parts of eastern ukraine. poroshenko said the government would send bills to the government to give partial autonomy in the regions. andre pergin is a leader in what they call the donetsk's people's republic and plan to establish independence. german chance ler merkel called on other leaders to follow through with new sanctions against russia. they drew up the latest penalties on monday but fell short of enforcing them right away. >> translator: in view of the current situation, which has, indeed, brought an improvement in regards to military activities, there is not 100% cease-fire, but it's an

improvement. the lack of clarity on many other points means we are in favor of making these sanctions public now. >> merkel told german lawmakers that sanctions are not an end in themselves. she said the penalties could be lifted immediately if the conditions for the cease-fire are fulfilled and sustained. but eu leaders asked when the sanctions should go into effect. now let's get an update on what's happening in the world of business. the dollar's continuing its upward march. i yuch has that and other stories. >> they're feeling good about the american economy, it is growing at a faster pace than the euro zone and japan and many believe that the federal reserve will raise interest rates earlier than expected and want the better returns. the dollar is now very close to six-year highs against the yen. it's also stronger against other

major currencies, as well. ramin mellen guard has this and more. what can you tell us? >> the weaker yen against the dollar fee chured so prominently in the rise in the nikkei that we have seen so far and we are also seeing a diver intelligence in bond yields between u.s., german and japanese government bonds. as you can see, coming up there, that of course makes the dollar more attractive investment than the euro or the yen. let's also have a look at the currency levels, as well, as tokyo trading kicks off here. top of the screen is dollar-yen. 106.78-80. euro-dollar 1.2918 and euro-yen, 137.93. we'll be keeping track of where the dollar, whether it continues to gain, again, today here in japan and across asia. eu? >> how are tokyo stock markets

trading this morning? >> let's have a look at the nikkei and the topix this morning in the first few moments of trading. positive. the nikkei up, in fact. the nikkei and topix ended in the positive on wednesday, as well. the topix equivalent to the s&p 500 in the u.s. turned positive for the year and hit a six-year high on wednesday and analysts said that the gains driven mostly by the stronger dollar against the yen. also, adding to the positive septemberment is effect of the japan's government pension investment fund. the world's biggest public pension fund. now, gpif is planning to invest more of its funds in stocks as opposed to low yielding japanese government bonds and due to announce the plans possibly later this month. also, on a separate note, after the launch of apple's new products, the focus now shifts on the heating competition in the wireless carriers here in

japan which, obviously, offer a lot of apple products so we'll watch out for the likes of softbank, kdd and ntt dokomo and weakness in the metals sector and commodity, as well. wti and brent expanding losses and spot gold is down, as well. close to a three-month low. so investors have been selling shares of commodity heavy indexes such as sydney's asx 200 and follow that today. later this morning, we are also getting china consumer and production price numbers. china, of course, is australia's biggest trading partner and dent in demand of china is very closely affected by the likes of sydney's index. we'll keep track of all of that but the nikkei and topix in the positive. back to you. >> all right. thanks a lot for that update. and as he mentioned, moves by china are closely watched

around the world. so observers took note of remarks by premier on the chinese economy. he said he's confident his country will achieve its targeted growth rate as it speeds up the pace of product ral reforms. li spoke at an international meeting held by the world economic forum southeast of beijing. he said china will achieve the target growth rate for this year of 7.5%. li also said the government will slash the time needed for complicated administrative procedures from five years to two. experts say beijing's efforts to ease back on its authority is proof it values transparency in the management of its economy and respects the role of the market. food manufacturer ajinomoto is expanding the business in north america. set to acquire u.s. frozen food

maker windsor quality holdings for $800 million. officials say windsor will become a subsidiary by november. last year, windsor racked up sales of more than $650 million. the frozen food business yields more than $900 million annually mainly in japan. officials hope to expand that business with its takeover of windsor. the president said the acquisition will allow the company to establish a product distribution network throughout the united states. >> translator: we're aiming to become the number one company in the north american frozen food market by the year 2020 mainly with japanese and asian food. >> japanese food makers are keen to boost their overseas businesses as their domestic market remains sluggish due to a shrinking population. more on business for you next hour. here's a check on markets.

health care workers in west africa complain a climate of fear is hampering the efforts to stop the spread of ebola. a unicef official from japan has seen the dangers fir hand working in sieierra leone. he says they don't go to see a doctor because they fear they'll end up alone.

she says the team is trying to create an environment where people visit with family members who have been infected. she says hundreds of children have lost their parents and she says they need counseling. health care professionals in guinea, lie yeberia and nigeria facing similar challenges. the british prime minister has made a plea to keep scotland in the united kingdom. david cameron visited atten borough and spoke about the benefitses of 300-year-old union and called on scottish voters to stick with it. nick clegg and ed miliband joined cameron on the tour and spoke around scotland urging voters to reject independence.

>> voting no is not voting for no change. if you vote no, if you vote to stay in the united kingdom, in our family of nations that will trigger another very rapid and very comprehensive move to make sure that scotland has even more powers to determine its own future within the united kingdom. >> cameron said the british government would give greater autonomy on taxation and finance. alex salmon dismissed the visit sayinging it was a sign of panic to only help his yes campaign. voters will make their choices next thursday. the latest poll suggest a surge of support in the yes side. if voters choose independence, it would take at least a year and a half to finalize the arrangement.

the families of missing japanese people are asking for help. be r nhk world's kazuto sassa has more. >> reporter: the symposium was organized by the japanese government to raise international awareness of abductions and other forms of human rights violations by north korea. the event was held in geneva in 2012 and in washington and new york last year. the u.n. special repertoire on north korea's human rights situation and families of

abductees from japan, romania and south korea participated in this year's event. japan's affection issue minister delivered the opening remarks. >> forthcoming reports have critical significance will affect not only the issue of abduction of japanese national, we believe that this will function even as an important test to see the serious of north korea's commitment towards our shared goal, namely, the resolution and the improvement upon human rights in north korea. >> reporter: yamatani called on north korea to proceed with its investigation into the fate of abductees and other missing japanese in a sincere manner. teruaki masumoto's sister is among the abductees. >> translator: i want everyone

to put more pressure on the north korean government to release all the abductees. >> reporter: masumoto called for the return of all abductees as soon as possible. the symposium is being held as north korea prepares to release the first report of its lead investigation into abductees and other missing japanese. the relatives of abductees sincerely hope their call for international cooperation will lead to the long awaited return of their loved ones. kazuto sassa, nhk world, geneva. north korea's envoy for normalizing relations with japan has defended the investigation saying authorities are going about the work in the right way. >> translator: the investigation is being conducted faithfully, object ily and scientifically. all pyongyang will be able to do

is provide the results exactly as they are. >> song said it will be up to officials in tokyo whether they're satisfied with the results. they lifted some sanctions in july when the north koreans launched the investigation. he suggested officials hope to see a further of sanctions after they report back on what they have found. a mayor in japan's southern prefecture of okinawa says he'll seek the post of governor in november. mayor onaga opposes a u.s. base relocation within the prefecture. japanese and american government officials agreed in 1996 to move the u.s. marine corps futenma air station to a less populated area. they're planning to build a new facility on the coast of nago. in december, okinawa governor nakaima approved a request from the central government to reclaim land for the relocation. nakaima is calling on the u.s. to stop using futenma within five years. he says he'll run for a third

term and recommended by the ruling liberal democratic party. onaga told the city assembly on wednesday that he has decided to run. >> translator: we must not allow the construction of a base that would be there for a century. >> onaga said the people of okinawa won't be able to endure a further burden. opposition members of the prefectural assembly have been asking him to try for the post of governor. former postal privatization minister shimoji has also announced that he'll run without backing from any political parties and is calling for a referendum on the relocation. chief cabinet secretary suga >> translator: the incumbent governor nakaima has given approval of the land relocation project in henoko, and we will steadily implement the plan. i don't think it will become a focal issue in the gubernatorial election. >> suga is also minister in

charge of alleviating the burden of the bases in okinawa. voters will cast their ballots on november 16th. the politicians have been clarifying their stance on the relocation plan and on how to reduce the burden of the u.s. bases. people in northeastern japan on thursday are marking three and a half years since the earthquake and tsunami. but many say the building of public housing has been slow. only a fraction of planned new housing units stand completed. tens of thousands of evacuees still live in temporary shelters. as of the end of august, a mere 3,060 units out of planned 29,000 had been finished in the three most affected prefectures. officials say selecting locations and acquiring land take time and blame the delay on the factors as the labor shortage and a lack of building materials. meanwhile, nhk has learned about 330 brand new housing units in

19 municipalities are sitting empty. the people scheduled to occupy them have rebuilt their lives around the temporary homes. >> translator: in three and a half years since the disaster our lives are finally somewhat settled. it's too hard to think of moving it again. >> officials say the vacancies are due to people making other plans as construction fell behind. tokyo. >> japanese olympic hopefuls are training hard six years ahead of the tokyo games. one of them hopes to represent the country in a sport that's surging in popularity. women's soccer. nhk world's hiroshi nakajima has the story. >> reporter: she is a captain of her high school soccer team. most days you will find her out on the field practicing.

she dazzled at the women's high school championships when she went on a solo run from her own half, charged past five defenders and scored. three months later, she was captaining japan's under 17 team at the women's world cup in costa rica. she scored five times, led the team to the title and was named the tournament's mvp. now, she's setting her sights even higher. >> translator: happy that he won but i want to work harder so i can play at more senior level. >> reporter: and one big challenge on the horizon, the tokyo olympics six years from now. members of japan's women's soccer team became national hero wins in 2011 when they won the world cup.

their success inspired girls across the country to take up the sport and sow the seeds of the under 17 team's team this year and soccer fans are hoping they can continue their success. for now, sugita is studying at high school famous for its women's soccer program. her classmates joke that she's not as agile off the field. >> translator: she's kind of a mess off the field but she's so graceful when she's playing soccer. >> reporter: sugita is known for her ability to switch quickly between offense and defense. and for how often she finds the net. but she knows she has to keep improving if she wants to stand out. japanese women's team has a

roster full of talented players. >> translator: i feel frustrated when i can't get the ball in the net. i need to start shooting better. i want to be able to create plays that confuse the other team. >> reporter: the coach of sugita's high school team, he says she needs to improve if she wants to play at the highest level. >> translator: she has to score even more. we need to see more of that. but i think she's got the potential. i hope she'll become a player that can represent japanese women's soccer. >> reporter: sugita says she wants to turn professional after she graduates. as she's got her heart set on playing abroad. >> translator: i've been dreaming of joining the women's

national team and playing in the world cup and olympics. i want to put in a performance i can be proud of. >> reporter: japanese women soccer players have proved they can beat anyone in the world. and with young talents like sugita coming up, the team looks set to dominate for years to come. nhk world. time now to get a check of the weather. people in northern areas of japan are seeing severe flooding. meteorologist robert speta joins us with the details. >> yes. exactly. what we have been seeing out here is a persistent heavy rainfall, especially across western and southern areas of hokkaido. over the past, well, several hours from 2:30 a.m. to about 6:30 a.m.

and what we see is this continued line, that training of storms and back building down towards the south and keep on pushing over the same area. and that is why we have been seeing significant flooding. it's not just one storm but relentless line. some areas well over 200 millimeters come down. one location into western who kye do about 100 millimeters in a one-hour span and the video of what this looks like. and you also have seen some lightning out here. you have the strong thunderstorms at this time authorities are advising residents in sapporo, japan's fifth largest city, to evacuate. the city seeing the heaviest rainfall in decades and a risk of landslides and flooding and people are advised to move to higher grown. you see rescuers taking people moving them up and more and more images of this scenario still taking place. i would love to say the rainfall is over with but we're looking at unsettled conditions here on

your thursday. you had this cold, upper level air and continuing to pulled in from the north and combined with that a low level circulation just off the western seaboard here with the warm, low level jet pulling in moisture all the way from the south. once those collide, we see those unstable conditions erupt. so still on thursday, some thunderstorms erupt here. not just for hokkaido and down towards the south and rain reports and tokyo about 81 millimeters occurred. still could see some thunderstorms erupting out here, as well. good news is by the weekend we'll see conditions taper off, at least the worst of this storm system should be over by then. let's pull back the picture, though. i want to look elsewhere because i want to mention right here. a low pressure area towards the east of the philippines. good chance this is going to come a named storm and move off towards the west and could impact the fill teens by early next week and showers continue to dominate around the yangze

river basin and a flood risk out here and then i want to take a look at the temperatures. we have the 30s in the south but 26 degrees in yue land bah tar. enjoy the temperatures while it lasts. feels like summer but by the weekend, actually expecting a high right around 7 degrees for those of you out here. let's talk about europe now. a low pressure area still spinning here moving south off the scandinavian peninsula and thunderstorms in parts of italy and the balkan peninsula. croati croatia. frequent lightning. still a possibility along with some heavy rainfall associated with that. western europe. fairly decent conditions continue to linger. outside of portugal, a low pressure area just off the coastline pushing the moisture on shore. so some thunderstorms will erupt even into lisbon. the thunderstorms in the forecast. do want to wrap things up here in the americas. i'll have more on this later on.

snow towards the north and also a line of thunderstorms which is producing several tornadoes in ohio continues to push east and behind it much colder air mass continues to descend towards the south. that's a look at the world weather. here's your extended forecast.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobiyashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

♪ ♪ a movement against the chinese movement is growing in hong kong. in july, 510,000 people took to the streets, demanding that beijing respect hong kong's free society. hong kong returned to chinese rule in 1997, under the one country two system policy, residents received a high degree of autonomy.