welcome to "newsline". it's friday september 12th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. people in the united states have stopped to reflect on the worst terrorist attacks in u.s. history. they're remembering the victims of september 11th even as they face up to a new threat. many gathered at ground zero in new york where the world trade center stood until it was brought down 13 years ago. people observed a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. the hour a passenger plane hit the north tower. relatives of the victims took

part in what has become an annual ritual. they recited the names of nearly 3,000 victims. >> and my brother, i miss you. it's been a long 13 years. >> terrorists hijacked four passenger jets on the day of the attacks. they flew two of them into the twin towers. flew another into the pentagon. the fourth crashed in a field in pennsylvania. ♪ president barack obama took part in a private ceremony at the pentagon for relatives of the 184 people killed there. >> we carry on because as americans we do not give in to fear. ever. >> obama spoke as commanders were planning to take on another threat. he's authorized them to expand air strikes in iraq and syria on militants with the group islamic

state. americans prayed that they would never see another 9/11. russian president vladimir putin wants to test the combat readiness of his troops. he's ordered them to carry out drills in the far east. similar snap exercises earlier these year raised fears of a russian intervention in ukraine. officers will drill with armed units for a week. defense officials did not specify how many soldiers would take part. the exercises will include checks on civilian ministries and agencies to test preparedness. they've staged a number of exercises. on wednesday the crew of a nuclear powered submarine in the arctic ocean test fired a new type of ballistic missile. it can carry a nuclear warhead. european union announced that new sanctions against russia will go into effect on friday. the eu had earlier yesterday on

a package of sanctions to punish russia for its involvement in ukraine. european council president and other officials made the announcement on thursday. the new sanctions reinforce policies that e.u. imposed in july targeting russia's financial defense and energy sectors. the package restricts three major russian energy companies and three major defense firms from accessing e.u. capital markets. it also further restricts state own banks from procuring funds in europe and providing arctic oil exploration is also restricted. the e.u. suggested it may review the new sanctions this month depending on the russian response and where the cease-fire is observed. in washington, u.s. president barack obama said his country is joining the eu and u.s. will deepen and broaden sanctions on russia's financial energy and defense sectors.

if russia fully implements its commitment in ukraine, the u.s. sanctions can be rolled back. if russia continues its aggressive actions, the cost for the country will continue to rise. the russian ambassador in tokyo says sanctions japan imposed because of the crisis in ukraine are affecting relations. he says a visit the japanese are expecting from president putin this autumn could happen at a later time. ambassador evgeny afanasiev made the remarks to a russian government newspaper. he said officials worked out a detailed plan for putin's trip, but now see the schedule slipping. he said whether the president visits japan this autumn after all is ultimately up to him. japanese prime minister shinzo abe met putin in february and invited him to visit. putin said he'd come in the fall.

senior diplomats from japan, china, and south korea have agreed on the need for a high-level political talks. japanese deputy foreign minister shinsuke sugiyama met his chinese and south korean counterparts liu zhenmin and lee kyung-soo in seoul on thursday. strained relations between the nations have resulted in the suspension of summit talks for more than two years. the diplomats agreed to continue negotiations toward organizing a trilateral summit meeting, but they failed to agree on when the summit should be held. amththe oued with each other maintain the momentum of the trilateral cooperations among our three.

>> the delegates also agreed on the importance of continuing cultural exchange programs between the countries. the japanese government has released transcripts that help paint a picture of what happened the hours after the fukushima daiichi accident. kan flew to the plant the day after accident a demanded the plant manager explain what was happening. yoshida was busy trying to stabilize the reactors and later testified it was difficult to convey an accurate picture to kan and said the prime minister was talking in a threatening manner. kan testified he majored in science at university and thought he was better equipped than other politicians to understand what was going on. kan's adviser said kan should not have left tokyo.

government leaders declassified the records three and a half years after the accident occurred. >> translator: the government decided to make the information public after consulting yoshida's bee reefed family members. the president of one of japan's largest newspapers has apologized about the testimony. they have printed a retraction. the paper carried an exclusive report in may in what yoshida said to his employees, 90% of them defied orders and fled to another plant 10 kilometers away. but the transcripts show yoshida told them to find a safer place nearby. the paper's president said it is extremely regrettable the article proved to be inaccurate.

he'll consider resigning and pave the way for an editorial overhaul and apologized for errors on another topic. last month they retracted stories they ran an so-called comfort women. they were based on information provided by a man in the 1980s and 90s and claimed to have forcibly gathered women on a korean island on world war ii and sent them to worth in japanese brothels, they interviewed 40 people on the island to confirm the story but could not find any evidence to support the man's version of events. prime minister abe says the articles on the comfort women must have hurt the reputation and abe made the remark during a radio program and not in a position to comment on specific stories but generally speaking news reports can have a major influence at hole anme and broa. media organizations must keep

that in mind and make sure the reporting is responsible, accurate and credible. currency traders are flocking to the dollar. good morning. >> the dollar has been on a strong run. a ninth straight week of gains. it has gone from 105 to 106 and now above 107. investors feel the american economy is recovery solidly and interest rates may be raised sooner than expected and that's driving demand for the dollar. let's get the details. what's driving tokyo markets? >> good morning to you, all of the action is in currencies as you are saying. let's look at the levels before i come to stocks and dollar continues to climb against the basket of major currency, including the yen, of course and

the euro, that's on hopes of a stronger u.s. economy. the dollar is at six year highs against the yen and 14-month highs against the euro. many in the market will watch very closely next week for signals from the federal reserve that arise in rates is on the way following the two-day policy meeting on wednesday. now, let's have a look at how share prices are reacting and let's have a look at the nikkei and topix for september 12th, 15,923 and broader topix trading in the positive. the nikkei ended at an eight-month high on thursday and broader topix hit a six-year high. we continue to see gains in major japanese exporters from consumer electronics to autos and analysts say the highly anticipated move by the government pension investment fund, the world's biggest to buy more japanese stocks is also spurring other pension funds to shift assets and funds into stocks and away from lower

yielding government bonds. so that's also an interesting factor to watch out for. >> it looks like commodity prices like oil, are falling. what's going on there? >> there's another key focus for a lot of investors globally. looking at wti crude oil prices at 93.01. brent futures dipped to two year lows on concerns that supply is outstripping demand. there's also related news we've been covering, china's economic growth appears to be slowing and that is weakening demand for resources not combined, that doesn't tend to help commodity sensitive economy such as australia and we've seen sydney's s&p, looking at levels right now, fallen to 5 and a half month low against the u.s. dollar and china stocks are down for the week. he'll keep track of those to see how they head into the weekend

and how japanese shares relating to both china markets and emerging economies fare today as well. so far we're seeing nikkei and topix in the positive. we'll see if that continues into the morning session. >> thanks for that update. i'll talk to him in a few hours. a panel of experts has been taking a close look at the health of japan's economy. they've just handed in their report card. more than half say the things are getting better. government officials invited 61 people to sift through all of the evidence. prime minister abe will consider their views before deciding whether to go ahead with a government plan. he's considering whether to raise the sales tax to 10% in october next year. 32 experts said the economy is in better shape than it was three months ago. 15 members said the situation is worse. the experts also looked at

capital investment and corporate earnings. they considered data on wages and employment. more than two-thirds said things are getting better across those categories. but they were evenly divided on another issue. people in japan cut back on their spending after government officials raised the sales tax in april. 26 experts said spending is now recovering. but 25 said it's not. government officials plan to conduct more inquiry before abe makes his decision on the sales tax. >> regulators in china are cracking down on foreign companies they say are manipulating prices. they find two firms that represent german and u.s. automakers for violating antitrust laws. the regulators say people at firms that sell volkswagen and chrysler cars fixed prices. the regulators ordered the company to pay more than $40

million and penalized chrysler sales firm $5 million. the regulators are also investigating a japanese automaker. and last month chinese authorities fined 10 japanese auto parts makers for price fixing. the chief of china's ant anti-monoply denied the claim. >> we treat foreign and domestic firms equally. we aren't targeting specific firms. >> he said foreign firms account for 10% of those under investigation. more for you next hour in business. here's a check on markets.

islamist separatists in the philippines attacked forces in the southern government. two soldiers were killed, government and country's largest militant group signed a peace deal but some oppose the agreement. about 20 militants late wednesday attacked an army detachment in cotabato, the troops dispatched to the site and insurgents continue to gun fight for two hours. two killed and six wounded. a bill was submitted to establish a government in min

dinao. it calls the banks basic law and centerpiece of the agreement signed in march by the government and islamic labor race front and put an end to four decades the conflict. islamist insurge enlts have battled the central government since the '70s seeking separation from the country. more than 120,000 people have been killed in the conflict. 2 million have been displaced. it has been described as the bloodiest battle in asia. the conflict has kept them from the benefits of economic growth. it's now the poorest region in the country. the law gives help for the future of the second largest island rich in mineral resources and productive farmland. insurgents are still demanding full separation from the philippines fueling concerns over the planned establishment of an autonomous region. more than 19 north korean

athletes and coaches arrived in south korea for next week's asian games. over 100 members of the south korean member gathered at the airport to cover the arrival of the north korean team. a flight carrying 94 north koreans deported from pyongyang on thursday. the participants include players and coaches of men's and women's soccer teams, the first group of more than 270 north koreans scheduled to take part in the competition. the games will begin on september 19th. members of the a civic group promoting better interkorean times met a group at the airport. they raised a banner claiming we welcome the team. athletes from the north waved back. police are beefing up security as south korean as opposing the athletes might stage protests during the event. they initially planned to send a cheer leading group but dropped

the idea saying seoul was against it. an artist has been painting pictures of her devastated hometown for about three years. it lies in fukushima prefecture and was heavily damaged in the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. through her paintings she tells the story of a broken and deserted city returning to life. >> reporter: this solo exhibition is taking place at the fine arts university. the paintings depict roads, some lead to the sea, others to the setting sun. the artist was inspired by scenery in areas affected by the great east japan earthquake. these paintings spoke to me because the colors are vivid and they have a clear strong message. >> she comes from the city and

left home after graduating from high school and has been studying abstract painting at university. >> translator: i don't want anyone to forget about the disaster, that's my main motivation for painting scenes from my hometown. >> three years ago, they was re reeling from the effects of a triple disaster, an earthquake and tsunami and nuclear accident. access to part of the region is still restricted due to radioactsive contamination. when the earthquake and tsunami truck she was at her parents' home and tsunami almost reached the house. >> translator: there was a very dark wave coming towards us carrying all kinds of rubble. it seemed to be approaching quietly and that made it even scarier. >> reporter: she survived but after the nuclear disaster, she

watched residents evacuate from her hometown. >> what can you do for a hometown that's been completely transformed? for sachauchi, the answer was to paint it after the disaster. >> i don't know whether it's my calling but painting is the only thing i can do. i hope to preserve an image of the town as it is now and blends that with the scenery i have in my memory. >> sackauchi painted this picture two summers after the disaster. she combined her memory of a boat that the tsunami had thrown onto the land with an image of resilience. weeds sprouting from under rubble. as a symbol of the reconstruction efforts under way, she painted concrete blocks newly installed on the shoreline. they are designed to break up waves. with this picture, she aims to

convey her hopes for a bright future. >> why dwo i paint is the big question. i'll always turn to my hometown as the answer to that question. i think it will always be my theme. >> reporter: on this day, sakauchi visits a shrine. from this spot the whole shoreline is visible and it changes. >> there's more color here than it was three years ago. a lot of weeds are growing here. >> she hopes to document the recovery through art and believes the paintings project an image of a bright future. >> i think that the town will be rebuilt and eventually return to normal. i'd like to watch that process unfold in the years to come.

>> she hopes to continue showing her works and pass on the story of her hometown's rebirth. >> it's time for a check of the weather. people in northern areas of japan are dealing with heavy rain and flooding. they are hoping weather conditions will improve. robert speta joins us with more. >> we're going to be seeing as we head through the weekend is some improving conditions, but for now, at least on your friday morning, more rain showers are definitely coming down. we have a low pressure area towards the west of hokkaido and it's been pumping in the southerly moisture. you can see on the radar imagery, it almost likes the same as we've seen on thursday morning with the line of showers pushing over to the region just south of sapporo. let's show video of where the rain has been coming down. it has been quite strong. this is some of the heaviest rain to hit the area in several decades, a total of 293

millimeters fell since tuesday. this is already exceeded the average for the month of september, which is typically 167 millimeters. definitely this is resulting in the threat of flooding. more rainfall in the forecast as well, we could see as much as 70 millimeters an hour and across hoe k hokkaido. farther to the south we have westerly winds, those are still going to kick up thunderstorms across northern portions of honschu and saturday into sunday, conditions should improve as high pressure works in from the west. looking at showers across central and eastern portions of china. there's a risk of flooding out there and then i want to talk about our tropical depression. this one as we go through the rest of the weekend, this is where you want to watch out for if you're out here in the philippines. do think this is going to become a tropical storm. this will be a named storm system. eventually impacting eastern

portions of luzon, with heavy rainfall. that's going to be a big issue out here. the threat of flooding sunday into monday and showers kicking into the manila area. as we look towards the americas and want to talk about our other tropical storm out here, this is expected to become a hurricane, pushing north. right now we do have tropical storm watches in effect around western mexico. as that moves off, do want to watch out in baja, california. this is going to become a major hurricane and it will usher in moisture. there is a threat of flooding out here by early next week. elsewhere in the united states though, not so much the tropical weather, it's the cold weather. we had a cold front move through here and this has been firing up some thunderstorms. actually on thursday, several reports of tornadoes around the ohio area. also this front continuing to move east, bringing more rain showers and thunderstorms. behind it we're also looking at the snowfall, especially in some of the higher elevations.

parts of wyoming and colorado as much as five centimeters could come down as that continues to kick up. but the temperatures, this is what i want to talk about, widespread freeze advisories are in effect. these are highs, 9 degrees in denver, only 1 expected though for your overnight low here on friday. chicago at 13. as we look east, new york city, sunny skies there for you. good news for people who did go out for memorial services. o that note, i want to leave you with this image, one example of how weather -- it doesn't just affect your everyday life but historical situations. this is a nasa satellite image from september 11th, 2001. hurricane erin right here. it ushered in cool dry air and made for clear conditions in new york city. how events would have changed if this was further west and a hurricane was impacting that

day, who knows. you can see the smoke coming off the twin towers on that day. i'll leave you now with your forecast.

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/s s/ facts and positive growth in the third quarter. the military restores calm. with home prices declining nationwide, china's economy is looking shaky. and in south korea, rice farmers are locking horns with a long time ally and protector. hello, you are watching "asia biz forecast." i'mee coe fukushima. this week, we look at the thai economy. business in thailand has been struggling since protesters took to the streets late last year. military