incident, he admits they committed a crime. >> reporter: but he denied that the other members carried out the abduct

>> reporter: he said they are ready to be questioned by the north korean committee if the interviews are held in their the abduction issue leads a major milestone in 2002. the north korean leader kim jong-il admitted the abductions, and returned five abductees to japan. japanese say 3 of the 12 were taken from european to north korea in the 198. officials have concluded that they wanted more members to launch a revolutio these women moved to north korea

because of the socialist ideologies. they married members of the yodogo group. they believe they carried out two of the abduction in 2007, japanese police issued warrants for the the two women have rarely spoken on camer >> reporter: in 2002, japanese police issued a warrant for the arrest on the charge of

abducting a japanese woman. they met the woman in copenhagen, then the agent took her to pyongyang. but uomoto says the charge is false. >> reporter: this footage shows group members are living in comfort with the support of the north korean off. they have a car and a spacious apartment with satellite tv. these luxuries are not a to most north koreans. the japanese authorities are seeking the extradition of the hijackers and their wives.

nhk world, tokyo. japan's research whaling is under scrutiny at the international whaling commission's general meeting in slovenia. they discussed the draft resolution submitted by new zealand. it's aimed at delaying the resumption of japan's research whaling. the new zealand delegation called for review of regulations. delegates said the purpose of research whaling should be scrutinized. the international court of justice ordered japan in march to halt its program in the antarctic ocean. the japanese representative said the court ruling only applies to japan's research whaling. he said it does not have the power to change iwc regulations. even if the draft resolution is adopted, it will not be legally binding. but japan will be put in a difficult position as it plans to continue its whaling program. japanese officials are trying to win the understanding of the other delegates.

fishery officials in east asia are dealing with a problem in their oceans. they're seeing the japanese eel come under threat. now they're sitting down face to face to see that the species doesn't go extinct. nhk world's tomoko kamata has the story. >> reporter: eel has long been part of the traditional japanese diet. in the 19th century, the fishing industry started farming the fish to meet high domestic demand. fishermen catch young eels at sea and then farmers raise them until they are lar be sold as food. chinese and taiwanese crews also fish for young eels and export most of their catch to japan. but the annual catch has been unstable. last year the amount japanese farmers could secure was 50% that of a decade earlier.

that was a record low and motivated officials to take measures. experts say the decline was caused by overfishing, loss of habitat and changes in ocean currents. the switzerland-based international union for conservation of nature listed the species of facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. >> it is my sincere hope that we will reach some certain level of agreement at this meeting so that we can start the implementation of the conservation and management effort. >> reporter: fishery officials from japan, china, south korea and taiwan are meeting in tokyo to devise measures to protect the species. the japanese representative suggested reducing the total

catch by 30% from the average of the past four years. but the delegates have not yet agreed on the details of the proposed regulations. >> translator: i think we should be able to make a deal. we must have results before the fishing season begins. >> reporter: experts say efforts to restrict fishing by all related parties are essential to protect the species. and japan, as the biggest consumer, is expected to take the leadership role. the officials will continue their talks through wednesday. tomoko kamata, nhk world, tokyo. the u.s. defense secretary said the u.s. is at war with islamic state. chuck hagel laid out a plan to combat the militants to the members of the armed services committee. the commanders are finalizing plans to use military force against them. >> this plan includes targeted

actions against isil safe havens in syria, including its command and control, logistics capability and infrastructure. general dempsey and i have both reviewed and approved the centcom plan. >> hagel said the u.s. will keep up with the military nation in the fight. he said other countries have offered military support. general martin dempsey suggested that air strikes in syria would not be like the shock-and-awe campaign seen in iraq. he said this would be persistent and sustainable. he says he cannot rule out deploying ground forces in ira >> if we reached a point that i believe our advisers should accompany iraq troops on attacks against special isil targets, i will recommend that to the president. >> president barack obama has said he would lead an alliance to destroy the militants. a japanese man is among those being held by members of

islamic state. opposition fighters in syria are trying to free him. he entered syria in late july. he was traveling with opposition fighters near the northern city of aleppo when he was taken captive. one opposition fighter said the two groups restarted negotiations on monday. he says they were communicating through mediators. now he says they're holding direct tal. he quoted the islamic state representative as saying he's in good health. the man said his group is demanding his release in exchange for a leading member of the islamic state. officials of the japanese embassy in jordan say they have no new information about. it looks like a close call for thursday's referendum in scotland on whether to break away from the united kingdom. the latest polls suggest a tight race between pro-independence and pro-union votes. turnout is expected to be high. 97% of scots aged 16 and above

have registered to vote. that's nearly 4.3 million people. the results of the referendum will likely depend on the undecided. they account for 4% to 9% of voters. david cameron said he's alarmed by the momentum of pro-independence forces. he visited scotland on monday to appeal for a no vote. >> please don't think i'm frustrated with politics right now. so i'll walk out the door and never come if you don't like me, i won't be here forever. if you don't like this government, it won't last r. but if you leave the united kingdom, that will be forever. >> queen elizabeth has to maintain neutrality on political issues. she made her first comments on sunday, urging the scottish people to think carefully about she jing ping is earning more support to link china with europe in a 21st century road. he made the first visit in 28

years. several thousand children greeted xi in a welcoming ceremony, along with a herd of then they got down to work. they agreed to cooperate more on security and maritime affairs. that includes building more ports and industrial parks along and they agreed to conclude a free trade agreement as soon a xi suggested chinese officials were ready to offer more assistance to improve infrastructure in sri lanka. japanese prime minister shinzo abe sis ted sri lanka earlier this month. he and the president also agreed to work more closely on maritime security. people who follow the markets are keen to know what u.s. central bankers are going to. now we're joined from the business desk. good morning. what can you tell us? >> policy makers meet regularly throughout the year to discuss

their next steps. their current meeting could stand out from the rest. now, they have for years been pumping billions of dollars into the economy, also known as quantitative easing, and they've kept interest rates extremely low. analysts expect they'll cut back on their monthly purchases of government bonds by $10 billion, down to $15 billion. that move would likely set the stage for a decision at their next meeting in late october, to end the fed's qe program. in july, the central bankers indicated they would keep interest rates near zero for a considerable period. even after the monetary easing wraps up. they said the reason is the slack labor market. still, some analysts said the latest better than predicted economic data might prompt the fed officials to raise interest

rates sooner than they originally thought. this sentiment is behind the dollar's recent events against the ye investors, they're also waiting for the meeting to end, to find out what the fed decides. wall street traders on tuesday bought stocks on speculation the fed policy makers will stick to their position of not raising interest rates for a considerab the dow hit another record high at one point. the broader s&p 500 and the nasdaq also ended the day er for more details, let's go to rahim standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. what can you tell us? >> good morning to you, ai. indeed, it's all about the fed, isn't it, as we've been covering right now. analysts telling us investors ar one key thing, of course, and that would be the wording, or changing any wording by the fed, and any words by fed chief janet yellen in her speech later today. that's going to be a very big

focus. let's see how the markets here, the nikkei and topics are opening up for the 17th. in the positive. the nikkei actually broke five days of gains, ending down almost a quarter of a percent. looks like we made that b tokyo markets on monday were closed for a public holiday. the other factor which may hold back any moves here is the stall that we've seen in the dollar's gains against the yen. and that may put a bit of a break on the rally we've seen recently for japanese exporters. and a lot of the share prices in those sectors. analysts also suggesting stock prices may run into a little bit of headwind, because a lot of investors were looking at slowing growth in china. investors digesting weaker than expected industrial production data, as well according to analysts a fall in foreign

direct investment in china. so a couple of factors there playing into that as well. we saw the shanghai composite falling 1.8% on tuesday. >> ramin, the dollar has been rising against other major currencies. but as you mentioned there's been a bit of a pause this week. where is the trading against the yen this morning? >> let's have a look at the dollar/yen. it actually, after rising above 107, as you said there, ai, it actually dropped to 106 levels. but it's gone back above those levels right now, 107.22 to 24, as you can see on the screen. although still a little bit off the highs earlier this week. the other big event besides the fed meeting will be the vote on thursday on scottish independence. the polls are too close to call for now. the british pound is still at ten-month lows against the dollar. we'll keep track of all those developments, and i'll have more updates in a couple of hours.

but for now, the nikkei and topix trading in the positive. back to you, ai. >> ramin, i'll talk to you in a few hours. japan's prime minister shinzo abe will carefully consider the country's economic conditions before he decides by the end of this year on a consumption tax hike. the higher tax is planned in october next year, taking it from the current 8% to 10%. abe spoke at a meeting of the government's council on economic and fiscal policy, which was held for the first time since his cabinet reshuffle. he said he needs to see whether japan's economy can get back on a growth track in the july-to-september quarter before he makes a decision on the tax hike. he said there is a risk that private sector demand might plummet due to weaker consumer sentiment. higher prices of gasoline and electricity are negative abe also said the positive economic cycle can be kept going

by boosting wages, in line with improved corporate earnings. more of these headlines in business for you next hour. i'll leave you with a check on i . the mosquito-borne dengue virus has been spreading. the number of cases is more than 1020. officials at japan's health ministry confirmed that nine more people in tokyo have been infected with e. they're all reportedly in stable condition. this brings the total to 124 cases.

most of them were bitten by mosquitoes at parks in central tokyo. the health ministry warns the outbreak could occur wherever there are mosquitoes. it's urging people to see a doctor as soon as they develop a fever or other symptoms. some japanese helicopter operators are looking to hire more pilots. they're responding to the increasing number of hospitals that are using air ambulances to help save lives. they're finding a lack of qualified people to man the controls. nhk world's reporter explains. >> reporter: this is a general hospital in no gano prefecture where helicopter ambulances were first introduced a pilot is on standby, ready to depart as soon as he gets word nt

today he must fly 80 kilometers to an area to treat a seriously injured woman. the use of air ambulances is currently restricted to daylight hours. but this hospital wants helicopters to fly in the early morning, and at dusk, to save more lives. >> translator: accidents often happen in the early morning and evening hours. so we want our helicopters to be available then. >> reporter: but increasing operating hours presents a huge there are not enough pilots. this is the helicopter company that sends pilots to the . the 28 pilots on staff cover 13 hospitals across the c. flying one helicopter requires

two pilots working in rotation. they must travel all over the country. >> translator: our staffing situation is like a puzzle. we've reached our limits. >> reporter: the use of air ambulances has risen sharply over the past 15 years. but the number of pilots remains the same. emergencies happen at any time or place, so pilots must be able to handle various situations. for a person to become a qualified hospital pilot, they must amass 2,000 hours of flight time. in the past, a trainee could build up these hours through jobs, such as crop spraying. but these days many farmers have turned to radio-controlled aircraft.

opportunities for younger pilots have dwindled. some helicopter operators are trying to solve the shortage. in the past year alone, they've invested about $100,000 per person in training programs. but it's still difficult for pilots to log enough hours. >> translator: it takes about ten years to build up 2,000 hours of flight time. so it's a major problem. >> reporter: as the demand for air ambulances continues to grow, service operators are under increasing pressure to find qualified staff. nhk world. time now to get a check of the weather. people in southern china and neighboring northern vietnam are feeling the effects of a powerful storm. here are the details. >> safety measures have been taken place, because of this

system. it's already killed two people in the philippines and evacuation for 90,000 people across southern china already. people are already bringing their ships in for safety. this is likely to still pull into northern vietnam, and across southwestern china, and this is going to be a real heavy rainmaker. the gusts are also very high. 145 kilometers per hour. this is likely to bring really stormy conditions. also providing four-meter-high waves, even in the gulf of thailand. because this is the flow over the western coast of indochina peninsula. the amounts could top as much as 400 millimeters in localized areas of additional rainfall on top of what we already see, about 400 in hong kong which already closed trading in the morning and many businesses ac

400 is certainly enough to cause flooding and landslides. we'll keep a close eye on this. it's not just one system we're tracking, this is another system we have to track. this is a tropical depression for now, but it looks like it's going to keep its tropical depression status as it heads to japan. we'll keep an eye on this into the weekend. as we speak, though, we have numerous thunderstorms supported in hokkaido. this is due to a low-pressure system sitting north of hokkaido. the upper cold level air in the warm and humid moist sea of japan is creating numerous thunderstorms here. upper-level low will then move in, and we'll likely see showers across even metropolitan tokyo. but meanwhile, in western japan, the korean peninsula and northern china, the high pressure system dominating there. but summer-like temperatures here at kyoto at 30 degrees.

on towards mexico. we still are tracking this powerful hurricane that slammed baja, california. catastrophic pictures were shown here from these areas. especially in los cabos where people were enjoying their week-long holiday. this is still moving over baja, california, and possibly making its way to arizona. copious amounts of moisture from this system, so we're likely to see heavy rainfall, topping as much as 200 millimeters, or even 350 in some areas. it will pull into the lower area of the four corners. so a good portion of northern mexico and the lower four corners could see flash flood watches. another system we're tracking is down towards the southwestern coast of mexico. and this is likely to become a hurricane. polo will make its way tracking towards southwestern coast, and paralleling the coastal areas as

a hurricane status. so we still have tropical storm watches in place. so we'll keep a very close eye on this one as well. off of mexico, thunderstorms, not much to talk about the other areas of north america, but we're still looking at excessive heat warnings in places. especially where we want the precipitation, but it's not really coming up for us here. i'll leave you now with your ec

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thank you very much r

>> belize is fighting back against an uninvited acquatic guest - by asking people to eat the venemous invader. hello and welcome to global 3000. we'lll get to that story in just a moment, but first here's a peak at what else is coming up on today's show. mobile clinics--how medicine is coming to the people in sao paolo fruit for the future: people in guniea are using bananas to make a better life and a beautiful predator -- how lionfish are destroying the marine ecosystem in the carribbean brazil's healthcare system is sick