welcome to "newsline." japanese prime minister abe spoke at the united nations general assembly in new york. he promised his country will continue fighting the ebola virus and countering threats from the islamic militant group. >> he spoke on thursday morning at the general assembly hall. his main message was that japan is ready to make a stronger commitment to the world's fight against global threats. >> mr. president -- japan --

it's best possible effort in the fight against the ebola virus disease. international communities should come together and address this crisis that affects the paes and security of africa. japan regards that activities of isil, which extends at those national borders and has declared -- establishment of so-called state to the serious threat to international order. what is important now is preventing extremists taking

root while also responding swiftly to this regions humanitarian crisis. to assist in this re japan will implement $15 million to emergency assistance right away. >> another important issue for abe is reforming the security council. he stressed the united nations needs to adapt to changes taking place in the 21st century. >> it is my wish with adversity at turning point, countries sharing the same eggs or walk together to finally resolve a long standing issue to in a way that reflects their realities of the 21st century.

in this county text, japan seeks to member of the security council and on appropriate role. that the status requires. >> abe also explained he is taking steps to empower women in japan and said japan will work to prevent sexual violence against women in conflict zones around the world. >> around the globe, we still find abhorrent circumstances in which women are unable to have success to such basic service of medical care and education. because they were born female. depriving them of opportunitying

to be self-reliant. we intend to make the 21st century a world with no human rights violations against women. japan will stand at the league to international community in eliminating sexual violence. >> japan's bidding for a nonpermanent seat on the security council next year. the prime minister made the case japan is ready to play an important role in the u.n. prime minister abe also spoke with reporters -- is need ed to improve strained relations with china and south korea. >> translator: there are japan's neighbors, so there are various

issues that come up in order to resolve and dialogue free of any preconditions. >> abe said he hopes to hold summit talks with china when he visits beijing in november. he said both countries need to make constant efforts. japan's prime minister also expressed his desire to have summit talks and make the most of international meetings. our commentator joins us now with reaction. what are some of the main points they spoke about? >> well, he emphasized japan's determination to proactively contribute to the world of peace. he said japan will take the lead in solving problems the world is facing such as the ebola outbreak and the climate change. he said this will be done through making use of the country's experience.

abe said japan will offer iraq, syria and other affected regions, humanitarian assistance, but the country will not offer military support. >> abe mentioned japan's relations with china and south korea. we talked about that earlier. what did he have to say in regards to that? >> over the senkaku islands, japan maintains they're a part of japanese territory. he said holding dialogue is necessary especially when there are problems between them. he said japan would like to have summit talks with china without conditions. japan south korea relationship is not going well either because of mainly historical issues.

as we heard, abe said he's hoping to have summit talks with south korea on the sidelines of a big meeting. >> japan's relations with russia is another focal issue. what did the prime minister say about that? >> the prime minister is in a very difficult position in terms of russia. they have to work with g-7 member countries to put pressure on russia because of the ukraine. but at the same time, japan needs to deepen relations with the country in order to solve the issue of cultural allies. japan maintains silence on an inherent part of japan's territory and russia illegally occupied them after world war ii. abe said he will look at the possibility of russian president vladimir putin's visit in japan.

>> senior political commentator, thanks for joining us. the united states has expanded its offensive with the islamic militant group, but the attacks have reportedly killed civilians. u.s. and coalition forces have pounded the command centers and other strongholds. on wednesday they hit 12 oil refineries controlled by islamic state including those in hasakah. u.s. military officials say the militants have earned more than $2 million per day smuggling oil to fund their operation. >> we will work to cut out their financing and to stop the flow of fighters into and out of the region. >> a syrian anti-government group says an air campaign killed at least 14 islamic state

fighters but an opposition activist in eastern syria says an air strike on a village killed nine civilians. he said the residents there are angry. a pentagon spokesperson says arab nations played a major role in the air strikes on oil refineries held by the islamic state militant group. press secretary john kirby said 10 of the 16 fighters jets were from u.s. allies saudi arabia and and united emirates. >> i'm not announcing future operations but will look at isil in syria and on the civilian casualty issue we take that seriously and will assess that as we work through the damage assessment process. >> kirby denied that syrian government forces invaded facilities attacked by the u.s. military. he did not confirm media reports that the air strike also killed the leader of the al qaeda affiliated extremist group khorasan. china supported a u.n. security council resolution

aimed at stemming the flow of foreign fighters joining extremist groups abroad but the country takes a difference stance than the u.s. on the air strikes against islamic state militants in syria. u.s. president barack obama led the council in the unanimous agreement. the resolution requires countries to adopt laws that would criminalize citizens traveling abroad to sign up for insurgencies. about 15,000 people from more than 80 countries have joined based on kind of our overall assessment. na that number could get larger as we go forward. >> admiral locklear acknowledged that the american military is closely coordinating with allies to stop the trend. china supported a u.n. resolution aimed at stemming the flow of foreign fightering, but the country takes a different stance than the u.s. in syria. u.s. president obama led the

counsel in the unanimous agreement. the resolution requires countries to adopt laws that would criminalize citizens traveling abroad to sign up for insurgencies. about 15,000 people from more than 80 countries have joined extremists in syria and iraq. more than 2,000 of them are from western nations. foreign minister wang yi said china opposes all forms of terrorism and will continue to participate in international cooperation against it. he pledged humanitarian aid worth $9.8 million for iraq's kurdish region. he called for the united nations to play a leading role in the war on terrorism. >> translator: military actions should comply with the u.n. charter and relevant security council resolutions. >> the u.s. and its allies began air strikes in syria without a security council resolution.

british police have arrested nine men on suspicion of encouraging terrorism and other charges. officials say they belong to an extremist organization based in britain. local media report they include a high profile muslim cleric. on thursday, police searched 19 different properties. they say the arrests are part of an investigation into terrorism related to islamic extremists. local media report that muslim cleric anjem choudary's radical remarks supporting the islamic state militant group have prompted many young brits to visit iraq and syria. nhk interviewed him earlier this month. he said the islamic state has set up a base in the middle east and a new era is about to begin. he added that it'll be an exciting time for muslims. last month the british government raised its terror threat to the second highest level on a five-tier scale. the government plans to seize passports from brits who joined fighting in syria or iraq and question them.

investors have been taking stock prices to record highs, but that changed on thursday. tell us more about this. >> investors are worried about the ongoing situation in the middle east, ukraine, russia, so they choose to sell stocks to take advantage of the recent rally. wall street had one of its worst days this year. the blue chip dow index shed 1.5%, its biggest loss in nearly two months and the technology having nasdaq, that dropped by 1.9%. let's go to rameen. what a recent reversal. >> seeing a bit of a reversal from yesterday. let's have a look at the exact numbers here nrt nikkei and topix. opening levels for this friday. the nikkei down 1.2%, topix down 1.3%. nikkei closed thursday at a near

seven-year high, but we're seeing reversals there with a sharp declines in the u.s. as well as a retreat in the dollar. levels earlier this week. we could see a drop off in exporters here and with the decline in the nasdaq, we should keep a watch on related shares. apple for instance fell e iing reports of technical glitches, so we'll see relateded shares and other tech related shares. >> looks like we saw volatility overnight in the currency markets where the major pairs trading this morning? >> just having a look at some of the levels now and the dollar yen, the u.s. dollar has fallen back. after weaker than expected durable goods orders which fell and jobless claims rose as well. a trader i spoke to earlier today said he expects upward

momentum for the dollar based on the overall recovery path and the past of the pollty of the federal reserve, so that means interest rates are headinging higher in the u.s., but the opposite is happening in japan and the euro zone. now, one signal of how the u.s. economy is doing will be today's third and final revision of second quarter gdp. also, the euro sank to its lowest level in 22 months. again, central comments on the potential for further easing measures. but also, really wanted to mention the government bond yields as well. at u.s. treasury notes fell by five bases points to close 2.5% and equivalent bond fell to 0.98%, but the difference between the two is at its widest level in 15 years, so a lot of

investors are focusing on the yield levels of government bonds as well, but for now, stock levels dipping, we'll see how that progresses, but pretty negative starts this friday here in tokyo. back to you. >> indeed, both the nikkei and topix down by more than 1.2% this morning. live from the tokyo stock exchange. government officials in japan have released data showing prices for many every day items went up in august. the poor consumer price index has been increasing for 15 months. prices rose by 3.11% compared with the same month last year. the index doesn't factor in the cost of fresh food, which tends to jump around and skew the numbers. the officials say goods such as air conditioners and clothing got more expensive. now, policymakers at the bank of japan say the increase in the

consumption tax is partly responsible. officials at tokyo gas are trying to get a better deal on the most widely used source of energy in japan. the corporation, the officials say they'll hold talks to discuss -- korea gas -- officials at both firms want to improve their negotiation position and expand the scale of their purchases to lower costs. japanese importers have been bringing in more and more l and g since the accident at fukushima in 2011, but they're not happy with the prices they're paying, officials at

tokyo electric and -- are also in talks to buy nng together. i'll have more headlines this next hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. that brought together singers in japan. it provided a backdrop for the

performance. let's take a lack backstage. ♪ madam butterfly someone of the most popular operas in japan. what makes this performance n e noteworthy is where it is being staged. the 400-year-old nijo castle is one of ko toe's world heritage sites. the opera will be played in a courtyard that's -- opera performances are quite rare in japan and people aren't used to seeing historical sites associate with the western forms of art. good communication between italian and japanese is essential as they make final arrangements. >> translator: i'm very happy to be here with you now as the opera house plays this historic

piece in this marvelous setting. >> the conduct or is hiro yoesh ma, earlier this year, he was appointed artistic director of the bah loan area opera house. >> madam butterfly is a work composed by an italian in japan. my job is to ensure the fusion of both countries. ♪ >> auditions were held all over japan to select singers for today's rehearsal. ♪ a chorus conductor gives them details instructions about their part. the day of the performance. ♪ it's 6:00 p.m.

nijo castle is shrouded in darkness. ♪ the tragic love story reaches its climate. ♪ >> the opera and japanese setting combined very well. it was a great production. >> i felt at once enthralleded and mystified. ♪

the blend of eastern and western traditions earns a generous round of applause. organizers hope this project will inspire a new trend. >> people in tokyo are enjoying a sunny, warm morning. robert speta has more. >> yes, exactly, it looks like this is to be staying overhead. much of japan for that matter as we look at your friday, saturday, even sunday. we have high pressure, that ridge following behind all that messy weather we've seen now moving off towards the northeast. so, much of japan, even towards korea for that matter, some decent weather shaping up for the time being. i know we are continuing to watch kamuri.

that is off to the southeast. the good news with this storm system are that the relics may have an impact on this, allowing it to go northeast before impactinging north japan. about 4,000 people live there, also the izu islands could be feeling the impact. if you're a surfer, you may want to watch out, especially -- by some dangerous rip currents as well. something to watch out for if you plan on heading out over this weekend towards some of these beach areas along the pacific areas of japan. some showers in the northeastern china and storms. rainfall reports in the past 24 hours.

the threat of flooding in by daytime heating. those afternoon thunderstorms combined with the southwest monsoon, to thunderstorms there in the forecast for bangkok, a high of 30. partly cloudy skies on your friday with a high in the upper 20s. you can see on the satellite picture, fairly clear. we have a storm system over there and also some unsettled weather across the florida, up and down the eastern sea board, but right smack in the middle is is this high and it's making for decent conditions. also, warm air circulating around, so temperatures well above average for much of the high plains through central canada. also some rainy conditions, even snowfall in the higher elevations. replace those warmer temperatures.

winnipeg, 27 for your high on friday, but a cooldown in the forecast by sunday. saskatchewan even pushing to around 11 degrees by your sunday, so even right now, it feels like shorts weather out there, but you're going to be wanting a sweater out here in the near future. let's move over towards europe. some stormy weather, specifically southern portions, advisories in effect at this time. there is still that threat of large hail and even frequent lightning. back towards the north, wet and windy conditions, even the threat of waterspouts, a possibility of snow into some of the higher elevations across the scandanavian peninsula. elsewhere, decent weather in the iberian peninsula and london, a high of 20 on friday.

here's the extended outlook.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us.

yellen speaks, dollar surges and indonesians pay more for milk powder. a company in japan puts a new spin on old technology and shakes up an industry. hello. you are watching "asia biz forecast." i'm yuko fukushima. we begin our program with a move to end easy money and how it's affecting the lives of millions of people in asia. the u.s. federal reserve bank architect of monetary easing is calling the shots. this week investors and policymakers in the region were on em as they awaited the latest policy announcement from the fed. in the end, it was another