thank you for joining us for this edition of "newsline". foreign ministers of japan and tokyo spoke on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly in new york as relations are strained between the countries. the tension is over japan's nationalization of a group of islands in the east china sea and perceptions of history. they were believed to have discussed japan's proposal to hold a sum met in november. the leaders of both countries will attend an apec meeting in beijing. they are also have discussed a

plan to set up a security hotline for any emergencies that may happen at sea or in the air. >> translator: we were able to take enough time to exchange our views in a sincere and frank atmosphere. >> kishida said nothing has been decided regarding the proposed summit. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said wang had an informal meeting with kishida at the request of the japanese side. she didn't elaborate on the content of the talks. >> translator: our stance on the issue hindering china-japan ties is very clear and consistent. everyone knows what is affecting the development of bilateral relations now. despite ongoing efforts to improve relations, a chinese research ship has again entered japan's exclusive economic zone. the vessel's crew is believed to have conducted a survey off the senkaku islands. japan controls the islands.

china and taiwan claim them. japan coast guard officials say one of their aircraft spotted the vessel friday morning. it was dragging what appeared to be a wire. the area in question is about 170 kilometers north of kuba island in the senkaku chain. coast guard officials radioed the vessel to stop and said that unauthorized research in the area was not allowed. the chinese crew did not respond. the coast guard has sent a vessel to monitor the ship's activities. it's the second time this month a chinese ship has engaged in similar activities off the senkaku islands. iraq's prime minister awarning that the militant group may have tried to carry out attacks on western soil. they uncovered a plan that targets subway systems in the united states and france.

>> his officers learned of the plan from a militant captured in iraq. a u.n. security council spokesperson says white house officials have not confirmed any such plans and said her officials need to review information from iraq before making further determinations. france president hollande said the government will tighten security in public places and transportation systems. those include people mainly in the middle east and north africa where radical islamist groups operate. the new york city police commissioner said there's no specific credible threats to the city or its subway systems. the commissioner said the department is boosting the police presence on subways and city streets. now government leaders in turkey are struggling to stop foreign fighters from joining islamic state. they are seeing many of them slip past their border and into

syria. nhk world saw firsthand what they are up against. >> reporter: here's a checkpoint of the border between turkey and syria. a turkish government now tightens security from preventing foreign fighters going into syria. local authorities here say some foreigners are still coming to town. the city near the border in southern turkey -- >> translator: i think people from britain, belgium and sweden and germany. >> reporter: people here say that civil war has had a great impact the number of tourists visiting the region. in the city, local shops sell cloth and caps marked with

symbols of extremist groups. many foreign fighters still pass to go to syria and join the islamic state. they call the area a gateway to jihad. our crew succeeded in interviewing a person involved in smuggling of foreign fighters. he said his name is hassan and told us members of the militant organizations here and then enter syria in small groups. >> translator: they come with a pocketful of money provided by militant groups. some of them even leave money for their families. >> no matter how much the

turkish government tries to tighten security, they can always find a loopholes. >> we were told about the path used to smuggle fighters into syria. so we headed to a mountainous area about an hour drive from the city. we were told walking another 500 meters will take us to a syrian village. we kept going. there's nothing here to mark the border. >> the olive tree over there marks the border of syria and turkey. >> this area is in the middle of woods, no matter how many soldiers are deployed, securing the area is impossible. >> reporter: the turkish government has tightened

security but they are struggling to control border areas, as they have almost nothing to broke the passage of people. it means that 40 militants can easily return to their home countries. >> if the international community wants to stop terrorism, it's necessary to prevent young people from going to turkey. >> it's highly likely they will return home posing a security threat. >> stopping the flow of foreign fighters across the border has proven extremely difficult. and government leaders fear it's adding fuel to the growing terrorism threat in the region. nhk world.

malaysian police said they detained three men suspected of planning to travel to syria to join the islamic state militant group and say the three were detained at kuala lumpur airport. here are the details. >> a growing number of men from asia are joining islamic state. experts warn these fighters will pose a threat to asian countries if they return home. the three men were detained on thursday at the airport while waiting -- malaysian militants in syria through facebook and other sites. they are becoming alarmed by islamic state's worldwide recruitment activity. the group has declared the

establishment of its own nation in parts of iraq and syria. and in july the militant group released an online video that called for more recruits. it used the official language of indonesia, the world's largest muslim community. admiral samuel locklear oversees u.s. forces across asia and expressed concern about the issue. our estimation today has been about 1,000 aspiring fighters that moved from this region based on our overall assessment. that number could get larger as we go forward. >> locklear acknowledged that the u.s. military is working closely with allies and partners to share information about this problem. india's foreign minister says a military standoff on the him lay yan border with china has been resolv resolved. she made the announcement after meeting her chinese counterpart.

india military officials accuse chinese troops of setting up a camp 3 kilometers inside territory claimed by india, more than a week ago. >> translator: i'm happy to inform you that both nations sat down and resolved the issue. the time lines have been decided and chinese troops will start withdrawing from the 26th. the relevant personnel from both sides controlled the situation through timely communication. as foreign ministers said, the situation has been properly controlled for the time being. the border region is also peaceful. >> the military stand-off on the disputed border cast a shadow over last week's india/china summit. the modi expressed deep concern

at the news conference in new delhi with xi jinping. they should work to settle the border question at the early date and said china is determined to resolve the issue through friendly negotiations with india. people in myanmar have a lacquerware but their business fell on hard times during the years of military rule. some artisans from japan have come to the rescue. they're using their skills to help revive the centuries-old art form. we have this report. >> reporter: myanmar asian capital bagan is home to many buddhist pagodas. the city is known for its lacquerware. the varnish is made from lacquer trees that grow in the mountainous region. about 27 lacquerware artisans traveled to the city to hold a workshop and exhibition. they have been holding the event

every year for a decade. they're trying to boost myanmar's lacquerware industry and use the arts to promote cultural exchange. >> translator: we can learn from japanese lacquerware. >> reporter: people in myanmar and japan are sharing techniques for making lacquerware hundreds of years ago. lacquer artisans in myanmar use a technique where they engrave things into the surface of lacquered objects. then they apply color using lacquer or pigments. the technique was forged in japan in the 16th century. after world war ii, japanese artisan introduced one of their techniques to myanmar. they coat the surface of objects with several layers of lacquer. they wear down the top layer to

allow colors. but such exchanges were put on hold for more than 20 years during myanmar's military rule. this man runs a lacquerware workshop in bagan. he says his country's lacquerware industry declined under the military regime and western sanctions. >> our business is going down because we have less tourists and we can not sell a lot. then we have no orders so we can not produce as much as we want. >> reporter: a japanese artisan and professor tried to revive the art. >> translator: people snubbed us at first. we said we had no intention of doing any harm. we said our countries have similar lacquer cultures and

people could relate to each other through the art. >> reporter: craft people in myanmar say the exchange taking place now are a valuable opportunity. they have learned about techniques and design. >> we all have learned a lot of new ideas for new design which is for the foreigner taste, indonesian tastes, because normally, honestly, we all approach in the our traditional style. >> reporter: new products, including lacquer-coated cell phone covers are being made in bagan. more people are taking up the art. there are now about 1,000 lacquer artisans in bagan and along with tourism, lacquerware is one of the city's main

industries. >> translator: it's important to continue helping each other. i want to stay in touch with people in myanmar as long as possible. >> with help from the japanese colleagues, lacquer makers in myanmar are taking their craft to a new level and myanmar's lacquerware industry is once again beginning to shine. nhk world, bagan, myanmar. that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. emerging economic powers still struggling with poverty. emboldened citizens still demanding democracy. the threat of violence. the push for peace, the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world newsline.

>> member states of the u.n. nuclear agency have voted not to pressure israel over its assumed nuclear weapons. arab governments brought a draft resolution to the international atomic energy agencies general assembly. they wanted to press israel to join the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. 45 counties, including russia and china, voted in support. 58, including the united states, japan, and european nations, were opposed. the draft resolution also called on israeli leaders to open all of their country's nuclear facilities to iaea inspectors. arab governments presented similar proposals last year. israel has never confirmed or denied it has nuclear arms. governments were scheduled to gather in 2012 to discuss creating a middle east zone free of weapons of mass destruction. it's not clear when that meeting will happen. leaders of arab nations are frustrated by the lack of debate on what they suspect is an israeli nuclear arsenal. u.s. assistant secretary of

state thomas countryman said progress toward holding a conference has been made over the past year. he said governments still have differences but could gather soon. japan's self-defense are getting more involved in the fight against piracy. sailors are taking part in the joint exercise with nato. a japanese destroyer joined a danish frigate off somalia. sailors practiced going aboard and checking crew members for weapons. japanese prime minister shinzo abe and nato secretary general rasmussen signed a cooperation deal earlier this year. leaders in tokyo plan to have their country's self-defense forces take part in more joint exerci exercises. engineers at j pan's crippled nuclear plant are grappling with another problem in a key technology. a system they used to

decontaminate radioactive water stored at the fukushima-daiichi site malfunctioned again. they had to shut part of it down. workers turned off one of the three lines of the advanced liquid processing service. they noticed the water was cloudy and found it contained calcium. any calcium is supposed to get trapped in filters because it hampers removal of radio active substance. they've had to shut down the system a number of times since march because of problems in the same components. the plant's operator hopes to decontaminate all the stored water there by the end of next march. analysts say the latest malfunction could put the plan in jeopardy. officials in tokyo are warning residents to be on alert after a number of highly poisonous nonnative speeders were found.

the red back spider is indigenous to australia. this is the first time it's been spotted in tokyo. the first red back was found earlier in the week in an apartment building in a tokyo suburb. authorities found ten more in a nearby park and decided to expand their search. the spiders are known to prefer dark places. >> i'm scared. children like to touch or grab all kinds of things. i'm concerned about it. >> the spiders measure about one centimeter long. the female of the species is the most poisonous. in severe cases, bite cans cause pain that spreads throughout the body, accompanied by headaches and nausea. the first red backs in japan were discovered in osaka western japan in 1995. they're believed to have arrive inside cargo from abroad. environment ministry officials say they have since been confirmed in 35 prefectures. staff at elementary schools are busy spraying playground gutters with pesticides. so far, there have been no reports of people being bitten.

japanese business leaders are helping community in china clear the air. they signed a pledge to do all they can to cut pollution. officials from a japanese group that promotes economic ties made that commitment to leaders in the city of zibo. they said they'll help fight pollution from petrochemical plants. they promise technical support to cut emissions and offered to introduce japanese officials that have the right know how. one japanese official said he hopes tackling china's environmental problems will improve bilateral relations. the operator of tokyo's haneda airport is looking to open a private gate for jets and the people who use it will be able to speed through arrival and departure procedures. officials say they also plan to open a new parking zone close to

the gate. they're targeting company executives and celebrities who use private planes. the officials are promising that passengers will be able to get from immigration to boarding in around five minutes. it currently takes up to 40 minutes. >> translator: i hope foreign business people and tourists will find the new facilities convenient and i hope more people will visit japan. >> haneda began accepting private jets last year, mostly from the united states or china. meanwhile, workers at japan's major supermarket chains are gearing up for a change in the tax system that will exempt foreign visitors from paying consumption tax. from october 1, almost all products including fruits, cosmetics and medicine will be tax free. currently only electronic appliances and other limited items are exempt. supermarket chains held a training seminar for its service

clerks. they learned how to operate passport readers and the new system for cash registers. they were also taught how to use security bags for tax free purchases. managers are hoping to lure more foreign shoppers with the measure. next let's take a brief look at the market figures.

an opera production that brought together singers and musicians from japan and italy were recently held in japan's ancient capital of kyoto. the unique stage was what provided a perfect backdrop for the performance. here's a look backstage. ♪ >> reporter: puccini's "madam butterfly" is one of the most popular operas in japan. what makes this performance particularly noteworthy is where it is being staged. the 400-year-old castle is one of kyoto's world heritage sites. the opera will be played in a courtyard that's usually closed to the public. outdoor opera performances are quite rare in japan and people aren't used to seeing historical sites associated with western

forms of art. good communication between italian and japanese staff is essential as they make final arrangements. >> translator: i'm very happy to be here with you now as the opera house play this is historic piece in this marvelous setting. >> reporter: the conductor is hiro fumisha. earlier this year he was appointed artistic director of the bologna opera house. >> madam butterfly is a work composed by an italian set in japan. my idea is to compose this work fusion between both countries. >> reporter: auditions were held all over japan to select singer's for today's rehearsal. a chorus conductor gives them

detailed instructions about their part. the day of the performance has come. it's 6:00 p.m. the castle is shrouded in darkness. ♪ ♪ the tragic love story reaches its climax. ♪

>> translator: the opera and the japanese setting combined very well. it was a great production. >> translator: i felt at once enthralled and mystified. >> reporter: the blend of eastern and western traditions earns a generous round of applause. organizers hope this project will inspire a new trend for opera in japan. next, here's the three-day outlook on the world's weather.

that's all for now on this edition on "newsline." from all of us at nhk world,

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