hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's wednesday october 1st. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tens of thousands of protesters remain defiant in the streets of hong kong. they spent another night in the financial district. they're protesting a plan to screen candidates for the city's 2017 votes for cheap executives. student activists have threatened to escalate demonstrations unless their demands are met. they wanted to meet with the current chief executive by the end of tuesday. but the hong kong government has so far shown no signs it intends to grant the request.

>> translator: dialogue with the chief executive may not be easy. but i will stay here until he shows up. >> more people are expected to join protests on wednesday and thursday. which are public holidays. an increasing number of travel agencies are extending group tours to the territory. agency managers have expressed concern over the effects the protests will have on the tourism industry. people on the mainland are marking the 65th anniversary of the founding of the people's republic of china. president xi jinping spoke at a reception ahead of the national day holiday. he said the government will stick to its one country, two system policy. >> translator: the promotion of the one country, two systems policy is a common wish for all chinese, including people in hong kong. that will benefit hong kong.

>> xi made no direct reference to what's happening in hong kong, but he vowed that the chinese government will safeguard the territory's prosperity and stability. more than 3,000 people attended the event. two former presidents were among the participants. british prime minister david cameron is voicing his concerns about the protests in hong kong. the former british colony was handed back to china in 1997. >> when we reached the agreement with china, there were details about that agreement about the importance of giving the hong kong people a democratic future within this two system approach that we were setting out with the chinese. >> cameron said he hopes the issue can be resolved. rescue workers in central japan are back on mt. ontake. the search was suspended on tuesday due to the accumulation of volcanic gas. 12 people have been confirmed dead since the volcano erupted

on saturday. about 1,000 japanese self-defense personnel, police officers and firefighters are taking part in the operation. some are using helicopters to reach the summit. others are climbing the mountain on foot. the rescuers are trying to reach the 24 people who are listed as having heart and lung failure. they plan to widen the search area to check if there are any other trapped climbers. personnel say some parts of the mountain near the summit have not been searched yet. police conducted autopsies on those who died. the results showed that most of them had severe bruising, which led to their deaths. when the volcano erupted, many were hit by falling rocks. 69 people were injured. they had fractured skulls and crushed ribs. some inhaled hot volcanic ash and suffered burns. it's time for the latest in business news. people at japan's central bank asked business managers about their views on the economy.

we have the details from our business desk. good morning, what do you have, ai? >> every quarter, officials at the bank of japan conduct a survey called the tankan. they ask thousands of companies how they're feeling about the direction of the economy. now, the officials have just released the results of this closely watched survey, which was conducted just last month. it says sentiment among business managers is mixed. the data marks little improvement from june. it shows sentiment at many manufacturers was at plus 13 points, up one point from the previous survey. the tankan measure short-term business confidence among managers at about 10,000 companies. at non-manufacturers, they said sentiment worsened. the index fell six points from the previous survey. in the coming quarter from october to december, large manufacturers are predicting plus 13, unchanged from before,

non-manufacturers also expect little improvement. let's see how the markets are reacting. for all the details, we go to ramin who is standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, ramin. how are stocks starting the day? >> yes, indeed. the numbers you just measured coming in largely in line with market expectations. so let's have a look at how it's opening for october 1st. the nikkei and topix there largely in the negative for the first few minutes of trading. we'll see how that develops. the nikkei likely to show sluggish trading today. although it did manage to end in a positive for september. let's not forgetting setting fresh highs in the process. banks and a lot of the insurers as well whose share prices have risen on unrealized profits so far as the nikkei had surged to fresh highs in september, boosting capital ratios for the

banks, and margin ratios for a lot of the insurers. so those sectors might be a focus today as well. moving on to hong kong, and of course, a lot of focus there as to the hang sang, which was pushed down lower on tuesday, pro-democracy protests there, of course, taking a stranglehold on business activity, hampering banking activity for one of the world's biggest financial hubs. a lot of investor concern there for that region. now, hang seng was down nearly 2% on monday as well. that has really pushed the key index into negative territory for the year so far. now, let's not forget markets will be closed for wednesday and thursday as well. so again, intense focus on hong kong. ai. >> ramin, on tuesday we had september's inflation figures for the eurozone falling from the previous month. how is the euro trading? >> big focus on the euro as well

there. of course, the european central bank policy meeting comes up on thursday. the euro slid against the dollar and other currencies followed the latest consumer price data. it's putting more focus on the ecb meeting ahead of the policy meeting on thursday. investors expected to take action to ease policy further. the euro/dollar, 1.2627 right now. the dollar also rose to this year's fresh high against the yen. traders are buying the greenback on a positive economic outlook for the u.s. now, i'll keep track of all the market sectors and how it relates to the japanese shares, and also the relative fallout from the geopolitical risks that we're seeing around the world. and of course, the protests in hong kong. but for now, the nikkei and topix trading in the negative. back to you. >> ramin, thanks a lot for that, from the tokyo stock exchange. we'll talk to him in a few hours' time. employees at major japanese bank mess oh ho have something to look forward to.

they'll receive a half a percent raise in their base pay starting in november. sources say mizuho executives made the decision on their own without any demands from labor union leaders. that's unusual for a large corporation in japan. the latest increase would be on top of a raise that workers won in their annual labor negotiations earlier this year. that also led to an increase of half a percent. and marked the first time in base salary in 19 years. the decision in spring came after mizuho posted a record net profit for the previous business year through march. mizuho managers have slashed salaries 12 years ago after posting huge losses. they apparently considered recent improvements in earnings justified another raise. the latest move is seen as a way to attract new workers as the labor market tightens. mizuho managers will also offer a child care lounge to female employees who cut their

maternity leave short and return to work. i'll have more headlines in business for you next hour. here's another check on markets. japanese government officials say they're planning to send a delegation to visit north korea. they were invited by pyongyang for a briefing on the investigation into the fates of abductees. they say at least 17 nationals were kidnapped by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s. the officials met with their north korean counterparts on monday in china to talk about the probe.

prime minister shinzo abe said he was briefed by japan's chief delegate who attended the meeting. >> translator: ambassador song il ho explained that the investigation into the abductees and missing japanese is being carried out in a scientific and objective manner. but he said it is still in the initial stage, and is not ready to be released. chief delegate o send japanese officials to pyongyang to talk directly with members of the special investigation committee. and see how the probe is progressing. >> nhk conducted an exclusive interview with north korea's envoy for normalizing relations with japan. he stressed that the delay of the first report on the investigation was not intentional. >> translator: in early september, the committee was ready to explain how the

officials were proceeding with the probe. if there had been a request from the japanese side. >> he also said that it would be better for the japanese delegates to come to pyongyang to be briefed in person. >> translator: whenever the japanese side comes to pyongyang, the committee is ready to report on the current state of the probe. >> japan partially eased sanctions when north korea launched the problem. song said he believes if there is a mutual trust, the remaining sanctions will gradually be lifted. officials from afghanistan and the u.s. have assigned a long delayed security agreement. the deal will allow some american troops to stay in the country beyond the end of the year to train afghan security

forces. officials conducted the signing ceremony at the presidential palace in front of tv cameras. afghanistan's in you cleerds made it clear they want to amend ties with the u.s. by approving the deal just one day after the inauguration. ghani was sworn in on monday. he and his main rival abdullah abdullah both expressed support for the deal during the election campaign. abdullah took the post of chief executive in ghani's new government, after agreeing to a power sharing deal that ended months of turmoil over the disputed election result. white house counselor attended ghani's swearing-in ceremony. at a news conference on monday he was positive about the agreement. >> the united states looks forward to supporting the unity government and the afghan people. toward that end, we very much look forward to tomorrow's signing of the bilateral security agreement with afghanistan, an important step in strengthening the strategic

partnership between our two countries. >> former president hamid karzai refused to sign the deal, souring his ties with the u.s. he made no secret of his distrust of the u.s. government during his fair well speech last week. >> translator: we want to have strategic relations with america. but america should follow the path of honesty and friendship with afghanistan. afghanistan can be their best friend. but only if they can match their words with actions. >> taliban insurgents are intensifying their offensive in parts of afghanistan. united nations officials estimate 1,564 civilians died in terrorist attacks and cross fire in the first half of this year. that's up 17% from the same period last year. u.s. president barack obama has declared that all u.s. troops will be out by the end of 2016. but first, they must prepare

afghan forces and police to fend for themselves. a team from vietnam won this year's robot contest for university students from asia and the pacific region. the annual event is sponsored by the asia pacific broadcasting union, or abu. the team overwhelmed its rivals from the preliminaries to the final round. nhk world's reporter tells us their secret behind their strength. >> reporter: the abu robocon was held with 17 universities taking part. participants tested their technological skills and ideas with their handmade robots.

vietnam's university grabbed the title. the powerhouse is one of the top teams every year. a university in dong nai university is in southern vietnam. it was founded nearly 20 years ago. the university focuses on engineers. students are encouraged to take part in the robot contest to help them acquire high level skills. a test for robots was set up six years ago.

many vietnamese are aware that the robocon has a strong connection. >> translator: i wanted to enter a university that has a reputation for robotics. >> reporter: university officials say companies are keen to higher skilled graduates. a japanese medical equipment maker visited the university. >> translator: even companies that have never hired lakong graduates knows the school is good for its strong performance at robocon. >> translator: it's an honor for us to see our students finding jobs. it makes me even happier than winning robocon. >> reporter: some graduates from lakong are already displaying their potential in their workplaces.

chan is one of these graduates. he was hired by a japanese manufacturer in southern vietnam in june. he helped to design robots that are used to make parts. >> translator: my experiences at robocon were a great help for me at work. i'll continue to do my best to contribute to the company. >> reporter: the company is pinning high hopes on employees like min. >> translator: we're hiring them as industry ready to work in the front line. they certainly haven't disappointed us. >> reporter: lakong university students are devoted to making robots. they are acquiring valuable manufacturing skills through their experiences at robocon. nhk world, vietnam.

authorities in japan have been facing difficulties in finding places to put radioactive waste. they've agreed on new criteria for long-term storage sites. the ministers approved a plan that gives experts authority to narrow down candidate sites. the experts will take into consideration population density and accessibility of proposed sites. they also judge geological conditions, such as proximity to volcanoes and active earthquake faults. the ministers also agreed it's not enough to put them near prefectural sites. they need to ask in advance. >> translator: i hope we can proceed so that the problem is not passed down to future

generations. >> the government plans to bury highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants deep underground. but has yet to find a municipality that's willing to host such a repository. the people who run some japanese nursing homes are struggling to find enough qualified staff. they've seen the number of elderly clients rise as the country's population ages. and they're now thinking outside the box to help fill vacant jobs. >> reporter: this job interview was sponsored by 13 nursing homes. they have permanent resident status. some are married to japanese, others have japanese ancestry. they come from many countries. there are about 1.4 million permanent residents like these in japan.

and they are allowed to work in any job for which they are qualified. matthew manages a nursing home that provides special care to the elderly. he comes from the u.s. >> translator: so you're available after taking your child to the nursery? then how about working for us, full-time or part-time? >> reporter: he came to japan 23 years ago to teach english. he married a japanese woman. 13 years ago, he became one of the first foreigners to work in the nursing care field. to make up for the shortage of japanese employees, he's hiring other non-japanese. >> translator: nursing homes throughout japan are in trouble. non-japanese can provide care in the same way as japanese people. >> reporter: during the last four years, about 100 people

have found work after attending interview sessions. after joining the economic partnership agreement, japan's government now accepts foreign workers. but many don't speak fluent japanese, so the number of available workers can fluctuate. however, permanent residents who do speak fluent japanese are being hired. one offered a class on specialized language. elder care jobs are a new opportunity for these people, so they're enthusiastic. matt's workplace now employs six non-japanese nursing students. they come from countries like the philippines and peru. >> translator: these people are cheerful. they make the workplace more

friendly, and lively. >> reporter: the facility plans to train them to take on leadership roles. >> translator: permanent residents are used to hearing japanese and they understand japanese society and its quirks. so i think they can play a major role. and as they work in elder care, they'll benefit from job security. >> reporter: their goal is to create an environment at nursing care facilities in which non-japanese workers are valued as much as the japanese. it's time now for a check of the weather. a powerful storm is impacting the mariana islands in the pacific. people there are dealing with stormy weather conditions. here are the details. >> it's not really a fast-moving system, so we're still talking about a powerful storm that is

passing over the islands of marianas. a severe tropical storm now. it has upgraded. it is quite large. it's engulfing the islands with very stormy conditions, possibly about 200 millimeters of additional rainfall in these locations. it's the rough sea, surf conditions and the high waves. the coastal areas possibly will be making its way towards the north. already you're feeling about five meter-high waves here. and into maybe okinawa. okinawa is already seeing waves of three meters high. it will be intensifying over the warm water possibly into a strong typhoon status as it progresses through the next few days. we'll have to keep a very close eye on this system. we have a high pressure system dominating much of the country. clear skies today, but the story toward the weekend and early

next week, the stationary boundary will be formed over western japan. as the system approaches, there could be a strong typhoon. it will be a very rainy event by sunday across much of the southern locations of this country. considering the summit of mt. ontake we may see showers across these locations. any kind of rain will make it more mud flowing, possibly suspending the search operations yet again. across northeastern china, looking at 14 degrees. but your low is only about freezing point. wintry mix precipitation is occurring here. down towards central locations of china, 25 degrees. but the rain will be continuing, possibly about 60 millimeters of additional rainfall. tokyo, quite fine at 25 degrees on our wednesday. across europe, we have been talking about messy conditions. the unfavorable, unsettled weather will continue across the southern locations of this

continent. especially around france, we have about 60 millimeters of rainfall. that could possibly move into italy and most likely to see a little bit of that tornadic event as well as large hail and strong gusts yet again across the peninsula. toward the scandinavian peninsula, a bit of wet and windy conditions. meanwhile, the central locations seeing really dry and pleasant conditions. paris, gorgeous at 23 degrees, with lots of sun. now here across the u.s., potent system traveling over the southern rockies and into the central plains. this is likely to make its way toward the great lakes region. heavy amounts of rainfall in nebraska has recorded 60 millimeters, on top of that 80 millimeters will be traveling along its path. this system is actually pulling a lot of the cold air from the north. so southern rockies, you'll possibly see snowfall, up to about 15 centimeters in the higher elevations. and the temperatures will be

quite chilly across northern california, as well as southern oregon. and your morning lows will actually reach a freezing point. we have freeze watches and warnings in place. meanwhile, southern locations of southern california, you don't see these kind of trees across the desert area, but it is officially autumn. but the temperatures will be like summer, or hotter than the average in the summertime. hitting 37 degrees on your friday in los angeles. please watch out for that. i'll leave you now for the extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

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>> hello and welcome to "global 3000." today, we'll be talking about immigrant communities in the united states. we'll be exploring how second-, third-, or even fifth-generation immigrants are transforming american society. here's what's coming up. raising the bar -- how asian americans are driving academia. torn between two lives -- young namibians struggle with tradition. and spot the species -- researchers studying the amazon rainforest. the united states of america is