>> he is 18 years old and in his final year of high school.

election. >> reporter: lau was born in guangdong province in mainland china. his family moved to hong kong when he was a third grader in elementary school. since then, lau has enjoyed relative freedom in hong kong under the one country/two system policy. as a student in junior high school, he went to an event in memory of the 1989 pro democracy protests in tiananmen square. none of his teachers on the mainland had ever told him about the episode.

>> translator: had i remained in china, i'd have never known what really happened at tiananmen square and would never have taken an interest if politics. >> reporter: then something happened two years ago that deepened his interest even more. hong kong's leaders announced a plan to introduce national education for students from elementary through high school. the goal was to foster support for china's communist party. lau joined many other high school students in staging massive protest rallies. they accused the authorities of trying to brainwash young people. in the end, government officials backed down and scrapped the plan. >> translator: i believe those patriotism classes would have deprived students of their independence. i wanted to protect the rights

of future generations. >> reporter: lau says beijing's plans for hong kong's next leadership election are another threat to the one country/two systems policy. lau's parents are worried to see their son taking a leading role in the demonstrations. his father sends him many e-mail messages when he's away from home. >> translator: he was telling me to come home early today. i don't tell my parents everything that happens during our rallies. i don't want to worry them. >> reporter: over the weekend, lau was invited by a radio station to a debate with other high school students. the participants' differing views showed that the protests have divided opinion, even among younger people.

>> translator: the central government has declared that it will not take back the plan change in the election system. we should review our goals and pull back at an appropriate time. >> translator: we haven't even achieved our small goals. our protests have made little difference to the central government. democracy should be handed down to the next generation. my dream is to bring about changes in mainland china, making the best use of democracy in hong kong. >> reporter: lau said some day he hopes to use his experiences to bring greater freedoms to people where he was born in mainland china. shun ishibe, nhk world, hong kong. north korea watchers say the country's media is ignoring an event it usually celebrates.

they said it reflects current relations between the countries. the press monitors north korean state-run media and said there was no mention of the anniversary or of ties with china. the media usually publishes editorials to mark the occasion there was coverage in 2009 over the ties. the ties have soured over nuclear issues and leaders in pyongyang have been trying to forge relationships elsewhere. the foreign ministers of north korea and russia met last week in moscow. they agreed to boost economic cooperation. on saturday, one of kim jong-un's closest aides visited south korea. he met with the head of south korea's national security office and they adpreeed to stage high level talks. officials from japan and south korea are reported to be arranging the first talks

between their finance ministers in nearly two years. the talks have been stalled by diplomatic routes. sources say japan's aso and hwan will stitt zit down late r this week. ministers and central bank leaders will meet in washington on thursday and friday. they are expected to discuss the asian and global economies and to confirm the importance of economic and financial cooperation. dialogue between japan and south korea has been increasing. the foreign minister's met in august and september and vice foreign ministers held talks earlier this month. senior u.s. officials have briefed their counterparts on a review of japan defense glooins. david sheer and daniel russell are visiting seoul.

they met with the depp it foreign minister to discuss possible changes to the way japan and u.s. cooperate on defense. he says the changes would strengths relations and contribute to peace and stability in the region. one purpose of the review is how the guidelines should be revised to reflect the interpretation of the constitution to allow the right to collective self-defense. south korea is weary of the change. russell has suggested that the u.s. wants the leaders of japan and south korea to meet and mend strained ties. he said the topic of japan/south korea relations came up in monday's discussion indicating the u.s. pressed south korea on the issue. the two u.s. officials will next stop in tokyo to draw up an interim report on the defense review wtih japanese foreign affairs and defense officials. u.s. military leaders have added their most advanced stealth fighter.

they're testing u.s. readness as china continues in the asia pacific region. nhk world's charmaine deogracias reports. >> reporter: members of the u.s. forces combined for a joint exercise known as valiant shield. they conduct the drill every two years to prepare for an emergency in asia. we're aboard "u.s.s. george washington" in the pacific ocean. it's just one of two aircraft carriers participating in exercise valiant shield. with 18,000 troops jointly training for air-to-sea combat. military officials expanded the exercise this year so that it was more than twice as big as last time. they included two aircraft carriers and more than 200 fighter jets. the officials are responding to

china's increasingly assertive maritime activities. beijing has been expanding its reclamation work on a reef among the spratly islands in the south china sea. the philippines and other countries have territorial claims there. officials in the philippines, a longtime ally of the u.s., say china has started construction of what appeared to be military installations. chinese military officials are also stepping up their anti-access area denial strategy. they're trying to prevent u.s. forces from entering waters around their country by increasing their submarines and other capabilities. but u.s. military leaders are set to counter the move by building up their own air and naval forces across asia. they even conducted an exercise that involved breaking a strategy like the one used by china. >> the integrated training during valiant shield enhances our joint ability to face

current and emerging anti-access area denial challenges. we are firmly committed to preserving the peace and stability of this region and freedom of access to the global commons. >> reporter: u.s. officials deployed their most advanced stealth fighter, the f-22, for the exercise. they showed media images of the aircraft being refueled in the air. they also added simulated attacks in outer space and cyberspace to the exercise. u.s. forces have been wary ever since china conducted a test to destroy an artificial satellite with a ballistic missile seven years ago. >> some countries have the ability to limit -- you know, to remove satellites or limit satellite communications so we have to practice working in a

communications-denied environment. >> reporter: u.s. military officials are building up facilities and capabilities in guam as a base to counter china. they've deployed more submarines and bombers, and they plan to transfer marines from japan's okinawa prefecture to bolster their numbers on the island. >> so this is really as close to the u.s. -- that the u.s. gets to asia. so when you're talking about any kind of force protection or force projection, we are much closer here than almost anywhere else in the world. >> reporter: competition between the u.s. and china is set to heat up as the two powers vie for supremacy in the region. charmaine deogracias, nhk world, guam. time for the latest in

business news. more people are turning to smart phones and tablets, but that's not welcome news for the people at hewlett-packard. good morning. tell us what's happening at hp. >> hp isn't known for their smart phones or tablet computers. they make more traditional gadgets like personal computers and printers, but fewer people are buying those things and that's hurting hp's bottom line. executives are trying to turn things around. they've decided to split their company in two. officials say one unit will focus on its old business of computers and printers. the other unit will target corporate clients, providing cloud and other data management services. executives say the split will give both units greater focus and speed up decision making. they've been concerned ever since the company lost its position last year as the world's top seller of personal computers to china's lenovo group. executives at hilton worldwide are selling one of the most iconic hotels in new york. they've reached a deal with a

c chinese insurance company for the waldorf astor area. the executives say they'll transfer ownership to abbang for almost $2 billion. the orangeal owners of the hotel opened the hotel in manhattan in 1893. the current building went up in 1931. it was the largest hotel in the world at the time. city officials have designated new york landmark u.s. presidents foreign heads of state and movie stars have favored the hotel for its security and privacy. hilton executives will continue to manage the landmark building under a 100-year contract with anbank. let's now check in on the markets. investors are cautious ahead of key events this week. today, policymakers at the bank of squl pan will wrap up their two-day meeting and the -- will be on the fight to washington to

oversee his kaucounterparts and finance ministers to attend the international monetary fund annual meeting. for more on what's on investor's minds here in japan, let's go to ra mean. the nikkei got off to a strong start on monday. how is today's open? >> yesterday, indeed, actually, wall street struggled to maintain the pace it gained it saw after the friday jobs numbers. investors really looking out this week about the global economy as well as results to the bank of japan. let's have a look at how the nikkei is kicking off. bit of a mixed open now in the first few minutes of trading. the nikkei lower and topix largely in the positive. the boj is expected to keep policy on change. recent economic data has been mixed and the boj may need to see further proof of inflation. inflation pressure before it makes any other moves. for instance, one guide could be

rising employment and wage growth. -- to come into a little bit of consolidation, so they may pull back gains and shares of exporters. also want to add analysts say many will want to see how earnings pan out in japan over coming weeks and that could be interesting as well to hear b about further news from the government pension investment fund as to when it may announce a change for plans in holdings and increase in allocations and officials say it might come out later than expected. >> as we mentioned, against

other major currencies, where is it trading now? >> we have seen it trade back a little bit. 108.87. analysts are looking on when and by how much the federal reserve may raise rates. now, on wednesday, the fed raised minutes from its september policy meeting. let's have a look at the euro. it's due out later today, which may hold off major moves in this single currency. we're looking at the euro dollar now. let's not forget factory orders fell to five-year lows, a series of -- biggest economy. germany. now, focus on hong kong markets as well. tensions over the protests there have eased just a touch and the hang seng ended up just over 1%. mainland china will be closed for a public holiday, but again, a lot of focus in that sector of the market. just in the future, a mix opening here for the nikkei and topix. we'll see how that develops.

back to you. >> and that's the latest from the business scene for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on some other markets. the effects of the fukushima nuclear accident are still being felt three years on. levels of radio activity have dropped, almost 150 thousand tons of material need to be exposed of. they have identified dump sites in several communities, but one is saying no.

>> residents create e residents official last july. he had come to announce the town's selection as a site for the dump of radioactive materials. >> harmful rumors will destroy our town. >> a cold water string officially designated as one of japan's 100 best water sources. 2,000 people gathered at a town hall meeting. >> why must it be in our town? i find this impossible to understand. the castle town generated a lot

of paper waste, including old in one of his fields lies this great covered mass. under the sheet, this rice straw intended for animal feed. as the straw was drying, it was contaminated by radio activity from the plant over100 clom the terrors away. that was more than three years ago. one month after the meltdown, the government asked local communities to provide temporary storage sites, but then nothing was done. the farmers are caught in a bind. they worry if they complain too loudly, it could lead to damaging rumors about the safety of their produce. >> the most worrisome thing is that it's still here.

>> they say at the end of june, japan has 136,000 tons of material stored temporarily on farmland and other sites arranged by local government. ministry officials say they plan to move it to sites such the one planned. they say they will seal the material in concrete and store it underground monitoring it for radioactive leaks for several decades. >> contaminated material is just lying around now. which is riskier? temporary dumps or a permanent facility? but residents at the proposed sites are angry. they say no one explained to them how or why their towns were chosen.

years after, the contaminated material remains -- it is a com affected. it's time for a check of the weather. people in tokyo are enjoying sunny, clear skies this morning. this is after residents dealt with effects of a powerful typhoon. >> for the time being, what we are seeing now, wrapping around the western periphery. now it's way out towards the north and east. high pressure is coming in towards the north. you can see right here on the edge of this imagery. just beautiful conditionses. just a few hours after the system, it drew in some cooler air from the north coming out of

siberia. frost advisories in place, some areas well below the freezing mark and still might want to have a sweater ready as we look ahead to tuesday morning hours. i would love to say this weather is going to be lasting for an extended period of time, but unfortunately, what we are seeing is yet another typhoon down here towards the south and this one is expected to intensify. very similar sounding names here. you can see it's on a westerly track and then we have a turn towards the northeast moving out there towards the southern island and even in the extended long range forecast, this takes a very similar track, so we're going to keep a very close eye on this. still a lot of time to watch it, but don't want to be letting our guards down just yet.

one step down here towards the south. it's also doing its part pulling moisture from the west. those of you in the philippines, this is going to be staying towards the east of you, but it is going to be bringing the threat of flooding. back towards thailand and the past couple of hours, about 143 millimeters of rainfall. and you can see it here, look at that, it starts to push off towards the northwest. that is a cycle developing off of that. on the other side of the paci c pacific, we have another tropical storm out here. this is simon. it was a hurricane. the it has since been downgraded. still fairly weak, but we have some tropical storm watches in effect. the it's going to be coming onshore as a low pressure system. the biggest problem with this is not going to be the wind. we are seeing some waves in southern california, but it's the rainfall. remember about a month ago, we had -- come through here.

that brought heavy rain. this could bring precipitation in the desert. that is a lot of rainfall. flash flooding, mudslides are are very well possible throughout the next 72 hours. on the other side of the country, towards the eastern u.s., we have severe thunderstorm warnings in place. a cold front pushing through here. that's going to continue to cruise out towards the eastern sea board. if we want winter, we go out here to manitoba and western ontario. some snowfall out there. expect it there in your forecast. winnipeg has been high, 11 on your tuesday. wrap things up here in western europe. i know some of you wrote in, talking about from the u.k., you had stormy weather there on your monday. this cold front is still pushing off towards the northeast. in the north sea, 180 kilometer wind reports. for now, your extended outlook.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us.

>> euromaxx highlights. here is your host, and o'donnell. >> hello. we have compiled our favored reports of the week for you. let's have a look at our top three. jerome's are used to shoot monuments. how to get fresh ideas off the ground. and canine confusion. they have revolutionized the world of imagery, stretched the limitations of photography and cinema. drone cameras look like a toy but are anything but. german photographer line or else