scientists made the announcement in stockholm. akasaki teaches in central japan.

amano is a professor at nagayo university and nakamura is a professor at university of california, santa barbara. in 1989, they used crystals to develop a semiconductor that emitted blue light. nakamura created brighter blue l.e.d.s capable of being used in electronic products. the members of the academy said their invention helped to contribute to saving the earth's resources. and they say it promises a better quality of life for bms of people around the world. it's the first time in six years that japanese scientists have won the award and brings a number of physics laureates from japan. [ applause ] >> translator: i was half surprised, but there is nothing more honorable than this.

at first people said no one could make blue l.e.d.s during the 20th century. some colleagues gave up hope and left the study. but i never gave up. i just kept on studying. i was very lucky to get the support of many colleagues who worked with me and backed me. it is not only me who deserves this honor. >> cheers. >> he's an american citizen. he said he's grateful to his university colleagues, and developed the japanese company where he used to work. >> i have been very fortunate to be supported by many people in my tenure. i got my first break from mr. ogawa, who supported my

abilities. also my younger colleagues helped a lot. i'm also grateful for the support of the university. >> he expressed his surprise at winning the nobel. >> translator: the three of us won the prize together. the other two are outstanding researchers, and pioneers. i have yet to reach the level. it's hard for me to believe that i have actually won the prize with them. i'm really surprised. >> the scientists' success revolutionized the way we see things. it prompted industries to develop products that until then had been unimaginable. here is the report. >> reporter: huge displays with

many colors. manufacturers have made these in blue. l.e.d.s are not only brighter than traditional lights, they use less power, last longer, and they're more affordable. different chemicals allow semiconductors to emit different colors of lights. many scientists have tried to find the material needed for blue, to make l.e.d.s span the spectrum. but these were unsuccessful. they provided the final piece of the puzzle when they crystallized the material to produce the color. >> translator: i had to make a lot of mistakes to achieve something new. >> reporter: once they did that, engineers built on his break-through. it makes the light a brighter blue.

a few years later, nakamura surprised people in japan when he sued his employer. he wanted financial reward deserving of his achievement. >> translator: engineers and scientists get their marks with money. japan's traditional low amount of rewards means our abilities are not counted at all. >> reporter: nakamura's remarks prompted employers across the country to rethink how they should reward the achievements by their workers. other scientists have used their discoveries to produce new products, including blu-ray disks. the accomplishments of the three scientists have helped make the world brighter. and more dynamic. nhk world, tokyo. things don't look so bright for the japanese economy.

we're joined now from the business desk with the latest on the economic situation. what can you tell us? >> good morning, catherine. analysts at the international monetary fund released their outlook, and things are looking rather gloomy for japan. the analysts slashed their growth forecasts for the country citing a strong reaction to the consumption tax increase. the ims world economic outlook downgraded this year's forecast for japan from 1.6% to 0.9%. the report said personal spending and investment have fallen since the consumption tax was raised to 8% in april. exports are sluggish as well. >> potential growth in japan is very, very low. and so the only way we are going to grow faster is by increasing potential growth. this is the chance of japan. >> blancheard unched the

japanese government should ease the monetary policy. the annual growth forecast for the global economy was lowered from 3.4% to 3.3%. the report called the eurozone the weakest of the advanced economies. officials scaled back their growth projection for the region from 1.1% to 0.8%. but they did revise their forecast for the u.s. economy upward from 1.7% to 2.2%. the report cited a shift in u.s. monetary policy, slow growth in japan, and the eurozone, and tensions over ukraine and the middle east as factors causing uncertainty in the global economy. investors were worried by those revisions and they pulled their money out of european and u.s. stock markets. those in europe all fell by more than 1%, and the broad sell-off extended to wall street. the dow fell for a second straight day to finish 1.6% lower.

let's get more details from ramin at the new york stock exchange. concerns about the outlook for global economic growth playing through the market. how are investors in japanese talks taking it all in? >> yes, indeed, a lot of investors focusing very much on economic fundamentals. that's really driving market sentiment globally. let's look how the nikkei and topix are kicking off today, october 8th. they're following pretty much what we saw in the u.s. and european markets with the nikkei and topics lower in the first few minutes of trading. in addition to the slowing growth across the world, which you just touched on, ai, the latest data from germany had investors running for cover. the key stock index in germany has been on a steady decline. that's a one-month chart there. the output in august saw the biggest fall in almost five years. and that put another doubt in investors' minds about the state of the eurozone economy.

the imf warned in its report that the eurozone is at risk of slipping into a third recession since the 2008 financial crisis. a weaker german economy which is eurozone's biggest will put added pressure on policymakers to take steps to stimulate growth. a lot of focus also on the european bank. the nikkei was trending lower as of tuesday. investors were left somewhat disappointed that the meeting did not offer any new hints on more monetary easing. we saw the showing in the currency markets. many traders selling the dollar against the yen. and stronger yen, of course, putting a lot of pressure on heavily weighted exporters on the nikkei. that's going to be a big focus today as well, ai. >> the dollar pulling back from the six-year highs we've seen. where is it trading against the yen right now? >> we've seen big fluctuations in the dollar/yen.

108.14 to 19. the dollar running into selling against other major currencies. also worries about slowing growth, especially in china. however, one analyst said that the u.s. economy does provide a ray of hope for investors. let's not forget the last u.s. jobs report that came out on friday, did show a boost there. and also, signs of tensions in hong kong seem to have dissipated a touch. and the hang seng in fact closed higher for a third trading day in a row. yesterday investors appeared to be betting that the current impasse between pro-democracy protesters and the local government may be resolved sooner rather than later. i'm going to track all of those developments. but for now, the nikkei is down over 200 points. we'll see how that develops throughout the morning. back to you, ai. >> ramin, thanks a lot for that update from the tokyo stock exchange. we've got the latest on

japan's trade and investment with the rest of the world. the current account reached a surplus for two consecutive months. finance ministry officials say the current account surplus for august was about $2.7 billion. it was despite a trade deficit of about $7.7 billion. exports rose up 1%, imports more than 2%. overseas investment compensated for the trade deficit. ministry officials say the primary income account surplus rose 20.6% to about $14 billion. more headlines and business for you next hour. here's another check on markets. you

. people in brazil will choose nair next president later this month in a runoff election. they're looking for someone who will turn around the economy. they're being told the 2016 olympic games in rio de janeiro will give the country a boost. but they were told the same thing about this year's world cup. fabio flurry reports from san paulo. >> reporter: this stage was used in the world cup finals. it cost around $245 million to build. many locals have been using this as their home field. but not many people have come today. originally many local events

were to take place here after the world cup. but it's only used about once a week. >> translator: the cost was just too high. there just wasn't enough planning. >> reporter: there was a rush to build the hotels. house rent also increased. some 20,000 people are residing on this proptd. property. without the consent of the landowners, these people are building homes. this woman is one of them. she says that they have no choice but to break the law. as they can't afford the rent elsewhere. she says she's disappointed with politics.

it's made her life even harder. >> translator: the economy has faltered. the candidates keep on saying they will improve our lives, but there's no sign this will happen. >> reporter: the brazilian economy used to grow by about 5% a year, driven in part by its automobile markets, the world's fourth largest. but, this year, new car sales dropped by nearly 10% compared to last year. the decline has affected employment. in september, this auto plant sent nearly 20% of its workers home for the month. if the economy doesn't pick up, the workers may have lose their jobs permanently. this man's wife is expecting a

baby in five months. he's worried about the future. as there is no guarantee he can return to work. >> translator: if you are on leave from work, you can stay with me while i give birth to our first child. so cheer up. >> translator: there's nothing to worry about if the company keeps its promise to pay us during the period. but i feel that they will break their word. the company can dump me if they don't need me anymore. all i can do is to hope that the economy improves after the presidential election. >> reporter: the unexpected downturn of the brazilian economy will certainly have an impact on the outcome of the country's presidential election. fabio fleury, nhk world, sao

paulo. pro-democracy students in hong kong are angry about the direction in which their government is headed. they, and government leaders, have agreed to hold their first formal talks. but the students don't like what's on the agenda. the two sides agreed to start the talks on friday, in a location open to the public. the number two government leader chief secretary lam is scheduled to attend. she and her colleagues will hold a discussion on the provisions of electoral reforms. but student leaders criticized the agenda as vague. they're demanding that the head of the government resign, and they're asking the government to scrap the electoral system that chinese leaders decided on in august. it effectively bars pro-democracy candidates from running for chief executive in an election in 2017. the demonstrators say they'll stay on the street until they get what they want. japanese prime minister

shinzo abe and russian president vladimir putin have agreed to meet on the sidelines of next month's apec summit in beijing. abe talked on the phone with putin on tuesday to congratulate him on his 62nd birthday. last month, putin called abe on the occasion of his 60th birthday. abe said he hopes to use his friendship with putin to launch dialogue on all levels towards strengthening ties. the leaders exchanged views on the conflict in ukraine. abe likely called on putin to do more for a peaceful resolution. u.s.-led forces have launched more air strikes to stop another offensive by fighters with islamic state. they've targeted sites in a syrian town near the turkish

border. the militants have been locked in a battle with kurdish forces. they said the islamic state flags were flying over a hill and a building there. they've been fighting the kurds in the streets. turkish president said air strikes will not be enough and warned the town it's about to fall. >> translator: this problem cannot be resolved via air strikes without cooperating with those fighting on the ground. >> more than 160,000 residents ofino arab have fled over the border to turkey. aid workers are asking for more international aid to help the refugees. police in tokyo say a japanese man would have become one of many foreigners joining islamic state. they say he had been preparing to travel to syria to become a fighter, but they found out and raided his home. officers searched a place in

tokyo where the man lived and other sites. he's 26 years old and a student at hokkaido university. they say he began to study arabic, became a muslim in july and took a muslim name. police say he has violated the penal code that bans individuals to fight in foreign countries. other countries are on the lookout for people trying to join the islamic state. indonesia has the largest muslim population, and a group there has expressed support for an islamic state. here's the report from jakarta. >> reporter: the video posted online in july sent shock waves through the country. the video calling on people to join the fighting with english

subtitles. one radical gathering in support of the islamic state. it also operates an internet site in the middle east. >> translator: many young muslims support among people who have been skeptical of the islamic state. >> reporter: they say more than 15,000 have traveled to syria to fight for the islamic state. but they have not yet put together an overall picture of the fighters who are said to have reached the middle east through pakistan and other countries.

there was concern expressed by people from countries joining the islamic state. >> our estimation today is probably about 1,000 potential aspiring fighters that have moved from this region, based on kind of our overall assessment. that number could get larger as we go forward. >> reporter: as concerns spread through the international community, the government in august banned expressions of support for the islamic state. the existing law in the country does not allow authorities to detain someone unless there is evidence that the person is involved in acts of terrorism. so they cannot suppress movements that support the islamic state. nhk world, jakarta.

authorities in asia and elsewhere are also looking for people wanting to join other militant groups. nhk has learned a japanese man traveled to syria to become a fighter. he said he took part in fighting, but says his actions were not politically motivated. he's 26 years old. he says he crossed the turkish border into syria in april last year. he says a syrian citizen helped him become a muslim and introduced him to members of a militant group. at first he guarded buildings but said in may he took part in an attack on a prison where government troops were stationed. he said he was with foreign fighters from about 10 to 20 countries. but he says he did not kill anyone. he said he was wounded and was treated at a hospital, then returned to japan. this is the first time a japanese national has been found to have joined an extremist group in syria.

it's time now for a check of the weather. people in tokyo are experiencing fair weather conditions this morning. but a typhoon is making its way to japan. >> yes, catherine, at least for the time being, enjoy the fair weather conditions. because in the forecast, things are definitely going to be deteriorating. we have the high pressure dominating japan over eastern china. the fair weather conditions will stay in place for the rest of the work week. but you can't miss it here on the map. we have the typhoon down here towards the south. this is typhoon vongfong. this is definitely an intensifying storm system. even take a look at it a little bit closer here. this is a visible satellite at sunrise. and what you can see here is the eye completely shadowed over because the cloud tops are so high, that when the sun was coming up over the horizon, it

couldn't penetrate down into the center of the storm system. it gives you a gauge how strong the storm system is at this time. 900 hpa. winds gusting 306 kilometers per hour. this is as strong as it gets, the strongest storm of 2014. the strongest one since typhoon haiyan last year. that impacted the philippines when it was at its peak intensity. the good news with this storm, we're seeing the peak intensity on wednesday into thursday morning. then it's going to start to turn towards the north. once that happens, it's going to start to move away from these extremely favorable environment for intensification and will start to weaken off as it proechts mainland japan here, and the southern japanese islands. it will be a much weaker storm system, but still a strong typhoon. if you're out here, you definitely need to keep a very close eye on this. after you go into sunday, and also monday, good news monday is a holiday. a lot of people should already be staying indoors out here. it will still bring a big rainmaker and gusty winds.

for the time being though, since this is such a slow-moving storm system, a lot of variables in place. plus, it's cascading these waves out. look at this, 10-meter-high waves near the center of circulation. 3 meters toward the philippines and taiwan. you are going to see about 3 to 4-meter-high waves. you want to stay away from the coastline, especially the southern coast. very dangerous breakers coming out of this. pull back the picture and we also have that monsoonal flow wrapping around. rainfall across the philippines, across the indonesia peninsula. to make matters worse, we've got another storm system. a new tropical depression, not named yet, but it is continuing to bring rainfall out to the ottoman islands. port blair 133 millimeters in the past 24 hours. this is expected to intensify, up to a very severe cyclonic storm, before making landfall in india with

150-kilometer-per-hour winds as well. then we have what's left of tropical depression simon coming onshore there in baja, california. bringing the rainfall across parts of arizona, over towards new mexico, with that risk of flash flooding. you can see on the image here, a lot more rain taking place over the ohio river valley. we actually have this storm system pushing off to the east. already tornado watches have been put in place. hail up to 2 centimeters in diameter, along with the heavy rain and winds gusting at 100 kilometers per hour, could be seen with this storm as it pushes farther towards the east moving into new england where you've already been seeing the rain as well. a lot of stuff going on today. but for now, i will leave you with your extended outlook around the world.

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

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>> welcome to "global 3000." today we look at the human cost of war. the recent escalation of violence in many regions -- including iraq, gaza, ukraine, and libya -- has pushed syria out of the headlines. there alone more than 190,000 , people have been killed. millions have fled their homes. many have landed up at the zaatari camp in jordan, which is already the second largest in the world. there life is tough, especially for women. in a moment we go there. and here's what else we have coming up over the next half-hour. running out of habitat. why conservation is becoming harder in congo. desperate to make a livi.