hello. you're watching "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. officials in pyongyang say they're postponing releasing the results of a long awaited investigation. they launched a committee one year ago to look into the fate of japanese citizens abducted by north korean agents. sources dealing with ties between the two countries say pyongyang contacted tokyo ahead of the anniversary. north korean officials pledged a full-scale probe in negotiations with japan in may of last year. they form a special committee in charge of the investigation last july. in september they told japan

they were aiming to take about a year to complete the investigation. since then the japanese foreign ministry has contacted the north korean officials each month. japanese officials considered the delay regrettable. they say they believe bringing about the abductees' return will become more difficult if they tie sanctions on north korean and suspend negotiation. they plan to continue unofficial talks with their north korean counterparts and urge them to conduct the investigation sincerely and swiftly. the japanese officials have reiterated their position that securing the abductees' return is the top priority. they maintain that north korean agents kidnapped at least 17 people in the 1970s and '80s. pro russian separatists in eastern ukraine have unilaterally called a local election in october in a move to establish autonomy. petro poroshenko reacted sharply

to the plan. the leader of the pro-russian separatists in donetsk made the announcement. he criticized the ukrainian government for refusing dialogue with them. he said this has prevented the cease-fire from taking effect. he said they will hold a local election on october 18th based on the truce agreement. the fellow separatists in plan to hold an election the same day. president poroshenko called the move destructive to the process of easing tension. under the truce deal local elections are to be held in areas controlled by pro russian separatist business year end. but poroshenko says while russian troops remain in the region holding a fair election is impossible. the two sides have engage in sporadic fighting even after the cease-fire was agreed to in february. the united nations says since the fighting began in april last

year, more than 6,500 people have been killed. debate is heating up in greece over whether the country should accept fiscal austerity measures. the european union is proposing the package in return for bailout funds but the greek government says it wants a better agreement. both camps are stepping up their campaign in athens. the government plans to hold a referendum on the issue on sunday. other eurozone nations oppose the vote. they will wait for the outcome of the poll. a group of prominent people including university professors and actors attended a news conference and appealed for a yes vote. the members argued that refusing the austerity package will mean greece's exit from the eurozone and collapse of its economy. people with the no camp also staged rallies. greek prime minister alexis

tsipras says he pledges to ensure the people's dignity and sovereignty until the end. the two sides are planning large rallies on friday amid growing concern among greeks of their ramifications of the deadlock. they include a cap on the amount of money people can withdrawal from banks. one of greece's major creditors has come up with a new analysis on the country's debt situation. ai uchida joins us from the business deck with some of the details from the report by the international monetary fund. what does it say? >> interesting to note is that the assessment was compiled june 26. that is before days before greece failed to repay the imf and has gone into what the imf officials call into arrears. the report does warn that the country needs more funding and maybe even significant debt relief on top of that. the assessment says that greece experienced a substantial increase in financing needs. the report makes a projection calling for at least 36 billion

euros or about $40 billion from the european partners over the next three years. the imf also points out that little progress has been made with austerity and structural reform since prime minister tsipras took office in january. greece can apply for a new bailout from the imf until it repays the existing one, but the fund is apparently urging greece and its partners to find middle ground to solve the crisis. outside of greece investors around the world have been closely watching the monthly u.s. jobs report. data yesterday showed that in june employers added 223,000 nonfarm jobs. the figure missed market forecasts. however, the unemployment rate did drop from 5.5% to 5.3%. and that is a seven-year low. now, following these figures share prices on wall street ended slightly lower. the dow jones industrial average just down over 0.1%. the tech-heavy nasdaq dipping on

the day as well. to see how markets in tokyo are reacting let's go to ramin mellegard who is standing by a at the tokyo stock exchange. >> less than stellar jobs numbers there that you just talked about and a lot of analysts are looking at these datas may come to the conclusion now that the fed may actually hold off before it raises rates. so that seems to be the indication. let's look at how the nikkei and the topix are kicking off. a bit of a negative start here. the topix actually opened in the positive but has now dipped into the negative along with the nikkei. u.s. markets have closed today. investors here in japan and across asia may decide just to square off some positions following that jobs data. that said w the slightly lower dollar, we are seeing a little bit of profit taking in exporters while also bank and financial shares may just hold back a little bit ahead of that referendum in greece over the weekend. but in the long run, a lot of

analysts also suggesting that we may see further gains for japanese shares with stricter and newer corporate governance measures really attracting overseas investors to japanese shares. that could be an added attraction for japanese equities. >> and what can you tell us about currencies since it looks like the dollar fell a touch after that jobs data? where is that now? >> yeah definitely we did see that slightly lower. in fact it did dip below 123 at one stage. right now during tokyo trading hours 123.03 to .10. they were pushed back a touch after the nonform payrolls came in below consensus and the two previous readings were revised lower. we saw yields on u.s. treasury notes falling. also as wage growth a key factor of the federal reserve did not improve at all. the euro moving without any

clear direction against both the dollar and the yen. a lot of traders waiting for the outcome of the referendum in greece and the fallout or the reaction in markets later. now, one other area i really want to touch on is the shanghai composite which seems to be in freefall of late. another rate hike just last weekend and a lot of moves to relax margin trading or margin loans really haven't done the trick to win back any buyers. after hitting seven-year highs back in june the shanghai composite seen over a 20% drop and the shenzhen almost 30%. analysts say the volatility is a big concern. with the u.s. markets closed for independence day and the greek referendum on sunday we may see a little bit of range trading, but we're in the negative for now. >> talk to you in a few hours apdz time. tlt for that update. thai officials have agreed on the construction of a high-speed railway in thailand starting this october.

china will insist on building it as part of its distribution network in southeast asia. the planned railroad will extend 860 kilometers and connect nong khai and the capital bangkok and rayong. thailand's national rail operator will receive chinese know-how on driving trains and controlling traffic. thai officials will continue to negotiate the interest rate on funds needed for the project. they say china's proposed rate is too high. tokyo offers plenty of ways for people to have fun and relax, but it's also one of the world's most crowded cities where space is at a premium. in our next story we find out about businesses that take their customers to new heights. >> reporter: entertainment is the name of the game in tokyo's shibuya district.

but one of the latest offerings is a rare sight in the big city. >> cam customers pay to use the cooking grill. they can prepare food provided by the store or they can bring their own. >> translator: we don't often have this chance. you normally have to travel a long way to barbecue. doing it on a rooftop is convenient. >> for me, i think it's kind of strange. it's kind of the experience of japan, but yeah we never do this in the states. >> reporter: cooking under the open shibuya sky has turned out to be a popular activity. last spring's opening season attracted 14,000 people. store managers say many of them

were first-time customers. >> translator: most of our customers were in their 50s or 60s, but after introducing the barbecues, we started drawing more young people and they shop here as well. >> reporter: a few stops off the train line another department store is also taking business to a higher level. that store stands over shibuya station. that helps pull in customers to the shop basement and ground floors. but until recently few people made it to the top of the building. now they've got a reason. an outdoor pond inspired by monet's masterpiece "water lilies." when they're not gazing at the view rooftop patrons can wine and dine. dishes from around the world. >> translator: it doesn't lo at all.

it's beautiful. fantastic. it's my first time, and i like it very much. >> translator: this could have been made into a commercial space, but instead they created a natural space, and that's what's attracting me. >> reporter: store managers say using the top level has paid off. the roof attracted 7,000 people a day since it opened. transforming empty space into customers. no renovation was needed at this shopping complex. it opened for business in the tokyo suburbs last november and planners made rooftop traffic a priority from the start. they had a specific crowd in mind -- the residents of nearby condominium condominiums. people were complaining about the lack of places for children to play.

not any more. the complex is on the roof. the owners said they wanted to create an oasis for urban families. >> translator: it was fun. >> translator: this is almost the only place around here where my kids can play. and it has various things that they can enjoy. >> reporter: parents say they appreciate the safe environment. more than 6 million people have visited the complex since it opened eight months ago. and almost half of them have come up to the rooftop. >> we want to attract more customers by organizing events in this natural environment and also by making continuous improvements. >> reporter: no horew horizons are opening up for tokyo businesses with more retailers taking an advantage of rooftop space.

future success will depend on coming up with creative ways to use it. reporting for nhk world. and more for you next hour in business. here's another check on markets. a japanese island known for its industrial ruins is a candidate site for world heritage status. unesco officials are now examining the bid, but maintaining a balance between preservation and decay is posing some unique challenges. nhk world has more.

>> reporter: the coal mine inging of the island, once prosperous, it has now fallen into a state of ruin. >> translator: incredible ruins. >> translator: i'm surprised so much is still standing. >> reporter: hashima's golden years span from the 19th to the mid20th century. at its peak more than 5,000 people lived on this tiny island. its high quality coal drove japan's modernization. that's why it is proposed for world heritage status. but the concrete buildings are crumbling due to rain. the world heritage proposal is restricted to hash democrat iima's

coal mines, not the residential area. but many want the whole island preserved. this man specializes in architecture at the graduate school of nagasaki. he began five years ago to keep records of hashima's condition. last year his group mapped it in 3-d. people can see it from different angles. this was built in 1958. its roof has been crumbling for years. last summer it finally caved in. some entire buildings are about to collapse. this high rise apartment is japan's oldest concrete building. it dates from 1916 almost a hundred years ago. this image is a compose of two

photographs taken since then. the white picture was taken in february and the green one in october. the white bits show parts that collapsed in the space of just eight months. >> translator: this technology helps us understand the progress of deterioration down to the smallest detail. we record the changes over time in digital archives. >> reporter: a group of experts held a conference in may on preservation plans for hashima. regarding the residential area they agreed efforts are needed to slow the deterioration of the buildings while considering ways to preserve them. however, preserving the crumbling apartment building would be a huge cost for the

city. some >> translator: we think the ruins themselves have value, and even the process of deterioration. you could even say that hashima island marks a brand new way of thinking that validates the importance of collapsed buildings. >> reporter: hashima's barriers rise in two different areas, as part of japan's historic past and the ruins. the challenge now is to maintain both aspects. reporting for nhk world from nagasaki. ministers with the association of southeast asian nations gathered in malaysia to discuss the migrant crisis but they did not address a core issue. asean ministers met in the capital equal la lum purr. they proposed setting up a

humanitarian fund to help the boat loads of people who have come ashore in southeast asia but they didn't discuss the oppression of muslims in myanmar. since may thousands of boat people have drifted ashore in asean nations facing the indian ocean. these people include not only rohingyas but bangladeshi people fleeing their country. shelter was offered for only one year. many mass gravs were found in thailand in may believe to contain the bodies of victims of human trafficking. thailand is a main relay location for such traffickers. police in the country have been cracking down on human rights violations. the migrant situation became even more serious when human traffickers fearing this crackdown abandoned their boats at sea with the people on board.

thousands of victims were left to drift on the indian ocean. the local people in aceh are offering the rohingya people hospitality and understanding. nhk world reports. >> reporter: about a thousand rohingyas drifted ashore in aceh province last month, and they were offered shelter. they live in this used factory and other places and have few ideas as to where they'll go next. >> translator: i wish we could have hope for our future. i'm worried about my family i left behind in myanmar. >> reporter: the people of aceh helped the migrants. here is a camp of rohingya in aceh province. as you can see, there are many

local people preparing foods for rohingya. this 30-year-old is one of the cooks. she tries to prepare dishes the rohingya people will like. she has four children of her own to care for. her monthly income is $70. she cuts her family's own budget to support the migrants. the people of aceh are no stranger to hardship. the province went through a separatist conflict that lasted 30 years until 2005. her husband was a bus driver. he was killed by the indonesian military 12 years ago.

like others in aceh, she empathizes with the rohingyas. >> translator: we were driven out of our land and had to take shelter elsewhere. we want the rohingyas to live peacefully. until that happens, we'll continue to help them. >> reporter: a group collects signatures of support. they say an international effort is needed. >> translator: please, give us your signatures. >> translator: we were able to end the aceh conflict when the international community turned its attention. we want to do the same thing for the rohingya. >> reporter: the rohingya, which are believed to be perhaps the world's largest ethnic minority.

asean nations are finding themselves on the frontlines of this humanitarian crisis. reporting for nhk world, aceh province indonesia. time for world weather with meteorologist robert speta. as we reported in the open hours, a ferry capsized and the weather may have played a role in this disaster. walk us through. >> yeah so what we have been seeing is out here is still a recovery effort ongoing. and the weather was definitely very foul around this area around the philippines during this disaster. what we have going on right now is a tropical system just off the eastern seaboards of the philippine. i'll talk about the intensity of the forecast in just a second. but one of the big things to talk about is that we have this inflow. that's these rain bands coming in from the west. it's been impacting this area of the philippines for several days

now. and let's go to some video with have give you more information on what did occur out here. because this ferry was carrying 183 passengers. 36 have been confirmed dead. it happened just after leaving port. according to the coast guard pokesman 127 people have been rescued, 26 people are still missing. family members continuing to wait for relatives the and hopefully they're found here. scores of people die in the philippines every year due to ferry accidents. often because of overloading. and often because of the weather as well. remember this part of the philippines you get these storms that blow up quite rapidly. but the other big thing you've been seeing this persistent flow of moisture across this area. at the time of the sinking there was foul weather reported in the area. i know that in the morning hours we did see some ferries canceled around the sabu area as well. this one did get under way.

it's still undergoing investigation exactly what happened, but what i can say is the weather is not cooperating as far as recovery efforts. this is our tropical storm. the center of circulation is well off shore. that's why you don't have any specific warnings in place just yet through parts of the philippines because the worst of the weather is that monsoonal inflow from the south. it could impact northeastern portion of luzon by the end of the woke. good news this is a relatively rural area but we still want to watch this. this could turn back towards the east. why? because it's going the start to interact with another storm system. this could become a potentially violent typhoon. you have the circulation here on the satellite imagery. it is relatively large and expected to intensify. we have typhoon watches in place across the mariana islands. if you have fourth of july plans

here in guam and saipan remember that's american territory out here so they do celebrate that i would probably want to cancel or postpone them because you're going to be looking at typhoon conditions here on your saturday and sunday. back towards the north, the rainy season still in place. remember, this is our seasonal ban. it does continue to gradually work off towards the north, but if you're in tokyo expecting these showers throughout the day here on friday even tapering off as we go ahead into saturday as well. highs into the mid-20s. similar conditions across parts of china as well. do want to wrap things up. severe weather continuing to erupt in the eastsoutheast. strong winds and large hail coming out of it. storms continue to linger. the next severe weather spot is actually going to be in the central plains as we go into friday. oklahoma city high 30s thunderstorms expected to start off your long weekend. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thank you for joining us.

ok?ó???????o= gcgc he mascot. we go into the studio and hear a performance by rapper chase manhattan. and we continue to celebrate our 10th season by remembering treaty rights advocate billy frank jr. we also learn something new about indian country and hear from our elders on this "native report." voiceover: production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community and the blandin foundation.