♪ glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, august 27th, i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. news watchers in the state of virginia were witness to a deadly attack carried out on live television. they heard gun shots, then screams during an interview. and they learned the reporter and her cameraman were killed. the shooting happened around 7:00 a.m. wednesday outside a shopping mall in the small community of moneta. a gunman opened fire, shooting the reporter, the cameraman and the woman they were interviewing. the woman in recovering in hospital. wdbj, the station, says reporter

alison parker began working for them last year, she was 24. adam word had only recently become a cameraman, she was 27. the gunman has been identified as 41-year-old vester flanagan. he was a former employee of the station. he led police on a four-hour manhunt before shooting himself. police say evidence suggests flanagan planned the attack. they say he sent a fax to a major u.s. tv network and posted his own video of the shootings on social media. those videos have since been removed. the shooting sense shock waves across the u.s. the white house stressed again the need for gun control. >> this is another example of gun violence that is becoming all too common in communities large and small all across the united states. >> earnest said that only congress can have a tangible impact in reducing gun violence

in the country. japan's prime minister has sent a message of congratulations to the international space station. he praised them for using a robotic arm to talk the cargo ship. it was carrying food, equipment and other supplies. abe spoke with yui via a satellite link from the national museum of emerging science and innovation in tokyo. >> translator: congratulations on your successful mission. >> translator: it was a very tough mission. japan assumed the main role of ensuring the mission was a success. i'm very happy everything worked out as planned. >> abe disclosed that japanese astronaut will spend six months on the iss starting in november 2017. he said he hoped norishige kanai

will carry on yui's legacy. and japanese astronauts will continue to take up the challenge. he was working for the self-defense force as a doctor. >> translator: i want to do something big with my experience and background, something only i can do as a doctor while i work at the iss. >> kanai trained at a facility in the u.s. to prepare for his first space mission. concerns over china's economic slowdown and its impact on global stocks seem to be giving at least one american policy maker second thoughts on the timing of a u.s. rate hike. ramin mellegard joins us from the business desk with all the details. he heard analysts say a september rate hike could be possible but now one key official saying otherwise. >> exactly. this key official really voicing his opinions and the markets

really reacting and listening to that. most u.s. central bank policy makers have said conditions are on track for a rise in the benchmark rate. but now the head of the new york federal reserve bank is saying something different. william dudley has said the move seems less compelling. he's the vice chairman of the federal open market committee that determines u.s. monetary policy. >> from my perspective at this moment, the decision to begin the normalization process at the september meeting seems less compelling to me than it was a few weeks ago. >> dudley added the u.s. economy is improving and a rate hike by the end of the year remains possible. he said the fed will be sifting through economic data and keeping an eye on market developments until their next meeting. the interest rate is currently near zero. the markets believe the decision

could come as early as next month at the fed's policy board meeting. let's get a look on how the fed officials' views are affecting the market. mayu is standing by. finally we saw wall street break its dramatic fall earlier in the week. another wild day there, but this time with a pretty good ending. give us the picture. >> i'll give you the details in a minute, but i can say markets are definitely recovering after that crazy wild trading we saw the past week. tokyo markets opened this thursday morning. after the 3% rally yesterday, the nikkei is opening up 2%, 18,741. and the broader topix is up 2.3% right now. to recap, the nikkei plummeted more than 2,000 points friday through tuesday. so considering the 500 points of gains yesterday, markets are

resuming their bull run again. quickly on indices in the asia pacific, kospi is up about half a percent. australia is up about .7 of a percent. all eyes on chinese markets which open in about an hour. ramin, it was a historic day in new york. wall street posted its biggest one-day gain in almost four years. gains accelerated in the last minutes of trading, quite a different picture of what we saw yesterday. short-term traders led, the dow closed up nearly 4%. the tech heavy nasdaq jumped 4.25%. of course comments from the fed official william dudley about the september rate hike looking less compelling encouraged market players to return to risky assets from safe havens. ramin? >> those comments seem to have moved markets.

speaking of safe havens, what is happening to some of the currencies? specifically dollar/yen. >> the dollar is gaining ground. it had slumped to a level around 116 yen. but as you can see, the dollar is back to around c1 120 yen. meanwhile, the euro is slipping to around 1.1335. compared to 1.15 same time yesterday. although the markets are recovering, it's early to sit back, relax, have a cup of coffee, because jitters over china still remain in the markets. so all eyes will be on chinese stock trading again today. back to you. >> definitely hold off on that coffee just for now. thanks for that mayu, live from the tokyo stock exchange. japanese government officials say the economy remains on a moderate recovery

path, but their concern over volatility in global financial markets. the cabinet office released its economic report for august. officials kept their overall assessment unchanged from july. but they note the pace of improvement has fluctuated. the report upgraded the assessment on housing construction. it also points to signs of improvement in corporate earnings and the labor market. but it's a very different story for personal consumption. officials downgraded that for the first time in 11 months. falling sales of vehicles and a sluggish retail sector are cited as factors. they also revised down their take on exports, pointing to declines in electronics parts for other asian markets. now, organic materials that conduct electricity are becoming the base of products. experts say they'll sell a rival metal as a basic building block

and manufacturers are exploring a host of new applications from watches to aircraft bodies. >> this is an organic material that conducts electricity. electronics manufacturers are competing to develop products using materials like this, made of plastic, fiber carbon and other compounds. one think-tank estimates the market for these materials could be worth about $58 billion u.s. by 2030. one company used the material to make this solar powered film. >> translator: this solar celibatery generates electricity from exposure to indoor lights. >> reporter: this is fukushima station. the solar film was fixed to the station's windows in april. the film doesn't generate as much electricity as solar panels, but it's easier to install. electricity is used to power the

station's lights and electronic bulletin boards. this is a cross-section of the film. the two sides are separated into positive and negative poles. when the film is exposed to light, negative lek rons are absorbed and then transformed and emitted as electrical energy. this energy flows into an external circuit in order to power a device. the same organic material is being used to develop this solar-powered watch. >> translator: this technology is a work in progress. but one day we expect to see the market expand and costs fall. as materials, manufacturers, and processing companies work on it. >> reporter: researchers are also working on ways to use the technology in airplanes.

if they succeed, planes could be lighter. they have been trying to solidify carbon fibers with organic materials that conduct l electricity. >> translator: this material can conduct energy as powerful as a bolt of lightning without shattering. >> reporter: in this experiment, a 10,000 volt of electric current is put through material currently used as airplane fuselage. the material burns. to prevent damage like this, fuselages are covered with a metal which releases the electricity into the air, but it makes the plane heavier. the new material is far stronger. because the electricity is transmitted through it and then harmlessly discharged.

this research center is hoping the product will be ready to use within five years. >> translator: this resin can be shaped into any form and still transmit electricity. in the future, we'll find many more opportunities to replace metal with plastic. >> reporter: the potential uses for electricity-conducting materials are vast. researchers are working hard to produce them more cheaply and put them to practical use. >> that's it for business news for this hour. but i'll leave you with another check on the market says. ♪ ♪says. ♪ ♪ays. ♪ ♪ys. ♪ ♪s. ♪ ♪

south korea has officially announced that president park geun-hye will attend a military parade in beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of what china calls its victory over japan. the presidential office says it made the dec cooperative ties with its neighbor china. park will visit beijing next wednesday for talks with chinese president xi jinping. on the next day she'll view the military parade in tiananmen square. the presidential office says park decided to attend in the hopes china will contribute to peace and unification of the korean peninsula. it also says she wants to honor south korea's own historic struggle for independence with china.

chinese officials announced on tuesday that leaders from 30 countries including russian president vladimir putin and north korea's workers party secretary choe ryong hae will attend the parade. the japanese government said earlier this week that prime minister shinzo abe will not attend. the united states and germany are among the countries that will have their ambassadors in china take part. the navy of russia and china have come together in the sea of japan for a joint exercise. they conducted a landing drill on tuesday using armored vehicles. the training exercise got under way last week. 22 submarines and vessels, about 20 aircraft and 500 marines are taking part. officials say they want to enhance their ability to fight terrorists and pirates. the landing drill took place on a russian island under a scenario that it's being occupied by an armed group. a russian navy spokesperson said the drill did not target any specific country.

a u.s. lawmaker says he expects japan will strengthen its defense capability and promote cooperation with the u.s. through new national security bills. he says there will help stabilize the asia pacific region. the bills are currently being deliberated in the diet. u.s. democrat joaquin castro is the co-chairperson of a congressional caucus seeking closer ties with japan. he's currently on a visit to tokyo where he met prime minister abe. in an interview with nhk, castro spoke about china's new aggressiveness in the asia-pacific region. he said the u.s. should hold up its commitment to the security of japan and territorial sovereignty should be respected. he referred to the ongoing debate on the new security bills. >> the united states supports japan's move towards affirmative defense and stronger defense. and we believe that work

together we can make sure that this region is safe and secure. >> the congressional caucus on japan was established last year. it consists mainly of about 70 members of the house of representatives. the head of the panel choosing a new plan for tokyo's main stadium for the 2020 olympic games says realistic limits on costs must be set. shuzo murakami chairs the japan sport council screening committee. he spoke after meeting with toshiaki endo, the minister in charge of the tokyo olympic and paralympic games. >> translator: cost is the major consideration. at the same time, it's important to set a well-balanced cost ceiling so the construction companies won't hesitate to submit bids. >> endo said the international olympic committee had asked the main stadium be ready by january 2020. he told the panel to choose a

design that showcases japan's cutting-edge technology. the committee is expected to endorse a new stadium plan including budget and schedule as early as friday. >> translator: i'll report to the relevant cabinet ministers and organizations and seek their opinions before making final arrangements. >> meanwhile the architectural office that came up with the initial stadium design has released a video defending their work. the office of london-based zaha hadid said the scrapped plan could be modified to lower its cost. >> it was a very serious team of people, of engineers, of architects who looked at this for two or three years. so it's an enormous investment. >> the architects say by revising the plan and holding competitive bidding, the stadium could be built less expensively without changing the basic design. they say the revision would include no air conditioning for

spectators and a reduced seating capacity. hadid's office says a redesign from scratch would only invite unnecessary risks. it's urging japan's government to make use of the initial plan to ensure the stadium is completed by january 2020. a collection of cartoons drawn by a former prisoner in a soviet internment camp may get some global recognition. it's estimated half a million japanese were captured by soviet forces in the closing days of world war ii. now officials from a japanese city want documents related to that time listed with unesco. >> reporter: maizuru was a key military port. ships would arrive here carrying people home from the soviet camps. a museum in the city tells the

story. the collection includes letters, sketches and a diary written on bark stripped from a birch tree. maizuru city now wants unesco to list its exhibits in its world memory register. officials went through more than 10,000 exhibits to pick the 570 they consider most valuable. they chose a collection of cartoons drawn by an internee after he returned to japan. the cartoonist, now 91 years old, says these are scenes he'll never forget. >> translator: believe it or not, even now, i can draw the figures and colors just as they were. i easily forget other things. i don't even remember what happened yesterday. >> reporter: when he was 19 years old, he was sent to manchuria as a soldier in the

imperial japanese army. the following year, he was taken captive by soviet troops. they sent him to internment camps where he'd say for nearly three years. he returned to japan in 1948 and began putting his memories onto paper. prisoners were taken away by train, without being told where they were going. what awaited them was hunger, hard labor, and temperatures of minus 30. burying their colleagues was also part of their work. >> translator: some of the paintings depict someone who's dead. i'd well up with tears and have to stop painting. then i'd calm down and restart. >> reporter: he doesn't just focus on suffering. he depicts some of the daily

moments of camp life. he tried sumo wrestling, with towering soviet guards. he sang songs with european captives during work breaks. it doesn't matter whether they'd been allies or enemies in the war. whenever he returns to maizuru, he makes sure to head to hours south to the memorial of the unknown soldiers who died during world war ii. his fallen colleagues are enshrined here too. [ speaking foreign language ] >> translator: it's not just about japan, but all over the world. it's always ordinary people at the bottom of the social scale

who die in war. even for the victors, relatives of war dead feel the same everywhere. win or lose, it's best not to fight wars. >> reporter: 70 years after the end of world war ii, the number of people who can talk first hand about life in the labor camps is dwindling. but he's still painting. and he says he'll keep going as long as he possibly can. >> unesco panel is expected to decide in october whether to list his documents, including the drawings, in the world memory register. officials from japan's welfare ministry say they're still working to bring home the remains of people who died in the camps. they estimate more than 33,000 people are still there. it's time nou for a check of the weather. people in parts of eastern russia and the korean peninsula are dealing with heavy rain from a storm that passed over japan. robert speta explains in world

weather. >> yes, well, what happened here was goni, it was the typhoon, we were talking about it all week. it moved to the north, became extra tropical and started to weaken here. you can see on the satellite picture, it fanned out moving off towards the north. but we still have a tremendous amount of rainfall with the storm system as it slammed into parts of north korea, towards russia. pyongyang, 300 millimeters of precipitation came down in 24 hours, but worse than the flooding, the northeastern portions of north korea where media is reporting upwards of 40 casualties from the severe flooding taking place there. and heavy rainfall and flooding outside the area as well. the good news, it's still moving off towards the north. also, much of this area, we're getting a lot of rainfall in a short period of time. that causes flooding. but most this location, especially northeastern china, suffering a severe drought, so you need the rain, but it's

resulting in some tragic scenarios. now, back towards the east, we saw the rain bands flowing in across parts of japan today. some showers in northern portions of honshu. and thunder clouds in kyushu of what's seen on your wednesday. you can see this funnel cloud being spotted moving overhead. this is about the fourth one in several weeks that we've seen out here in japan. and very typical when you get tropical systems coming onshore to see tornadoes or funnel clouds or water spouts as well. so not terribly uncommon, but spooked a lot of people. as far as the forecast, the rain bands are going to clear out here as we go ahead through the rest of thursday into friday. but look down here to the southwest, we have another area of low pressure really developing along a frontal area in southern china, bringing showers and the threat of tornadoes. but as it pulls northeast, a messy weekend for most of japan out here. tokyo, high of 26, some showers

in your forecast. shanghai at 31 and over towards taipei, a 28 there. see what's going on down here in the southern hemisphere. we were talking about snow in higher elevations, but today we still have the low pressure off the coastline pumping moisture onshore. i'll show you some photos. in new south wales, severe flooding, over 300 homes had to be evacuated. and it was all mainly because of that moisture. you see a poor kangaroo jumping through there. but what we have going on, as far as the forecast is more showers out here. i think most of this is going to be south of sydney, but around canberra, you could be seeing precipitation thursday and also into friday. towards melbourne, victoria, showers on the friday. but into the inland locations, we got some snow in the forecast. overnight lows below freezing. let's look at the tropics in the atlantic. this is erica tracking off to the west. tropical storm warnings in effect for the lesser antilles,

towards puerto rico as well. this one will struggle until it gets over here to the bahamas. most outlooks, including the national hurricane center expects that to be a hurricane off the east coast of florida. something to watch heading into the long range. here in europe, severe weather still a possibility across the netherlands, towards france and germany. cold front blowing through and this will be a hot spot heading through thursday. then, behind it, temperatures continuing to cool off. london with a high now of only 19. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thank you very much for staying with us. ♪ ♪

dr. lekutat: hello and welcome to "in good shape," your weekly health magazine coming to you from berlin. great to have you with us today. would you be willing to take pills to improve your brain function, to make a good impression at an important job interview or to make good grades in school? more and more people around the world are taking drugs to enhance mental performance, but how risky is it? we will talk about it with our expert in the studio. here's what else we have on the show for you. a matter of life and death.