welcome to "newsline." it's friday, september 4th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. indonesian president joko widodo has decided to review one of his country's most ambitious infrastructure projects to cut cost ks. he's rejected bids submitted by both japan and china to build a high-speed ralway line. they will not receive money or loan guarantees from the government. indonesia is planning to build a 140 kilometer long high-speed railway connecting the capital and the city of bandung. the two economic powers have been locked in a heating competition for the deal.

japan proposed a plan that would cost $2.4 billion. china estimated the cost at roughly $5 billion. sources say key indonesian ministers argued that both proposals required too large a financial burden on the government. coordinating minister for economic affairs darmin nasution said they're looking for a 30 to 40% cheaper alternative even if it requires slower trains. he said he'll meet about the ambassadors on friday to explain the government's stance. at least 14 people drowned and about 40 remain missing after a boat carrying indonesian workers capsized off the western coast of malaysia. rescue crews continue to search for survivors in the strait af malacca. a wooden boat carrying 70 people sunk in the western state.

>> we found 15 survivor, of which the 15 survivors, one lady and 14 males, and 14 bodies dead. one woman and one man. >> the officials added that indonesian migrant workers on the boat were headed back home after working illegally malaysia. they said overcrowding and bad weather were responsible for the accident. many migrant workers from indonesia, myanmar enter to earn a fairly good income. human trafficking and related boating accidents are common in the region. hungary's prime minister has outlined to other eu leaders his plan to bolster the country's border controls. he wants to halt the influx of migrants and refugees who are trying to get in. people from the middle east and africa have been flooding into hungary. many are trying to get to

germany and other northern european nations. they have totaled 150,000 to date this year. at a station in budapest trains bound for transnational territories were suspended, leaving about 1500 migrants stranded. >> we sleep on the road. we don't have blankets. the weather is cold. and the child and the women are suffering, are suffering. it's a big tragedy. >> he met european council president and other leaders. they explained his government's measures to curb the influx of migrants and refugees. he says fences will be set up and he says he'll put troops along hungary's border with serbia. >> if we would create an image or imagination or an impression that just come because we are ready to accept everybody, that

would be a moral failure. >> some say they have no choice but to allow refugees in and call on neighboring countries to accept their fair share. but opposition remains strong among east european nations. ♪ more than 120,000 japanese died in the eastern part of new guinea during world war i. the dwindling number of veterans from that campaign are getting older. now a 96-year-old survivor has written a book about what happened there seven decades ago. he said it was not combat that killed many of his friends, but hunger and disease. nhk world has more. >> reporter: masuo shinoda took part in a battle in new guinea.

after turning 90, he decided to write a book at his own expense to share the history he was part of. in june, graduates of shinoda's high school organized a ceremony to celebrate the book's publication. people in his hometown had no idea of what he and other soldiers had experienced in new guinea. very few have survived and they don't talk much about the war. >> translator: i just want to tell people that war is absurd. it was vain to fight such a foolish war. >> reporter: shinoda's book stabbed. >> announcer: 1d 42 ever starts in 1942 when he was called up to serve as a lieutenant in the infantry. he was involved in a firefight in a jungle. but he says the u.s. military was so overwhelmingly powerful that there was nothing he could do.

his comrades were killed right beside him. >> translator: japanese rifles took only five bullets. we also had to set the firing lever every time we shot. soldiers screamed in agony as they were killed by enemy fire. when that happened, enemy soldiers aimed their guns toward the sound and killed more japanese soldiers. >> reporter: in the book, shioda wrote about his troop's desperate situation when it began its deadly retreat. the japanese army had lost all sea and air control. it was unable to provide any food or medical services. the only route they could use to pull out was a trackless rain forest. shinoda was ordered to go across mountain ranges as high as 4,000 meters. shinoda and his comrades suffered from starvation,

malaria and dysentery. he says the number of soldiers who died during the retreat was far higher than the number lost in the battle. >> translator: hunger and illness were bigger problems for us than defeating the enemy. a 40-degree fever could last for three day, and there were new ice packs or water pillows. when people's symptoms worsened, their urine turned black. when we saw that, we started digging graves. everyone in that state died within two hours. >> reporter: since the war ended, shinoda has been commemorating his fallen comrades and praying for peace. >> translator: at the shrine, i told my friends who died in action that the country is at peace now, and there should be no more war.

>> reporter: he says he must tell young people about the misery and absurdity he experienced during the war. the old veteran put his 70 years of yearning for peace into the book. kyoko fujita, nhk world. it's time for the latest in business news. policymakers from the european central bank are seeing downside risks in the global economy. ramin mellegard joins us with all the detail. what we've been seeing in china seems to be a worry for eurozone officials. >> that's a big concern for a lot of officials and economists and analysts globally. the ecb prime minister mario draghi reported that a slow downin china and other economies could have impacts on the eurozone economy. >> down side risks have increased and emerging market

economies challenges are unlikely to be quickly reversed. we'll closely monitor all incoming information. >> draghi hinted at a position expansion of the bank's monetary easing measures. they agreed to leave the key interest rate unchanged. the consumer price index in august was up only 0.2% from a year earlier. there's a fear that commodity prices could stay low for some time as crude oil prices continue to slide. now the possibility of further stimulus by the ecb made global investors more optimistic. european stock prices rallies and u.s. shares rose as well but ended off the day's highs. the dow inched up to close at 16374. for more on the markets let's go to mayu yoshida who is standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. what can you tell us of the last trading day of the week here is

just about to kick off? >> good morning. we're seeing recovery and china is clearly the most important thing behind the trends we're seeing in the markets right now. but dovish comments from draghi increased sentiment. all eyes will be on the key u.s. jobs reports. let's see how tokyo markets are opening this friday morning. stocks are opening mixed. the nikkei is opening in the positive 18177, but the topix opening rather flat. now, it's been a tug of war between the bulls and the bears this week, as we can see there. on wednesday we saw the nikkei drop more than 5% from last weekend. we're seeing some recovery and losses right now. smaller but still heading for a weekly loss. now china's closed for now, but the possibility of renewed v volatility is leading to cautious trading in the markets as there are fears about what will happen next when chinese markets reopen next week. and of course, there's crude oil

as well. oil prices are fluctuating. they rallied, and when they started coming down that's when investors became cautious again. see how asian markets are reacting on the last trading day on the week. sentiment is rather improving here in asia. south korea's kospi is up about 0.2%. and australia's s&p/asx the important thing is that this is the last monthly employment report before the fed's crucial meeting in two weeks. that's when they'll decide about what to do with the key interest rates. one analyst told me that bets for a september rate hike dropped to 30%. he said it was around 50% in early august. some are even betting for a rate hike next year. and that analyst told me we need to watch out for three things to keep a rate hike on the table. one, gains in payroll, two,

fallen unemployment rates and three, wage growth. everyone will be looking at those numbers. >> let's go back to the ecb now. after the ecb paved the way for additional stimulus measures, how did that affect the euro? >> the euro sank after the draghi's dovish comments. it hit a two-week low against the dollar. it is still around that level or around 1.25. and that led to some of the yen buying. but we expect to see a rally. dollar/yen is 119.94. before we wrap up, hong kong won't reopen today. that's it for me. back to you. >> great stuff, thank you very much, mayu yoshida reporting for us live from the tokyo stock exchange. now, we've been looking at trends in japan. the pet industry. yesterday we reported on fitness trainers that helped cats and dogs stay in shape. today we look at another emerging business. this one targets elderly bet

owners and the service is peace of mind. >> reporter: kyoko shibata is 83 years old. she has no children. she lives alone in tokyo with her dog emily. emily is her partner on walks and in conversation. the dog helps keep her going. shibata takes emily to the vet every month to ensure the dog is healthy. but shibata doesn't know how long she'll be able to take care of her companion. >> translator: i can't ask my siblings to look after her. they're in their 80s, too. >> reporter: shibata's concerns are common among elderly pet owners. a survey by an animal welfare organization indicates that 37% of them are anxious they may become unable to look after

their pets. a nonprofit organization has launched an initiative that finds places for pets that elderly owners can no longer care for. the group opened a cafe featuring cats, where customers can enjoy the presence of the animals as they sip their drinks. more than 80 cats were adopted from elderly people. some inhabit the cafe. others have been placed with new owners. the npo has also created a system that allows people to live with cats without worrying about their long-term care. this condominium comes with cats. residents can choose to have them as pets. the npo provides the animals. there are currently about 160 such units. some have a special entrance and

exit for cats, or areas where the animals can play. when residents become unable to care for the cats, members of the group step in. the organizers believe that the cats help foster friendship among the human inhabitants. >> translator: pets are a safe topic of conversation. they can promote good neighborly relationships. we hope to spread the system nationwide. >> reporter: another initiative allows elderly people to provide financial support for their pets. it's a trust system. this pet services firm started managing one such initiative in 2015. a pet owner leaves money to a trust company. that amount depends on the pet's age. if something happens to the

owner, the pet is placed under a veterinarian's care. the costs of taking care of the pet are covered by the money the owner has left to the trust company. the caretakers will try to place the animal in a new home, depending on the original owner's wishes. >> translator: i believe people want their pets to be happy if something happens to them. we've come up with a system that can make that wish come true. >> reporter: elderly people have a host of worries as the end of life approaches. initiatives like these are meant to ensure that the welfare of their beloved pets won't be one of them. you can watch our first report on pet care trends in japan on the nhk world website. check the link at the bottom of the screen. that's it for business news for

this hour. but i'll leave you with another check on the markets. this year marks 70 years since the end of world war ii. during the war japan had been battered to ruins. what happened in hiroshima and

nagasaki is well known. but as japan fought to the end, the u.s. military changed its strategy and began bombing indiscriminately. there's an artist who spent his life depicting the suffering caused by the raids. after being unable to find a home for his art, a helping hand came from an unlikely source. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: taro cano uses the tools of an artist to retell history. when american bombers devastated tokyo. people run through the flames. kano was one of them. the sight of victims being burned alive is permanently etched in his memory. >> translator: these huge planes kept dropping bombs on us one after another. it was like seeing a nightmare. i was beyond terrified. >> reporter: kano was 14 at the

time. he lost everything. his home, his two younger sisters and his parents. as the war intensified u.s. bombers targeted cities to try to hasten the end. 66 cities across japan were burned to the ground killing over 400,000 people. tokyo was the hardest hit. on one day alone 100,000 perished. after the war, kano was unable to attend art school, so he relate the horrors of his experience in the tokyo air raids to others. over the years, he has visited schools across japan displaying paintings to tell his story. at 84, kano is no longer healthy enough to speak at schools.

some of his paintings are displayed in galleries, but most have been gathering dust in his home. a lack of funds dashed his hopes for a peace memorial to display his work. a solution came from an unexpected source. brett fiske is an american novelist who has been researching the air raids. like everyone, fiske was familiar with the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki. but he knew very little about the air raids. after hearing about kano's life and seeing his paintings, fiske felt an obligation to preserve the works. >> there's things that just brought tears to my eyes, quite frankly, and still the horrific stories that you just can't forget. >> reporter: fisk was not in a position to finance a museum, but he was able to build

something that would reach an even wider audience, a website. fisk took photos of kano's paintings. and then uploaded them to the site. a virtual museum visible everywhere in the world. the website also includes interviews with kano and other survivors in both japanese and english. >> this is just information that we want to put out. everybody can read it and analyze it and reach their own conclusions. whatever conclusion they come to, we want it to be based on fact. not just this side or not just this side. we want the whole thing to be accessible. >> reporter: kano is grateful for fisk's collaboration.

and he doesn't blame anyone for his losses. not even the american military. the blame, he believes, is properly laid on war itself. >> translator: recollections of the war are beginning to fade. some people are even giving a mistaken view of historical accounts. that's why it's important as ever to pass on truthful and collected facts about what really happened. >> reporter: two men are hoping this internet museum can reach many people around the world so they can know about the atrocities of the air raids. john ladue, nhk world, tokyo. time for a check of the weather. there's four storms churning across the pacific. meteorologist robert speta tells us how they could impact people living along coastlines. >> yes, catherine. really, we're at the peak of

tropical season out here in the hemisphere. all four of the systems, the good news at this point, these are kind of fish storms. the one closest to land mass is off to the east. not expected to have a direct landfall, but it is still surging in that moisture off the southwestern u.s. we have another one here towards the west. this the strongest one. then ignacio and kilo which is the only one that's a typhoon in the extended range. that could even near japan some time next week. maybe about a week and a half from now. still ignacio is the one really at this point you may think, this is the farthest away from any land masses, but this actually could near the west coast of canada there into british columbia and bring snowfall. in parts of alberta at this point we have heavy snowfall warnings into the higher elevations here.

i know winnipeg, you're looking at temperatures in the high 20s to low 30s. but the mountains are still getting it. as this wraps around, it will lose a lot of tropical characteristics and could bring some of the white stuff in the higher elevations. something to watch out for as we look ahead. now, here into europe, not seeing any snowfall at all at this point, but we are seeing a little bit of a cooler temperatures. you have this low spinning right here that's pulling in that cool air from the north. temperatures definitely dropping down behind this frontal area. but still some strong thunderstorms. large hail reported in spain. we could still see a few thunderstorms in austria and continuing to see the heavy rain showers across the area, even a threat of a tornado or two is very well possible as this whole frontal area pushes through. in germany, there's a risk of some winds upwards of 60 kilometers per hour. so a lot of things happening along that front. behind it, cooling down. out ahead of it, still warming up. look at athens. 35 for your high. kiev at 27. big drop. earlier this week warsaw you you were in the 30s.

19 for your high on friday. let's see pakistan now. specifically northern portions of the country. look at these thunderstorms flaring up in the satellite picture and this brought some serious problems. let's go to video out of northern pakistan. look at that. lightning was one of the big problems here. lightning strikes caused several fires. we saw heavy rainfall and winds upwards of 75 kilometers per hour. and about 50 millimeters fell in a few hours of precipitation. you can see some downed trees. five casualties reported out here in this one storm earlier this week. we had over a dozen injuries. a very serious situation. pakistan has suffered from several natural disasters as of late. so this is definitely not welcome. the good news, the forecast, at least for now, is an improvement. looking at drier weather across this area. most of the rain staying well off towards the east. quickly now into eastern asia, across japan, seeing

precipitation. in the west, a front is moving through, bringing rain across the beijing area as we go ahead into your friday and the most of saturday before it continues to track east. along the frontal area more showers expected across parts of chongqing and over to shanghai. and in japan, tokyo, maybe an afternoon shower or two. saturday should clear up. sunday, more rain as the front drifts towards the south. that means cooler air coming in with it by your monday. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook.

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

>> on this edition of "native report"... we learn about the traditional harvesting of wild rice... we take a look at the health of indian country... and we interview the assistant secretary of indian affairs, kevin washburn. we also learn something new about indian country and hear from our elders, on this "native report." >> production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community and the blandin foundation.