hello there welcome to "newsline." it is thursday, october 22 nd i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. britain and china signed a deal hailing a new relationship between their countries. the two leaders agree that china will invest more than $9 billion to build a nuclear power station. in exchange china will receive a 33.5% stake. the french firm edf is the lead partner on the project. china will also provide funding

for two other nuclear plants. it will gain a two-thirds stake in one of them and will use chinese nuclear technology to build the plant. other deals include manufacturing aircraft engines and ships and building a hospital in china. the two leaders also agreed that china will issue yuan based government bonds in london to boost trading of the chinese currency. the first time such bonds made available outside of china. >> translator: we will lead the golden era of china/uk relations that are sustainable, open and a win/win for both sides. >> the more we trade together the more we have a stake in each other's success and the more we understand each other the more we work together to confront the problems that face our world today. >> cameron indicated the two countries would cooperate on climate change, antiterror

measures and other issues. some critics accuse the british government to turning a blind eye to human rights issues in china and others point out the danger in investing projects. u.s. vice president joe biden has ended months of speculation about his political future. he has announced he won't seek the presidency in 2016. >> i believe we are out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. >> biden made the announcement wednesday at the white house with his wife and the president at his side. his decision puts hillary clinton in a stronger position to capture the democratic nomination. some democrats had been urging him to run as her alternative. now that biden has ruled himself out as a candidate the support rate for clinton is believed to rise about ten points. a european non-governmental organization is urging japan to phase out coal powered

generation to fight global warming. it says japan is lagging behind other g-7 countries to move beyond coal. the report was released on wednesday. the document assesses progress among the g-7 countries on ending reliance on coal power. coal power generation emits nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas. the report notes that coal power has increased since the fukushima daiichi nuclear accident in 2011 and points out japan is funding countries to help build coal power plants. the think tank says united states is doing most among all members in moving away from coal and attributed progress to a wide range of policies related to coal including strict restrictions on emissions. another factor is the closure of more than 200 old coal power plants over the past five years.

>> japan has a very immediate unt to domestically. it has a large amount of renewables. it should be constructing. >> the author of the report out of japan to push for restrictions on funding for building new coal power plants. analysts with the organization for economic cooperation and development have called on rich nations and emerging economies to take more vigorous action to curb global warming. they released a report where the final meeting is underway for a u.n. climate summit. the study passed pledges by the member nations and ten major emitters including china and india. these countries account for more than 80%. the report says even if all the major emitters hit their targets it would still be hard to limit the rise in temperature. the goal of the united nations

is to keep the average temperature from increasing by more than two degrees elsious above preindustrial revolution levels. >> what we are seeing is to meet the post 2020 target most countries need to accelerate. >> receive targets from more than 150 countries and will release estimate by 2030 ahead of the summit scheduled for next month in paris. >> time for the latest in business. residents are concerned about how an investigation into a scandal over a defective building is unfolding. >> the details come out and it's really gone over a lengthy time, as well, amount of time. a big focus on this particular

issue talking about the construction materials corporation. they falsified data on 70 underground pilings that support a condominium building. sources say construction manager of the firm involved in the case have been involved in piling work on dozens of prauojects. the parent company will report to the land ministry details of about 3,000 buildings where the subsidary has undertakep piling work and includes where the buildings are located. ministry will make details public and order a further investigation. now the european union says eight firms including some from japan formed an illicit cartel to avoid competition to supply optical disk drives to u.s. computer makers. the commission ordered them to pay nearly $132 million in fines. commission officials say the

eight companies formed the cartel between 2004 and 2008. the firms include toshib a, samsung storage technology and sony. the commission waived fines on three companies including phillips as they were the first to report to the eu the existence of the cartel. officials say they will thoroughly investigate and severely punish the firms involved as long as actions influence eu consumers. let's get a check on the markets. just having a look at levels. the u.s. stocks closed lower on wednesday. investors taking in fresh earnings including those that missed estimates such as coca-cola and yahoo. for more on asian markets let's go to miyu yoshida. what can you tell us at theope

snn. >> japanese stocks jumped yesterday on hopes for additional monetary easing. looks like stocks are taking a breather. take a look at opening levels thursday october 22 here. the nikkei down about 0.3%. nikkei is recuperating about half of the losses we saw when the markets opened. the nikkei ended yesterday's session more than 300 points higher. that was the biggest gain in 1 1/2 months. analysts say stocks rose. let's take a look at the snapshot of how old asian pacific benchmarks are kicking off the morning. kospi down about a quarter of a percent. australia down half a percent. a lot of focus will be on china after volatility we saw in the shanghai composite yesterday. the index posted the biggest

loss in five weeks. all eyes on how chinese markets open in about an hour and that is why we should put japanese equities back on the radar. another focus will be the policy meeting scheduled later today. the euro hoz a has been rising so this reflects that more market players are not equixpecg easing. >> speaking of the euro give us current levels ahead of the policy meeting. >> the euro is holding pretty steady. one dealer said it will probably face limited gains if the ecb holds off this time. this is because ecb officials have been talking the euro down. even if ecb refrains sort of pricing in some action at the meeting in december. the euro is around 1.1342. dollar/yen around 119.86.

back over to you. >> we will keep an eye on the china markets. reporting for us live from the tokyo stock exchange. >> opening its own restaurant in london offering wagyu beef dishes. a pre-opening ceremony held in an upscale district on wednesday. the menu will include japanese beef dishes. >> fabulous, really, really nice. unbelievab unbelievably. >> the european union banned japanese beef imports after outbreaks of foot and mouth disease. the ban was lifted in june paving the way for brands to hit european shores. >> translator: we want people to know that authentic japanese

beef clearly differs in look and taste from nonjapanese beef wabled at wagyu. >> producers hope to expand as consumption of the meat has peaked. >> we hear a lot about networking online and offline. there are times when it feels better to work alone. our next story looks at products designed to help people disconnect and are showing privacy doesn't need a high tech solution. >> reporter: solitude in a crowd. this cafeteria set up a new seating arrangement and students have a name for it. botch is japanese for alone. that's what these wall side tables offer students looking for private space. and when there is not a wall a

partition works just as well. >> translator: i don't have to worry about other people. it's nice to eat alone. >> translator: i feel more comfortable eating alone when i want to check twitter or chat online. >> reporter: the manager says botch seats have been good for business. customer numbers are up ten percent. >> translator: we have all kinds of students these days. i think setting up the botch seats help widen the choices available for those who want to eat alone. >> reporter: these entrepreneurs are also offering solitude. anytime, any place. their product is made from cardboard. assemble the box. attach your smart phone or

tablet computer and the private screening begins. inside you got the best seat in the house. the solo theaters go on sale soon. the developer is confident it will sell. he sought help online to commercialize his idea and raise more funds than expected. >> translator: the response is beyond expectation though i hope some people will be interested. i guess we were able to meet the needs of those who want to see a movie alone lying down. >> reporter: and he's not alone in thinking outside the box. this store at the tokyo game show attracted a steady crowd. visitors lined up to test the product one at a time. enjoy the confident of being

alone. it's like being in a closet. >> reporter: a tent for indoor use creates a private study. >> translator: i feel more at ease. >> translator: i feel very relaxed. >> translator: i can concentrate on computer work or games when it is dark around me. it's just right. >> reporter: the botch tent, the creation of an outtoor gear maker sells for around $70. the maker began pitching its privacy sloougz a yeolution a y sales are beating targets. an employee wanted to focus on his work so he set up a tent over his desk. >> translator: some people at my company were skeptical at first. they asked what's this so i felt like i was being criticized. when i put my colleagues inside they said they wanted one for their desks so i thought this

could do well. >> reporter: those selling botch products say this market has room to grow. many people in our network world are craving solitude and if the price is right they will pay for low tech privacy. >> and that's it for business news for this hour. let's get another check on the markets.

trade ministers from japan, china and south korea are likely to meet later this month. it will be the first time in about 3 1/2 years. sources say the meeting will probably take place next week in seoul. trade ministers met nine times between 2002 and 2012 but the meetings were suspended after relations between japan and china soured over the islands in the east china sea. trade liberalization will likely be on the agenda. japan and 11 other pacific rim countries reached a broad agreement earlier this month. the foreign ministers of vietnam and the philippines have agreed to strengthen bilateral

ties increasing cooperation over maritime issues. philippine foreign secretary met on wednesday. they confirmed their countries will enhance maritime defense cooperation to secure freedom of navigation in disputed waters. they are locked in territorial disputes with china notably over the separatelies. a japanese stepped forward. several key ruins have been destroyed and earlier this month they blew up the 2000-year-old arch of triumph. more from nhk world.

>> reporter: the temple was center of the ancient city. but over the past four years syria has been rocked by civil war. islamic state militants now control the city and are detroying many cultural artifacts. at the ancient city lies the temple, a satellite taken on august 27 shows the temple still standing. four days later it has

disappeared. japanese man is doing what he can. he has been there to conduct excavations there. he has in beprepared to take action after his close friend had been killed. assad was the former head of the museum. he was world known for his accomplishments over more than half a century including his ability to decipher ancient inscriptions. >> translator: it's a great pity. that's all there is to say. it makes me really angry, too. >> reporter: he says assad had

been moving to other sites to protect them from damage. as the militants applaud his sons begged but he stayed alone there and was captured two days later. >> translator: what i have been told is he was captured so that he would reveal the location of the cultural treasures and was killed because he refused to talk. he loved more than anything and didn't want to see it destroyed. >> reporter: he has reached out to scholars in europe, north america and beyond to help protect the ruins. he has arranged an international conference in lebanon to discuss the issue. some valuable artifacts have already been brought to other parts of syria. they must be taken out of the

country so they can be preserved and restored. he has been visiting organizations and institutions involved in history and archeology asking for thought. >> translator: this is an interesting initiative. we would really like to support it in whatever way we can. >> translator: the ruins are a testimonial human. my hope is that we can rebuild the site. >> reporter: for over 2,000 years it has played an important role in the history of humanity. and needed to ensure it is not lost forever. nhk world. >> it's time for a check of the weather. recovery efforts are underway in the philippines after a typhoon

hit the country. meteorologist robert speta has the latest. >> i know we have been talking about this all week, the destruction that took place out here. we are still talking about this because we are continuing to see the recovery, the after math across much of the region. the good news that the the storm system itself is completely dispersed off. it was the rain totals over the past week. some areas saw well over 1,000 millimeters of total precipitation. that is really the big story with the storm system. let's go to video we have showing you the flooding that was taking place. this is after the rain has stopped. the waters are starting to recede but still incredible ima images. total death toll well over 50. still defense officials say deaths are mostly due to drowning, landslides and crashed walls. forced more than 100,000 people to take shelter these emergency

evacuation shelters. rice fields ready for harvest have been destroyed, same thing with banana crops and looks like the total amount of damage due to agriculture at the top well over $100 million. this is having a big impact on the economy yet alone the people impacted from the storm system. the good news is the forecast out here is definitely dramatically improved. the storm is not over with yet. this is not a typhoon, a tropical depression but bringing showers in eastern taiwan, some areas as much as 120 millimeters is possible. and seeing showers just because this is going to be lingering in the area all the way out through saturday. don't expect anything as far as significant flooding. you are going to want to have an umbrella ready. looking at our other storm system. a little more on that later on. that is bringing blustery conditions out there.

and then back towards north at least much of mainland japan for the time being looking at dry weather, high pressure continuing to dominate. also looking at a few showers there in northeastern china. beijing you might want an umbrella ready. a high of 12 there on your thursday. talking about the tropics. this is our latest tropical storm expected to become a hurricane patricia. earlier this week we had video out of el salvador showing significant flooding there. this is the same storm but now it is developing expected to become a hurricane. right now hurricane warnings are in effect here along the mexican coast line. some areas you can see pretty significant rainfall but the winds and threat of storm surge is something else you want to keep in mind along the coastal areas towards the west of mexico city. back towards the north looking at tropical moisture surging in out of the pacific into the southwestern u.s. and extending towards texas. a few locations as much as 100

millimeters is possible out here especially as we go ahead through your next 48 hours. this whole storm will develop and pulling towards the north and maybe severe weather threat into thursday and friday. severe weather into ontario and over towards quebec the big topic a messy situation. if you are traveling you want to slow down on the roads. this is bringing rain/snow mix and freezing rain on your thursday and friday. that's a look at your world weather. here is your extended outlook.

and we have one more story to share with you. japanese business owners are hoping fashion and food choices of foreign shoppers will translate into better sales. women representing about 70 countries and territories are in tokyo for the miss international beauty pageant. each received coupons for the

department store. and they head today the cosmetic section to cash them in. >> i'm buying a face brush. i have been looking for it everywhere since i came here. i'm so happy. >> then they tried japanese delicacies. >> really fresh. >> wonderful. thank you. >> the contestants shared photos of their day on social media uploading to facebook and instagram. organizers say people all over the world are interested in fashion choices of contestants. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us.

dr. lekutat: hi, this is "in good shape their." we're coming here from berlin. berlin has lots of things to offer, the big cities tend to make a sick. here's what else is coming up. the power of sound, treating pancreatic stones without surgery. leech therapy, the traditional treatment to help fight inflammation.