hello. welcome. preparations are under way in north korea for a historic congress of the ruling workers party. leader kim jung-un is expected to use it to solidify his party base. crowds of young men were seen the bday before believed to be preparing for the vent.

journalists were allowed to see inside a high-rise condominium building. this says model family home. it was equipped with the latest electronics made in china. >> translator: this is heaven for us. i have no worries. my heart aches because i can't repay the kindness of our supreme leader. >> there has been no official announcement about how long the congress will last. kim jong-un is expected to deliver a speech at the opening session. he's likely to mention as achievements the nuclear test in january, and the launch of a long-distance rocket in february. he's also expected to emphasize his policy of proceeding with both nuclear development and economic reconstruction. a draft joint declaration by

-- kout -- south korea struggles to deal. we have more from seoul. >> reporter: in the first half of her term in office, park instructed officials to begin a range of nationwide preparations to pave the way toward unification. she sold unification as an opportunity to expand the country's economic arena.

park focused on education. she roughly doubled the time spent teaching elementary school pupils about unification. they included north korea defactors who led classes. >> reporter: the government launched a program to launch them into leaders. the initiative involved about 20 young defactors.

he fled north with his family nine years ago. >> translator: my dream is to become a teacher for children in the north and the south. >> reporter: his plan ran into some, all too familiar, setbacks. last august, two south korean soldiers were wounded by land mines, allegedly planted by the north. the north has launched ballistic missiles and conducted nuclear tests. foreign education minister agreed to give nhk his first interview since leaving his post.

the results may have been different. the government of kim jung-un was provocative. it was tough to predict what action the north would take. >> reporter: the consequences have affected attitude. public interest unification is a low point with young people reacting sharply to the provocatio provocations. he says now has little chance to discuss north korea with his southern friends. >> my friends are not interested in unification at all and avoid the issue and thinking about talking about it would be boring. i don't know when we would achieve it, we can't even

discuss the subject. one thing is clear, president park faces a critical state in seeking an answer to the question of whether or not she can turn around the relationship between the two koreas. >> nhk has obtained a copy of the draft by the nations. china has been criticized for building military facilities. the draft reiterates the importance of maintaining peace and stability as well as upholding freedom of navigation

in the sea. china has been stepping up maritime activities in those waters. u.s. navy has increased its monitoring patrols. why that -- it's not clear if asean members will agree this time. they have drawn sharp criticism from some like the philippines and vietnam that have territorial disputes with china.

>> he talked about china's activities and its territorial disputes. he said the international community is concerned about china's unilateral attempt to change the status quo. last month two japanese destroyers made a first stop at vietnam's most important naval base which faces the south china sea. david cameron agreed to discussing whether the group of seven nations should launch a fiscal stimulus to stabilize the global economy. we are joined from the business desk. the two leaders met in britain. tell us more. >> it was the last lag of his european tour. he wanted to coordinate with other g7 leaders later this

month. abe saw cameron support for his idea to achieve sustainable growth. cameron said the g7 countries need to work together for global growth. >> we need to respect the different situations of different countries. we look forward to a g7. we talk about how we cooperate to avert risks in the global economy and ensure job rich growth. >> the leaders agree to continue coordination so that the g7 leaders will issue a powerful declaration showing their stance on the global economy as well as

terrorism. now it's time to check on markets. wall street ended mix ahead of key u.s. jobs data. the dow jones inching up. the tech heavy nasdaq falling to 4,717. as you know, markets here in tokyo are resuming trading after a three-daybreak. we're going to go to ramin. he's at the tokyo stock exchange. how is it looking at the open. >> the nikkei started in the positive. it's dipping into the negative. a lot of investors waiti inin i the u.s. jobs data. the nikkei dipping in the negative. it was up 100 points when it first opened. we're seeing a bit of a negative reaction here.

the topix still many the positive for friday, may 6th. investors have been trading cautiously. we did see the dollar regain in ground after falling earlier in the week. that may boost exporters. many market players still on the sidelines. volume might be a little less than intended. commodity prices may also have a say as crude benchmarks really went through a bit of volatility in the three days that markets were closed. industrial metals saw volatility and negative price action as well. >> tell us about the dollar yen. it's really seen some swings. >> exactly. we did see volatility when markets were closed here. the green back hit a 18-month

low. 105.50 on tuesday. it has obviously bounced back a touch. u.s. jobless claims data came in touch under expectations which puts the focus squarely on the main figure coming out later today. the euro dollar, not seeing that much movement. investors waiting for the u.s. employment report. now the actually interest for australia, the surprise quarter percent rate cut hit the aussie dollar earlier this week. the rise of the u.s. dollar not helping as it takes a bit of a toll and continue in growth concerns out of china. we'll see how markets trade for

the rest of the day. a little bit of volatility. the nikkei just in the negative. >> thanks a lot. we'll touch base with you. the crude oil futures rised. the fire in the canadian province of alberta has forced the shut down or scaling back of operations at oil sand refineries. canada is the world's fourth largest producer of crude oil. the facilities have not been directly hit but prolonged shutdowns could prove prices higher. they cite another factor in the united states. there's lower oil production at u.s. facilities.

leaders have long banked on oil exports to deliver prosperity. now they are being forced to rethink the approach after volatility in oil prices have left the economy struggling. we have more. >> reporter: for years people have looked at oil money change the skyline. they face a surge in inflation. they have been forced to cut back their budgets. developers were planning to build additional islands. the project has been put on hold.

the owner used to see big crowds of customers. he says the numbers have drop and he's not sure when they will pick up again. he's now rethinking his plans to expand. >> translator: things have become much more difficult. i have no choice but to delay my plan for shops. fs so much easier in the past. >> reporter: government offshores now that the economy has been too dependent on oil. they are trying a new tact. one plan is to turn azerbaijan into a new hub.

to make the plan work, they need to improve infrastructure such as the rail link with turkey. in january, the train connecting ukraine if china passed through. >> translator: the project will be the key to achieve economic diversity. >> reporter: some experts say they need to do more to encourage falling investment. >> translator: the country must first root out corruption, do away with business monopolies and bureaucratic regulations, if there are any, before pursuing economic development. >> reporter: leaders have long has it easy as the economy took

off. even at the height of the glow ball financial crisis. now they face major test to do reforms needed to restart the economy. >> i'll have more for you next hour in business. here's a check on markets. tremors are continuing in kumamoto prefecture southwest of japan after two powerful earthquakes struck the area three weeks ago.

people across the region are struggling to resume their normal lives with the help of volunteers. kumamoto prefecture has been hit by dozens of earthquakes every day since the first massive jolt on april 14th. more than 1200 quakes with intensities of 1 or higher on the japanese scale of 0-7 have been recorded. officials say the quakes have damaged more than 27,000 houses. over 16,000 people are still forced to live in evacuation shelters. volunteer put up streamers in minamiaso. the streamers are traditionally displayed on may 5th, children's day. the national holiday is dedicated to the health and well-being of children. >> translator: i hope people feel better after seeing the streamers.

i'm happy to become the first from brazil to make the rank. >> he's 29 years old. he earned a promotion to the fourth highest rank after winning 11 bouts in the last tournament in march. it took him nearly ten years to reach this mark. he's 194 centimeters tall and weighs 198 kilograms. he's one of the heaviest in the top division. once he gets himself in this position, he can just about out muscle anybody.

he became one of the leading contenders to win the tournament. during the last tournament he won by forcing his opponents out of ring. he's developed his own style of sumo during the long years he spent in the lower ranks. his efforts are paying off. >> who do you like to fight? >> i'm pretty aggressive. this position allows me to exert all my power. >> he was born in brazil. his grandparents came from japan. he began taking sumo lessons at the age of 17 and was immediately hooked. making full use of his huge body and immense strength, he finished third in the world junior championships in 2004. shortly afterwards he decided to join japanese professional sumo.

>> coming to japan had always been my dream. i came here to do what i love. i faced tough adversities. >> reporter: he had a hard time learning the japanese language and learning the culture. thanks to his japanese grandmother who cooked the meals for him back in brazil, he had no problem eating the food. he's gained more than 50 kilograms over the decade. when the tournaments are on, his family in brazil wakes up at 5:00 a.m. >> translator: i'm proud of my son. i hope he keeps doing well. >> translator: the support i receive from my family really encourages me. it gives me power. >> reporter: his stable master has been watching over him since

he arrived in japan. >> translator: i praise him. i hope he keeps doing his style of sumo. he will become stronger if he learns to get a belt grip from a allower position. he's got to keep faith in himself and attack aggressively. p. >> i need to lower my hips much more. i also have to use the left side of my body more effectively so i can get my favorite left hand outside grip. >> reporter: this year the summer olympics will be held in his home country of brazil.

he's feeling an extra boost as brazilian people get psyched up over the games. >> brazilians are doing their best for the olympic games. i'll do my best in japan. >> reporter: the tournament opens on may 8th. all eyes are on how he will do. >> a lot of anticipation there. it's time for a check of the weather. as we have been reporting people in south western japan are trying to recover after powerful earthquakes hit the region. the past week they were experiencing hot weather. we see how it's looking now. >> things are cooling down across western areas of japan. it's coming with some rainfall. that will causing its own problems.

we have the rainy season setting up. it's the transition season. back on tuesday we had heavy rain across western japan. this will not be as intense. still see enough to cause flooding and the possibility of landslides i in these areas where the ground is still loose following last month's dangerous earthquakes out here. also back towards the west, we are looking at more rain showers into south eastern china where the rainy season is in place over there. it's a threat of flooding out there as well. one thing this whole system back

toward the north is doing is kicking up the dust. even if you're not looking at the precipitation, you might be having some impacts from this adversely in the threat of this. the yellow sand, that's going to be bringing in the chance of maybe some itchy eyes and dry conditions. the worst of it will be across the korean peninsula but as we go into saturday shifting over there towards japan. at the very least at sun set and sunrise. you might be seeing some extra colors in the sky. this helps refract the light. there is the chance of rather beautiful sunset as you go into saturday evening maybe into the tokyo area. all right. here over towards the americas, what we have going on is just this meandering jet stream that's dominating the overall

weather pattern. thunderstorms expected in the pacific northwest. there's the chance of some large hail, maybe some damaging winds and frequent lightning coming out of this in parts of idaho extending over towards wyoming as well. in the east, another trough of low pressure just sitting in place. you will probably not be seeing severe weather out of it. the big problem is it's an area of low pressure supported by this upper level low which is going nowhere very fast. high pressure dominating the central area. absolutely beautiful if you're

in france. here's the extended outlook. vrj that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline."

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. tokyo. thanks for joining us.aññ

rita aspinwall: on this edition of "native report," we watch master quilt-maker gwen westerman construct a beautiful star quilt. ernie stevens: we view the dreamlike paintings of rabbett before horses strickland. rita aspinwall: and we meet ramona kitto stately, a talented moccasins maker. we also learn something new about leadership in indian country and hear from our elders on this edition of "native report." announcer: production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community, the blandin foundation, and the duluth superior area community foundation.