"newsline."" it is tuesday, may 24th, 9:00 a.m. trade will be a main topic of a key international meeting. ahead of the meeting nhk learned leaders will throw support behind one of the biggest free trade packs. nhk got a look at the trade portion of the draft of the joint decoloration, and as the leaders stated, they are committed to utilizing trade to bring about economic opportunities for workers, consumers and businesses. they are expected to agree that the chance pacific partnership

pact is important to establish common trade rules across the asia pacific region. the draft states that g 7 countries will support tpp member countries to complete domestic procedures to put the agreement into practice. the draft also touches on a potential reduction of solar panels and echo friendly products. that plan is negotiated at the world trade organization. the g 7 leaders urge an agreement be made by september when the group of 20 summit is held in china. a u.n. backed summit addressing humanitarian crisis began in turkey with delegates agreeing there needs to be more cooperation to help sierran rough f refugees. government, business and leaders from 180 countries. participants and more money for

humanitarian aid. the united nation says the current number is the hayest since world war ii. representatives from turkey and jordan stress that accepting syrian rough few gees placed a heavy burden on the country. japan and other nations agreed to offer financial support. delegates were divided how to prevent conflict. some countries accused russia of repeated violations of international law in syria and ukraine. russia said interference in the internal affairs of these countries by outside forces has caused the roars. >> a series of explosions in syrian government strongholds has killed more than 140 people. a news agency linked to islamic state says the group targeted shiite muslims. it was reported monday seven explosions hit the coastal

cities. first a vehicle in a parking lot in tartus blew up and when crowds gathered at the site a suicide bomber struck. 40 kilometers north, explosions through through the city of jableh. the britain-based syrian observatory for human rights says many women and children were among the 145 killed in the explosions. islamic state linked news agency says the militant groups targeted gatherings of shiite muslims but the government believes the attacks were carried out but a different group linked to anti-government forces. a violent crime involving a former u.s. marine in japan is having strong repercussions. people are angry and the prefollowing the accidepr governor is advising of the

status of american military personnel. it grants americans unfair privilege privileges. >> reporter: an american worker at the u.s. air base in the prefollowing the accidepr prefecture was arrested last week. he said he hit, raped a young woman. police arrested him on charges of dumping her body. the victim's father visited the site where her body was found. [speaking foreign language] >> reporter: the governor came and spoke with the prime minister. he says such crimes happen because of the military bases. he asked abe to talk to the president, barack obama about changing the status of the

agreement. >> translator: i told the prime minister japan's independence is only a myth under the status of the force's agreement. i asked abe to give me a chance to speak directly to president obama. >> reporter: he was taken by a committee. >> translator: i am furious about this self-centered and extremely heinous act. japan is demanding that the united states strengthen, discipline and take thorough preventive measures. >> reporter: with the use in tokyo told nhk they are arranging a possible visit to the site. in japan, assembly members in the city include major rallies for next month. residents have long complained about crimes committed by

personnel. in 1995, three u.s. servicemen gang raped a school girl sparking massive protests there. this lead to an agreement between the two governments to return the u.s. base to japan. more than 70% of u.s. military facilities in the country are in japan. nhk has learned that chinese authorities have indicted a japanese man on unknown charges. he is one of four japanese arrested in china on suspicion of spying. sources says the man in his early 50s was indicted recently. officials have not specified the charges. he was taken into custody in may last year near a military facility. he was sustained suspected of violating legislation. they detained three others

separately. one was held near the border with north korea and beijing and the other in shanghai. chinese authorities have been cracking down on cases of espionage since the introduction of an anti spying law in november of 2014. japanese firms have been working on winning export orders amid rising global demand for infrastructure projects such as rail ways and energy. now the government is willing to step up their efforts to help them. we're joined from the business desk. how does the government plan to assist the japanese firms? >> the government says they will spend more money to help. you know, it says it will increase funds for infrastructure, exports over the next five years to $200 billion and the initiatives almost double the amount they set previously. the decision was adopted at a meeting of cabinet ministers as part of an action program aimed

as expanding exports. in addition to asia, the initiative puts emphasis on russia and africa. it calls for active investment and resources and energy development. at the meeting, prime minister abe stressed the need to promote exports of this kind. >> translator: promoting high quality infrastructure exports is important for japan's economic growth and will help partner countries with their economic development. it's a win, win relationship. >> he'll call on other leaders of the g 7 countries at the summit to work on developing global infrastructure. it has been more than a month since a series of powerful earthquakes hit the country's southwestern region. seismic activity is still continuing and officials at the cabinet office tried to put a price on the damage from the quakes. they say the combined damage to

the prefectures is estimated between 22 billion and $42 billion breaking down the numbers they say damage to buildings including resident and industrial structures is put at between 14.6 billion and $28.4 billion. damage to infrastructure such as expressways, bridges and airports, that's estimated at between 3.7 billion and $6.4 billion and utilities suffered a blow of $15 million. there are fears this could have a significantfect on the local economy as corporate production is falling and many trips to the area have been cancelled. dampened consumer sentiment has already led to sluggish spending. now let's check in on markets to see what is

happening. u.s. stock prices ended slightly lower following a drop in oil prices and disappointing data in europe. what happened on wall street was the dow jones fell eight points and overall on the tech heavy nasdaq we saw a loss of three points on the day. we're going to see what is happening on tokyo markets and we'll go to ramine. >> it follows minutes from the april meeting. a lot playing into the markets. let's look how the nikkei and topix is topping off. the nikkei ended down half a percent due to a firmer yen. they took in the surplus as well as verbal disagreements

following the g 7. another negative is the slump in iron or prices which hit ten-week lows. australia or for delivery to china for example was down $3 a ton or around 5.4% rising u.s. dollar also weighing on commodity prices. a strong dollar makes commodities more expensive if you're holding other currenciec. cautious mood seems to be holding a pattern over global markets. we'll see how it develops so far. >> ramin, you mentioned the dollar. tell us where some of the currencies are trading now. >> the dollar yen has come back a bit. let's look at the levels now. you can see what i'm talking about. 109.31. janet yellen will speak on friday, which also coincides with a second reading for u.s. first quarter gdp.

now anything above the first reading of 0.5% growth would increase investors' expectations for a rake hike sooner rather than later. oil, prices have been a major driver after having hit six-month highs last week. let's also get a quick look at how some of the other asian indexes are trading which are opened now. seoul's is down one-third of a percent and margely in the negative. china markets open in an hour and a half. finally, some focus will be on earnings forecast from the likes of sony for instance later today the electronics and media giants will forecast the profits for the year ending fiscal 2017. it had tell laid the release due to the earthquakes in cthat dam some factories. >> thanks a lot for keeping us up to date.

we'll touch base in a few hours time. here is food for thought. the diets of people in emerging countries are changing eating more bread and more meat that is a business opportunity by the rise presents challenges and as the next report shows, there are issues that could affect all of us in the years to come. >> indonesia with 250 million mouths to feed. rice is the staple food here often three times a day. but for how much longer? incomes are swelling and the national diet is diversifying. young people especially hunger for westernized food, their favorites include bread with seafood and vegetables. >> i eat a lot of bread because it's easier and more convenient to eat than rice so i eat bread almost every day. >> reporter: in southeast asia,

consumption of wheat and beef has doubled since 2000. that of coffee has grown four fold. japanese companies are responding to the change. a bakery and a trading firm have teamed up to produce and sell bread in indonesia. >> translator: what's the best seller? >> translator: in terms of volume, sandwich bread. >> reporter: the bakery is planning to sell a greater variety of bread in indonesiind >> the market is doubling. we're targeting products at young people. they are very curious about new things. >> reporter: but the bakery along with other producers faces a challenge in the years ahead, securing enough wheat, growing demand from emerging nations will put more pressure on supply chains. bad weather in the main production zones could lead to a decline in output and a surge in

prices. >> translator: i think flour consumption around the world will keep rising. that means supply and demand will continue to be tight. >> reporter: diets are changing creating new opportunities for food suppliers and new risks. feeding the hungry is not enough. the challenge is meeting demands of the affluent. and that is the latest in business. now it's time for eye on asia. the u.s. will fully lift a decade's long ban on sales of lethal weapons to it's one-time enemy vietnam. president barack obama is putting an end to the embargo from back in 2014.

obama's announcement came after the meeting with vietnam's president. relations between the two countries are improving as the security environment in the south china sea changes. china claims almost the entire south china sea as its own. vietnam and southeast asian countries claim parts of it. >> it's my belief that with respect to the south china sea, although the united states doesn't support any particular claim, we are supportive of the notion that these issues should be resolved peacefully, diplomatically, in accordance with international norms and rules and not based on who is the bigger party to throw their weight around a little more. >> translator: vietnam highly commands the decision made by the united states to fully lift the ban of lethal weapon sales to vietnam. it reflects the complete normalization of the relationship between the two countries. >> obama's visit comes 41 years

after the end of the war. the embargo was put in place in 1984 amid concern over vietnam's human rights record. the u.s. lawmakers and activists were urging obama to press vietnam to make more progress on human rights before lifting it. police in northern thailand are investigate deadly fire. they say 17 girls are dead and five more are injured. police say the fire broke out sunday night. flames engulfed the dorm as the flames swept. >> translator: everyone had gone to bed. about 10:00 p.m. the fire started and spread up the stairs. some people panicked but maybe

they didn't run. we climbed down through a window. >> the verdicts range in age from 5 to 12 years old. their school provides education to children in need including orphans. japan and taiwan have come to an agreement just after newly-elected president took office last week. officials say they will set up a frame work for dialogue on maritime cooperation. tensions continues as officials seized a fishing boat and crew near japan's southern most island last month. the japan coast guard says the boat was operating illegally. administration of the president then sent a patrol boat and another vessel to the area insisting it is not an island. tiawanese delegates told japan

easley ye's leeianson said no a should be taken that could increase tension. they reported vessels begun leaving the area. they hope to hold the first round of dialogue in july. taiwan's new government is facing pressure from beijing and having an impact on business and trade. we report how one sector is trying to improve performance on chi china. >> reporter: top tourists spots are facing a new wind from across the straight. the number of visitors from mainnd china is plummeting. shops are losing their biggest source of income. >> translator: there is just nothing we can do. >> reporter: chinese tourists use this hotel. no many rooms are vacant.

>> translator: we want to know why the chinese have stopped coming here. he headed 15 buses to the fleet when the government brought a surge in tourists. recently, he's been forced to sell some of his wheels. chow says mainland authorities are restripgting the number of travel permits. >> it's 100% political. there is no other reason behind the sudden change. >> reporter: measures are underway to offset the pressure. city officials are trying to attract more visitors from southeast asia and organized a special event and invited a tv crew to cover it. >> reporter: a cooking show host flew in from malaysia to showcase recipes with the

the event is part of an initiative to turn the island into a muslim-friendly travel designation. >> translator: he hope by offering food, we'll have more muslim visitors from malaysia, singapore and other countries. >> reporter: officials from the tourism burro are ramping up promepr promotional events that target. they are highlighting the islands south, an area rich in natural and cultural resources that's often passed over by visitors. >> we're urging travelers to tap into a new market. we're creating a direct tourist route into southern taiwan. >> reporter: the president says the island's economy including the tourism sector has become too dependent on china.

we will pursue a new economic model and reinforce taiwan's global and regional connections. >> reporter: pledging to maintain peace and stability but people are bracing for change as beijing applies further pressure. the newly-elected leader is calling for people to come together as the island takes a new path, which even she warns won't be smooth. >> and that wraps up "eye on asia". world leaders tackling global issues at one of japan's most historical sites. an economic environment, rising

terrorism threats and climate change. the group addressing challenges, finding solutions and plotting new goals. don't miss our special coverage, g 7 ise-shima summit right here on ""newsline." people here in tokyo are experiencing warm weather conditions, too much for some. what can we expect in world weather. >> actually, as we go ahead through the rest of our tuesday, it may be another day you want to stay cool and indoors if you do head out and about, you definitely want to stay hydrated. temperatures will reach the 30-degree mark into the tokyo area but the good news later on this week it should start to cool down. take a look at temperatures from monday. this is what we're talking about. a scorcher towards here, 34, farther inland back to the 33 degree mark.

big thing for this, area of high pressure, sunny skies out there, of course, that will warm things up but that's compounded with the southerly winds affecting that warm air from the tropics and much of japan temperatures definitely spiked up. we even have video to show you if you were not in the tokyo area or across japan on monday, people were dealing with one of the warmest days so far this year. in fact, several people had to go to the hospital in tokyo including six junior high school students due to heat stroke out here, as well. meanwhile, overs temperatures over the 30 degree mark. people definitely making it feel like summer out there. definitely dressing accordingly and getting a little bit of mist there, as well, trying to cool down. the forecast, a look back towards the west. this is going to be the catalyst for that decrease in temperatures. right now bringing heavy rainfall across the korean peninsula. some areas could see fairly heavy showers 20 to 30

millimeters moving in and across much of the central japan as we go ahead through wednesday afternoon into thursday. now, including the toktokyo, ar this will drop temperatures down and the g 7 summit is taking place, if you are out there and i know a lot of world leaders there and a lot of attention on this. we're expecting showers by wednesday afternoon into thursday morning. good news temperatures at the very least back to an average mark. meanwhile, pull back the picture. do want to mention the tropics down here. shower haves been kicking up including manila and reports of some significant flooding on monday. first time you had any descent rainfall in several months out here but the bad news was it kicked up with the southwest monsoon surging in from the tropics out here and really dropped a tremendous amount of precipitation and back here

towards the west into parts of thailand and miramar. here across the americas, severe thunderstorms still kicking up really there into parts of kansas into oklahoma. you have this area of low pressure report of a tornado here on monday evening through the rest of the evening, still could see severe weather but the high pressure and this low is not moving anywhere very fast. if we look at tuesday, as well, similar areas are looking at strong severe thunderstorms plus that threat of flash flooding and the possibility is still more tornados. so if you have travel plans across this region including major airports including chicago, oklahoma and houston, watch out for that. here is the extended outlook.

and that wraps up this edition of "nhk "newsline." thanks for joining us.

announcer: "euromaxx highlights." and here's your host. host: welcome to a show packed with exciting stories from the week. let's take a look at what's coming up. water works. the latest project by artist christo in italy. creative collectibles. football stickers are getting a makeover in switzerland. and microscopic mementos. photographer maurice mikkers captures the chemistry of our tears. when the artist christo takes on a project, it's usually of gigantic proportions. his most famous