welcome to nhk "newsline." we're bringing you continuing coverage from the international media center. abe is getting ready to kick off the summit. he sat down for a one-on-one meeting with u.s. president barack obama. the leaders discussed global concerns such as the economy and terrorism. abe also raised an issue. he said he lost a protest with obama on the southern island of

okinawa. a marine was arrested there last week. he's admitted to stabbing and strangling a japanese woman. >> i feel resentiment against the crime. this case shocked not only okinawa but also the whole of japan. i conveyed to the president that the feelings of the japanese people should be sincerely taken to heart. i also urged the united states to make sure to take effective and thorough steps to prevent a recurrence and vigorously and strictly address the situation. >> we did discuss the tragedy that took place in okinawa and i extended my sincerest condolences and deepest regrets. i want to emphasize that the united states is appalled by any violent crime that may have occurred or been carried out by

any u.s. personnel or u.s. contractors. we will be fully cooperating with the japanese legal system in prosecuting this individual and making sure that justice is served. >> obama pledged to do everything possible to prevent such crimes from happening again. obama will go to hiroshima on western japan. he will be the first sitting u.s. president to make the trip. >> translator: i am convinced that when the leader of the nation that's the only country to have used nuclear weapons and the leader of the nation that's the only country to have suffered atomic bombing in wartime, express feelings of sincere sorrow and pray for the repose of the souls of those citizens who sacrificed their lives. it will create a strong momentum for a world free of nuclear weapons. >> our visit to hiroshima will honor all those lost in world war ii and reaffirm our shared vision of a world without

nuclear weapons, as well as highlight the extraordinary alliance that we have been able to forge over these many decades. >> abe said he wants to said a strong message from hi rosh man that japan and the u.s. will strive for peace and prosperity. just a matter of hours before the summit will begin. abe will chair the two-day meeting. he will welcome the leaders and guide them around the centuries old shrine on thursday morning. they will move to a he tell where the meetings will happen. the first session will be over lunch where they will discuss how the g7 can lead the world to peace and prosperity.

now to give you an idea of what the region is like, we are joined live from an observatory that overlooks the area. >> reporter: since it was announced as a location of the summit. more and more people are flaking here from around the world. >> it's a little hazy. that's ago bay on the pacific ocean that's large and small. it's popular campgrounds and activitieactivi. it's also some of the richest fishing grounds in japan. one of the biggest islands down there where the g7 leaders are gather. they will be held in that

building, a resort hotel. there's a generous schedule and many locals i've spoken with have told me they hope the leaders will get a chance to taste the region's fresh seafood during their stay. >> breathtaking. the beauty of pearls captivated the hearts of women around the world. how many know it was man here that first succeeded in cultivating them? cokichi was dubbed the king of pearls by locals. more than 100 years ago pearl oysters were endangered through

overfishing. through a series of trial and error, mikimoto established a new method for culturing pearls. he helped make pearl production a key industry in the region. researchers have continued to maybe upgrades in way toss breed pearls, thanks to the latest in technology. >> translator: i'm trying to figure out how the oysters feels now. >> reporter: oysters' feeling? >> this is a email. >> reporter: the message here says oysters are happy. >> it seems the oystering are doing fine now. >> reporter: the system to detect oiss' feelings is a first of inkind. sensors are attached to oysters. the sensors react when oysters open or close their mouths. the data is isn't to the research team. when the oysters are healthy

they close their mouth once an hour. during an algae bloom known as a red tide, that can hurt the oysters and cause regular movements. the data is sent to the research team also via e-mail. they rush to rafts, and are prepare to take action around the clock to protect the oysters. there are options to cross-breed oysters that can survive a red tide, but they are stuck to the idea of keeping oysters in their natural original state. >> translator: the more we try to make oysters resistant to red tide the worst the maritime environment becomes tipping the ecosystem. it's vital to protect the creatures and thereby protect the waters of ise-shima.

>> reporter: in harmony with all of nature has been pivotal to the people of ise-shima through all sorts of industries. locals say it's an important message that ise-shima can send back to you. >> thank you. that is all for now from the g7 media center. we'll definitely have more later for you. we're going to hand the program over now. >> thanks very much. be sure to stay with nhk "newsline". now on the other stories we're following this hour. the afghan taliban has announced a new leader. the insurgent group is acknowledging the death for the first time.

a statement released wednesday says akanzada was chosen at a meeting of leaders. he was killed start in a u.s. drone strike. he game leader last july after it was announced that mullah omar had died in 2013. mansour rejected calls for peace talks and continued attacking military and security forces in afghanistan. president barack obama said on monday that it democrat stated u.s. resolve. >> where we have a high-profile leader who has been consistently part of operations and plans to potentially harm u.s. personnel and who has been resistant to the kinds of peace talks and reconciliation, it's my responsibility as commander in

chief not to stand by, but to make sure that we send a clear signal to the taliban and others. >> taliban violence continued on wednesday even amid the leadership change. the group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in kabul that killed at least ten people. the new leader's stance on peace talks is unclear. the taliban held direct talks with the afghan government last july for the first time but they have not resumed. defense ministers of the association of southeast asian nation, or asean, met. the annual meeting time in the laotian capital. they noted the importance of freedom of navigation, the declaration also upheld freedom of overflight. >> translator: at the meeting, the importance of solving the maritime disputes and abiding by international rules, such as freedom of navigation, was emphasized. >> ministers urged for quick resolution of the code of conduct, and in the interim, to have mechanisms that could deescalate tensions such as the

direct communications link. >> china claims almost the entire south china sea as its own. vietnam, philippines and other southeast asian countries claim parts of it. beijing has built manmade islands and deployed advanced radars and missile batteries in the disputed region. the proposed has been criticized by some as undemocratic.

the election commission began handing copies of the draft to regional representatives in b k bangkok on wednesday. it would allow non-lawmakers to be prime minister. military commanders and political chiefs would be given a fixed number of legislative seats for five years. the referendum is one phase of a road map which is supposed to return thailand to democracy before the end of next year. the government is going all out to build support. those who oppose the draft to constitution are struggling to be heard. >> reporter: tv viewers in thailand don't have much choice on friday night. the same program is on every channel. they all have to air a public relations program from the military-led interim government. >> translator: the economy is recovering now because our

policies were correct. >> reporter: interim prime minister implies viewers should support the draft constitution. >> translator: it's desirable for the draft constitution to be adopted. what will happen if it's not adopted? the country will go back to political conflict and dispute. we won't be able to move forward. >> reporter: with august referendum approaching, the interim government is working hard to promote the draft constitution. opponents say it's undemocratic. some of them gathered in central bangkok in april calling on people to reject it. the interim government has been campaigning whether it's for or against. the protesters stood still. they were taken away by the police. a crackdown is also happening

online. restaurant owner was detained in april. he made comment on social media appearing to criticize the interim government. his friends are in shock. >> translator: i don't understand it. he'd never have imagined being detained for something like there. >> reporter: his father has been visiting a detention house and asking a court for his son's release. he hasn't received a specific reason why he's being held. >> translator: i'm worried my song might be in danger. i don't think he ever expected this would happen to him. the two big political camps have stayed on the sidelines weary of

being seen challenging the authorities. voices of concern have been rising. u.s. ambassador has criticized the crackdown. the government is acting to stabilize the country. >> translator: we respect human rights. it's necessary to keep control in accordance with the law. our goal is to move the country forward. >> reporter: the interim government says the draft constitution will get thailand back on a democratic path. time will tell whether voters will agree.

nhk world, bangkok. the leader of ethnic uighurs living abroad says some 10,000 of her people have fled china since chinese authorities cracked down on their religious activities. she said they escaped to turkey by way of thailand, malaysia and elsewhere. the head of the world uighur congress spoke to reporters in tokyo on wednesday. kadeir said that since chinese president xi jinping came to power, china has strengthened restrictions on the religious activities of ethnic minorities. in the autonomous region. uighurs are turkish ethnic group. she said the tendency became more prevalent after a new chinese anti-terrorism law took effect last december. kadeer said many uighurs have been detained after being branded terrorists, for simply opposing what she called the government's oppressive ethnic

policy. she appealed for the issue to be taken up at this week's g7 summit. the chinese government harshly criticizes her as an anti-chinese splittist. an official says she's virtually a puppet of western nations. >> trade seems to hold the key here. abe had a one-on-one with u.s. president obama. abe also sat down with prime minister david cameron. that lasted about 35 minutes. they agreed that trade agreements are needed to boost global economic growth. these include the economic partnership agreement between japan and the eu and the transpacific partnership agreement. trade wasn't the only topic. the two leaders vowed to strengthen ties in politics, security, investment and nuclear power. they also exchanged views on anti-corruption measures another big topic at the summit.

u.s. stocks ended higher. the dow jones rise iing .8 of a percent. let's see what is happening here in tokyo. we're going to go to ramin. he's at the nhk market office. good morning. what can you tell us? >> very good morning to you. definitely you touched on oil prices there hitting seven-month highs as u.s. inventories were seen to be falling in the world's biggest consumer of oil. also new debt deal for greece seem tolessen concerns as well heading off any further uncertainties over greece debt repayment plans.

the nikkei closed high on wednesday. sony was a big focus. shares jumping to the highest level so far this year and the most actively traded on the tokyo stock exchange. the expected group operating profit to rise 2% by march, 2017. that's despite some of the negative impact that it had also mentioned due to the earthquakes where it has image sensor chip operations. more and more people using mobile technology. with greece, a deal also investors looking out for bonds. yields fell not only in greek bonds but periphereal bonds.

>> tell us what's going on with the dollar. it really looks like it's pulling back a bit. that's after hitting two-month highs. >> it's below the 110 yen level. we have seen a bit of dollar weakness creeping in there. analysts have pointed out that rising expectations of a u.s. rate hike on the back of stronger data should continue to support the greenback. right now it's paused in its gains. kospi is in the positive. china markets open in an hour and a half. i want to tell you we have seen

a 1% rise in copper prices. that may fuel some positive sentiment in shares of heavy industry. hoping for a boost in global growth as well. back to you. >> all right. sounds good. thanks a lot for that update. we'll check in with him in a few hours time. japanese government officials want retailers to take an extra measure to tackle the growing problem of data theft from credit cards. they plan to require stores nationwide to install ic chip readers. it's more difficult for thieves to get data from credit cards compared to magnetic strips. the info is used the make fake cards. ministry officials hope to boost credit card security by the year

2020. that is when a large number of foreign visitors is expected for the olympic and paraolympic games here in tokyo. ic chip readers are common in most other industrialized countries. many stores in japan still rely on magnetic strip reading devices. for now a check on markets.

the group of seven industrialized countries addressing challenges and setting new goals. don't miss our special coverage, g7 right here on nhk newsline. over here in tokyo it's warm morning. robert speta tells us how it's looking elsewhere. >> actually, yeah, sunny skies dominating most of japan here on our thursday morning. that frontal area that pushed think here on wednesday brought some scattered showers, now drifting to the east. but we have a new low developing just along the western edge. that will lift off towards the

north. just in the morning hours, because by the time we do into thursday afternoon, also extending back towards the west. this is just going to be lifting further off there towards the north. definitely brings in widespread rainfall with it, and behind it, at least, temperatures will warm up heading into the weekend. 24 here on your thursday, some cloudy skies warming up to 28 there into seoul. tokyo by the afternoon, as mentioned, those showers will be moving in, but 28 as well. there by the weekend, i know a big day here, especially by your friday morning through the afternoon, it does look like partly cloudy skies, temperatures absolutely decent, 29 there for your high on friday, but the rainy season is still dominating toward taipei, also towards hong kong. we still could be seeing some

flieding even further there across parts of southeastern china with upwards of about 70, 80 millimeters possible over the next 24 hours. let's talk about the severe weather now. across the americas, all week each day, we have been seeing severe weather outbreaks. we have basically this trough that has been continuing to dip all the way down here towards mexico, pulling in plenty of moisture, even extending back there towards the pacific ocean. we have been seeing numerous reports of large hail, but also they very damaging tornadoes, and first i'll show you some video out of okaying on, a state here where we had several tornadoes roll through back here on our tuesday, and also in the wednesday, causing widespread damage. upwards of about a dozen homes completely devastated there. also the same storm moved through colorado, brought some golf ball-sized hail. it looks like this is in fact snow, but it's not. this is hail from one of these stronger thunderstorms, and enough of it came down it piled up, and it looks like snow

there, a very clear difference between snow and hail, though. snow has to be freezing all the way from the upper levels down to the surface, basically the same particle freezing all the way down. when we're talking about hail, though, we're talking about a thunderstorm. basically you have the strong updrafts lifting moisture, but it just keeps it suspended and continues to rotate. the longer it stays up there, it just blends together and you end up getting golf balls, sometimes baseball sized chunks of ice, unit becoming so heavy that the updraft just can't support it. it falls back down to the ground there. it must have been a fairly strong updraft, enough hail there to cause some flooding. severe weather is still possibility here. the threat is not as strong as we saw on tuesday, but even on thursday, we could be see the chance there. not moving very fast. thunderstorms across much of the

central u.s., even towards the southeast, we could still see a few rumbles on your thursday. here's the extended outlook. that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

♪ >> today on "in good shape," what causes a shulder to dislocate? how can you keep your nose clear when you have a cold? and how do modern therapies treat cancer? here's dr. carsten lekutat. dr. lekutat: hello and welcome to "in good shape." admit it, at some point in your life you thought about getting cancer, didn't you? i mean all of us have. and the truth is one out of two patients will contract the disease at some point. that is what i will be talking about with professei