hello there. welcome to nhk "newsline." it's thursday, june 9th, 9:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a chinese navy vessel entered an area outside japan's territorial waters near the senkaku islands in the east china sea early thursday. the incident happened near the senkaku islands. japanese government officials say the vessel stayed in waters around the islands for about two hours. japan crops the islands. the japanese government maintains the island as an inherent part of the territory.

china and taiwan claim them. prime minister abe has responded by setting up a liaison office the government also set up a liaison office at the crisis management center in the prime minister's office to gather and share information on the frigate. vice minister for foreign s a supply ship also sailed close wednesday night. the ministry is analyzing whether there's any connection with the chinese and russian vessels' presence in the area. the ministry is analyzing whether there's any connection between the chinese and russian vessel's presence in the area. tokyo's embattled governor is considering taking a self-imposed paycut. the gesture comes after allegations surfaced he used public funds for personal spending.

he was cleared this week of any legal wrongdoing by two former prosecutors. on the political side of things, he's still in the hot seat. the tokyo metropolitan assembly wants to question him again about his spending. this time questioning will take place in front of the assembly's general affairs committee. unlike in you have question and answer sessions in which members submit their questions beforehand, he will be required to respond on the spot. the democratic party and japanese communist party want to question him before the assembly adjourns next wednesday, but some members of the liberal democratic party and comato, which backed his reelection bid say it should be held after. members from all parties plan to meet thursday to discuss a schedule for the questioning. meanwhile, he's expected to submit a draft to revise his

salary before the end of the session. another bombing in turkey targeting police has left three people dead and more than 30 injured. it comes a day after a car bomb killed 11 people in istanbul. a car exploded in a police station compound in a town located in the southeast about 40 kilometers from the border with syria. prime minister binali yildirim said the blast killed two civilians and one police officer. he said the kurdistan worker party, pkk, carried out the attack. local media have suggested the attack was in retaliation for the turkish government's military operations against the pkk. turkey has designated it as a terrorist group.

south korea controls the islands. japan claims them. south korea's navy and coast guard started the drill on wednesday. they're practicing how to prevent illegal encourage. the exercises involve some ten vessels. the south korean military conduct the drill twice a year. japanese officials protested through diplomatic channels. they say the islands are an inherent part of japan easte' ' territory. the japanese government maintains that south korea is illegally occupying the islands.

an international chemistry organization has endorsed a proposal to name an atomic element after the japanese word for "japan." the japanese researchers who created the substance 12 years ago want to call it nihonium. they recommended the idea to the international union of pure and applied chemistry. the organization recently recognized the element as a new synthetic and allowed researchers to suggest a name. the team of scientists led by kyushu university professor kosuke morita proposed the atomic symbol nh. morita issued a comment saying his group is the first in asia to have discovered a new element and then earned naming rights to it. he said the group decided on the name keeping in mind the great support it has received from the japanese people. the organization has now put the name up for public review. officials will make a formal decision around the end of this year. if the name wins approval, nihonium will appear in the

periodic table. a japanese boat has returned home five years after it went missing following the deadly tsunami in japan. >> translator: it's amazing. the boat did pretty good. >> a fishery laboratory in the city owns the boat. the lab suffered severe damage and lost the boat in the disaster on march 11th, 2011. they discovered it drifting in waters. the boat's name painted on its side had faded away but it had no ruptures.

an iconic train station in japan is about to get a major facelift, it's located close to a venue of the tokyo 2020 olympic and paralympic games. harajuku station is a western-style building that opened in 1924. it's the oldest wooden station in the capital. it's also a symbol of youth culture that's visited by young people decked out in trendy fashions as well as foreign sightseers heading to nearby tourist spots. the station is expected to welcome many visitors to yoyogi national gymnasium during the games. but it's aging and inconvenient because of its narrow passageways. east japan railway company will construct a new two-story station building next to the current one. the company says the renovation will be completed in time for the games. >> translator: i hope the new station will be loved.

as a new symbol of harajuku. >> the company will consult with locals over whether to demolish the current building. now onto business stories. government officials have released data on spending by japanese companies. what do the new numbers tell us? >> they do not show a bright picture. machinery ordsers fell for the first time in two months. officials at the cabinet office say it was an 11% drop from march. the number excludes the ship buildings and power sectors that tend to see fluctuations. they decreased orders for 13.3%. now let's check in on marks. overnight on wall street, stocks rose as rude oil prices went higher. the dow jones closed above 18,000 for the first time since

late april. we did see gains on the nasdaq as well. that gained just about a quarter of a percent. let's see what is happening here in tokyo. we're going to go to ramin for that. good morning. >> you mentioned u.s. stocks ending higher. if you look at the dollar, it hasn't moved that much higher. that may be a bit of a head wind for major exporters here. let's have a look at the opening levels for the nikkei and the broader topix. both indexes there trading in the negative. just a reminder, the nikkei rose in the energy sector. we did see oil prices going higher. inspect, let's have a look at the graphs and charts here. brent was up nearly 52%.

we also need to watch metal and related shares. chinese imports jumped in may. the bank of tokyo is thinking about opting out of his role as a primary dealer of japanese government bonds. the bank sees little benefit in holding the debt given the low yields that we're seeing now. also, big focus on shares of n panasonic that rose on wednesday. tesla is working to supply batteries for its first mass market car. >> what about the thing about the weaker dollar causing head winds for japanese exporters. what can you tell us about that and the key levels right now?

>> exactly. talking about the yen at five-week lows. the euro up against the dollar. 1.14 against the dollar. let's get a quick look at the region's index open now. seoul's kospi is flat. now, another big focus is whether the major index provider will announce next week to include chinese main land shares which are widely tracked. we'll keep track of that as well. back to you. >> all right. thanks a lot for letting us know with that update.

>> total could be involved in a project in the field in the country's southwest. they said total is required to prevent its technical bid in six months time. he also noted it's not a final contract. he stressed a number of companies from europe and asia has expressed interest in developing the field. economic sanctions against iran were lifted in january in exchange for curbing its nuclear

program. outside major cities retailers struggle to attract younger employees. some have found a solution by hiring older workers. take a look. >> reporter: the operators of the chain has 17 outlets. employees are over 60. >> i'm 61 years old. >> i'm 63. >> me, i'm 65 years old. >> reporter: company officials found the younger workers they once sought were becoming harder the find. they shifted their focus to older talent. they added theords ope to all ages to recitment flyers. that led to a flood ofapplicion 60.

>> translator: many young people like to work early in the morning or or sundays. we have to rely on seniors. >> reporter: this 60-year-old starts his shift before 4:00 a.m. he works in the fish department. he has over three decades of experience in reat a timed fields and that's prove on the be a real asset. he teaches younger colleagues the finer points of buying fish. >> the flesh should be firm and the skin should be shiny. >> reporter: skills like this can't be acquired overnight. younger workers are grateful for the expertise he brings to the job. >> translator: he teaches us how to tell which fish are freshest or which can be grilled. he makes the process easy to understand. >> reporter: he also teaches fish slicing techniques. >> this is the best place to

insert the knife. keep the fish clean and don't let the knife slip. we may be older, but we have plenty of enthusiasm and lots of knowledge to share. the young ones follow our lead. that's the strength of this store. >> reporter: the energy these older workers bring is paying off in other ways too. over the past three years, sales have increased around 50%. as super market chain is finding that employing senior workers is giving its business new vitality. >> that's the latest in business. i'll leave you with the check on markets.

now it's time for eye on yaz. about 100 people have held a protest in asia. about 100 people have held a protest in hong kong lancome's decision came after a chinese communist paper cry skiesed the company working with ho, the poet protesters gathered on wednesday. they say the international

brand, which stresses corporate ethics had kowtowed to an authoritarian government. >> translator: everyone is thinking about chinese market and the money. companies should follow principles. >> translator: this case violates core values of hong kong. >> the protesters marched to the lancome counter in the store and chanted slogans saying that self-censorship is a disgraceful act. they also posted flyers calling for a boycott of the company's cosmetic products. suspected taliban militants in northern afghanistan have taken dozens of people hostage on a highway. police say the insurgents intercepted a bus on wednesday. >> translator: it took more than 40 people hostage, but then they started fighting among

themselves. that's when i escaped, along with two other people. >> translator: we have launched search operations in the areas where there are roads or vehicles. it seems the hostages were taken away by motorbikes to other locations. we will continue our operation to locate and free the hostages. last week suspected taliban gunmen held up vehicles in the same area. they killed ten passengers and kidnapped at least 20. on tuesday this week, officials said the taliban killed 12 travelers who were captured in recent ambushes in the country's southeast. the dead included policemen and soldiers. the taliban has seen success in fighting since it named a new leader a month ago. the previous leader was killed in a u.s. drone strike.

the students have boycotted classes for weeks and are calling for prime minister peter o'neil to resign. he's been linked to major corruption scandal. hundreds of students were preparing to march from their university to the country's parliament. police are denying reports that four people were killed. >> while we we running they shot us. they shot us with gun. >> in 2014, an arrest warrant was issued for o'neil on charges of authorizing illegal payments. he's denied the allegations and refused to comply with the warrant. the country has opinibeen strug with violence and poverty

despite having abundant resources. japanese anime videos have become popular in indonesia, but some are not satisfied with simply watching them on tv. they said to create fantasy words of their own. we have this report about the world of plastic robot models. >> reporter: anime fans can build plastic robots that look like characters from the japanese anime series. the hottest selling items in the show costs about $18. >> translator: it's intricately detailed and the entire form is cool, too. >> reporter: indonesians are taking up a wide variety of hobbies as their country's economy grows. more and more fans are apparently willing to build craft of their beloved heroes with their own hands. this is a workshop.

they're learning how to make a plastic model. fans have created hobby clubs across the country. >> translator: it is important to draw two-dimensional graphics before making a three-dimensional model. >> reporter: 22-year-old catherine is a participant. she has been watching the gundam anime series since she was small. she was amazed by a particular elaborate model she saw in a shop window, and felt inspired to recreate the robots she loves. catherine now has a collection of roughly 200 robot models at home. she tries to make them look realistic. she honed her skills by taking

private lessons. she has learned how to make parts look like they've been damaged in fights or like the paint has come off. her current goal is to enter an indonesian contest for gundam modelers and make it to the world cup held in japan in december. >> translator: it's really fun to make gundam robots. a lot of people have the same interest, so i can share my joy with them. >> reporter: many people in indonesia are fascinated by the plastic models of gundam robots. the hobby is expected to continue to win fans. metalia, nhk world, jakarta. rj rjts. people across france, germany are recovering afterg getting hit by torrential rain

and flooding. robert speta has the latest. >> i'll show you video coming out of belgium. actually at its peak, some communities had to be evacuated. trains were suspended. meanwhile, in paris, some of the worst flooding in about three decades out here. the louvre now reopened, the mona lisa brought back in as well. no damage to any of the artwork there. you can see the huge line of people lining up to get back in. that was closed for about a week because of flooding that was taken place, even submerging some areas just inside and around the museum. so definitely some welcome news for people, tourists across the area. the weather is drifting off to

the east. and down through the alps, and there into northern italy, just a lading edge of a coffee which by the way, will bring some cooler temperatures as we look ahead to your weekend even extending into turkey, off to the ukraine, several reports of tornadoes out here, some heavy rainfall as well. actually some thunderstorms, a high of 22 there, in your forecast on thursday. vienna as well, but paris, a welcome sight, 23, sunny skies there through the latter part of your workweek. let's look at the americas now, where we do have actually a trough spilling in across the rockies. that's firing up some thunderstorms there into the high plains. travel plans there. your planes may be trying to avoid some of those, but i think one of the bigger topics is the area of high pressure spilling

in across the great lakes region. this is not bringing weather, but cooler temperatures, more early spring-like, so the leading edge, we have the stationary boundary, the tail end of this moisture, what's left of colin, but that's bringing some heavy showers into the southern areas of florida peninsula, miami included. out there for you let's talk about what's going out here in japan. if you are out and about, tokyo, make osaki, you are probably seeing the rain showers, might be hearing a rumble of thunder or two, definitely with this passing area of low pressure, still bringing the scattered showers out there. the good news, even though it is

the rainy season, and today we are getting that rain, we are going to be seeing an improvement. actually over saturday and sunday, rising temperatures and clearing skies with an area of high pressure coming in from the west. not going to be improving taiwan and southeastern china, though, this front is staying in place. it will be bringing even more rainfall over the next several days. here's your extended outlook.

that is all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. thanks for joining us.

♪ announcer: welcome to "in good shape." coming up -- why a mediterranean diet benefits the mind, as well as the body. when cosmetics can damage your skin. and why it's good when surgeons listen to music on the job. ♪ and here's our host, dr. carsten lekutat. dr. lekutat: every year, millions of babies are born pre-term, too early. what can doctors do to help them through their first difficult weeks of their life? that's what we are going to find out here in the charite in berlin.