hello there, welcome to nhk "newsline." it's tuesday, july 5th, 9:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the families of japanese killed in a bangladesh terror attack are get something closure. they've traveled to dhaka to identify their loved ones, and they've now brought the bodies home. a plane carrying the seven caskets and families touched down tuesday morning in tokyo. the victims died friday after gunmen stormed a cafe. 22 people in total were killed including two police officers. most of the victims were foreign and included italians, an american and an indian. japanese officials offered

flowers and prayers. tamaoki watanabe, who survived the attack, arrived earlier and was taken to a hospital. the attack friday night in dhaka lasted for several hours. a group of armed men held hostages in the cafe. survivors say they were asked to recite verses from the koran. those who couldn't were killed. the siege ended as security forces stormed the building. six of the attackers are dead. investigators are questioning one who survived, and they're holding another man they suspect was involved. details are now emerging about the group of men. nibras islam attended a university in malaysia. police believe he took a leading role in the attack. rohan imtiaz was the son of a senior politician of the ruling party. he had disappeared last year. friends of meer saameh mubasheer describe him as shy and say hz family was strict, religious and

reclusive. khairul islam payel moved to dhaka after graduating from an islamic school. an organization calling itself a local affiliate of the islamic state group claimed responsibility for the attack. but the country's home minister denies any links. >> there is no evidence of isis. homegrown terrorist, but all are home grown. it is not from other countries. it is all our national, our people. >> he said the attackers were highly educated young men from affluent families. japanese aid workers and businesspeople are considering how best to continue their activities while securing their safety. a tokyo-based ngo built this shelter at a coastal area in bangladesh last month.

it's designed to protect residents from cyclones. the group was planning an opening ceremony in september with college students from both countries, but the event is likely to be canceled. >> translator: now we can't say how many students we will send to attend the exchange event. i'm worried such incidents may discourage volunteer activities. >> this company manufactures textile machines. it has decided to cancel business trips to bangladesh for its employees except for urgent ones. >> translator: the bangladeshi market is remarkably expanding. we cannot stop business activities, but we have told our staff stationed in the country to be even more careful. >> the retailing group that runs the uniqlo retailing company has told its staff to stay home for the time being. police in malaysia say a terror attack last week was the

work of the islamic state militant group. a grenade was thrown into a crowded night spot in a suburb of kuala lumpur, injuring eight people. the inspector general of police says they have arrested two men who received direct instructions from an islamic state fighter in syria. a search of premises connected to the man uncovered an islamic state flag and other items related to the group. police are still looking for two other men believed to be involved. malaysian police initially ruled out terrorism in the incident. they now believe it was the first terror attack in the country involving the islamic state militant group. security officials in brazil are struggling against a rise in violent crime as they prepare for the rio de janeiro olympics. there's less than one month to go until the games and rio is expected to welcome more than 500,000 people. but there's fear on the streets

as the security and the economy deteriorate. last month dozens of armed men broke into a hospital designated for emergencies during the olympics. a guard was killed. and a truck carrying $400,000 worth of equipment belonging to a german broadcaster was stolen. and there has also been reports that olympic and paralympic athletes have been robbed. about 85,000 police officers and soldiers are supposed to be deployed during the games, but officers staged a strike over a delay in their salaries after rio last month declared a state of financial crisis. the plans for the games are going ahead. shops are selling olympic goods and the torch is scheduled to arrive in rio later this monthp abo . the games will open august 5th. the man who triggered a referendum on british membership in the european union says he's

stepping down. nigel farage is the leader of the party. >> i now feel that i've done my bit, that i couldn't possibly achieve more than we emergencied -- managed to get in that referendum and i should now stand aside. >> his party is now being criticized for backtracking on a pledge to divert eu cash to the nation's health service. critics also say the words and actions of ukip members and supporters are discriminatory. the party won the third largest share of votes in last year's general election. it is the largest uk part in the european parliament. he said he will continue to work with other lawmakers skeptical of the eu. the brexit vote is making some foreign banks in britain moving to other european cities. the mayor of london's financial district is trying to put their

minds at ease. ai uchida joins us from the business desk. what did the mayor say? >> you're talking about lord mayor jeffrey evans he's the head of the bank of london. we previously reported about japanese executives looking at moving their operations everybody. evans will visit next week to explain the effects of brexit. evans says the city will stay competitive. >> the wits and depths of london's offer is very considerable. it's not so easy to move activities and businesses to other centers. it's one of these areas of uncertainty. but we are very clear we have ambition and intention to remain in a leading international

financial center. >> global financial institutions are thinking hard about what to do after the brexit vote. the ceo of jpmorgan chase of the u.s. said over e-mails to employees, the firm may need to move its european base from london in the next several months. britain's hsbc is thinking about moving 1,000 employees based in the british capital to paris. western media report that morgan stanley of the u.s. has set up a working group to look at relocating its european base from london to another city in the region. they also say britain's barclays bank is looking at dublin as a possible relocation site. now, let's see what's going on with the markets. wall street was closed for independence day. european market players did take profits overnight. and we saw losses on all three major indices over in europe. now let's see what is happening here in tokyo this tuesday morning.

for that we'll go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good to see you. good morning. what are you seeing over there? >> very good morning to you, ai. we're seeing a little profit taking here. i'll get to that in a second. still a little uncertainty hanging over the markets despite the rebound we've seen for the nikkei and many european and u.s. markets as well. u.s. markets were closed for july 4th. they'll be back later today. again, some uncertainties and that's playing into the opening levels here for the nikkei and the topix for july 5th. the nikkei down 0.75% and the broader topix down as well. the nikkei it has been charging ahead for the last six days in a row through the close on monday. its longest winning streak since november last year. now, upper house elections here in japan will take center stage as they weigh and measure all the steps taken so far by prime minister shinzo abe with regards

to battling deflation in japan, weakening the yen and also stepping up structural reforms which many analysts and investors are looking at to see if there's going to be sustained growth in japan. analysts say, of course, global events have not helped as investors tend to rush to buy the yen as a safe haven in times of volatility and uncertainty, which, of course, goes really against what the boj has been trying to do. one of them, of course, is to have a weaker yen. >> no kidding, ramin. we've seen a stubbornly strong yen against a lot of currencies. tell us where some of the key levels are. >> exactly. very stubborn yen especially against the dollar. and that really is not helping exports or corporate japan as analysts suggest, dollar/yen 102.41. the yen remains a hedge against the fall and risk appetite globally.

investors prefer to hold the japanese currency when things go haywire. market perception, the next fed rate hike has fallen back a touch. minutes from the june policy meeting dune on wednesday as well as the jobs data on friday may provide key evidence as to the fed's stance going forward. investors will want to see what the boj does at its meeting later this month. now, stocks here that have suffered the most have been banks due to negative interest rates which, of course, eats into their profit margins. but resource-related stocks depending on commodity price increases have done a little bit better. let's get a quick look at asian markets that are open right now. seoul's kospi is trading lower, sydney's s&p/asx 200 also down. china's markets open in an hour and a half. >> we'll talk to you in a few hours. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. a tokyo-based venture firm

is taking on its bigger rivals with a tiny car. it's smaller than so-called mini vex and easier to drive. the aim is to put smalltown manufacturing skills in the driver's seat. >> a venture firm developed the car. materials companies and other businesses like the concept and decided to help out. it seats two adults. the current law only allows it to be driven in designated areas. but it's the main car the government's considering as a means of transportation for senior citizens. this man is behind the concept. he used to design cars at a major automaker. he decided to start his own company so he could have more creative control. he aimed to make a car that people would be excited to drive. one distinctive feature is the body, which is made of light,

sturdy cloth. >> translator: vex tend hicles be intimidating. but not ours. we wanted to make a car that was more like a stuffed toy. that's why we use cloth for the body. >> he has a meeting with a small firm in central japan. his company plans to outsource manufacturing to family-run factories. using cloth instead of metal to build the car meaning spending a fraction of cost on the facilities and equipment. this auto parts design firm supports the venture. the firm designs car seats for major automakers. the boss was inspired by the idea of developing a car from scratch. >> translator: our company veterans dreamed of designing their own car. we have experts for all kind of

components. so by working together we thought we could build an entire car from the ground up. >> reporter: one challenge was to produce the curvy body of a car using cloth. >> translator: it requires advanced processing technology, but the firm believes some of their small and medium-sized business partners can do the work. >> translator: this material doesn't stretch, so we need to cut it into parts to produce the curves. >> reporter: workers used their experience with car seats to come up with prototypes through repeated trial and error. it was a chance to show off the technologies they had acquired over the years. a smalltown factory specializing in plastics was put in charge of the car windows. its president, too, was excited by the idea of bringing something new to life.

>> translator: our normal work is meeting pre-set orders. as you might expect, the idea of working on something of our own stirs more passion and emotion. >> translator: technologies that weren't utilized, those now used for other purposes and others that were never mainstream, we want to make them main players. >> reporter: this unassuming cloth car may only have two seats, but it's carrying the passions of many people in smalltown factories. it could also pave a new path for japanese manufacturing. all right. that's the latest in business news for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

it's time now for eye on asia. china is set to begin military drills in the south china sea. the exercises come ahead of an international tribunal's ruling that's expected to challenge beijing's maritime claims. china's maritime administration says the drills will start tuesday and run for a week. they say it will take place in an area running east of the island of hainan to the paracel islands. it's warning ships from entering the water. a tribunal in the hague is expected to issue its ruling. the case was filed by the philippines. that country's government argues that china's claims over most of

the sea are illegal under the u.n. convention of the law of the sea. china says the court has no authority to rule on the case. but analysts say the military exercise is a sign china is trying to assert sovereignty in the sea in anticipation of an unfavorable ruling. a chinese court has handed down a sentence of life imprisonment to an aide of former president hu jintao. ling jihua is a former deputy head of china's national political advisory body. he was indicted on charges of taking bribes and abuse of power. the state-run xinhua news agency reported that the court in tianjin passed the life sentence on monday. the report says the court ruled that ling accepted bribes totaling about 77 million yuan or nearly $12 million in return for giving favors and personnel matters. he was found guilty of abuse of power and illegally obtaining a

large number of state secrets. he is quoted as saying he accepts the charges and submits to the judgment. the closed door trial did not reveal what kind of state secrets ling allegedly obtained. the chinese government is also looking for his younger brother ling wancheng who is said to have fled to the united states with classified information. local authorities in china's guangdong province after video showing police protesters. a video taken on sunday during a protest against a planned garbage incinerator show police officers using sticks to repeatedly beat people. protesters demanding a halt to the construction of the facility blocked a road leading to the city office of zhaoqing in china. 31 were detained the after a clash with police. local officials say 1300 people

took part in the demonstration. but some internet users say that more than 30,000 were present. the protesters fear the building of the incinerator might contaminate the air and drinking water. messages and photos posted online have been deleted in apparent acts of censorship. china's booming online lending industry has put more money in the hands of average citizens. officials hoped that would generate broad economic benefits, but it's creating some social problems as well. in the second part of our series, we look at the risks associated with china's growing appetite for easy money. >> reporter: china's economic growth mostly left farming villages like this one behind. but now money is flowing in some of china's 4,000 online lending firms specialize in loans to farmers.

lenders often visit prospective borrowers to see if they'll be able to pay the money back. >> translator: how much do you need this time? >> translator: we want to buy vinyl sheeting and equipment for greenhouses. we'll need about $7,600. >> reporter: the lenders take pictures of the couple's land and house to assess their creditworthiness. the company decides the couple is a safe bet and offers to lend them more than $9,000. >> translator: if we can expand our farming business, we'll be able to earn more and live a better life. >> reporter: china's leaders have voiced support for the online financial industry, but they want to make sure that

recent frenzy doesn't cause the market to overheat. >> we'll restore order to online financing and establish proper systems and develop the industry. >> reporter: officials worry that the free flow of money could cause the -- a housing bubble. more and more people are borrowing online to invest in real estate. this man bought some property last year for about $280,000. he says it's now worth about twice that. >> translator: it's great. i can make money. >> reporter: but experts say 40% of online lending firms have had legal and management trouble. last december authorities arrested managers at the pier to pier lending firm. they reportedly collected money from 900,000 investors and spent

it lavishly on themself. the firm had shown ads like this on state-run tv. many thought that meant the business had an air of legitimacy. the company's victims are making their voices heard. people who have been scammed by this firm and others have no way of getting their money back. for help but to no avail.

china's leaders spent a challenging task to ensure that online lenders continue to foster economic growth without threatening social stability. [ wailing ] >> reporter: reporting for nhk world from guangdong province. and that wraps up eye on asia. it is time for a check of the weather. people in many areas of southern china are dealing with torrential rain. it's quite a serious situation there. our meteorologist robert speta explains. >> this has been ongoing for some time now. actually the past several months. we've been talking about the rainy season. and that's really important because it's been rather persistent out here across eastern areas of china really stretching across the yangtze river basin out towards the west. you can see this latest one that's brought heavy showers there and even across the korean

peninsula, flooding. but the past week alone not only in eastern areas, just to the west of shanghai but also back here towards southwestern china we've been seeing this tremendous rainfall. some locations here, based on the satellite-based imagery, upward of 300 to 500 millimeters. i want to show you some video coming out of this area. first, out of eastern china. this is just to the west of shanghai. look at this just severe flooding that has been taking place. actually these floods have affected over 43,000 people, damaged hundreds, thousands of homes out here since the start of june. 14 casualties have been reported due to flooding and landslides. now, back to the east. this is out of the west where flooding has also taken place. actually monday morning. 500 people became trapped and were all rescued, but you can see the landslide right there and many people being evacuated out of these same areas as well. so this is still ongoing. it definitely is rather serious.

that's what we're talking about that landslide threat. if you are issued these warnings, you have to take them very seriously. they could just give way in a matter of seconds. more rain in the forecast, that threat is definitely continuing out here. you can see the areas upwards of 100 to 120 millimeters and west of shanghai where you've already seen those images coming out of. if we look farther to the east, this storm is creating instability across japan. this is not so much the consistent rail, but it -- rainfall, but it is providing instability. the temperatures on the hot side. tokyo's high 26 but western japan, you're looking into the mid to high 30s out here. just like what we've seen on monday, that is going to be combined with these very warm temperatures. this is actually your highs reported out here, upward of 37 to 38 degrees and triggering strong thunderstorms.

we have our latest now severe tropical storm expected to become a typhoon here on tuesday moving off towards the northwest. this is really expected to become a strong one as it does move over there towards taiwan, possibly the southwestern islands of japan. you'll be looking at the possibility of damaging winds and tremendous amount of rainfall as we look ahead wednesday into thursday. also, this is staying towards the east of the philippines. i do want to mention this is enhancing that monsoonal flow bringing in showers. let's talk about the americas here. travel plans or any outdoor plans festivals going on out here. many people celebrating independence day. we have thunderstorms even some of them already bringing large hail and even a tornado reported out there in kentucky. separately another storm moving through the dakotas and will bring showers there for you. by tuesday still picking up

rough weather. take a look at the temperatures. on the hot side. how about that? stay cool out here as we go through the rest of the week. here's the extended outlook. and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks for joining us.

>> "euromaxx highlights". here is your host. >> hi there and a warm welcome to our highlights of the week, which have shaped up in fine style for the weekend. three is a team estonian , triplets are headed for the summer olympics. life is a dream germany's euro , 2016 football squad is staying in style. worth a visit lake garda is a , top tourist location in northern italy. well, it's true. here in europe we're quite taken up with soccer as we focus on the euro 2016. but that's not all for this summer and many top athletes are , keenly focused beyond that to the really global event, namely the summer olympics in rio de janeiro in august. and this summer one story will h