hello there. welcome to nhk "newsline." it's friday, july 29th, 9:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. japans's emperor made headlines as media reported his intention to abdicate in the coming years. he's been informing those in the imperial house hold that he's hand over the crown to his son crown prince naruhito. he will address the public as early as next month. the emperor is 82 and has reigned for 28 years since he followed his father emperor

showa whose given name was hirohito. he wants to step down before he's too frail to carry out his duties. he's already informed his family. one possible date for his address is august 8th. they say the emperor will express his feelings after the extraordinary session of the diet and an expected reshuffle of the cabinet. they say agency officials are considering a live tv broadcast so the emperor can speak to a wide audience. he's expected to speak for around ten minutes from the imperial palace in central tokyo. there are no legal provisions for abdication under the japanese law governing the status of the emperor. so the emperor has decided to avoid using the word "abdication" but the sources say the emperor's words will suggest his wishes. if the emperor expresses his feelings on live tv, it would be his first time to do so.

after the major earthquake and tsunami that happened in 2011, the emperor delivered a message in a prerecorded video. more details about the largest mass killing in decades. he wasn't monitored after his release. satoshi uematsu was committed by sagamihara officials after making comments about killing those with disabilities. while in hospital he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and his urine tested positive for marijuana. he also reportedly told hospital staff that he identify with adolf hitler's ideology. 12 days later uematsu was discharged after a doctor determined he was no longer a threat to others. municipal officials are supposed to regularly check on people who are released from compulsory hospitalization but the checks are limited to residents of the

city. uematsu was excluded because his family was registered as living elsewhere. police say shortly after 2:00 a.m. on tuesday, uematsu broke into a saga ma har ra care facility for people with disabilities. the former employee then tied up staff members before attacking more than 40 people innd an hour. the rampage left 9 dead and 26 others injured. prime minister abe has spoken out about the mass killing. he told members of his cabinet on thursday that the attack should never have happened. >> we have to thoroughly investigate and do our best to prevent a recurrence and to protect the security of our citizens. >> abe has ordered a review for the rules for compulsory hospitalization of people considered a risk to themselves or others. families and supporters of people with disabilities are making sure their voices are heard. nhk world has their story.

>> reporter: this man is 41 years old. he's not able to speak and lives in a care facility. she said she was deeply hurt by what the murder suspect was saying. that people with disabilities should disappear. >> not only is it unforgive aab it makes me sad. >> even so it might only be a limited number of people who think that way, it's the fact that anyone does. >> she has an organization of people with intellectual disabilities. it issued a statement on its website saying each and every life is priceless regardless of its challenges. people across japan are

expressing support for that through social media. one person wrote, we have to make sure this kind of crime never happens again. an organizer of this care facility has been trying to create more awareness of an interaction with people with disabilities. he came up with a plan to open the building up to eliminate social stigma. >> translator: we were trying to live together with the commun y community. >> and it seemed to be having an effect. more and more local residents were visiting the facility and celebrate festivals with the people who live there. but he now has a dilemma. after the stabbing, the prefecture authority urged him to tighten security. he used to close the building's gate at 10:00 p.m., but now tries to make sure it's closed all day.

>> translator: it's truly regrettable and a severe situation that we have to limit access to the facility. for kubo, it's important to let others know that people with disabilities do have families who care about them. one small example of her love is this scarf she gave to him two years ago. he's worn it ever since. she says she wants everyone to know a family bond is not affected even if there are challenges in communicating. >> translator: he is an essential part of our family and brings us all closer together. >> support groups like kubo's say they're going to continue to support the rights of those with disabilities and call on everyone to respect each and every human beorld from

tokyo. china says it plans to hold routine naval drills with russia in september in the south china sea. a defense official made the announcement amid heightened tension in the disputed waters. >> the drills aim to strengthen the partnership and deepen cooperation between the countries' armed forces to cope with maritime threats. the drills aren't aimed at any third party. >> beijing and moscow have held regular joint drills in other waters including the sea of japan, the east china sea and the mediterranean. what is thought to be their first in the south china sea follows a recent ruling by an international tribunal in a case brought by the philippines the tribunal rejected china's claims to most of the waters. beijing has been building

islands in the water where manila and other parties have overlapping claims. observers say the drill is also designed to counter american actions in the region. the u.s. has been conducting freedom of navigation missions, sailing its ships near the chinese-made islands. a foundation has been officially launched in south korea in an effort to resolve a thorny issue between seoul and tokyo. the organization is dedicated to supporting aging koreans referred to as wartime comfort women. but its opening day was disrupted by a number of protesters. the foundation was established based on a december agreement between the two governments. japan will contribute $9 million to head the effort. she said she has met with all of 40 such women in the past few months and many of them or their families showed their intention to accept the offer. she said they would do their utmost to support the women.

>> translator: i will side by the women until their mental trauma will be totally healed. i believe our sincere effort will help the women to understand our project. >> officials of the two governments welcome the start. >> japan will work closely with south korea to implement the terms of the agreement. >> we had to regain the honor and dignity of the women and help heal their mental scars while they're still alive. >> but group members opposing the foundation broke into a room where the foundation was about to hold a news conference. they were dispersed by police. but the discussion was not over. a man attacked her with pepper spray just outside the room. she was taken to hospital for treatment but did not sustain

any serious injuries. police are questioning the man. it's time now to get a check of the business headlines. japanese government officials have just released lots of fresh economic data. let's go to ai uchida from the business desk. >> as you know, one of prime minister shinzo abe's goals is to pull japan out of a deflationary spiral. what does this mean? it means he wants prices to rise. when economists want to find out how that's going, they turn to the consumer price index. the index for june was down for the fourth straight month. officials at the internal affairs ministry says the cpi was 0.5% lower from the same month last year about the index includes oil products but not fresh food. the reading was up 0.4% when all types of energy and food are excluded. and consumers continue to keep a tight grip on their wallets. the officials say in june

households with two or more people cut back by 2.2% from a year ago. the officials say the unemployment rate in june stood at 3.1%. the figure was down 0.1 percentage point from the previous month. that's the lowest level since july 1995. officials at the labor ministry say the ratio of jobs to those looking for work is 137 openings to every 100 job seekers. the number was up from may and the highest level since 1991. managers at japanese companies saw more activity on their factory floors. economy ministry officials say industrial output in june was up by 1.9% from may. that is the first increase in two months.

and as for what people were expecting, industrial output that was actually stronger than market expectations but the cpi lower than what analysts had thought. let's see how tokyo markets are reacting to all this. ramin mellegard is at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. aside from all those numbers, all the focus or a lot of focus, i should say, is on the bank of japan meeting. a lot of expectations there. tell us what's going on. >> exactly. a lot of expectations, ai. very good morning to you. and following the economic data that you just mentioned there, all focus will be on the boj meeting. also in tandem with fiscal moves, the stimulus package that prime minister shinzo abe has unveiled as well and the monetary policy side of things with the boj. so big focus on that coming up. let's have a look at how the nikkei and the topix are opening. a little bit of a mixed picture. it's in the positive right now. but it had dipped into the

negative. we're seeing a little bit of a muted opening so to speak for the nikkei and the topix for friday, july 29th. overnight it ended mixed and ahead of the boj meeting today. you're looking at the dow jones industrial average. pretty flat for the dow jones but the nasdaq up a third of a percent. the key benchmark prices fell further. you're looking at wti there. but brent and wti were both down 1%. the lowest for both crude indexes since april 20th this year. now, we've been covering earnings results from major companies in japan. telecom giant softpang reported earnings with net profit for the three months after june rising 19% from a year before. it struck a deal earlier in july, if you remember, to buy arm holdings of the uk for around $30 billion.

today we'll have sharp, sony, mazda, japan airlines, panasonic and many others that are lining up to report their earnings. ai. >> ramin, what can you tell us about currency moves? because the yen looked to be pretty volatile overnight. >> exactly. we've seen some shifts there up above 105, below 105. right now 104.66 to 69. it rose to the mid105 range overnight after some media reported the boj is under pressure from the government to expand its monetary stimulus measures but the advance lost a little bit of steam now. some analysts expecting volatile moves. we'll keep track of that. let's also get an idea of asian markets open so far. seoul's kospi is trading higher and australia's s&p/asx 200 marginally higher.

a lot of speculation over the boj taking action and a lot of analysts talking about helicopter money, perpetual bounds. we'll see how it all comes out. back to you. >> thanks a lot. keep us updated. we'll touch base with him in just a few hours time. the traditional alcoholic beverage of korea dates back to ancient times and it's making a comeback after losing ground to modern demand for wine and beer, producers are learning to tailor the drink to markets in japan and around the globe. nhk world reports. >> reporter: this is a mildly sweet liqueur made from rice. the traditional version is pleasantly tart. but today it comes in many flavors including banana and peach. >> translator: it tastes like a soft drink, so it's easy to

drink. >> the fruit-flavored ones are great. >> reporter: a variety are on the menu made with soda and cocktails. bars in this town are competing for young customers by offering new ways to ena traditional drink. it has been the people's drink. it was mainly enjoyed by farmers after long day's work. it's now a fashionable drink for women. last year makgoelli was down from their peak five years ago. but producers made a breakthrough by diversifying their product lineup. this brewer is targeting markets in southeast asia. they're discussing strategy. they're working on tailoring the product to the tastes of consumers in each country.

>> translator: young women in southeast asia prefer lower alcohol. stronger demand among women is pushing up sales. >> reporter: the company currently exports to 18 countries and plans to expand that to 40. they find the chinese prefer a more fruity taste, americans and australians like a drier, stronger drink. producers are also targeting the japanese market. a key importer of makgoelli. demand was slowing, but it's picking up again with the new strategy. the korean government is helping out. it has invested $350,000 on a promotion in tokyo where people can sample the liquor they want to learn more about consumer preferences that will help them develop for exports.

the producers are trying to understand when and how people drink alcohol according to age, gender and taste. by november, they expect to have data on nearly 30,000 people. they will use that to create new products. they're especially interested in the tastes of japanese women. >> we want to expand our customer base by developing drinks with broader appeal. we'll make sure the original makgoelli is not lost. >> reporter: that would depend on producers transforming their light liquor into a color for tastes. that's the latest in the business news. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

as rio de janeiro prepares to host the olympic games next week, brazil is still battles the zika virus. it started there last year and spread to parts of the americas and is casting a dark shadow over pregnant women. nhk world reports on how the virus is shaking brazil. >> reporter: zika is on the rampage and the people that are affected most are at places like this hospital in brazil's northeast.

it receives more than 100 babies with micro cephaly every week. it's a condition linked to zika and can mean developmental problems this woman gave birth to her daughter last october. during her pregnancy, she had a high fever she thinks was from the zika virus. a doctor informed her that her baby will have birth defects. she worried about what that would mean, but when alicia was born -- >> translator: i felt relieved when i saw her. she was alive and nothing else mattered to me. >> reporter: but it's not easy. she faces many challenges.

alicia suffers convulsions and she had to quit her job because of her baby's health problems. alicia needs to take multiple medications that cost over $150 every month. that's almost what the husband makes. >> translator: even if she takes all the medicine, she still goes into convulsions. i don't have any hope anymore. >> reporter: as she manages to get by, others are taking a different, dangerous route. a majority of brazil's population is catholic and abortion is strictly limited by law. experts say a woman dies every two days from an unsafe, self-performed abortion. this human rights group has been

urging the government to legalize abortion for pregnant women who have been infected by the zika virus. >> translator: women who are infected by zika agonize and suffer deeply. it's similar to suffering from sexual violence. as part of women's rights, abortion must be an option. >> reporter: many oppose legalizing abortion. they insist women should give birth to babies even if they could be born with defects. >> translator: one life is one life, even a baby with micro cephaly. you can't just select and have babies that are perfect. >> reporter: the zika outbreak is creating confusion and division in brazilian society.

there's no clear sign of when it will be stopped. even if it is, women like this will still have to grapple with an everyday struggle. reporting for nhk world. it's time for a check of the weather. rainy season is officially over here in tokyo, but it's a different story for those in northern japan. our meteorologist robert speta joins us with the details. >> yes, actually, quite a warm day going to be setting up this morning. but if you take a look at the satellite picture, cloud cover dominating to the north. in the past 24 hours we've been seeing rather incredible rain amounts coming in just because of this westerly flow of moisture off the sea of japan. take a look at these rain totals. nearly 300 millimeters was seen here. we had evacuations ordered due to rising river levels back here

towards the west up to about 250 to 260 millimeters and also in the sapporo area we've been seeing heavy showers and more expected friday to saturday. shouldn't be as intense but still a wet one out there, about 150 millimeters across much of this area. look down towards the south, a much drier compared there towards hokkaido. the rainy season officially did end on thursday into the tokyo area seven days later than normal out here. and the fourth longest rainy season actually on record. but even though it was exceptionally long, not too much rain came down with it. that's one thing i do want to note. actually, if you are out here, you may want to notice it was cloudy overall and rain showers. actually below average. some of the reservoirs were wet to the city and north of tokyo only two-thirds of the precipitation you normally get

on a normal year. not so much a drought but definitely not as much rain as we typically see out here. now as we take a look at the forecast, stubborn now. temperatures will continue to rise up, even across the korean peninsula, take a look at the mercury popping up to the mid to high 30s. shanghai with a high of 38, tokyo 32. talk about the seasons. it is the rainy season across all of india and nepal, the wet season. the annual southwest monsoon. it is dominating this entire subcontinent at this time. with that we do see those reports of flooding. actually across parts of the southern slopes of the himalayas, the past week alone, we do want to show you video, catastrophic flooding has taken place in parts of nepal. this is landslides throughout that area. really mountainsides giving way. actually about 58 people have been killed in various parts of this country due to the flooding

and landslides there. homes just completely flooded out. rain here in the bank district across the river, many people found themselves stranded after evacuating and some of these floods there had to be rescued by helicopter. roads also being cut off even along that river a suspension bridge gave way. this is quite ongoing. as i often say when we're talking about rain out here in india, during the wet season, that could let up soon but not really. from june to september is the wet season. so you're expecting a persistent shower continue to linger in those same affected areas. here across europe, still has thunderstorms across the east. germany even reported a tornado on thursday now moving into the baltic states extending down to the balkan peninsula. albania, serbia, thunderstorms there. but south of the jetstream it is a hot one. take a look here. temperature in madrid, 38 here on friday. here's the extended outlook.

and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi tokyo. thanks for joining us.

>> on this edition of "native report," we meet emma garrett, a skilled basket maker of the eastern band of cherokee nation... we learn how the ojibwe view the stars in the night sky... and we'll learn about the evolution of federal indian law. >> ...beginnings of oklahoma indian law go all the way back to the early removals and the trail of tears. >> we'll also learn something new about indian country and hear from our elders, on this "native report." >> production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community and the blandin foundation.