launchers makes it difficult to detect signs prior to launch. they say one blew up immediately after launch. the other flew 1,000 kilometers before calling into the sea of japan. the official says this shows the country is increasing the

operation capability of its ballistic missile, posing a major threat to the region. a retired maritime self-defense force official says the launch could be in retaliation to the strong ties between japan, the u.s., and south korea. he says he believes pyongyang was reacting to a recent announcement about missile defense. >> the recent south korean government decision to deploy and agree to deploy the u.s. thaad missile system against north korea. they fire without any notice to

the international world. so this is a quite first case. so that's why that they don't care about those things. this is a very bad worsening decision of leadership. or decision-making of the north korean government. >> sports fans will have a whole lot more to cheer for at the tokyo olympics in four years' time. the international olympic committee has approved four sports to be added to the tokyo 2020 games. ioc approved to add surfing, skateboarding, karate, sports climbing, plus returning baseball and softball. the new sports will supplement rather than replace regular events. ioc board members studied criteria such as gender equality and whether the sports would appeal to young people before voting on the proposal.

the decision to add the five sports will not affect the current quota of sports at the olympics. future games would not necessarily have to include the same sports. the tokyo organizers say the decision means they can now speed up the planning process. now they have to turn their attention to selecting venues for the new events. japan's nuclear regulator says an aging reactor on the sea of japan coast has basically met its requirements to remain in operation. this is the second time the nuclear regulation authority has reached such a decision. the power company applied last year for permission to allow the number three reactor to continue operating for another 20 years. the reactor will be 40 years old this december. the age limit set by the government. officials at the nuclear

regulation authority on wednesday unanimously agreed on a draft certification of the utility safety measures. the officials say the measures meet the new requirements set after the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant in 2011. the regulator will begin seeking input for one month starting thursday before formally endorsing the documents of certification. the reactor facilities will then be checked in detail for quake resistance and degree of aging. the deadline for final permission is the end of november. japan's nuclear watch dog has discovered another maintenance problem with the troubled prone reactor. it found workers failed to follow procedure after an alarm went off at a storage pool for spent nuclear fuel. the incident occurred last november at an offline reactor in central japan. the nuclear regulator found that even after the alarm went off, workers still failed to follow

proper procedures for months. the alarm was triggered by an issue with the water purification system f last year authorities said the japan atomic energy agency was unfit to continue operating the facility, where nearly 10,000 safety oversights had been discovered. >> translator: we have to say the operator has little understanding of the concept of safety first. >> the operator said the alarm is not considered urgent as senators at the plant were more sensitive than the standard. ♪ as we near the 71st anniversary of atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki, we're bringing you stories of their enduring legacy. the call from u.s. president barack obama during his recent

visit to hiroshima was for a world without nuclear weapons. while many applauded the historic visit, a citizens group in nagasaki says it felt overlooked. so it sent obama a request. >> reporter: the head of a citizens group from nagasaki recently sent a letter to u.s. president barack obama. it requested that he make a visit to the city. >> reporter: this 73-year-old is the leader of the citizens group. as a doctor, he dedicated decades of his life to caring for a-bomb survivors. tomonaga was 2 years old when

the bomb devastated nagasaki. his home was three kilometers from the epicenter. as he got older, he learned about the long-term effects radiation from the bomb was having on people. >> translator: i became very interested in the fact that so many a-bomb survivors were developing leukemia. why were there so many cases? >> reporter: along with other experts, he has pushed for the abolition of nuclear weapons at international conferences. he's used data from his research to inform the international community about the struggles of a-bomb victims. many who are still suffering more than 70 years after the bombing. obama's visit to hiroshima was met with mixed feelings by the people of nagasaki. >> translator: it was really significant that he visited

hiroshima, but as a citizen of nagasaki, i can't understand why he didn't come here as well. >> reporter: tomonaga, who for years had been part of the anti-nuclear peace movement, said the visit caused people in nagasaki to feel overlooked. he said obama needs to make a stronger statement. >> translator: president obama said he can't see the abolishing of nuclear weapons in his lifetime. he said it again and again. he said it in hiroshima as well as in prague. >> reporter: so tomonaga decided to send obama a letter. he said part of obama's speech in hiroshima gave him hope. >> ordinary people understand this, i think. they do not want more war. they would rather that the wonders of science be focused on improving life and not eliminating it.

when the choices made by nations, when the choices made by leaders reflect this simple wisdom, then the lesson of hiroshima is done. >> translator: when he talks about the need for human wisdom, i think he may be thinking about taking a step toward the total abolition of nuclear weapons as he nears the end of his term as president. if our letter touches his heart strings, maybe he'll say, okay, i'm going to nagasaki. >> reporter: tomonaga realizes that the path to eliminating these weapons will not be easy.

at the end of his letter, tomonaga had another request for the president of the united states. >> would you not then be able to declare to the world your resolution and to call out for nagasaki to forever be the last site of an atomic bombing. >> reporter: the letter said such an announcement could ush in a new stage of human wisdom and achieve a miracle, a world without nuclear weapons. nhk world, nagasaki. coming up on friday, our series on the legacy of the bombings continues. we'll meet a survivor who's inspired by obama to tell his story to schoolchildren. moving on to business news now. officials at the bank of japan have begun implementing an additional monetary easing measure to shore up the economy. ai joins us now from the business team. good morning. so the additional measure comes after a boj meeting last week. get us up to speed. >> exactly.icymakers

expect the measure will help achieve their goals, including their 2% inflation target. the boj has made its first purchase of those etfs since the new largest scale was announced. the bank bought about $342 million of the securities wednesday. the bank announced it would increase its annual etf purchase to about $59 billion. each purchase has been between 326 million and 346 million dollars. to achieve the new target, the boj is expected to buy etfs more frequently. the central bank holds about $86 billion worth of shares in japanese companies through those actions. that's more than half the total market value of etfs listed on the tokyo stock exchange. some analysts expect the trend to push up stock prices. others say it won't lead to raising corporate values, as the

boj does not exercise voting rights at the companies whose stock it owns. let's check on markets. u.s. stocks ended higher on a rebound in oil prices. the dow jones industrial average gaped 0.2% on the day. the nasdaq rose 0.4%. for more, let's go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange with an update on how ramin, good morning.ere. what can you tell us? >> good morning, ai. the rise in oil prices will be a bit of a help, but we saw a rebound in banking shares in europe after coming to the stress test rather unblemished, if i can say that. and also the private sector jobs data out of the u.s. providing a positive boost, as well. but let's have a look at how the nikkei and topix are kicking off for this thursday, august 4th. both indexes in the positive

there. we're seeing a rebound there following on from the gains we saw on wall street. however, just a reminder, the nikkei well to a three-week low on stronger yen yesterday. the latest policy moves by the boj and the government failed to impress investors. but overnight, of course, crude oil prices jumped after the u.s. government said gasoline stockpiles shrank last week. energy related shares on wall street rose, and i'll keep track of related shares here. now, earnings will also attract attention here. a media report said the pretax profit jumped 30% in the april-to-june quarter. condo sales and office space demand were strong amid low interest rates. a major office tower close to the tokyo stock exchange opened last year, said to be almost fully occupied. and the profit of the seafood giant reported to mark a 93%

jump. analysts say that's mainly on domestic demand for frozen food, and brisk sales in north america and australian markets. so we'll keep track of those, as well. >> and ramin, in currencies, the yen has been strong against this major peers, even after the boj's additional easing. what can you tell us this morning? >> exactly. there was quite a few moves there in the currency markets. the dollar/yen right now, 101.30. it nudged a touch higher. the private sector jobs data showed resilient job market, but the services data came in a little short of expectatioexpec. later today, many traders speculating the bank will cut key interest rates. the british pound showing little movement ahead of that. asian markets open so far, seoul

is up 0.33%, sydney off 0.6%. and toyota will release earnings later today after the markets closed. we'll keep track of that as well. back to you. >> ramin, sounds good. india's parliament has passed a bill to announce a uniform sales tax across the country. the levy will attract more foreign investment and speed up economic growth. the government and 29 state governments currently impose their own sales taxes involving different procedures. foreign investors have called for a more simple system. upper house members approved the bill on wednesday. the government aims to introduce the tax in april after gaining majority approval from the 29

state legislators. aspiring craftsmen who dream of building their own things are often thwarted by lack of money and tools. but now many are getting cheap access to the high tech equipment they need to bring their dreams to life. >> reporter: a workshop open to everyone. the operator opened this do it yourself space in april. among the 50 additional tools offered, is a 3-d printer. it can be used to create just about anything. and a laser cutter with a price tag of $190,000. membership around $175 a month entitles customers to use any tool as many times as they want. she used to design clothes for a

major manufacturer, but she decided to strike out on her own with original accessories and bags. working with plastics can sometimes be trickty, but these additional tools make it easy to shape the materials. she says the appeal of the workshop is it focuses on tay r tailoring rather than mass production. she sells her products at shops and events. she plans to expand her lineup after getting more feedback from customers. >> translator: it now takes less time to make something from scratch. i can do things for myself that once could have only been done by manufacturers with machines. that's revolutionary. >> reporter: small businesses also benefit from sharing their resources.

this metal processing factory in tokyo has 40 workers. four years, it's handled orders from big companies. but demand is shrinking. two years ago, the owner set up a workshop in the corner of the factory to explore new demand from individual customers. >> translator: i want to make the workshop a key source of income to keep our business going without being dependent on major firms. >> reporter: in addition to having access to tools and devices, customers can consult employees on product development. today, a customer is getting advice about a wind power generator. >> translator: finding ways to reduce wind resistance is a challenge. >> translator: how about fitting

the generator with wing-like features to cope with the strong winds? >> their knowledge and expertise is incredible. it's like having a teacher right beside me. >> reporter: the factory has already developed ties with more than 200 companies. the owner says the arrangement is a mutually beneficial one. >> translator: by working with startups, we absorb their technical know-how. i'm sure he can eventually develop products ourselves that can contribute to society. >> reporter: open access workshops are allowing people to explore unique ideas and products and helping to nurture a new generation of entrepreneurs.

some believe they may be the future of manufacturing. >> that is the latest in business news this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. nepal's parliament has elected

since his predecessor stepped down to avoid a non-confidence motion. >> translator: there's no way to resolve the problems of the constituency in the election related issues without uniting ourselves. we're all in the same boat. if it sinks, we'll all drown. >> this is his second stint as premier. his first was in 2008. his party was the second largest group in the former coalition government, which assumed power in october last year. but last month, the party of former guerrilla fighters withdrew its support for the coalition. nepal is rebuilding after the massive earthquake that struck last year, but political turmoil has hampered efforts.

the former prime minister has been accused of failing to rebuild homes and roads destroyed in the earthquake, which killed about 9,000 people. and the government is unlikely to be stable, because his party disagrees with the nepali congress on basic policies. nepal abolished its monarchy in 2008 after a civil war. the parliament approved a new constitution in september last year. the motivation was from a sense of crisis caused by the earthquake. it's time now for a check of the weather. it is hot and humid here in tokyo. meteorologist robert speta joins us now with a look at the forecast for here and elsewhere in world weather. >> the thing is that all those

showers we seen on monday, tuesday, wednesday, they're caused by an upper level low just towards the southeast of japan. but that's now gone. so we're not expecting those widespread scattered thunderstorms across the region. 27 prefectures here under a heat advisory because of the temperatures continuing to spike up. and we're expecting them to push into the mid to high 30s across much of central and northern japan. a big threat today is not talked about as much as severe weather, flooding for example. but just as dangerous and deadly is heat stroke. i think that's going to be one of the big issues heading through thursday and friday and saturday. so remember to drink plenty of wat water, and get into the air conditioning. you do want to try to stay cool. tokyo with a high of 33, partly cloudy skies. combined with the humidity, the heat index could climb up there,

as well. same in seoul and beijing, as well. towards the south, we still have scattered showers in the southeast of china, still watching the effects of this tropical storm. still brought some heavy showers, even to northern vietnam. no fatalities reported there in southeast china, but unfortunately, two deaths were reported in northern vietnam because of a tree collapsing on a home here as the storm system blew overhead. so still a deadly storm system, but it is tapering off. still going to see scattered showers out here. the rainy season has been impacting this area. i know we've been talking about this, that severe flooding taking place and back towards the west. here into this region, just inland, that's where we've been seeing -- look at this, 200, 300

millimeters of precipitation. we thought about this incident that took place outside of mumbai where a bridge collapsed, more than two dozen people feared missing. that river, especially in the dry season, almost dried out there. so putting a lot of strain on the infrastructure across this region. more rain in the forecast. that 72 hours, we're going to be seeing additional 150 millimeters. across india, it is the rainy season. until september, this is the picture you're going to be seeing. good news for farmers, but too much puts a big stress out here. this is earl. earl is tracking off towards the west. the hurricane hunters flew into the middle of this, and just

recently upgraded this to a hurricane, with recorded winds of about 120 kilometers per hour. this is coming on shore in belize. hurricane warnings now in place. we could see the threat of storm surge, but i think the bigger issue is going to be the rain. a few locations as much as 300 to 400 millimeters of precipitation occurring here. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook.

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

>> welcome to "in good shape." coming up -- fast relief for acute back pain. the health benefits of e-bikes. and why you should always seek treatment for pollen allergies. and here's your host, dr. carsten lekutat. dr. lekutat: pollen allergies are among the most common allergies worldwide. in fact, one in ten people suffers from hay fever. the causes and the treatment -- that's what i'm going to discuss today with dr. ralf hartmann here in one of the largest military hospitals in germany. the bundeswehrkrankenhaus berlin.