hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." it's friday august 5th, 9:00 a.m. i'm keiko kitagawa. nhk learned japan's foreign minister is expected to visit the philippines. fumio kishida hopes to meet with rodrigo duterte next week. it would be the first meeting between the men. he'll also meet with his counterpart. they'll talk about the disputed claims. they say japan hopes for a peaceful resolution in accordance with international law. also on kishida agenda,

discussions on how the two countries can cooperate to strengthen their maritime policing activities or, rather, capabilities. a tribunal in the hague rejected china's claims to most parts of the south china sea but beijing has not accepted the ruling. the case was filed by the philippines. vietnam, taiwan, malaysia and brunei also have claims in the region. on august 6th, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped onto a city for the first time in history. hiroshima suffered the impact and three days later, so did nagasaki. by the end of the year, an estimated 210,000 people had died. as we near the 71st anniversary, we're bringing you stories of the enduring legacy left by the devastating attacks. in may of this year, barack

obama became the first president of the united states to visit hiroshima while in office. his speech had a profound impact on one man in particular, a survivor of the bombing. he spent his life telling people about his experience, but he had trouble talking about it with children. obama's speech showed him the way. nhk world reports. >> translator: the flash of light was blinding. >> reporter: kunihiko iida is now 74. he is recounting the bombing of hiroshima to children. he remembers a summer day at his grand mother's house when he, himself, was a child of 3. the bomb dropped just 900 meters away. he lost his entire family.

terrible images of badly burned survivors are etched in his memory. >> translator: they were red, as red as a blood clot. i can't forget, even if i wanted to. >> reporter: early on, iida made no attempt to hold anything back when he told the story. but some children became ill while listening. >> translator: i started to think they were incapable of understanding it because it's beyond imagination. >> reporter: so he started to avoid some of the more horrendous details. this may, however, iida changed the course. the visit by u.s. president barack obama caused him to reconsider his approach. >> we force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. we listen to a silent cry.

>> reporter: iida decided that as a survivor of the atomic bomb, he had a duty to accurately convey the devastation. >> translator: the president mentioned the way that people had suffered. he made me realize how important it is to authentically portray that agony. >> reporter: recently, junior high school students gathered to hear the survivor's story. iida showed a drawing that portrayed what he saw. >> translator: nobody's wearing clothes. see? their clothes had burned off. and their skin had peeled off, too. countless people died in the bombing. >> reporter: this picture is from near ground zero. a row of bones lay in a school

yard. they were from children who were burned up in an instant. >> translator: they died immediately. there wasn't even time to say, "mommy, help." their bodies turned into skeletons right away. >> reporter: after many years of holding back, iida conveyed the devastation of the atomic bomb just as it was. >> translator: the picture of the students lined up as skeletons was scary. it showed how powerful the blast was. >> translator: i tried to imagine what it would have been like if i had been there. now more than ever, i understand that peace and a normal life are precious. >> translator: the importance of telling the truth gives me a strong sense of purpose.

it motivates me. >> reporter: iida now knows his mission is to speak without flinching. he's preparing to tell what he knows over and over in hopes of preventing the events from ever being repeated. nhk world, hiroshima. u.s. ambassador to japan caroline kennedy played an important role in organizing the historic visit by the president. in an exclusive interview with nhk, she spoke about what went on behind the scenes. >> hello. nice to see you too. thank you so much for coming. >> thank you very much. >> she emphasized the significance of the president's trip. >> i think it was incredibly important for the american people that president obama visited hiroshima just as it was for the people of japan. >> many people in the united states believe that the atomic bombings of hiroshima and nagasaki helped bring an early

end to world war ii. u.s. officials were concerned that the president's actions would draw criticism. as arrangements between governments continued, john kerry became the first sitting u.s. secretary of state to go to hiroshima. kennedy says kerry's recommendation helped obama make his final decision. obama went to hiroshima in may and made a 17-minute speech calling for a nuclear-free world. >> we stand here in the middle of this city. we force ourselves to feel the dread of children confused by what they see. we listen to a silent cry. we must have the courage to escape the logic of fear and pursue a world without them. >> the ambassador accompanied the president. >> and i traveled to hiroshima with him, and i was able to see him working on his remarks on the plane.

he still wasn't finished and he was making real changes. so this was something that he put a great deal of thought into and was deeply, deeply important to him. i think he was really overwhelmed by the welcome that he received and very emotional about meeting the hibakusha and touring the museum. >> kennedy said she won't be able to attend this year's ceremonies in hiroshima and nagasaki due to official duties in washington, but said she hopes to visit the two cities again in the fall. coming up on monday, we continue our series on the lasting legacy of the atomic bombings. this time with a story about a survivor of the nagasaki attack and his connection to a famous relic from that day. artificial intelligence is rapidly bringing big changes to life as we know it. it's been used in self-driving vehicles, beaten chess champions, and is now helping with medical diagnosis. doctors in japan are touting a

breakthrough, saying ai has saved a patient's life. nhk world's tomoya oyabu has the details. >> reporter: last year, ayako yamashita was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a type of blood cancer. for several months, she went through treatment using anti-cancer drugs. but her condition worsened, and doctors couldn't figure out why. >> translator: i wasn't sure whether i could live until the next day or the day after that. i didn't expect to live to see this day. >> reporter: it was watson, a computer system developed by u.s. i.t. giant ibm, that saved her life. researchers at tokyo university's medical science institute are conducting clinical studies with ibm. they want to see how watson can learn about cancer and diagnose the disease.

>> translator: it stores data on over 25 million medical papers as well as over 15 million drug patents. it has information on the mechanisms of life. >> reporter: there are different types of leukemia, each requiring different treatment. doctors at the university used a super computer to analyze the alteration of the genes. in just ten minutes, watson concluded that she had secondary leukemia, and it proposed that doctors use a different anti-cancer drug. >> translator: i believe only artificial intelligence can present related data and reasons behind a diagnosis with that speed. >> reporter: yamashita responded well to the new treatment and was discharged from hospital.

>> translator: the help of artificial intelligence in addition to the doctors' treatments doubles my sense of assurance. >> reporter: doctors say watson provided helpful information to treat a total of 41 patients, including accurate diagnoses for two cancer patients. they say ai technology is opening a new horizon in the field of medicine, beyond human intellect. tomoya oyabu, nhk world. britain's central bank is taking action to deal with economic unsrnlt following the vote to leave the european union. we're joined from the business desk. good morning. get us up to speed on what's happening. >> britain's outlook, it's been cloudy since the brexit referendum in june. a number of things have been happening. business confidence has been falling. consumer sentiment is cooling down. polma policy makers at bank of england have decided to launch measures

to support growth. they made the decision on thursday. the bank is cutting the already record-low key interest rate of 0.5% to 0.25%. this is the first reduction in more than seven years. the central bank will expand its purchases of government bands and other assets to supply a huge amount of liquidity to the market. this is the first expansion of quantitative easing in about four years. the outlook for the british economy has gotten gloomier since the direct referendum. a business confidence index hit its lowest point in around seven years. >> by acting early and comprehensively the mpc can reduce uncertainty, bolster confidence, blunt the slowdown and support the necessary adjustments in the uk economy. >> carney hinted at another rate cut this year, saying all the elements in the package have room for expansion. european stocks rose on the

b.o.e.'s decision. up 106% to snap a three-day losing streak. wall street a bit of a different picture. u.s. stock prices were little changed as investors waited on the sidelines ahead of the key jobs data. that's out today, on friday. the dow jones industrial average closed flat on the day at 18,352. we saw a small gain on the nasdaq up about 0.1%. we'll see what's happening with stocks here in tokyo this friday morning. good morning, rumi, tell us what you're seeing at the opening on the tokyo stock exchange. >> market players braced for the move by the bank of england. some surprised by the peninsuex measures it took in addition to the rate cut of its bond-buying program. let's have a look at how the nikkei and topix are reacting.

both indexes in the positive. we'll see how that develops during the morning session. it's been a pretty choppy week so far, and the bank of england added to some volatility in currency. bonds with a clear-cut reaction that we saw following the decision, seeing the british pound and the uk bond yield falling dramatically. now, the move by the bank of england to start its own asset buying program means it joins the club of other central banks doing the same. the european central bank and bank of japan though on a smaller scale. a big focus will be on another central bank, the federal reserve, and -- which is going the other way with regards to rates. it's looking to raise rates, but the u.s. jobs data, which is due s, analys lking ilbe a big o when the fed may raise rates and whether the chance may come in september or, as many analysts suggest, more likely in december or early next year.

so that's a big focus for currencies and stocks here as well. >> absolutely. ramin. we're seeing the dollar in a bit of a range, especially ahead of the jobs data that we're all waiting for from the u.s. tell us about some of the key currency pairs this morning. >> dollar/yen. 101.29-34. after falling to brexit lows the dollar has shown a bit of a bounce. it remains well off level from this time last year seeing 124 yen. it's been a factor of high-end losses for major exporters. many citing the big dent in profits. none less so than toyota which released earnings after the markets closed thursday, saying it lowered its profit and revenue forecast as sales weakened in the u.s. its biggest market. major oil and gas field developer inpex said its net

profit for the april-to-june quarter fell 67%, lower oil prices and a stronger yen. every one dollar drop in the price of oil takes off nearly 3 billion yen in its net profit according to estimates and we've seen wti and brent oil prices overall a little bit lower. and just have a quick look at some of the asian indexes. so far ai seoul's kospi and sydney's asp index. we'll see how they fare later. china markets open in an hour and a half. back to you. >> looks like a pretty positive start to this part of the world, ramin. moving on, the brazilian born president of nissan motor is visiting rio de janeiro ahead of the olympic games. he says he hopes the event puts brazil's economy on the road to recovery. nissan is an official sponsor

providing the organizing committee with 4,200 vehicles. ghosn spoke with nhk about brazil's economy. >> the olympic games bring a small boost to the economy. in my opinion we're not very far from the bottom. if we are not at the bottom, we are not far from the bottom, which mean companies now are preparing themselves for the recovery of the brazilian market. >> nissan plans to launch fuel-cell cars and new models of electric vehicles on the bra brazilian market with the aim to expand market share. he said he hopes the involvement in the olympics will make the nissan brand known to large numbers of brazilians. people in japan usually eat sweets in the afternoon but now a growing number are indulging their sweet tooth in the morning. it's a way to wake up weary brains. more and more companies are stepping up to help to make breakfast a little more delicious.

>> the day has just started but customers are already entering this cafè in tokyo. these people belong to a group that meets twice a month to eat sweet treats for breakfast. they're all mostly company employees. on the menu is a selection of parfaits and pancakes with fruit. mio is the leader of the group. she formed it partly as a way of indulging her love of sweet breakfasts. >> translator: i launched the group because eating sweets in the morning is uplifting unless you dislike sweets. >> reporter: this has become something of a trend. people meet every morning at about 200 similar cafès across japan. some businesses are taking notice. sales reps visit a smoothie store. kellogg japan, a leading cereal maker, has begun selling its products to restaurants and cafès.

it's trying to expand cereal consumption beyond the home. >> translator: there are too few restaurants and cafès that serve cereal. we want to increase opportunities to enjoy it. >> reporter: the company is selling cereal-based recipes it developed for use in cafès. it has prepared a smoothie for sampling at the store. the cereal is ground up with vegetables and fruit. this way, the smoothies use more cereal than if it was just sprinkled over the top. >> translator: oh, it is much smoother than i thought. no trouble drinking it using a straw. it has a brilliant texture. >> reporter: other food makers are entering the market. koikea which manufactures snacks, is a case in point.

the company has been developing crispy potato chips for breakfast since last year. it's offering three flavors this year, apple, milk and toast flavor. trial and error is how developers decide what works. >> translator: we are making a banana parfait breakfast using milk flavored potato chips. >> translator: it's great! it makes for a good breakfast. >> reporter: the company has uploaded 25 recipes on twitter and other social media in a bid to promote the product. an expert says businesses can exploit this new demand by tapping into the growing preference for a quick, active start to the day. >> translator: cafè operators can take advantage of the breakfast boom to lure new customers. the key to success will be developing fashionable, balanced menus.

>> reporter: while overall demand for food is flat in japan due to the shrinking population, the rise of sweet breakfasts shows how consumption can be stimulated with little innovation and imagination. that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. time for a check of the weather. people in the central american country of belize are trying to

recover after getting hit by a hurricane. our meteorologist robert spezza has the latest. >> it made landfall late wednesday night heading into thursday morning and brought fairly rough weather has it made landfall just south of belize city at a category 1 hurricane. i want to show you some video coming out from the city. this is thursday morning where this storm system actually brought some coastal storm surge. you saw flooding out there along the coastal areas of that city. over 1,000 people took shelter across the region in some shelters there, and tourists actually had to stay in hotels as well for a good 12 to 24 hours, up to 93 kilometers per hour winds reported in the city. homes are damaged due to the surge and strong winds. numerous trees down. a really big reason for that, the strong winds combined with the heavy rainfall just uprooting them. a lot of wooden buildings took some damage as well.

as we look ahead, the forecast still looks a little rough farther towards the west. people will start to pick up the pieces near the coast there in belize. if we are talking about areas off towards mexico, the big issue now is not going to be so much the wind. yes, it's still there. barely a tropical storm right now. 65 kilometers per hour. but it will continue to be that rainfall that will be adding up in some areas as much as 150 millimeters of precipitation. so the flood and landslide threat still continuing as we look ahead. let's take a look over here towards europe now. talking about some strong thunderstorms. a flood threat there in the southern areas of germany. heavy rainfall warnings are in place at this time. you have the frontal area pulling through the region, and that's going to set up some heavy precipitation even in the northern italy. across parts of the atlps, 50 t 100 millimeters. one big thing with this front is

out ahead of it it's separating the air masses. vienna, 26. rome, 32. athens looking at 35. behind it, the cooler air is spilling in, and berlin just 21. by the way, this is all headed east. warsaw, enjoy the warm temperatures while they do last because the cooler air will start to filter its way into your picture. let's talk about the hot weather across japan and the korean peninsula as well. it's not all of japan. western areas still can see scattered showers today maybe even across parts of kyushu. extending across the central and eastern areas of china. we also have a tropical system pulling towards the north. i don't think it will impact honshu. may bring high waves early next week. overall the big topic this-coming weekend is the heat. this is going to be dangerous type of heat, by the way. mid to high 30s. heat index could push into the 40s.

big reason for this, the pacific high and the tibetan high creeped in from the west. you get those overlapping on top of each other in the upper and lower levels. beijing 32. tokyo 35. it stays this way the entire weekend. look at kyoto. 37. a lot of people on summer holiday there. stay cool and hydrated. i want to mention rio de janeiro, the opening ceremony on friday. beautiful weather in the forecast. 28 for the high and partly cloudy skies. all right. here is your extended outlook.

37. all right. share with you before we go. a group of japanese has drummed up some excitement for people in uzbekistan. more than 700 spectators came to an event organized by the japan foundation to promote bilateral exchanges. it took place at the navoy

theater built by japanese nationals interned by soviet forces after world war ii. prime minister shinzo abe's wife was also in the audience. uzbek president's wife as well. 15 members of the drum company performed for two hours before the packed audience. the group is based in japan's western prefecture of oita and performs around the world. >> translator: the performce was radiant and wonderful. i hope they will come back to play again. >> music certainly does not have any boundaries. that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks for joining us.

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>> on this edition of "native report," we attend a veterans memorial dedication in lac courte oreilles, we travel to the red lake nation to meet the schimmel sisters, and we interview actor chaske spencer. we 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. >> of your life up there in that big city.