it's the top of the hour in tokyo. and this is nhk "news line." we have a developing story out of north korea. officials say that the slbm was launched from a south province at 5:00 p.m. seoul time. the news agency says that the ballistic missile apparently fell within japan's

identification zone. the japanese government launched a protest with north korea through its embassy in north beijing, china. the south korean military began joint drills with the u.s. on monday. they threatened to carry out pre-emptive nuclear sites if south korea shows aggression towards north korea territory. south korea's military said that missile test was unsuccessful. japan, china and south korea will begin talks. the japsz foreign minister hosted a banquet on tuesday for his counter parts in china and south korea.

the ministers are likely to agree to advance negotiations on a free trade agreement between the countries. in the meeting with wong, takashita called for restrachblt. japan controls the islands. the government maintains they are an inherent part of japan's territory. china and taiwan claim them. the hope is that the talk will improve relations among the nations and will lead to an agreement among its leaders this year. south korea's military says that the dmz has laid land lines in the zone. the media say it planted several land mines last week near a bridge in the dmz.

north korean military personnel can enter the south controlled area if they cross the bridge. this is the first time that land mines have been confirmed there. the united nations command which supervises the armistice agreement issued a statement. it said the presence of any device or munition on or near the bridge, seriously jeopardizes the safety of people in the zone. a string of defections from north korea has been recently reported. last week government firms in seoul said that a north korean defector fleed with his family. the u.n. nuclear watchdog says north korea may have resumed reprocessing of spent

nuclear fuel to extract plutonium. the director general of the international atomic energy agency yukiya amano made the statement in a report dated friday. it says the iaea confirmed that satellite photos show signs of operations at a radiochemical lab in nyongbyon from the beginning of this year through early july. the agency says the signs include deliveries of chemical tanks and operation of a steam plant linked to the lab. south korea's defense ministry said last week the north has been reprocessing spent nuclear fuel to extract plutonium. it said south korea will work closely with other countries on a response. the iaea has already pointed out signs of the north's reprocessing and plans to discuss how to respond to the activity at its annual general conference next month. south korean media say pyongyang's military has laid land mines in the demilitarized zone.

the court of arbitration for sport has upheld the ban on russian athletes over state sponsors doping. medvedev calls the ruling shameless. people in moscow reacted with anger and sadness. >> translator: it's all politics, one of your paralympic swimmers said that the next games in tokyo will see us angry, we'll show them what we're made of. >> translator: there should always be a second chance. >> the international paralympic committee announced earlier this month that russian athletes would not be allowed to participate in the games.

the court found that the ipc did not violate any procedural rules in its disciplinary process. it also did not provide any evidence on which the ipc ruling was based. japan's nuclear regulation authority is to instruct nuclear power plant operators to detect if reactors used steal with a high carbon concentration. the material can be damaged more easily. the authorities have taken the step after reactor walls under construction in france was found to contain more carbon than it should. the components are produced for export.

the regulators say they will question whether they meet a safety standard they have set. in other news, mourners in japan have gathered in tokyoovi siberia in the years after world war ii. about 160 people took part in the memorial service. tuesday marks 71 years since the former soviet union ordered japanese soldiers and civilians in china to be sent to labor camps in siberia, mongolia and elsewhere. the order came a week after japan announced its surrender. >> translator: some of my fellow detainees said before they died, that they wanted to go back to japan. some said they wanted to eat rice. some cried for their mothers. i'll never forget that. >> soviet forces invaded northern china and surrounding regions where japanese soldiers were stationed and many japanese civilians lived in the closing days of world war ii. it's estimated that about

600,000 of them were captured. officials at the health and welfare ministry say about 55,000 internees died from severe cold and starvation. the officials say the remains of 60% of them are still in those regions. >> translator: i only know where and when my father died. but nothing else. it's long been bothering me. >> since april, the ministry has been intensifying its push to retrieve the remains of japan's war dead. it will wind up those efforts in 2025, the 80th anniversary of the end of the war. narrow the gap between

permanent and temporary workers. labor ministry officials have decided to set up designated support centers nationwide next year. temporary workers usually earn less and have more job uncertainty compared to their counter parts. the officials say third party -- equalized arrangements, explain how to compile ememployment rules and other poh seed areas, the officials say consultants will also offer advice to people working temporary jobs. the labor board plans to ask for a fiscal budget for the project. it is playing a role in official finance. officials at the bank of japan are thinking about enhancing its operations by using enhanced technology.

>> key financial activities like settlements and investment decisions are in a sense no different from information processing. advances in it and artificial intelligence could have a wide ranging influence on these activities. >> he added that promoting fintech is not just about convenience but cyber security as well. he warned that attacks are becoming more difficult to fend off as hackers are able to exploit the latest advances in it. the new president of ikea japan says she's

seriously. >> customer safety is our biggest priority in ikea and quality is absolutely highest on our agenda. we always put the customer first. >> rice was appointed to her post on august 1, she says the defects are under investigation. she added that the company will work to solve the problem with the products' manufacturers, experts and the safety management division. at ikea's head office in sweden. india's long standing fondness for curry is legendary, but that seems to be changing as younger, richer generations brought in their gastronomic horizon. now two chefs from japan from cashing in on it.

. >> reporter: they hold regular events. they're helping the food business sharply, with about 30% more restaurants opening. >> everyone's wanting to try something out which is the food and everyone wants to see something that's not already available. so i think all these other cuisines, chinese, japanese, thai. >> other restaurants in japan are hoping to cash in. this man launched a delivery service for sushi. one of the more popular items is salmon rolls, it costs about $2 to $7, slightly expensive for

india, but still are growing at 50% per month. >> thank you. >> reporter: this family says they often order the sushi. >> we used to live in australia, so we used to eat a lot of sushi in australia so now we have come back and we miss it. but this is fantastic. >> indians' taste have been changing rapidly since people have access to new information. we consider the growing interest in japanese food a business opportunity. >> this man specializes in ramen noodles. he opened a restaurant last july in southern india, the biggest challenge was to come up with a

menu that was vegetarian, which accounts for one-third of india's population. he uses stir fried vegetables with carrots and onions. simmering them to create a thickly textured food. this is the product of akimoto's five months of trial and error. he calls it veggie ramen. it costs about $8 a bowl. >> i'm a vegetarian and this is the first time i have had vegetarian japanese style ramen. i have never had something like this before so it's very nice. >> when the restaurant opened, about 20% of customers were

indians and now it's almost half. >> it's a rare opportunity to be the first to enter such a large market. and i'm determined not to let it pass me by. >> reporter: as 1.2 million indians explore japanese cuisine, they're drawing new customers from around the world. the confectionary industry has been sagging in recent years. so they're starting to look to other countries. >> reporter: people in hong kong head for this shop to satisfy a sweet tooth. it features more than 600 types of japanese confections. they're imports so they cost half again what they would in japan. but buyers are not deterred.

>> i feel safe eating them because they're from japan. >> they're beautiful and delicious. >> hg kong is a vgin rket for japanese sweet shops. >> back in japan, the city is pleased. as one of the main places for producing japanese confections, it's benefiting from the overseas attention, and just in time. sales are down two-thirds from their peak, in part because of the shrinking domestic population. chinese tourists on the other hand often arrive on bus tours during the day.

sight seers often spent the night there. the number of visitors to the city is five times what it was five years ago. these tourists drop their luggage at their hotel and set out on a shopping spree. they went to a drugstore where they could shop tax free late at night. makeup and over the counter medicine are popular items. as are japanese sweets. people who buy often do so in bulk. >> i'm going to share them with my friends. >> i really like maca flavored sweets. >> the store is happy to oblige. international tourists buy lots of sweets. i hear they find the products delicious and safe to eat as

well as affordable. >> the confectioners decided to seize on the word of mouth and export overseas. they asked a store that specializes in japanese sweets to set up a corner. a tasting event was held to gauges reactions. the goal was to discover what kinds of sweets would have the most appeal and then to develop new products. that kind of feedback but just what a shop wanted. it's produced a new kind of cake. the product is low in sugar and flavored with maple syrup. a combination that seems to suit asian preferences. >> translator: it's much better, isn't it? i think we can go with it. >> reporter: confectioners have their eyes on chinese and

southeast asian markets, places where economic development has increased buying power. >> people in other countries often have a sense of flavor that's different from ours in japan. i want to understand those differences. >> reporter: understanding can vary to creating products that attract even more customers. the purveyors of sweets aim to make themselves the confectioners for the world. the noh theater tradition dates back 5,000 years. performers must go to great lengths to promote their art to foreign audiences. here's a report.

>> reporter: visitors from around 30 countries are learning the basics of the art form at the noh theater. more than 160 people tried on the iconic masks and walked on the rehearsal stage. >> i was walking around and i thought i was going to fall. but it was really good at the end. >> reporter: the organizers believe anyone can appreciate noh by focusing on the unique style of acting and music, even if they can't understand the words. and music, even if they can't understand the words. and music, even if they can't understand the words they can't understand the words they can't understand the words they can't understand the words they can't understand the words they can't understand the words they can't understand the words they can't understand the wordsf they can't understand the words if they can't understand the words.n and music, even

if they can't understand the words. the participants tried their hands at traditional japanese instruments. they also practiced chanting together. >> i don't think that japanese get this opportunity so i feel really lucky to experience. >> people really enjoy coming here. open hearts and the world understands. so i enjoy.

>> it paid off when the participants became the audience. >> because we practiced it, when they started singing, we could hear it, and although we could not understand the japanese, we remembered the phrase. so it was very interesting. >> i really liked the noises and the sounds and the music. they make such cool noises. >> translator: dancing, chanting and playing the instruments gave our foreign guests a deeper understanding of the art form. i hope experiences like this can help more people overseas learn to appreciate noh. >> organizers are hoping to tans form noh's reputation

introducing the art form for the few, into something that anyone can enjoy. showers in tokyo today, but to the south, the typhoon is now lingering in okinawokinawa. how is the storm impacting japan, robert? >> this one, we have been watching it for some time. it's kind of tracking along the coast of honshu, and now it's tracking down towards the south. it's lingering just to the south. you have these islands here, about 2,000 people live on them. you're going to see at least typhoon strength. this is over the course of three days, it pretty much doesn't linger here, it's latched on to this steering flow. if you're in okinawa, you want to watch this closely, it's probably going to drift to the west, but then drift back to the east or the north.

so honshu, extending into the end of the week. it'sism pacting to the north right now, because it's surging in some moisture from the south and from the east, and that's pushing up some dry and cooling air over the -- we are going to see some passing showers, especially through the afternoon, some could become strong. you'll see 100 millimeters of precipitation. some lightning and damaging winds out of this storm. something you want to watch out for. but that dry air is also containing this heat bubble. chongqing, a high of 40 here on wednesday and this heat is going to stay in place, heading into thursday, friday even into saturday as well. do stay cool in the upcoming weekend. let's take a look down towards the south. i want to talk about the indo

china peninsula, we have been seeing the monsoon dominating out here and it has been bringing some heavy showers at times, actually significant flooding, a few areas in eastern india, in the past 24 hours, 290 millimeters of total precipitation. in the past week, widespread swathes of over 200. i'll show you some video. give you an idea of what it looks like here. this is yes we have been seeing kilometer stretches submerged in these floodwaters. actually 14 people have died in this area alone due to the flooding, dozens across all of india. other areas impacted. nine people have died in the floods, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated out here. this is just an incredible picture coming out of that region with the significant flooding that has been taking place. this is all part of the monsoon, it's annual, we see this time

and time again, but every now and then you get these pulses of energy that comes through, that's exactly what happens here and you can see that line of showers that's stretched with this and brought that significant flooding. the good news is these areas that are hit hardest, you're going to get a little bit of a break. overall the monsoon doesn't end until end of september or october. thunderstorms flaring up into the high plains, we do have a cold front diving across the central u.s. we even have snow in colorado into the higher elevations, still going to be seeing some hail out of there, maybe ping-pong sized. probably just going to see some thunderstorms here even on wednesday. here's the extended outlook.

that's all this hour on nhk "newsline." thanks for being with us.

this week, "global 3000" is in colombia, where we find out how a rubbish dump in the capital bogota has been transformed into a small oasis. in laos, we discover how a simple soap opera can bring about real change. and we hunt for images of everyday life in syria. a slice of normality despite the war. palm sunday celebrations in damascus. this, too, is syria, a country at war. yet the world rarely gets to see images like these. syrian filmmakers have decided to show us what daily life is