it's the top of the hour in tokyo. this is nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara. the u.n. security council has opened an emergency meeting to discuss north korea's latest missile launch. the north fired what appeared to be a submarine launched ballistic missile on wednesday. the closed door session began in the wake of the launch at the request of japan, the united states, and south korea. the three nations are seeking to have the council issue a statement condemning pyongyang. the missile flew about 500 kilometers. that is believed to have come down in japan's air defense identification zone in the sea

of japan. the council held a similar meeting earlier this month, after north korea launched two of what are believed to be nodong medium range ballistic missiles. some countries, including china, insisted the council should avoid provoking the north. south korean government sources say the missile could have traveled more than 1,000 kilometers if it had been launched at a regular angle. the sources believe that pyongyang adjusted the flight distance by launching it at a steep angle so it could not fall into japan's territory. north korea's media reports the launch was successful. in june, north korea test fired an intermediate range ballistic missile and it reached an altitude of more than 1,000

kilometers. south korea on monday started an annual joint military drill with the united states. the exercises are scheduled to continue through september 2. president park geun-hye inspected a unit at the front line joining the exercises. >> translator: the north's nuclear and missile threat is no longer a matter of imagination. it's coming true by the minute. >> park ordered military personnel to take immediate and severe retaliatory measure it is the north makes any provocations using forth. the north korean military expressed its opposition to the joint military exercises, saying the armed forces are ready to fight and are only waiting for leader kim jong-un's attack order. he is the director of the korean people's army's general political bureau. he delivered a speech at convention ahead of august 25th. the day commemorates the launch

of former leader kim jong-il's military first policy. >> he also said kim jong-un's leadership has made the country a nuclear power with hydrogen bomb capability. the japanese foreign minister held talks with his counterparts from china and south korea on wednesday. china and japan have beened a odds by repeated incursions of coast guard and fishing vessels into japanese waters. he emphasized the importance of a communication mechanism that the two governments agreed to

create to avoid accidental clashes. >> translator: i strongly urge a complete halt to the situation and preventative measures to improve the overall circumstances in the east china sea. >> translator: we exchanged views extensively, in particular on the east china sea, the focus of the attention. the situation is basically back to normal. >> japanese officials say wong also agreed that avoiding conflict is important and they say he showed readiness to improve his country's relationship with japan by increasing communication. and they discussed an agreement on the issue of those referred to as comfort women. he said the japanese cabinet has approved a measure to allocate $10 million to support the women. each living woman will receive

$100,000 in cash, and the relatives of those who died will be granted $20,000. and he again called for the removal of a statue symbolizing the women. he was erected in front of the japanese embassy in seoul. they reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the december agreement, which says the south korean government will strive to resolve the statue issue. japanese defense minister says the country's self-defense force also begin training for new duties laid out under revised security laws. the laws came into effect in march and allowed japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense. >> translator: our preparations are now almost completed. each section of the sdf will be starting various training required under the new security laws. >> ministry officials have been working on the code of conduct for the sdf.

it stipulates the geographical scope of their operations and use of weapon. one unit heading to south sudan in november for aup peacekeeping activities will start the new training on thursday. officials have not decided whether to allow the unit to engage in the armed rescue of peacekeepers and the joint defense of their barracks. the number of deaths from wednesday's earthquake in central italy has risen to well over 150. desperate efforts are under way to search for and rescue people who remain trapped under rubble. the magnitude 6.2 quake hit central italy. the italian prime minister visited a town and called for national unity. >> translator: it is a time in which we are allowed to shed tears for the faithfaithful, it moment to say a prayer.

for everyone, sit a moment of respect and pain. >> authorities say they confirmed at least 159 people have died so far. >> translator: the town is gone. >> nearly all buildings collapsed in the town. most of the residents have evacuated to a soccer stadium and other safer places. the italian government has not released the number of missing people. the chief of a rescue team says the extent of the damage indicates that many people are probably still trapped under rubble. a powerful earthquake also hit southeast asia on wednesday. the magnitude 6.8 tremor struck central myanmar. at least three people are dead and scores of others may be injured. the usgs says the quake hit at around 5:00 p.m. local time.

the epicenter was 500 kilometers north of the largest city and 80 kilometers below ground. media say the jolt has damaged some pagotas in the ancient capital. the reuters news agency says the quake was felt as far away as bangkok. another disaster is hitting india. more than 300 people have died after monsoon rains flooded northern parts of the country. the rains have caused the river and its tributaries to flood residential areas and farmlands. >> translator: flood waters have entered our houses. we can't cook or sleep at night because we are afraid. >> reporter: those areas have been experiencing drought for the past few years. but they are now facing damage to their drops caused by the flooding. weather officials are warning heavy rains may continue through early september.

authorities in china are trying to clean up air pollution ahead of next month's group of 20 summit on september 4 and 5 in the city of hongjo. some tack tries in the city and surrounding areas suspended operations on wednesday following instructions from local government. the stoppage will continue for about two weeks. even factories in shanghai have shut up shop and they're more than 100 kilometers away from the summit venue. >> translator: we have no choice. >> the chinese government regards the g-20 summit as this year's most important diplomatic event. security has already been tightened throughout the city. police will restrict road traffic in the area from sunday. south korea is known as a safe country where people can typically walk around alone even at night. but the recent murder of a young woman has put a spotlight on the issue of crimes targeting women.

local governments in the country are trying to promote services intended to keep women safe. ♪ >> reporter: in may, a 23-year-old woman was stabbed to death by a stranger in a public restroom in seoul. the suspect says he held a grudge against women who ignored him. according to police, he saw six men pass by before attacking a woman. >> translator: i'm so sorry to hear about the news of this tragedy. now i'll go home early not to meet such events. >> reporter: a makeshift memorial was set up where the woman was stabbed. seoul's government has moved the memorial site to city hall to

preserve it. at this memorial, there are countless messages mourning the loss of the young victim. they say things like, we want to live in a safe society for women. seoul has been implementing measures to prevent crimes targeting women. one of them is a free service provided on community buses. >> reporter: it's a wireless bluetooth device. a note includes where, when, and what the plate number of the vehicle is. people can use the service just by downloading the free application. so far, more than 2,000 people are using this app.

>> translator: there are dark alleyways without street lights on my way home. so i often use the text message service. my parents are also glad to know i'm safe. >> reporter: seoul is also providing a free walk safe service. this woman works as a fitness trainer. she often returns home late at night. she says that she's been followed by strange men in the past. now she makes a phone call before she gets on the subway. since she arrived at the station, two staff are already there. the walk safe service helps 19,000 clients get home safely.

>> translator: i sometimes feel dangerous as i'm living alone. but the staff escorts me to my doorway, watching me shut my door safely. now i can go out without worrying about coming home late. i really appreciate this service. >> reporter: seoul city officials say the numbers of users for walk safe services are steadily increasing. they say they intend to continue funding to meet the demand. nhk world, seoul. indonesia's rapid economic growth has driven many kinds of change right across the vast nation. not least in the way ordinary people eat. and that lifestyle transformation is creating

business opportunities for a japanese firm. >> reporter: this is one of the typical breakfasts for indonesian people. it is everywhere in indonesia. from rice porage in the morning to the evening meal of rice and vegetables. it's a mainstay on every table. >> translator: we eat rice every single day. i have no idea what we would do if there was none. >> reporter: but people have been encouraged to watch what they eat. they are enjoying coffee with bread here.

>> translator: i eat bread more often than rice, because it's convenient. i eat bread almost every day. ♪ >> reporter: japanese companies are among those to respond to this change in the indonesian palate. this door-to-door vendor is from a japanese bakery. >> translator: we eat it every day. my children love japanese bread because it's soft. i don't have to go out and buy it, so it saves time. >> reporter: the bakery's bread sales have tripled over the past five years. it's a plan to expand into rural areas. >> translator: indonesia's

middle class is expanding year by year. people buy bread more often, and now it's part of the country's diet. we expect the market to grow further. >> reporter: meat sells, too. as their incomes grow, many indonesians are turning from chicken to beef. this japanese restaurant has all you can eat beef barbecue, the first in the country. it costs about $18 a head, which is affordable for indonesian middle class. >> translator: it's juicy and tasty. i love beef, so i come here at least once a week. >> reporter: beef sales have doubled over the past five years.uraging the japanese firmo expand to 50 carts in the country. >> translator: i guess there were many people who wanted to

try beef, so we hope to expand here. >> reporter: as they prepare to venture into new culinary areas, the opportunity as a career, the challenge is now for businesses to find the right approaches and the product to guide them on their way. japanese officials are in kenya to discuss development. company representatives are setting up their booths in the venue of the tokyo international conference on african development. the trade fair is a chance for japanese businesses to show off their products and technologies in a market with lots of growth potential.

>> translator: africa is a promising market, because the population is especially young and it's growing. >> the official says she wants to promote water saving toilets for countries prone to droughts. t-can will be held for two days in nairobi. they will discuss how to help africa achieve sustainable development. a series of earthquakes in april that jolted kumamoto prefecture left a lot of damage in its wake, including a honda factory that makes motorcycles. partial operations have been underway since june, with the restart of autopart production. and workers returned to the main line for large motorcycles on monday. honda says the remaining production line will start moving again in a few weeks.

toys these days tend to be loud and electronic, as manufacturers focus on video games and virtual reality. but there's a quiet revolution happening in japan with a new kind of entertainment that appeals to the more creative side of children. >> reporter: at this year's tokyo toy show, the offerings ranged from this to cardboard samurai armor. about 35,000 products were on display from 160 companies around the world. they included the usual array of high-tech options. but many of the newest toys were designed to unleash the artist. this may look like an ordinary pen, but when the ink is exposed to light, it gets hard. young artists can invent a three

dimensional version of their favorite images. >> translator: it was easy. >> reporter: many of these toys are geared towards children. like this sewing machine. it uses a piece of felt to bind the fibers in the cloth together. children at this booth are making pictures out of beads that stick together when they're met. this kind of toy has become wildly popular thanks, in part, to the internet. >> translator: people want to show off their creations on line. children upload images to social media sites. then other kids see them and want to do the same thing. that's how toy s like this catc on. >> reporter: it's spread to an amusement park in tokyo. it launched new attractions to combat slumping attendance.

this took seven years to develop. it was created in collaboration with manufacturers in related industries. visitors to the fashion factory mount bicycles for some vigorous pedaling. and after a few minutes, out pops a piece of creative fabric. at the car factory, customers can choose components and customize design. they can put the pieces together with a toy electric drill, then take the finished product for a spin. >> translator: driving was really fun. >> it was great that we got to choose the parts and build exact hi what we had imagined. >> reporter: since the new area opened, the park has seen a 30%

increase in visitors. >> translator: we thought people would respond well to these hands-on experiences, being able to engage in a creative process and it's turned out to be very positive. >> reporter: businesses like this are finding that igniting creativity can help them keep up with danging tastes. police in western japan have arrested a driver on suspicion of killing a woman and injuring another while playing pokemon go. they say this is the first fatal traffic accident in japan involving the smartphone game. the 39-year-old man hit the two women, aged 72 and 60 while crossing a street. the older woman died and the younger one badly hurt.

the man told the police that he was playing pokemon go behind the wheel and wasn't watching carefully. authorities around the world have been warning players to pay attention to their surroundings. time for the weather outlook. a typhoon continues to linger near okinawa today, bringing rough seas and gusty winds to the area. so robert, how is the storm going to impact japan over theig >> as far as okinawa is concerned, probably looking at rough seas. but these islands located just towards the east, they are taking the brunt of this storm system. this is a more populated island. overall, about 2,000 people live across them and they're definitely typhoon hardened. big thing out here, you're going to be seeing typhoon strength

wind gusts. waves up to nine meters high. these are built to withstand these type of winds. hopefully you're not going to be getting too much damage, maybe some power outages out there. back towards the west, the more populated southern islands, including the island of honto, probably gusty winds, waves about four meters high, not a day to be heading out to the beach. dangerous rip currents and dangerous surf in this region. where is it going to go eventually? we have high pressure towards the north. that's going to keep it from moving towards the west and will turn towards the east. tokyo is in this. yes, central honshu could be impacted by this. so we're keeping a keen eye on

what's happening here. it's turning towards the northeast because of this cold front in eastern areas of china, through central korea and northeastern china and the far eastern russia. bringing scattered showers and cooler temperatures. but this is like a fish hook, pulling it back towards the northeast. so going to bring scattered showers to northern japan heading into the weekend. but behind it, as i mentioned, cooler temperatures. just 17 for your high on thursday. beijing, a ten-degree cooldown. i think the bigger topic is the scattered showers moving in with the storm. let's take a look towards europe. thunderstorms across the british isles, but a high pressure ridge smack dab in the middle of the

country, making for hot conditions and fair weather recovery efforts in central italy. the good news is, this high pressure ridge is going to keep things fair to help out rescue and recovery. in the east, thunderstorms still in the balkan peninsula. a few of them could become rather severe. we'll have a cool down once that front does push through. how about the winter weather down towards the south, new south wales, scattered showers and one oh of the wettest years in 18 years in sydney, just because of the precipitation you have been seeing out here in 2016. more rain expected by the end of the week. things slowly clear up into your weekend. all right. i'll leave you now with your

extended outlook. that's all for now on nhk "newsline." thank you for watching and have a good day.

♪ >> welcome to "in good shape." coming up, a dream body through freeletics? who can handle the intensive training? hidden calories, some drinks contain as much energy as a whole meal. and thyroid disease. when does it make sense to operate and what are the other options? and here's your host, dr. carsten lekutat. ♪ dr. lekutat: hello and welcome to "in good shape." today, i am at the red cross clinic berlin westend, and i'm watching an operation surgery on a thyroid gland. this is the topic of today's show. when do you need an operation on the thyroid gland, and when is