hello, and welcome to nhk news line, it is wednesday, august 31st, at 9:00 a.m. a senior russian official says president vladimir putin will visit japan in december. it would be the first visit by a russian president in six years. putin's foreign policy aide yuri ushakov told reporters that moscow and tokyo have already agreed on the date. he said it will be announced after arrangements have been made with the japanese side. putin and japanese prime minister shinzo abe are to hold talks in vladivostok on friday on the sidelines of an economic forum. japanese officials say they expect the leaders to discuss how to resolve a territorial

dispute and conclude a peace treaty. the countries haven't signed one since the end of world war ii because of the dispute over the northern territories. the two leaders have agreed to move negotiations forward. russia controls the islands. the japanese government maintains that they are an inherent part of the nation's territory. it says the islands were illegally occupied after world war ii. a group that's referred to as wartime comfort women has filed a suit against the south korean government over its agreement with japan. they say the agreements caused them psychological distress. the governments of the two countries agreed last december to settle the comfort women issue finally and

they say the agreement does not acknowledge japan's legal responsibility and goes against a constitutional court's ruling. . typhoon lionrock crossed northern japan on tuesday night hitting the region devastated by the 2011 effort quake and tsunami. people in the area are dealing with the after effects of the storm. lionrock brought heavy rains and high winds. it was the fourth powerful storm system to hit japan in under two weeks. it was the first typhoon to strike the country's northeast from the pacific ocean since recordkeeping began in 1951. officials say it brought one month's worth of rainfall in just two days to some areas

leading them to issue mud slide warnings. the sea sheppard anti-whaling group says it will send a high speed ship to patrol the antarct antarctic. the ship is fast enough to outrun japanese harpoon ships. last week, the group's u.s. arm reached a legal settlement with japan's institute of cetacean research, banning it from blocking japanese whalers in exchange for a financial settlement. sea shepherd usa now cannot provide funding to the southern ocean campaign or be involved in the campaign's activities. officials with sea shepherd australia said they were confident their new campaign named "operation nemesis" would enjoy the support of all australians. time now for a check of the latest business news.

mitsubishi motors was hit by a series of fuel scandals. the automaker continued using unapproved testing meths even after the problems were disclosed. here's the details on this story. how far did the data rigging go? >> as we have reported, the ministry probe had showed that the car maker overstated fuel economy for eight models. it found mileage was as much as 9% lower than advertised. ministry officials also act becaused mitsubishi of using unaccused data to calculate mileage. the automaker earlier announced results of new tests saying what it claimed is an approved method. the ministry officials now doubt this claim. mitsubishi engineers said there was a roughly 3% difference

between the falsifies fuel economy data and the newer results. the engineers in charge of mileage measurements said they did not know the results were wrong. the european union has orderorder ed airland to connect -- the irish government's tax breaks for the american it giant were illegal under eu rules. the commission has ruled that the irish subsidiary paid less than 1% in taxes. the commission ordered the country to collect the money apple was supposed to pay from 2003 to 2014.

the competition minister said that it is a clear message that countries can not give tax benefits to selected companies. he noted that irish government officials have also said they plan to appeal. following the news, the share price of apple fell nearly 0.8% on wall street. an overall u.s. stock prices declined, lower crude oil prices weighed on sentiment and the u.s. industrial average fell a quarter percent. and japanese government officials have released key data this morning. industrial output in july, it was unchanged from june, which was weaker than market expectations, so let's see how that's affecting tokyo stocks.

tell us how markets are opening here in tokyo. >> well, despite the losses that we saw on wall street, the stronger dollar should really help a lot of the exporters here this morning, and that is really the case, the weaker yen helping to boost the nikkei and topix. # the nikkei actually ended slightly lower on yesterday after showing a little bit of movement very tight range, in fact. many people are waiting for more clues on the next u.s. rate hike. one of the focuses today will of course be on apple's parts suppliers. as you just reported, also a lot

of focus following the eu order to pay -- for apple to pay more than $14 billion and investors really want to weigh up the consequences for apple's earnings. and as you touched on also, the major crude oil futures fell overnight. glut worries grew as iran is reported to increase it's production and a stronger dollar makes crude oil less attractive for holders of other currencies as it settles in u.s. dollar. so a lot of plagues there, because of the movements in the crude oil prices. >> you mentioned currencies, a stronger dollar, get us updated on some levels this morning. >> let's have a look at the main pair there, the

recent data such as consumer spending and sentiment. let's get a quick look at other asian markets. sidney and also the kospi is trading higher, australia is trading in the negative. china markets open in an hour and a half, we'll have more for you then. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that update. moving on this week we are bringing you a special feature on beating the heat. focusing on three traditions of how people work and play this time of year. the first installment will take you to outdoor concerts in japan.

♪ >> reporter: this two-day music festival is held in the small northern city of otaru. more than 60,000 people from around the country came to see performances by around 100 acts. music festivals have become synonymous with summer in japan. revenue from ticket sales has nearly doubled in the past decade. >> translator: this is the third time we've come since my child was born. at first, he used to cry, but now he enjoys it. >> translator: it's cool. the food's good. the music's good. it's the best. >> reporter: some festival goers like to camp out overnight. this year, there was a place where they could brush their teeth. >> translator: i couldn't brush this morning because i was watching a performance. i just brushed my teeth, and i feel much cleaner. >> reporter: brushing your teeth in a crowd of your fellow music fans. some people consider the experience special enough to share online. and that's music to the ears of the toothpaste and toothbrush company that sponsored the booth.

>> translator: the booth is more popular than we expected. we hope our brand will make new connections through people sharing this fun experience. >> reporter: companies that make clothing and equipment for the great outdoors were also on hand. satoshi eto is a marketing manager. he chatted with customers to gather ideas for new products. >> translator: did you buy anything this year? >> translator: i bought a simple tent that takes 15 seconds to set up. >> reporter: the company has created a product with music fans in mind. a poncho with a transparent hood for watching performances in the rain and waterproof shoes attractive enough to wear every day. back in tokyo, eto and his staff shared what they learned.

>> translator: i was asked if we sold socks. maybe interesting socks will sell. >> translator: there were lots of people wearing low-cut shoes. fashionable socks might be worth a try. >> translator: we want to be on the cutting edge, helping customers while anticipating the kinds of products they'll need. ♪ >> reporter: hundreds of thousands of fans flock to music festivals every summer in japan. and next year, too, companies looking to cater to that trend-hungry market will be following close behind. i'm going to leave you now with a check on markets.

>> tokyo's new governor is expected to announce plans on monday about relocating the fish market. it's an issue she's touched on before. >> translator: i will suspend the plan. >> the market is planned to move

to a nearby facility on november 7. the results of a water quality test won't be available until the scheduled opening. they're concerned that ground water may be contaminated. some wholesalers say the stalls in the new facility are packed too closely together. they want to avoid moving during the busy year-end period. a highway connecting central tokyo with the athletes village is supposed to be built on the site. putting on the market's relocation could delay that project.

speaking of japan's largest fish market, the first tuna option of the year is well known for fetching sky high prices. this year the prized fish sold for a whopping $125,000. researchers from the united states and ethiopia say one of the earth's best known ancestors may have died after falling out of a tree. their findings were published on monday in the british journal "nature." the group of scientists carried out a study of what killed lucy, a female hominid who lived in africa about 3.2 million years ago. she was a member of australopithecus afarensis, an early human species. lucy's skeleton, which is about 40% complete, was unearthed in northeastern ethiopia in 1974. the fossil is regarded as an important specimen for studying human evolution. the researchers used a ct scan to analyze the remains and found upper arm, ankle and pelvis fractures. they said her internal organs likely were also damaged.

they said the injuries indicate that lucy fell from a height of more than 12 meters. researchers say the findings appear to back a theory that while early human species walked up right on the ground, they also spent nighttime in trees. the paralympic games will open in rio de janeiro in one week. workers are busy with preparations, the paralympic logo can be seen all around the olympic park. and the ramps have been installed around the venues. they have also put up a banner with the paralympic banner to

welcome athletes and visitors. on august 19, the international paralympic committee said that only 12% of available tickets have been sold. brazilians began making online appeals to boost sales. more than 700,000 were purchased in about ten days, the sales ratio has now risen to 40%. the rio paralympics will begin on september 7. japan is sending 230 athletes and staff, 90 of them departed on tuesday. japanese team captain reo fujimoto plays wheelchair basketball. he and his 11 teammates received a warm send-off from friends and colleagues. >> translator: i'm very excited and totally ready for the approaching games. i can't wait to arrive in rio to

play basketball as soon as possible. >> wheelchair tennis player yui kamiji will carry the national flag at the opening ceremony. kamiji was inspired by the performances of japanese athletes at the olympics. >> translator: of course i was following the tennis during the olympic games, and i watched the badminton and the table tennis matches which japan's women athletes did well in. i want to emulate their achievements. >> japanese athletes will compete in 17 of the 22 paralympic sports at the rio games. preparations are already under way in tokyo for the next summer olympic games. one thing's for certain, temperatures here will be high. so planners are trying to figure out how to provide athletes and spectators with some relief from the scorching heat. nhk world's kazuaki hirama reports.

>> reporter: summer temperatures in central tokyo can exceed 35 degrees celsius, or 95 degrees fahrenheit. thousands of people in the capital were rushed to hospitals with heat stroke in the past month alone. >> it's super hot. really, really is warm. it's a very dry heat. we've been walking for about an hour, and, yeah, we stopped twice already. >> i'd be collapsed by now. in this heat, you need your water. you need to be hydrated. and if you haven't got water, that's it. >> reporter: with the 2020 olympics in mind, the japanese government has started to address tokyo's heat problem. officials are measuring temperature, humidity, and other meteorological conditions around the olympic venues. they're ranking them with a commonly used heat index. the higher the number, the higher the chance of getting heatstroke. officials plan to focus their efforts on lowering that risk in areas where the numbers are highest.

>> translator: we would like to take effective measures to prevent heatstroke. that's why we chose to accurately measure temperature and humidity near the olympic venues. >> reporter: not everyone is sold on using the heat index as a warning. one expert says when it comes to athletes competing in high temperatures, the index falls short of the mark. naru takayama studies ways to prevent athletes from getting heatstroke. he says it's not enough to monitor conditions in the areas around the venues. planners must also understand what's going on inside the athletes themselves. >> translator: vigorous exercise increases body heat, which increases the risk of heatstroke. athletes must take into consideration how much heat they're generating.

>> reporter: takayama wanted to find out if the standard index could really predict the risk of heatstroke. he had a physically active student jump rope for ten minutes at locations where the temperatures and humidity were different. first, takayama carried out the experiment in full sun. he then moved to a shady park where the index numbers indicated the risk should be low. the subject jumped rope for ten minutes. he soon stopped smiling and turned pale. afterward, takayama weighed the subject to calculate the amount of perspiration and dehydration. he found that the student had perspired much more than he expected. takayama spent a month analyzing the results. he compared the amounts of perspiration generated during three types of exercise of different intensity.

walking, bicycling, and jumping rope. even in areas with low index numbers, subjects who jumped rope perspired enough to become dehydrated, placing them more at risk of heatstroke. takayama says olympic organizers should take note. >> translator: the amount of heat the body creates depends on the kind of sport one is doing. we should come up with comprehensive measures taking that into account. >> reporter: planners will need to keep many factors in mind to ensure that the 2020 olympics are remembered for the number of medals won and not the number of visits to emergency rooms. kazuaki hirama, nhk world, tokyo. >> the summer heat is a concern here in tokyo.

people in northern japan are dealing with the after affects of the storm that blew through. >> lion -- since recordkeeping began in 1951. this is the imagery when the center is about to make landfall. the system typhoon and a large typhoon at that moment. now the system is pulling away from japan. it was a strong system, so we saw some record breaking heavy rainfall and winds in northern japan. 223 millimeters fell and very strong winds buffeted the . the remnant low is still closely packed.

that means strong winds are blowing over hokkaido, waves will remain quite high today over seven meters. the remnant low will continue to provide more rainfall across southeastern china, and wide but heavy rain is expected. another low pressure system, heavy rain has been already pounding the area, so more rain is definitely not good news. it's going to be a rainy day in pyongyaon pyongyang, at 19 degrees, it's going to be more like october, but tomorrow is going to be a warm day. beijing will remain on the high side. 33 for the high. and hong kong, you'll see rainy weather, with the high of 31 on wednesday. two dangerous storms are heading towards hawaii. this is a major hurricane named lester. lester will likely affect hawaii

during the weekend. and this is madeleine, this is a major hurricane and it's packing winds of 185 kilometers per hour. this will likely get very close to the big island on thursday. so we have hurricane warnings still in place on the island. we're expecting very stormy conditions and very heavy rainfall probably up to 200 millimeters from wednesday into thursday morning in hilo and we're expecting rain continuing as we go into the weekend. honolulu will be affected by the system on thursday and we have another system coming in, that's lester, so it's going to be quite stormy in honolulu once again. over the main u.s., there are a couple of tropical systems near the southeast coast, one is located near the carolina coast, but this is going to move away from the land. but this is more of a concern. this system will actually intensify to a tropical storm and move over the land over the north of florida as we go into thursday.

heavy rainfall probably 500 millimeters expected. plus hurricane force wind gusts are expected. so extremely stormy conditions are on the menu for you on thursday. the coastal western united states, dry but across british columbia, but a storm is moving in so it is going to be wet. the highs are going to be 20 degrees for the high in vancouver, and still on the hot side in l.a. here's your extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline". thanks for staying with us. x0

>> this week, global 3000 heads to china. a new app is creating a stir at lunchtime, bringing old favorites to the table. we find out more. in peru we look for one of the amazon's largest fish. how many are left and why do they need protecting? but first we go to russia, a country battling a huge drugs problem. nowhere on earth is more heroin consumed than here. the u.n. estimates that 4,700 tons of raw opium were produced worldwide last year. illegally. morphine is extracted from it. and that in turn is used to create 327 tons of pure heroin. a smokeable variety is also from the raw opi.