glad to have you with us on this edition of nhk "newsline." it is thursday september 29th, 9:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. an international team of investigators says a malaysian airlines passenger jet shot down in eastern ukraine two years ago was hit by a russian-made missile. it says the rocket was fired from a village held by pro-russian rebels. investigators from the netherlands, ukraine and three other countries have been looking into the july 2014 incident. the airplane was flying from am ster d amsterdam to kuala lumpur. all people on board were killed. a team told reporters in the

netherlands on wednesday that the jet was shut down by a russian-made buk surface to air missile launched from the village of pervomaysk in eastern ukraine. the investigators say the village was held by the rebels at the time of the incident. the team also said photographs taken by local residents and intercepted communications between separatists indicate that the missile system was brought into ukraine the day the jetliner was shot down. they say the weapon was returned to russia the next day. the team members say they've identified about 100 people they believe may have been involved in the shoot-down. they say they'll continue to try to identify the culprits. the dutch government concluded in its report last year that a russian-made surface to air missile system shot down the airplane. russian foreign ministry spokesperson reacted sharply to the latest findings. she called the probe biased and

politically motivated. she says the investigation ignored evidence offered by russia. a russian defense ministry spokesperson said the country's missile defense systems including the buk have never crossed the border into ukraine. 27 people are amissing in eastern china after a landslide. typhoon megi hit fujian early wednesday. it's since become a tropical depression but some regions have suffered severe damage from torrential rain and gusts of wind. china's central television reports that a landslide in the eastern province of zhejiang engulfed more than 20 homes and 27 people run accounted for. the disaster occurred as local authorities were calling for residents to evacuate. more than 400 rescuers are are working overnight amid fears of another mudslide. a collapse resident in fujian

province left one person dead. homes and roads win inundated in many parts of the province. rescue teams in indonesia are looking for scores of trekkers believed to be stranded near an erupted volcano. 400 tourists, mostly foreigners, registered to hike there. no injuries have been reported. the eruption began on tuesday with no warning, spewing columns of ash up to two kilometers high. officials say 350 tourists have been safely evacuated. about 50 are still heading down the mountain. hikers have been told to keep at least three kilometers from the eruption area. it is part of the caldara of mt. rinjani which also erupted in november last year. that explosion forced the international airport on the neighboring island of bali to close for several days. a south korean court has turned down the request for an arrest warrant for the chairman

of a scandal-hit conglomerate. prosecutors sought a warrant for the group on monday. on suspicion of embezzlement and breach of trust. they suspect he paid unearned salaries of about $46 million to relatives of the group's founder. they also suspect he inflicted losses to certain groups' firms by illegally intervening in others. the seoul central district court summoned him wednesday and questioned him for about three hours. >> translator: i apologize for causing trouble. there are many things that lotte group has to work on. i'll be responsible to set them straight. >> prosecutors are expected to continue their investigation to indict shin without taking him into custody. he reportedly denied the charges when he was questioned by prosecutors last week. media also report that prosecutors have decided to

indict without arrest two other family members on embezzlement and other charges. they include shin's father is the lotte group founder and his brother. the three are involved in a family feud over who will take control of the conglomerate. a strict anti-graft law took effect wednesday in south korea. it's aimed at putting an end to the country's deep-rooted custom of entertaining public officials and giving gifts to teachers. the law bans public servants and teachers from receiving meals and drinks worth more than 30,000 yuan or about $27 per person and gifts with a value over $45. violators will be punished regardless of whether they provide any favors in return. people have high expectations for the new law as an effective anti-corruption measure. >> translator: i hope it will

help society become more transparent. >> in response to the new rule, a restaurant in central seoul has started offering meals priced at 29,9 the 00 yuan. corruption is a big problem in south korea. senior government and military officials have been suspected of taking bribes from companies but observers worry that the economy could take a $10 billion hit result of the new law caused by a drop in consumption. now, let's move on to business news. oil prices are surging around the world. we go to ai uchida now from our business desk to tell us why, ai, so give us the reason behind the rise. >> catherine, the world's major oil producing nations have agreed to cap production. as you know, the members of the world's largest petroleum cartel, opec, have been trying to bridge differences over ways

of reversing a decle cleacline s but this is the first such deal since 2008 when demand was shrinking due to the global economic slowdown. members of the organization of petroleum exporting countries have been meeting in algeria. they decided to limit output to between $32 32.5 and 33 millio barrels a day. how much they produce will be decided at the next opec meeting in november. recent efforts to get an agreement have ended in fail wr failure. officials from saudi arabia, russia and other big oil producers met in april to discuss a possible freeze of production levels but went home without a deal. in june, saudi arabia and iran couldn't narrow their differences on a collective output quota or production control. iran has been opposing a production cap. thow that western powers have lifted economic sanctions. well, crude oil prices went up as you know following the

news of the opec agreement. the benchmark wti features rose to the $47 level, rising more than 6%, the highest level in nearly three weeks. shares in the energy sector on wall street gained on this and the dow jones industrial average marked a triple-digit gain. the nasdaq rose a quarter of a percent. let's see what's happening in tokyo. we're going to go to ramin mellegard for that at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning, ramin, what are you seeing over there? >> you touched on the main subject, really focused on oil. of course after opec members' preliminary agreement to curb oil production, and, of course, we have to follow the banking sector as well as some concerns ease somewhat over deutsche bank after it unloaded. look at the opening levels up 0.9%. 16,613 for the nikkei. topix .6%.

nikkei fell 1.3% on wednesday largely on the back of selling stocks which had gone -- and also the yen remaining close to one-month highs against the dollar. we'll come to that in a second. but still, we need to keep track of energy stocks after crude oil benchmarks surged following the opec meeting in algeria. brent crude, beg your pardon, rose about 6% hitting a high not seen in more than two weeks. now, worries about the banking sector receded somewhat. that's after the share prices deutsche bank bounced back on news that it's going to sell its british insurance unit. i know you're going to have more details about that. but also in a testimony to congress, federal chair reserve chair janet yellen said she believes the economy is ready for a rate hike by the end of the year. although the central bank has no fixed timetable for raising interest rates. now, some analysts say yellen's comments could add some buzz to

a very anxious market. ai? >> ramin, how are are currency pairs trading following yellen's comments and also following what we learned from opec? >> exactly. let's have a look at the main dollar/yen pair, ai. right now 100.99, the dollar is gaining ground against the yen. traders are buying the u.s. currency after yellen's comments. investors regained some risk appetite after the opec meeting and selling safer assets such as the yen. the dollar falling against commodity-linked currencies such as the norwegian , canadian and australia currencies. let's get a quick look at indexes also open in asia-pacific region. seoul's kospi is right now up 0.72%. sydney's s&p asx 200 up 0.94%. we'll have more updates in a couple hours, ai. for now the nikkei is up 140

points. we'll see how that progresses. back to you. >> all right. sounds good, ramin, thanks for keeping us up to date. fur out viewers, we apologize for the poor audio quality. we'll look into that. germany's leading lender has made a move apparently aimed at easing concerns over its financial health. officials at deutsche bank say they're going to sell a british insurance unit. the bank is grappling with $14 billion of fines owed to the u.s. justice department and that is for allegedly illegal sales of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis. deutsche bank executives say they'll sell it to a major british insurance group for $1.2 billion. the sale would raise funds for the bank. its shares tumbled on worries that a huge settlement cost with u.s. authorities would cause a capital shortage. there's also speculation of a government bailout. analysts say attention is focused on how negotiations will go between deutsche bank and the justice department.

japan is a country of mountains and beaches and it's not surprising people like to get out and do sports. now, with record numbers of foreign tourists arriving in the country, people in less-traveled areas are hoping to get a piece of the action by appealing to the more adventurous types. nhk world attended tourism expo japan to find out more. ♪ >> reporter: exhibiters from around the world and around japan gathered to sell their region. it offered people ideas on where to go, what to see, and what to experience. >> translator: it's fun. i feel like i'm traveling to different places. >> reporter: it was more than just tourist companies trying to get attention.

the course is a new addition to the expo. the focus is sports tourism. highlighting everything. and people here can even paralympic sports. travel agencies are eyeing this as a big potential draw. they want to -- travelers with the possibility of watching and experiencing sports. >> translator: we want to play again. >> reporter: and businesses are hoping to cash in on the momentum of the upcoming olympic games. >> translator: the 2020 tokyo olympics and paralympics should be used as an opportunity to create a sports tourism movement nationwide, not just centered in toky tokyo. that could motivate tourists to visit different areas. >> reporter: the city of saitama is trying to do just that.

it has hosted a cycling race since 2013 attracting some of the world's top bikers. including tour de france winners. city officials say almost 100,000 people visited the city for last year's event. it generated $25 million in economic benefits. >> translator: in addition to the government, every community needs to work together to encourage sports tourism. and this could become a good way to attract more tourists to japan. >> reporter: the number of domestic travelers and the money they spend has fallen in the past year, but the number of international tourists is increasing. the japanese government wants it to reach 40 million by the olympics.

it along with businesses are betting on sports tourism to be a major way to achieve that. nhk world, tokyo. that is the latest in business for this hour. it's boack to catherine now. the leaders of japan and singapore will take a firm stance against north korea conducting nuclear and ballistic missile tests. shinzo abe met with his singaporean counterpart in tokyo on wednesday and agreed on a tough approach to north korean issues including strict implementation of u.n. security council resolutions. the council has condemned pyongyang's nuclear missile programs and urged member nations to enforce sanctions against the north. >> on the korean issue, singapore is deeply concerned by the series of recent provocations.

>> also exchanged issue ed vie issue of the east china sea, conducting airstrips and radar facilities on islands it has built in those waters. >> translator: we reaffirmed the importance of the rule of law as well as international coordination over the issue of the south china sea. >> the leaders discussed plans for a high-speed railway linking singapore and the malaysian capital kuala lumpur. they agreed to hold a meet of senior government officials to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the fields of transfers and infrastructure. philippine president rodrigo duterte said other southeast asian countries should join his war on drugs. he made the comment before leaving for a vision to vietnam. his first since becoming president in june. >> seek ways to advance collaboration, campaign against illegal drugs.

consistent with global -- realizing a drug-free community. the proliferation of illegal drugs for us to secure a better future for our generation and the generations to come. >> duterte launched his controversial crackdown by sanctioning the killing of drug dealers and users and his policies are having an effect. as nhk world reports, hundreds of thousands have turned themselves in. >> translator: criminals do not have human rights. stupid drug users will be killed. >> reporter: drug suspect, one of about 1,200 killed in the philippines, since rodrigo

duterte took office in june. we interviewed a man who said he used to use drugs. fearing for his life, he has not left his home in three months. >> translator: drugs helped clear my mind so i could work at night, but ten of my friends were killed and now i'm afraid. even though i'm clean. >> reporter: duterte called on drug users to surrender to the police or risk being killed. more than 700,000 people have turned themselves in. they must pledge never to use drugs again. detention facilities are struggling to cope. we visited one in the capital, manila. the stare weirwells and corridoe overflowing with inmates. about 4,000 people are being held here. five times the capacity.

they have to use uniform yellow t-shirts. the facility's population has grown so big there aren't enough to go around. dancing outside is a way to release the overcrowded conditions. ♪ at night, there isn't enough space. detainees have to sleep packed together and in some cases one of top of another. or even with one man's feet in another man's face. since the anti-drug campaign b began, many of the 460 detention centers nationwide have similar levels of overcrowding. >> we cannot really monitor the activities of inmates. we stopped accepting inmates. >> reporter: with the number of drug users significantly

decreasing, many filipinos support duterte's aggressive campaign but continues to draw sharp criticism from the international community. nhk world, manila. tourists looking for pristine waters in japan often head south to the beach resorts of okinawa but they may want to reconsider. the northern island of hokkaido has a natural gem of its own. nhk world reports. >> reporter: lake shikosu is a caldera lake formed by a volcano that erupted more than 40,000 years ago. the lake's greatest charm is its perfectly clear blue water. scientists from the environment ministry have named this the highest quality water in japan for eight consecutive years.

no major rivers feed into the lake which is why the water contains so few impurities. the lake is almost entirely filled by springwater or water from melted snow. he runs a dive shop. he used to work in okinawa so he knows a thing or two about crystal clear water. he says the lake is exceptional. >> translator: it's different from the ocean and it's truly blue. a deep blue. and the density of its color is completely different. there's no other underwater scenery like it. >> reporter: summer is the best time to visit. the warmer months set a stage for a stunning contrast in colors. aquatic plants appear just below the surface. their emerald green foliage sways gently in the blue water. >> translator: what's that?

it's green. >> translator: this is so nice. >> reporter: the urge to sleep below the waterline is hard to resist. especially for divers. but they don't have to go deep. more than ten varieties of water plants make their homes in the shallows. these plants create hab taitatsr other forms of life. some of them dart about in playful schools. others are more timid like the tiny flower. this flower is an endangered species. it grows only in hokkaido and only in the summertime. >> translator: the plants are a really beautiful. it feels like you're flying. >> translator: it was truly beautiful. there are no other words for it.

>> reporter: above or below, no matter how you look at it, the underwater world of lake the la pure magic. nhk world, hokkaido. well, people in some western areas of japan are seeing a different picture. our meteorologist robert speta joins us with the details. >> yes, actually. what we had going on is severe thunderstorms that were flaring up throughout wednesday evening. and this is all part of our stationary boundary which has been continuing to linger combined with the moisture coming off of megi toward the southwest. we even had a report of a tornado here in fukoka prefecture. may be asking that doesn't sound common in japan, but we're actually at the peak of tornado season for japan because typically they are associated with tropical systems. those outer rain bands whenever they bring in that instability this time of year in september and october, definitely the

highest point. actually, i want to show you some video out of fukuoka prefecture, just some of the damage this one tornado brought here on the evening of wednesday. it damaged two homes. see it right there. one man was injured. a 50-year-old who took debris to the chest. the storms still continue to threaten this area, though. that's going to be one of the big topics as we look ahead through the rest of the day. it's not just the damaging winds which we've seen with this. let's pull back and take a look at the forecast. it is going to be the rainfall across this region. actually one location in nagasaki saw an all-time record amount of precipitation in a 24-hour period. 400 millimeters was seen out there. more rain expected as this frontal area just continues to linger. upwards of 180 millimeters there where you just saw that video out of. shikoku, 200 millimeters. into the tokyo area, passing showers expected through the rest of the day. a lot going on across japan. i want to take your attention back toward the west but we have

ex-typhoon megi, now downgraded to a tropical depression. still bringing scattered showers out here. the big problem is we have more rain on top of what's already been happening. we were talking earlier about the mudslide that took place in eastern china just because of the heavy precipitation, about 300 to 400 millimeters. with more on the rain on the saturated grounds, that's going to cause some problems. it's not going to be heavy down toward taipei. saw recovery ongoing in that region due to megi as well. plenty of downed power outages. road crews out there trying to clean up the mess the storm system left behind. take a look at the forecast, highs hot and muggy. 31 for the high. passing shower or two. tokyo as well. look back toward the west, beijing, partly cloudy skies. high of 22. all right. let's talk about the severe spring storm in australia. i really want to mention this because this has been causing problems. actually, here, you saw upwards

of 20,000 lightning strike there is across southern australia. widespread power outages reported here on wednesday evening. the threat of more power outages is still there. they're slowly restoring across this region. the big thing is, that occurred with our cold front ahead of the storm system. behind it, though, we still have this tight pressure gradient that's going to continue to kick up. this has been bringing winds in excess of 100 kilometers per hour. higher elevations it's continuing to kick up as well. we could see gusts upwards of 140 k here. frequent lightning is also possible plus flooding rains. flood warnings are in place and ten meter high waves. this is going to be a continued ongoing situation as it tracks toward the east across parts of victoria and tasmania, going to be seeing wet and windy conditions through thursday into friday. all right. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook.

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

>> welcome to "in good shape." coming up -- losing your hearing. when does an operation make sense? free climbing -- how good is bouldering for your health? and diagnosis burnout -- the best ways to get out of the stress trap. and here's your host, dr. carsten lekutat. dr. lekutat: hello and welcome to "in good shape."