the fight gaunce islamic state militant group is now at a cripple cat stage. military officials say the coalition of iraqi and kurdish forces is making gains. the second-largest city in the country has been the militant's main stronghold for more than two years.

iraqi and kurdish forces say the militants are withdrawing from some areas while others are striking back with suicide bombings. the president of iraq's kurdish region said the operation marks a turning point in the fight against terrorism. he said the iraqi government and iraqi kurdish forces have taken back about 200 square kilometers of farmland and villages. but pentagon spokesperson peter cook was cautiously optimistic. >> we are in the first day of what we assume will be a difficult campaign that could take some time. >> he also said it remained to be seen whether islamic state members would stand and fight, but he's confident in the capabilities of the iraqis. philippine president rodrigo duterte will arrive in beijing tuesday for a four-day trip to china. it's his first visit to the country since taking office in june. he is expected to meet separately with the president

and the premier. the visit comes after an arbitration tribunal in the hague ruled in favor of the philippines in july and dismissed china's claims to almost all of the south china sea. the philippine government regards the ruling as the basis for talks between the nations. china has dismissed the decision and maintains it's not a precondition for the meetings. duterte has emphasized the philippines will not make any concessions on the territorial dispute, but he expressed his desire to pursue joint development of the south china sea with china and also receive economic assistance from the country. it took more than a decade after world war ii for japan and the former soviet union to normalize ties. while they were no longer at war, a territorial dispute stood in the way of them signing an actual peace treaty. but after all these years, things may be about to change. >> reporter: the russian embassy in tokyo hosted a forum to mark the 60 years since the normalization of diplomatic

ties. about 200 academics, businesspeople, and journalists discussed the history, recent developments, and prospects for the future. the russian ambassador stressed that both sides need to be on the declaration. >> translator: it is important for us to look back on this historical declaration in 1956 and think about what we can learn from it. we should make the most of it for the development of the relations between russia and japan. >> reporter: on october 19th, 1956, japan and the soviet union signed the joint declaration in place of a peace treaty. the soviet union agreed to continue peace treaty negotiations after normalizing diplomatic relations. but a peace treaty was never signed. the reason?

differences over four russian-controlled islands claimed by japan. the japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of japan's territory. it says the islands were illegally occupied after world war ii. russia says the islands became its territory as a result of the war. prime minister shinzo abe and president vladimir putin have agreed to take a new approach to push the negotiations forward. in may, abe proposed an eight-point economic cooperation plan, including energy and industrial development in the russian far east. putin says that kind of cooperation is the only way to enhance the relationship of trust between the countries as they work toward a solution to the territorial dispute. the two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the apec summit next month. and putin will visit japan in december.

participants of the forum shared high hopes for putin's visit. >> translator: i hope both leaders will send out the message, prime minister abe to the japanese people and president putin to the russian people, that they reached a solution without either of them giving in. >> translator: if the two countries sign a peace treaty, it will increase stability in the asian pacific region and both russia and japan would be able to play a central role in the international community. >> reporter: putin's visit to japan could end up being a turning point for bilateral relations after seven decades without peace treaty. but for that to happen, laying groundwork for the visits in the two months ahead will be crucial.

japanese government and business officials are worried about sluggish consumer spending. they've come up with a plan to loosen people's purse strings. ai uchida joins us from the business desk. how are they planning to make me spend more money, ai? >> good question, krath lin. you know black friday, the shopping spree in the u.s. happens after thanksgiving. people in japan, they want something along those lines. but more frequently. and they want to call it premium friday. the idea is to get people to leave work early on some fridays and enjoy shopping or eating out. it is part of their strategy to revitalize the economy. government officials want to expand japan's gross domestic product to $6 trillion. private consumption accounts for 60% of gdp but it's still in the doldrums so people in government and representatives of business groups have decided to work together to get consumers to spend more.

>> translator: we need to make it easier for consumers to have the time and ability to increase spending. this could be one way of doing that. >> they plan to make the last friday of every other month premium friday, starting in february. companies will be encouraged to let employees leave work earlier than usual. they'll also ask department stores and restaurants to provide special items and services. travel agencies could offer new package tours for weekends. three major japanese companies have launched an online information source to attract more overseas tourists, deepen their understanding of japan, and increase exports. travel agency jt bchljtb, logis firm nippon express, have joinly established fun japan communications. the new company is taking over a web service previously run by nippon express that had about

330,000 members outside japan. fun japan communications will provide information about tourist attractions, culture, technology, food, and cosmetics. >> translator: we want to same late the growth and development of japan through our activities. >> the company plans to focus on asian markets by providing information in local languages. now let's get a check on markets. wall street, that ended modestly lower overnight. major indices opened higher on some strong corporate earnings reports but declines in oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. and that's why we saw both the dow jones industrial average and the tech-heavy nasdaq falling just about .3%. now we're going to see how tokyo is reacting to all this. for that we're going to go to john ladue at the tokyo stock exchange. tell us what you're seeing over there. >> good morning, ai. yes, investors have been trading

cautiously ahead of a slew of data out of the u.s. and china. as we've been seeing, they've been quite sensitive to information. let's see how stocks opened here this tuesday, october 18th. the nikkei is down .2%. and the broader topix is down about the same margin. monday the nikkei closed slightly higher after a volatile day of trading. positive u.s. bank earnings supported the market but concerns over china's economy capped games. worries about oil prices are far from over. benchmark crude futures fell on reports that iran may increase its output. the wta briefly fell below $50 a barrel. this may drag down energy sector shares. and worries over china's economy are still lingering. that's after the central bank set its daily reference rate for the yuan at the lowest level in six years on monday. following this, china's major indexes fell.

and china markets will open in an hour and a half. let's look at the asia-pacific region. australia's major index is now up about .25%. now on monday, sydney's indecks fell sharply on a decline of casino stocks after reports that china detained employees of australia's crown resorts. so we'll be keep an eye on that today. >> all right, john. tell us about currencies. because looks like the dollar is retreating against the yen, whe where are some major pairs now? >> the dollar pulled back from the 104 yen level to 103. investors have been taking profits after the greenback had been strong for the last couple of weeks. the dollar/yen is currently at 103.73. on monday, federal reserve vice chair stanley fisher said economic stability could be threatened by low interest rates and many traders are wondering whether the fed will decide to

hike its key interest rates. today investors may be in a holding pattern ahead of the u.s. inflation data due out on tuesday. and also the china gdp data that's due out on wednesday. so we'll keep an eye on that. back to you, ai. >> john, thanks a lot for that. we'll touch bathe business you in a few hours' time. john ladue from the tokyo stock exchange. warning bells are sounding for japan's buddhist temples. their shrinking role in people's daily lives threatens to put them out of the spirituality business for good. some chief priests say it is time to seek wordily advice. ♪ >> reporter: this temple belongs to one of japan's largest buddhist sects. officials here have been reforming the way they manage temple operations. those changes include the appointment of a new chief administrator. sunaga is a certified buddhist monk. but his background is not temple life, it's business.

he worked for many years as a management consultant. >> translator: new year's no future for temples if they try to deside of just by providing funeral services and managing grave yards. he opened a community center in ginza not far from the temple. activities here are open to all members of the public. this man is giving a lecture on inheriting wealth. it's a serious subject but it's presented in a style of traditional japanese comedy. other courses on offer include buddhism classes in english. and yoga lessons. some classes are free. for others there is a small fee. yasunaga says the goal is to widen the temple's role in people's lives, and not just parishioners tornado transto survive we have to go out into the cities and we need to change the way we meet people's needs. for instance, we can help

ordinary office workers solve problems that are distress them or fulfill their intellectual interests in their time after work or on their days off. >> reporter: other monks are going out into the world. this man is taking a night bus to nara city on a 500-kilometer journey to the capital. two years ago his temple opened a branch in the heart of tokyo. it's called the temple for everyone. monks take turns manning the tokyo outpost on one-week rotations. one of the key services is consultation. true to the temple's name, anyone can walk in off the street and ask for advice. >> translator: i get irritated easily in my daily life. the frustrations get to me at home as well as at work. >> translator: did in buddhism we define suffering as living. which means that things don't always go the way one wishes.

it's a struggle to get the life we want. >> translator: after talking to a monk, i feel mentally and physically refreshed. >> reporter: people seek help on everything from trouble at home to frustration at work. priests keep a record of their consultations. now running at more than 100 a month. that helps them offer some continuity in their advice for repeat visitors. >> translator: many people are struggling with relationship problems. i believe the aim of our work is to have people think they want to come again. i will keep doing my best. >> reporter: this outreach work seems to be bearing fruit for the home temple back in nara. the temple used to serve people mainly in the local area. priests now say they are getting requests from tokyo. they've taken more than 700 bookings for memorial services

from people in and outside the parish. the temple recently set up a new graveyard open to all sects of buddhism. >> translator: i think the temple is approaching the original form of what it used to be. we welcome anyone who comes. we feel that this is a temple for everyone. >> reporter: reformers say modern management thinking can help keep temple doors open. if that's true it may also give monks a more active role in the community. >> i'll have more headlines for you in business. here's another check on markets.

over in thailand, tens of thousands of people mourning the death of king king continue to descend on the grand palace in bangkok. the king passed away last thursday. people across the country have come to say good-bye to a man they saw as a father. >> reporter: crowds of mourners dressed in black continue to pour into the grand palace to pay their respects to their beloved king. when their time comes, they enter a room with his portrait to pray and say farewell to the man who ruled their country for seven decades. this family traveled three hours by bus. they said rain or shine, it was

a journey they needed to make. >> translator: the king is the father of the country, and we, the thai people, are like his children and grandchildren. he's given so much to the thai people. more than we can ever repay. >> reporter: teams of volunteers are on hand to help, offering the mourners food and water while they wait. more than 30 food trucks are giving out free hot meals. >> translator: right at this moment, thailand is in sorrow. so our group wants to help alleviate the suffering of the people by treating them to a free meal, and to dedicate this good deed to our father, the king. >> reporter: around the field near the grand palace, students and children as young as 5 are helping to collect trash.

>> reporter: older people have the financial ability to give out free food. as for us, whatever we can do to help, we'll do it. so we help pick up trash. >> translator: we want to be part of this to help our father, the king. >> reporter: motorcycle drivers are lining up to give free rides to the people heading to the palace. this driver says since the death of the king, he feels inspired to help people. >> translator: i want to help people going to pay their respects. people who have come from elsewhere and don't know the area well, so they can get to the right place. so they can quickly see the king. >> reporter: people are still gathering here around the grand palace from far and wide. they are here not just to show their love and respect for the late king, but also a stand of solidarity to help each other overcome this difficult time.

japanese scientists have opened new doors to infertility research. in a first, they use stem-cells to grow mouse eggs in a completely artificial environment. they use those eggs to produce healthy offspring. the team members are from kyushu and kyoto universities. they worked with induced pluripotent stem cells or ips cells. the cells have the potential to develop into any kind of tissue. the researchers put mouse ips cells into a liquid culture similar to the inside of an ovary. it took a month to create about 1,000 eggs. the eggs were fertilized in vitro and put into a female mouse, which eventually gave birth. in previous studies mouse ips cells had to be transplanted to a mouse ovary for the eggs to become viable. professor hiyashi says the study is likely to contribute to understanding the causes of infertility.

>> translator: this study is a big step as now we can observe the very complicated development process of eggs in its entirety medicine says it as scientifically significant achievement but says the method may not be producing human egg cells any time soon. japanese government guidelines allow ips cells to create eggs and sperm for research but do not allow fertilization. sport climbing has become increasingly popular in japan. our next story shows how a japanese para climber is drawing on international success to promote the sport. >> reporter: when it comes to sport climbing kobayashi is one of the best in the world. even though he is virtually sightless.

>> translator: right, right. down, down. okay. right, right, right. >> reporter: the climbers make their way up artificial rock walls using supports known as holds. kobayashi sees nothing so he has to rely on his coach's directions. >> translator: when i grab one hold, it makes me want to reach the next. the challenge is to do my very utmost. >> reporter: kobayashi took up sport climbing at 16. but due to retinal problems, his vision started to fade when he was 28. and soon he couldn't even see people's faces. he became very depressed. but then he met an american mountaineer who climbed mt. everest, despite being totally blind. >> translator: i never imagined a blind person could climb mt. everest. i realized that visually impaired people can do much more than i thought.

>> reporter: kobayashi's passion for climbing was rekindled. since 2011 he has represented japan in many turn a.m.s for the visually impaired. thanks to his strong sense of spatial awareness, once he touches a hold he remembers its position. he also has great flexibility. this has helped him power to victory in the para climbing world championship three times. kobayashi also holds workshops around the country to promote sport climbing amoney people with disabilities. to date, more than 2,000 people have joined in his workshops. one is 16-year-old kawaii. he's been training with kobayashi since 2010 and has improved considerably. he's also been picked for the japanese team. >> translator: i admire kobayashi. not only because he's a great climber.

but also because he's promoting sport climbing for people with disabilities. >> translator: i think when people are able to do things they thought impossible, they find confidence, and potential in themselves. >> reporter: kobayashi's aim is not just to get more people involved in sport climbing. he is also campaigning for it to be included as an official paralympic event. it is time now for a check of the weather. two typhoons are spinning in southeast asia. one is heading towards northern vietnam, the other is close to the philippines. our meteorologist robert speta joins us with what to expect. >> indeed, the troipices out here across southeastern asia, absolutely active right now. we have two of these storm systems and both are impacting areas that have recently also been impacted by typhoons. and actually back towards the

west we have sarika now. that's coming into northern vietnam, southern hainan. last week we were talking about a tropical storm, areas that actually came onshore in this very similar area. that brought significant flooding, over 20 casualties, thousands of homes were submerged in that flooding. and it was quite a serious situation, still ongoing. the last thing you need right now is additional rainfall. the storm system could be writing that. in fact, we have the winds coming onshore into southern hainan 162, gusting 198 kilometers per hour. the winds are going to be a big issue but as mentioned that recent tropical that brought that heavy precipitation, some areas in central vietnam, 500 millimeters plus. so any more additional rain is not going to be welcomed out there. unfortunately, that's going to be the case. but the good news, it does look like this is moving over hainan. unfortunately it could cause some damage out here. downed trees, downed power lines, river flooding. it's tracking toward the north and it shouldn't miss out on the

areas hit by recent flooding rains last week toward the south. 20 to 30 millimeters could cause problems. it's something you really want to watch out for. back toward the east our other storm system, this is a powerful typhoon. now a very strong typhoon. haima. it's moving through an area that will allow this to intensify as we go ahead the next 24 to 48 hours. already there is some typhoon warnings in place there into northeastern areas of luzon put out by the philippine weather agency. i would expect those to ever increase as we go ahead. this is expected to become a violent typhoon prior to coming on shore here overnight from wednesday into early thursday morning. the big thing is sarika just impacted this area as well so a lot of debris is scatter ad round. people are picking up the pieces and that makes that area much more vulnerable. that region, one of the most prone in the world for typhoons so they're very hardy against them. back-to-back storms really very hard to prepare against that.

back towards the north, high pressure dominating northeastern asia, making at least for some decent wither there. actually even into tokyo, mid-september temperatures. i do want to talk about what's going on in the americas as well. fairly messy across the north. in the south things are actually in the dry and warm side. dry and windy in the southwest. that creates all sorts of different problems. let me show you video out of nevada. this just is absolutely impressive footage. very dangerous wildfire taking place. started back on friday. winds actually reported upwards of 180 kilometers per hour in this area. the nevada governor declared a state of emergency. the wildfire has destroyed 23 homes, 17 buildings, several barns. the winds are still there, gradually calming down, but you still have those santa ana winds continuing to kick up into southern california. so that red flag warnings are in place there as well. even back towards the east, so very dry.

that makes for all those dangerous conditions there. back towards the north, we have a spronl area pulling through the great lakes into the northeastern states. that's going to bring scattered showers. how about autumn temperatures kicking in by friday? i'll leave you now with your extended outlook. that is all for this hour of nhk "newsline."

i'm catherine kobayashi. thank you for joining us.

>> euromaxx highlights, and here's your host louise houghton. louise: welcome to our pick of the best lifestyle news going on this week in europe. let's see what is coming up for you. fashion icon -- an exclusive interview with paul smith. new perspective -- a photographer turns his back on famous landmarks. and canine revival -- why the dachshund dog is back on trend. the traditional ebru art form originated in turkey and, like many old traditions, it is seeing a revival amongst young artists. garip ay is one such turkish