hello and thank you for joining us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. people in western japan are dealing with tremors after a powerful quake hit the area friday afternoon. the magnitude 6.6 quake hit tottori prefecture just after 2:00 p.m. it registered six minus on the seismic scale of zero to seven. >> translator: we're over the town above the playground of a junior high school. we can see about 50 students who have evacuated the building.

>> translator: i was on a bridge when the quake struck. i have never experienced such a jolt and was shocked. >> translator: i was in bed when the tremors hit. the shaking lasted quite a while. >> more than a dozen people were injured. electricity is back on after supply to more than 50,000 households in the prefecture was disrupted. some bullet train services were suspended. one of the trains made an emergency stop in a tunnel. local airports canceled some flights. the scope of the damage became clearer from the air. >> translator: many of the rooftops in this area have missing tiles. here is a cemetery. you can see lots of toppled tombstones. >> officials are warning of increased seismic activity.

>> translator: we ask you to stay on the alert for a possible quake of the same strength in the next week or so. please take sufficient precautions for your safety. >> nuclear regulators say they haven't received any reports of trouble at nuclear power plants located in the region. earlier we talked to julianna in yurihama, one of the areas that recorded the strongest jolt. she's been working for more than two years as a coordinator for international relations. >> well, today i was attending a student performance at one of the local elementary schools when the largest earthquake struck this afternoon. they had been preparing for the next group of students to present when the gymnasium began to shake rather violently. the electricity went out and everyone was rather startled, but everyone was able to evacuate the building in a very orderly fashion. we had us all gather on the

sports field outside and we waited for more information. at that time we learned it was on the japanese seismic scale a little less than a six and as well as the good news that there was no tsunami threat, which was a blessing. and it was also nice to have all the parents and children gathered in one place. currently the aftershocks are still continuing from time to time, and there have been reports of damage to buildings and rooftops in the area, especially on the older buildings as well as, of course, the items falling off shelves as you would expect in this situation. but, fortunately, there have been no injuries reported here in yurihama and only a few minimal injuries reported in the nearby towns and cities, so we're all very thankful for that. the town is set up, i believe, for emergency shelters. there's no need to necessarily

evacuate, but they are open for anyone who wishes to use those and would feel safer there. >> and the governor of tottori has requested that self-defense force personnel be dispatched for disaster relief activities. tokyo governor yuriko koike says she will work to make the capital more accessible for people with disabilities. her idea is based on a universal design concept as the metropolis prepares for the 2020 olympic and paralympic games. koike met on friday with international paralympic president philip craven in tokyo. koike said her trip last month to rio de janeiro for the paralympics reminded her of the importance of a universal design for event sites.

>> translator: we need excellent preparation in the four years leading up to the 2020 tokyo paralympic games to make them the best they can be. >> craven said he could feel koike's passion for hosting the paralympics and is looking forward to tokyo's efforts to come up with a universal design. workers at tokyo electric power company have conducted a blackout simulation drill to ensure efficiency in the event of a major power outage. last week a fire at one of the company's substations left more than half a million households in the capital without electricity. the simulation assumed that trouble at a transmission facility cut power to 1.7 million households in central tokyo. ten employees took part in the drill at a training facility. four of the participants were technicians who had actually responded to last week's outage. the team reviewed contingency plans and coordinated with transition facilities to identify power supply routes to

use during a critical incident. is. the head of japan's central a south korean foundation began making cash payments to those referred to as war time comfort women. 29 women agreed to receive the cash. they are among 46 women living when the deal was struck in december. each woman is to receive about $100,000. about $20,000 will be sent to bereaved families. japan provided about $10 million. opposition to the plan remains in south korea. civic groups say it does not acknowledge japan's legal responsibility for the war time issue. some of the women are openly defiant. foundation officials continue to try to win their understanding.

indonesian police say the slain suspect in a knife attack near jacarta was the member of a local supremest group. the 21-year-old man was shot dead thursday after wounding three police officers. police told reporters on friday they raided the man's home and found bullets, ingredients for bombs and an islamic state sticker. police are concerned that islamic state militants likely expanded influence in indonesia. war torn south sudan is struggling to keep alive its peace agreement. >> it is corrupt. it's not there. it is a new regime all together.

it is not implementing the agreement. >> in august both sides agreed to a cease fire. but fighting broke out again in july with president leading the government forces. 270 people were killed during the first week. fighting spread to various parts of the country. he said he feared assassination and fled to south africa. >> a new political process to bring back the peace agreement. what choices do we have? the arm resistance, we must protect ourselves. >> he stressed intention to continue fighting against the government. u.n. peace keepers have repeatedly urged both sides to stop the violence. japan's ground self defense force personnel have been deployed there. concern is mounting that armed clashes will intensify.

top officials of the philippine government have scrambled for explanation a day after their president duterte anoupsed what he called his separation from the country's long-time ally, the united states. duterte's four-day trip to china has been highlighting the philippines abrupt about face tilting the axis of cooperation toward the asian giant. duterte hasek pressed hope for improved relations with china to secure economic assistance. duterte made the comments on thursday in beijing at a meeting of business leaders. >> i announce my separation from the united states. both the military but economics also. >> that comment created shock waves in both the u.s. and the philippines. a spokesperson for the u.s. state department says washington will seek an explanation from manila. on friday philippine officials

tried to explain. >> the united states -- [ inaudible ]. >> what the we are really going to do is to leave our economic relations from the west. >> the chinese foreign ministry gave a restrained response. >> translator: concerning the international relations of this age, we should not have a kind of cold war mindset. in other words, we shouldn't change sides according to which one is the winner or loser. we hope that all countries concerned will respect each other and work on deepening their friendly relations. >> duterte met with his chinese counterpart xi jinping on thursday. in a joint statement released on friday, the two leaders said

they had reaffirmed their intention to address their territorial and jurisdictional disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned. observers say that reflects china's hostility toward the u.s. and japan's involvement in the issue. the two leaders have emphasized the need to improve diplomatic relations effectively setting aside the dispute in the south china sea. pakistan has imposed a blanket ban on tv content from india as tension between the nuclear armed neighbors rises over the disputed territory of kashmir in the himalayas. pakistan's media regulator said in a statement that the ban was enforced from friday and any tv or radio station found violating it will be shut down. but the ban has evoked mixed feelings among viewers in pakistan where bollywood movies are wildly popular. >> translator: there's not much entertainment left to watch on

tv now. what we watch on pakistan tv is either news or english language movies. there's nothing else. i watch the news and then switch off. >> translator: it's good that the government has banned indian television channels. it's a good step by the government so india knows pakistan can do something too. we should completely boycott the channels. >> bilateral relations have deteriorated since militants attacked an army base in indian-controlled kashmir in september killing 18 soldiers. india blamed terrorists based in pakistan. the region has been experiencing its worst unrest since 2010 after indian security forces killed a high-profile young muslim militant in july. india and pakistan both claim kashmir and control different sections of it.

muslim separatists in indian-administered kashmir have been fighting since 1989 for independence or a merger with pakistan. after years of silence, video journalists known as the burma vjs are finally speaking about a pivotal moment in their country's history. the group of amateur cameramen risked their lives to secretly film the 2007 saffron revolution and the brutal crackdown that followed it. >> reporter: people gather at the pagoda in late september to pray for victims of the 2007 operation. it was the first public memorial for those who died. >> translator: we mark the uprising so that people will never forget what the military regime has done to the people. and so we never return to the conditions of military rule.

>> reporter: this was the largest uprising in the isolated country since 1988. the leaders were mainly monks and other activists. weeks of protests reached a head with a military crackdown. reporters who filmed the events shook the world with the video. nhk met with some of those undercover video journalists who call themselves the burma vj. most of the 25 reporters were former political prisoners including the network's core member. he kept hours ever footage. >> translator: these images are very valuable documentation for me and, more importantly, for the country's democratic history. my only ambition was to spread the news to the world about what was really happening in myanmar. >> reporter: this video is from the early days of the protest. monks can be seen marching quietly.

the filming is shaky. he and his colleagues make shots however they could, by hiding cameras inside bags or even using this special device. it looks like a car key but has a small lens and a socket for data transfer. >> translator: this is a spy camera i used. we could even shoot close-ups of police officers and soldiers without anyone noticing that the we were filming. >> reporter: the footage was edited into small piles and uploaded to the internet from the hideout in this building. when they couldn't post online, trusted couriers take the tapes to a neighboring thai town on the border. the vjs say the network on the ground was divided into small

cells of three to four people and they didn't know who the other members were. that was a necessary precaution in case they got caught. >> many of the journalists were detained and questioned by the authority but they cannot reveal very much about the operation. i mean, the whole operation, because they know only what they are doing. >> reporter: as the demonstration expanded day by day, the vjs cameras stamped capturing clashes. they say that was because the surveillance network couldn't identify everyone with a handy cam. this made the vjs bolder. but when the army cracked down, the mood has changed for the worse. hiding behind a wall, he lifted his camera up above it and captured some powerful images. >> i'm glad i took that risk

otherwise we'd never see that kind of thing, how people have been badly beaten, arrested. >> reporter: ordinary people documented these historic moments nine years ago and a new political dispensation in myanmar. former vjs are closely watching the outcome of the mission they risked their lives for. >> and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. japanese doctors are considering a major change in the way they treat pneumonia. they say they want to alleviate the suffering of terminal patients and the strain on the facilities that care for them. they estimate that about 100,000 elderly die from the disease every year.

and as nhk world reports, what they're proposing is bringing up tough decisions for patients. >> reporter: this woman has been in and out of the hospital with pneumonia for the past decade. for someone young, the lung infection usually goes away after a round of antibiotics, but for this woman, who is 78, it could be deadly. >> translator: it's painful to inhale. exhaling is okay, but inhaling is extremely tough. >> reporter: with a severe cough and wheezing, sugita keeps an oxygen inhaler close by. >> translator: i feel safe when i do this. >> reporter: she needs to rely on her husband for almost everything. when she first got sick, she actively sought treatment but the years have taken a toll and she now doesn't know how much longer she can take the agonizing symptoms. >> translator: i don't want to .

>> reporter: and professional care is getting harder to come by. the number of elderly pneumonia patients is on the rise, and hospitals are finding it increasingly difficult to admit them. this respiratory ward is always full, so the hospital has opened up other sections, but officials say sometimes there are no beds or respirators. >> translator: both the internal and surgical wards are almost full. more than 95% full. we sometimes have to reject patients, and so it's a very urgent situation. >> reporter: to alleviate the situation, the japanese respiratory society is considering revising guidelines. for the first time doctors are proposing the option of palliative care and stopping the use of respirators and antibiotics for terminal patients. they say information would be provided and a patient's wishes would be fully honored.

the decision would be made by a team of medical expeand the patient. e he of the panel that compiled the guidelines says understands theiconflicting views. >> translator: this is one proposal. we are suggesting medical workers, patients, and their families consider the idea. >> reporter: a bioethics specialist emphasizes the importance of respecting a patient's choice on the matter. as for sugita's husband, he says deciding whether to continue treatment will be a tough decision. >> translator: we've been married for a long time, so i can tell when my wife is suffering. as of now, we can still talk about how she's feeling, but i don't think i'll be able to make a clear decision until that time comes. >> reporter: the change now

being considered is opening up the discussion of dying with dignity. united nations officials are in japan this week not for high-level diplomatic meetings, but to build more interest among young japanese people in working for them. nhk world tells us why they're making the push. >> what was the most memorable thing that you did during your career in the u.n.? >> in ghana the issue of children as young as 3, 5 years old, 7 years old, being sold to fishermen. >> reporter: this isn't the usual high school career fair. u.n. agencies have set up shop here with a specific goal. it's their first job seminars targeting high school students. the move is designed to engage with young japanese people, many

of whom know little about the organization. japan plays an active role in the international body. it's financial contributions are second only to the u.s., and it's been selected as a nonpermanent member of the security council 11 times. in the late '90s japanese nationals held high-ranking u.n. posts including former under secretary-general of the u.n. and former u.n. high commissioner for refugees. but the propulsion of japanese employees have remained low. the u.n. says based on japan's contribution and population, the current number is only a third of what it would like to see. >> translator: i think japanese are in general, the work ethic is excellent. we want to raise the awareness

so more japanese nationals are keen on joining the u.n. >> reporter: so the u.n. is reaching out. officials from various agencies also came to this job fair in tokyo. students exchanged their views directly with high-level officials. they highlighted some of the challenges u.n. recruiters face in japan, including a job market where people rarely switch companies once they are employed. >> translator: my father worked at the same company for years under a system of permanent employment, but that doesn't suit me. >> translator: my friends think working at the united nations would require strong english skills and passing difficult exams. many prefer to choose the easy way.

>> reporter: this man is a former foreign ministry official who also works as under secretary-general for communications. he agrees those perceptions can be difficult for japanese people to international jobs. >> there are three major reasons. one, communication skills. second, differences in employment system. third, differences in culture. the international organization do not have lifetime employment system. in order to get higher number of japanese staff at relatively high posts, you need strategic pressure from the government. >> reporter: despite the challenges, officials are positive about the result. >> and i think the level of interest is tremendous. certainly it's given us an opportunity to have insights

into the young and how we can influence them. >> reporter: will that be enough to make a difference? the answer may depend on whether the japanese employment system will be able to evolve. nhk world, tokyo. and there's more to come on nhk "newsline," but first here is a three-day outlook on the world's weather.

and before we go, a dazzling turquoise hue has returned to a popular pond in japan's northern island of hokkaido. the blue pond turned muddy after a powerful typhoon hit this

summer. the blue color is believed to be created when natural minerals in the water reflect the light. the surrounding trees are turning orange creating a striking combination of color. the autumn foliage this year appeared about a week later than usual. >> translator: that blue color looks like paint. >> it's a beautiful place. it's a really beautiful place. it's the main reason for me to come to hokkaido, the autumn color and the lake is like a miracle. >> the mountains are already capped with snow. it won't be long before the area turns blue and white. and that's all for now on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. from all of us at nhk world, thanks for joining us. yññññx

reporter: this week global 3000 aims straight for the taste-buds. algae it seems is the new pasta. we check out some ocean farms in the us. and speaking of oceans, they're growing increasingly full of trash. among them a startling number of single flipflops. in kenya, they're being turned into art. but first, we head to turkey where the government has recently dismissed many university academics. we meet a sociologist who suffered that fate. since the attempted coup on the turkish government in july, the country has changed dramatically. there's still no conclusive evidence as to who was behind the failed putsch.