in 2016, china abolished its one-child policy aimed at controlling the surging population. the policy which began in 1979 allowed couples to have only one child. it is believed that most of the

over 600 million births that occurred under the law were only children. the first of those are now in their late 30s. seven years ago our program followed two couples in shanghai. yang wrong a they were struggling with the education of their 3-year-old son. the lives of these formerly middle class couples have since changed drastically. atop the wave of economic development, they stand among china's reg e wealthiest with annual incomes of over u.s. dollars. [ speaking foreign language ] >> the two couples have taken advantage of the lifting of the policy and had their second

children. now they're working hard to maintain a family with siblings, something completely unfamiliar to them. [ speaking foreign language ] >> the first generation born under the one-child policy is now aproechiproaching their 40s facing a new lifestyle. this episode follows their journey through unchartered territory. this is the last we spoke with them they had his mother doing all the

chores from the cooking and cleaning to the laundry, completely normal for the generation called the little emperors. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> the policy forbade couples from having more than one child, so great importance was placed

upon the heir who would someday be the only one to provide for parents and grandparents alike. two years after the birth of her first son, she had a second child. she could did so because the one-child policy was progressively lifted around the nation. wanting to raise her children on her own, she became a full-time stay-at-home mom. she has gradually refused help from her in-laws but she still stops by their home a few days each week. all of the sudden her younger son began to cry out saying he's angry that his big brother went up the stairs before him.

[ speaking foreign language ] >> but the one who answered him was his adoring grandfather. [ speaking foreign language ] >> because she had two children, one after the other, she had no choice but to rely on her husband's parents during pregnancy and after the children were born. the older son was raised by his

grandparents until he was 3. so their home is where the kids let loose. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> she had worked for a foreign cosmetics company and launched

an online ad company six years ago serving as the president. with a boomg economy, his firm enjoys annual sales of around 7 million u.s. dollars. last year he purchased a $2 million home. this is a private shoe room that can be entered from the underground parking lot. a dedicated elevator takes the family directly to their living room. [ speaking foreign language ] >> the couple has enjoyed great

success. he explains that his earnings at the foreign company were limited, so he had no choice but to launch his own company to earn more. he had to take on the challenge in order to support his family and two sets of [ speaking foreign language ]

>> since launching his company, he had left child rearing up to his wife. [ speaking foreign language ] >> his children refuse to listen to him. about a month ago he began taking his sons to nursery school in the morning. before that, he had sent them to an elite nursery school with tuition costing 20,000 u.s. dollars a year. but his older son got expelled after causing problems. the older son has been

misbehaving ever since his younger brother was he began rebelling against adults. recently his younger brother has become competitive with hill and they fight over minor things. on this day, he was scolded for ignoring his teacher. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> after advising the parents, the counselor spoke to the older son. since they were both raised as

only children, they have no idea what it's like to have [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ]

>> this is the other familiar whether i refill ammed sev-- we seven years ago. she was working for a famous sports brantd and had her parents raise her son who was almost 3 years old. she was always buying toys in exchange forgetting her son to listen to her. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> since then, she quit her job at the foreign firm to boost her career. she currently works as a chinese mar kergt director of the stationery brand parker. she and her husband have a combined income of $290,000. two years ago they purchased a $1.7 million condo. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> she used to put her career before all else.

now she spends whatever free time she has with her son. [ speaking foreign language ] >> she insists she hasn't turned into an overly enthusiastic mother who only cares about education, she simply wants her son to learn efficient study methods so he can accomplish hits dreams. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> she also reduced her overtime as much as possible to spend more time with her 9-year-old son. [ speaking foreign language ] >> she's making sure that her son thoroughly studies at least english and his favorite subjects. in the past, she used to send

him to cram school for all subjects, but now she only sends him here and to another school for literature. this cram school is typical for shanghai. it runs from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m., serves dinner to students and offers makeup classes for them depending on their needs. the tuition is about $260 a month. he always finishes his homework here. in the past, she had great expectations for her only son, but after having her second child two years ago, that perspective has changed. [ speaking foreign language ] >> when her daughter was born,

she says the entire family, even the grandparents were relieved from the pressures of having an only child. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> there are no little emperors in this family, just two adorable children. everyone can take their time to explore this new form of family

life. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ] >> his company is located in central shanghai. the company now has 50 employees. it films ads for online sales

and holds events taking advantage of china's bustling economic growth. with the dramatic development of the internet in china, the firm has been taking on more than 100 projects a year. as such, it's difficult for him to take time off work. but by going to counseling sessions, his life has changed. one day a wake off to spend time with his off to spend time with he off to spend time with he off to spend time with hk off to spend time with his children. on this day, he attended an indoor laser tag park where families can enjoy battling together. he came here after hearing that parents and kids form teams and take down enemies together which

can help them form he is something of an indoor person. as a child he often played alone in the house. so this energetic activity is not his strong suit. [ speaking foreign language ] >> each game lasts 15 minutes, but his older son can't pull himself away from the game. he kept playing until his son got after the game, the family went

to a cafe and he fell asleep. 30 minutes later, he was still fast suddenly she quietly begins to cry. [ speaking foreign language ]

>> the next day, she searched for private schools on her computer. she wanted to change her son's situation by sending him to a better educational institution. she is looking at schools that cost more than $14,000 a year. tuition that the average citizen cannot afford. [ speaking foreign language ] are pr are are are are -- [ speaking foreign language ]

>> in the past, she admitted to being a little emperor saying that he felt lonely as an only child. but now that he is a parent and company president, his views have changed. [ speaking foreign language ] [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> this woman and her son were at a venue for shanghai's proficiency test. [ speaking foreign language ] >> she wanted to test her son's test-taking skills this time around. [ speaking foreign language ]

[ speaking foreign language ] >> the first to be born among china's unique one-child policy grew up amidst rapid economic growth. now that the policy has been lifted, these only children expand beyond their personal experience as they try their best to form a new style of family.

hello there, welcome to nhk "newsline." it's 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. iraqis are decrying the obstruction of alnuri mosque in mosul as the hands of islamic state militants. it comes in ramadan and as military troops closed in on the building. the extent of damage is not clear, but photos by the iraqi military shows the mosque and its surrounding area destroyed. the centuries' old building is famous for its leaning minneret. and the building is also an important symbol for the militants. it's where their