these policy change. >> thank you very much for your insight masao. and for those of you just joining us here on "newsline," we've been bringing you special coverage of the reshuffle of japan's cabinet. prime minister shinzo abe has shaken up his 1-member team bringing in 12 new ministers and more women. now on to other news making headlines. the presidents of ukraine and russia have reached an agreement on a cease-fire plan. petro poroshenko said he and vladimir putin will work towards ending the fighting in the eastern part of the country. ukrainian forces have been battling pro-russian separatists there for months. poroshenko's press office released a statement. it says he had a phone conversation with putin, and the two leaders agreed on a

cease-fire regime. it also says they reached mutual understanding on the steps toward establishing peace. a spokesperson for putin said the two leaders largely share views on ways out of the crisis. there are no details available yet on how it will take effect. poroshenko and putin failed to agree to a cease-fire when they met last week. some new ministers in the reshuffled cabinet of prime minister shinzo abe will meet to follow through on the main priority. ron madison joins us with more on that from the business desk. >> the prime minister certainly hopeful that this cabinet shake-up will help to push through his economic policies. the prime minister has really made it his mission to revive

the economy and drag japan out of deflation and his efforts may be paying off. investors have driven up the nikkei index by more than 50% since he returned to the prime minister's office, and consumer prices have been rising for 14 months in a row. but abe has been confronting some new challenges since he raised the consumption tax in april. he's seen consumer spending fall, and economic growth slump. nhk world's coy oakco fujita has more. >> reporter: government officials say the economy continues to recover at a moderate pace. but consumers are less optimistic. many people say they've been feeling the pinch. they've seen prices going up and up. people watched as the consumption tax was hiked from 5% to 8%. but they haven't enjoyed an increase in wages to match. so they've become more reluctant to spend. >> food prices have gone up. it's hard on our budget. my growing kids eat a lot.

>> i don't think my salary will increase any time soon. >> reporter: prime minister abe is struggling to build new engines to drive growth. in june he said he'd lower the corporate tax rate to below 30% in the next few years. company executives have complained for years that japan has one of the highest rates among developed nations. abe wants to give businesses a stronger hand in the global market and attract more foreign investors. >> translator: i'm committed to boosting the competitiveness of japanese companies and helping them survive in the global market. >> reporter: exporters hope to benefit from the weaker yen. but instead they've been disappointed by their sales. government officials reported a current account deficit of $5 billion from january to june. company executives have been moving their manufacturing bases

overseas to cope with global competition. abe is also aiming to give japan better access to foreign markets. he's determined to sign up to a free trade pact in the asia-pacific that would cover around 40% of global gdp. he hopes the trans-pacific partnership will help boost the country's exports. but japanese delegates are still trying to iron out differences with their u.s. counterparts. and ministers of the 12 negotiating nations haven't met over the summer. experts say upcoming and midterm elections in the u.s. could cause further delays. one analyst says some investors now believe that the implementation of abe's growth plan is too slow. >> last year foreign invested purchased japanese stock more than 15 trillion yen.

but this year, they sell japanese stock. this shows the foreign investor expectation to the abenomics is starting to fade out. >> reporter: abe faces another major challenge. he has to manage our country's debt that's expanded to a record level of around 9.6 trillion dollars. the japanese government has a plan to raise the consumption tax to 10% next year. abe will decide by the end of the year whether he will carry on as planned. a further tax increase may drag down personal consumption. even some in abe's own party have been posing concerns. but an expert warns of a substantial risk if abe puts fiscal competition at the bottom of his agenda. >> the administration is taking the risk of future long-term

interest. or losing the credibility of not only jgb but also the administration itself. >> reporter: prime minister abe is entering another phase of his leadership. he needs to juggle conflicting challenges, and find a path to further economic growth. kyoto fujita, nhk world. well investors in tokyo remain pretty upbeat with the announcement of the reshuffled cabinet. the nikkei average closed up just about 0.4%, 15,728. that's after rising as much as 1% during the session. hopes for economic reforms lifted broader sentiment. experters also taking a bit of strength from a weaker yen. some traders did lock in profits from recent gains. other major benchmarks in asia seeing their sessions finish higher, as well. hong kong's hang seng index rose to a level that we haven't seen since may, 2008. the shanghai composite also hit this year's closing high,

investor sentiment was being lifted by improving signs in the chinese service sector. and here's what's happening in europe. markets there are also in positive territory. london is up by three quarters of a percent. frankfurt up by 1.25%. the paris market is seeing some gains at this hour. traders were moving mon i into equities on news of the permanent cease-fire in ukraine. well, in terms of currencies, dealers are buying back the euro on the new development in ukraine. right now euro dollar is at roughly 1.3143. some traders are also shifting money out of the yen on eased worries over the situation in ukraine. the japanese currency is often seen as a safe haven asset. right now we've got it going back above at 105 yen level at 105.04. now earlier the greenback hit its highest level in just about eight months against the japanese currency. now, one of the most important tasks for ministers in abe's new cabinet is to curb

spending. but budget requests for ministries and agencies for fiscal 2015 have hit a record high. extra demands for the purpose of boosting economic growth have pushed up the total. finance ministry officials have announced the total amount requested exceed s 100 trillion yen for the first time ever. that's more than $960 billion u.s. dollars. the finance ministry has received about $37 billion in extra requests for projects aimed at pushing forward abe's growth plan. and more than $245 billion is needed to repay the country's ballooning debts. the government's target is to cut by half the 2010 level primary balance deficit in the next fiscal year. it sees the primary balance as a gauge of fiscal health. the chief negotiators of the countries involved in the trans-pacific partnership are resuming their efforts to narrow differences over the free trade pact. the japanese negotiator is eager to achieve a successful outcome in these talks, to lay the groundwork for future

ministerial level talks. the officials will be meeting for about a week starting on wednesday in vietnam's capital hanoi. they will continue to address divisive issues, including protecting intellectual property and connecting preferential treatment for state-backed firms. japan's chief negotiator koji tsuruoka said all the nations taking part are eager to resume the talks. >> translator: we will try to prepare to make political decisions, and do our best to reach an early agreement with other negotiators. >> is your oka also said prolonged talks between japan and the u.s. over tariffs would not delay the overall negotiations. he said other countries welcome the progress made so far in bilateral discussions. and look forward to working with japan. that is going to do it for biz this hour. here's the markets.

militants with the group islamic state claim they've executed another american hostage. they've released a video that they say shows the reheading of journalist steven so the love. the footage shows a man believed to be sotloff kneeling before someone in a mask. the video resembles one released last month that shows the execution of another american journalist james fellow. the masked man seems to be the same person in both videos.

he speaks with a british accent. he warns that the group will continue killing hostages until u.s. president barack obama stops airstrikes against militants in syria and iraq. then he beheads the hostage. sotloff was working as a freelance journalist. he was kidnapped in syria a year ago. his mother issued a video message last week asking the militants to free her son. >> the intelligence community will work as quickly as possible to determine its authenticity. if the video is genuine we are sickened by this brightal act taking the life of another innocent american citizen. >> the militants have issued another threat. the video shows british aid worker david hanes. the masked man warns to back off this evil alliance of america against the islamic state. now president obama has become increasingly concerned about the threat posed by the militants. he's ordered that 350 more military personnel be sent to

iraq. but white house officials say they won't serve in a combat role. press secretary josh earnest said the troops will protect the u.s. embassy in the capital baghdad. obama will meet with other nato countries later this week in newport, wales. they've expected to discuss what else they can do to stop the militants. republican senator marco rubio called in a statement for tough response. he said the horrifying clarity of the group's message toward america should have been met from the beginning with an equally clear message. the chair of the house of representatives foreign affairs committee issued a statement of his own. republican congressman ed royce said the u.s. must act urgently and target the militants with drone strikes. meanwhile politicians in the u.s. are gearing up to battle for control of congress. republicans and democrats are ramping up their campaigns ahead of midterm elections. republican lawmakers already

hold the majority in the house of representatives. candidates for the senate hope to win enough votes on november 4th to gain control of that house, too. some democrats have been trying to win over voters by distancing themselves from president obama. mary landrieu of louisiana has served three terms in the senate. oil and natural gas production is one of the main industries in her state. she's seen voters turn away from obama because of his stance on energy and the environment. landrieu has released a tv commercial criticizing his energy policy. obama would face additional challenges in fulfilling his agenda if republicans gain control of both houses of congress. leaders in china have gathered to look back. they attended what they called a victory ceremony to mark japan's surrender in 1945. ♪ state-run media broadcast the event live.

all seven members of the polite bureau standing committee, including president xi jinping and premier li keqiang took part. authorities announced earlier this year that they decided to designate september 3rd as victory day. a day earlier in 1945 japanese leaders officially surrendered to allied forces. analysts say chinese leaders may have wanted to use the ceremony to strengthen public opinion against japan. but they note president xi did not make a speech. he's taking current considerations into consideration. an iraqi doctor has traveled to japan hoping to do more good back home. government forces have been battling militants in his hometown mosul. he wanted to learn more about how he could help young iraqis affected by the fighting. nhk world has his story. >> reporter: omar farouk is a physician who got special training in central japan.

he spent two months at this hospital studying advanced treatment technology for children with kidney problems. but in his hometown of mosul in northern iraq it's the ongoing conflict that's taking a toll on his young patients. he said he's seen a run of children with physical and mental injuries. >> in iraq it is difficult to the child, even my son, to be happy. there is no safer police for children. >> reporter: he was able to share laughter with many patients, despite ravages of illness. >> the communication to me is important, not the language.

we can make many things by communication and by speaking with them, by smile. >> reporter: just two weeks after he arrived in japan, farook received disturbing news from home. mosul came under siege by members of islamic state the radical militants fighting against the government. and he could not get in touch with his wife and two children. >> in the first few days, i was confused, and very worried about the situation in mosul and about my family and my son and my wife. >> at first he thought about going back to iraq right away. >> when i contact with pie

friends, they told me that they are working in the hospital, still working in the hospital. don't leave the hospital and go back to the home. i have a mission here in japan. my mission, my goal is to complete the training. >> reporter: farook was relieved to learn that his family was safe. special connections he made here in japan helped him through that part. he is treasuring a portrait of him, drawn by a patient. >> i want to save iraqi children as much as i can. all children should be happy in these days. >> bye-bye. >> bye-bye. >> reporter: at the end of his training, farook says good-bye

to the friends he made. and he returns to mosul where he'll be reunited with his family. he's facing the violence in his hometown, armed with new skills to help treat the sick and injured. nhk world. we've spent much of the day here on "newsline" covering a political shake-up in japan. the prime minister has reshuffled his cabinet, bringing in new faces and more women. shinzo abe says he wants to take a fresh and bold approach to tackling major policy issues both at home and abroad.

>> translator: we have to recover from the damages caused by the great east japan earthquake to reform the social security system. however, we are only halfway through. and moreover we need to tackle new challenges in order to carry out these policies taking fresh approach in a more bold and strong manner, i have reshuffled my cabinet today. >> earlier the new cabinet members attended a ceremony at the imperial palace where the emperor confirmed their appointments. the cabinet has 18 state ministers, 12 of them are new. former prime minister taro aso has retained his post as deputy prime minister and finance minister. fumio kushida is also keeping

his job as foreign minister. yuko obuchi is taking on economy and trade minister. ota is the only member of the cabinet from new komeito. he's staying on from land infrastructure, transport and tourism minister. akinori eto will be defense minister and picking up the new post of minister in charge of security legislation. the abduction issue minister yamatani is one of five women in cabinet. akira amari is staying on as economic revitalization minister and former ldp secretary-general ishiba is joining the cabinet. he assumed a new role of regional revitalization minister. people in greece and the

balkan peninsula are facing floods emerging from heavy rainfall. our meteorologist jonathan oh has the details in a world weather report. >> we are continuing to monitor the system that is continuing to bump a lot of rainfall over the balkan peninsula. you can see the spin and it's actually spinning on top of itself and not moving in any particular direction so you see the results in this particular video where a cutoff low pressure system continues to spin over greece, bringing stormy weather, torrential rains have caused flooding in the islands of the ionian sea and the western part of greece tuesday. homes and roads were submerged and rescue workers were called in to help residents out in the process. now i want to show you what's happening when it comes to this low pressure system. notice it hasn't moved very much from italy over in to the southern tip of greece. and what is going to happen is, more rainfall as we go throughout the next couple of days. typically, high up in the atmosphere, we have some fast-moving winds called the jet

stream, and so they usually serve as a train track to push systems along. however this low has separated from it. that's why we call it a cutoff low, and so as long as this stays separated it's going to continue to dump heavy amounts of rainfall. so look out for the possibility of rain in to rome, also to athens for wednesday. the rest of the continent seeing some very dry conditions. sunny skies from warsaw, vienna, stockholm even seeing some sunny skies and over in madrid a high of 34 degrees under sunny conditions for wednesday. let's take a look at the forecast for north america. now we have had some strong weather the past couple of days. the front is now pushing toward the east, and so because of that the focal point for storms has shifted. further down toward the south, where a lot of moisture, the very saturated air is causing the instability. and so when you have this cold air forcing in it triggers that. any time air moves rapidly we have these type of situations, in fact some severe thunderstorms rolling through the carolinas on tuesday. now to wednesday, again, a possibility of seeing some rain

and storms, and meanwhile, just want to point out into montana we have a low moving in, and the north edges, into glacial national park, winter weather advisory a possibility of early season snow as we go throughout wednesday. a couple of tropical systems to talk about down toward mexico. one named tropical storm dolly already making landfall. now expected to weaken rapidly, and still dumping a lot of rainfall but it will eventually just become a low pressure system. we have another system now located in the eastern pacific. this one will move toward the north and west. concerned about maybe some tropical storm force winds down toward the southern tip of the baja, california, peninsula, so looking out for that possibility. but it will weaken from a storm intensifying into a hurricane and then back down to a tropical storm as we head into the weekend. mexico city staying wet because of the wet setup with dolly, house within a chance for rain, also into atlanta you'll be seeing a chance for rain on our wednesday. wrapping things up with a look at east asia. you notice a lot of cloud cover

over the korean peninsula, already 100 millimeters of rainfall has fallen in this area, and that is continuing to spread toward the east. so western japan, and hokkaido into northern japan you'll be seeing the rain falling as we go throughout thursday, and then eventually by the weekend in the kanto plains you'll be seeing the rainfall as the front pushing toward the east. you'll see the rain in seoul. also back toward the west the monsoonal front continues to be a big problem. chongqing a high of 24. here's your extended outlook.

and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. gene otani will bring you the latest at the top of the hour. thanks for joining us on nhk world.

>> you are watching france 24. time now for 60 minutes live around the world. these are the headlines this hour. barack obama is in estonia. he is giving a firm show of support for nato's newest members in the face of russia's growing pressure on ukraine. this, as confusion reigns over whether or not a cease-fire deal was really reached. a second american journalist has been beheaded by militants from the islamic state organization. this, as washington authorizes more troops into iraq to beef up protection for u.s. citizens there. and and