welcome to "newsline." i'm keikichi hanada in tokyo. here are some of the stories we are following this hour. nato leaders have gathered in wales to discuss a number of international conflicts and they are trying to chart a way forward for ukraine. the u.s. dollar is hitting heights against the japanese yen not seen in years, and it could head even higher. and residents of hong kong

are caught in a democratic divide, and some activists are promising not to back down in the fight for free elections. nato leaders have descended on a resort in wales to discuss some threats far away. they're talking about afghanistan and the militant group islamic state. much of the focus is on ukraine so they were eager to hear from the country's president, petro poroshenko. nhk world reports. >> reporter: more than 60 heads of state and government attended events at what officials describe as one of the most important nato summits in history. the overarching topic of the two-day summit is the crisis in ukraine. the leaders held discussions on the issue for more than two hours on thursday. nato military alliance stressed that it stands with ukraine in the face of russia's

destabilizing influence. the leaders called on russia to step back from confrontation and take the path to peace. nato's secretary-general rasmussen and poroshenko held a press conference side by side. >> while talking about peace, russia has not made one single step to make peace possible. instead of de-escalating the crisis, russia has only deepened it. >> every single head of state and head of the government stressed the importance of unity and solidarity with ukraine that nato should demonstrate today. >> reporter: earlier poroshenko sat down with u.s. president obama, uk prime minister david cameron and three other european leaders. a white house official said the leaders again condemned russia for its continued violation of ukraine's sovereignty.

they agreed on the need for russia to face increased costs for its actions. nato leaders have offered ukraine $20 million in financial assistance to strengthen the country's military. nato is also planning a joint military exercise in ukraine later this month. the tension between western powers and russia appears to be at the highest point since the end of the cold war. nhk world, newport, wales. poroshenko says he is ready to order government troops to stop shooting if negotiators can reach a deal. poroshenko said he would call on the commanders to cease-fire. he said he hopes that might even happen later on friday. but for now, government forces and pro-russian separatists are still fighting. some units are trading fire.

poroshenko has gotten behind a peace plan proposed by russian president vladimir putin. but they disagree over some points. ukrainian leaders are demanding that russian soldiers pull out of eastern ukraine. russia says their troops aren't even there. separatist fighters say they, too, are ready to lay down their arms. russia's interfax news agency quoted one separatist leader as saying that if government forces cease-fire, its side will as well. and the separatists say they'll follow up on other parts of putin's plan. they say they'll establish humanitarian corridors so civilians can move around freely and supplies can be brought in. and they're demanding that the government ban military planes from flying over areas they control. let's now turn to the latest in biz with ron madison. >> it was a big day for

currencies during friday morning trading here in tokyo. we saw the dollar gain ground, and it hit the upper 105-yen level, a rate we haven't seen since october 2008. is surged to 105.7 yen. the reason why the dollar was stronger is that investors are becoming more confident about the u.s. economy. data on thursday like service sector growth was better than expected and confirmed those views. but later on in the day the dollar retreated to the lower 105-yen level as traders bought back the yen. it may come in for profit taking in the short term, but they do expect the u.s. currency to continue its upward trend against the yen. on to stocks now. the weaker yen is a big boost for japanese exporters because it does give help to their overseas earnings. so today the shares did go higher, pushing up the nikkei in early morning trading. but then we did see some profit taking coming into the market. the index edged down just a touch there, finishing at 15,668.

taking a look at other markets in asia, many major benchmarks finished in negative territory. although the shanghai market rose for a sixth straight day. investors there adjusted their positions ahead of a key u.s. jobs report. in seoul, the kospi shed 0.3, finished at 2,049. weighing on the index was exporters. they remained under pressure on worries about sluggish global demand. south korea's markets will be closed from monday through wednesday for public holidays. and in china, the shanghai composite saw gains today. this made a weekly gain of nearly 5%. the biggest so far this year. earlier in the week, beijing unveiled a set of measures to support the shipping industry. and this continued to lift shares of port operators and related transport companies. a key japanese economic indicator rose in july for the first time in two months. but the rise was pretty modest, and the government has kept its assessment of the country's economy unchanged as showing a

standstill. officials at the cabinet office say that the coincident index stood at 109.9 for july, that's against a reference value of 100 set in 2010. now, it was up 0.2 points from the previous month. the rise is due to increased shipments of machinery to overseas plants where large equipment investments were made. japan's finance minister says the economy may need another round of fiscal stimulus. aso made the comment while speaking on the decision about whether to hike the consumption tax from 8% to 10% in october next year. aso claims the latest figures on the economy aren't so bad. still, he recommends a thorough assessment before a decision on the tax is made by year end. >> translator: the government should make a wide-ranging check on the economic environment through december. and prepare for any possible situation. >> aso says one option is

drafting a supplementary budget. economic revitalization minister amadi has touched on the same issue. he stresses the government must ensure there won't be any risks regardless of whether the tax goes up or stays at 8%. he says the important thing is to keep japan out of deflation. amare says he believes the central bank will take proper and firm measures if its officials see any uncertainties in the economy. toyota motor has unveiled a range of cutting-edge technologies that will make the job of driving a lot easier and safer. toyota officials showed off the technologies and advanced safety features near detroit. a laser detection system recognizes the distance and shape of objects more than 100 meters away. the officials say they've managed to shrink the unit's size so that it fits on board a passenger car. similar systems in use today are bulky and normally installed on building roofs. now, another trick up toyota's sleeve is a heads-up display

system. the technology projects car navigation information and traffic conditions right on the windshield in 3-d. the officials say the data doesn't distract drivers. instead it allows them actually to concentrate on driving. don't expect to see these technologies any time soon. the officials at toyota say the projects are still under development, and it will be a while before they're available in passenger vehicles. the chairman of east japan railway has expressed his strong intention to bid for a high-speed rail system in california. the project is to build a super express line between san francisco and los angeles by 2029. east japan railway chairman delivered a speech in washington. he stressed the safety of japan's trains against natural disasters such as earthquakes. the bidding for the u.s. project is expected as early as autumn. east japan railway has teamed up with kawasaki heavy industries as well as other japanese firms to prepare for the bidding process.

>> translator: japan is a total package from train cars, signaling to integrated operating systems. we're teaming up with others including train makers as the japanese consortium to offer our total system. >> and he said that con sore shum will meet the needs of the american rail system. intense competition is expected for the project. corporate groups from other countries including germany, france, china and south korea are also showing some interest. to our feature this hour and buyers from abroad want to get ahold of some japanese treasures. and they're looking now to buy secondhand jewelry and gems. our keiko aso tells us more. >> reporter: diamonds don't lose their value even after becoming secondhand. used diamonds are being

auctioned at this event in tokyo. standing out from the crowd of bidders is a group of indians occupying the front row. their purchases amount to over half the $4 million spent at this auction. this man is one of the indian bidders. he runs a jewelry trading company in japan. he exports them to over ten countries including india, china and israel. on this day he was the highest bidder, shelling out $760,000 for diamonds.

>> i bought a lot of mixed goods. >> reporter: the value of items his company has exported has risen 20% every year for the past few years. agarwal says their value is rising. that's because gems owned by the japanese are authentic. and with the prices declining due to persistent deflation, the high-quality diamonds are considered bargains globally. >> the good quality of japan is in very big demand. especially cheaper than the international market. >> reporter: as the japanese jewelry market remains weak, more and more companies aim to increase their export of secondhand items.

a shop buying used jewelry opened in central tokyo. it's run by a company that started exporting the jewelry to china last year. it says there isn't much demand in japan these days for flashy items with large stones. but they are very popular in china. >> translator: this ring is okay for my generation, but my daughter and granddaughter both agreed that it's too big to wear, so i decided to sell it. >> reporter: secondhand jewelry purchased by the shop is sent to china. at the trade fair in tokyo, the company's manager is trying to appeal to buyers from the mainland. >> translator: jewelry designed in japan is very delicate. the price isn't bad either. so it sells well in china.

>> reporter: during the three-day event, the company sold expensive gems like emeralds and rubys to many chinese buyers. >> translator: we hadn't dealt with expensive items until now. but we attempted to introduce them at this event. and they sold well. >> reporter: the total value of gems owned by japanese households is estimated to be $190 billion. to maintain a steady supply, traders have to make continual efforts to pick up more jewelry. keiko aso, nhk world. >> okay. that is going to wrap it up for biz this hour. here's another look at the markets.

u.s. defense officials say they believe as many as a dozen american citizens are fighting with the islamic state extremist group in syria. they are part of a larger group of americans that's believed to have joined various rebel groups in the country. pentagon spokesperson steve warren says an estimated 100 american passport holders are expected to be in syria. analysts say more than 10,000 fighters from western nations have joined them in syria and iraq. they come from britain, france and other european countries as well as the u.s.

british prime minister david cameron has said about 500 britons have traveled to the two nations to take part in attacks. u.s. president barack obama has proposed a u.n. security council summit later this month to discuss the issue. obama has called for stronger action to prevent foreign nationals from joining the conflicts. a u.s. federal judge has ruled the british oil firm bp was grossly negligent in the worst oil spill in u.s. history. he cited what he called reckless behavior in the disaster four years ago in the gulf of mexico. the ruling could cost bp and two other firms up to $18 billion. the judge ruled that bp bears 67% of the responsibility, and the drilling rig owner, transocean, 30%. bp officials wrote in a statement that a company

strongly disagrees with the ruling, and they said the finding of gross negligence is not supported by the evidence at trial. they said they'll appeal. the spill began when the deepwater horizon blew up. experts estimate the rig spewed more than 170 million gallons of oil into the gulf. flash floods in northern india have swept away a bus carrying dozens of wedding guests. local police say at least 50 people are missing. about 60 people were on board the bus in the state in kashmir. it was engulfed by a swollen river and then carried away. heavy rain is hampering the search for the missing. people in the kashmir region have seen the worst flooding in 20 years. 18 people have died in the past two days. authorities are concerned about more disasters as the rain is forecast to continue.

north korea will hold a second parliamentary session of the year later this month. the country's parliament usually meets once a year in april. the state-run korean central news agency reported that a supreme peoples assembly will convene in pyongyang on september 25th. the agenda of the session has not been released. the last time they convened twice in a year was 2012. at that time, the assembly passed a law extending a free education for children by one year. attention is now focused on what new policies will emerge. north korean leaders want to improve their economy while showing off military power by launching ballistic missiles. when hong kong was handed over to china 17 years ago, leaders in beijing allowed a

degree of autonomy, but they didn't want to lose their grip. now chinese lawmakers have placed restrictions on how voters in hong kong choose their leader, and that's deepened the divide between those who support china's influence and those who want to be free of it. nhk world reports. >> reporter: a high-ranking member of china's people's congress arrives in hong kong. he's here to tell hong kong residents how they are to conduct elections. more than 300 pro-democracy activists protest against beijing's decision. they had wanted to hear there would be free elections. right now hong kong citizens cannot directly pick their top administrative official.

the only people allowed to vote for the chief executive are the 1,200 members of hong kong's election committee, but last month beijing announced that beginning in 2017, universal suffrage could be introduced. however, beijing attaches conditions. one, is the calendars must be approved by 50% of the nominating panel. the pro-democracy people say this body will be stuck with sympathizers of the mainland government. the activists claim this would prevent pro-democracy candidates from being nominated. 17-year-old organizist chow is a key member of the student group taking part of the protests. >> translator: what we want is an opportunity to directly choose our chief executive through a democratic election. the chinese authorities don't want people in hong kong to get

a truly democratic system. they just want to tighten their grip on power. >> reporter: many young people in hong kong are worried that china is clamping down on hong kong's autonomy. they are planning a campaign dubbed "occupy central." 10,000 people are said to stage a sit-in in the area, one of asia's key financial centers. they hope this will draw international attention to their cause. when students conducted an overnight sitting in july along a road in central hong kong, more than 500 were arrested. if the planned occupation is large enough, the cost could be

as high as several billion dollars. >> translator: our situation keeps getting worse. unless we citizens fight to protect ourselves, things will continue to deteriorate. >> reporter: but not everyone supports the pro-democracy activists. derek lam is a manager at a real estate firm. he fears that a protest in the financial center will cost his firm as much as 10% of its revenue. he also fears the stock market will suffer a big drop. >> translator: i'm not saying i support china's communist party. i just cannot afford to give up a stable living for something that's so vague. >> reporter: many hong kong residents are trapped in a difficult situation. supporting democratic elections could result in civil and economic turmoil, but failure to support the activists strengthens beijing's efforts. to curtail freedom.

nhk world, hong kong. an historic record has been set for rainfall in kyoto on friday. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here with the details. jonathan. >> hello, yes, we're talking about a couple of interesting records set on friday because of the amount of rain that fell. 83 millimeters in just one hour. that's an all-time record. on top of that, 193 millimeters of rain fell in just three hours which set another record for kyoto. and i want to show you video coming out of there where we did deal with some flooding. so more than 30,000 people had to be advised to evacuate in kyoto prefecture because of the threat of rising floodwaters. and as i mentioned, lots of rain came during friday. the city was hit with 82 millimeters of precipitation in that hour. and then during the past 24 hours, including the 193 millimeters, more than 200 millimeters of rain fell.

so lots of numbers there, i know. but simply put, a lot of rain that fell and not just in kyoto. also into other portions of japan. you can see here that in ayabe, 214 millimeters fell in a 24-hour period. the reason is because the frontal system is not a very fast-moving one. so when you have a system that likes to sit right over land, it stays over the land. it continues to rain over the land. that's when you have those really high totals. now, going from friday morning into saturday morning, during that 24-hour period, we are still looking at up to 150 millimeters of rainfall including kyoto and also some other areas up to 100 to 120 millimeters of rainfall going into saturday morning. so definitely a wet forecast is ahead. now, in other areas of east asia, we do have high pressure moving over the korean peninsula, giving some sunny skies over there. meanwhile, down toward the philippines, we have a couple of low-pressure systems that are continuing to dump a lot of rainfall. one of those lows expected to

convert into a tropical depression as we go you tloo the next several hours. this is something we'll be looking out for because the system, whether it becomes intense or not, the says still expected to move slowly toward the north, bringing even more moisture for western japan going through the next few days. so tokyo, you'll be seeing some rainfall coming up on saturday with a high of 30. 30 in seoul. a little bit drier in shanghai and down into hong kong looking at the chance for rain saturday. when it comes to hurricane norbert near mexico, you see the system continuing to spin. because of its proximity, we do have warnings posted for the coast. definitely make sure you keep an eye out on this. it is expected to weaken into next week because of the colder waters that it will be traveling over. now, we are concerned about the flooding down toward the south, but it is also drawing all this moisture into the desert southwest. so flash flooding is possible because of another low-pressure system that is nearby.

rough surf also of some concern with this. we do have also some colder air that's pushing up against some very warm air in the ohio river valley. this is a focal point when it comes to severe storm. hail sizes may be as large as 2.5 centimeters in diameter possible. please make sure you take the proper precautions. a high of 27 in chicago coming up for friday. and it's going to be quite wet for a good portion of the eastern sections of the united states. also into parts of canada. wrapping things up with a look at europe, we are continuing to monitor this low-pressure system down toward the south in the balkan peninsula. very unstable weather. looking out for the possibility of even more heavy rainfall. maybe even an isolated tornado with this. now, other areas, though, looking at a nice forecast as we go into the weekend. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

and that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm keikichi hanada. on behalf of our team, thank you for staying with us. gg99ññwçç

>> welcome to the france rate for newsroom. here are the headlines this hour. ukraine's poroshenko hopes for peace talks with moscow -- pro-russian rebels that have just gotten underway in minsk. summit innt day of wales. leaders try to hash out solutions to the conference -- conflict in ukraine and iraq. and fast tracking experimental ebola drugs will help with partial tested treatment.