hello, welcome back to "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines of this hour. barack obama wins the backing of egypt's president for his campaign to destroy the islamic state militant group. turkish authorities are seeing their borders become a gateway to thousands of foreign fighters looking to join militant groups. foreign ministers from japan and china sat down to discuss

issues of mutual concern. ♪ >> and, we'll take you behind the scenes of an opera production at one of kyoto's most prestigious venues. japan's foreign minister and his chinese counterpart spoke on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly. couple yo kishida and wang yi moat has relations are strained between the two countries. the tension is strained over japan's nationalization over a group of islands in the east china sea and perception of history. details of the talks have not been released. the ministers are believed to have discussed japan's proposal to hold a summit in november. the leaders of both countries will attend an apec meeting in beijing. the foreign ministers are also expected to have discussed a plan to set up security hotline for emergencies at sea and in

the air. >> translator: we were able to take enough time to exchange our views in a sincere and frank atmosphere. >> kishida said nothing has been decided regarding the proposed summit. china's foreign ministry said wang had an informal meeting with kishida at the request of the japanese side. a news website affiliated with the government of china's xinjiang uighur autonomous region says 40 members of a terrorist group have been killed following multiple explosions in the region. it says police stations and a market were among the targets of terrorist attacks. local media initially reported that the explosions in bayangoli mongolia autonomous prefecture killed two and wounded many others but no other details were provided. it was reported on thursday that

the blast killed ten civilians and police officers. the report called them systematically planned, malicious acts of terrorism. it says 40 attackers were shot dead by police, or blew themselves up. the website also reported that the founder of the terrorist group is regarded as the main culprit. it said he was committed to radical religious thought. many members of the region, muslims uighur minority are increasingly unhappy with the economic and political disparities between uighurs and china's handle orty han people. they also oppose beijing's crackdown on their religious activities. the region has been hit by a series of explosions and attacks but obscurity surrounds many of the cases since chinese authorities are trying to control access to information. u.s. president barack obama is rallying international support against the militant

group islamic state. he held his first face-to-face meeting with egyptian president abdel fattah al sisi. the two leaders agreed on expanding the coalition aimed at destroying the group. >> obviously the u.s./egyptian relationship has been an important cornerstone of our security policy and our policy in the heeft for a very long time. >> white house officials say the two leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation. deputy national security adviser ben rhodes said they will share intelligence and implement measures to stop the flow of foreign fighters. officials say obama also expressed his intention to help egypt promote economic reform. u.s. and coalition forces have pounded militant command centers and other strongholds. five middle eastern countries have joined the coalition.

on wednesday they hit 12 oil refineries controlled by the islamic state, including facilities in abu kamal. government leaders in turkey are struggling to stop foreign fighters from joining the islamic state. they're seeing many of them slip past their border and into syria. nhk world saw firsthand what they're up against. >> reporter: there is a checkpoint on the border between turkey and syria. the turkish government now tightened the security for preventing foreign fighters going in to syria. local authorities here say some foreigners are still coming through. ankara is a city near the border in southern turkey. >> translator: i think people

from belgium, sweden and germany. >> reporter: people here say the civil war has had a great impact on the number of tourists visiting the region. in the city, local shops sell tops and caps marked with symbols of extremist groups. many foreign fighters go to syria and join the islamic state. they call the area a gateway to jihad. our crew succeeded in interviewing a person involved in smuggling of foreign fighters. he said his name was hassan. he told us that foreigners meet members of the militant organizations here, and then enter syria in small groups.

>> translator: they come with a pocket full of money provided by militant groups. some of them even leave money for think families. >> reporter: he says no matter how much the turkish government tries to tighten security, they can always find loopholes. we were told about the path used to smuggle fighters into syria. so we head to a mountainous area an hour drive from the city. we are told walking over 500 meters will take us to a syrian village. we kept going. there's nothing here to mark the border. >> translator: the olive tree over there marks the border of

syria and turkey. this area is in the middle of woods. no matter how many soldiers are deployed, security in the area is impossible. >> reporter: the turkish government has tightened security. but they're struggling to control border areas as they have almost nothing to block the passage of people. this means that militants can easily return to their home country. >> translator: if the international community wants to stop terrorism, it's necessary to prevent young people from going to turkey. it's highly likely they will return home posing a security threat. >> reporter: stopping the flow of foreign fighters across the

border has proven extremely difficult, and government leaders feel it's adding fuel to the growing terrorism threat in the region. yu kobayashi, nhk world. iraq's prime minister is warning that islamist militants may have planned attacks on western soil. haider al abadi says he obtained information the group may be plotting attacks on subway systems in the united states and france. abadi said an islamic state militant who was captured in iraq told intelligence officials of the plan. u.s. security council spokesperson caitlin hayden says white house officials have not confirmed any such plan. she said officials need to review information from iraq

before making further determinations. french president francois hollande said his government will tighten security in public places, and on transportation systems. hollande issued a security alert to french nationals in 40 countries. those include mainly in the middle east and north africa, where radical islamist groups operate. new york city police commissioner says there is no specific credible threat to the city's subway system or to the city in general. the commissioner added that the department is boosting the police presence on subways and city streets. now for the latest in business news, here's ron madison. ron? >> all right, miki, thank you. the average annual income of japanese private sector employees has risen for the first time in three years, but the government says the pay gap between rular and nonregular employees is widening. the national tax agency said on friday that average income for

workers last year stood at 4.14 million. that's about $38,000. it's up by about $550 from the year earlier. the average pay for regular workers rose to $43,000. but the figure for nonregular workers fell slightly to $15,400. ka university professor says the gap must be corrected. >> translator: many people remain in nonregular work because they cannot find a regular job. we must create a system that promotes a shift to regular workers. >> he is calling for a virtuous economic cycle of higher wages and consumption. welfare minister says he wants to strengthen governance of the largest public pension fund. the government is preparing to allow the fund to invest in riskier assets.

shiozaki is minister in charge of the government pension investment fund. >> translator: reforms of the fund's operation and governance are inseparable. >> shiozaki says the government should do everything it can to step up risk management before legislating. officials at the welfare ministry are drafting new bills to allow the fund managers to invest more in stocks than government bonds. shiozaki said the government should not be in a hurry to draft the law that suggests the bills are now unlikely to be submitted to the upcoming diet session starting next week. all right. on to the markets now. investors in asia moved out of equities today. a negative performance on wall street decreased their risk appetite. most major benchmarks finished the day lower. jakarta and sydney showed pretty sharp declines. the main benchmark in jakarta, in fact, down 1.3%. 5,132. indonesia's parliament approved legislation ending direct elections for regional leaders. this is reducing investor hopes for incoming president widodo

who had opposed the measure. and in australia the main index there seeing declines of 1.3%, 5,313. that works out to a six-month closing low. shares of resource companies faced heavy selling due to falling iron ore prices. the economy price dropped to the lowest level since september 2009. here in tokyo the nikkei average seeing declines of nearly 0.9%, 16,229. investors took profits on the previous days gains. we had bellwether exporters among major decliners as the weakening trend is pausing. people inside and outside of china are becoming less confident about the economy, it seems. they're looking at a series of weak economic indicators like lower factory output and calling for direct investment. now a key survey shows managers in the manufacturing industry are feeling pessimistic about hiring. the hsbc flash manufacturing purchasing managers employment subindex dropped more than a

point in september to the lowest level since february 2009. well for more on this ai uchida spoke earlier with jackson wong, associate director at united securities in hong kong. he thinks we're seeing a temporary slump. >> well, i think china's economy is trying to find its footing. so at this point, a lot of visitors are still facing a lot of uncertainties. when you face a lot of uncertainties, hiring managers tend not to do a lot of hiring at this point. for example, when we look at poverty market in china, we know they are slumping and sales are very sluggish. but if they cannot sell more flats and facing inventory problems they're not going to roll out more projects at this point. no more new projects so they will not do more hiring. i think this is the cause of the sluggish drop. >> and what about going forward? are you expecting the numbers to

get worse? >> well, i think the number will stay low for short term. however i think this number would get some improvement in fourth quarter. because back in late second quarter or start of the third quarter, the people's bank of china had already rolled out some stimulus, to stimulate the economy. i think effect we'll see in the fourth quarter. if that kicks in, i think the whole pmi number, and the job market will improve in the fourth quarter. >> jackson, premier li keqiang wants the economy to grow at about 7.5% this year. he's underscored the importance of a stable job market, though. how will the latest reading affect his plans? >> well, i think that 7.5% is not set in stone. and i think the first priority now is to stabilize the job

market as you already mentioned. so i think if the number doesn't fall below 7.2% or 7.3% they are in no hurry to roll out the projects to stimulate the economy. however, if the jab is worsening quick they will immediately roll out projects to stimulate the economy. >> so what kind of measures are you expecting? >> well, the people's bank of china can always roll out their big guns, such as require rates -- require ratio cults or interest rate cuts. but, as they tend not to abuse this policies, and they have been doing is to grow out microstimulus and relax loans and mortgages to developers. i think they will keep doing this for developers, and other small businesses. if they -- they have softer or

financial inventory problems, the job market will pick up soon. well, executives at electronics giant hitachi are looking for ways to increase their competitiveness so they're preparing to cut ties with a corporate culture that's ruled japan for decades. they say they'll start paying top employees based on their performance, not on their seniority. the executives announced that from next month, they'll calculate wages for managers solely on merit. until now, they've considered a person's age, and length of service, when determining 70% of the salary. and they've looked at performance to decide just 30%. the executives say the new system will apply to all 11,000 managers at the firm. now the people over at nissan have already abandoned the seniority-based wage system for their managers. executives at sony are considering doing the same for all of their employees. japanese engineers have been showing off wearable robots that assist the bedridden and

disabled. their firm cyberdyne has developed an ultralight robotic suit that could be sold in the u.s. health care market. now this suit detects mint electrical currents that flow on the skin when the wearer tries to move and then provides a power assist. but the first prototypes were considered too heavy. engineers have now made them far lighter. in fact the new model weighs in at just 1.5 kilograms. they say the model is light enough to be awatched to bedridden patients undergoing rehabilitation. >> translator: we'll keep making innovative devices that can't be found elsewhere, and offer them to the global market. >> the firm is seeking a license in the united states to sell the new suit as a medical device. okay. that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's get a check of the markets.

kyoto recently hosted a unique opera production that brought together singers and musicians from italy and japan. the ancient capital provided a perfect backdrop for the performance. let's take a look backstage. ♪ >> reporter: puccini's "madam butterfly" is one of the most popular operas in japan. what makes this performance particularly noteworthy is where it is being staged. the 400-year-old castle is one

of kyoto's world heritage sites. the opera will be played in a courtyard that's usually closed to the public. outdoor opera performances are quite rare in japan. and people aren't used to seeing historical sites associated with western forms of art. good communication between italian and japanese staff is essential as they make final arrangements. >> translator: i'm very happy to be here with you now, and the bologna opera house plays this historic piece in this marvelous setting. >> reporter: the conductor earlier this year was appointed artistic director of the bologna opera house. >> translator: madam butterfly is a work composed by an italian that's set in japan. my mission is to ensure the success of this fusion between

both countries. ♪ >> reporter: auditions were held all over japan to select singers for today's rehearsal. a chorus conductor gives them detailed instructions about their part. the day of the performance has come. it's 6:00 p.m. nijo castle is shrouded in darkness. ♪

♪ >> reporter: a tragic love story reaches its climax. ♪ >> translator: the opera and the japanese setting combined very well. it was a great production. >> translator: i felt at once overall mystified. ♪ >> reporter: the blend of eastern and western traditions earns a generous round of applause. the organizers hope this project will inspire a new trend for opera in japan.

and it's time now to check on the world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. sayaka a tropical storm near the mariana islands is heading towards the southern island of japan. what can you tell us? >> yes, miki the clouds from the tropical storm name ed kunmar a engulfing the islands. it's expected to reach the islands sunday or monday local time as a severe tropical storm. gusts could be as high as 145 kilometers per hour, enough to cause structural damage and topple trees and power lines. on top of that waves are going to be up to six meters. in addition to inland flooding, coastal flooding is highly likely on sunday or monday. after that it will probably miss mainland japan but there is a slight chance of making landfall in central japan early next week. we'll keep you posted on the

storm's progress. the previous storm system, the remnants of tropical fung-wong has moved away from japan and now a high pressure system is dominating much of the country, bringing calm and clear conditions. and nice weather will likely continue into the weekend. so that's good news. meanwhile, there's an area of heavy rain and strong winds in northeastern china. but behind it very cold air for. that will lower temperatures, ulan bator your high is going to be only 9 degrees on your saturday with a low of only 1 degree, and cooler conditions are expected on sunday, only 5 for the high with low minus 5 degrees. you may see the snow flurries on this day. and cold air will affect northeastern china, such as hardbin and hokkaido as we go into next week. across the americas, wet and windy conditions are still happening over the west, such as seattle and vancouver. and ahead of it another round of clouds. this is the low pressure system in front, and this is the severe

weathermaker providing a risk of hail, thunderstorms, and heavy rainfall from the northern rockies down towards the four corners region, and desert southwest. now, looking quite clear for the rest of the eastern u.s., and rainy weather has moved away from the northeastern u.s., such as new york city, as well as washington, d.c. however, rain will continue to pound the florida peninsula as we go into the next couple of days. temperatures are at 24 degrees in atlanta, 25 in washington, d.c. jumping up to the mid 20s in new york city. we saw quite low temperatures on thursday. and across the mid part of the u.s., quite high for this time of year once again, 31 degrees in denver, 27 in winnipeg. the hot air will continue to stay here into the next couple of days. but dive down to the mid to lower teens as we go into the weekend. so please watch out for the sudden change in temperatures. now finally over in europe, clear weather for the western areas, but we have a very intense and large system coming in to the northern areas, as we

can see the lines, the isobars are very, very close to each other, very strong winds blowing especially in the northern areas of the scandinavian peninsula as well as the british isles. this is a very large system so that weather will likely continue at least for the next couple of days. the wet and windy weather for the northern areas. meanwhile unstable weather still continues in italy and the balkan peninsula. additional rain is just worsening the situation. however once again clear conditions for the western continent and temperatures are quite beautiful, 22 degrees for the high in paris, 24 in madrid. but stay in the northern temperatures across the mid part of the u.s., only 15 for the high in warsaw, and 15 degrees also in kiev. here's the extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto from tokyo.

we'll have more news for you at the top of the hour. please join us. gg99ññwçç

clicks you are watching "france 24." david cameron urging airstrikes against islamic state jihadist. he says it is in the national and international interest. he calls them psychopathic terrorists. .hree days of mourning french flags at half mast for the man kidnapped and beheaded by extremists. demonstrates against the barbarism of the islamic state group. the world needs to help the u.s.