hello, welcome to "newsline." i'm meaning ki yamamoto in tokyo with the latest news at this however. first to the nobel prize for announcement of day two came in just a few moments ago. and three japanese scientists who helped brighten the world will share this year's nobel prize in physics. the groundbreaking studies led to the creation of blue light emitting diodes or l.e.d.s now

used in many electronic products. >> 2014 nobel prize in physics to professor akasaki nagoya university and nagoya university japan, professor hiroshi yamada at nagoya university japan and professor yam moor ra at santa barbara. for the invention of efficient blue light emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy saving white light sources. >> members of the royal swedish academy of scientists made the announcement in stockholm. akasaki teaches in nagoya city. yamanno is a professor. in 1989, akasaki and amano used crystals to develop a unique

semiconductor that emitted blue light. they built on that achievement to create blue l.e.d.s that were capable of being used in electronic products. so this year's nobel prize in physics went to three japanese scientists. we'll have the updates for you on this when we get more information, so please stay with us. now in other news, police in tokyo have questioned a 26-year-old japanese national who they suspect was trying to join islamic state. they say he saw a job offer to work in syria, and they say he was set to travel there. world leaders are now stepping up their measures to prevent citizens from joining the group as foreign fighters. nhk world's noriko acad today reports. >> reporter: japanese police questioned the man on monday. they say the suspect is a student of the national university in northern japan.

they have searched multiple locations related to the man. and they've also questioned several other men who shared a house with him. >> translator: there used to be only a couple of people living there but a few years ago, more people in their 20s and 30s were coming and going from the place. so i grew suspicious. >> reporter: the man is suspected of violating a law that prohibits people from plotting to wage war on a foreign state in a private capacity. authorities say the man was planning to leave for syria via turkey on tuesday. he was voluntarily questioned by police. and he admitted he was planning to join islamic state and work as a fighter. police have yet to charge him. a top japanese government official says they are making efforts to fight against international terrorism.

>> translator: as a member of the international community, our government will actively implement measures to prevent terrorism. >> reporter: islamic state has been using the internet to recruit young supporters from around the world. there are 15,000 foreign nationals from more than 80 countries are said to be fighting in iraq and syria. last month, the united nations security council passed a resolution. it requires all member nations to take stringent measures to prevent people from joining islamic state, and other terrorist groups as a foreign fighter. >> we must come to the as nations, and an international community to confront the real and growing threat of foreign terrorist fighters. >> reporter: american authorities have arrested a 19-year-old man in a suburb of chicago. he was allegedly intending to leave for syria to join the militant group.

federal bureau of investigation agents say they found documents that indicate the man's support for the group inside his home. top officials with the fbi says more than 100 american citizens have either tried to go to syria and were arrested, or went and came back to the u.s. and they fear that those fighters might return home and attempt to carry out terror attacks within their country. noriko okada, nhk world. a rocket carrying a new weather satellite has lifted off from southwestern japan. authorities with the japanese space agency have confirmed the satellite has successfully entered into orbit. the h2a rocket lifted off from

tanegashima space center at 2:50 p.m. japan time. weather officials are hoping the himawari 8 satellite will improve their ability to forecast national disasters and contains new equipment for observation and data processing. its horizontal resolution is double that of the satellite now in use. the new device can also send images in color. the equipment can read weather conditions every ten minutes instead of the current 30 minutes. it can also observe typhoons and other weather events around japan at intervals of 2 1/2 minutes. weather officials plan to begin using the himawari 8 sometime next summer. >> translator: this is the 19th straight successful launch of the h2a rocket. i think the launch has griffin a strong impression that japan's space development is now world class.

>> space agency officials plan to launch an asteroid probe next month using the same type of rocket. rescue workers have ended their search for the day for missing climbers at mount ontake. the volcano in central japan erupted ten days ago. they found three more people without vital signs on tuesday. they were later confirmed dead. that brings the total number of victims to 54. about 1,000 police officers, firefighters and self-defense force personnel took part in the search. they had suspended operations for two days because of a typhoon. they've expanded their search to include areas away from climbing trails. they found the three missing people near the summit. they believe 11 are still missing. eruption was the worst in japan in the post-war era. pro-democracy demonstrators in hong kong are determined to remain on the streets until they get results.

government officials say they are willing to hold dialogue. the two sides are trying to negotiate the details of the talks. demonstrators are demanding fully democratic elections for the territory's chief executive. the number of protesters have dwindled as the demonstrations entered their second week. but student groups continue to block three locations in the city's center. student leaders and government officials say they're expecting to start talks by sunday. demonstrators are warning authorities not to use force against them until progress is made at the dialogue. chief executive leung chunying says he wants to hold talks. and hq world's estella mak reports from hong kong. >> reporter: student leaders and government officials have agreed to hold dialogue. this likely means authorities won't remove the protesters by force.

security forces took tough measures at first, including firing tear gas. but this only led the demonstrators to toughen their stance. the use of force outraged ordinary citizens, and led many to join the protest. the government came under fire at home and abroad. officials in hong kong and mainland china seem to have learned a lesson, taking tough steps will only deepen the turmoil and invite more criticism. but it's unclear whether the situation will return to normal. two years ago hong kong officials wanted to introduce mandatory patriotism classes at schools but they canceled the plan after strong opposition from students. some protesters are saying they should fight to the end of time, again. >> translator: i hope the government is sincere about pursuing dialogue, and helping to resolve the situation. >> translator: the agreement to hold talks is just the first

step. dialogue is necessary, but i'm not hopeful that it will achieve the result we need. >> reporter: government officials will need to make considerable concessions to satisfy the protest leaders. but that is likely to be difficult. representatives of the two sides are meeting tonight for a third round of talks. they're trying to set the terms for starting an official dialogue. but it's too soon to tell whether that will lead to an end to the protests. estella mak, nhk world, hong kong. now for the latest in business news, here's ron madison from the biz desk. ron? >> all right, thank you very much, miki. we do start with news from the bank of japan where policymakers have kept their overall assessment of the economy unchanged. they say it's continued to recover moderately. they did revise down their assessment, though, of factory output. the policymakers wrapped up a two-day meeting on tuesday. they said personal consumption has remained resilient and they said the decline in demand

caused by the effects of the consumption tax hike have been easing. but they said exports have shown signs of weakness. they decided unanimously to keep large-scale monetary easing measures in place so they can achieve their target of 2% inflation. bank of japan governor haruhiko kuroda spoke after the meeting and said he feels the economy will keep recovering moderately for some time despite weaknesses in areas such as corporate output. he says corporate earnings are strong and jobs and income have been growing. and he said the impact of the tax hike is beginning to ease. >> translator: basically i think that in both the household and corporate sectors, people began spending their earnings, and that generated a positive flow of funds. >> kuroda also said the central bank's monetary easing program has been working. and policymakers at the bank will consider applying more easing, if necessary. but he said they'll study the risks involved with that first. officials at japan's cabinet

office say an important economic indicator declined in august. they say the coincident index was down for the first time in two months. and they say the economy has likely entered a sluggish phase. the officials say the index stood at 108.5, down more than one point from july. the base of 100 set in 2010. they calculate the figure by weighing industrial output, employment, personal spending as well as other data. the officials point to a fall in spending after the consumption tax hike in april. they say that's led to weak output for cars and auto parts. they revised their assessment of the economy downward for the first time in four months. all right onto the markets now. we're seeing the yen is gaining ground against the dollar. and this is hurting investor sentiment in tokyo. the nikkei average lost just about 0.7%. it finished at 15,783, snapping a two-day winning streak. leading the decline today were export related issues, including automakers, and consumer electronics shares.

taking a look at other markets across the region, they are pretty mixed, as you can see there. some investors took profits following monday's lackluster performance on wall street. others, though, continued to be out there buying. and they snapped up some recently battered stocks. hong kong's hang seng index seeing gains of nearly half a percent. 23,422. that made for a third straight session of gains. investors there a little less worried now about the protests. that's because they see some signs of progress in the talks between the government officials there, as well as the student leaders. over in seoul the kospi seeing gains of just about a quarter percent, finished at 1,972. that's the first time that market has risen in eight sessions. on monday we saw the index falling to its lowest close in 3 1/2 months. investors apparently picking up some bargain stocks today, including shares of samsung electronics. we do have news from samsung today. executives there say weak demand for their high end smartphones has hurt their mainstay business.

and they say that's been taking a pretty big chunk out of their operating profit for the july to september quarter. the executives released preliminary figures that show sales slumped 20% when calculated in won from the same period last year to just about $44 billion. they said their operating profit plunged 60% to reveille $3.8 billion. this is the second quarter in a row that sales have fallen. it's the fourth in a row that operating profits have declined. the executives say sales of their displays and semiconductors also took a hit. they're working on a range of new and more affordable smartphones now to try to take on their rivals at apple and chinese firms. managers at major manufacturing companies have welcomed the recent weakening of the yen. that's because they do make a profit from exports. but small and mid size companies feel that it's not such a good thing. nhk world's keiko aso explains why. >> reporter: ship builders in japan are receiving an increasing number of orders,

thanks to the weakening yen. they had previously struggled to compete with south korean and chinese firms. but now, the yen is weaker. they can sell their ships at lower competitive prices. this major ship builder is expecting orders to escalate. a few years ago, it was trying to scale down its production line, but now it has started to beef it up. it's decided to hire more foreign workers. currently, it has about 40 trainees from indonesia. the firm wants to have 200 by 2016. to beat the competition this company has strengthened its efforts to build shapes equipped with energy efficient engines. >> translator: we can't survive unless we can produce ships that

pass international environmental regulations. we believe we can do that with our technology. >> reporter: but it's a different story for smaller and medium sized companies. for them the weaker yen is a matter. traditionally major manufacturers exporting a product benefited from a weaker yen. smaller companies providing them with parts did so, too. but, with the appreciation of the yen, many major companies moved their factories from japan to abroad. this medium sized firm chose to stay in japan. it continues to make machinery for the production of engines with imported materials. company officials worry that the rapid depreciation of the yen could drive up prices of

materials from abroad. they are afraid they have no means to pass on the extra cost to their clients. another burden the company faces is expenses for overseas business trips. the company has to send workers from japan overseas for prolonged periods to set up their products at their clients' factories. this cost has risen by $2,700 a month compared to april. >> translator: when the weaker yen drives our costs up really high, we'd like to pass that increase on to our customers. but that's extremely difficult. >> reporter: the japanese government has asked the major companies to accept higher prices for products made by smaller firms, so they can cover rising material costs.

the question now is whether the smaller firms can ride out the crisis stemming from the weaker yen. a question that holds the key to japan's economy. keiko aso, nhk world. and that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's see how things are looking on the markets. u.s. president barack obama is working on tougher measures

to screen airline passengers for ebola. he says the chances of an outbreak in the united states are extremely low. medical officials there are treating an american and a liberian for ebola, and those in spain are taking fresh precautions after a nurse came down with the virus. nhk world's craig dale is tracking developments for us. >> reporter: united nations officials have warned ebola could be on everybody's doorstep if it's not stopped in west africa. now, spanish health authorities are dealing with the first known case of transmission outside of the affected region. a convoy of ambulances with drivers in protective gear rushed a spanish nurse to a hospital in madrid. she's stable with a fever, says the public health official antonio alamain. health officials say the nurse treated a priest who died of ebola in spain after contracting the virus in west africa.

across the atlantic the fifth american with ebola to return to the u.s. for treatment is now in isolation. video journalist ashoka mukpo had been working in liberia for nbc news. >> he was filming inside the clinic, and around the clinic, so he had a lot of opportunity to be exposed. >> reporter: exposure is a daily concern for people living in liberia, sierra leone and guinea, where ebola is jumping from person to person. the virus has been spreading for months. it's transmitted through contact with infected badly fluids such as blood and saliva. world health organization officials have identified more than 7,400 cases, more than 3,400 people have died. the health care systems in these nations are teetering on collapse. medical teams are struggling to care for the sick, and safely dispose of the dead. it's a different story in the u.s., where treatment and infection control are more

advanced. >> the chances of an ebola outbreak in the united states is extremely low. >> reporter: still, president barack obama is taking precautions. he's ruled out a travel ban but he's ordered tougher screenings of airline passengers, both in west africa, and upon arrival in the u.s. >> the ability of people who are infected to carry that across borders is something that we have to take extremely seriously. >> reporter: obama is reacting, in part, to the case involving thomas eric duncan. duncan flew from his home in liberia to the u.s. last month. he developed ebola at this apartment complex in dallas, and has been in hospital for the past week. he's in critical condition. and has started taking one of a handful of experimental drugs some patients are receiving. a woman in france, for example, used the drug from japan, along with another drug, and she recovered. now, these experimental drugs are designed to treat other illnesses, not ebola.

so without clinical trials it's impossible to know whether they help or even harm. some doctors have been giving their patients blood transfusions from people who recovered from the virus. the idea being they may carry antibodies for the disease. as for a vaccine, world health organization officials say they're optimistic one could be available for mass vaccination campaigns as early as 2015. craig dale, nhk world. it's time now to check on the world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. as opposed to yesterday's stormy weather, people in tokyo are enjoying beautiful, calm weather. sayaka, is it going to continue? >> yes, miki, we're enjoying nice, clear skies here in tokyo and the rest of japan and nice weather will likely continue at least for the next couple of days. typhoon phanfone has moved away leaving clear skies for much of japan and also cooler temperatures. because of that we saw the first snowfall of the season in the mountains, and also we saw the first frost of the season in

hokkaido. we have some pictures coming out of asahikawa. the first frost took place on tuesday, the morning low fell to 0.9 degrees celsius because of irradiation cooling that is 5 degrees cooler than normal. the first frost of the day earlier he than the average start date of october 8th. well as i mentioned, nice weather will likely continue for the next couple of days, because of this big high pressure system. and no precipitation for much of the country. nice clear skies for most of the korean peninsula, and much of china, as well. but skies are not too clear in beijing because of air pollution that will continue at least into your wednesday. and we have a system right here, this is vongfong, right now a very strong typhoon and is expected to intensify even further, probably as strong as a category 4 hurricane by the time it reaches the okinawa region on your saturday and then may affect western japan on sunday

and central japan as we go into monday. and monday is actually our national holiday. so vongfong will likely affect our holiday plans unfortunately. we have another system to mention across the eastern pacific, this is right now a tropical storm but because of the interaction over land it is expected to weaken to a tropical depression on wednesday, and then become a low pressure system. but it is approaching the baja california peninsula, it's expected to make landfall in the northern part of the baja california peninsula by wednesday morning local time, that's a remnant low but that could mean rainfall will increase. we're expecting quite a lot of heavy rainfall for the northern part of baja california peninsula and northern parts of mexico as well. and rain will eventually affect arizona. especially in the phoenix area. so lots of rain is on the menu for this location. that could trigger flooding, as well as mudslides. and this area was hit by the remnants of odile a couple of weeks ago.

we have another heavy rainmaker over the eastern areas of the u.s. and canada. this will likely make its way towards the east and this is going to produce very severe weather over the northeastern u.s. as we go in to tonight. there is a concern for severe thunderstorms, large hail, as well as damaging winds. behind it cooler air is coming in. temperatures only 8 degrees for the high in winnipeg despite sunny weather. chicago down to 18 degrees. 16 degrees in toronto and temperatures will cool down as we go into friday. take a look chicago 18 on tuesday, and down to 13 by friday and denver, 26 on tuesday, down to 14 degrees. so take care of your health. here's the extended forecast.

now, recapping our top story which is exciting news for us in japan. three japanese scientists who helped brighten the world will share this year'ses nobel prize in physics. the groundbreaking studies of asamu akasaki, hiroshi amano and shuji nakamura led to the creation of blue light emitting diodes or l.e.d.s now used in many electronic products. >> 2014 nobel prize in physics to professor isamu akasaki, professor hiroshi amano at

nagoya university japan, and professor shuji nakamura at university of california santa barbara. for the invention of efficient blue light emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy saving white light sources. >> members of the royal swedish academy of scientists made the announcement in stockholm. akasaki teaches at major university in nagoya city. hiroshi amano is a professor at nagoya university. nakamura is a professor at the university of california santa barbara. in 1989, akasaki and amano used crystals to help develop a unique semiconductor that emitted blue light. knack rura built on that achievement to create brighter blue l.e.d.s that were capable of being used in electronic products. wow. congratulations.

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. thanks for watching nhk world.gç

>> the battle for bonnie continues. islamic state militants have raised their black flag on several buildings on two sides of the strategic syrian town despite us-led airstrikes. a nurse in spain becomes the first person to catch the ebola virus outside of west africa. been quarantined command at least 20 people she was in contact with are now being monitored for the disease. and an entire local police force is disarmed in mexico