hello. welcome back to "newsline," i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. hong kong protest leaders and government officials will meet face to face over the concerns that brought tens of thousands onto the streets. spanish medical workers demand better training and equipment to treat ebola after a nurse becomes the first person infected with the virus outside west africa. and some tea farmers in

japan are trying to rebuild from the march 2011 disaster with a drink that's naturally sweet. government leaders in hong kong and pro-democracy students have agreed to hold their first formal talks. but the protesters don't like what's on the agenda, and they say they won't go home until they get what they want. the protesters, mainly students, have been on the streets for more than a week demanding democratic elections. the two sides agreed to start talks friday in a location open to the public. hong kong's number two official, chief exhibit carrie lam is scheduled to attend. she and her colleagues reportedly proposed a discussion on the provision of a law governing electoral reforms. >> translator: relating to the talks we propose two agendas, first is the constitutional foundation of political reform. second is the legal framework of that political reform.

>> student leaders criticized the agenda as vague. >> translator: we are very disappointed and angry with their strategy. we surge the government, and chief secretary carrie lam, to show their bravery to directly face the issue. >> they're calling on the head of the government chief executive leung chun-ying to resign and they're asking the government to scrap the electoral system that chinese leaders decided on in august. it effectively bars pro-democracy candidates from running for chief executive in election in 2017. refugees in china worked through the night, after a strong earthquake struck the southwestern province of yunnan. authorities say at least one person was killed, more than 300 others were injured.

china's national earthquake monitoring agency said the magnitude 6.6 quake occurred at about 9:50 p.m. local time on tuesday. its epicenter was in pu'er city. china's central television broadcast scenes of houses with collapsed roofs and roads filled with debris. the remote mountainous region is prone to earthquakes. a magnitude 6.5 quake in august left more than 600 people dead. japanese prime minister shinzo abe says chinese leaders are showing their readiness to improve ties. the two countries' relations have soured over a group of islands in the east china sea, and perceptions of history. abe made the remark in a debate at an upper house committee in the diet. a ruling coalition member said there are signs of better ties between japan and china.

he called for more dialogue and exchanges through various channels. >> translator: chinese president xi jinping said in september that china is prepared to promote the long-term, healthy development of a stable china/japan relationship. i believe that the chinese side has also become more active in improving our bilateral ties. >> abe said it's important to promote cooperation in discussions in various fields to deepen a mutually beneficial strategic relationship. and he added that the government will continue to call on china to set up a communication mechanism between security officials from both countries. to avoid unintended maritime emergencies. the leader of a pro-north korean group in japan says pyongyang is making progress with its probe of missing japanese nationals.

han jo man visited the north after japanese officials lifted some sanctions in response to the creation of a special committee. the committee is probing the fate of japanese believed to have been abducted by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s. ho is the chairman of the general association of korean residents in japan. his trip to north korea lasted a month. he sat in on the supreme people's assembly at the delegate. some people in japan say north korean officials are lagging behind in the probe. ho denied the allegation. >> translator: the investigation is progressing based on the bilateral agreement. nothing is behind schedule. >> ho also denied speculation that leader kim jong-un is suffering from health problems. he said kim is working hard and still has control of the military. but he declined to say whether he met kim in person.

media in the north have been silent about kim's activities for about a month. spanish medical workers are taking to the streets. they say they don't have the training or equipment to handle a possible outbreak of ebola the protest follows news that a nurse in madrid is the first person known to have contracted the virus outside west africa. the met cal workers say authorities haven't done enough to prevent the spread of ebola. they say they need better information about how to deal with it. they say the health minister should resign. >> translator: clearly there is concern. there is panic. because not enough has been done to deal with the situation properly. >> health authorities say the nurse was looking after two ebola patients at a hospital. they were infected with the

virus in west africa. medical authorities are trying to find out why the nurse contracted the disease, even though she wore gloves, and a protective suit. they're monitoring about 50 people who treated the patient. the regional director of the world health organization says there will likely be more cases of ebola in europe. now for the latest in business news, here's our ron madison from the biz desk. >> all right, so we get started with data out of japan today. we're seeing sentiment among japanese workers about the current economic condition does appear to be mixed in september. the result of a key monthly index remains unchanged from the previous month. officials at the cabinet office asked more than 2,000 workers nationwide what they thought about the economy. the sentiment index for the month stood at 47.4, and that is the same as august.

an index value at below 50 -- at or below 50 suggests more people are pessimistic about business conditions. some respondents say they're worried about rising material costs due to a weaker yen. but others say sales of expensive items and cosmetics are recovering as the impact from the consumption tax hike in april does appear to be easing up a bit. well, japanese leaders also have a clearer picture of how the economy is doing with the current account. it's the broadest measure of japan's trade and investment with the rest of the world and it has hit a surplus for a second month running. ministry officials say the surplus for august was about $2.7 billion. it was in the positive, despite a trade deficit of about $7.7 billion. exports rose 1% from a year ago. imports were up 2.3%. now we do have all nuclear plants in the country offline at the moment and japan has had to bring in more fuel to power homes and businesses. the stronger dollar has driven up the cost of doing that. ministry officials say the

primary income account surplus also rose more than 20% to about $14 billion. they say this is due to a sharp rise in profits from overseas investments, as the yen has weakened. well looks like investors really moving away from riskier assets like stocks now. they're worried about global growth, especially in the eurozone. the international monetary fund downgraded its global economic outlook and this has fuelled further concerns following weak industrial output data out of germany. here in japan we had the nikkei average down today. it fell nearly 1.2%. that works out to about a one-month low. a stronger yen weighed on broader sentiment today. bellwether shares and export linked issues suffered pretty heavy selling. and in jakarta the main index has finished its session lower 1.5%, 4,958. the rupea dropped to the lowest point in eight months against the dollar. analysts say recent political developments in indonesia are

wondering whether the income president can actually exercise strong leadership. now chinese equities did buck the weakness in the global markets. after a one-week-long holiday there. investors took their first chance to react to fresh measures from beijing. property shares rose after the people's bank of china announced that it would relax lending rules for home buyers. japanese prime minister shinzo abe has called for the establishment of a global framework on technological cooperation among countries that are fighting climate change. abe made the appeal in a video message at an international forum in tokyo. the event, organized by japan's economy trade and industry ministry, brought together government delegates, and officials from energy sectors of various nations. abe said industries, academics, and governments should share a road map to accelerate innovation in the quest to cut greenhouse gas emissions. a delegate from france said it's vital for governments to help each other speed up technological advances, rather than relying on the private

sector. now the conference also covered renewable energy. participants discussed how to cooperate in the development of eco-friendly vehicles that don't use fossil fuels. a japanese government official said the country should assert its technological stills. >> it is true that japan's own efforts to domestically reducing greenhouse emissions are important. but at the same time, japan will contribute to the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through technological division. >> but japan has so far been unable to announce a time frame for an emissions reduction target of its own. well, japan's aging society is taking its toll now on social security. officials at the welfare ministry say the number of households on low income benefits hit a new high in july.

households that receive welfare showed an increase of more than 4,500 from the previous month to 1.6 million. that's the highest since record keeping on this began in 1951. households with people aged 65 or older rose 2700 to about 756,000. that accounts for 47% of the total. 18% of recipients were households including working-age people. households with sick or injured members accounted for 17%. while those with disabled people totalled 12%. now ministry officials say the number of welfare recipients is, in fact, declining among working-age people. but the aging population is pushing total figures higher. >> >> smartphone users have a new way to charge their mobile devices, and they don't even have to plug them in. they'll simply be able to place their phones on a wireless power transfer pad. and they won't have to wait long to use this technology. as manufacturers are racing now to develop a range of compatible

products. nhk world tells us about that. >> reporter: it seems like mobile products using the new technology appear in shops every day. to charge this electric toothbrush all the owner has to do is put it in a glass. >> translator: customers like this product. it doesn't need a cable connection. >> reporter: the technology is also used in smart cars in paying or bus or train fares. when the card is swiped over the readers, electricity runs through the coils in the i.c. card. the process is called electromagnetic induction. it happens when a magnet is placed through a coil or moved away from it. electricity is transferred to the coil. the same applies to integrated circuit passenger cars embedded

with metal coils. the device let's passengers swipe the cards over. when the i.c. card is close to the machine, electromagnetic induction occurs, and the data is transferred. researchers at the massachusetts institute of technology came up with ways to adapt this technology. they added new features to the coils and circuits. now, it can be transmitted from a distance ten times further than before. this triggered the development of new products worldwide. for example, researchers at the university of tokyo made that can transmit electricity. an american i.t. company is working on a device that charges

smartphones by placing a pat under a desk. >> translator: getting rid of cables, that's what we're trying to do. >> reporter: this device is embedded in the ground to charge electric vehicles. all a driver needs to do is park the car. but it doesn't have to be exact over it. the producers hope to start sales within three years. >> translator: if the technology is put into practical use, it will help promote electric vehicles and help sell them. >> reporter: japanese researchers are also developing wireless charged robots. they're used to measure radiation in forests and other places where people aren't allowed to enter. after completing its mission, the robot automatically returns to base for a recharge.

this saves human labor. the developers hope the feature attracts buyers. >> translator: if wireless charging technology takes root in society, it will bring lots of benefits. it could transform lives. >> reporter: wireless charging technology is getting smarter all the time. the day may soon come when homes and workplaces will be totally free of electric cables. nhk world. >> all righty. that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's see what's going on in the markets.

okay. now to the nobel prize where announcements of day three came in just a few moments ago. three chemists share this year's nobel prize in chemistry for the development of super results fluorescent microscopy. >> 2014 nobel prize in chemistry to dr. iric betzig. professor stefan hell at max plank institute for biphysical chemistry and the german cancer research center heidelberg, germany. and professor william moerner at stanford university, stanford, usa. for the development of super

resolved microscopy. >> members of the royal swedish academy of sciences made the announcement in stockholm. eric betzig of the howard hughes medical institute in the u.s., stefan hell of german cancer research center in germany, and william moerner of stanford university share the prize. the committee members say their groundbreaking work has brought optical microscopy into the nano dimension. chemistry is the third of this year's nobel prizes to be awarded. congratulations. many farmers in northeastern japan are struggling more than three years after the nuclear accident. they've had trouble finding buyers, even when tests show their products are safe from radiation. now, tea farmers in one village are trying to turn their bitter

experience into sweet success. nhk world explains. >> reporter: farmers in the kunoho prefecture are proud of the locally produced tea. the drink is sweet, and caffeine free. few people drink it, even on special occasions. it's mostly used as an ingredient in medicines. >> translator: it's sweet. >> reporter: a local cooperative supplies the organically grown tea to a natural medicine company for several decades. the company used it as ingredients in making it much fresher, it brought up 70% of the annual production. everything changed three years

ago. the economreactors at the touch daiichi plant felted down and fears of radiation spread. the company became concerned about contamination of the leaf. it walked out of the deal even the results of radioactivity tests were negative. mr. akimoto is a local purchaser who faces a predicament. >> translator: we've tried to convince the companies that our product is safe but they didn't accept it. >> reporter: akimoto visited wholesalers around the country. he took part in promotional events and trade fairs. but his efforts failed to produce results. when it seems all hope was gone, salvation came from overseas.

they won a gold medal in the uk food contest. it was chosen from more than 8,000 products. akimoto suddenly realized people still enjoy amacha as an everyday drink. to boost sales he sought out the advice of an expert. he wanted to improve the tea's quality. >> translator: why don't you increase the inner temperature to 90 degrees? >> translator: wow, it's much higher than before. >> translator: i think this process will enhance the flavor. >> reporter: character moto had another idea to boost the tea's popularity. tea bags. they discussed what the bags should be made of, and how much of the leaf to include. >> translator: tea bags are becoming more top lar than tea

pots. consumers are shifting their choice. >> translator: i agree with you. i would like to do all we can to create a sustainable market for amacha. >> reporter: the first tea bags will appear on store shelves next year. >> translator: sales of amatcha are still at a crossroads because of consumer concerns but i'll never give up. we'll work hard to distribute our special tea, not only in japan, but around the world. >> reporter: akimoto hopes to expand their customer base in japan and abroad. he knows that the revival of the amacha tea tried will serve as a symbol of recovery from the 2011 disaster.

nhk world, iwate. it's time now to check on the world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. people in tokyo are experiencing calm weather. but a powerful storm is moving towards japan. sayaka, what can we expect up ahead? >> the weather is quiet in most of japan, i think many of us can enjoy a lunar eclipse tonight. however, as miki said, there's a powerful system approaching. this is vongfong, this is a violent typhoon, the highest category for typhoon. the pressure in the center is only 900 count. we seldom see this low number. it's actually the strongest storm on earth of the year, and it's the fifth super typhoon to threaten the western pacific. it should weaken a little bit, but it is expected to approach the southern islands of japan as we go into the next couple of days. it could approach the daito islands by saturday local time

as a very strong typhoon and then probably make landfall in western japan by monday local time. it is expected to bring lots of heavy rainfall, damaging winds, and risk of mudslides as well as flooding for much of the country. this is definitely something we should monitor for the time being. and then we have another system to mention over the andaman sea. this is now a cyclonic storm. as you can see clouds are engolfing the andaman producing stormy conditions and because of the slow movement into the next 24 hours, stormy conditions will continue in this island, and this area actually had about 200 millimeters of rain in the past 24 hours. more rain to follow over the next 24 hours. the system will then speed up and move over the bay of bengal while intensifying. it could reach the east coast of india by sunday local time as a very severe cyclonic storm. very strong gusts, as well as flooding rains anticipated for eastern parts of india. not just india, but also the west coast of the indochina

peninsula will see rain continuing for the next several days, because the system is enhancing the southwest monsoon. lots of heavy rain is on the menu for western parts of thailand, as well as parts of myanmar. all right, across the u.s. we are seeing some clouds over the southwest. this is the remnants of tropical storm simon. it's now a low pressure system but it is still producing some rainfall for northern parts of mexico. that will be spreading into the four corners region, especially in arizona. but no rain is inside for california, where drought has been continuing. so that is worsening the fire conditions. we have some images coming out of yosemite national park. a fire erupted in the western section of yosemite national park tuesday. this is one of thousands of wildfires that have raged during california's fire season this year. october is typically the month when the state experiences its largest blazes. california has been dealing with drought conditions all summer,

contributing to the numerous fires across the state. and i'm afraid to say there's no significant rain in sight for the next several days across california. that could worsen the fire conditions. meanwhile, there's a threat of flooding over the northern parts of the u.s. as well as eastern canada. and there's a chance of thundershowers continuing into wednesday morning in and around new york state. and then we are seeing some rain popping up over the mid part of the u.s. we have a report of hail up to seven centimeters in diameter across kentucky. temperatures are as follows. comfortable over the east, cool for the north and quite warm for this time of year, 32 in oklahoma city on wednesday. here's your extended forecast.

and we're going to end this hour with the footage of our sky in japan. as sayaka said we've just enjoyed the lunar eclipse for the first time in three years.

which was beautiful. thank you very much for joining us on "newsline." gg99ññwçç

>> these are the headlines. u.s.ts from kobane say airstrikes have slowed the advance of islamic state as kurdish kobane, anger is on the rise from the lack of action from turkey. friendly to identify people potentially infected by a strugglinge -- is to identify people eventually infected by a madrid nurse, the first to be infected with ebola outside of africa. -- uhuruenyatta