welcome back to "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines this hour. south korea's press freedom is called into question over the indictment of a japanese journalist accused of disfaming the country's president. student leaders and government officials in hong kong remain on the eve of the formal talks. japanese retailers are tapping the talent of female

managers and seeing a boost in sales. a japanese journalist is under indictment in south korea for allegedly defaming the president. the journalist wrote a peace about what he was doing on the day of the deadly ferry disaster in april. officials in japan say it could put a damper on relations. nhk world has more. >> reporter: he is the sole bureau chief of the newspaper. he wrote a commentary in august that said park's whereabouts were unknown several hours on the day the ferry sank. he wrote there was a rumor she was with a man. more than 300 people, mostly teenagers, died in the accident.

the sole central district prosecutor's office has bound him from leaving the the country. prosecutors have summoned him three times. they say his commentary has damaged park's reputation. the spoke department person says u.s. leaders support freedom of speech and expression. >> we have outlined in the past about our concerns about the law on the books in south korea. >> reporter: members of the group, reporters without borders, have called on south korean authorities to drop the charges. they said in a statement that it's normal for members of media to question politician's actions. the head of the newspaper where he works has demanded that the indictment be immediately

retracted. the newspaper president says he was right in writing the article about park. officials have asked south korea to act prudently over the matter. >> the indictment is extremely regrettable from the standpoint of freedom of speech and relationship between japan and south korea. this is not how democratic countries should behave. we'll have the government today to provide a did detailed explanation and convey our concerns. >> there have been recent signs of warming in the country's relations. the japanese and south korean foreign ministers have sat down twice since august after going for nearly a year without meeting. and officials have held informal talks on the possibility of a

summit between prime minister shinzo abe and park. they have discussed a date as early as next month. officials in tokyo suggest the mood could now change because of the indictment. nhk world tokyo. south korean media agents and legal experts have also weighed in on the case. the newspaper ran the news on its front page and said many people have raised doubts about the validity of the case. another newspaper said the indictment has sparked concern around the world about freedom of press in south korea. some lawyers have been critical. he note had the the commentary in the newspaper was probably based on reporting by the south korean daily. >> translator: indicting only the japanese reporter is equal to cracking down on freedom of

press. the indictment lacks impartiality. >> he says the indictment could have a ripple effect. >> translator: if a journalist is prosecuted the media will have no choice but to refrain from speaking out about president park and her administration. >> this lawyer specializes in criminal law and says prosecutors must prove the defendant wrote the article knowing it could constitute defamation. >> translator: i think it's very likely he'll be judged as having committed willful negligence. >> he says there's a strong possibility the journalist will be convicted. more than days have passed since pro democracy demonstrators in hong kong began

sit-ins. they're demanding a fully did democratic election for hong kong's next election. officials and students have agreed to come to a negotiating table. talks are set for friday. the two sides remain far a part on the issues. we have more from hong kong. >> reporter: hundreds of demonstrators continue to occupy the main road in front of the government headquarters waiting anxiously to see if the first round of formal talks will bring them a step closer to breaking the stalemate. >> this is our chance, biggest chance, to fight for something that actually belongs to us. >> i'm quite pessimistic about it. china government has already give out a strong stand out that they are not stepping back. >> reporter: the the crowd is getting smaller because many demonstrators have gone back to work or school.

some are offering help to district food and drinks while others help to keep the streets clean. even though they don't know each other well, their vigil has created friendships and strong bonds. the number of protestors has dwindled but those here are trying in every way to help raise the spirits. students are not the only ones taking part. this young lady is here with her mother. she has been here for a week. she came up with the idea of origami paper umbrellas and passing them out for free. her simple and colorful works are attracting a lot of attention. >> translator: i'm just sitting here so i i thought it would be nice to make something to cheer everyone up. >> translator: i don't know much about politics, but the future

seems bleak. we must support the students and people of hong kong. >> reporter: the protest has been referred to as the umbrella revolution after protestors used umbrellas to protect themselves against tear gas the first day. this umbrella statue outside the government headquarters has become a symbol by many. the designer was inspired by a protestor holding an umbrella in the rain. the message is freedom and peace. student leaders say they hope to have frank and open discussions with the government officials. >> translator: the government must respond squarely to our demand for democracy for students and all people of hong kong. >> reporter: the first round of formal talks will be open to public, but they still haven't agreed on an agenda or venue.

people of hong kong are apprehensive since protestors vow to stay on the street if negotiations fail to deliver concessions. nhk world, hong kong. >> they say the first dialogue may only highlight the gap between protestors and the hong kong government. the promise of dialogue will reduce the number of protestors which encouraged the central government. earlier we spoke with our reporter in beijing and asked them what steps china's central government is taking. >> the beginning of protest in hong kong, the media ran little coverage of them. in past few days it has clearly increased. it coincides with the decline in number of protestors after the government agreed to hold talk as with them.

fewer protestors and antigovernment demonstrators is a part of people's daily lives. these message presents a stance of the government. the government had held the position. predemocratic elections soared in line with the mass protest. >> translator: the situation in hong kong is a domestic chinese issue. we have been opposing outside intervention in hong kong or china. that stance remains unchanged. >> reporter: i spoke with an expert in political affairs at the university about china's desires. >> i would say the chinese

central government will allow the local government in hong kong to be responsible, to handle the issues, and also to handle future problems related to critical future of hong kong. central government's position has been made clear. i don't think that will change. >> the professor says chinese leaders are encouraged in the decline of number of protestors. it will remain one country two systems. the dialogue reveals whether china gets system they want or whether students get their dream of pro democracy. >> as nnhk world in beijing. the leader of japan's central bank seems as confident as ever about japan's economy. here's ron madison on that and

other business news. >> that's right miki. the government of bank of japan is telling people he's confident about the state of the economy. he repeat had the message in a speech in new york. he stressed economic recovery is continuing despite a slow down due to consumption tax hike in april. he spoke wednesday at the economic club in new york and referred to concerns about overseas investors and japan's recovery. >> the increase and decline of demand prior to and after the consumption tax hike, the annual gross rate of real gdp in january-june period this year over the july-december period last year is 1.0%. >> he spoke about inflation leveling off in the lower 1% r range. he said the weaker yen and higher energy cost is pushing up

consumer prices and those effects are tapering off. he said inflation rates are rising steady and said japan would rise out of deflation. >> if changes due to manifestation of risk factors is judged necessary for achieving the target, the bank would make adjustment without hesitation. >> he stressed there are many approaches to carrying out further monetary easing. in a corporate news today, leading japanese chain skylark was relisted on the tokyo stock exchange thursday after an eight year absence. it has become the second largest in terms of market capitalization within the restaurant sector. the sky i lark share price closed thursday at 1143 yen. the company executives say they'll use the funds through

the relisting to expand the number of restaurants. they plan to open 20 2 10 new stores in urban areas over the next three years. >> translator: i believe winners and losers in the restaurant industry will become clear next year or beyond. i will make effective investments to win in this very competitive market. >> now skylark was delisted back in 2006 through a management buyout. the executives then engaged in revamping operationsing. skylark promoted streamlining and other reforms and succeeded in business performance. market watchers discovered the federal reserve officials had discussed dollar and slow down at the meeting. this made the fed think they would be cautious about the interest rate hike. many areas rebounding today from

recent lows. sidney and hong kong gains of 1%. tokyo started the day in the positive. it did erase all earlier gains by the cloechltz i'll show you the main index climbing over 1%, finished 5296. fell to an eight month low wednesday. battered banking shares staged a rebound, common wealth bank of australia are are among them. in hong kong, the index closed up more than 1% at 23,534 with the renewed expectations the fed would keep rates low for some time to come. investors poured money into bc holdings. the nikkei average down three quarters of a %. 15478 falling below the level for the first time in a month.

we saw export link numbers take a beating. we have an update on a story we first told you about yesterday. officials at a japanese oil company have taken delivery of a special shipment. they imported an ultra light crude oil from the united states called con den sate. workers purchased 300,000 barrels. the fuel is recovered during drilling for shale oil and gas trapped deep underground. it can be process into forms including gasoline. the plant plans to produce gasoline for the japanese market. the banned crude oil in 1975. now this may help japan become more energy dependent. >> translator: our company will

be the first ever to process a shipment of con den sate sent over from the united states. japan will be able to secure a more stable energy supply if we diversefy energy sources. >> this could help japan reduce use of the crude oil. shinzo abe set a goal of filling 30% of leadership positions with women by 2030. he's appointing more women to his cabinet. retail managers are following suit and finding that women they promote are helping boost sales. we have more on that. >> reporter: during the summer,

a major japanese company launched a line of frozen smoothies. thanks to the ideas by women's development, the smoothie has a tech which you are and sweetness that's made it popular. >> translator: it tastes like a cocktail. >> translator: don't i look cute drinking it? >> reporter: the company is trying to acquire new consumers under the leadership of woman. she works in the firm 's marketing division. with a launch over the ice smoothie, she came up with a strategy to attract female consumers. she paid special attention to colors of the packaging that appealed to women. she decided to market the product at baseball stadiums. in just four weeks, the drink

achieved its annual sales goal. >> translator: people can enjoy the smoothie while watching the game. it's likely to become common on the beverage scene. i think it's a hit product. >> reporter: a similar trend is underway at department stores. for years most managers had been men even though 80% of customers are women. to a achieve a better balance, this department store appointed more women as managers. now one in four is a woman. she is a manager who pays attention to viewpoint of female customers. >> translator: we should sell more products to go with the suits. >> reporter: the former manager had an agreement they not interfere in how each other

operates. she gives advice without hesitation. she thought the spray of garments was gloomy. she added white to make displays more a attractive to female customers. >> translator: it's brighter. >> translator: yes, it sure is. >> translator: you know that section should be bright. >> reporter: she also tells the store's staff what setting will work in tokyo. >> translator: she pays attention to detail from a woman's point of view. that encourages us to do work better. >> reporter: thanks to her efforts, spending per customer has increased considerably over the last year.

>> translator: when i'm walking about the store each day, i can sense what customers need. i want to quickly satisfy their needs. >> reporter: they will focus on how the trend of more women in management positions are getting good results. this might expand to other business sectors in japan. nhk world. okay. that is going to do it for business hour. i'm going to pass back over to miki now. >> thank you very much. president obama says military operation against islamic state militants in iraq and syria remains a difficult mission, but he has vowed to continue the air strikes to continue the extremist group also known as isil. >> there is a broad based consensus, not just in the region but among nations of the world that isil is a threat to

world peace, security, order. that their barbaric behavior has to be dealt with. >> obama discussed with defense secretary chuck hagel, martin dempsey and other officials at the pentagon. obama says this is not something going to be served overnight. strikes will continue in cooperation with country's partners in the mission. in a related development, australia's defense department says it has launched the first air strike against islamic state militants in iraq. a fighter jet dropped two bombs during the night on a facility occupied by the group. >> it kills everyone who doesn't share its narrow sectarian ideology. that's why it's important that australia do what we can in conjunction with our friends and allies. >> australian security officials last month uncovered a plot to

kidnap a random member of the australia public and dress the victim in an islamic state flag before execution. the revolution boosted support for a abbott's position to join u.s. operations against the group. and it's time now to check on the world weather with our meteorologist. while people in japan are still recovering from typhoon phanfone, the next is approaching. >> this is the most intense storm on the planet this year. it's churning over the waters east of philippines bringing high waves. waves are picking up to four meters in the okinawa region. as it approaches, higher waves are expected. current stats now, moving slow pace toward the west wind gusts

280 kilometers per hour and pressure in the center is 910 kfs. this is the highest region since last year. the haiyan had pressure of 895. this will likely weaken as it moves towards the north. as a strong typhoon, it could approach or get close to okinawa islands by saturday morning and move toward the north, probably making landfall monday morning and aim for central parts of japan. anywhere across the eastern part of the hemisphere, you'll get the windiest stronger winds. that includes the tokyo area. strong winds along with rough seas expected and heavy rain on the menu for entire portions of the country from okinawa towards the next five days. this is something we should monitor the time being.

as opposed to that, a high pressure system is dominating most of china bringing clear conditions. skies are not so clear in the beijing area because of air pollution. currently the air pollution level is at the hazardous level at the moment. we're watching another tropical system, a cyclonic system, very large system. you can see this engulfs most of the sea. it's moving away from the islands. the next story is east coast over the indian continent. the center will likely reach the east coast of india by sunday morning local time as a severe cyclonic system. that's the second highest category for cyclone. wind gusts 150 miles per hour. lots of stormy conditions over india. as it travel s west, lots of

heavy rain swe. across the americas, remnants of tropical storm simon along with lots of heavy rainfall across the midwest, worst happens in kansas and missouri thursday and friday. temperatures to the north of it, quite cool this time of year, 90 winnipeg. just south of it 31 for the high in oklahoma city. that's nearly 10 degrees higher than normal. finally across europe, intense system is pushing through the british isles as well as the continent bringing severe weather. tornados cannot be ruled out along the cold front. heavy rain and windy conditions anticipated over the west. because we have a big high pressure system, dry weather continues over the east. temperatures are as follows. 21 warsaw with plenty of ni sunshine. here's the extended forecast.

all right. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm miki from tokyo. we'll have more news at the top

of the hour. please stay with us. thank you for watching nhk world. gg99ññwçç

but new airstrikes target islamic state militants in kobani. the is fighters now reportedly control one third of the border town with turkey. attack leaving over 40 dead, targeting shiites who recently overran the capital. and the u.s. said it would start screening flight in from west africa at five of its international airports. this is the first diagnosed ebola patient in the u.s. died in texas.