welcome back to "newsline." i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. a delegation of japanese officials has arrived in pyongyang to learn the latest have an investigation into people abducted from japan. have to be guided by the facts. >> leaders and scientists in the u.s. work to calm fears of ebola, after the infection of a doctor in new york prompts some states to take preventive measures.

and residents in central japan fear the possibility of mudslides one month after mount ontake erupted. an official delegation from japan has arrived in north korea. the visit is to examine progress on pyongyang's investigation into the fate of missing and abducted japanese nationals. north korea's state-run media has also acknowledged the arrival. the delegation is being led by japan's top diplomat for asian affairs, junichi ihara and is made up of more than ten officials from the national police agency, the headquarters of abduction issues, and the ministry of health, labor and welfare. the team is scheduled to meet with members of north korea's special investigation committee on tuesday and wednesday. and they will stress japan's stance that resolving the abduction issue is of the utmost importance. the government says at least

17 japanese nationals were abducted by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s. five returned to japan in 2002. now some japanese who are close to the issue say they support the visit. the brother of one of the five former abductees says it's important for japanese government officials to meet with their north korean counterparts face to face. >> translator: it would be meaningless to make such a trip merely to listen to their explanation. it is important for japan to directly state its demands and expectations, and to make it clear what kind of explanation would be satisfactory for japan. now let's see what's happening in the world of business. here's our ron madison from the biz desk. ron?

>> all right. thank you very much, miki. we get started with news on the tpp this hour. top trade negotiators from 12 countries say that they've made major progress towards a trans-pacific partnership free trade deal. they finished the latest round of ministerial negotiations in sydney and they're already scheduling more talking. the negotiators have released a joint statement. they say they've made significant progress on market access, things including tariffs, as well as rules on about trade and investment. >> we do consider that the shape of an ambitious, comprehensive, high-standard, and balanced deal is crystallizing. >> the negotiators say they'll meet again sometime in the next few weeks. working level talks will continue in the mean time. many people involved in the talks want japan and the u.s. to get on the same page as soon as possible. the two countries are at odds over tariffs on five key categories of farm products such as beef and park. they're also trying to bridge a gap on auto parts.

>> translator: negotiators from japan and the u.s. have made a lot of progress since the bilateral ministerial meeting last month. but we still have some important hurdles to clear. it's still unclear when we will reach an agreement on tariffs and other market access issues. >> amari said he plans to meet u.s. trade representative michael froman again before the asia pacific economic cooperation forum summit in beijing next month. japan's fujifilm group is in the news today because one of its companies is testing a drug to treat ebola. now the firm is said to take a major stake in a u.s. vaccinemaker. fujifilm has announced the purchase of a texas based therapeutics. they will buy 40% of the u.s. company with an eye to an eventual complete takeover. the u.s. companies makes vaccines for pharmaceutical companies. it also makes vaccines for new strains of influenza, and has been subcontracted by the u.s.

government to manufacture medical countermeasures during bioterrorism incidents. fujifilm has so far purchased two bio drug companies from u.s. firms. on to the markets now. the asia pacific region starting the week pretty mixed today. investors encouraged by recent u.s. earnings reports. they have been stronger than what many were expecting. and investors were relieved that most european banks have passed financial health tests. the nikkei average rose more than 0.6% to finish at 15,388. that's the highest close that we've seen for the nikkei in two weeks. stocks related to domestic demand like the drugmakers and telecoms were in demand. investors pretty hopeful that these companies will release upbeat earnings reports. markets in shanghai and hong kong were down, though. the officials at the hong kong stock exchange say they plan to set up a trading link with the shanghai exchange. it won't be launched this week as expected. investors thought they'd be able to begin investing in mainland stocks by the end of october. the shanghai composite, there

you see it down more than half a percent, 2,290. that makes for the fifth straight day of decline there. shares of brokerage firms faced heavy selling due to uncertainty about the plan to link the two exchanges. and china's two biggest listed brokerages fell sharply. both in mainland markets and in hong kong. the hang seng index fellower by nearly 0.7%, 23,143. and that makes for a third straight day of losses there. well, japanese carmakers continued to feel the effects of that consumption tax increase in april. they say they don't know when sales will recover. officials say in september they produced about 800,000 vehicles in japan. that's down more than 3% from the same month last year. it's also the third straight month that production has fallen. they say domestic sales are still in a slump after the tax hike. honda's domestic output was down 4%. toyota's fell at just about 1%. nissan's move to shift some of

its production overseas was a big reason its output was down nearly 25%. every six months officials at the bank of japan give their take on where they think the economy is headed. the latest report is due out on friday and people who watch the economy expect boj officials to lower their growth projections. analysts note that consumer spending has been slow to recover since the consumption tax hike back in april. they say exports haven't increased as fast as they had expected. boj policymakers will likely downgrade their growth projections for the current fiscal year from 1% to just below that level. they'll also be discussing how the economy's slow recovery and the decline in crude oil prices will affect prices of consumer goods. boj officials have set an inflation target of 2% through fiscal 2015. they're flooding the market now with the liquidity to achieve it. officials previously forecast that inflation would reach 1.3% this fiscal year, then 1.9% in the next. some boj policymakers are expected to forecast a slower rise in consumer prices.

others, though, may predict higher inflation in the mid to long-term due to improvements in employment and incomes. the invent ert of the blue light demitting diodes or l.e.d.s have been recognized around the world for winning this year's nobel prize in physics. the prestigious honor recognizes the great potential of the technology. l.e.d.s are already lighting up homes, and now researchers believe that they can revolutionize communications. >> translator: have you ever been poked by a large group of fish? >> translator: are you asking if i've ever been attacked by a fish while i'm feeding them? never. >> reporter: the boy is talking with a diver. this is made possible by a device with blue l.e.d.s. light from the l.e.d.s carries the voice data through the water. >> translator: thank you for coming. >> translator: you're welcome.

>> reporter: this exhibition in yokohama showcases the latest in l.e.d. technologies. 37 companies are showing off their products, and innovations. the technology isn't limited to sound. it can also send visual data. images are transformed into blue l.e.d. light that flashes at high speed and is sent wirelessly to a monitor. >> translator: unlike radio waves, l.e.d. light offers plenty of scope for increasing capacity. so this may open up a totally new world of communication. >> reporter: this manufacturer is developing a product that combines l.e.d.s with communication technology. this is a wireless speaker. sound is sent through the light from a liquid crystal display tv.

the audio can be heard from a speaker. ♪ this is how it works. the l.e.d. emits light when electricity passes through it. the l.e.d. is made to flash at ultrahigh speed, so fast that it can't be seen, and the light is transmitted when it's converted into digital signals of one and zero. >> translator: let's see what happens when i block the light. the transmission of the sound stops. >> reporter: people working in the communications industry have high hopes for l.e.d. technology. that's because frequency bands have been filled due to the spread of smartphones and other mobile devices. the hope is that these innovations can help ease the congestion due to their high level of efficiency.

>> translator: lighting infrastructure may also serve as communication infrastructure. we may see a fusion of both in the near future. >> reporter: japanese scientists took l.e.d.s one step further into the future. now, the technology is set to shine in a variety of areas. not just lighting. making our lives more convenient than ever before. >> okay. and that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's check in on the markets. scientists and some leaders in the u.s. are urging people to focus on facts as the fear about

ebola grows even higher. four states implemented measures to monitor health care workers returns from west africa, after a new york doctor developed the disease. but, some consider the actions heavy-handed, and say they could actually discourage people from going abroad to help. nhk world's craig dale reports. >> reporter: from the mayor of new york city. >> there's no cause for alarm. >> reporter: to a top health official. >> essentially no risk. >> reporter: to the u.s. president. >> we have to be guided by the facts. >> reporter: politicians and scientists in the u.s. are trying to calm fears about ebola. those fears grew after dr. craig spencer returned from doing charity work in guinea and developed symptoms. he went to this hospital right away, where he's now in serious but stable condition. but before that, he'd taken the subway and gone to public places. his fiancee is in quarantine.

>> she will not be leaving the apartment. >> reporter: spencer's case prompted action from the governors of new york and new jersey. they implemented mandatory 21-day quarantines for anyone who's had contact with ebola victims in west africa. illinois announced similar measures, and florida now requires quarantines or twice-daily temperature checks for the duration of ebola's three-week incubation period. >> several weeks of normal activity can affect several thousand individuals. >> reporter: but in new jersey, a nurse returning from west africa complained that her isolation in hospital was inhumane. new york mayor bill de blasio criticized her treatment. >> this hero coming back from the front, having done the right thing, was treated with disrespect, was treated with a sense that she had done something wrong, when she hadn't. >> reporter: certainly fears about ebola in the hardest-hit nations of guinea, liberia and sierra leone, are well founded.

the region accounts for the vast majority of the more than 10,000 cases. and nearly 5,000 deaths. but even there u.s. officials want level heads to prevail. >> they have got to overcome the fear and the stigma that are associated with ebola. >> reporter: and so as more ebola help and aid arrives from abroad, including china, britain, and the united states -- >> together we can stamp out ebola. >> reporter: -- americans are watching an anti-fear campaign gain steam at home. the mayor of new york encouraged its citizens to go about their daily business. the president hugged a nurse to survived ebola and repeated the abcs of transmission. >> the only way you can get this disease is by coming into direct contact with the bodily fluids of someone with symptoms. >> reporter: and the top health official warned of the impact quarantines could have on american nurses and doctors planning to head to west africa.

>> could possibly have a negative consequence of essentially disincentivizing people from wanting to go there. >> reporter: still, as people try to enjoy autumn in new york, elsewhere in the u.s., more and more military personnel are getting trained to fight an invisible enemy. either in west africa, or at home. controlling fear will likely continue in tandem with the efforts to turn the tide against ebola. craig dale, nhk world. british troops have handed over their last base in afghanistan. they have now ended all combat operations in the country. the troops lowered the union jack at camp bastion on sunday during a closing ceremony. they then handed over control to afghan security forces. the highest number of british troops in afghanistan at any one time was 10,000. britain sent more troops than any country except the united states.

most british soldiers were in the southern province of helmand, a stronghold of the taliban. 453 of them died during the 13-year operation. also on sunday, u.s. marines ended their combat operations in helmand province. most international troops are scheduled to leave by the end of the year. taliban militants have been increasing their attacks on the government. some 10,000 u.s. personnel will stay to train afghan security forces. the president of ukraine has claimed an overwhelming victory for pro-western parties in parliamentary elections. petro poroshenko says the result is an endorsement of his efforts to move away from russia towards europe. >> translator: this is the first time in ukraine's history that democratic and pro-european political forces have won support for two-thirds of the

seats. >> poroshenko vowed to accelerate efforts to join the european union. he pointed to exit polls that show his bloc will likely become top party with 23% of the vote. people in the party of prime minister arseniy yassan yuck trail by a narrow margin. they're expected to form a coalition with the president's group. pro-russian rebels who control parts of the eastern regions of donetsk and luhansk boycotted the vote. they say they'll hold their own election on november 2nd. observers say the divide between forces in the east and west could become more entrenched. monday marks exactly one month since japan experienced its deadliest volcanic eruption in decades. hundreds of climbers were caught

in the eruption of mount ontake, the first in seven years. one of them shot this video near the summit. not all of them survived. the eruption left 57 people dead. six others have yet to be found. people in central japan are reflecting on this tragedy. people visited the mountain to pay tribute. they offered silent prayers at the exact time of the eruption. residents laid flouers at the memorial of the foot of the mountain. >> translator: winter is nearing. i feel really sorry for those who are left behind. up there on the mountain. >> people still can't go within four kilometers of the crater. workers from the ski resorts don't know when they'll be able to return to their jobs.

those who run hotels and restaurants have been hit by cancellations. and residents near the mountain have worries about the aftereffects of the eruption. nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa reports. >> reporter: yukio oya lives in owe tacky village at the foot of ontake. he says volcanic ash continues to flow into a river near his house. >> translator: i can't help feeling worried when i see the color of this river. >> reporter: mount ontake is believed to have spewed up to 1 million tons of ash. people now live in fear of mudslides every time it rains. fine volcanic ash helps debris to travel more smoothly and generates higher water pressure. officials in ontake village say they have to remain on guard for what's going to happen throughout the next season.

>> translator: we see a lot of snowfall here during winter. the snow will melt and run down when spring comes. but this winter will not be a normal one for us, as the snow is falling on the ground covered with volcanic ash. >> reporter: one expert points out the danger of a massive mudslide if the mountain were to erupt again. he is with the university of tokyo's volcano research center. he says an eruption could trigger bigger mudslides. such an eruption has occurred four times at the mountain over the past 10,000 years. last month's eruption was hydro volcanic. it occurs when groundwater is heated by rising magma. in mematic eruptions lava spews out and flows down.atic eruptio out and flows down. he says the possibility of mag

matic eruptions is low but if it were to happen, snow will melt instantaneously and cause mud and volcanic ash to rush down the mountain. >> translator: there have been past cases in which magmatic eruption occurred. sometime after a hydro volcanic eruption. we need to monitor volcanic activities at mount ontake closely and analyze data before predicting what could happen in the future. >> reporter: other experts say communication is the key to preventing a similar disaster. they say the eruption of mount ontake has raised the issue of finding the most effective way to alert climbers and residents, and respond to eruptions and mudslides. mitsuko nishikawa, nhk world. japanese coast guard officials arrested the skipper of a chinese vessel apparently poaching coral.

the ship was in japan's exclusive economic zone in the pacific ocean. a patrol ship spotted the boat on monday morning. the island lies some 1,000 kilometers south of tokyo. coast guard officials boarded the boat after its crew attempted to flee. they arrested the 31-year-old chinese captain on suspicion of violating japan's fishery law. they're questioning the skipper and 11 other crew members. the japan coast guard reports that poaching in the area has increased as a result of the high price coral fetches in china. japanese officials say about 100 ships that appear to hail from china were navigating in waters off the islands on sunday. it's time now for world weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. jonathan, the rainy season is ending in southern china. but the severe flooding on highland island this weekend. what caused it?

>> miki, it looks like even though, yes, the continual rain bands are starting to dissipate over southern china, you still have actually for the southern areas south of china, into the indochina peninsula where you are seeing these pockets of heavy rainfall. and sometimes they extend into places like hainan island. this weekend is an example of what happens when that type of scenario takes place. let's take a look at some video coming out of the region where torrential rains impacted southern china's hainan island during the weekend. farmlands and roads were inundated and about 50,000 residents were affected. many villagers were left stranded because roads were blocked by floodwaters. and some of those floodwaters reached one meter saturday evening. the good news is the heavy rains are ending. but that doesn't rule out all rainfall. in fact, we take a look at the forecast for what we're expecting into the overnight period, we have some rain again creeping in from the west and

arriving over hainan island, so again, even though the rain may not be heavy because of the flooding, the rainfall is not going to be helpful in that situation. now, in contrast to the low, back towards the west we are seeing high pressure starting to control more and more of the weather into eastern china and the korean peninsula. now over japan we had a cold front move through with a low pressure system toward the north. in fact, we did have some severe weather popping up in to hokkaido. and what happens as we go in to the evening hours, and into tuesday, this low pressure system will be driving out some colder air, accentuated by the cold front and so we'll be seeing some clearing skies as the high moves in from the west. but in the process, we're going to see some much colder temperatures. check out these highs coming up on tuesday. 19 is all we're going to see on tuesday. sunny skies there in tokyo. 16 in seoul. but again, much cooler temperatures as we go into the next day. now, i'm going to take you down toward india, because we do have a new severe cyclonic storm.

this is expected to move toward the north and then turn toward the north and east as we go into the middle of this week. it's a slow moving storm. but it is expected to impact the northwestern portions of india, as we go in to the weekend. and so, this area also seeing a slow end to that monsoonal season, the southwest monsoon. but i think we're going to see an impact from the system with the wet weather. now i want to direct your attention to the corner of the screen as we look over into north america. you can see these clouds trying to stream in toward british columbia. that is the remnants of ana. now, it is also an extra tropical system. and extra tropical system typically not only produces strong winds, but also brings in a lot of moisture. and so we're looking at the possibility of seeing some very windy conditions, and also some nasty weather possibly for british columbia, and also into the u.s. pacific northwest. high pressure, though, bringing very dry conditions for the deep south. look at this, highs near 30 degrees coming up on monday in atlanta.

wrapping things up with a look at europe. another dry pattern for the central portion of the continent. we do have a cold front dropping down from the north, it will bring some cloud cover and some showers into the scandinavian peninsula. another low down toward the balkans. but we're talking about some very dry conditions all the way into paris and london and madrid. i do want to note the eastern side of the high bringing some very chilly temperatures. high of only 3 degrees on monday from moscow. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

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

we'll have more news for you at the top of the hour. thanks for watching nhk world. c

you ukraine give pro-western , hailed as a win vindication for ukraine, and this despite 3 million people need not taking part in the polls. >> a narrow victory in the brazilianelectric -- election. samantha power begins a tour of west africa as the death toll from the epidemic nears 5000. these are the top stories this hour. think for joining us.