it's a thursday evening here in japan. i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to this hour's "newsline". we start off with a quick look at the hour's headlines. islamic state militants seized almost all of the syrian city of palmyra. unesco fears a world heritage site in the ancient city could be at risk. a japanese doctor born in china is using her medical and communication skills to build a

bridge between the two countries. the islamic state militant group has taken control of most of the syrian city of palmyra. concerns are rising that ancient monuments in the city listed as a unesco world heritage site could be damaged. the syrian observatory for human rights says the militants forced government troops to withdraw after fierce fighting and seized a large swath of the city. palmyra is in a strategic location, along a highway linking damascus with areas controlled by the group. it is not yet known whether the fighters have entered the district of the city containing an ancient temple and monuments. the structures date back 2,000 years. the syrian government has been trying to fight off the islamic state militants by stepping up airstrikes. it's also trying to safeguard the ruins by transferring hundreds of artifacts to a safer place. unesco director general expressed concern that one of the most important cultural heritages in the middle east is

be being threatened. she urged the countries of the world to do everything they can to stop the fighting and protect it. >> typical to get a business perspective on today's developments. gene otani tells us how a tie up with an indian business group will help a japan's company offer its expertise in making inroads. >> sounds like an interesting combination. japan mitsubishi agricultural machinery reached an agreement to form a capital tie up with an indian machinery maker. the moves comes amid increasing demand for food. the mitsubishi heavy industry subsidiary agreed to join forces with the indian company. mitsubishi agricultural says it will allocate new shares to a third-party in october. the indian group plans to acquire a 30% stake.

the president of the company says his company lacks ability to make products overseas. they want to benefit from the worldwide sales network. mahindra aims to add rice plantsers to its products as well as other machines. the market for this type of machinery in japan keeps shrinking as the number of farmers decline but globally the demand for food continues to expand. young south koreans are flocking to a job fair near the capital seoul. a tight job market at home are encouraging them to seek work in other countries. south korea's trade and industry ministry organized the event. it's drawing interest from japanese executives too. they are looking to hire more foreign workers as they expand overseas. representatives from 96 japanese companies are taking part in the

fair. nearly double the number last year. >> translator: for south koreans who want an international career japan is one destination. we're looking forward to meeting students who have the potential to work and get along in another country. >> translator: i majored in japanese and economics. i like to make use of both of them and work in a global environment. >> unemployment among young south korean adults have been in the double digits for most of the year. south korea's government said it was 10.3% in april. organizers say about 2,000 applicants will meet with japanese recruiters during the two day fair. checking the markets tokyo stocks reversed most of their earlier gains but the nikkei average still reached a 15 year

high ended a touch higher at 20,202. analysts say many investors bought shares on hopes that weaker yen will boost exporters. profit taking kicked in ahead of a bank of japan policy meeting. the shanghai hit a fresh seven year high. it dependedfter hbc's survey came in worse than many analysts expected. but it rallied on hopes the government will take further stimulus measures to support the economy. indonesia rose. analysts say jakarta's new monetary and fiscal policies are attracting foreign investors. hong kong extended its losses closing the day down 0.2%. seoul's kospi shed 0.8%. investors in sidney went bargain hunting after three days of

falling price. it rose 0.9%. executives at mcdonald's japan are trying to turn around their business by revamping their menus. they announced a strategy plan for boosting sales following a series of food safety scandals. the president and ceo sara casanova announced a plan at a mcdonald's restaurant in tokyo. it will try to attract families and women by adding more vegetables. customers can choose a salad instead of fries to go with their meals. fewer people in japan have been eating at mcdonald's. sales have declined by double digits for ten straight months and following a number of scandals including customers finding foreign objects in their food and revelation a chinese supplier was using expired meat. mcdonald's has taken steps to

build trust. they offer information about origin of greningredients in food items. work used to come before family for many japanese. more firms now are encouraging are employees to take child care leave. welfare ministry officials are giving special recognition to employers who do that. a company in northeastern japan is one of the first to qualify. >> reporter: this company sells industrial icemakers and refrigerators. all of its female employees who took maternity leave or child care leave in the past five years have returned to work. 40% of the male employees took child care leave when their wives gave birth. that's 20 times the national average. maiyumi takahashi is raising three daughters.

she's back at work after taking maternity leave and child care leave after each was born. it's 5:00. she hands over what work she has left to her colleagues when she leaves the office early. she's been promoted despite working shorter hours. >> translator: i will work hard so i can move up the ladder while raising my children. >> reporter: the company began promoting child care leave after it lost a number of workers in quick succession. around ten years ago, the company was losing about 70 of its 400 workers a year, before they reached retirement age. many said the company placed too much emphasis on sales performance. the president says the high turnover rate made it difficult to maintain good customer relations.

he says the firm's sales suffered. he tried to change the atmosphere to retain workers. many of whom are relatively young. he thought that encouraging employees to take child care leave would be a good strategy. >> translator: i intended to raise workers' motivation and give them a better work/life balance. >> reporter: the general affairs department is in charge of promoting child care leave. when the male employee's wife is expecting a baby, the department encourages the worker to take time off. 80% of the company's workers are men. company officials believe women will find it easier to take leave if the men do so too. this man was the first manager to take child care leave.

>> translator: i was able to help my wife during my leave. i hope my co-workers will also be able to do that. >> reporter: employees who take time off are required to submit reports about their experience for other employees. >> translator: i feel relaxed about taking maternity and child care leave. >> reporter: the company's sales have jumped 50% in five years. even though more workers are taking child care leave. company officials believe employees are more engaged in their work and that customers are more trusting because the sales staff is the same. >> translator: i've realized it's possible to increase sales if everyone raises their motivation by keeping a good work/life balance. >> reporter: the company's welfare goes hand in hand with its employees' well-being.

a big part of that is making sure the workers take leave to lead more fulfilling private lives. hinako fujita, nhk world, sendai. is >> that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. a decision by zoos and aquariums in japan to change the

way they acquire dolphins is causing ripples across the nation. the japanese association of zoos and aquariums decided on wednesday they would no longer purchase dolphins caught in dry hunts. . the decision came after the world association of zoo as and aquariums suspended japan's membership a month ago. the international body said the hundred is inhumane. some audiences at dolphin shows fear they may not be able to see the animals for much longer. >> translator: this is one of the main attractions here. we would miss fit we couldn't see it any more. >> translator: children love the dolphin shows. i don't want to see them abandoned. >> reporter: waza released an online statement about the decision calling it a welcomed break through. the japanese body made the decision through a vote.

the majority chose to stay in the international alliance because they consider it indispensable to retaining rare species. >> translator: we can't breed rare species of animals without an international network. so i think it's a reasonable decision to stay in waza. >> reporter: but many aquarium officials are voicing concerns. >> translator: banning such hunts would be a headache for our facility. we have to consider whether we can breed the species on our own. >> reporter: aquariums in japan have been trying to improve breeding technologies like those in other industrialized nations. this aquarium in western japan has had more than ten successful dolphin births. the staff here says it's not an easy task and requires additional facilities.

mother dolphins need a place to nurse their young in a relaxed atmosphere. so an aquarium needs a breeding pool separate from the one used for dolphin shows. in addition some dolphins need to act as nannies. that's because in the wild dolphins raise their young in groups. despite such efforts the survival rate for newborn dolphins is low. the aquarium has only one adult dolphin that was born there. >> translator: breeding dolphins costs a lot. it's expensive to equip breeding facilities and there are labor costs associated with acquiring the necessary skills. >> reporter: this aquarium says it's difficult to obtain dolphins other than through drive hunts and seceding from waza is an option if they wish

to purchase live dolphins. some japanese think international criticism is unfair. groups of lawmakers of the governing liberal democratic party held a meeting to discuss this issue. >> translator: drive hunting is a part of a japanese tradition that's been practiced for a long time. we cannot approve the waza recommendation. it contradicts what we advocate. >> reporter: some diet members argued they should discuss ways to support aquariums if they withdraw from waza. japanese experts say it will be some time before breeding technology can be improved. they say they have to address this issue now so that people can continue to learn more about the animals across the nation. thanks for that update.

a japanese bid for world heritage status is facing more vocal opposition. south korean president park geun-hye came out in opposition of giving several to japan's industrial areas. an advisory body to you necessary could has recommended listing sites but south korean officials say japan is trying to glorify facilities in which people from the korean peninsula were forced to work. the unesco director said the bid runs counter to the organize's spirit. she said it would cause feuds if japan turns a blind eye to the inhumane forced labor. >> translator: i believe political opinions should not be brought into matters like this. in this sense, it is extremely regrettable if president park geun-hye's reported remarks are true. >> japanese and south korean

officials will meet in tokyo on friday to discuss the matter. the japanese side will explain that the facilities showed the rapid indusialization of japan in the half century after the 1850s. that was before japan's annexation of korea. health officials say diabetes affects more people in china than anywhere else in the world. a japanese doctor with roots there is in a special position to help two the disease. and acts as a bridge between the two countries. >> reporter: diabetes specialist yoko has been working at the university of tokyo hospital for 20 year. many of her patients are chinese, living in the tokyo area like this man. >> translator: i can tell her in

chinese exactly how i feel so she understands my condition precisely and can decide what to do. it's important. >> translator: contributing to medical exchanges between japan and china is my long-time dream and my duty. >> reporter: born to a chinese father and japanese mother, she grew up in northeastern china. after finishing high school, she moved with her family to tokyo and became a doctor. in 2010, doctors in china invited her to speak at a medical conference in shanghai and to vit hospitals there. she was shocked by the level of treatment she saw. >> translator: in japan, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and nutritionists work for a patient as a team. we try to help patients stay

motivated in their fight against diabetes. but in china, there was no team effort on behalf of the patient. >> reporter: according to the international diabetes federation, more than 380 million people around the world are living with diabetes. about a quarter of them are chinese. she is eager to introduce japanese treatment methods for the chronic disease. recently, a group of doctors from beijing visited her. they were especially interested in picking up dietary advice for their patients.

>> reporter: in 2011, she took a team of diabetes specialists to shanghai. they provided free consultation on everything from diet to daily exercise. they did the same at a hospital in hangzhou in the following years. >> translator: almost everyone came to me before they went home and said thank you. the big smiles on their faces were in complete contrast to the looks of alarm when they first came in. i realized then how much they appreciated what we had done. >> reporter: to meet the need in china, she will open a diabetes clinic in beijing this summer. it will be funded by both chinese and japanese investors. she hopes it will be a hub for diabetes research, education and

treatment. >> translator: the number of people with diabetes keeps increasing around the world. china has ten times more diabetics than japan. i believe that we can collect a great deal of data and advance research and prevention. i hope this new hospital will be a center for such information that will be brought back to japan in the future. >> reporter: step by step, she is using her knowledge and experience to realize her dream to make both patients and relations between the two countries healthier. nhk world, tokyo. more power to her and thanks for that report. our weather desk has this hour's update.

>> people in tokyo are enjoying calmer weather but not the case for southwestern islands of japan. okinawa, you're in the rainy season. the rainy season is called plum rain. taiwan and the southwestern areas, southeastern areas of china is also under rainy season and seasonal rain that will continue to cheerpkeep here. more heavy rain is going to don't fall. heavy rain will continue for southern areas of taiwan and lots of mountains out there so very prone to flooding as well as mudslides. rain will likely continues into the next week. rainy area into monday and lots of rain marks on the menu in places like taipei hong kong and guangzhou. flooding and mudslides are a i had concern. now europe. severe weather affected many parts of spain on tuesday.

i want to take to you the southern areas to show you the damage done by the severe storm. this man is wading through knee deep piles of hail. severe hail storm flooded a supermarket garage. hail stones caused damage on other structures and vehicles. this video shows impact of hail stones pounding this car. stormy weather took residents surprise after two weeks of hot weather. the heat has eased and severe weather has ended in spain but instead italy and the balkan peninsula and all the pine region are experiencing very bad weather, that includes heavy rainfall risks of thunderstorms, gusty winds and tornadoes on your thursday. more heavy rain will likely cause flooding out there and mountains with heavy snowfall. alpine region may see additional 70 centimeters of snowfall so lots of snow on the menu. temperatures are going to be as follows. still a little bit chilly in

vienna. 15 degrees for the high. 17 degrees in warsaw. much hotter than normal over the east. kiev your high will be mid-summer-like, 27 degrees on thursday. now let's go to the americas. severe weather still happening over southern areas of the united states. now from the beginning of may nearly 250 tornadoes occurred in the united states and one tornado occurred on wednesday in tennessee and more tornadoes could happen over the southwestern portions of texas on thursday. now not just tornadoes thunderstorms gusty winds and large hail could happen over this area on top of that significant heavy rainfall is likely from mexico through the southern plains up into the central plains. on tuesday floods occurred and on monday flood occurred in louisiana killing a boy and also record breaking heavy rain fell in oklahoma on wednesday. more heavy rains likely pound similar locations into the next several days.

beneficial rain for you over the western areas, especially california as well as nevada and some snowfall. temperatures are going to be winter-like in l.a. high 18 degrees. 18 degrees in oklahoma city as well. still much higher than the one across the south, 27 degrees in atlanta with abundance of sunshine on thursday. here's your extended forecast.

people in tokyo have brought an iconic video game into the real world. they attempted to set a record for the largest human image of pac-man. more than 350 people put on yellow rain coats and took their positions to celebrate the game's 35th birthday and release of a pac-man movie. they are all fans of what became an arcade classic with the main character ran through a maze eating pellets and avoiding his enemies. the tokyo fans made an image ten meters wide. an official from guinness world records acknowledged their achievement. the pac-man creator joined the celebration. >> translator: this has been a real celebration of pac-man's 35th birthday. i hope everyone will keep on

loving him. >> has it been 35 years already? congratulations to pac-man wherever you are. i'm james tengan. bye oyçyçyçyçyj4j4j4j1j1j8j8j8jj

streets of burundi 's capital. they want president pierre nkurunziza to relinquish his bid for a third term. on national tv, the burundian leader said the protests were limited. the injured city of palmyra is under control of the islamic state. sending the coast guard to search and rescue any other asylum-seekers stranded at sea. malaysia and indonesia promised