ed by gene otani from the business desk and meteorologist sayaka mori. this is "newsline" and we start off with a quick look at the hour's top stories. hong kong legislators have voted down a bill that would have changed the way the territory chooses its next leader. the proposal sparked last year's mass protests. japan is turning to younger citizens for help in solving social issues by giving them the

right to vote. and the number of displaced people in the world is at a record high approaching 60 million. hong kong legislators have voted down the bill that would have changed the way the territory chooses its next leader. the proposal on electoral reforms sparked last year's mass pro-democracy protests. the legislative council held a vote after their second day of deliberations. the bill failed to obtain a two-thirds majority needed for passage. but many of the pro-beijing lawmakers walked out right before voting. the reform plan was put together by hong kong's government based on decisions by officials in beijing. the bill would effectively bar pro-democracy candidates who are critical of the communist party for running from the post of chief executive. now that the bill has been voted down, the next chief executive

will be elected by a committee largely made up of people hand picked by beijing. pro-democracy lawmakers welcomed the rejection. >> today is not the end of the democratic movement. quite to the contrary. this is the starting point of another way of democratic movement. >> and pro-beijing lawmakers criticized the result. >> now hong kong will not know when we shall have another chance of giving our people giving the 5 million people one man, one vote to elect our chief executive. nhk has obtained new satellite images of two spratly islands in the south china sea. six parties claim the islands. the photos show land reclamation being undertaken by china. a new image shows china's land

reclamation around the mischief reef is close to completion. compared to a photo taken in march. the project is progressing significantly. a photo of the reef shows sand in the reef. this indicates the reclamation work is ongoing. china's foreign ministry spokesperson announced this week that china will soon complete its land reclamation work. he said that after the reclamation, china will build facilities to meet functional requirements. a fellow with the center for strategic and international studies says she expects the reclamation work will be completed in the next couple of months. china has been engaged in reclamation work at seven reefs in the spratly islands. cooper says the work is nearly complete at five reefs with the construction facilities such as an airstrip and a port continues.

>> we do not read it as a change of policy. we read it as a change the diplomatic message. >> she also says china wants to avoid the problem of the spratly islands coming to the foreground. >> it seems that china is trying to signal to the international community, probably to the united states as well as to countries in the region that it does not want to have an antagonistic relationship over these ongoing projects. >> u.s. and chinese feshlofficials are to meet for dialogue in washington next week. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is defending his plans for national security. he's caught flack from lawmakers for pushing for a new interpretation of the constitution. he told members he's doing his duty. >> translator: if i ignore the international situation and stuck to the old interpretation

of the constitution, i'd be neglecting my responsibility as a politician. >> abe wants japan to be able to exercise its right to collective self-defense. japanese troops could then go to the aid of a country under attack. it was said citizens don't except what the government is pushing. >> translator: japan obviously needs to enact laws to set up circumstances. but politicians also have the responsibility to create more assistance that is consistent with the constitution. >> abe hit back by highlighting the importance he attaches to japan's security alliance. >> translator: japan is facing a situation in which its people must be defended through a strong alliance with the united states. >> abe said times are changing.

he noted japan is within range of a certain country's missiles. and he said that country has the technology to turn them into weapons of mass destruction. weather officials in japan say a volcano on an island in the southwest has erupted for the second time in nearly three weeks. they're calling on people to be alert for further eruptions. mt. shindake is on the island of kuchinoerabu. they measured around noon time. they were able to confirm that small rocks fell in the sea about nine kilometers away from the crater. no people have been affected. all of the residents fled at the end of may when the volcano came to life. authorities say they're keeping their alert level for the alert level a five the highest on the

scale. japanese lawmakers are trying to bring a breath of fresh air into the democratic process. they lowered the voting age from 20 to 18. it's the first such move in 70 years and could add 2.2 million new voters. the aim is to give young japanese a role in solving social issues. nhk world's kaz mee iz ta mee has more. >> reporter: voted unanimously on wednesday to pass the measure. it will apply to local and national elections as well as national reviews of supreme court justices. the first election under the new law is expected to take place next summer when voters will cast ballots in an upper house election. the last major revisions to the election law were in 1945. women got the right to vote and the minimum voting age fell by five years to 20. japan now joins other countries

worldwide that allows citizens to begin voting from the age of 18 or younger. japanese lawmakers saw a need to act. the population is aging quickly. that's shifting the burden to younger people to tackle a range of social issues such as the national debt. >> translator: i want to take part in an election. some people may think that their votes will not make a difference but i don't agree. young people's views are important. >> translator: i don't feel a responsibility to vote. i just don't feel my vote will count. >> reporter: past elections indicate younger japanese have not been active at the polls. in the lower house election last year, about 32% of those in their 20s cast ballots. they trailed the average for all eligible voters. >> translator: the young are not

voting. they have little interest in politics. this trend must change as they must carry the country forward one day. >> reporter: government officials are looking for ways to spark interest among the young. they plan to begin distributing voter education materials this year to high school students nationwide. lowering the voting age is part of a bigger debate. lawmakers are looking at other steps for people to take a more active role in society from a younger age. for example, they're considering lowering the age at which people are considered adults under the law. they may also review the juvenile act which provides legal protections for people under 20. and discussion is underway to allow people to run for public office before they reach the current minimum age of 25. bringing the younger generation into the voter pool could provide insights on public finances and social security. but getting young people to go

to the polls and exercise their new right to vote remains a challenge. kaho iz ma ta knee, nhk world. >> thanks for that report kaho. chinese leaders have been working hard. now they're seeing signs that things are getting better in some parts of the country. let's go to gene otani on the business desk for all the details on that story. >> james, there seems to be a rural and urban divide in terms of where the prices are actually going. government officials know they have to get the housing market back on track for the sake of the economy. they've been trying all kinds of things to encourage people to buy. and recently they've started seeing some promising signs. officials in may recorded increases in new home prices in some of the cities that take part in a regular survey. but they say the turnaround was mostly limited to big cities suggesting a widening gap between more wealthy urban areas and the rest of the country. and the survey suggests the

outlook remains uncertain. officials at the national bureau of statistics say the number of cities that recorded a month on month rise was up 2 to 20. the number that saw prices fall was down by 5 to 43. even so it was the 13th month in a row that there were more cities with falling prices than those with rises prices. officials say big cities reported on largest increased. they said shanghai showed an increase of 2.6%. and beijing and guangzhou saw a rise of 4%. the analysts stress that home prices continued sliding in many regional cities. officials at a leading bank are taking a historic step to help japanese firms do business in china. bank of tokyo officials say they'll issue japan's first bonds denominated in the yuan

currency. the officials say they'll raise 350 million yuan or about $56 million through the bond offering. they'll target regional banks and insurance firms. they decided to make the move after seeing signs of a thaw on ties between the countries. ministers from japan and china got together to discuss policy matters. it was the first meeting of its kind in about three years. checking the markets, tokyo stocks ended below the key 20,000 mark for the first time in a mark. the nikkei dropped more than 1% on the back of a weaker dollar. traders saw the u.s. currency following the fed's policy meeting. growing concerns over the greek debt situation also dampened market sentiment in the region. in china the shanghai composite tumbled 3.7% to hit a three-week low. it was under a slew of ipos.

investors in seoul seemed relieved by the fed's signals about the slow pace of a possible rate hike. the kospi extended its gains. up 0.3% ending at 2,041. in other markets, hong kong retreated from rise on wednesday. indonesia ended down by just a fraction. the philippines jumped 1% after government officials announced a monthly budget surplus for the first time this year. u.s. republicans are trying to revive so-called fast track legislation crucial to president barack obama's trade agenda. they set a vote on a new bill that would give obama more authority on trade deals such as the transpacific partnership. members of the house did not pass the trade promotion authority bill last week. they didn't like a component that promised help for american workers who lose their jobs due to foreign competition. so republicans hatched a plan to bring back the bill in a

different form. they'll present the fast track part of the legislation minus the protection for workers. obama gathered democratic lawmakers at the white house to seek their support. he's also talked with republican leaders in a bid to find a way through the stalemate. if the bill passes the house, it would go to the senate for another vote. a humanoid robot that can talk and show emotions is set to become a member of households across japan. pepper is the creation of japanese telecom operator softbank. it will go on sale to the public this weekend. >> the robot shows when it's having fun, feeling worried, or experiencing other emotions. it can also access about 200 apps for things such as games

and conversation. sovt softbank officials will sell the robot through their website. >> translator: there is the possibility that smart robots using i.t. could become one of the company's key businesses in 30 years. >> softbank's chairman said chinese firm alibaba will invest in the project. he said the firm wills work together to promote the robot worldwide. people who run independent electronics shops in japan are looking for an edge. they've seen consumers flock to big chain stores and retailers who operate online. so they're taking fresh approaches to survive in a changing industry and keep customers. >> reporter: one neighborhood shop owner has come up with a strategy to stand out from his bigger rivals. he's focusing on customer service.

his name is hiroshi takabashi. on this day he's visiting an elderly customer who bought a new blu-ray recorder. he's offered to hook it up to her tv set. takabashi takes the type to sip a glass of tea. then he's off to his next mission. he offers follow-up checks on all the items that he sells for free. that's helping him attract customers. >> translator: he offers to take care of the products even after they're sold. i like that. chain retailers don't offer that kind of service.

>> reporter: neighborhood stores are also trying to become more price competitive. managers of small shops have long faced the difficulty of making their products cheaper. now 870 independent retailers mainly in western japan have teamed up to solve the problem. each store used to buy goods from suppliers on its own. but the new collective allows them to make lump sum purchases from manufacturers. that helps them cut prices. >> translator: neighborhood shops provide excellent service, but their prices are high. chain retailers have low prices but service is lacking. electronics retailer in japan had never been able to offer both. >> reporter: takabashi's shop is

hoping to cater to needs of elderly people who find it difficult to visit chain stores or use the internet. >> translator: most houses in this area are about 40 years old. many of the people who live here are senior citizens. we're trying to listen to their needs and help satisfy them. >> reporter: takebayashi thinks it offers an opportunity for neighborhood stores like his to survive and thrive. >> that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.

the u.n. refugee agency announced the number of people worldwide that has been forced to flee their homes has reached record levels of almost 60 million. nhk world's coco foouk ma has more. >> reporter: it's the most since the commissioner for refugees started keeping records. the number of displaced people last year hit 59.5 million. officials say they have never seen such a sharp escalation. compared to the year before an additional 8 million people lost their homes. it's the highest increase in a single year. their report reveals that 1 in every 122 humans is now either a

refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. u.n. officials say the conflict in syria has displaced the most people at 11.5 million. and asia has seen a more than 30% increase in numbers of displaced people. continued attempts by rohingya people is one of the major factors. michael lindenbauer in japan says this rise is because of persecution happening elsewhere in the world. >> it's getting ever more hard and difficult for the international community and for the countries including the big countries which have political influence to find common ground

and to influence the warring parties and conflict parties and ask them to stop the fighting. >> reporter: he says another cause is the unbalanced global response to the problem with almost 90% of refugees being accepted by regions and countries that are considered economically less developed. >> we need a much more concerted effort. we need development actors moving in a lot more quickly to help governments to respond to refugee situations to increase the capacity of receiving communities in the states which are receiving refugees. >> reporter: u.n. officials hope japanese leaders will improve the situation. 5,000 people sought asylum in japan in 2014. to build a common ground and a better understanding of the

problem, the u.n. agency decided to hold a special seminar in tokyo to involve young people. the lecturer fled myanmar fearing political persecution. she told the students that there are people suffering under severe conditions and they can do nothing but flee. >> translator: everyone here is very very lucky and blessed. the everyday life that you may be taking for granted is something that you should be grateful for. >> translator: i felt that i must do something as a fellow human living in the same world. >> reporter: after being granted refugee status lun got a job in

a company. she'd like to see companies hire more people like her. u.n. officials say countries and societies have to accept protect, and give them a means to make a living. kyoko fujita nhk world. >> thanks for that report. southern japan is getting the brunt of a low pressure system as sayaka mori tells us in this hour's weather report. >> it's the rainy season in kyushu, so heavy rain and flooding are common this time of year but the amount of precipitation is huge this year. over 1200 millimeters of rainfall since the beginning of june. much much more than the monthly rainfall fell in just several days. so we are hearing lots of reports of flooding and mudslides from many areas of kyushu. an additional 200 millimeters of

rain is likely for this area. so more flooding and landslides could occur. good news. starting friday sunny weather will come back so definitely a nice break in the rainy season. as for tokyo, rainy weather will continue into friday. but generally dry over the weekend. heavy rain is falling across china as well. and on tuesday it fell in shanghai. take a look at this footage. students at a university decided to go fishing in the flooded waters. usually the fishing are contained in the nearby ponds and streams. but because of the overflowing waters, the fish were spotted on the campus as well. over 200 millimeters of rain fell on tuesday and wednesday in shanghai. that's much more than the average rainfall for the month of june. so the students enjoyed fishing on the street in shanghai. now the rain is actually easing in the city but instead the area to the south of shanghai

will see drenching rainfall for the next couple of days. across the korean peninsula, spotty showers are occurring. that's actually very good news. for example, north korea, you have been dealing with the worst drought in a century. and drought started last year and you can see crop has been severely damaged. so they need rainfall. and of course south korea, you're dealing with lack of precipitation as well. so you only had 190 millimeters of rain since the beginning of this year. that's less than half of the monthly rainfall for june. they need rainfall. so rainy weather on thursday and sunny weather on friday. but rain will come back on saturday. definitely not enough to make a dent but definitely beneficial rain for you. across the americas tropical storm bill made landfall across eastern portions of texas on tuesday that caused record-breaking heavy rain in san antonio, austin flooding in houston, and also one tornado in the state. the system has turned to a low pressure system but still packing lots of moisture.

enough to cause more heavy rain from the south up into the great lakes region as well. indiana you could be hit by a month-worth of rainfall over the weekend. flooding is going to be a high risk as well. the next is extremely high temperatures across the southern u.s. 34 degrees in atlanta. higher in the southwest. take a look. phoenix, you had the high of 46 degrees on wednesday. that's the record-breaking temperatures. then same conditions for the next couple of days. death valley reaching 53 degrees on friday. very dangerously hot across the southwest. temperatures inside a vehicle will be much much higher than that so don't leave your pets and kids unattended in a vehicle. all right. that's it for me now. here's your extended forecast.

don't forget to watch newsroom tokyo at the top of the hour. they'll have a live report from hong kong where the situation is volatile between pro-democracy lawmakers and the pro-beijing camp. that and more at the top of the

hour. for all of us here on "newsline," bye for now.

is underway for a man who killed nine people and an african-american church. we are ahead of crucial talks in athens. chinese it back plans allow people to him move forward in beijing. ♪