here in japan it's a friday evening. i'm james tengan. welcome to "newsline." here are some stories we're following this hour. ash spewing from a volcano in indonesia has forced the shutdown of airports and has stranded thousands of travelers. japan's membership in an international aquarium association has been restored but debate continues over traditional methods of capturing dolphins. and in japan people in the

i.t. industry are training elementary school students to be tomorrow's computer programmers. indonesian authorities have closed airports on bali and other tourist hot spots because of a volcanic eruption. mt. raung has been spewing ash since late june. but on friday the volcano blasted ash and debris 3,000 meters into the air. authorities closed five airports including those on bali. thousands of travelers are stranded. >> we got told that our flight was canceled. >> the volcano is disrupting operations during peak travel season. they want to reopen the airports as soon as conditions improve. diplomats from iran and six world nations say their talks will extend.

the representatives from iran and the five permanent members of the u.n. security council plus germany are meeting in austria. all of them except for the russian and chinese foreign ministers gathered one day before the deadline. u.s. secretary of state john kerry had talks with zarif before meeting with counterparts from britain, france and germany. kerry revealed that issues remain unresolved. >> we are not going to sit at the negotiating table forever. we also recognize that we shouldn't get up and leave simply because the clock strikes midnight. >> analysts suggest his comment indicates he will agree to a short-term extension. zarif told reporters thursday night the negotiators will stay in vienna for as long as necessary. the two sides differ over inspections of military facilities where iran is suspected of developing nuclear

weapons. another contentious issue is whether to lift the arms embargo. typhoon chan-hom is now west of okinawa in southern japan. 27 people have been injured so far. and nearly 9,000 homes in the area are without power as jonathan oh from our weather desk tells us. so jonathan, how serious are conditions in the region? >> well james, we are talking about winds that are still quite powerful in the region. and the reason is because this is still a very strong typhoon. look at the circulation and the eye that's defined on this storm. i want to show you the video of what it looked like on the ground level. you can see the rain pouring down because this strong typhoon smashed into okinawa with powerful winds and torrential rains. in nago city thousands were urged to leave their homes with

close to 6,000 homes still dealing with power issues as well. apparently and obviously services had to be canceled because of the conditions. you saw a tree that was split apart because of the winds pushing through the area. we're talking about gusts as much as 180 kilometers per hour being reported in some of these locations. in naha, up to 148 kilometers per hour. these areas swipe through the area. we're going to see these conditions hopefully being alleviated at least for the southern japanese islands. as we look forward in time this track is taking chan-hom into china. with winds at 162 and gusts at 2 234. it is going to weaken to a strong typhoon. but nevertheless, still going to be quite powerful hitting the eastern coast of china as we go throughout the weekend. we'll have more in world weather coming up in a bit.

an international organization of zoos and aquariums has restored japan's membership. officials had suspended it calling the japanese practice of capturing dolphins through drive hunts inhumane. but the issue is still causing ripples among aquariums and suppliers throughout japan. nhk world's jun yotsumoto explains. >> reporter: the world association of zoos and aquarium or waza suspended japan's membership in april. jaza then banned the use of dolphins through the drive hunt method. it said it would oust members that violated the ban. the president of waza said the group will monitor and support

jaza's position. but not everyone is happy about jaza's move. a town in western japan plays a key role in the dolphin hunts. its mayor says he's determined to make sure the hunts continue. >> translator: fishermen in our town conduct their hunts with authorization from the prefecture. it's based on the national government's scientific findings. my town will continue to protect fishermen. >> reporter: in 2004 waza adopted the resolution condemning drive hunts in taiji. officials said acquiring dolphins that way violates the group's codes of ethics. fishermen in taiji have chosen to go beyond the legal requirements of japanese authorities. they came up with their own ways

to avoid harming dolphins. they installed buffer walls so the animals won't run into rocks. the fishermen say they hope to stay involved in the dolphin trade in that they are not doing anything wrong. >> translator: we want to continue working with aquariums in the future if possible. >> reporter: some aquariums are conflicted. they say it will be difficult to acquire dolphins if they can't buy them from taiji. jaza says it will encourage its members to breed dolphins but many aquariums don't have the proper know-how or facilities. at this aquarium in northern japan, a dolphin was pregnant but the baby was born dead. staff members say they need a special breeding pool that will reduce the stress on expectant mothers. but such pools are too expensive

to build. five of the six dolphins featured in their famous show came from taiji. >> translator: money technique, knowledge, experience. there are so many things we lack. we face a tough road ahead. >> reporter: some organizations along with the town of taiji are set to be considering withdrawing from jaza and forming a new body and aquariums around the world are waiting to see what the tide brings in. jun yotsumoto, nhk world. >> thanks for those developments. toshiba was learning about the accounting irregularities last month. gene otani has news about another development that has added to their worries. >> james, usually when we talk about japanese electronics companies, it's usually about

new technology. but toshiba definitely in the spotlight for another reason. the ceo of toshiba urged executives to pad profits in the company's accounts by postponing the reporting of costs according to people familiar with the matter. the instructions were reportedly contained in e-mails from tanaka. a third party panel probing irregularityies reportedly says top management was involved. sources say tanaka told the investigation he does not believe his e-mails were instructions to conduct irregular accounting. the sources also say the vice chairman sasaki gave repeated orders to achieve at whatever costs as he served as ceo. sasaki reportedly denies giving such instructions. the panel members are set to compile their report soon. the sources say they believe these actions of top executives

put pressure on employees. toshiba canceled dividend payments in may. it is expected to revise downward its operating profit by more than $1.2 billion for the five-year period that ended this year. stock prices in shanghai continued to recover. buy orders flooded in on friday for the second day in a row. the shanghai composite index rose more than 6% at one point in the morning session. it finished the last trading day of the week up 4.54% at 3,877. stock prices rebounded on thursday after beijing introduced a raft of measures to prop up prices. shanghai stocks began rising last year. they peaked about a month ago hitting their highest point in seven years and five months. securities firms and government-related funds are believed to be still buying stocks. but sources at shanghai markets

say 1400 firms or about half of all listed companies there have suspended trading. some experts say that could drag down shares. the extreme volatility of chinese stock prices has implications for global markets and for individual investors. our reporting in beijing takafumi terui is following developments there. >> i think this has been a very tense week for many individual investors in china. i talked to several in beijing. >> translator: the value of my investment dropped to $11,000 at one point. then it went back up to $19,000. but now it's dropped again by about 50%. >> translator: i was planning to take a trip but now i can't. i've lost enough money to buy a house. i'm just lucky i haven't been forced to live on the streets. >> translator: i wish the

government would come up with some effective meares to minimize our losses. and fast. >> in china there are many more small investors than institutional ones. 80% of investments are made by individuals. most of them borrowed the money they invest through a system called margin financing. and it's partly responsible for the recent crash. under this system the money in an investor's account is useds collateral for loans from the brokerage firm. so it's possible for investors to trade and risk more than they have in their accounts. this a finance specialist at peking university. he says that the government's recent economic policies have been effective to a certain degree. but the widespread use of margin financing has interfered with their effectiveness.

>> translator: for the first time in history of the chinese stock market people can engage in speculative trading using margin financing. but with stock prices falling sharply, this liquidity of capital is a serious issue that must be dealt with. i believe it's one of the fundamental factors behind the recent sudden fall in stock prices. judgeing from the present situation, it's understandable why previous government policies may not have been particularly effective. >> he described what he thinks might happen next. >> >> translator: it's extremely different to make predictions in the long-term. in the short-term things should remain within reasonable limits. that is if we keep in mind the robustness of the chinese economy, the condition of the currency, and stock market regulations. if the situation is managed well, no major changes should

occur in the larger economic picture. >> he believed the behavior of shanghai stocks will be unpredictable for awhile but he says the volatility must not be allowed to continue for the sake of the chinese and global economies. >> takafumi terui in beijing. checking other markets in the region. despite the rally in chinese stocks trading in tokyo failed to keep the momentum. the nikkei average ended the day down 0.38% at 19,779. analysts say investors are cautious ahead of greek debt talks this weekend. the index lost 3.7% this week. that's the biggest weekly loss since last october. hong kong's hang seng failed to recoup earlier losses. shares in the philippines finished up 0.2% although exports in may tumbled 17% from a year ago.

sydney added about 0.4% following a rebound in crude oil prices. seoul's kospi was barely higher and logged its largest weekly drop since june 2013. the international monetary fund has trend its forecast for global economic growth for this year. the fund cites the economy stumbled last winter. the imf officials have cut their global growth prospects to 3.3%. that's down 0.2 point from their approximate in april. the downgrade reflects a cut for the growth outlook of the u.s. economy by 0.6 percent to 2.5%. harsh weather and others put a damper on imf activity. they also shaved their growth forecast for japan by 0.2 point to 0.8%. they say expansion in the first quarter was stronger than

expected as capital investment accelerated. but the officials pick up japan's growth in 2015 is now projected to be more modest. they cite weaker unlying momentum in real wages and consumption. the imf says unfolding developments in greece are likely to take a much heavier toll than earlier expected. it adds that timely policy can help to manage any possible risks. consumer confidence in japan improved in june for the first time in three months. government officials cite continued improvement in employment and income. the cabinet office says the consumer confidence index stood at 41.7 last month. that's up 0.3 point from may. officials survey households of two or more people across japan every month to gauge consumer confidence for the next half

year. consumer perceptions improved in all categories which are overall livelihood, income growth jobs and willingness to buy durable goods. but the officials say the index improved only slightly. they kept their assessment unchanged from the previous month. the pace of recovery is slowing. they're also closely watching the effect of rising gasoline and food prices. japan is considering stockpiling more domestically produced rice. the move would allow it to absorb a steep increase in the crop from the united states under the transpacific free trade accord. they have resumed talks on the agreement in tokyo. washington is asking tokyo to boost its annual imports of rice to be eaten as a staple crop by 175,000 tons. japan is studying the use of its stockpile system to deal with the surge. designed to prevent drops in prices at times of oversupply.

the government may hike the annual amount of domestically grown rice it will purchase by 50,000 tons from the current 200,000 tons and allow imported u.s. rice in its place. japan is also thinking of a he from australia. japan plans to peg that amount to 12% of its u.s. imports. vietnam officials in the tpp talks have also asked japan to import more of their rice. but both countries have agreed in effect that japan will maintain its present import quota and tariff. the greek government has submitted its structural reform plan to its eurozone partners and appears to have conceded to many of the partners' demands. the focus now is on how greek citizens will react. the government has not released details but local media report the plan includes a review of

the country's early retirement system and a rise in the pension eligibility age. higher medical payments for pensioners is also reported. taxes will also be raised as the eu wanted except for the tax on hotel stays. taxes are currently lower for remote islands. but the reform plan will gradually end this tax break by the end of next year. greek prime minister alexis tsipras has apparently conceded these structural reforms to get the massive financial aid the country needs over the next three years. that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.

many children become infatuated with computer games at an early age. now some educators in japan are trying to help them transform a hobby into a career path. nhk world's keiko yamamoto has the story. >> reporter: last month in tokyo is group of elementary school students took to the stage. they were showing off smartphone applications they had created. >> translator: my game is called dester battle rpg. >> reporter: their projects include drawing apps and battle games. >> translator: it's fun to use my imagination to create games. >> reporter: more than 200 elementary school students attend programming classes that

were launched by an i.t. company. university students help out. organizers want to familiarize children with programming to nurture their talent. they aim to address the growing shortage of qualified programmers. >> translator: we hope as many children as possible will not just approach i.t. as a game but go on to master it and see the many possibilities it presents. it could affect their career choices. >> reporter: the students use software that spells out commands to guide them through the complex steps involved. the children combine commands to learn the basic concepts of programming. take these blocks for example. they say when the right arrow key is pressed it will change x

by 10. and when the student presses the key, the cat moves to the right. the children get excited when they see their work come to life on the screen. some will go on to more advanced programs in about three months. this boy mastered necessary maematical skills to create a program for a slot machine game. these are skills he cannot acquire in school. >> translator: the more difficult the project, the greater my sense of achievement. >> reporter: this boy likes to play video games. he's been taking programming classes for over a year. he worked on the game that

involves escaping from a locked room. >> translator: hey. why did it move? >> reporter: the character he placed at the center of the screen keeps moving. he is easily bored with things he has no interest in. but he was so determined to complete this project that he spent 90 minutes working out a solution. >> translator: good for you. you found it. >> translator: i couldn't finish it today, but i'm happy it's almost done. >> translator: he appears to have realized he can get things done if he tries. he's more disciplined. he used to have a tough time sticking with activities. but he's learned to work hard. i'm glad i took him to the class.

>> reporter: there are now more than 50 programming schools for children throughout japan. the number has more than tripled in the past few years. and many in the i.t. industry are hoping that these eager young students will become tomorrow's talented professionals. keiko yamamoto, nhk world. >> a great way of motivating youngsters. thanks for that report. our meteorologist jonathan oh is back with a look at the rest of world weather starting with another tropical system in the western pacific. jonathan? >> hello, james. yes, we are keeping an eye on another typhoon that is still out in the western pacific right on the heels of chan-hom. it's nangka. this is moving towards the west. i do want to mention about what was severe tropical storm linfa. this system is now just a

tropical depression. i say that with the point that it still has a lot of moisture associated with it. it could still cause some flooding issues over hong kong and the coastal areas. please make sure you're being cautious and wary as it drags over the area. along with these two systems moving in is also influencing the monsoon enhancing the moisture down into the philippines. so look out. you may be seeing some downpours from time to time. all right. let's talk about nangka in detail. wind speeds at 180, gusts to 252. pressure down to 925. got a bit of a punch with it but it's over the open waters now. as we go through the weekend, the system will eventually take a harder turn toward the north and move towards the ogasawara islands. the track has shifted just a bit. while currently we have this track eventually turning back to the west with another focus on the okinawa islands, i do want

to point out that we have to wait until the beginning of next week to have a better idea where the system is going to go. nevertheless, it does have a lot of rain with it. even if it doesn't go directly into the area wherever it goes we're looking at the possibility of it brings a lot of moisture just over the water about 200 millimeters of rainfall. chan-hom again expected to cause problems over the eastern seaboard of china into the weekend. some areas may be dealing with serious flooding for saturday and sunday. notice where it's not raining right now, tokyo. dry conditions right now. the rainy season is taking a quick break as we see all the moisture being pulled into chan-hom. so look at this. saturday looking great. 30 degrees and sunny skies. even into south korea highs in the mid-30s in some cases. but rain from shanghai down into hong kong going into saturday. now, we are talking about some wet weather into portions of europe. the east looking for rain into moscow.

down to the south, highs in the mid-30s for friday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook. and that does it for us here on "newsline." but there's more to come here on nhk world so stay with us.

set up a conference call. european leaders have described the document as thorough. our correspondent in athens is standing by. 1000 people arrested, thousands more for bitten from leaving the country. the government has been cracking down on prospective islamists in the wake of attacks that led tours -- that left tourists dead. in bolivia, an apology for crimes committed by the catholic church during the conquest of the americas, crimes the pope said were committed in the name