hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm james tengan in tokyo later to be joined by gene otani from our business desk and meteorologist sayaka mori. let's see what's in the headlines for this hour. japanese officials will review plans to construct the main stadium for the 2020 olympic games after its estimated construction costs soared. a tropical storm has swept across western japan causing casualties and widespread damage. and chinese officials have announced major cuts in carbon

emissions. but some wonder about the cost it'll have on the economy. japanese prime minister shinzo abe says the government will review plans to construct the main stadium for the 2020 olympic and paralympic games. the estimated construction cost has sparked criticism. >> translator: i've decided to review the current plans for the new national stadium which will serve as the site for the 2020 olympic and paralympic games. we will review the plan from scratch. >> abe made the announcement after he met the head of the committee and minister in charge of the tokyo games. the government announced last month that the construction of the new national stadium will cost $2 billion.

about $700 million more than the initial estimate. that triggered calls for a review of the plan. until last month former prime minister mori served as chairman of the japan rugby football union. before meeting abe, mori said some people claimed the plan was given the go ahead despite criticism because the construction had to be completed in time for hosting the 2019 rugby world cup. he said the rugby championship can be held at different venues. the education and sports minister says contractors for the stadium will be selected within about six months. shimomura says they plan to have a new construction by mid-2020 because it will take 50 months after the blueprint is written up. nhk world's shia yamagishi reports. >> reporter: the purpose of the competition was to choose the

idea for the main stadium. i don't think there was a thorough debate on the cost. >> reporter: ando chairs the committee who chose the design. he said the designing team would hash out the construction and cost detail. the stadium was one of the main selling points in tokyo's olympic bid. it was designed by british arc tech -- architect hadid. it features two huge arches that require specialized advanced technology and materials. that makes them extremely expensive to build. the cost of the entire stadium ballooned to nearly double the initial estimate. >> translator: it will cost about $2 billion.

>> reporter: that's almost five times the cost of the main stadium for the 2012 london olympics. and it exceeds the total cost for the main stadium for the last five olympics. prime minister abe was initially reluctant to review the stadium plan. >> translator: i've been told that there's not enough time before the 2020 tokyo olympics to hold another international competition to come up with a new design. >> reporter: the plan drew criticism not only within political circles but also from the public. >> translator: i think it's too expensive. it's beyond comprehension. >> translator: i wonder if we need a stadium this big after the olympics are over how will re we use it and who will maintain

it? >> reporter: about four-fifths of respondents said they disapprove of going forward with the current construction plan. abe's decision to revise the plan may help to appease some critics. but the stadium debate has kept a shadow of tokyo's golden olympic dreams. chie yamagishi, nhk world. >> thanks for the updates. a tropical storm has swept across western japan causing widespread damage. the storm nangka has killed at least two people and left dozens injured. officials say it's now moving north over the sea of japan. two men died thursday as they were preparing for the approaching storm. at least 54 people have been injured in 18 prefectures. police are searching for a high school student who is feared to have been swept away in a swollen canal. the storm brought torrential rain to wise areas and caused flooding.

in wakayama prefecture, the river was filled to capacity by early friday. the grounds at a school in tokush tokushima prefecture was inundated. authorities have advised residents in several places to evacuate to shelters. >> translator: the rain water came down from the mountainside. i am so worried. >> nangka has disrupted air traffic. airline operators have canceled flights mainly in western japan. weather officials are advising caution against landslides swollen rivers. they're also warning of storm surges as well as lightning and tornadoes. japan's government has

announced its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions target. a government task force on global warming reached the decision on friday. prime minister shinzo abe hailed the new target saying it's in line with international standards. >> translator: the government will make all-out effort to build a fair and effective framework to curb greenhouse gases that are serve all nations. >> the goal is equivalent to a cut of 25% from 2005 the previous reference year. 45 nations including china and the u.s. have already submitted their goals to china and the u.n. gene otani from our business desk is here to tell us what japan's utility industry proposed to do for the new target. >> well, they plan to do a lot. they have some ambitious goals. officials say they will cut

greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by the year 2030. the energy sector is japan's largest emitter of co2 gases. the target refers to the amount of gases emitted from one kilowatt of energy. the cut will bring them back to pre-fukushima levels in 2010. 50 nuclear power plants were online at that time. japan has imported massive quantities of fossil fuels since the nuclear disaster in 2011. utilities will have to generate more energy from renewable sources and restart some nuclear plabts to achieve the goal of cutting gases. but it's not clear how the energy sector can achieve the target. they say they want more concrete details. industry ministry officials in japan have devised a plan to develop new technologies for coal-fired power generation. they hope to cut carbon dioxide

emissions in ten years. it calls for building large energy efficient plant by the early 2020s called energy integrated gasification cycle stations. it is expected to cut emissions by about 20%. the plan also calls for developing another technology called coal integrated gasification combined cycle by around 2025. the utility says it will support in line with the road map. the president of the world bank says he will discuss a joint investment plan. a former chinese vice finance minister met. >> we need new investors in infrastructure. we welcome especially china's leadership in establishing this

new multilateral institution. >> kim says he plans to meet with aiib officials later this year for joint investment. and checking the markets, investors shrugged off worries about china. most markets had a good week. shares in tokyo hit a three-week high. the nikkei closed at 20,650. ahead of a three-day weekend. the index jumped 4.4% for the week. that's the biggest weekly gain since last october. in china the shanghai was up 3.5% closing at 3,957. the index ended the week in positive territory. analysts say that government-backed funds were likely buying stocks to help support the market. hong kong extended its gains following a rally in shanghai.

the heng sang had the first weekly gain in five weeks. onto other markets in the asia pacific region. sydney ended almost flat but posted the sharpest weekly rise in five months. seoul's kospi snapped two days of gains but finished up more than 2% for the week. and some markets in southeast asia are closed for a holiday. robots that look like humans can be found in japan's nursing care facilities and department stores. now major banks have become the latest employers of the humanoids. executives handed an employee certificate to pepper at a branch in tokyo. the humanoid was developed by softbank. pepper has a touch screen on the

chest that gives information. customers can also play games with the robot. the officials plan to introduce more of them to other branches. they're considering using the humanoids in the future to explain financial products. >> hello. may i help you? >> officials at tokyo mitsubishi introduced a humanoid in april on a trial basis. they're coidering using it to give guidance to customers. we've been focusing this week on efforts to breathe new life into rural communities in toek shee ma tokushima prefecture. we finish with the eye catching orchid. he is winning over new customers. nhk world's mai koe adaku reports. >> reporter: this company in toek shee ma prefecture ships

some 3 million seedlings every year. they eventually grow into flowers that brighten up interiors around the world. mitsio started the business. he got a break in 2002 when he won an award for the variety he had spent over a decade developing. the award put his company on the international map. he has expanded his business using biotechnology to produce more seedlings. the process involves cutting up small new chutes and cultivating divided tissue. he can now grow tens of thousands of seedlings a year from one chute. the orchids were once quite expensive. the new technology has helped

lower prices allowing him inging him to expand sales nationwide. the company has gone farther combining with other products. tokushima prefecture is also known for its noodle. they kneaded powders from flowers into dough. the orchid flavor has become a popular local specialty. >> translator: i think it's nice as more and more customers come to know a maker in toek shee ma is producing this kind of noodle. >> reporter: orchids have become

something more than to look at. their flavor is popular too. >> it's good. >> reporter: they used orchids to develop one new product after another. candy, wine cosmetics, and creams. last year it had total sales of $65 million. a record. he is not finished innovating yet. he has even created a new sown sized orchid for residents of cramped condominiums. the owners say they cannot afford to keep large vases or tall flowers on display. his vision was to take an orchid and combine it with a relaid product. the set fits into small spaces.

he said it's best as a gift. >> translator: not many people have vases to put flower gifts in. i think consumers would rather have something they can arrange themselves for display. >> reporter: the company has grown with its orchids while tapping local resources. its secrets is also putting the customer's need first. mai koe eiraku, nhk world. that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.

china's the world's top emitter of carbon dioxide as it rapidly expands its economy. leaders in beijing have pledged to drastically reduce emissions. some analysts wonder whether beijing's quest for growth will overshadow its commitment to the environment. nhk world's takafumi terui reports. >> reporter: chinese officials announced their 2030 reduction target for greenhouse gases during the premier's visit to japan.

>> translator: we must cut carbon emissions by 60% to 65% compared to 2005. >> reporter: but this figure is pre-unit of gdp. which means it could increase as the economy grows. premier li says china's overall emissions will rise until 2030. but at a lower rate than before. he said then they begin to decline. the country's co2 output has more than tripled between 1990 and 2012 while globally the number has ridden by just 50%. china now accounts for a quarter of all global emissions relying heavily on coal burning for electricity and other purposes.

introducing renewable energy as one of the key ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at this company that's located in a historic part of beijing. officials have set up rooftop solar panels. this firm was set up in 2010 through a state-owned company. in five years its launched solar power projects in 50 places across the country. the work is subsidized by the chinese government. university professor kun studies climate change and serves as an adviser to the central government. he says china needs to step up efforts to introduce renewable energy sources. >> translator: we need to

generate 1 billion kilowatts from renewables. that's equivalent to all power produced in the u.s. china's goal for cutting emissions by 2030 is far more aggressive than targets by the u.s. or eu. >> reporter: but a japanese governmental expert doubts that efforts by the central government will be enough. he says local governments may have a different agenda. >> translator: growth is the top priority in the midwestern region. an area that's economically lagging behind. it's difficult to realize co2 reductions in those parts of the country. >> reporter: analysts believe chinese authorities must strike a delicate balance between

maintaining domestic growth and meeting global responsibilities. >> takafumi explains what led to the reduction targets. >> the announcement coincided with premier li's visit. some say he wanted to take a prominent stance on global warming at the time most likely to get noticed at home and abroad. they say china wanted to emphasize its growth needs while also showing a position of leadership in the top 21 discussion. the plan also has positive aspects for the government. some experts say the reductions could help chinese officials achieve other goals. these include bringing structural reform to its industries and making the country more energy efficient. >> translator: lowing co2

emissions will affect the economy to a degree. and there will likely be some resistance from chinese society. but new realities can offer new opportunity. >> as they move to cut emissions, chinese officials see a potential for huge returns. they are moving forward while closely monitoring domestic and international priorities. >> that was our takafumi terui in beijing. the japanese-american citizen and nobel prize winner yoichiro nambu has died. he suffered cardiac arrest july 5th. he professor emeritus at the university of chicago specialized in theoretical studies of sub-atomic particles.

in 2008 nambu and two japanese scientists jointly won the nobel prize in physics for their research on particle physics. it's time now for world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. tropical storm nangka is still bringing lots of rain and strong winds to parts of japan. what's the latest? >> strong typhoon nangka made landfall last night. it caused significant weather events in many parts of japan. the strongest winds were reported in umaji prefecture. and high waves were recorded in the key peninsula. now it has weakened. a minimal tropical storm but still bringing heavy rain across japan. the system will likely weaken to a tropical depression and then

head towards the north of the country. again, it's still a tropical storm so strong winds and high waves are still occurring across the central areas of japan. and more heavy rain in anticipated. the heaviest rain will likely fall in the tokai region. rain will likely raise the potential of flooding and landslides and the ground is already very saturated. so additional rain is not good news. we the departure of the typhoon, actually the rainy season has ended in the kyushu region. meanwhile we have a tropical depression that provide rainfall to the okinawa region for the next couple of days. it's a mixed bag across china. drought persisting over the south of the province. we have video from several areas of the country. in guizhou province flooding

led to damage of roads and crops. no casualties reported. meanwhile just to the south of guizhou province in guangdong province, they received 80 millimeters of rainfall. 73% less than the average. farmers are concerned that there might not be a harvest this season. good news is that there is a low pressure system and some rain is anticipated for the south of china. hopefully that will improve the situation. now, it's extremely hot once again across the south of china. 31 degrees in taipei as well as 30 degrees in hong kong on saturday. now, the southern hemisphere, it's winter. low temperatures in the south of queensland, they had heavy snowfall. and temperatures were very low over the past couple days. in sydney it was about 13 degrees.

a little improvement as we go into the weekend and warmer than average temperatures are expected as we go into next week. so that's good news. we have a strong system coming in from the atlantic that will provide rainfall and windy conditions over the british isles. that includes scotland where the british open is taking place. along this cold front, severe weather is expected into the siberian peninsula. watch out for large hail damaging winds, and heavy rainfall. before the system comes in temperatures will remain quite high. about 40 degrees for the high in rome. and over 30 degrees in berlin vienna. here is your extended forecast around the globe.

that's it for us here on "newsline." but don't go away there's more to come here on nhk world.

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