from our studios here in tokyo, this is "newsline." i'm james tengan. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. top-level diplomats from the u.s. and china have discussed beijing's land reclamation work in the disputed spratly islands. the operator of the popular line messaging app is warning users against a new type of identity theft. a recently discovered journal written by a high school teacher in hiroshima describes

the devastation of the atomic bombing and the tragic loss of young lives. u.s. secretary of state john kerry has spoken about an issue of mutual concern. they discussed china's land reclamation work on reefs of the disputed spratly islands. the philippines, vietnam and other parties claim the islands. they met on the sidelines of foreign ministerial meetings. wong says the issue of the south china sea was on the agenda. >> translator: the united states told us to solve the problems about the south china sea peacefully and through talks. >> in the ministerial meeting, kerry addressed the issue. >> we want to ensure that

security of critical sea lanes and fishing grounds, and we want to see that disputes in the area are managed peacefully and on the basis of international law. >> china's believed to have reclaimed seven locations in the reefs since the start of this year. the u.s. has become more concerned china may be building a military facility there. kerry reportedly urged leaders in beijing to stop their activities in the region during the talks. a japanese government source says the foreign ministers of japan and north korea will likely hold talks on the sidelines of the asean conference. it's planned to ask if the north korean counterpart to release the results of a probe into the fate of japanese abducted to the north. there will be a series of meetings on thursday. the source says arrangements for the two to hold talks are in the final stages.

kishida is expected to relay the demand directly to kim. leaders in pyongyang opened a full-scale investigation into the fate of the abductees in july last year. but they told japan last month that they'll postpone releasing the report. prime minister shinzo abe instructed kishida to make a direct demand when they attend the meetings. abe and joe biden have discussed a report by wikileaks. abe called on biden to investigate alleged spying by a u.s. intelligence agency on the japanese government and leading companies. they talked by phone for half an hour on wednesday. the u.s. side proposed a discussion. biden said president barack obama and himself are very sorry that the issue has sparked controversy in japan. causing problems for prime minister abe and his government. wikileaks said on friday that the u.s. national security

agency wiretapped japan's government and companies dating back to at least 2006 when the first abe administration was in office. biden told abe the u.s. government currently does not conductivities that could undermine bilateral ties based on a presidential order issued in 2014. he added that he hopes to further strengthen cooperation as the two countries face various threats. prime minister abe said if the report was true, it could undermine trust between the allies. and he would have no choice but to express serious concern. chief cabinet secretary suga declined to comment on whether washington explained the matter in detail or admitted to wiretapping japanese targets before 2014. the designer of the 2020 tokyo olympics emblem has denied that he copied the logo of a belgian theater. >> translator: i'm very surprised that i'm being accused by the belgian designer of the

plagiarism. it's absolutely unfounded. >> he's demanded that the tokyo organizing committee not use the emblem. he says that his work closely resembles a logo he created for a theater four years ago. >> translator: i'm confident my design has no parallel in the world. >> sano says he only saw the theater logo after the issue came to light. he says that both contain the same elements but that the concepts behind them are different. a senior organizing official from the committee reiterated that there was no problem in using sano's emblem. he noted it was not a registered trademark. he said the committee would do the best to convince the belgian designer of the originality of sano's work. an insolvent japanese airline's finances might see a turnaround as the go-ahead has

been given to help the firm recover. gene otani from our business desk has the details. gene. >> james, sky market investors are feeling some relief right now. creditors of failed skymark have chosen a rehabilitation plan partly funded by ana holdings, the operator of all nippon airways. skymark is japan's in other words largest carrier. it filed for bankruptcy protection in january. creditors at a meeting in tokyo considered two rescue programs before deciding on the ana-related bid. the plan was drafted by skymark managers. the competing program included support by u.s. carrier delta. it was devised by intrepid aviation. the ana-backed scheme won the required approval of a majority of creditors as well as those holding more than half of skymark's debt during wednesday's vote. the plan also gained court authorization. following the decision, skymark will receive about $145 million

of funding from ana holdings, the domestic investment fund integral and other sources. skymark rolled out work to rebuild its business through sharing flights with ana as well as maintenance and fuel procurement. skymark officials say they plan to maintain their 21 flight routes for the time being. officials at the international monetary fund are considering whether to include the chinese yuan in the basket of currencies that make up its global reserve asset. the special drawing writes it currently consists of the dollar, euro, british pound and japanese yen. it's helped to finance imf nations that fall short of foreign exchange. imf officials review the competition of currencies in the basket every five years. their focus now is whether to add the yuan as a fifth currency. imf officials said in a report that china's trade volume meets the requirement for inclusion, but they noted the yuan is not

as freely usable as the u.s. dollar or japanese yen. the chinese government has been calling for inclusion during the current review. imf executive board members may decide on the matter by the end of this year. japanese stocks moved higher on wednesday as investors grew confident following a number of strong earnings reports. let's go to our business reporter at the tokyo stock exchange for more. we saw shares snap losses today. >> reporter: that's right, gene. well, stocks actually opened lower, but they immediately reversed those losses after japanese companies posted good numbers. so let's check out the closing levels here in tokyo for august 5th. the nikkei is up 0.5% at 20,614. and the broader topix has posted gains for six consecutive sessions. today it closed up 0.4%. investors started buying after service sector pmi rose to 53.8 in july, the highest since

august last year. and that came on top of strong performance from japan. we saw tokyo stocks at two-week highs as fears over china's growth eased. individual shares, terumo surged after they posted a 20% rise in operating profits in the april to june quarter and executives there also announced a share buyback plan. the numbers also came from various sectors, for example taiyo upgraded its forecasts. shares jumped 14%. production from kajima as well as seibu holdings both announced very strong numbers. kajima shares hit a nine-year high and seibu at a 2 1/2-month high. toyota beat estimates but unfortunately shares lost 2%. analysts are saying that investors are worried about its outlook in china. meanwhile, index heavyweight fast retailing dropped nearly 5%

after domestic sales fell in july. all in all we're seeing high profits from many japanese firms but one of the biggest concerns for the markets has always been the rate hike in the u.s. to get more clue on that, we have the key nonfirm payrolls data coming out friday and also the private adp jobs numbers later today. so investors may stay on the sidelines ahead of that. moving on to other markets in the asia-pacific region. investors in china shrugged off upbeat data on service sector activity. the shanghai composite slid 1.65%, closing at 3694 as some traders booked profits from yesterday's rally. indonesia closed up 1.5%, 4850 following the release of the country's gdp figures. the economy grew 4.67% compared to the same period last year from april to june. that's the slowest pace since 2009. financial stocks rose sharply in

afternoon trading. shares in hong kong rebounded from two days of losses. the market in malaysia gaining by a fraction as we see there following unexpectedly strong trade figures for june. export s surged 5% as shipments to china increased. a record number of households in ja wpan are on welfare due to an increase of those who need support. ministry officials said recipients in may stood at 1.6 million, up from the previous month. households headed by seniors age 65 or older accounted for half the total, rising to nearly 800,000. that's up by more than 1400. younger recipients fell by more than 500 to 274,000. welfare households with members who are sick or injured stayed almost flat at 255,000. manipula ministry officials say the number of those who need assistance will likely rise in the future along with the aging

population. that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. the operator of the popular line messaging app is warning users against a new type of identity theft. an official with the tokyo-based company told nhk the number of cases has surged in the past month. thieves reportedly carried out the scam by hijacking accounts and posing as a user's friend. they asked for phone numbers and sent a message requesting verification codes and then steal the user's i.d. company officials are urging people not to respond to any

suspicious messages. they say stolen i.d.s could be used to carry out fraud and other crimes. one victim of the scam agreed to speak with nhk. >> translator: someone who had stolen my account sent messages to more than 60 of my friends at the same time. after that, they couldn't access their accounts. >> line reportedly has more than 200 million active users. the firm had previously been targeted in a different scam. thieves used stolen i.d.s to ask users for help in buying digital currency. but the company tightened security measures last october and the number of those cas has dropped. ♪ 70 years have passed since atomic bombs were dropped on hiroshima and nagasaki. more and more atomic bomb

survivors across japan say they're finding fewer chances to pass on their legacy to future generations. an nhk survey suggests many of them are remaining silent about their experiences. 1,000 survivors across the nation were contacted, and 958 of them responded. 39% said they have fewer or no chances to talk about their ordeals at home or even at schools. 24% said they have more opportunities than in the past. 23% said there's been no change. the survey found among those who say they're speaking less, 36% cited their failing health and also a lack of request. 19% said they're less eager to talk about their experiences. an 86-year-old survivor said people have stopped asking for a firsthand account. another said the public sees the atomic bollings mbings as evente past, and they're not interested in hearing about them.

as world war ii raged 70 years ago, japan faced a shortage of manpower. high school students were recruited to work in factories and in building demolition. over 7,000 of them were killed when the bomb fell. this year a recently discovered document has shed new light on their fate. nhk world reports. >> reporter: this is a high school for girls in hiroshima. more than 400 students here perished in the bombing. a document recording the tragic events was discovered just this year in the principal's office. it's an administrative journal. the journal's first entry is for august 6th, the day of the bombing. >> reporter: just after 8:00 a.m., all of hiroshima was burned to ash by a single flash

and explosion. our school was completely destroyed, and countless faculty members and students are missing or were killed. i could not hold back my tears. >> translator: i was really surprised a journal like this existed. i think it's a valuable document because there's an entry from august 6th, the day the bomb was dropped. >> reporter: the journal was kept by yazo, the vice principal. he was at his home when the bomb exploded but headed to the school straightaway. the school building was destroyed in the explosion and the fires that followed. parents turned up at the school looking for their children. >> more family members are coming in search of their loved ones. i don't know what to tell them.

all i have to give them are my tears. they barely have any hope left. their eyes are red from crying. i can't look at them. >> reporter: she was a senior at the school. she was walking 550 meters from the epicenter. the blast left her blind in one eye. most documents and pictures from that time were destroyed in the bombing. she never knew exactly what happened at the school that day. for the first time, watanabe's journal tells her. >> the entire junior class was preparing to leave school to clear the evacuated buildings in the bridge area. the disaster occurred just as

they were about to walk out of the school gates. it was an utter tragedy. >> the journal said the students were killed instantly. >> translator: i can still picture our younger schoolmates sending us off to work. >> reporter: she says the journal is an important find not just for her but for students of today. >> translator: i hope people will understand why he called the events an utter tragedy. many of our schoolmates were killed instantly on their way to work. i hope people will take a lesson from this journal and never have to experience this kind of tragedy again.

>> reporter: watanabe, 70 years later, his rediscovered journal is a message to future generations. naho hashimoto, nhk world, hiroshima. our special coverage of the war 70 years on will continue throughout the summer. nothing says summer in japan like fireworks. you can find them in festivals all around the country this time of year. dressing up is part of the attraction. nhk world went shopping for a yukata to get ready for a day and night at one of japan's biggest extravaganzas. >> reporter: japan's traditional

summer clothing adds charm, and it's the perfect clothing for hot summer days. recently it's been gaining popularity among the younger generation and tourists. when choosing yukata, even people who usually wear black and white give themselves permission to try out a new look. >> translator: the classic patterns are popular, as are those that also feature a modern touch in color and design. >> reporter: after trying several combinations, i settled on this one. it's a modern adaptation of a classic chrysanthemum pattern. i think the look is both up to date and timeless. now i'm ready to enjoy the hot summer nights. so let's go out. by midafternoon, the crowd starts building near the fireworks site. people come to see the sights, to see their friends, and of course to be seen.

getting a good spot often requires you to stake your claim early. the river fireworks display is always held on the last saturday in july. it began about 300 years ago after a famine that took many lives. the ruling shogun instituted the event to pray for the victims and to ward off disaster. since then, it has entertained the multitudes. everyone's invited. these days, a million people turn out to look up at the night sky. i found a special vantage point that was a little less crowded. this japanese style guest house is a popular place for backpackers.

so this is the fifth floor, the terra terrace. the audience up here includes a lot of people from other countries. and the show begins. 20,000 fireworks light up the sky. the pyrotechnics craftsmen have been preparing all year for this. recent innovations allow the colors to change in the middle of an explosion or even to disappear momentarily before returning.

this arrangement is called banquet of japanese style flames. simple, yet elegant, it pays tribute to the fireworks launched during the early 18th century. >> they're very beautiful. they're very nice. >> i think it's pretty great. i love, like, the kimono, and everybody's just, like, crowded around everywhere on the streets, the rooftops. >> reporter: and the greater the display, the easier it is to forget the summer heat. marie yanaka, nhk world. the tokyo bay fireworks is coming up this weekend. thanks, marie, for that report. clear blue skies prevailed throughout the greater tokyo area today with highs around the

mid-30s celsius or mid-90s fahrenheit. jonathan oh joins us with the latest on the typhoon in the western pacific. jonathan. >> hello, james. yes, we are talking about those two very different topics, but nevertheless a big part of the story. and i'm going to begin first with the typhoon. we've been tracking this system for the past several days, during the weekend, on sunday, it slammed, now continuing to move toward the west-northwest. what you may notice, though, is that compared to the broadcast 24 hours ago where we saw very clearly defined eye, this system is slightly weaker. it is still a very strong typhoon. winds of 180 gusting to 252. pressure from 900 to now 930, so it is a little bit weaker. nevertheless, it still holds a lot of power. whenever you go over waters, no matter how warl the waters may be, when it is a very intense system, that process will sometimes have to regenerate itself, and there is a weakening stage with that system.

that's what's happening right now. it will continue to move to the west-northwest and setting its sights for taiwan as we go towards saturday. a little bit later than what we had originally anticipated. now it's looking closer toward the weekend as the system continues to move toward the north and west. but before that, we will see the rain starting to pick up. now, james mentioned those high temperatures that took place. let me show you some of these readings across japan. in hokkaido where we typically see highs in the mid-20s, we moved up to 37.1 degrees. that is a record high temperature. and we were close to 40 degrees. date also setting a record at 39.7, and tokyo hitting 35.2 degrees. that makes it the sixth day in a row that we saw temperatures above 35 degrees in tokyo. and so we're extending a record when it comes to these high temperatures. obama seeing 38 and 36.8

degrees. for tokyo, we'll see highs again in the mid-30s thursday but a slight cooling trend in the weekend. s highs will be in the low 30s by saturday and sunday. sapporo will see highs back into the 20s as we go into the weekend. i do want to let you know the forecast in hiroshima as the anniversary takes place on thursday. during the ceremony, we're concerned about the high temperatures. we're looking at another hot day. highs in the mid-30s during the afternoon hours with sunny skies. as it progresses through the day, because overnight lows are not getting much cooler than the mid-20s, it's going to warm up very quickly. humidity will be a factor. that is some concern as we go through the day. now as we look at the forecast for south asia, we're keeping an eye on what's happening there. let me show you video coming out of the region where the heavy rainfall just really has caused some major problems. pleas for international help take place in south asia, myanmar, the cyclonic storm leaving behind a watery mess, and the low-pressurerea still

bringing rain into the region. we're also seeing problems into northeastern india. again, the same situation taking place there. rain is expected as we continue to move forward in time as this setup continues the southwest monsoon will bring a lot of rainfall as we move forward in time. wrapping things up with a look at europe. looking at hot temperatures down toward the south. high pressure surging all this warm air. highs near 40 degrees for rome as we go through thursday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

more to come here on nhk world, so stay with us. cccccccch

>> this is "france 24." the case containing the wing parts thought to be from the malaysian airlines flight which ,rashed in march of last year detailed investigations in france. we will have an expert on the program shortly. at least 24 people have been killed in india as two passenger trains derailed minutes apart from flooded tracks on a bridge. 300 people have been rescued. more police forces become involved in the case of historic minister by the prime from the 1970's, edward