hi, i'm james tengan from tokyo. first the head lines for this hour. u.s. police say racial discrimination may have been a factor in the fatal shootings of two journalists in virginia. the japanese government launched the bidding process to jointly develop australia's new submarines and people from around the world have met in

hiroshima to work for a world without nuclear weapons. u.s. police in virginia say the man suspected of killing two television journalists may have been fuelled by grievances about racial discrimination and are examining what role they played in the shootings. vester flanagan shot a reporter and cameraman at close range while doing a live broadcast on wednesday. flanagan killed himself following a police chase. he was a former employee of the local tv station where both victims were employed. american media say flanagan started working as a reporter there three years ago but was dismissed after aear because colleagues complained about what they describe as offensive remarks and unacceptable behavior. >> he just always seemed to have questions, race questions, between black and white. >> officials with abc news say about two hours after the

shootings they received a 23-page fax from flanagan. they say it was sent under his professional name bryce williams and cited as the tipping point the racially motivated shooting that killed nine church goers in charleston, south carolina in june. the japanese government has joined the bidding process to jointly develop australia's new submarines. the cabinet approved guidelines allowing japan to produce defense equipment with other countries. the two nations share concerns over china's expansion of the activities at sea and australia occupies an important position politically facing southeast asia as well as indian and pacific oceans. our correspondent reports on the watch of japan's bid. >> reporter: on wednesday delegates from japan including

government and company officials held a first briefing in australia on the bid for the submarine project. the briefing included 100 people. the high turnout shows how interested australians are in what japan explains to them. the japanese delegation focused on promoting the country's high technology. >> we do have over 60 years of history of developing submarines and our submarines will meet additional requirements put upon us. >> reporter: australia plans to replace six aging submarines with new ones in or after 2020. in february the australian government announced plans to develop submarines with another country and then decided to

choose its partners from three countries, japan, germany and france. but the decision to jointly develop the submarines has met some opposition within the country. simon kennedy runs a welding company and says the entire construction of the submarines should take place in australia. >> the submarines particularly in australia, for me it was very important because it would create a lot of jobs and a lot of industries would benefit from those jobs. >> reporter: in a response to such concerns a rival german company opened an office to appeal to local people. a french maker has already announced a design for

submarines showing strong intention to win the bid. >> we believe we offer the best submarines to develop through the australian manufacturing base. >> reporter: the briefing was the first opportunity for japan to explain the proposal. questions from participateants focused on how far the japan plan to involve local companies. >> what opportunity will there be for australian companies to substitute? >> the design will be performed considering the profitability and maintainability in your country. >> reporter: kennedy was among those who attended the briefing. he was not fully satisfied with the explanation by the japanese delegation. >> i think i would have liked a much more affirmative that they were very keen to build the boat

in australia. it was good the japanese game down and gave us some information. >> translator: much of the discussions today focused on employment issues. but i will work to have the australian government take into consideration the high utilization rate and maintenance technologies of our submarines. >> reporter: the australian government is expected to make a choice by early next year. its prospective partners are eagerly awaiting the decision. nhk world. >> thanks for that report. china's economic woes are shaking financial markets but the governor of the bank of japan is taking an optimistic view. gene otani will join us for that and give a wrap up of today's business headlines. >> thanks.

governor noted that momentum behind chinese growth has been declining but suggested the economy can achieve a high rate of expansion and said the stock market plunge triggered market volatility but believes china has room to take policy measures. >> i am sure that this time next year the chinese economy is likely to achieve six percent to seven percent growth. >> said japanese exporters are feeling the effects of china's slow down but doesn't expect the pain to continue in the years ahead. he also welcomes china's decision for additional easing. he said it is appropriate to mitigate any damage to the chinese economy. most u.s. central bank policy makers have said conditions are on track for a rise in the

benchmark rates. now the head of the new york federal reserve bank is saying something different. william dudley has said the move in his words seems less compelling. he is the vice chairman of the federal open market committee that determines u.s. monetary policy. >> from my perspective at this moment the decision to begin the normalization process at the september meeting seems less compelling to me than it was a few weeks ago. >> he added the u.s. economy is improving and a rate hike by the end of the year remains possible and stressed the fed will be sifting through economic data and keeping a close eye on market developments. the fed officials have been saying they intend to raise key interest rate which is near 0 by the end of the year. the markets believe the decision could come as early as next month at the fed's policy board meeting. stocks on wall street gained

following dudley's comments and that led shares to another rally. let's go to our business reporter at the tokyo stock exchange. >> the market woes not only following gains in the u.s. but staged a comeback. that is risk over sentiment. let's check closing levels for this thursday. the nirkkei added about 1%. the topix rose almost 1.5%. still some jitters remain over the turmoil in global stocks so investors chose shares in sections driven by domestic demands. the soy sauce maker up about 6% after seven days of losses. dairy company meiji gained more than 4.8%.

stocks gained across most sectors. a global player in bicycle equipment added nearly 6%. toyota motor also rose on news that it is resuming production in china after the recent explosio there. in all the nikkei showed a solid day for investors so we will see gdp numbers out of the u.s. on thursday and data on friday will be able to lift markets higher, we'll see. >> thanks. that was from the tokyo stock exchange. shanghai stocks finally snapped a five-day losing streak and recovered the key 3,000 level for the first time in three days. the shanghai composite sharply jumped more than 5%. that's the biggest one-day gain in seven weeks. financial stocks boosted the rally but the threat of

volatility lingers. analysts say the market may remain vulnerable. the rebound lifted other markets. hong kong gained 3.6%. indonesia rose for a third straight day finishing up by 4.5%. philippines posted first gain since october 2013. sydney rose 1.2% led by health care and utility sectors. organic materials that conduct electricity are being used in many products. experts say they could someday replace metal in many applications and manufacturers are exploring a host of ways to use them in everything from watches to airplanes. >> reporter: this is an organic material that conducts electricity. electronics manufacturers are competing to develop products using materials like this made

of plastic, fiber carbon and other compounds. one think tank estimates the market for the materials could be worth about $58 billion u.s. by 2030. one company used the material to make this solar powered film. >> translator: the solar cell battery generates electricity from exposure to indoor light. >> reporter: this is fukushima station. the solar film was fixed to the station's windows in april. the film doesn't generate as much electricity as solar panels but it is easier to install. the electricity is used to power the station's lights and electronic bulletin boards. this is a cross section of the film. the two sides are separated into positive and negative poles. when the film is exposed to

light negative electrons are generated and transformed and emitted as electrical energy and flows to external electric circuit in order to power a device. the same organic material is being used to develop this solar powered watch. >> translator: this technology is a work in progress but one day we expect to see the market expand and costs fall as materials manufacturers and companies work on it. >> reporter: researchers are also working on ways to use the technology in airplanes. if they succeed planes could be lighter. they have been trying to solidify carbon fibers with organic materials that conduct electricity. >> translator: this material can

conduct an electrical current as powerful as a bolt of lightning without shattering. >> reporter: in this experiment a 10,000 volt of electric current is pumped into material. the material burns and perforates. to prevent damage like this f e fuselages are covered in a net. the new material is far stronger. because the electricity is transmitted through it and then harmlessly discharged. this research center is hoping the product will be ready to use within five years. >> translator: this resin can be shaped into any form and still transmit electricity.

in the future we'll find many more opportunities to replace metal with plastic. >> reporter: the potential uses for electricity conducting materials are vast. researchers are working hard to produce them more cheaply and put them to practical use. >> here is a look at some of the other business stories we are following. indonesia wants to construct a high speed rail line and japan and china both want to build it. an aid to prime minister abe took the sales pitch to the top. japan is emphasizing the safety record of its bullet train. indonesian officials say they will make a decision early next month. mercedes-benz has launched a diesel electric hybrid model in

japan. managers for the high end german brand hope the model will appeal to japanese motors. officials in the health ministry will order pfizer to advance the way it works. members of the company's sales task did not inform the product's safety commission. that's it for business news. i will leave you with the markets.

70 years after the atomic bomb people from around the world have come to hiroshima to discuss how to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the united nations conference opened. it brought together 83 people from more than 20 countries including government officials, experts and representatives of several groups. at first six panelists discussed how to realize a world without nuclear weapons. a survivor discussed his suffering. >> translator: i will never give up my efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons until my last breath. >> reporter: some speakers and world leaders including u.s.

president barack obama [ inaudible ]. >> i would be pleased if president obama came to hiroshima and took the occasion to make a speech that in a sense gave his prague speech and hiroshima speech could be at the end of the administration reinforcing his view that nuclear weapons should be eliminated. >> reporter: participants visited the memorial park and offered prayers. they also listened to a survivor's testimony. she said so many people died. she also said many children died or suffered. >> translator: the city was really hell.

i don't want to see such horrible scenes again and you should never watch that either. i hope no more people have to run away while stepping over dead bodies. >> the whole experience has been so profound. i have been so touched and so sad. we have to keep her stories, the legacies of the a-bomb so that the future generations will appreciate and also to join efforts for a nuclear free world. >> reporter: on day two participants discussed the outcome of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty conference in spring. the chair lady of the conference said there are differences in the proposed nuclear free zone in the middle east. also proposed to pick up a working group to consider

measures at the next session of the general assembly. >> renewed and determined efforts are required to bridge the gap between expectations and achievements. >> reporter: another speaker called for world leaders to discuss face-to-face. participants have learned what happened here 70 years ago. they renewed their ideas on how to move ahead. nhk world, hiroshima. chinese prosecutors have detained 11 people including city officials in connection with the deadly blast in the tianjin port area this month. china's state news agency quotes prosecutors saying city authorities failed to properly

supervise the company owning the warehouse. they say the firm was storing dangerous substances illegally. ten people are being held for dellrection of duty. it says a senior official is being held on suspicion of abuse of power. the report says 12 people including executives of the company were arrested earlier. the warehouse contained sodium cyanide and ammonium nitrate. top leaders told government leaders not to overlook any breach in the law or regulations and ordered local authorities to step up safety management. on saturday, two days after the order, another blast occurred killing one worker. it was at a chemical plant. people in beijing are enjoying the rare sight of a blue sky. the smog cleared because the government is cutting pollution

ahead of the military parade. local media are calling the color parade blue. government officials are restricting. they want the smog gone by next thursday when they mark the 70th anniversary of what they call their country's victory over japan. the sky over beijing usually looks like this. officials say pollution at most observation points is now at the lowest or second lowest level on a scale of six. residents haven't seen this sky this blue since government cut pollution for another summit. >> translator: i wish the city would host lots of important events. the air is so much better when we have blue. >> translator: i'm getting out to make the most of the blue sky. the air will probably get worse

after a while. >> residents are savoring the sight before the sky turns gray again. japanese cabinet ministers are expected to cap the cut to build a new stadium for olympics at $1.3 billion and are expected to make the final decision on friday. the minister in charge of the tokyo olympic and paraolympic games has been putting finishing touches on the plan. he met prime minister abe to give an update. abe announced the government would scrap the original plan to build a new stadium and estimated costs inflated to about $2.1 billion and has been working to drop a new proposal which outlines the facility functions and seating for the total cost. let's hope we don't see severe weather patterns during the summer of 2020. i wonder if the committee is taking climate change into consideration.

speaking of severe weather. >> significant flooding in southwest china. we have dramatic video coming in. the heaviest rain storm since 2010 hit portions of southwestern china monday and tuesday. parts of the province were flooded due to rainfall. 38,000 residents were affected and more than 700 of them had to be evacuated. the total loss is estimated to exceed 15 million u.s. dollars and i'm afraid more rain is expected throughout this week because of a stalled low pressure system and a front. widespread rain is likely across the southern half of china. flash floods killed at least 40 people in north korea over the weekend. 11,000 people are evacuated and heavy rain is happening across north korea. over the past 24 hours about 300 millimeters of rain has fallen.

we are looking at drier conditions into friday. temperatures are going to be 26 degrees. tokyo at 27 degrees. rainy weather once again on friday. across the center of the pacific we are looking at heavy rain continuing over the honolulu region. more wet weather into thursday but finally drier conditions are expected on friday. there is a system approaching hawaii. this is a hurricane. it is a category 1 system. it could intensify to a major hurricane and it could get very close to the big island next week. it could effect hawaii islands next week indirectly or directly. across the caribbean islands there is a low pressure system or a tropical storm named erika affecting the leeward islands

packing winds of 75 kilometers per hour. the system will likely get close to puerto rico and pass north of his paniolia and may become a hurricane and get close to the florida peninsula. further down towards the southern hemisphere days of heavy rains are causing serious inunidation in wales. this is the scene. very heavy rain caused severe flooding. heavy rain also caused numerous problems in this area. in fact, the system caused one tornado monday and hail storms hit sydney on monday. the system is pulling away so conditions will finally improve as we go into friday. temperatures will drop significantly so mountains will be covered in snow. for example, new south wales

temperatures will be cooling down to minus 7 degrees on friday. your low will be 7 degrees on friday. very chilly temperatures are waiting for you. and across europe there is a significant weather happening over the continent. large hail and damaging winds are expected across the north of the continent and south of the scandinavian peninsula. behind it wet and cool conditions for you. here is the extended forecast. that's it for us here on "newsline." there is more to come here on nhk world so stay with us. /ñ>x

you are watching "france 24," broadcasting live from paris. the e.u. could provide help to balkan countries hit by the financial crisis. angela merkel is in brussels to address the issue. we will talk to our correspondent. more than 3000 migrants crossed into hungary on thursday alone. we followed a group of migrants throughout their ordeal at the border of serbia. vester lee flanagan, who shot dead to reporters -- dead tw