here in japan, it's friday evening, and welcome to this hour's newsline. here's the stories we are following this hour. the battle in japan's diet over a set of security bills entered the final stage, and opposition parties are trying to delay the vote while the ruling camp tries to push the legislation through. the u.s. central bank decided to leave interest rates

unchanged at near 0. fed chair janet yellen cited the likelihood of further downward pressure on prices. the leaders of e.u. countries meet next week in effort to find ways to cope with a huge number of migrants and refugees. turning heads at the tokyo game show. gamers get into gear as competition keeps up in the world of virtual reality. opposition lawmakerings are making last ditch efforts to block vote of japan's self-defense forces. the coalition is acting to enact the bills on friday. opposition leaders submitted a no confidence motion against the cabinets against shinzo abe, and lawmakers in the lower house will put it to a vote. it takes priority and forces voting on security bills to be pushed back.

the legislation would allow japan to exercise the right to executive self-defense on conditioning, permitting sdsl to defend countries in a close relationship with japan. the democrats entered a motion against abe. upper house lawmakers voted it down. on thursday, the governing camp led by the liberal democrats moved the bills forward through a committee vote and had the support of three minor opposition parties, paving the way for the legislation to reach the upper house. lawmakers in lower house approved the bills in july. people opposed to the legislation have once again gathered in front of the diet building. protesters returned outside the building on friday after rallying against the bills the

previous night. people hoisted banners and plaques with slogans saying they can't accept t legislation being ramme thugh. they said the war announced in article 9 of the constitution should not be destroyed. >> translator: i just thought i had to do something because we are now at a turning point. >> translator: we want lawmakers to listen to what we have to say and hold better discussions on the issue. >> she also says mothers like her do not want to see their children involved in wars. chinese authorities released data on home sales, and gene joins us from the business desk with the details as well as a wrap up of today's business headlines, gene? >> thanks, james. china's new home price in august rose in more cities than they fell for the second straight month, but housing

investment is sluggish suggesting doubts about the economy remain. the officials at the national bureau of statistics say new home prices rose in 35 out of 70 major cities last month. that's up four cities from the previous month. new home prices fell in 26 cities, down three in july. the number of owners who raised their resident was was in flee big cities after governments supported big home sales last year. they lowered the interest rate easing home loans and other measures, but many condominiums are unsold mainly in smaller cities and trading home for investment a still low amid the slow down. the analysts says the sharp fall in shanghai stocks led young people to put off buying homes. policymakers are leaving interest rates unchanged near 0. janet yellen says economic

activity in the u.s. is expanding at a modern pace, but notes developments may put a brake on growth. yellen said taking the first steps to hike the rate continues on employment improvements and mentioned the likelihood of furtr downward pressure on inflation in the near rm. >> the committee continues to anticipate that the first increase in the federal funds rate will be appropriate when it has seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2% objective over the medium term. >> yellen said many believe a rate rise is appropriate within the year, and that certainly includes the october meeting. for more, we spoke to the chief researcher at the research institute, and he gave details about what's behind the fed's

decision. >> in light of the u.s. economy fundamentals or strenh of the u.s. fundamental economic activities, i think it's already mature to do something on the rate front, but still, in light of the situation of global economies as well as global financial markets, i think they wod like to confirm this would be a transitory event. these are the factors i think the markets had expected, already expected to hear from the fomc. that said, i think that in addition after hearing the comments by chair yellen at the press conference, i think another measuring prompt would be the prospects of 2% inflation in term. that wou be problematic to the policy. >> the fed's meeting in october and in december, and fed chief yellen gave hints in her news

conference, but when do you see the fed moving on rates, and could it be as early as next month. yeah. think that the -- they conduct appropriate management for the policy by the fed. i think that the factor or most important factor will be the near term future cost of development of u.s. fundamental economy so that's why i believe, in my ew, that the december meeting will approiate because it's the time when the fomc members can revise their own advocacies next time. >> there's the emerging economies throughout the year because of the higher rates and stronger dollar. what's you take on the effect for japan, and specifically, china. >> yeah, this is a very important question. now, i think that they -- in terms of the impacts on japan, i think the large part of the impact could be psychological, i could say. for example, that if and when the federal reserve decides to

start hiking rates or normalizing the policy rates, i think that this would impact, the reserve would have enough confidence in the u.s. economy that could have positive impacts on the minds of japanese and market people. in terms of the impacts on china's economy or china's financial syem, i think i have mixed feeling about that. on the one hand, the normalization of the policy could have the pace tapped out from the system. that could threaten the stability of the financial system, but at the same time, even though that they -- i think that the large part of the reasons for instabilities of the financial system in china or some part of the chinese economy is domestically oriented i would say. >> investors in south korea were bracing for the fed's decision. it has been fuelling concerns

that people will pull their money out of the south korean economy. for more, we spokebout the view, teaching economics at the university in seoul. >> over the u.s. interest rate hike in korea, there are two main concerns. the first one was, as you mentioned already, the withdrawal of the foreign investment from the korean market. the anticipation of the interest rate, the hike, t foreign investors left from korea football markets over the last 39 days, estimates of demands of money left in the korean markets was 7.5 million. if the u.s. increases its interestate by 0.25 %, the korean household would pay additional $1.5 million on their

loans, making the u.s. economy slow down, so certainly u.s. interest rate hikes can be a negative impact on the korean economy as a whole, i think. >> now, looking at the markets, tokyo stocks fell after the u.s. federal reserve stayed put on interest rates bucking the trend in other asian forces. we have the details at the tokyo stock exchange,giang? >> low interest rates traditionally good for the market pulling investors out of risky stocks so they breathe a sigh of relief, but weaker dollar and u.s. bond yields hit tokyo stocks. with that, we saw the nikkei drop 2% snapping three days of gains and finishing at 18,070. the broader topix fell almost by the same margin. stronger yen weighed on export related shares like toyota and pan sonic,nd insurance took a

hit. just treasuries will be a drag on the balance sheet. life insurance down 6%, and msad insurance dropped over 5%. seven and i is planning to close low performing outlets. in china, slowing economies loom, and analysts expect a rate hike later this year or early next year. with that, we expect market volatility to comet. that wraps up this highly anticipated week at the tokyo stock exchange. >> giang, thank youery much for that. othe forces say investors cheer the fed's decision. the shanghai composite rose by 0 0.4%, and index lost 3.2% in the week, but bounced back from lows after falling below the 3,000 mark.

sidney gained half a percen after the country's central bank governor said was content with current monetary policy. the index was up for a second week. seoul's kospi rose, and hong kong hangseng index rose by.30%. officials from the u.s., mexico, and canada will return to the negotiating table next week for the transpacific free partnership trade deal, laying the ground work for another m ministerial meeting. they a trying to hold it september 30th. next week's agenda is expected to focus as the so-called rule of origin saying car imports should only be tariff free if a certain amount of their parts come from within tpp member countries. the four countries are expected to adjustheir stance to ensure they are all on the same page

ahead of the ministerial talks, and the 12 tpp member countries met in hawaii in july, but they went home without a broad agreement. here's a look at the other business stories we are following. foreign investors last week sold more shares than bought in japanese markets, and sales topped purchases by over 1 trillion yen or $6.8 billion, the highest over. sources say investors are risk averse due to uncertainties in the global economy. crude outpet fell for a 12th straight month in august. last month was about 8.8 million tons. down nearly 6% from a year earlier. the officials say there was sluggish demand for steel products for automobiles and public works. japanese retailers seven and i holdings plans to close a

fifth of its supermarkets over the next several years, amounting to about 40 stores. the ito chain plunged more than 80% from the previous year. fans are packing into the tokyo game show. one of the world's largest. this year's event kicked off with a record 480 companies showing their latest gear. nhk world has more. >> one of the hottest items this year is the virtual reality headset. sony computer entertainment renamed the test model hoping to have it on the market next year. >> translator: there are a lot of products that allow people to enjoy virtual reality. i think 2016 will be the first virtual reality year.

>> reporter: small businesses are also entering the fray. this company took vr technology to the next stage. it layers an animated character over real images shot with a camera attached to this robot. the player's hand movements are picked up by infrared rays and headset. this virtual reality environment accoodates multiple viewers. the images are projected on to a half dome ceil iing. >> translator: we projected the market for virtual reality would expand. we want to get a share of that market. >> reporter: gaming is a major attraction, allowing gamers to live stream or upload video on line demonstrating their play with narration.

players talk about and show off their strategies and techniques. there's already a collection at goods that support gaming, for example, this headset free hands so you concentrate on the game and the camera and this whole computer set is for lets play gaming. accessory makers said plays is up 30% worldwide. >> translator: gamer to product, the way professional athletes choose their shoes and other gear. i think the business will grow. >> reporter: youtube and amazon joined the show for the first time. amazon last year acquired the video game site, twitch, the largest platform for let's play. amazon officials say there's big demand for games that nobody can ignore. >> we saw that live streaming

was becoming a great way for developers and players, gamers to interact with one another. we saw this was a big up and coming space that was brand new on the scene. >> reporter: entertainment goods are becoming more diverse with increasing use of the internet, and game makers are facing tougher competition to stay on top. yuko fukushima, nhk world. >> that's all for business news. back to you, james. >> thanks very much for those business updates, gene. people in chile are busy cleaning up after a powerful earthquake struc off its coast and tsunami waves smashed into coastal towns. authorities say at least 11 people have been killed. tsunami waves as high as 4.8 meters reached the town of

coquimbo and some houses were left underwater. 175 buildings have been destroyed in the devastated region, almost all in coquimbo and nearby areas. >> translator: i lost everything, everything. i lost the dog, i have nothing. >> translator: we need any help we can get. please, help us. >> chile president visited the affected area saying the extent of damage is tremendous and declared a state of emergency. tsunami waves trigger by the quake traveled more than 10,000 kilometers to hawaii and moved on towards japan. japanese weather officials fted a tsunami advisory issued for e resident coast and island chns. while the advisory was in effect, tsunami waves up to 8 o centimeters were observed along the pacific coast friday. >> translator: i decided to

evacuate earlier than other people. i remember how frightened i was after the earthquake and tsunami in march 2011. >> tidal surges up to 30 centimeters re detected at plants near the coast. the operators have not reported any problems with the power stations. european union countries are trying to narrow differences over how to deal with influx of migrants and refugees their leaders will meet next week to try to reach a breakthrough. e.u. interior ministers failed earlier this week to find commonground on how to share the burden of accepting 160,000 people. the czech republic and slo vok ya oppose the plan saying it could prompt more migrants to flow in. the e.u. held an emergency summit wednesday of next week. germany is willing to take in migrants, but the government temporarily introduced border contls after bei overwheed by a massive influx of people.

hungary, austria, and others are blocking their borders. some headed to croatia, but the interior minister said the country cannot accept more arrivals after more than 11,000 people entered. croatia made a turn about in the policy and decided to tighten its border the commander of u.s. forces in the pacific has expressed concern about china's building three airstrips in the dispute the spratlys islands in the sea. if they continue to build on the side and up to two additi additional airfields of 2,000 foot length, that gives me great concern. >> speaking at a u.s senate hearing, the admiral harry harris sai if they add stations

and fighter planes on artificial islands there's de facto control over theouth china sea. harris referred to warnings by north korea ty plan to launch a long range ballistic missile calling the north a major threat, he reiterated the need to deploy advanced missile defense system in south korea. the united states is considering the possibility of additional sanctions against north korea. a seep your defense department official says it may be necessary if pyongyang goes along with the threat of launching a blisi long range bac missile. >> as we go forward towards a possible north korean missile launch, for example, we're going to be engaging our six party partners, and we're going to be considering what extra pressure we might put on north korea, should they decide to conduct that missile launch.

>> earlier this week, the director of the north's rospace agency hinted at the possibility of launching an upgrated long range ballistic missile next month. pygyang annnced a nuclear complex has been revamped and put back io operation. u.s. secretary of state john kerry warned of severe consequences if pyongyang does not refrain what whate calls irresponsible provocations. relatives of japanese people abducted by north korean agents called for the early return of their loved ones. thursday marked 13 years since pyongyanadmitted to e abductio. family members of loved ones met reporters in tokyo. one is the older brother saying the government should step up efforts and focus on bringing the abductees back to japan. >> translator: it's going to be

too late unless we can figure out soon how we can bring about the return of our family members. i cannot wait anymore. >> another expressed disappointment in prospect returned for her daughter who was abducted 38 years ago at the age of 13. >> translator: we are all getting older. we're just asking to get our loved ones back. i'm very sad that i have not heard anything of her, even though she's not so far from here. >> the late north korean leader kim jong il admitted to the kidnappings, and five of seven were returned to japan, but the others are unaccounted for. no progress has been made since japan set up a panel for those

missing from the country. officials at the international watchdog say wrong assumptions by japan contributed to the 2011 meltdowns at the foouk shooe ma power plant. members held a briefing on final reports into the disaster. about 180 experts from more than 40 member countries contributed to the documents. iaea director said the report is not directed only at japan. >> this report is for the use of everybody. everyone who is involved in the safety of nuclear power plants. >> the report says the japanese people were not prepared for a serious nuclear accident because of the mistake and assumption that nuclear plants are safe. a japanese delegate said the country is determined to pass on what it's learned to the

international community. representatives from other countries stressed the importance of sharing information to improve the safety of nuclear energy. northern california saw some precipitation, but not enough to bring about a game changer in the desperate ght against the wildfires there. johnatha oh has this hour's update. >> i don't have any good news for you when it comes to additional rainfall because of the shift in the weather pattern to where we're seeing dry conditions once again. we had a couple areas of low pressure coming on shore, bringing showers in the pacific northwest and even reaches into california, but as we go through the weekend, i don't think we'll see a lot more in terms of rainfall. let moe show you the aftermath of what the fires have done in this particular region. it's heart breaking to e see some of these images. homes, in fact, a hundred of them, have been burned because of these fires. now, the firefighters are trying

to continue to battling other blazes that are still in the area. by the way, in the midst of some of the rubble here, too, bodies were found in homes because of the fire, and so the total death toll from the blaze is now sitting at five, and so this is a very difficult situation, and we are continuing to see droug conditions in ple. most of california is seeing anywhere from extreme t exceptional drought, but that also extends into portions of washington state, into oregon, and further towards the east, we are seeing drought conditions, and that pattern of low pressure areas has now sfted east. high pressure, an area ofry weather is now controlling the pattern, and that's going to mean sunny skies. in fact, as high pressure continues to push to the east, a southerly flow comes in the picture meaning it's going to get hot at times. look at the forecast for friday, saturday, and sunday. wall to wall sun, no chance of

even clouds. that's about it. sacramento in the mid-30s for saturday and sunday. it's going to be hot. los angeles also getting hot, san diego getting to 30 degrees on sunday. so rain is desperately needed, and it doesn't look like we're going to be seeing anything for the next few days. now, as we look at the forecast for europe, the focal point of showers and storms shifted north as a couple areas of low pressure shifts in that direction. we have a little bit of disturbance back towards the west, a trough set up is also producing some instability through the central portions of europe so because of that, we may see wind gusts from time to time with a heavier rainfall. heat continues to dominate the forecast for the south and east here. paris, berlin, stokeholm, you have drier weather. 24 in kiev, and 33 degrees in hens. we are dealing with rain and

clouds a seeing clouds lift to the north and east. looking at a very nice start to the holiday week as we go into saturday, but maybe clouds linger around. we do have alsoñ÷p÷999ñówçç

>> welcome to the france 24 newsroom, i and molly hall. burkina faso's coup leaders release the interim president and ministers from custody political upheaval following the coup d'etat. croatia says it will not become emigration hotspot. the country closes most borders with serbia in a bid to stem the flow of migrants. the rugby world cup starts today with england facing off against