hello, i'm james tengan in tokyo, welcome this this hour's "newsline." here are some stories we are following this hour. japanese officials launched a new agency responsible for developing and acquiring defense equipment after mr. abe relaxed a ban on defense exports. senior officials from the u.s. and russia agreed their militaries will hold talks to

avoid clashing in syria after russia carried out air strikes. and chinese authorities are hunting for a suspect in connection with a series of deadly explosions. the japanese government has launched a new agency responsible for the developments and accusation of defense equipment for all self-defense forces. nhk world explains. >> reporter: the new agency kicks off under the defense ministry on thursday. [ applause ] staff members gathered from the procurement and research branchs of each self-defense port. the launch of the new organization came after prime minister shinzo abe relaxed the country's policy on defense exports in april of last year. one of the agen's main tasks is to advance pan's defense tenology exports afterhe new guidelines open the way for companies to tap into

international and joint projects. a number of new projects have already started. the government decided to sell time missile software for u.s. navy vessels. an amphibian rescue craft is set to be exported to india, and the government is now stepping up its effort to win the bet to win australia's next submarines. >> translator: we will gather all specialized knowledge to cooperate with other countries on defense equipment and technology. staff will tackle these issues with a clear understanding of responsibility. >> reporter: another important mission for the agency is to keep down defense costs. equipment costs are rising steadily as the use of computers and software becomes more pensive. defense officials say they need to cope with the severe security

environment surrounding japan. they plan to update the fdf missiles, tanks, and aircraft. the new agency will be responsible for a huge budget, so even greater transparency in the procurement process is essential. nhk world, too. >> thanks very much. some japanese have witnessed the arrival of a potent symbol of a deepening alliance seeing a nuclear american powered aircraft carrier sail into the port at its deplment. ronald reagan anchored in a nearby base in tokyo, taking over for the carrier that went home for maintenance. the u.s. secretary of navy spoke on the key welcoming japanese laws that deepened the alliance. >>e're very supportive of the

new security measures that have been put in place and are being put in place here in japan. we view our relationship with the japanese navy of one of absolute equals today. >> the ronald reagan has the name nuclear reactors as japanese power plants, and the commander said he's confident she's 100% safe. still local residents protested saying safety measures are not adequate enough to deal with an accident. military officials from the united states and russia are expected to hold talks as early as thursday to avoid clashing in syria. the meeting comes as leaders in moscow gave the green light to launch air strikes against the islamic state group, but the american counterparts fear targets may not be the militants. here's more. >> reporter: smoke rose in the

skies wednesday over syria, a russian defense ministry spokesperson says their air force targeted the equipment, communication facility, and arms depot. president vladimir putin says his nation stands with syria president assad. >> translator: the only way to fight internatnal terrorism and these are international terrorists who are writing in syria and other native countries is to act preventatively. we must eliminate the extremist threat there so it does not end up on russian soil. >> reporter: but the leader of syria opposition forces supported by the u.s. has accused russia of killing dozens of civilians. he told nhk islamic state militants and other extremists are not in the area.

american leaders want assad's government out of power. secretary of state john kerry met face-to-face with his russian counterpart to discuss the air campaign. >> it is one thing, obviously, to be targeting isil. we're concerned, obviously, if th is not what is happening. >> reporter: russian foreign minister said his country's first und of air strikes killed civilians. >> translator: unlike the united states, we carried out air strikes in accordance with a official request by the syria government. >> reporter: already, the four year syria war claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and sent even more fleeing. some political observers fear russia's air campaign will complicate things even further and deepen the crisis. nhk world. >>assad wants more countries to help fight militants and said a

u.s. led coalition has done nothing to stop the terrorist group. deputy foreign minister spoke to nhk on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly meeting in new york. it was the first interview a top regime official gave to foreign media since russia launched air strikes in syria. >> the american led coalition did nothing, which have, in fact, strengthened the other terrorist groups like al qaeda. >> he said russia and syria are cooperating fully in the fight against the islamic state group. >> i am sure the russian attacks against the terrorist groups are going to be effective. >> he said officials from many governments have told the syrian regime they'd like to cooperate and a delegation from the french parliament is currently visiting his country. authorities in southern

china are hunting for a suspect in connection to a series of blast. the man is said to have hired a number of people to carry a number of parcels containing explosiv explosives. police say the man -- excuse me -- police say the man delivered a number of parcels containing explosives. here's more. >> reporter: the blast hit a resideial ea in the autonomous region wednesday afternoon. the news agency says parcels exploded at 17 locations including a local government building and a shopping mall. seven people were killed, more than 50 were injured, and two others are missing. another explosion exploded in the same area thursday morning on the fifth floor of an apartment building. photos of the blast ses posted on china's social media site of

twitter. it happened in the southern part of china near vietnam. this is home to about 400,000 people. more than half ofesidents are ethnic minorities of southeastern asian origin. wednesday, the area had seen no major vience against the thorities. the attacks come as the nation celebrates the start of the week long national holiday. president xi is not back to beijing from his state visit to the u.s. local media is praising his tour as a success, but some people here say he's casting a shadow over a time of tribulation. leaders in beijing sell braet the 66th anniversary of the people's republic founding in

china. he met leaders of ethnic minority groups at the great hall of the people. the premier delivered a speech promising efforts to ensure national stability and improve the livelihoods of ethnic minorities. >> translator: people's happiness is a gauge for progress in reforms and development efforts. we'll work to ensure that people can feel happier and keep that sentiment. >> reporter: deadly attacks have been occurring in regions of the country where many ethnic minorities live. last year, the aton mouse region was marred by multiple blasts, prompting authorities to step up security measures vowing to crack down on anyone who commits violence. a ceremony to mark the establishment of the autonomous region was held on thursday in the city.

authorities are expected to respond closely to the latest bomb attacks. they are ensuring that similar incidents won't happen again to avoid triggering widespread unrest. nhk world. >> "newsline" will keep you updated on this story. thank you. bank of japan officials released important figures giving investors aninsight into the state of japan's economy. gene from the business desk has our details and a wrap up of today's headline, gene? >> thanks, james. the picture is mixed. the central bank's survey says the mood worsened for major manufacturers, but improved for nonmanufacturers. boj officials polled 11,000 firms through late august through seventh and lists percentage of respondents who say business conditions are good compared with those who say they are not. the survey shows the headline index for big manufacturers

sentiment is down three points to plus 12, the first decline in three quarters. analysts attribute the lower figure to the economic slow down in china and other emerging countries. on the other hand, brisk spending by foreign visitors boosted sentiment among major non-manufacturers. their index was plus 25, up two points from before. it's the highest level since november 1991. sentiment for small manufacturers up changed at 0. index for small non-manufacturers was down a point to plus 3. economists at the world trade organization lowered their forecast for global trade growth in 2015. they say economic slow downs in china, brazil andther emerging economies put a damper on imports. the economists have cut their april estimate of 3.3% growth to 2.8% for this year and say current market swings hold back growth in global trade and

economists slightly revised downward the outlook for 2016 to 3.9% pointing to slow downs in emerging economies and say a rate hike may destabilize central markets. economists say downside risks are clearly growing. checking the markets, tokyo stocks extended gains following mostly positive news from the survey and manufacturing data. for the details, we go to our business reporter at the tokyo stock exchange. >> a bit of relief from the numbers, index from china came in better than expected, showing a slow down in manufacturing overall, and japan's survey shows that executives have an optimistic view about future capital investment. the traders are hoping to leave the rolls of the last quarter behind. for this first day of october,

straight session up 1.9% closing at 17722, and the broader topix gained 1.2%. auto makers, mazda and nissan higher gaining 5% as companies announced year-on-year increases in production and sales. an auto related chairman got a boost from the tpp organizations that could open up the north american market to auto parts from asia. on the downside, shares fell for haseko and game maker dena down 0.7% and 1.8% respectively, the first day to be traded on the nikkei, but in line how other stocks have performed after being added to the index. inpex up 2.5%, and japex up 4 .5% lifted by higher oil prices.

a solid day for markets for the first day of the month, but traders cautious ahead of u.s. payroll data out friday, a key figure for policy deliberations. >> giang, thanks. pmi figures boosted market sentiment in the asia pacific region. australia's index rose 1.8% to 5112 extending gains to a second day. the research market got a lift from the bounce in commodity prices. seoul added 0.8% to close at 1979. investors cheered positive economic data including industrial output. indonesia gained, and mainland china closed for a week long holiday, and hong kong reopens on friday. people in china are taking advantage of the time off to go traveling. many are headed for japan.

an airport in the southern province was crowded on wednesday with travellers headed overseas. most flights to japan were booked out. it's a pop pow lar destination because it's nearby and the yen is relatively weak. some travelers get to japan on cruise ships. the rush despite growing concerns over the chinese economy sparked by a plunge in prices, but tourists do not feel any large impact. officials from the japan's auto industry say sales of new cars took another tumble and increase in tax on vehicles is to blame. september sales fell short of 480,000 down 7.6% from the same month last year. it's the ninth month in a row that domestic sales have suffered. the officials say sales of many vehicles plunged nearly 15%. and here's a look at some of the other business stories we are following. executives at japan's diachi

are expanding abroad, by 70,000 policies and the deal is likely to increase profits by temperatures of millions of dollars. executives at mitsubishi motors are poised to close the only u.s. plant in november. they decided to halt work in the illinois factories due to weak sales and hoped to save a thousand jobs at the plant to save production, but they have been unable to find offers. nippon reached a settlement over dages filed three years ago. posco illegally acquired technology from a former posco engineer, and they agreed to pay $215 million.

that's all for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. you're watching "newsline" here on nhk world. ministers from 12 countries try to reach a broad agreement this week on a free trade pac, the transpacific partnership. they are holding a meeting to bridge differences. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the clock is ticking on the talks in atlant

ministers began their negotiations on wednesday, but issues remain. >> we are making progress. it's not enough to close it any time soon. >> translator: the negiations could drift considering the political situations of the member countries if we fail to reach an agreement this time. >> reporter: japanese minister expressed concern that an agreement could stall as some leaders become involved in the election campaigns. canada has a federal election this month, and the u.s. is preparing for next year's presidential election. officials worry that talks could bog down during the electio periods, or worse, changes in governmentould force renegotiations. u.s. president obama is pushing hard for the deal to be approved soon, calling leaders of member nations like chile and peru to demonstrate his determination.

negotiators have been struggling to lessen the gaps over issues such as dairy products and paid protection for drugs. at the last ministerial meeting, new zealand officials could not agree to the terms because they want to export more dairy products. with a small domestic market, new zealand farmers encourage the government to help them expand exports. >> well, clearly, our cabinet s to reflect the needs of o key business sectors and dairy is the largest sector of the new zealand economy. >> reporter: tariffs on cars are also discussed. the tpp nations would have to benefit from the pact. japanments to set the amount low because japanese car makers use parts from nonmember countries such as thailand, but mexico and canada, which produce auto parts, are pushing for a higher

figure. negotiators are now in the time phase of their talks. they are trying to resolve their differences quickly and seal the deal. and farmers and company managers around the world are carefully watching their progress. nhk world. >> thanks very much. a japanese olympic champion is encouraging citizens to take up sports. he's sharing his message from a new platform as a senior member of the government. he holds a gold medal for swimming, arriving for the first day as head of the newly inaugurated sports agency outlines hoping for japanese athletes at the olympics next year in rio. >> translator: japan won 16 gold medals at the summer games in tokyo and athens. we need to win more than that.

>> he said he'll reflect views of athletes in government policies on sports. here in tokyo, it's wet and cool with a temperature reading of 19 degrees celsius or 66 degrees fahrenheit. summer-like temperatures are in the forecast for the weekend. johnathan oh has the forecast. >> i think so, at least for the daytime hours. the morning hours you'll need it, but progressing through the afternoon, we may see sunny skies, at least in the central and western portions of japan. i think the northern portion of japan may deal with the cloud cover and rain a little longer into the first part of the weekend. now, i want to show you the video of what happened before the system that's responsible for the cloudy sky intensified. not looking bad here on thursday, but this is just, you know, the calmer rain and just precipitation before the storm. this is from the aftermath, at

least the remnas as it started to move out of china and over the korean peninsula. now, this is what's going to be different as we go throughout the evening hours into friday. we have whats or what wa the storm turning into more of a standard low pressure system, but it's intensifying very quickly. we call that a low pressure bomb because it's dropping pressure so quickly it causes a lot of wind and rainfall so the weather scenario is about the change as we go throughout the next several hours. we're going to see a lot of rainfall, and, by the way, you may know we are expecting this 12 hours later, we're looking at 952. that's a 20 drop, and that's already a 20-30 drop beforehand, so this is a significant development when it comes to the progression of the system. so windy conditions and wet. it's going to feel cold in the process.

check out whate're looking at in terms of the wind. over in the western portions, we had 108 kilometer gusts already reported, looking at the possibility to continue throughout theovernight hours into the toko region, 126 kilometer winds, and the waves are going to be high because of the winds pushing up against it. some may have 9 meter wave height on top of it, a bit of rainfall here, up to 250 millimeters possible looking further to the west, over to tokyo, looking at 120-150 millimeters of rainfall until friday morning. calculating friday night into saturday, the rain totals in northern japan will be higher. think the weekend, by the time we get in the latter part, residual rain in the north, but further down towards the main island in japan, looking at a drier and sunnier weather pattern. hopefully the temperatures will move back just a little bit throughout the sunnier time period. wet weather is a big story for

the eastern side of north america. there's a persistent rain band associated with the cold front that's slowly moving south and east. it is a slow mover. it's enhanced by a very strong hurricane, a major hurricane named joaquin, producing high winds in place for the bahamas. whether the track holds all the way through tuesday is something we have to monitor, but looks like consensus for t models this system moves north. on top of that, the concern is that fact we already had so much rain, flooding issues on the eastern sea board, so this hurricane throws an additional problem maker into the picture going into the beginning of next week if the forecast is to be held down. for the moment, wet on the eastern sea board thursday, drier towards the west. i hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

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>> this is france 24. time for 60 minutes live around the world. i'm genie godula. russian airstrikes hit syria again today. a syrian security source says they are targeting an islamist rebel coalition including an al qaeda affiliate. the u.n. raises the palestinian flag in new york for the first time ever. this as the palestinian president says he is no longer bound by previousgr