here in japan, it's 7:00 p.m. on a thursday in tokyo, and welcome to "newsline," here's the stories we are following this hour. the u.s. navy's top officer says the chinese government has no claim to waters around its artificial islands in the south china sea. a court has awarded

plaintiffs damages over aircraft noise at a military base in western japan, but rejected a demand that night flights be suspended. a young couple has filed a lawsuit claiming that a civil law prohibiting a woman remarrying six months after divorce restricts their lives and freedom. the u.s. navy top uniformed officer emphasized belief in freedom of navigation rebutting the chinese claims over the south china sea and that warships will share there. admiral richardson is paying his first visit to japan as chief of naval operations. >> we're a global navy and shouldn't be a surprise to anybody that we will exercise freedom of navigation through

wherever international law will allow, and so we do this routinely in the world, present in the south china sea routinely. >> richardson would not say how many ships the u.s. navy will send to the waters or when, but will respond flexibly to changing situations. tensions between the united states and china could increase over waters in the south china s sea. here's more. >> reporter: over the past year, china has been building artificial islands by reclaiming land in the south china sea. satellite imagery released last month shows a 3,000 meter runway, paths, and roads on the reef in the disputed spratley islands. china has been reclaiming that reef. the country appears to be

building two other runways on the islands. china is now claiming control of the waters around these islands. but the united states is taking the position that artificial islands cannot be used to define territorial waters which is a zone extending 12 nautical miles or 22 kilometers from a country's shoreline. th u. convention in the law of the seas stipulates that artificial islands do not have the status of islands and that territorial waters cannot be claimed around them. the u.s. is studying the possibility of deploying naval ships an aircraft to the 12 nautical mile zone around the artificial islands in the near future. they want to clarify its position of not approving such territorial claim by china or any other country. the u.s. used to send its naval

ships to these waters, but apparently stopped three years ago to avoid raising tensions. the waters of the region are disputed. china, the philippines, vietnam, malaysia, and taiwan all claim the spratley islands. the fill fifteens says it supports the u.s. move. >> this is cause for alarm or concern, not only f the philippines, but also for the all other countries that are benefitting in the south china sea. the presence of the united states in the region gives us the confidence that they would help us and other small countries in the region. >> reporter: the issue was one of the main topics u.s. president obama discussed with his counter part, president xi last month, but they failed to narrow the gap. >> i conveyed our significant

concerns over land reclamation, construction, and militarization over disputed areas which makes it harder for countries in the region to resolve disagreements peacefully. >> we have the right to uphold our maritime rights and interests. relevant construction activities that china is undertaking do not target or impact any country and china does not intend to pursue militarization. >> reporter: having the world's second largest economy has enabled china to pursue maritime expansion and this may lead to cop fronation with theist who wants to maintain its influence in the asia pacific region. all eyes are now on how the two countries can prevent their relationship from deteriorating and settle the issue peacefully. nhk world.

people who live near a military base in western japan celebrate a partial victory in a long fought battle. they've been awarded the equivalent of more than $4 million in noise poltion damages, but the court dismissed the demand for suspension of flights by japanese self-defense forces and the u.s. military. the branch of the district court handed down the ruling, and more than 650 residents filed in 2009 against the government. they said the noise caused health problems, and they wanted compensation and a ban on night flights. p the presiding judge recognized that the plaintiffs had suffered. the ruling awarded the plaintiffs more than $4.6 million, but limited the scope of compensation to past damage and turned down plaintiffs' demand to pose a ban on

nighttime flights arguing that the central government can decide on sdf flights, but no such power over u.s. military fligh flights. >> translator: it was good that the court acknowledged the illegality of the aircraft noise, but the fact is that the noise will continue regardless of the ruling. >> one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs will decide whether to appeal the ruling after consulting with their clients. they say it is regrettable that the decision recognized the damages and will consider the next move after carefully viewing the ruling. senior u.s. government officials want south korea to improve ties with japan. relations between the two countries are on the agenda in an upcoming u.s.-south korea summit. u.s. president obama will meet the south korea president at the

white house on friday. dame russell say they will discuss diplomacy. >> their relationship and their ability to cooperate is a strategic priority for the united states. >> u.s. national security kou counselor says north korea will be a key topic at the meeting and u will work with south korea in dealing with the northeast nuclear and missile programs. the officials were speaking in a news conference in washington attended by the u.s. ambassador to south korea. russell dismissed concerns that the attendance at the military parade last month was an indication that south korea was moving too close to china saying the event was an opportunity for south korea to seek china's cooperation in dealingith the missile threat from pyongyang. a young japanese couple

contests a civil law that bans women from getting remarried six months frdivorce. males face no such restrictions. they are carrying the case considering how social change can be reflected in law. nhk world has more. >> reporter: a woman from central japan filed thursday along with her current husband and five month son. the couple, both in their 20s, had their marriage paper turned down in the july based on the woman being divorced last than six months. the son remains nonexist end in the registry system, and the child is assumed the offspring of her ex-husband. that's why they can't report the baby's birth to the government. >> translator: our lives are filled with anxiety. my son has not been accepted in

japan's famiregistry system. i have no idea if he can even start kindergarten. >> reporter: they claim the law is not fair because it restricts the freedom of marriage and inhibits the chill's happiness and violates equality that is guaranteed by the constitution. the united nations has made repeated recommendations to the japanese government to abolish the law. officials say it discriminates against women. since the late 1960s, many countries scrapped rules that ban women and not men from remarriage in a certain period. germany and france abolished this in 1998 and 2004. south korea repealed its ban in 2005. some countries, including china,

britain, and canada never had the rules in the first place. in japan, the current civil law provision left many children unregistered. they were born in their mother's prohibited period for remarriage. >> translator: this 33-year-old woman was not officially registered for more than 30 years. she was born when her mother ran from domestic violence. >> translator: i was disappointed because i had no opportunity to attend school. as an adult, i had no social skills, i lacked confidence, and i used to be fearful about stepping outside. >> reporter: the current lawsuit in a similar case opened a national debate over whether the law should be changed to better reflect society. japan's supreme court plans to hold a grand bench of all 15 judges in november. the top court could make a

decision by the end of the year. as japanese society changes, so does our interpretation of what makes a family. as debate continues over the current civil law and whether it matches the way we live, people are watching the judges' decision closely. nhk world, tokyo. >> thanks for reporting on something not many of us knew about. convenience store operations in japan announced a merger. gene has the details. >> thanks, james. japan's third largest convenient store chain, family mart, merges next year with circle k creating one the biggest retail stores of its kind in the country. executives from both companies agreed on thursday to integrate their management in september 20 16. they say they are considering

combining the shops under the name family mart. the merger creates a holding company of 18,000 convenience store, and this number rivals the largest chain, 7-11 japan, and lawson is working on a plan to tie up with immediateup sized convenient store chains. stocks in tokyo recooped some losses of previous sessions, and investo investors shrugged off the weak data and the u.s. will maintain its concern monetary policy. here's more. >> reporter: weaker than expected retail sales from the u.s. led investors to think it's difficult for fed to raise rates providing support to riskier assets like stock in emerging market currencies. the nikkei rose 1 .to close at 18096 retaining the 18,000 point

level, but 340 points below the month's highs. topix was up 1.4%. big caps were bargain hunting hkding ufj at 1 preponderate 2% and other banks, fast retailing rose .33% pushing up the index. softbank did well. institutional investors like japan's pensn funds were first in line to take advantage of the dip in the blue chip stock, and retail investors followed suit. we saw decent games through companies depend on emerging market demands, komatsu up .4 as well as fanuc. the prospect of a u.s. rate hike leads to a stronger dollar and yen, and today, we saw riskier currencies appreciating like in malaysia. >> aika, thanks. other markets in the asia

pacific region bounced back as well. in china, the shanghai composite jumped 2.3% jumping to the 3300 level in two months. expectations of more government stimulus measures provided a positive sentiment. kospi closed 1.2% to close at the highest level in more tn two months after the bank of korea is keeping interest rates up changed. hong kong index gain 2% led by casino operators, and indonesia ended up just over .5%. japanese farmers call for measures to protect domestic agriculture. they made the appeal at a national convention of local farm cooperatives. their request comes after the agreement was reached on the transpacific partnership free

trade deal. >> translator: farmers are worried. we need sustainable measures to protect domestic agriculture. the government must enact relevant laws and implement budgets to achieve that. >> japanese prime minister abe attended the meeting stressing the agreement is the best result for japan and will contribute to national interests. >> translator: the tpp agreement is a chance to promote many different japanese products overseas. the government, as a whole, will be fully responsible for taking and implementing measures to deal with the situation. >> abe said the government will take all possible measures to prevent harmful effects on domestic agriculture. meanwhile, japan's economy and trade ministry set up a task force for the tpp aiming to help

companies navigate the new environment. the minister promoteded the changes. >> translator: tariff eliminations will be advantageous for japanese companies to expand their exports. >> he said it's important for the government to provide support for small firms. the task force plans to hold seminars for the companies in each prefecture. here's a look at the other business stories we are following. officials at the world trade organization dismissed china's appeal in a trade dispute with japan. chinese authorities can import extra on steel tubes claiming the unfair prices hurt domestic competitors, but the wto told beijing to take corrective action saying no chinese firms produce similar products. japan's foreign minister

wants to speed up negotiations on an investment treaty with qatar. he met his counterpart, and this includes a provision that japanese companies investing in qatar will be treated in the same way as local firms. japanese firms are showcasing the high speed rail technology in an international fair in new delhi. it links mumbai, and they failed last month for a railway system in indonesia. designers of security technology are always looking for ways to stay ahead of those aiming to spread terror and suffering. this week, many are in tokyo to show innovations they say will keep people and businesses safe in the future. nhk world reports.

>> translator: the products here can take massive technology so all these tests have to past through a street of security checks as they enter. 130 companies are showcasing their technologies in the three-day event. most of the visitors are from security companies. >> i came here to check out the latest security products and gather information. >> reporter: the representatives are from an i.t. giant are touting a system that water and light triggers waves have limited duration saying it uses only sensors and other technology to track suspicious movements. >> translator: people are aware of security risks in the ocean, but i think preparations to counter the risks are not

progressing. our solutions can be applied in a wide range of fields. >> reporter: this company sells security devices. it has developed a mist spraying machine as a pass over security system, blocking visibility of intruders by spraying white mist without damaging computers and other machines. once sprayed, it blocks visibility for half hour. this product is popular among banks and jewelry shops. >> translator: we've been focused on detecting intrugss as soon as possible, but now we want to develop products that obstruct the activities of intrude intruders. >> reporter: this system can detract drones. re and more people are embracing drones as a fun way to take photographs and panoramic

video footage, but also they potion a security threats. in april, a man landed a drone on the rooftop of prime nister abe's office. the incident prompted the government to change the aviation. this japanese asian company sells a drone detector made by an israeli firm that identifies flyi ining objects using specia rada and infrared sensors. they say the system is effective with the range of up to 5 kilometers. >> translator: people in japan have come to realize that drones can be used in crimes. many security firms now are competing to enter japan's new security market. >> reporter: people across japan

ahead to g-7 summit next year and the olympic and paraolympic games in 2020 so security firms are looking carefully at the latest antiterrorism technology as they strive to keep the public safe. nhk world, tokyo. >> that's business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets.

you're watching nhk world. it's partly cloudy, fair, with rain in the forecast saturday. johnathan oh has worry sm news in the philippines. >> it's now a severe tropical storm, a bit stronger and it's not done intensifying yet. whenever you have a lot of warm moisture, specifically the ocean with high sea surface temperatures, it's going to pick up more energy, and it's getting ever so cholosely to the philipn philippines. this is moving at 25 kilometers per hour, not a fast moving system, but it's picked up speed at 90 kilometers per hour with gusts up to126, pressure down to 990, and this is just a part of the intensification phase. wexpect to to be a typhoon as we go throughout the next day. it is going to become stronger, and, already, if you notice closely on the satellite

perspective, that the front part of this, the outer band of the system is going over the philippines, and so be prepare to see the rainfall taking place. now, as well as the waves and wind may be a concern, the biggest concern now is the rainfall. it's a slow moving system. over 72 hours, the rain progression is slow, but then you notice some areas see u to 250 millimeters just in the next 72 hours. after that, we'll have to see how much more rainfall takes place because it drags its over the philippines and so flooding will be of great concern. further east, this storm moves west, northwest at 25 kilometers per hour, a tropical storm expected to move right through the mariana islands the next day. look here, as it passes through, a lot of rainfall with some intense winds in the process, but eventually, it turns north and northeast moving to the islands, and we'll have to keep an eye on both of the storms.

now, we're talking about a very different weather pattern over in europe, talking about snow in row main ya. look at the video to show you what it looked like. nice view here, yes, over the mountains of central romania, covered with a thick blanket of snowfall after an early winter storm, 25 centimeters of the white stuff. the snow is pretty, yes, but authorities have to clean up quickly because of fallen trees in the snow on the roadways, and this surprised some drivers not ready for the system. we had wild action in europe, snow taking place in poland, and expect more intense storms in italy and had a dam in another portion of romania breaking and causing flooding because of the rainfall in the process. are going to see even more in terms of stronger weather towards italy as we go throughout the day on thursday and into thursday evening because of the clash of air,

looking at the possibility of maybe a water spout and strong winds and heavy rainfall. higher peaks may be dealing with some potential snowfall as the cold air remains in place. now, wrapping things up with a look at north america, mainly dry in determine terms of the forecast other than california. this is a good thing, actually, in los angeles and inland empire, seeing the heavier bands of rainfall, spotty at times, but we need the rainfall, and i think we'll see more of that throughout the day on thursday. high of 27 degrees as we see the high for the day. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

and that was this hour's "newsline," and be sur to catch "newsroom tokyo" live at the

>> you are watching france 24. i am genie godula. these are the headlines. as eu leaders get set to meet on the migrant crisis in brussels, we will hear from the emergency director of human rights. he has just come back from the island of lesbos where refugees are still arriving by the thousands. violence in israel continues at the gate of the old city.