newsline comes to you live from studios in tokyo. it's 7:00 p.m. on friday here in japan. i'm james tengan, and thank you for joining us. here's the stories we are following at this hour. foreign ministers of japan and south korea are set to meet to pave the way for a possible one-on-one between the two

countries' leaders. with china in the u.k. this week drumming up business, at home, concerns a mounting over the state of the economy. and the leaders of japan and turkmenistan will encourage japanese firms to invest in infrastructure and energy products to help boost industry in the central asian nation. officials from japan and south korea are fine tuning plans for the first one-on-one meeting between the top leaders. the two countries' foreign ministers are scheduled to meet at the foreign summit. japanese officials say the foreign ministers will discuss a number of foreign issues that include those relating to people referred to as wartime comfort women. japan says the matter has already been legally settled. south korea has been calling on japan to compromise on the issue. the ministers are likely to discuss the trial of a former seoul bureau chief of the daily,

and the reporter has been accused of defaming the president. they are expected to hold talks on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with china. that neating is schedule to take place in seoul november 1st. historical documents created friction between russia and japan. russia has protested uneco's listing of the materials, and now they want moscow to see its side of the issue. russian's foreign ministry said japan's selection of the materials was based on biassed perception of wartime history. the statement expresses doubts that japan is sincerely remor remorseful for what they call belligerent actions during world war ii. the secretary cabinet denies this was politically motivated, indicating the governments will try to gain russia's

understanding for its position. >> translator: japan's national commission for unesco recommended the support after gaining hold of the city in russia's far east, a sister city in the prefecture. >> adding city officials briefed russian officials on the application through the russian consulate. japanese officials disclosed rules for a major free trade deal reached by 12 pacific rim countries this month. gene otani has the details and roundup of the latest business headlines, gene? >> thanks, james. japanese officials say trading rolls for the tpp agreement include intellectual property rights and public procurement requiring vietnam and malaysia to ease regulations on service providers from abroad. member countries will strengthen crackdowns on counterfeit and

pirated products. vietnam is abolishing government screenings for retailers to open stores in the country, smoothing the way for firms including japan convenient store operators to operate in vietnam. they will relax restrictions on investment by overseas businesses. malaysia will eliminate limits on setting up automatic teller machines. these rules make it easier for foreign firms to participate in public works projects, government linked organizations hold open bidding when it goes above a certain value. trading rules will, in addition, improve protection of animation and copyrights are 70 years after the death of authors. if products suspected of violating copyrights are traded with tpp member nations, authorities can suspend their sales without complaints from those whose rights were violated. chinese authorities released home prices in september. values went up in more cities

than falling for a third consecutive month, but real estate investment in slowing. officials at the national bureau of statistics say home prices were up in 39 out of the 70 major cities surveyed, an increase of four cities from the previous month. they fail in 21 cities down by five in august and unchanged in ten cities. home purchases up after the government took steps to bolster of market. they include cuts to key interest rates and the easing of home loan regulations, but many new condos are unsold in regional cities, and real estate investment saw the engine of growth in china, but the market has slowed. analyst says that the september rise in new home prices may have just been a temporary change. asian stock markets extend in global rally after the president of the european central bank hint at further stimulus moves. stocks rose friday after a two month high.

our business reporter has the details from the tokyo stock exchange. giang? >> reporter: the ecb's president paved the way for bond buying program, and investors are cheering on the news on the last trading day of the week. that brought the nikkei up 2.1% to 18825. the index hit the highest point in nearly two months. and it rose 2.9% for the week. the topix tacking on nearly 2%. stocks rallied in all sectors with financials leading the gain. shares of megabanks ended higher. and ufj financial group advanced 2.3%, and sumitomo and mizuho gaining 2 % and 1.5% respectively. honda motors spiked 4%, isuzu

added 3.7%, and toyota gained 1.2%. beating the markets is snack food maker, calbee, rising 9.6% on reports it will grow 10% in operating profit from last year. so money flowed into stock markets on the prospect of ecb monetary easing in december. it also increases speculation that the bank of japan could decide to expand stimulus when it meets next week. >> giang, thanks. other markets in the region rallied as well. many of the indexes hit multimonth highs. in china, the shanghai composite added 1.3% closing at 3412, and some bought on hopes of fresh stimulus measures were the communism key policy meeting next week. shanghai rebunded to a two month

high with all sectors adding gains, rising for a fourth straight week. kospi advanced 0.9%, and upbeat figures lifted the index. sydney reached 1.6% for a two month high, and officials are working to hint the 2% inflation target around the first half of next mifiscal year. they are expressing views that monetary policy alone may not be enough to reach that goal. aso's remarks came ahead of a boj policy meeting next week. >> translator: a sharp decline in crude oil prices has created a difficult situation for achieving inflation target. i think what monetary policy can do is limited. >> aso indicated that companies need to raise wages and boost

investment. japan is reviewing how to test car emissions follow revelations that volkswagen used illegal software to cheat on tests. up to 11 million vw vehicles around the world are reportedly fitted with the software. the environment ministries say they will set up a pam of experts to review this testing system. they say japan's current system detect emissions cheating, but the panel members may add a test to be held under conditions similar to actual road driving. south korea released latest gdp figures today, showing the economy rebounded in the july-september period after slowing in the previous quarter. officials at the central bank say growth for the third quarter was up 1.2% from the previous period. the economy grew in fe years, and expansion was 2% year on year, a touch higher than market expectations. for me, we spoke with kim about

his views. he is professor at the university in seoul. >> professor kim, what do you think of the numbers? >> the bank released this morning are a bit surprising because many market analysts made a pessimistic forecast. the overall economic performance for the third quarter turned out better than expected. construction investment was the main contributing factor. people had worried that the adverse effects of middle east syndrome that pr vailed in may would last for a long period. furniturely, however, it went away soon. the government expedited the spending policy to stimulate the economy and the policy strategy worked. as a result, domestic consumption and construction investment increased significantly. >> okay. so you're saying the government's fiscal policy has been effective, but are there

any lingering concerns there? >> yeah. private consumption needs to be further stimulated, but exports are worrisome. they are running trade surplus for some years now, but its exports have been declining due to slower growth of the global economy and the trend of strong one value. korea is faced with two uncontrollable external factors, the u.s. policy and the slower recovery of the global economy. moreover, they cannot fully control the one currency because it is not an international money. to overcome these difficulties, the bank can properly change the interest rate and its moneta moneta monetary -- its money supply. >> professorim, where do you see the economy headed in the couple years? >> slower international growth is a phenomena. it will take awhile for the

economies to recover. the chinese recovering is slowing down. the economies of the u.s. and japan are recovering slow, so korea economy will grow slow too. perhaps, we are all entering an era of new normal growth. nevertheless, individual economies may grow higher than the average of the global economies. if their policies become successful, not only can a market failure hamper an individual economy, but also policy failure can harm the nation's economy. here's a look at some of the other business stories we are following. japanese firms, universities, and government officials set up a group to try to promote the internet of things. analysts say these strategies connect all kinds of equipment and products through the internet. the group wants to improve production and develop new products. one aim is for self-driving

vehicles tok on the road by 2020. the aircraft corporation postponed a test flight of the jet scheduled for nest week. the regional jet is the first passenger aircraft in half a century. company officials have to adjust cockpit pedals and plan to conduct a test in the second week of november. >> that's all for business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets.

japan's prime minister met with the president of turkmenist turkmenistan. they agreed to encourage japanese firms to invest more in turkmenistan's energy sector. abe is on a tour of five central asian countries to promote economic ties with the region. turkmenistan's president commended his country's economic partnership with japan. he cited a number of projects underway in the country funded by japanese investment. they involve the oil, gas, and chemical industries. he said, the corporation between the two countries offers great potential. abe said he hopes to promote dialogue between japan and the central asian nations to cric t contribute to political and economic stability in the region and says the companies helping them will help enhance economic ties. the two leaders then signed a joint statement welcoming the participation of japanese firms

in the construction of natural gas and thermal power plants. the leaders said their governments will help facilitate the projects worth $18 billion. the statement also said turkmenistan will introduce japanese-style educational methods to teach advanced engineering and technology. turkmenistan has the world's fourth largest reserves of natural gas. china's economy showed more signs this week of slowing down. for the first time since 2009, economic growth dropped to less than 7% in the third quarter. in the meantime, the chinese government is striving to change the country's economic structure with a shift to manufacturing products with high added value placing more weights on quality raer than the speed of growth. earlier, minori asked about the state of the chinese economy. >> the economic slow down in

china comes over a drop in real estate investment. exports have taken a hit. and up until the third quarter, this year's total trade value decreased from last year. i visited one of the largest trade fairs in the country to try and find out more. the fair is held twice a year. it is viewed of humanger trends the chinese economy. about 2400 companies participate in the event. on display is everything from home appliances to the latest in game machines. foreign companies are in the chinese market because of the size, but some of the exhibiters at the fair say the mood rested a bit than in past years.

>> even chinese buyers are telling me, everything is slowing down. i think they are a little bit receptive. they are not showing that possibility of a mind set now. translator: our sales growth in china has been slower than projected. total sales are not meeting our annual goals. >> reporter: the export business, the driving force for economic growth up until new, is also starting to show signs of slowing. this chinese manufacturer exports construction machinery to africa and the middle east, but demand for its products has been especially slow this year and business has plunged. >> translator: our total sales have fallen by about 20-30% compared to the same period last year. we are focusing our efforts on researching and developing new

products. >> reporter: the promoters of the fair are concerned. they think fewer buyers will come this year, and ty are worried about a drop in business opportunities. >> translator: new competitive industries are not being developed, and the overall costs are increasing. these factors are affecting the growth of chinese trade. >> reporter: china's economic strength was largely built on exports, and those were based on low production costs, but the country is now losing its competitive emg. labor costs are going up, and many companies are expressing anxiety about the future. >> the president's visit to london can be linked to a number of economic goals. what exactly did he hope to get out of that trip?

>> reporter: 150 business readers, and together, they sealed a contract worth more than $160 billion, and attention focused increased cooperation in infrastructure projects. china agreed to invest in the construction of three nuclear power plant and aims to use investment to boosthe export of infrastructure technology. expanding the export of high value added infrastructures is china to transform its economic structures. if the country can achieve results in britain, a member of the group of seven, it will give much momentum to the effort. >> translator: the latest developments show that britain has recognized china's capability in developing value added products including nuclear power plants that require the latest technology. it will be proof of the development achieved by chinese businesses if their economic

ties continue to expand. >> reporter: china is ao working to create a new silk road economic belt between asia and europe. it hopes to use it as a way to strengthen economic cooperation with countries in the areas. since the u.k. expressed intention to participate in the china proposed asian infrastructure investment bank at an early stage, beijing thinks enhanced cooperation with the u.k. can be used as a model case. >> translator: china welcomes the active involvement of british firms in the one belt, one road initiative. we want to further strengthen the win-win relationship with britain. >> reporter: the chinese economy is slowing down, but the country remains the world's second largest economic power with a huge market.

using that as an incentive, the administration is trying to tighten cooperation with other major economies and gain a foothold to achieve steady growth. >> you're watching nhk world. syria's civil war is dragging on, and the u.s. and russia are at odds how to end the fighting. representatives of the two world powers defended their positions at a u.p. security council meeting. russian envoy justified military intervention in syria say iing s purpose is to destroy the islamic state militant group at the request of the syria government bringing up agreements made by the presidents of russia and syria earlier this week to seek a political solution. >> translator: russia is ready to contribute to political stability in syria as part of

the international community as well as conducting military operations against terrorists. >> u.s. ambassador to the u.n., samantha power, criticized russia's military actions saying air strikes are outside areas controlled by the militants also known as isil. >> the syria map shifted in isil's favor. civilians on the move in terror, and isil is on the move gaping ground. >> power reiterated the u.s. position that the conflict only ends with the departure of assad saying supporting assad only delays a solution in syria. millions of people in south sudan are facing severe food shortages, and parts of the country are on the brink of famine. there was a statement issued by three agencies including the world food program.

3.9 million south sudanese face severe hunger, mostly in the northern parts of the country. government officials in opposition forces agreed to a cease fire in august. ongoing fighting has seriously affected u.n. relief activities. south sudanen serks government officials say delivery of food supplies has improved, and they deny that there is a risk of fami famine. now, people in parts of mexico brace for what could be a catastrophic hurricane. we are joined now with the details. >> it's the strongest storm on earth so far this year. hurricane patricia is a category 5 system. this 1 the highest ranked for hurricane, and now the central pressure is only 89 it, we seldom see the number below 900, the lowest recorded in the eastern pacific ocean, and gusts are over 360

kilometers per hour. as a category 5, it hits central coast of mexico by friday evening local time. we have hurricane warnings in place for the central coast. this area will start to feel hurricane force winds this afternoon. please watch out for extremely strong wind and it could dump up to 500 millimeters of rainfall. life threatening flooding and mud slides could happen. dangerous storm surge could happen and threatening surf and weak currents. hurricane hitting the pacific coast of mexico are rare, so they have been only one category 5 hurricane that hit central mention sew so far, and that killed 1800 people. take all measures to protect yourself because it's going to be a devastating storm system.

moisture from patricia is energy jazzing this pressure system situated south of the u.s., causing for rainfall to the southern plains, especially texas. there are reports of hail already, more hail expected with the risk of tornados here. another system provides flooding rainfall in the central plains and canada as well, but mostly dry in the eastern united states, and temperatures will drop into the teens in new york city after days of warm weather. washington, d.c. at 18 degrees for the high with abundance of sunshine. all right. let's go to asia, then. the western pacific has been quite active as well. so far there's been 25 named storms, and this is the current one, but this system is now packing strong winds, still a strong typhoon, actually, pulling away from the islands, and we have been talking about koppu, but that was sunday when koppu made landfall, and people are dealing with flooding rainfall and flooding situations. look at the video from san

louis. this left a terrible mess in the philippines in the wake. this video shows the flooding continuing to plague those living in the region. water continues to fill buildings, destroying houses, and demolishing crops, and affecting nearly aillion people. temporary evacuation shelters are also flooded. so far, more than 140 million dollars worth of damage has been reported, and over 100,000 people are still in shelters due to the conditions. now, koppu is now a low pressure system, but still locate near the fill peeps. more rain is expected in the next couple days, expected to move in the southwestern portions of japan. mostly dry in the southern half of japan, but it's going to be turning wet in the northern area, and the coldest air of the season will be moving into northern areas by the weekend, so we may see the first snowfall

of the season on sunday in sapporo. all right. here's your extended forecast.

and that was newsline live from tokyo. be sure to watch "newsroom tokyo" at the top of the hour, aside from business cncng.

>> welcome to "france 24." in the frank . capital. spring they are angry over planned hikes and go to our and we correspondent tort latest. seeking a diplomatic solution to war top officials from russia, united states, saudi arabia and turkey meet for talks. regional power iran is left out of discussions.