welcome to "newsline" in tokyo. here are some of the stories we are following this hour. construction work for the relocation of a u.s. base in japan's southern prefecture of okinawa has begun despite local opposition. local authorities

restricting activity by high school students. as more and more serians flee, one of their own tries to throw them a lifeline. japan's central government started construction work in okinawa to relocate are u.s. marine base from one part of the main island to another. the governor said he can't accept the move. nhk world reports. >> reporter: about 100 protesters face off with police near the site of the new facility. that in response to the country's defense ministry sending vehicles thursday into the coastal area where they want to build new facilities for u.s. marines. the works are at the core of the

government's plan to move the air station that sits in densely populated city to another site and wants to reclaim land for new runwa off the coast of the nago city. officials say workers started developing a material yard and drilling surveys off the coast ahead of the reclamation works amid fierce protests. okinawa governor opposes any construction of new u.s. base. he strongly criticized the central government's order to start construction. >> translator: this is the ultimate abuse of government authority. i'm very disappointed. >> reporter: tokyo is standing firm against the governor. >> translator: the government wants to have to have the base back as soon as possible

relieving people's anxiety of an accident and lessen aircraft noise. that's the way to scale down the air base tangibly. >> reporter: in okinawa, reaction on the street is mixed. >> translator: i think what we need most is to reduce the risks so i think the construction is necessary. >> translator: the central government put all the burden on okinawa. this is an issue all janese haveo discuss and share. >> reporter: the confrontation between okinawa and tokyo is intensifying. they revoked permits for the central government to conduct landfill work earlier this month. prime minister shinzo abe criticized the measure of illegal and seriously damaging to japan's diplomacy and defense. they agreed tuesday to begin legal procedures to allow them

to continue the work. the land minister recommends he withdraw the order within a week, but the governor is not showing any sign of backing down. instead, the two sides are fitting up preparation for a series of lawsuits. nhk world. meanwhile, the central government is moving to ease the burden hosting u.s. bases, and said the ministry will drop plans to have u.s. forces stationed in okinawa, use the civilian airport for osprey training exercises. the defense minister visited the site thursday and talks with the governor. he told the governor that they are withdrawing the request of the airport for training involving ospreys stationed at

the u.s. base. he then said the scale of u.s. ministry training will depend on the burden to be accepted by each prefecture across japan. the governor said it's significant that a ministry made it clear it is dropping the plan. he added he fully understands the importance of national defense, but he wants to handle the matter carefully as it could have a large impact on the prefecture's future. >> translator: the central government is trying to relieve okinawa of hosting the base, and i've told the governor that the central government is not considering saga as the first possible location for the transfer of u.s. military training programs. >> the defense ministry does, however, have plans to deploy japan's self-defense aircraft in 2019. japanese authorities decided to ease restrictions on political activities by high school students.

the change comes as the voting age will be lowered to 18 starting with next year's upper house elections. japan's education ministry said in a statement that the high school students should participate more in forming the nation and society. it says political activities outside of school hours will be allowed under certain conditions including that they do not interfere with schoolwork. >> translator: regarding political activities outside of school hours, we want school authorities to consider allowing them, even though each school has its own rules. >> the ministry's statement also says political activities won't be freely allowed at schools. it says they should be banned during class and extracurricular activities and it also says they should be banned or restricted on school grounds even outside of school hours. the ministry called on schools

to instruct students not to participate in election campaigns using the internet since it's not allow under the election law. germany's chancellor pledged her country's commitment to a multibillion dollar chinese initiative. gene otani has more on that an the business wrap up. gene? >> thank you. chancellor angela merkel says germany is keen to play a big role in the asian infrastructure investment bank. she made assurance on a visit to beijing. leaders from dozens of countries have signed up to join the aiib which is due to get started before the end of the year. merkel met with chinese premier, the leaders of the signing for china's purchase of a 30-page jet from air bus. lee says the relationship between the countries has been getting stronger, but there's room for more cooperation. merkel said germany is watching to see how the aiib develops and

says they will contribute as mp as they can to the bank. they look forward to forming closer ties, and next week, china hosts a visit for the french president. japan's industrial output expanded. the officials said the economy revised upward saying that production is changing without any direction. the officials say industrial output rose 1% from august. production of electronic parts rose as a result of the introduction of new smart phone models, and robust products helped push up the index. looking ahead, they predict an increase of 4.1% in ogctober, bt a decrease of .3% in november. automobile production is set to rise as they introduce new models, but warn economic slow downs have an impact on the

output of machine tools and other products. time to check the markets. u.s. federal reserve held interest rates steady, but policymakers hinted they may raise them by the end of the year, leading to choppy trading in japan. our business reporter has the details on all the reactions. >> two central banks behind the volatility. there was a strong open in tokyo tracking the rally in new york, but then volatility came through because the fed's left the door open for a december rate hike and they were cautious about what the bank of japan says tomorrow. let's look at the closing levels here in tokyo. it's thursday here. the nikkei jumped 1% at the open and soon slipped negative ending .10 at 18935. the topix lower in later trading ending almost flat. jap japan's industrial data unexpectedly rose and the

figures are bad news for the markets right now because strong numbers before the boj's policy meeti ining wiped out hopes for eventual easing by the central bank. there was selloffs in nintendo and dena after they delay the launch for video game for smart phones, and this disappointed investo investors, and dena, down. upside, trading houses and energy firms got a boost from higher oil prices so marubeni is up and japex higher as well. now that the fed's decision is out, they focus on whether the bank of japan governor has another halloween surprise this year. reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. >> thank you. moving on to other markets in the asia pacific region. in china, the shanghai gained nearly .4% awaiting the outcome

of a communism party meeting. the possibility of a fed rate hike in december hit hard on benchmarks in the region. jsx plunged 3% for a flee week low. hong kong was dragged down by shares in the financial sector, and singapore dipped to the lowest close in two weeks, sydney dictatorsh sydney dipped 1.3% extending losses for a fourth straight day. here's other stories we are watching. sony made their first mid year operating profit in two years for $1.5 billion in the april-september period. they credit sensors, cameras, and video game consuls. another big japanese electronics firm did well over the same period. panasonic up more than 37% from a year ago. their executives say security cameras and home appliances were among the big sellers.

>> samsung had strong figures to report too. the operating profits in the july-september quarter were up 80% from a year earlier, first increase in a quarter. they say the semiconductor business and weaker juan helped. halloween is around the corner, and americans and europeans are preparing for trick or treaters. japanese are slow to dress up and knock on doors, but many are starting to embrace the season. that means new opportunities for businesses. nhk world checks out the story. ♪ >> reporter: this is what the streets of tokyo look like in object. japanese people have started wearing halloween costumes. some are even hand made. parades are sometimes big enough to close roads.

>> it's wonderful. >> i didn't know this was this american influence here. halloween's mainly american. i like it. >> reporter: many companies are eyes hall weep as a way to make money. a major brewer is selling four halloween themed beer products for the first time. the beverage maker is not just selling halloween products, but create a buzz on social media. they hope photos like this one will go viral. >> happy halloween! >> this is a halloween party in an apartment complex in the trendy area of tokyo. the brewer gave away its halloween products as a promotional gimmick. soon after the party began,

residents began taking pictures of the products and posting them on social media websites. >> translator: it's fun to look at pictures of new products. i think people will enjoy my posts too. >> reporter: this is exactly what the beer company hoped for. they have even put together a photo contest on instagram. >> translator: viral marketing or word of mouth on social media is an important tool to promote our products. we hope customers will talk about fun times with our beverages and spread the message. >> reporter: this retailer sells makeup and costumes and jazzed up its halloween displays. they have put spooky looking manicans at the store entrance. store managers normally ban picture taking, but for hallowe halloween, they've set up a

photo booth and hope the results will be posted o social media. the retailer is also hosting makeup events. they have invited professional makeup artists to create halloween faces. >> translator: this is so cute. >> translator: halloween makeup is hard, but it was follow-up. >> reporter: then it's time for a photo. >> translator: many people are starting to recognize halloween as app event to enjoy getting dressed up. christmas sales have fallen in recent years, so it's great that halloween has become profitable. >> reporter: japanese businesses are discovering that mixing halloween with social media can be profitle. as the season becomes

increasingly polar, that trend will surely grow. nhk world, tokyo. >> that's all for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. syria refugees flee their country for europe in droves. they head first for turkey, then to small greek islands on simple tiny boats. many boats capsize as they get dangerously overloaded. some refugees are thrown a lifeline. one man is doing all he can to

help people through their sad and desperate journey. nhk world has more. >> reporter: fled from syria to germany and now helps others do the same, orating a social networking site called rescue group, a vital lifeline for those who go to great lengths to free the horrors of war. he was stranded at sea while escaping from syria. the smuggling boat he was on ran out of fuel and drifted at sea for five long days. there was not enough food for almost 150 people packed on the boat built for 50. he thought they was going to die lost at sea. >> translator: i'd never been so terrified, even on the

battlefields of syria. it was horrible to think nobody, not even my parents would know where i died. >> reporter: he barely made it off that boat. he was rescued by the greek coast guard. after he reached germany, he heard tales of others who were not so lucky. he decided to do something and set up a social networking site aimed at helping refugees to cross the sea. he keeps in touch with refugees on the boats. if something goes wrong with their passage, he tells them the best sea route to follow or allows the coast guard to go to their location. his activities have helped more than 400 refugee boats make it to land. >> translator: hello? >> reporter: his smart phone rang early one morning.

how many of you are on the boat? where are you headed for? okay. send me your location information, and i'll explain what you should do. do it right away. i'm waiting. a call fror help from a person n a stranded boat. right away, and received a map via gps showing the boat's location. it left the turkish coastings trying to reach the greek island of chios, but two hours after they left, the boat's captain lost his way in the sea's rough waters. this is what the boat looked like at the time. there were 45 people on board, including women and small children. some were feeling ill.

he checks the sea currents and wave heights with his smart phone apps. he informs the refugees of safe routes they can take. the island of lesbos is straight ahead. send me your location information every five minutes, and i'll check if you're headed in the right direction. four hours since the boat left turkey, and it's close to running out of fuel. >> translator: they're here now, i'll stay in touch with the refugees until they reach land because the boat's engine might stop before they do. this is the boat on the beach at

9:00 a.m. we found a boat here. it was the one that contacted him from the sea. thanks to his help, all 45 refugees on board were safe. >> translator: our only lifelines were prayers and the smart phone. >> reporter: he received a message right after the boat reached land. it said, we made it. thank you. >> translator: i think what i'm doing is not just sporting them, but responsibility that we owe them. i hope a safe route will be opened to end the refugee's journeys on boats. >> reporter: he'll continue to do this as long as his people continue to cross such dangerous waters. nhk world. japan has taken the men's

team gold medal at the gymnas c gymnastics tournament in three years. they competed in six events in the finals in scotland. the japanese team got off to a good start, but its as both fell off the highball in the last event. japan managed to cling to the lead and clench the title. the japanese teams scored a total of 270.818 points. and runner-up, britain, edged out by half a point, and china was third. china came out on top in the previous six world championships. it's time now to check out the world weather. there is a new tropical system in the arabian sea. let's go to meteorologist johnathan oh on the latest

track. >> hello. what was a deep depression is now moving into a storm moving closer to the arabian peninsula and has a name at this point because it is strong enough to actually acquire the characteristics. this is moving towards north, northwest at the moment, and you see the circulation gathering steam, and right now, this is the only storm we are watching at the moment. the storm is packing wind at 60-70 kilomers per hour with gusts up to 80. as it gets closer, it gets strong and will be extreme. it's something that is going to be a bit of a danger concern as we did into the first part of next week, and as itpproaches yemen, by the time we're in the first part of next week, it will bring a lot of rainfall and very powerful winds and high waves will be a concern. we'll watch this closely as it continues to make that trek

closer and closer to the arabian peninsula. meanwhile, much calmer weather scenario looking over in east asia. high pressure controlling the weather. we are seeing a little bit of instability continueo roll around in southeastern portions of china and also into the northern portions of japan, and so we are still seeing areas of rain developing around this high, and so it's not going to be a completely sunny and clear day for many parts of the area. partly cloudy skies in tokyo coming up on friday with a high of 23. chilly weather is happening over in the korean peninsula, and, in fact, in seoul, we had single digit lows as we woke up on thursday morning in that area. and so now we are only expecting a high of 10 coming up on friday. that definitely means bundle up. that instability brings plenty of rainfall in southeastern china so have that umbrella handy. the forecast in south america, we were talking about flooding issues in the southern portions of the continent as these storms

flair up. i want to take you over into chile where the aftermath of what took place of heavy rainfall transitioned into something much more beautiful. i want to show you the flowers now blossoming in the desert where the desert is turning into a wonder land. this is coming after the heaviest rain in 20 years. unfortunately, that takes the lives of 28 people. now we're seeing these flowers coming in what's usually a very dry area is bringing that nice scent to the region. this is something that happens every five to seven years with the flowers, but according to those in the area, this has been unique for the past 18 years. this is once in 18 year things, showing you how beautiful it is. chile is dry, but l pressure brings rainfall and stormy conditions in the east and argentina. that's where we see the storms throughout the day thursday.

you'll see thunderstorms, and in chile, drier areas, if you're going to santiago to see the flowers, it will be drier. patricia is now bringing cold air and bone chilling cold in southeastern portions of canada and deeiseeing drizzle in the r mountains, but drier conditions third. i hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

and that concludes this edition of a a a oyçyj4j8j8j8j

>> it is when :00 p.m. in paris. you are watching france 24. live from paris, our top headlines this hour. emblematic law had forced many chinese couples to have just one child. china's official