hear hear in japan it's thursday night. i'm james tengan. welcome to "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following this hour. contact lost. an egyptair commercial flight from paris to cairo disappeared from radar after entering egyptian airspace. support from veterans. the white house says the announcement of president barack obama's trip to hiroshima is

receiving positive response even from those who fought in world war ii. eagerly awaiting. countries pushing for a ban on nuclear weapons are waiting to hear just what the u.s. president will say. egyptian search and rescue teams are looking for a passenger plane that has gone missing with 66 people on board. the egyptair flight took off from paris late wednesday night local time headed to cairo. the airline says the passengers are mostly egyptian but include french, iraqi and others. the plane disappeared from radar three and a half hours after takeoff. it says it was in egyptian airspace flying at 11,000 meters. the plane is an airbus a320 like the one on the screen. local media quote officials in cairo as saying the plane's last contact was ten minutes before it vanished. one flight information website shows the aircraft suddenly

disappearing over the mediterranean sea. egypt has had other major airplane incidents during the past year. last october a russian airliner went down over the sinai peninsula after taking off killing all 224 people on board. a group linked to islamic state militants claimed responsibility saying it had planted a bomb on the aircraft. and in march an egyptair flight was hijacked and diverted to cyprus. the hijackers surrendered. security around japan is being pumped up in advance of a visit by world leaders. japanese officials say they could deploy tens of thousands of officers for security. the g7 summit starts next thursday in central japan. officials at the national police agency say the number of officers is bigger than at japan's last summit eight years ago. they say chubu international

airport is one of the places where they will beef up security. hiroshima is another area where security is being increased. after the summit president obama will visit the city that his country devastated with an atomic bomb. he will become the first sitting u.s. president to do so. the officials will also increase security in tokyo and other major cities. officers have been on alert after deadly terrorist attacks in france and belgium. u.s. government officials have looked over the route that obama will take during his visit to hiroshima next week. they walked around hiroshima peace memorial park and the too many -- atomic bomb dome and stopped by the peace museum and the park's cenotaph. it's the same walk john kerry took last month. the officials also inspected the city's international conference center. white house officials are playing up the support for

obama's visit. >> there is a large portion of even world war ii veterans who may have risked their lives fighting japanese soldiers in world war ii, who understand the potential that exists and understand the argument that the president has made. >> earnest said the overwhelming response to the trip has been positive. separately, another u.s. senior official said the visit is meant to honor everyone lost in the bombing including japanese, koreans, other asians and american pows. he also said obama will pay a visit to u.s. troops based in western japan. washington continues to stress that obama's trip to hiroshima is not an apology for the country's use of atomic bombs. a majority of americans say the bombings were justified. some argue it saved the lives of many u.s. service members by bringing an end to world war ii.

countries pushing to ban nuclear weapons have ended a meeting in geneva without much progress. attention is now focused on u.s. president barack obama's historic visit to hiroshima. nhk world has more. >> i state clearly and with conviction america's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. >> reporter: it was during barack obama's first year in office that he made this commitment. and now, nearing the end of his term, those words are still resonating. >> i believe we can draw inspiration from president obama's celebrated and often quoted 2009 prague speech. we have to insist, yes, we can. >> reporter: a united nations working group held a second round of talks in geneva on the legal framework to ban nuclear

weapons. representatives from more than 80 countries and territories took part. but none were from nuclear powers. one atomic bomb survivor called out the u.s. for being absent. >> we were moved by president obama's statement in prague, yet the u.s. cannot even send a representative. >> reporter: there wasn't a delegation because washington thinks it's unrealistic to ban nuclear weapons with a treaty. and it's not alone. while more than half of the delegates want an immediate nuclear ban, others call for a gradual reduction. they have adopted security policies relying on the nuclear umbrella. japan is one of the them. >> given the tense security

situation in northeastern asia i would like to reiterate the importance of each state's national security, which should be taken into consideration in discussion regarding nuclear disarmament. >> reporter: but not every japanese agrees. anti-nuclear campaigner aququia kawasaki joined the group to support the treaty. >> translator: i think a complete nuclear ban is needed. nuclear states are not penalized for not reducing arsenals so the pace of disarmament is very slow. at this rate it's hard to seeee how there will ever be a world without nuclear weapons. >> reporter: his group aligngns with countries that have similar views. this island nations one th. the islan n natio is located in theacific oan. it's in e same rion foror the

s. carri out nucar tests tpast >> o motation f submittg thpaper sterom ourecent exriencerom thehreat of effectof nuclear weapon we areirmly cmitted to e negoation nlear weapo ba treaty. >> reporter: the meeting ended without members narrowing their differences. some will turn their attention towards what obama will say in hiroshima and wonder whether any of it will have an impact on their next meeting in august. shoko koyama, nhk world, geneva. ministers from the group of 7 countries have been meeting to iron out issues before next week's summit in japan. finance chiefs will be the last to get together before the main event. gene otani joins us from our business desk with more on that and other stories. the group of 7 finance

ministers and central bank governors begin a two-day meeting on friday to discuss what their goverernments can doo put the global economy on track to sustainable growth. the ministers are expected to discuss the slowdown in china as well as the impact of plunging crude oil prices on resource producing countries. officials from the chair country japan are keen to champion a unified approach to the problems including coordinated action on fiscal policy. leaders of g7 countries are already divided on the issue. those from japan and the u.s. say they're ready and willing to ramp up fiscal spending. their european counterparts are less enthusiastic. the finance minister sat down for an interview. he said his country doesn't need stimulus because it's in good shape. he said the global situation is not as bad as some people are making out and said recent data out of china is no surprise

because people expected beijing would have a hard time introducing structural reforms. the finance minister said leaders in germany don't need advice on how to run their country. >> translator: the german economy is in its best shape in decades and better than other countries in europe. we do not intend to give instructions to other countries, nor do we want to receive any. chancellor angela merkel shares the view of her finance minister. she told prime minister shinzo abe during her visit to europe she was unwilling to commit to further spending. former chief and economic advisor to u.s. president has offered her thoughts on a pressing issue in japan. christino roamer told prime minister shinzo abe if he does raise the consumption tax next april he should use a stimulus to soften the impact. >> japan and prime minister abe

have been important innovators in the movement to try to get global growth back up and recovery from the grereat recession. >> professor romer was attending a meeting hosted by abe in tokyo. she told him japan should paush back plans for reform. she said if the government does raise the tax as scheduled a short-term stimulus may help. checking the markets. tokyo stops opened higher but lost momentum as profit-taking pared gains.s. for morere we go to phoebe am roseau at the tokyo stock exchange. >> repororter: the positive sta to the day didn't continue in tokyo.o. therere was betteter than expec machinery orders. the nikkei gained 200 points but later on profit-taking kicked in. looking at the closing levels on thursday, may 19th.

the nikkei 2225 finished plat at 16,646 and the topix fell .14%. on to individual reports. suzuki motor admitted on wednesday that it didn't use a government-authorized method for gauging fuel economies of its vehicles. the company stock fell sharply after the story broke but on thursday went up 3.5%. over on the energy sector reports in the rise of crude prices took a toll on sentiment. oil developer impacts fell 6%. commodities took a hit as the dollar gained strength. overall investors remained cautious in trading. they will turn to the g7 meeting of finance chiefs starting on friday where currencies will be a major topic. phoebe, thanks very much for that. most other markets in the asia-pacific region ended lower.

hang seng down by .7%. singapore declining 1.3%. soured by the minutes from the federal reserve's april meeting suggesting a rate hike may come in june. into china, the shanghai composite declining by a fraction, 2806. the index still near a two-month low. trading volume remained thin as investors wait for clues about the direction of the country's economy. sydney's s&p dropping .6%. 5323. australia's latest jobs report showed employment in april increased less than expected. energy and resource related shares fell on lower commodity prices. here is a look at some of the other business stories we're following. machinery orders beat expectations in march rising 5.5% from february. government officials say many

firms bought new engines. they're less upbeat about the way things stand now. they forecast orders for april to june will be down 3.5% from the previous quarter. google has unveiled a new artificial intelligence device duee to go on sale l later inn year. the voice activated google home module can answer questions and perform tasks such as scheduling appointments to playing music. an aging work force and tough working conditions have taken a toll on japan's timber industry. but as the next report shows one tokyo company is trying to make the forest a place where young people will want to cultivate their careers. >> reporter: trees crash to the ground on the outskirts of tokyo. the average age of people cutting them down is 33. that's unusually young in an industry where the typical worker is 52.

ten years ago this man set up the company they work for. when he was 24 he decided to work outdoors. he quit his office job and jumped into a completely different world. he quickly discovered that his new industry was a tough place to build a carereer. the work was unstable. most foresters were hired by the day and if bad weather kept them at home their income plunged. >> translator: forestry is considered a dying industry. people doubted they could make a living doing this kind of work. >> reporter: he decided to streamline his entire operation. he asked employees for daily reports on the number of hours it took to cut the trees and the amount of fuel consumed. he says that made everyone on his staff much more costst-conscious. >> translator: you have knonow

how much you're spending if you are runningng a company. the entire worork force must she thatat awareness so they can operate as efficiently as possible. >> reporter: the firm also adopted a uninique approach to training. forestry workers usually learn their trade by working alongside more senior employees. instead. aoki took videos of his employees at work. after watching them everyone discussed ways to improve. many say this helped them quickly gagain skills. thanks to all of the company's efforts, it'ss able to pay workers more. their annual incomes are 20% to 30% higher than the industry average. aoki also offers them incentives such as regular monthly salaries, family and housing allowances and parental leave. and aoki is literally planting

the seeds for an entirely new source of income. individually owned cedar trees. people can buy seedlings, plant them and wait for them to mature. a package of three seed lings costs $325. after a couple years customers can use the lumber to build a house or make furniture. >> translator: it was fun! >> reporter: in 2015 his firm prepared 100 packageges and sol them all. so far this year they have sold 35. >> translalator: we're about to have our second child. it's fun to think about our child and our tree when they're both grown. >> reporter: the seedling project is part of aoki's efforts to build a brand and add value to his products. >> translator: we are facing a lot of challenges, so we have to

move quickly. >> reporter: aoki wants to create an industry that nurtures strong, healthy workers, just like the trees they harvest. that's it for business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets.

"newsline" comes to you live from tokyo. the united states says two chinese military jets conducted what it calls an unsafe intercept of a u.s. navy patrol plane over the south china sea. a defense department spokesperson says the incident occurred on tuesday while the u.s. reconnaissance ep 3 aircraft was surveying international airspace. the spokesperson also said the department is addressing the issue through military and diplomatic channels. details are scarce but ap reports that the two shenyang j-11 fighters flew within about 15 meters of the u.s. aircraft. in 2014 a chinese fighter flew dangerously close in the south china sea. in 2001 two jets collided in the same area. last year both sides agreed on rules to avoid accidental

encounters by military aircraft. the pentagon says it has seen improvements in china's actions over the past year. a senior chinese official has denounced activists seeking independence for hong kong during a visit to the territory. he is the third highest r ranki member of the chinese communist party. >> translator: a small number of people are resisting the chinese government and pursuing independence for hong kong. >> he says the activists want to divide the country and that they are violating the one country-two systems principle. before his speech he met four pro-democracy members of the hong kong assembly. it's believed the meeting was meant to isolate more radical activists. his visit is the first by a top official since massive pro-democracy demonstrations in

2014. the protest started after china said it would not allow open elections to choose the territory's leader. some activists have since called for independence. india is sending jets to the south china sea in what appears to be a move to stress the importance of freedom of navigation. india's defense ministry said wednesday that four vessels will visit ports in vietnam and the philippines and they say exchange programs are planned with the host navies. vietnam and the philippines have territorial disputes with china in the south china sea. india maintains the area is vital to its defense strategy. india will also join next month's exercise with the u.s. navy is the japanese maritime self-defefense force in waters near japan. it is boosting security cooperation with the two countries because of china's growing presence in its nearby waters. speaking of india, sayaka mori is here with an update on the

cyclonee threaeatening the regi >> the first cyclonic storm of the region is affecting eastern india with strong winds as well as heavy rarainfall. the system will likely intensify further. gusts and over 170 millimeters of rainfall, the heaviest in a decade. a cyclone alert has been posted in eastern parts of india as the tropical system driftfts north along the indian coastline. fishermen in the arerea are bei asked toto stay out of the wate due toto large waves from the system. the e good newss is s that thihm is causing heavy rainfall, and it is easing the heat wave. that's at least good news. this system is is packing winds of 65 kilometers per hour with gusts of 90 kilometers per hour. it's not too strong at this moment. this is equivalent to a tropical storm in the pacific ocean. the problem is it's going to

intensify and move at a slow pace and stay near the coastline for several days. the system will likely intensify to a severe cyclonic storm by tonight and move to the northeast and get close or move over northeastern india which was hit by a deadly landslide on wednesday. then, after that, it could make land over banglgladesh or myanm during t the weekend. strong winds and heavy rainfnfa will likely happen upp into bangladesh or myanmar for the next several days. heavavy rainfall across the coastal l locations but across e north staying dry and hot. fires are growing in some places. take a look at this video f fro the rereon. another fororest firee broke oun kashmir as hot and dry conditions are persisting in the area. on wednesday firefighters were attempting to extinguish the blaze in this area. there has been a prolonged spepl

of tempeperatures pushing into e mid 40s celsius along with the persistent lack of rainfall. high winds have also made it difficult to battle the flames. we're looking at completely different pictures across the subcontinent. temperatures will remain high and dry conditions will likely persist in the north. but across the south more rain is expected for the eastern portions of india. sri lanka which was hit by landslides have more rain and thunderstorms expected into the weekend. it's a very hotot day across japan. the mercury hit 30 degrees in hokkaido, okinawa had the hottest temperature of t the season so far. sunny weather across the north but seasonal rain bands drops rain across the region. parts of taiwan as well as eastern portions of china. sunny across the north in beijing and seoul and temperatures remain on hot side into the weekend and possibly

into next week. severe weather is affecting parts of ukraine and western russia. one tornado was reported in ukraine yesterday, and more severe weather is expected for surrounding areas. more rain is expected for italy as well as the balkan peninsula into the next 24 hours. temperatures will be quite high in vienna. 21 degrees, sunny weather in cairo with a high of 31 on thursday. here is your extended forecast.

japan's emperor akita and empress mish icko went to offer encouragement to people who are still recovering from last month's deadly earthquakes. the imperial couple took a helicopter to one of the hardest hit areas, the village of minamiaso. 15 people died there and one university student remains missing. the couple visited a school gymnasium where more than 200 people are taking shelter. the couple talks to the evacuees individually, offering encouragement. the residents say they were deeply moved by the visit. they told the imperial couple that they will do their best to get their lives back to normal. updates and more at the top of the hour on "newsroom tokyo." for all of us here on nhk

"newsline," thanks for watching. @

>> who are these gangsters? >> reporters. welcome to the "friends 24" newsroom. the top story is of f course an age of air flight from paris to cairo. it crashed in the mediterranean sea. 66 people were on board. the cause remains unknown at this stage. ♪