officials in western japan found

what's suspect to be part of a north korean missile. new types of toys and theme parks encouraging children and adults to unleash their inner artist. new information on how tokyo electric power company handled the early days of the fukushima daiichi accident is causing a stir. members of a polynomial have been looking into why tepco didn't disclose the plant's multiple meltdowns. they say orders came from the top, something officials deny. >> reporter: the preside. >> translator: the president was giving orders not to use the word "meltdown" because the prime minister's office said not to. >> reporter: it was a shocking revelation. the panel says tepco could have disclosed the meltdowns as early as three days after the accident but didn't because of a chain of command.

the meltdowns occurred at three reactors following the earthquake and tsunami in march 2011 but it wasn't until may of that year until tepco officials used the word to describe what happened. thousands of residents still can't go home because of the accident, and local officials in fibbi fukushima are angry. >> translator: i have been infuriated by tepco's attitude many times before, and now this. people were talking about meltdowns soon after the accidents, but tepco stubbornly avoided using that language. finding this out now, five years after the fact, is simply unbelievable. >> reporter: tepco officials said in the past that they didn't use "meltdown" because the term wasn't precisely defined and didn't want any misunderstanding. but members of the panel say that the tepco president at the time was under pressure from the prime minister's office. and he instructed his deputy not to use the word.

this is how those instructions played out at a news conference three days after the accident. after the reporter's question, a public relations official quickly shows the vice president a piece of paper and then whispers into his ear. >> translator: we cannot clearly explain what might be happening to the fuel in the reactors at this moment. >> reporter: but panel members say they couldn't track down what exactly happened between tepco and the prime minister's office, and they have not interviewed any officials there. the top government spokesperson at the time of the nuclear

accident blasted the panel's findings, and he says he is considering legal action. >> translator: then prime minister kan and i never instructed or requested president shimuzi to not use the term "meltdown." >> reporter: an expert called the panel's findings vague and insufficient. he says such a panel shouldn't have been appointed by tepco. >> translator: the biggest question should be whether the term "meltdown" was avoided intentionally and whether tepco was covering things up. >> reporter: the panel members believe it wasn't a coverup. they say tepco officials resisted using the word in a climate where even japanese nuclear regulators were reluctant to suggest a meltdown. but many people aren't convinced. why youri eto, nhk world. japan's top officials are

responding to china's latest naval activities in and around japans territorial waters. they say the government will continue its maritime patrols. a chinese reconnaissance vessel entered waters near islands off japan's southern coast wednesday. the ship also sailed just outside japanese waters off okinawa prefecture the next day. the chinese defense ministry issued a statement friday saying it is acting in accordance with international law. the ministry said china really cannot understand why japan has repeatedly hyped up the legitimate activities of chinese warships. japan's top government spokesperson refuted china's assertion. >> translator: we are concerned about the recent unilateral escalation by the chinese ministry in waters around japan. we lodged this concern with beijing. this is an appropriate action by our government. >> suga stressed that china's claim cannot be accepted.

the japanese government says it will continue to be vigilant as china's navy has been increasingly active around japan's territorial waters. the u.s. navy eased a total ban on alcohol for personnel stationed in japan. the measure came after the arrest of a petty officer in okinawa prefecture on suspicion of drunk driving. personnel can now consume alcohol on base or at home. drinking off base is still prohibited. navy officials say the rules were relaxed because personnel have undergone training on the dangers of alcohol abuse, and they say they reflected on the impact of their behavior on relations with japan. the petty officer was involved in a car crash that injured two japanese citizens on june 4th. the ban went into force two days later. last month an american base worker was arrested in connection with the killing of a local woman. that has sparked protests against the presence of u.s. military bases in okinawa.

japanese officials are trying to determine whether a metal object that washed ashore is part of a north korean missile. the object was found on a beach in western japan on thursday. the metal piece of debris is about two meters long and one meter wide. >> translator: we found some cables attached inside the object and thought it would be something dangerous. >> north korea launched what it called a satellite-carrying rocket in february. the launch is widely believed to have been a long-range ballistic missilile test. the south korean military retrieved parts of the rocket from the sea. the debris found on thursday resembled the parts found by the south koreans. so local authorities contacted the central government.

>> translator: officials of relevant government agencies are working together to gather and analyze information without ruling out any possibility. >> officials in western japan are warning residents not to touch suspicious objects they find on the beach. they're asking people to report such findings to local authorities. a spanish journalist what was held captive in syria for ten months has spoken about his ordeal. he says he survived only with the support of his fellow hostages. angel sastre and two other spanish journalists were abducted in the northern syrian city of aleppo in july last year. all three were freed last month. sastre spoke to nhk in madrid thursday. he says the hostages were handed over to the al qaeda linked nusra front group in october. >> translator: they said to me, we will sell you to islamic

state militants. the spanish government has abandoned you. we'll cut off your fingers. you have no future. >> he described the conditions during his detention. >> translator: i was kept in a small room about 1 12 meters square. they made me wear a mask at night and handcuffed me when they took me from house to house. there was little chance to move around. >> sastre mentioned japanese journalist jumpei yasuda who disappeared last june. the news rant front is also reportedly holding him. he says he didn't see him during his detention but hopes he'll be released soon. a japanese auto maker reported more problems in connection with the fuel data scandal. gene otani brings us the details and other business stories. the scandal at mitsubishi

motors is widening. company officials now say the fuel economy data on 14 models marketed over the past ten years was manipulated. that brings to 20 the number of models sold using improper data. officials spoke to reporters about the results of an in-house probe into the fuel data scandal. they s say the firm obtatained through h calculatioions rathern through actual measurements. the officials say they're considering compensating the owners of four mini-car models that were sold based on falsified fuel efficiency data. the payment w would be about $9 per vehicle. japanese finance minister taro aso expressed hope that britain will stay in the european union. >> translator: i believe that britain should remain within a strong eu. >> aso says he will closely work with g7 countries to stabilize the financial markets if the

referendum's outcome triggers volatility and he is keeping a close watch in the surge on the yen's value. the japanese currency soared against the yen after the central bank announced monetary policy will remain unchanged. the dollar dipped plbelolow the 104 yen level f for the first te since august 2014. >> translator: i am deeply concerned about the one-sided, rapid and speculative moves seen in the currency market. >> aso says he'll take action in response to market movements if necessary. officials at themanstery of finance met with central bank officials and reaffirmed they'll continue to closely monitor currency swings. the japanese government has kept its overall economic assessment for june unchanged from the previous month, but its report underlines the importance of paying attention to risks

overseas, notably the british referendum. the cabinet office in the monthly report says the japanese economy is on a moderate recovery path even though weakakness has been seenn recen. the report says private consumption is almost flat while consumer confidence appears to have levelled off. industrial production is also stagnating. its assessment on corporate profits was downgraded on the back of their slower growth. factors include the yen's appreciation and a slowdown in china's economy. the report says corporate profits are high but appear to have stopped growing. economists at the cabinet office revised the assessment of consumer prices from describing them as rising moderately to citing a slowdown in the pace of their increase. checking the market share prices. tokyo rebounded on bargain hunting which investors and comments from finance minister aso. for the d details phoebe amoros

reports. >> it was a much more positive day of trading compared to the dramatic 3% drop in the nikkei thursday after the boj made no change in monetary policy. the closing levels for this friday, june 17th. the nikkei added 1% closing at 15,599. the broader topix rose .75%. aso's comments put investors on a lap for possible intervention which has helped to weaken the yen. the dollar edged higher to the upper 104 yen level during trading hours. mitsubishi motors soared more than 6% on news its compensation to customers of vehicles with overstated mileage will be smaller than expected. despite the rally on friday, the nikkei lost 6% on the week. that safe haven yen is weighing on sentiment. overshadowing this, of course, is the british referendum on whether to leave the european union and by this time next week we'll know the outcome.

>> a bad week for others due to brexit worries. china, shanghai gaining by a fraction, 2,885 for the close today but it posted a second weekly fall on lingering concerns over slow growth in the country. indonesian shares gaining by a fraction as well. 4,835 the closing number after the central bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate on thursday for the fourth time this year. property stocks gained but banks were lower. looking at other markets. hang seng gaining by .7%. sydney up .3%. first rise in seven days. the index posted its biggest weekly loss in four months. here is look at some of the other business stories we are following. a company in hokkaido prefture suspects hackers might have stolen credit card information on more than 2500 clients from its website.

club getets s sells package tou and i is a subsidiary of long . the stotolen dataa includes nam telephone numbers and names of clients in hokkaido in the tokyo area. financial assets held by the end of march fell 0.6%. they stood at over 1700 trillion yen or $16 trillion at the current rate, the first decline in six years. bank of japan officials say a fall in share prices this year was behind the decline, saying it caused shares in trust funds to lose value and prompted people to sell their stocks. toys these days tend to be loud and electronic as manufacturers focus on video games and virtual reality, but there is a quiet revolution happening in japan with a new kind of entertainment that appeals to the more creative side of children. nhk world's giang nguyen reports. >> reporter: at this year's

tokyo yy show, the offerings ranged from a tiny submarine equipped with a camera to samurai armor. 35,000 products were on display from 160 companies around the world. they included the usual array of high-tech options, but many of the newest toys were designed to unleash the user's inner artist. in line with one of the themes of this year's show, making things. this may look like an ordinary pen, but when the ink is exposed to light, it gets hard. young artists can design three-dimensional versions of their favorite images. >> translator: it was easy! >> reporter: many of these new, creative toys are geared toward younger children, like thihis sewiwing machine tha didn't require thread.

it uses a piece of felt to bind the cloth together. these children are making pictures outut of beads that stk together when wet. this toy has become widely popular thanks in part to the internet. >> translator: people want to show off their creations online. children upload images to social media sites and other kids see them and want to do the same thing. that's how toys like this catch on. >> reporter: the creativity craze has spread yobeyond toys an amusement park. it launched new attractions. visitors are try making food, cars and clothing. the job experience area took seven years to develop. each attraction was created in collaboration with manufacturers in related industries. visitors to the fashion factory mount bicycles for some vigorous pedaling. and after a few minutes, out

pops a piece of knitted fabric with the creator's initials. at the car factory would-be auto workers choose components and customize designs. they can put the pieces together with the toy electric drill. then take the finished product for a spin. >> translator: driving is around was really fun. >> translator: it was great that we got to choose the parts and build exactly what we had imagined. >> reporter: since the new area opened the amusement park has seen a 30% increase in monthly visitors. >> translator: we thought people would respond well to these hands-on experiences. being a able to engage in a creative process and build something unique has turned out to be very popular. >> reporter: businesses like this are finding that igniting the spark of creativity can help

them keep up with changing tastes. giang nguyen, nhk world, tokyo. looks like fun! that's it for business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets. the gateway to one of tokyo's most famous areas will

get a face lift. it's known as the birth place of japanese popular fashion and more than 50 people pass through the station every year. plans are moving ahead to upgrade it in time for the 2020 olympics. here is more on that and people's reactions. >> reporter: a lot of tourists from japan and around visit every day. they come to see what makes the area famous. this side of the station is where popular youth culture started. and on this side a forest around a shrine. it offers a taste of japan's history. the neighborhood is full of clothing shops that stretch along this busy street.

>> we wanted to see a lot of the cute shops. i love pastel colors. i know they have cute things on the street so i wanted to check out the shops. >> reporter: the shrine has a different feel. the grounds include a vast park that's a popular urban oasis. >> we come because, of course, it's very famous and we want to see the important places and the most visitited places inn japan. and totokyo. yeah. >> reporter: it dates back over 90 yeyears, the oest of its kind in the city. it's lonong been a popular meetg place. in the7070s fashion magazines covere the latatest styles here. the area became known for trend-setters. in the '80s the streets were dominated by flashy young dancers, some of them who went on to become famous. but the building has aged.

and its narrow pathways make it difficult to walk through. so designers came up with a plan. this is the current station. a new two-story structure will be built next to it. it will have wider hallways and will open another platform that's used only during new years. designers hope it will help accommodate more people expected by the 2020 olympics, eieither coming to see the area or to go to a nearby venue for the games. opinions on the street are mixed. >> translator: i like the new design. i have a baby buggy, so i will be glad if they take out some of the barriers. >> translator: i don't want the station to be changed. i have many memories.

>> that's a shame. well, if it's the oldest station, then it should be preserved. >> translator: people come here to see a mix of cultures. i want the new station to have an enjoyable atmosphere. i want the old building to be preserved. >> this building won't be needed after the renovations and its future hasn't been decided yet. shop owners say they will discuss whether to keep the historic landmark or tear it down. nhk world, tokyo. let's hope the old and the new will be able to coexist. nhk "newsline" comes to you live from tokyo where it's fair with temperatures in the mid 20s celsius or upper 70s fahrenheit. jonathan oh joins us with the weather outlook starting with the wildfires in the southwest u.s. >> we are talking about hundreds of homes having to be evacuated because of the fires that are

impacting southern california, but there are also fires taking place further into the desert southwest. what's happening is it's dry and hot, so it's producing pictures like these. this is not the type of scene that you want to see. the fires started in a remote area in southern california and then expanded to more than 500 hectares of land being burned at this point. on top of that, we have 500 firefighters in the air andn the ground. the clouds, the smoke turning into the thick layer over the area along with the fire continuing to burn in the area, that is the concern remaining in place because it is hot and it is dry. active work in trying to contain the flames, but high pressure is the culprit that's going to keep things dry as we go forward during the next few days. we have a southerly flow that's keeping the warm temperature in place because whenever you have air flowing in from the south it pushes temperatures up. so we are going to see a dry-weather partnttern going

forward in time. temperatures have been getting close to 40s and 50s because of how hot it is. that's the type of weather that those living in the desert southwest and also into southern california w will have to keep mind. to the east a low pressuree sysystem and a cold front is beg forced down from a high up north which will bring the possibility of rain and thunderstorms as we go throughout the day on friday. here is a look at the hot forecast over into phoenix and yuma. 40 for the high on friday. we go into the upper 40s, getting very close to 50 degrees as we go into sunday and monday. so please be careful if you're going to spend time outside. hopefully you'll be able to avoid spending time outside if at all possible. in san diego, dry, but at least we're talking about temperatures at or below 30 degrees as we go throughout the weekend. showers and storms from d.c. to atlanta and miami thrououghout e day y on friday. drier but warm to the north. 27 in toronto. 26 in new york city. as you look at the forecast for

east asia. down to the southern portion of china, we have been dealing with a lot of rainfall due to the rainy season. some areas and estimates anywhere from 300 to 500 millimeters of rainfall over the past several days. we are expecting the rain to still hover over the area. you may notice the stationary front indicator is not listed on this surface map. it has weakened a bit. we may still s see cloudss and e scattered showers for at least the n next c couple of days, i k we'll be dealing with much more of a drier weather pattern. over japan, mainly a dry forecast. hokkaido has been dealing with unstabable weatherer that's b b bringingng in rain. going through the weekend, we may see more sunshine and rain coming in from the west which will bring a chance for precipitation going into the first part of next week. 32 for the high in tokyo coming up on saturday. looking at warm weather going through the weekend. rain into sunday and monday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here is your extended outlook.

thanks very much for tuning in to nhk "newsline." be sure

♪ molly: welcome to the "france 24 newsroom. i molly hall. here are the headlines. the egyptian team found the second black rocks from egypt -- box from egyptair. what caused the plane to crash into the mediterranean sea? a stunned britain pays tribute slainin pm joe clock -- lawmaker