it's the top of the hour. welcome to nhk "newsline" i've from tokyo. i'm james tengan. an arbitration tribunal in the hague has weighed in on the chinese claim in the south china sea. they have dismissed china's claims to the waters. this is the first legal decision on the sea's overlapping claims. the philippines filed the case

in 2013. it argued that beijing's claim on almost all of the sea is contrary to international law. vietnam, malaysia, and others in the region have their own claims there. they want the ability to exploit resources including rich fishing grounds and oil and gas fields. china has boycotted the proceedings. it argues that disputes should be settled by the parties involved. beijing has been building up manmade islands in the sea. it has declared the nine dash line and claims historic rights over the area. the tribunal concluded there was no evidence that china had historically exercised control over the waters or their resources. and it says there is no legal basis for china to claim historic rights over the area. the landmark ruling is legally binding and it cannot be appealed. but no penalty is stipulated for violation. japan's foreign minister said in a statement that the parties to

the case are required to comply with the ruling. he says japan expects it will eventually lead to the peaceful settlement of disputes in the south china sea. before the ruling, china had been trying to bolster its claims in the south china sea. it upped patrols and built artificial islands in the disputed waters. naoki makita examines the background of the dispute. >> reporter: china has been asserting control in disputed areas using force. a series of clashes has erupted. the nine-dash line, they set up. it cites its historic rights. chinese workers have begun reclamation in the spratt lee islands constructing seven artificial islands. they can handle military

aircraft. china has also installed a surface to air missile system elsewhere in the south china sea. >> translator: these islands in the south china sea have been chinese territories for a long time. the chinese government has the responsibility of protecting its sovereignty and maritime rights. >> reporter: frustrated philippine officials have looked to the law to challenge china. the officials told the tribunal the nine-dash line is groundless in international law. they also said the artificial islands were originally rocks and low-tide elevations. the rights does not exclude economic zones o or maritime ghts allowow such features. manila's latest protest w w sparked in 201 whehen cha's ships took control over the

scarborough shore. the waters have been precious fishing grounds for philippine fishermen. but constant chinese patrols have made it difficult for them to do their jobs. >> translator: chinese crew men shouted at me to get away. then their vessel rammed my boat several times until there was a hole in it. it was frightening. >> reporter: the philippines hopes stronger ties with the united states can help it take on china. the u.s. has been sending naval vessels to waters near some of the artificial islands. the partners are aiming to step out of their joint patrols in the disputed waters. washington is applying additional pressure on china so it will abide by the tribunal and put the brakes on its maritime activities. but china has refused stressing

disputes should be resolved by the concerned countries rather than a third party. >> the only position we've taken is, let's not resolve this by unilateral action. let's resolve this through rule of law. >> reporter: the first ruling by an international arbitration tribunal has put the ball back in the chinese court. the next move belongs to beijing. naoki makita, nhk world. china has always maintained that it won't recognize the outcome, but its state run news agency was quick to respond. xinhua posted a tweet calling it unfounded. also reiterated the government stance. it says china will never recognize the verdict and stresses again that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case. japanese government officials have lifted an

evacuation order for near the crippled fukushima daiichi plant. over 10 tloir,000 residents are allowed to return to their homes. one area has a relatively high level of radiation. more than five years on, evacuation orders are still in place in other municipalities. nearly 90,000 people are taking shelter in and out of the prefecture. mena miso ma has to deal with a declining and aging population. young people moved out of the city following the accident. officials are also trying to mitigate public concern about the radiation, improve the transportation network, and attract commercial facilities. another key lifeline is medical care. we report on one man who is trying to provide those services

to returning residents. >> reporter: hiro akimoma received permission to reopen a clinic in minamisoma's ward. it was special to him. it was his home before the disaster. moma's clinic is now making it possible for many seniors to return h home as well. they are r ructant to do soo if there'e's no access to medical care. >> translator: my doctor returned and i can be treated in my hometown. >> translator: i feel relaxed in odaka. my foot pain is easing and my spirits are lifting. >> reporter: moma fled with his family immediately after the disaster and set up in sendai. he thought the odaka area was uninhabitable because of radiation. >> translator: at the time, i

had given up. i thought i'd never be able to return here. to work or live. >> reporter: but when he learned the decontamination work was progressing, he looked into reopening his practice. a former employee supported him. kuni had worked as a nurse in his clinic. she moved to a neighboring city after the evacuation. when monma told her hee might g back, she immediately agreed to return to her position. >> translalator: i thought restarting the practice would surely help people who were considering coming back. so i said count me in. >> reporter: monma has always been committed to getting to know his patients. he is returning as their doctor and also as their friend.

he now lives and works in odaka during the week and goes to see his family in sendai on the weekends. they only have one day a week together. monma's wife thought it might be better for him to work at a hospital in sendai, but he insisted on returning to odaka. >> translator: my husband says that this is where h he's neede most. i have no way to argue with that and i want him to do his best for the community. >> reporter: monma's eldest son misses his father but he is proud of him. >> traranslator: my father alwa accomplishes what he sets out to do.

now his goal is to share time with us and take care of his patients in odaka. somehow he's able to do both. he's quite a guy. >> reporter: monma says his patients, staff members, and family helped him make the right decision. >> translator: i wish half of the residents would return. i want this to be a place where returning residents can feel at ease and i want to be a person who helps make that possible. a bridge to odaka's recovery and vibrant future. >> reporter: just like with a patient, a community's recovery can take time so monma continues to provide treatment. nhk world, minamisoma. fewer people in japan expect prices to be higher at this time next year. gene otani joins us with that and other business headlines.

>> the bank of japan wants to achieve its target of 2% inflation by march 2018 but its quarterly survey shows the number of people who expect commodity prices to go up has decreased. it's the fourth straight quarterly decline. the bank asked more than 2,000 people for their views on the economy and commodity prices. about 72% said prices will rise in the next 12 months. that's down 3.3 percentage points from the previous survey. in 2013 more than 80% of respondents thought it would rise. boj officials say they'll try to find out why fewer people think inflation will pick up. turning to the markets, a weaker yen boosted sentiments in tokyo. the nikkei has recovered to the 16,000 mark. we go to the tokyo stock exchange. >> the yen has droropped s shar

since abe scored a victory in the upper house election. investors are bullish. let's see the closing levels. the nikkei added 2.5% closing at 16,095. the topix rose about 2.4%. exporters including electronics manufacturers produced gains. taiyo y ourks den gains nearly 8%. tuesday's biggest winners were financials. sumitomo mitsui was up. mitsubishi was also up sharply. pokemon go has taken off like wildfire.. investors hahave picked up on t popupularity of the app. on top of a 25% gain the previous day.

tokyo led asian voices for the day. hoping in addition the bank of japan may have monetary easing. most other markets in the asia pacific market ended higher. in china the shanghai composite finishing at 3,049. highest close in three months. major banks and manufacturers led banks there. taiwan's taiex adding 0.6%. the hang seng index gaining by 1.7% hitting a one-month high. the benchmark extended its winning streak to a fourth day led by banking shares. many americans are hooked on a new smartphone app from japanese game company nintendo.

people have become so obsessed with pokemon go that authorities are telling them to keep track of theirururrounngs s tovoid accides. ninten -developed a ge with an american venture firm. the app trackss the player's locaon with smartphone's cara andgps function it generates pocket monster characters and displayed them against a background captured by the camera. the background changes as they move around. players can catch the characters with the tap of a finger and have them fight characters controlled by other users. the app has already been downloaded more than 5 million times through google's website. it's been the top ranked app every day. >> it's really fun. i'm enjoying it. because i loved pokemon when i

was little. it's like i'm living out my dream. >> it's a pretty cool game. i think it's like one of the best things that they have out right now only because it helps a lot of people look at different landmarks. >> but the craze has led to safety concerns. police and traffic authorities are telling people not to play pokemon go while walking or driving. the new york police department has posted on its twitter account a photo of an officer and pikachu in a police vehicle with a message, don't let officer monello and his new partner catch you. in missouri robbers lured players into a deserted parking lot. police are warning people not to lower their guard while playing the game. here's a look at some of the other stories we're following. officials at the bank of japan say the producer price index fell 4.2% from a year earlier. that's the 15th straight month decline. officials say there's been

little change in domestic supply and demand. that means the crude oil's prices and the rise in value are having big impact on producer prices. two japanese firms are launching major development projects in myanmar's biggest city. mitsubishi corporation and state company will tie up with a japanese investment fund and local firms. they plan to spend $600 million to develop about four hectares in yangon. they expect to finish by march 2021. the aim is to meet growing demand for office space and hotel accommodation. more people around the world are adding an exotic touch to their gardens with bonsai. that's the art of replicating a landscape in a plant pot. producers are now crereating ne types for foreign users. >> reporter: this exhibit is

called an air bonsai. it is elevated using magnets. the creators want to convey the importance of ecology. and this is the dry bonsai using a dead tree. that's a brand new idea that relieves the owner of the need to water the plant. a japanese man demonstrates bonsai making in belgium. he represented his country at this event in january. he takes to the tree with fully grown branches. and the tree drastically changes shape. he turns it into an artistic bonsai. >> beautiful.

>> reporter: his creations have earned him many fans abroad. he h has received invitatations perform in france, germany, the u.s., and seven other countries. he was born into a family of bonsai farmers. he said he started going abroad because he had so few opportunities to use his skills at home. the family farm's cusustomers gw older. domestic sales have fallen 30% from thundershower peak. -- their peak. >> transtotor: my custsters have pasdd away. d d some are too old to cocontin. 's now a cometelyiffere worlto w wha iwas inhe past. think evybody in t dustry has a sse o crisis so wt should we ? thenswer f mt of my demonsation iserseas. we fear that we'll be finished

if foreign demand collapses. >> reporter: urshibata accepted 40 students. he wants to promote bonsai across the world and turn this practice into a global one. hurmata from spain camee to japn four years ago because he admires urshibata's skills. >> translator: there's a thick branch here. you want to bend it, don't you? did you try to bring it here? >> translator: to here? >> translator: so think about what you're doing. do you need this? did you make this the main one? >> translator: yes, i want to improve my skills. >> reporter: germade returned home in june after four years of training. he will open the bonsai farm in madrid.

>> translator: i hope for his success in spain,eurorope, and beyond. i also hope recognition of bonsai will increase overseas andd that will help us discover some day. >> reporter: bonsai artistry nurtured in japan is crossing borders to find new places to grow. the new batch is now attracting new fans across the world. nagiko hasumi, nhk world. that does it for business worlds. i'll leave you with the markets.

nhk "newsline" comes to you live from tokyo. our top story once again, an arbitration tribunal in the hague has released a decision on the dispute in the south china sea. the tribunal has dismissed china's claims to the waters. this is the first legal decision by an international judiciary on the sea's overlapping claims. the philippines files the case in 2013. it argued that beijing's claim on almost all of the sea is contrary to international law. vietnam, malaysia, and others in the region have their own claims there. they want the ability to exploit resources including rich fishing grounds and oil and gas fields. chinina has boycotted the proceedings. it argues that disputes should be settled by the parties involved. beijing has been building up manmade islands in the sea.

it has unilaterally declared the so-called nine-dash lines and claims historic rights over the area. the tribunal concluded there was no evidence that china had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources. and it says there is no legal basis for china to claim historic rights over the area. the landmark ruling is legally binding and it cannot be appealed. but no penalty is stipulated for violation. the foreign secretary of the philippines said in a statement that his country strongly affirms its respect for the milestone decision as an important contribution to ongoing efforts in addressing disputes in the south china sea. he called on those concerned to exercise restraint. japan's foreign minister also called for china to agree to the ruling.

china has always maintained that it won't recognize the outcome, but its state run news agency was quick to respond. xinhua posted a tweet calling the tribunal law abusing and its decision ill founded. the agency also issued a report reiterating the government's stance. it says china will never recognize the verdict and stresses again that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case. it's time for world weather. many parts of japan were sweltering in the heat. sayaka mori has more. >> yes. it should be a rainy season, but people in tokyo are experiencing hot and sunny day. the mercury hit about 32 degrees in tokyo. the highest temperature of the nation was recorded in parts of kyushu. 35.1 degrees was recorded. not just the heat but western japan are dealing with extremely heavy rainfall over the past 72

hours. over 250 millimeters of rainfall has fallen in the kyushu region. this area has been continuing heavy rainfall over the past several weeks. we have heavy rain warnings widely in place for the island at this moment. now, there's a frontal system lying to the north of japan. this is dragging very warm and humid air from the south. so much of the kyushu region is experiencing extremely heaeavy rainfall. nonow an additional 400 millimeters of rain is still likely to ococcur in parts of kyushu. that's veryad news. the risks for landslides and flooding are getting higher and higher in the coming days. tokyo will likely see rainfall on wednesday and temperatures are going to be in the 20s finally and thursday temperatures are going to be 32 degrees and rainy weather will likely continue. drier conditions are e expectedn friday.. now acrossss india, we have bee talkining about heavy monsoonal

rainins but not much rain has fl nn the northeast. so pineapple farmers are struggling with the situation. we have some video coming out of the northehet. pineapple farmers in the northeastern portions of india are dealing with poor production this year. led to hampered cultivation and the demand for the fruit has drastically fallen. the pricices of pineapples have been slashed in an attempt to sell what fruit the farmers have been able to harvest. so drier conditions across the northeast but central portions of the subcontinent are experiencing above average rainfall. in just seven days they have seseen about 700 millimeters of rainfall. that's a lot. significant flooding is taking place. we have footage out of the central areas of the country. torrential rain fell in central and also northeastern portions of india during the weekend.

the rain caused flash floods and killed at least 22 people. more than 170,000 people were forced to take shelter. watches for heavy rain are still in place. the same conditionss w will lik continue into wednesday. and much of india is u under th monsoon season. now, across europe, then, there's your frontal system from the south up into the northeast. there is the potential for severe thunderstorms and also large hail for many areas. in fact, one tornado was reported in belarus. and more rain is e expected for pola andnd down towards the alpine region. watch out for the bad weather. to the south of the system, quite hot. 35 degrees in rome. it's about 5 degrees higher than normal. and in athens, 35 degrees. but back behind the front, a little bit on the cooler side. 20 degrees for london. 21 in paris with a chance for thunderstorms on tuesday. that's it for me now. here's the extended forecast.

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>> welcome to live from paris. let's look at what is making headlines. the latest landmark ruling rejects china's claims from the disputed south china sea. the u.n. is calling on south sudan's neighbors to open their borders. 36,000 people --