welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm james tengan in tokyo. the u.s. air force has put on a show strength in the asian pacific. for the first time in the region. theb-1, b-2, and b-52 bombers took off from a base in guam. they conducted operations in the south china sea and northeast asia. a wing commander says the mission demonstrates the u.s. commitment to global security and its ability to launch a strategic defense force. american bombers have flown in

the region before. the u.s. air force sent b-52s over the east china sea after beijing tried to claim the air space. and it flew a bomber over south korea earlier this year after north korea conducted a nuclear test. but wednesday was the first time it sent all three bombers together. japan is taking steps to tighten security following north korea's launches of ballistic missiles. the government will increase staff at emergency alert centers. the j-alert systems alerts people of launches and where the missiles will fall. loud speaker systems or e-mail. a medium range missile launched by north korea on august 3rd is believed to have fallen in the exclusive economic zone. but japanese officials say they missed signs to this launch and others this year. on august 8th, the governmnment gave the self-defense forces an orderr to shoot down anyny incog

missiles. officials plan to renew it every three months. and back in february, north korea tested what it believed is believed to be a long range missile. the japanese governmenent says e north has fired eight more missiles since then. checking now on markets. tokyo stocks traded lower following gains in the yen which weighed on exports and sentiment. ramin mellegard has more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> tokyo markets came in for selling after the federal reserve minutes from its last meeting suggested it's in no hurry to raise rates. that weight on the dollar and exporters here in japan. the nikkei closing thursday, august 18th down 1.55% at 16,486. and the broader topix, 1,290 down 1.55%.

the dollar/yen pair fell. we were tracking the likes of mazda and miconics japan which were amongst the lowest performers. some rose o on bank off japapan could help raise earnings. resona holdings and shinsei bank among those. as the dollar does remain weaker against the yen. i'm ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. >> and moving on to other markets in the asia pacific region. in china the shanghai composite edged down extending losses into a third day. property shares rose following the release of new home price data for july. but banking shares ended in the negative. hong kong's hang seng index gained 1% to finish at a nine-month high. that was after the fed's minutes eased concerns over capital

outflows from the region. seoul's kospi rose 0.6% partly due to a rally by samsung electronics. the benchmark in sydney slid half a percentnt to a low. government and central bank officials of japan are also watch k the situation with the yen. they say if there are any speculative moves on the foreign exchange market, they'll take steps to counter them. officials from the finance minister of the financial services agency and the bank of japan convened a meeting. they noted that there's been some volatility on markets this week amid thin holiday trading. >> translator: we're monitoring the market very carefully all the time. we'll take necessary measures if there are speculative moves. >> japanese government officials say the trade balance in july remained in the black for the second straight month. lower crude oil and lmg prices

helped shrink the total value of imports. officials at the finance ministry say the surplus came in at about $5.1 billion for last month. imports were off 24.7% from last year. experts were also down by about 14% from a year earlier. these included automobiles shipped to the u.s. and steel to europe. a stronger yen made the products less competitive. ministry officials say the strong yen was mostly responsible for decreasing the value of exports. but their volume saw only a minor decline. japan has started harnessing renewable energy in a new way. the country's first floating wind turbine went into full service in april and there are high hopes it will do more than just generate electricity. >> reporter: the turbine is floating near the goto islands, western japan. normally offshore wind turbines are fixed to the ocean floor.

but this pillar, 170 meters long, is held in place by chains in deeper waters. the government holds high hopes for offshore wind power. three plants have already opened on a test basis. and 11 more are planned around the country. but some fishermen oppose these plans. they worry the sound and vibrations will drive the fish away. they're also concerned the structures will obstruct their boats. >> translator: power generators could scare off our fish. that's what we all worry about. >> reporter: this turbine was set up almost three years ago. underwater operations expert shibuya is keeping a check on the marine ecosystem at the request of authorities. the submerged portion of the pillar is about 70 meters long.

from about ten meters below the surface, a rich ecosystem has forced around the pillar. this includes a mass of soft coral. shibuya spots a school of what fetch high prices on the market. deeper down, groupers, another commercial prospect. in all the surveys have identified some 100 species of marine life around the wind turbine. and it's no accident. the pillar is covered with a special paint that ocean organisms can easily cling to. the aim is to create a floating reef. shibuya has been involved in the project since the beginning. a veteran of many undersea construction projects, he says he's surprised by the amount of sea creatures they found here. >> translator: it's a big deal

that fish are gathering and living here. i think it's quite p possible tt they wilill spread out into o t surrounding ocean. >> reporter: shibuya visited the local fisher men's association to report his findings. >> translator: the pillar acts as a big reef. it's the fishermen who will be happiest about this. >> translator: it will be a big step forward. i hope this kind of renewable energy project will help both the fisheries and the ocean itself. >> reporter: supporters of the project say offshore wind power is bringing positive results. they now hope to convince the fishermen and open a new horizon for wind power. turkey says it will free

tens of thousands of prisoners jailed before last month's failed coup attttempt. making space for people detained in connection with the revolt. announced 38,000 inmate who is committed crimes before july 1st will be released on certain conditions. he said those convicted of murder, terrorism, and sexual crimes will be excluded from the scheme. claiming that the release will not endanger public safety. >> traranslator: i was supposedo be released on sunday but it happened today. >> the goverernment says the co attempt was plotted by members of a movement led by u.s.-based islamic cleric gulen. gulen is denying any role. health authorities in the u.s. state of hawaii have ordered a sushi chain to close its restaurantsts following a

breakout of hepatitis a. genki sushi has been ordered to close 11 in the state. at least 168 cases of hepatitis a have been confirmed in hawaii since june. officials at the state department of health say the outbreak is likely due too frozn scalallops served at the chain. the officials havave told nhk t number of patients could rise. a spokesperson for genki'ss parent company in japan says it will do all it can to look into the cause of the outbreak. women are finding a new kind of freedom in indonesia which has the world's largest muslim population. islamic teaching there requires women to cover their hair and skin in public. but there's now a way they can enjoy new fashion while continuing to respect their traditions. franziskaa r renata rererts. >> reporter: colorful and

religious. these models are wearing dresses made of kimono fabric. they are wearing hijabs to cover their hair. but with western hats added. it allows young women to look smart without going against their religion's teachings. indonesia is relatively lenient when it comes to islamic discipline. now many women are becoming interested in a more stylish muslim look. after an attractive actress embraced the new look, it became even more popular. >> translator: we now have a lot of options to choose from. i see many women in cool hijabs and i've started to think about wearing one myself. >> reporter: followers add to

the enthusiasm. a 32-year-old model is posting her pictures online. she visits clothing shops and creates new looks using items made by local designers. her instagram account has about 30,000 followers. sales always surge after a dress appears on it. so much so that the shops are willing to pay her to visit. >> translator: people come and buy the clothes that she features online. i think it's a more effective way to advertise than radio, tv, or newspapers. >> reporter: o on this day, she chooses a dress that doesn't pick up the body line. she has pictures taken and posts them right on the spot.

responses begin coming in immediately. >> translator: clothing comes in more colors and desesns these days. so we can c choose fromm among m as we like. i think indonesia might become the center of muslim fashion. >> reporter: muslim fashion for women is all the rage in indonesia. it's attracting attention from japanese manufacturers too. a clothing maker came to a show featuring dresses made from kimono fabrics. >> were these fabrics made in japan? >> yes all these fabrics were made from kimono. >> reporter: kimono are a perfect fit for muslim fashion because they don't show the body line or expose much skin. >> translator: we have a hard time selling kimono in japan.

so we're eager to cultivate this new market. >> reporter: though it is experiencing rapid economic growth, indonesia refuses to merely copycat western style. and so it nurtures its own fashion. and many people outside the country are watching the trend as well. franziska renata, , nhk world, jakarta. it's day 13 in rio and japan's celebrating a gold rush. female wrestlers took home three gold medals and one of the athletes reached an olympic milestone. icho was training jalaboa but the competitor scored a takedown with five seconds to go.

ito ran 3-2 in the 58 kilogram division. she won at four consecutive olympics. people in icho's hometown were full of praise. >> translator: she did great work. >> and isaka stuns in the 48 kilogram division. tosaka got ahold of the leg just before the end of the bout. tosaka won gold on her olympic debut. stadnik took second for the second time. in the 69 kilogram final, dosho beat russian volebewa. the streets of tokyo were alive we the news of japan's gold

rush. >> translator: it's so great. i'm proud of them. >> translator: they're really making japan proud. we're encouraged by nem them. >> moving on to the men's table tennis. they faced china in the finals for the first time. after japan lost the first match, the team's ace mizutani stepped up to beat the top ranked in the match. in the doubles, there was a 3-1 loss. in the fourth match, yoshimura succumbed to china. that handed china the 3-1 victory and japan had to settle for silver. here's the medal count at the end of day 13. the u.s. is way out in front with 30 golds. britain and china have 19 each.

japan is in sixth place with 10 golds. also making headlines from rio, an alleged robbery during the games is becoming more suspicious. four swimmers from the gold-winning u.s. team said they were held up. that prompted a brazilian court to order them to stay in the country and cooperate with the police investigation. but one of the athletes ryan lochte has already returned to the u.s. brazilian media report that two other swimmers gunnar bentz and jack conger were removed from a flight back to the u.s. the four swimmers claimed they were robbed early sunday morning as they made their way to the olympic village in a taxi. but inconsistencies were found in their statements. police have also pointed out that security camera footage shows the swimmers laughing just after the incident.

artisans are in creating the works that will represent all of the participants at the 2020 olympic and paralympic games. today we look at the artistic interpretation of egypt and a waiting technique thought to date back to the time of the pharaohs. >> translator: the art of creating detailed pictures out of thread. it originated in ancient egypt and is thought to have arrived in japan over a thousand years ago. one of the more intricate variations of the technique is so time consuming, only a few centimeters cacan be completed day. weavers in japan even cut grooves into their fingernails to help them guide the threads precisely into place. the design for the egypt-themed obi features an egyptian god with a falcon head.

its wings spread over 80 centimeters wide. making this an exceptionally big design. threads of nine different shades of gold will be used for the falcon. the subtle color differences bring each of the feathers to life. >> translator: to bring out the colors better, you mix in a clashing darker gold among those shades that match. that gives it some spice. >> reporter: this is the design of the kimono the obi will be paired with. it depicts the white outline of pyramids back lit by the sun. it's the creation of fukumura. it's a complex technique that leaves part of the fabric undyed. and it requires a lot of time and effort.

fukumura has half a century of experience with this technique. but he still feels a little nervous at the unthreading stage. >> translator: until the last moment, i was worried about the black leaking over. but the white lines came out beautifully. >> reporter: meanwhile, the obi was reaching completion too. the final work will be handled by a veteran of 40 years. >> translator: it's beautiful. >> translator: is the front okay? >> translator: it's fine. how was it working with the harder thread? >> translator: the gold one, yes it was thicker than usual so it was harder to weave. >> reporter: eight months after starting the design process, the obi is finally ready. using techniques that originated in distant egypt. the egyptian god horace stands out beautifully in gold against

the black. on the right of the kimono are countless stars in the egyptian sky as well as hieroglyphics. in a desert, a black pyramid is pictured growing red at the peak. the image recalls the colors of the egyptian flag. on the left are plants and animals motifs popular in japanese. kimono designs. students from egypt shared their thoughts on the finished kimono. >> i honestly think that this is just a piece of art. the design is just beautifully made. >> i love the idea that combining the japanese and egyptian together to form one thing, one kimono representing both. and i love the belt weaving. it's amazing. >> reporter: traditional weaving craftsmanship originating in

egypt and dyeing techniques originating in japan have helped draw these two distant countries together in a kimono that transcends thousands of years of history. you're watching nhk "newsline." historic deadly flooding has impacted the u.s. on the gulf coast. jonathan oh joins us with the details. i know it was not caused by a named storm like a tropical system. but were these conditions unexpected? >> well, not exactly, james. the conditions were expected to be this serious. in fact, the national weather service last week were warning residents in the area that hurricane-like flooding and rains were expected for the southern portions of louisiana. >> are we going to see an end to the rain soon? >> well, unfortunately, it does not look like the rain is going to be wrapping up. we still have all the southerly moisture that is moving into the region. and that is continuing to bring

in rainfall and the rain is also lifting toward the north into places like arkansas. and so rivers which are already swollen are being impacted by the rainfall. let me show you some video to give you the idea. this is how serious the situation is. yes, it may not be a namamed storm, but thehe h heavy rains severe flooding are continuing to impact louisiana even through the day on wednesday had been impacting the area. at least 11 people have been confirmed dead because of the excessive rainfall. it has also damaged about 40,000 homes all along the gulf coast. thousands of people had to be rescued by boat in this what we would call one in a thousand year type of disaster. president barack obama has issued a disaster declaration for the region. and hopefully that will open up the federal systems doors for those who are going to be going through recovery process. this is going to be a long recovery process. especially with the fact that the rain is continuing to impact the area. i mean, just in the past week, some areas saw close to 300 to

400 millimeters of rainfall. and that is just the beginning of the story because more of the rainfall will continue to impact the area. we don't have a particular mechanism that continues to lead to the rain right now except for a high pressure system that continues to drive in the winds from the south. and that's just compounding and destabilizing the area. we're looking at more rainfall. some places to the north could see 80 to 100 millimeters of rain. again, that's going to lead to concerns with flooding along the river. significant river flooding continues to be a concern for portions of louisiana. that's something that residents will really have to dweeal with. it almost is a reminder of what impacted south carolina where last year in october the same type of rain scenario caused very serious flooding. residents there still recovering from this particular disaster as well. now, toward the north, we're looking at severe thunderstorms in the upper midwest.

so look out for that as a system crawls through the area. and then way through the western coast, we're looking at fire danger weather because of the dry conditions in place. so rain for the eastern side of north america. that includes toronto into winnipeg. thunderstorms toward miami for thursday. dry and sunny from vancouver toward los angeles. now as you look at the forecast for south america, quick look at what's happening in rio de janeiro. not much in terms of rainfall. we are seeing highs of around 32 coming up on thursday. and then fridaday and saturday shouldld see partly cloudy skie. highs would be in the upper 20s. now as we look at what's happening in east asia, we have a lot of activity taking place where we have a trough moving through and high pressure system near japan. that's bringing rainfall. and we have a couple of tropical depressions, they're not expected to intensify but enhance the rainfall areas. we'll look at wet weather there. hot weather because of this high. and then we have a tropical

storm down to the southern portions of china. we're looking at the possibility of up to 150 millimeters of rainfall over the next 24 to 48 hours and moving to vietnam throughout the next couple of days. this high pressure system again enforcing some instability with the upper layers of the atmosphere. again, very warm toward the western portions of japan. instability will bring cloud and rain throughout the day on friday with a high in tokyo of 33. as we go into the last day of the work week. hope off good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

and with that we end this hour's nhk "newsline." more to come here on nhk world

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>> these are the latest world headlines. a car bomb ripped through the eastern turkish city. three people are dead and dozens injured in the blast which targeted police headquarters. international publishes a damning report on serious state-run prisons. inture, beatings and rape their findings. out of the pool and into the fire. stopped from flying home from