it's the top of the hour. thanks for joining us here on nhk "newsline." i'm james tengan in tokyo. japan's foreign minister hopes to lodge a protest with china over recent incursions of ships into japanese waters. fumio kishida is to meet in tokykyo on wednesday. he's hosting a dinner for them on the eve of the meeting. japanese offfficials arere work to set up one-on-one meetings

between kishida and wang yi as well as with south korea's yun byung-se. the talks follow repeated entries by chinese patrol boats in the east china sea this month. japan controls the islands, the government maintains they're an inherent part of japan's territory. china and taiwan claim them. kishida is expected to launch a protest with wang, the first chinese foreign minister to visit j japan inn five years. >> translator: i want to handle pending bilateteral issues in direct b bilateral talks with china's foreign minister. i want to clearly and directltl convey japan's position to the chinese side. >> but a chinese foreign ministry spokesperson played down the significance of the

proposed one-on-one meeting. >> translator: foreign minister wang yi's visit is not related to any bilateral framework with japan. >> during the tri-lateral meeting, they aree expected to discuss the ballistic missile launches of north korea and concluded a foreign trade agreement. yoshihide suga says he hopes for a successful summit between the three countries in japan this year. officials in japan have reached a court mediated settlement with the sea shepherd anti-whaling group that's based in the u.s. representatives from japan's institute of research say the agreement permanently stop this group of obstructing japanese whaling activities. the institute conducts research

whaling with permission from the government. had filed a suit in the u.s. seeking an injunction on whahalg ships. e institee say they reached an agreement earlier this month. it has the japanesese side paya monetary settlement while u u.s grgroup agrgrees to permanentlyp the attacks. the institute says it cannot disclose how much the japanese side would pay. the agreement has no legal binding for sea shepherd groups in australia and elsewhere. they have been attacking in the antarctic ocean. but the institute says the settlement would stop the u.s. group from financing those groups in australia. meanwhile the australian sea shepherds said the agreement would not apply to it nor would it affect their attempts to protect whales in the antarctic ocean. officials from the firm

group says they're launching a service in japan on tuesday that will stream domestic and international sports events. company officials said they would provide sports for a fixed fee. they said the service would feature more than 6,000 games played in japan or abroad. the company last month s signed $2.1 billion contract for ten-year broadcasting rights with j-league. and startining next season thei service will show all j-league matches. it will also include u.s. major league games and those from a german football league. the monthly fee is about $17 for unlimited viewing on smartphones, tablets, and pc's. the company's executive says he's hopeful they can cultivate the japanese market. mid-august in japan marks

obong. railways and air carriers report more people have been on the move in the country. officials at the jr group of railway operators say 12 million road the shinkansen during the nine days of the holiday season. that's 4% more than in 2015. the numbers surged more than 50% for the route between hakodate in japan. thanks to a new service launched in march that extended an existing line. travel on other sections also rose. many travelers also took to the air. officials at 12 airlines say about 4.2 million people flew on domestic flights during the 12-day period. that's nearly 5% more than a year earlier. the number of passengers on international flights also rose up 11%. airline officials attribute the robust figures to a new holiday which started during the obong period.

japanese government officials are putting the finishing touches on a second supplementary budget to help pay for a new stimulus package. nhk has learned nearly $33 billion will come out of the general account for the extra budget for the current fiscal year. the officials are earmarking more than $7 billion for child rearing support and a one-time payment to low-income earnings. they're also setting aside some $14 billion for infrastructure projects such as ports that can handle large cruise ships. they are allocating another $14 billion to help rebuild the quake-struck kumamoto area and the tsunami-hit northeast. the cabinet plans to approve the extra budget on wednesday and submit it to an extraordinary session of the diet in the fall. checking now on the markets. shares fell on the back of a

stronger yen. phoebe amoroso has more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> we saw the undex sink l lowe in the afternoon as the dollar dipped to 100 yen. the nikkei ended 0.61%. and the broader topix fel fell 0.47%. the weaker dollar had investors selling. toyota was down 1.7% and honda lost 2.08%. oil prices continued to tumble on concerns iraq's output would add to the global supply. oil refinery jx holdings was down 2.4% and inpex lost 2.23%. one strong performer was tokyo electric power climbing 5.38%. that's on a report that it will team up with sony to offer a

smart home service. it will allow homes to track power usage of appliances. analysts are now waiting for comments from u.s. federal reserve chair janet yellen who's scheduled to speak on friday. they'll be listening carefully to clues for the next rate hike. i'm phoebe amoroso reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. okay. let's see how the markets are fairing. here are the latest figures.

in other news, the u.s. military says it's planning to send its newest stealth fighting jets to japan. it'll be the first time the f-35-b's have been stationed outside the mainland. officials visited the mayor to tell him the planes will be deployed at a b base i in his c. plans to station 16 jets there from next year. the aircraft are capable of vertical takeoff and landing. the officials said the u.s. will try to avoid flying the jets over urban areas in order t to reduce noise. but iwakuni mayor has expressed concern. he says he wants more details about the safety, noise levels, and how the marines intend to use them. the u.s. is trying to boost military capabilities in asia with china and north korea in

mind. japan's defense ministry is trying to ensure the safety in the african nation of djibouti. they'll evacuate people to sauft in the event of an emergegency. refueling and transport aircraft carrying about a hundred personnel will take off from an air self-defense force base in central japan. the mission is to evaluate the evacuation plan. the drill is expected to run through september 1st. maritime self-defense force personnel are s stationed in djiboutiti to ward off pirates f the coast o of somalia. fighghting erupted in south sud in july. that prompted japan to send transport aircraft to help take embassy staff to djibouti.

in our series women of vision, we meet some of the inspirational figures who are influencing society and challenging prevailing norms. today it's australian kathryn james fisher. she's leading a campaign that seeks justice for victims of sexual assault from base servicemen and base workers. >> reporter: tens of thousands of people gathered to protest a crime that shocked the nation. weeks earlier police arrested a former u.s. marine who was working at a military base. they believe he assaulted and murdered a 20-year-old japanese woman. kathryn jane fisher travelled from tokyo to join the rally. years ago she endured a similar attack. >> i am not afraid. i'm not ashamed to say i am a survivor of u.s. military rape.

>> reporter: fisher came to japan with her family. she raised three children. in 2002 everything changed when she was the victim of a horrific attack. she was visiting south of tokyo where the u.s. has a naval base. in the parking lot, she was raped by an american serviceman. a seself-portrait she drew shory afterward depicts her terror. for years she suffered from insomnia, flashbacks, and other sysymptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. >> i couldn't sleep at night. even the slightest noise, the slightest noise would scare me. it would be very difficult for me to explain how a rape victim feels. what does ptsd feel like? you know? and how it destroys your life. >> reporter: t the suspect was t

indicted. so fisher filed a suit seeking coensation.. during the trial, the serviceman returned to the u.s. and disappeared. fisher was furious that her attacker was able to leave the country without facing up to what he did. she spent ten years tracking him down. later she filed a suit in the u.s. and won. during that trial, she learned of shocking testimony by the rapist. he claimed he was told by a u.s. navy lawyer to leave japan. fisher began talking to groups in okinawawa prefecture that support female victims. she discovered that violence against women by u.s. servicemen and base workers was widespread. >> nothing has changed. there is still gang raping women in japan. >> reporter: she started recording the cases. fisher is convinced the situation won't change until the

status of enforcement changes. it says if u.s. authorities detain a suspect first, they have the primary right to investigate. >> anybody who is thinking about doing a crime in japan knows that they don't have to obey the laws of japan. it only says respect. so they can walk out of this country freely. so we have to set certain rules which says not only do you have to respect the laws of japan, you have to obey them. >> reporter: u.s. military officials reject the idea that the status enforcement agreement causes criminal activity. they say the u.s. military does not tolerate sexual assault and has a policy that reinforces efforts to prevent it. recently fisher launched a new campaign to highlight the scourge of violence against

women. she went to a university in okinawa to discuss the problem with students. fisher wants to set up a 24-hour rape crisis center that victims can visit regardless of their gender or nationality. she asked the students for their help. i have taken such a painful experience and made it into something very beautiful and powerful which will actually save people's lives. >> reporter: fisher believes that only by speaking out together can the victims of violence tear down the wall of silence that surrounds these awful crimes. banana farmers in the philippines are battling a major threat. they're fighting a disease that's putting the future of their crop in doubt. we report from the country, one

of the biggest banana exporters in the world. >> reporter: the island of mindanao is the largest banana producing area in the country. but the crop is under threat. a new strain of disease hasas bn spreading in mindanao as well as other parts of the world. this farmland was left abandoned three years ago when panama disease started to spread. the disease is caused by a fungal pathogen. it doesn't pose a threat to humans but it can kill banana plants after entering through the roots and causing the trunk to rot. the original strain of the disease broke out in panama about 100 years ago. the infection quickly spread around the world and nearly wiped out the banana variety that was most popular at the time.

the new strain is believed to be more infectious than the older one. major crop damage from it was first discovered in taiwan in 1990. for the infections have been confirmed in other parts of asia as well as the middle east and africa. a banana grower has been trying to deal with infection in his plantation for the past four years. >> you can see the old leaves yellowing. so once it's affected. >> reporter: there is no cure for the infected plants at this point. the only choice is to chop them down. the surrounding area is then declared off limits in the bid

to stop the infection from spreading. to stop the fungus from spreading further. but despite these efforts, it carries the disease into the plantatition. >> there are already some plantations that have been closed because of the panama disease. panama disease is very critical. >> reporter: a local group of banana growers say one of the farms have been infected. it will lukly drop even more this year. >> if no containment measures are being implemented, it's possible -- it's very possible it can wipe out the banana industry. maybe in the next five to ten years.

>> reporter: the philippine government is trying to develop a new variety to protect its banana industry. this experimental banana tree has reached the stage where it's almost resistant to the fungus. but it only yields about half the amount of bananas the current variety produces and won't likely be available for commercial use in the near future. >> translator: it's unclear when we'll find a solution, but we have to try to find one a as lo as the panama disease exists. >> reporter: 100 years after the world's banana crop came under threat, a new panama disease is threatening plantations around ththe world. kathleen ocampo, nhk world, mindanao.

the paralympic games will kick off in two weeks in rio de janeiro for a athletes with disabilities. securing sponsorships can be difficult. our next story is about an organization here in japan for blind soccer that's found a promising solution. >> reporter: a team sport like no other. blind soccer requires constant communication. as the players follow a ball that makes a sound, they rely on their teammate's voices. off the field, this communication is also proving important. it's the basis for a business traiaining program that iss helg the blind soccer association to raise funds. >> translator: the paralympics are coming to tokyo in 2020 and that's got people talking about blind soccer. our seminars are a key source of

income. >> reporter: this brokerage has just signed up for the s semina to foster better teamwork among its employees and improve communication with clients. >> translator: there have been times when my clients or coworkers didn't seem to understand the information i gave them. or my answers to their questions. >> reporter: 60 employees turned up for this session. >> translator: now, explain to your partner how to do this exercise. watch me. >> reporter: first, a warm-up exercise. the participants work in pairs taking it in turns to be blindfolded. >> translator: stretch your arms out. then rotate your shoulders. make a big circle. >> translator: my shoulders? >> translator: i'm sorry. i mean your arms. >> reporter: they learned the importance of using expressions that are accurate and clear.

in this game, the player in the middle tries to touch the ball guided by voices and the sound of the ball. it's all about active listening. >> translator: when your partner can't see, it's harder for them to understand what you're thinking or what you want to do. i realized how important it is to put yourself in their shoes and think about what you can do together. >> reporter: to date, around 100 companies have taken the program earning the association around $90,000 per year. >> translator: if we can expand this project, we can use the earnings to improve the players' training. >> reporter: to compete at the highest level, athletes need funding. blind soccer has come up with an approach that can serve as a role model for other disabled sports. >> yes, more power to them. you're watching nhk "newsline." it's time now for world weather with our meteorologist

sayaka mori. people in northern and central japan are dealing with the aftermath of a powerful tropical system. sayaka, what's the latest? >> yes. after hitting the tokyo area yesterday, mindula made the second landfall this morning. in fact, one person was killed and several people injured. and hundreds of houses have been flooded severely. now, we've had extremely heavy rainfall in hokkaido. record-breaking heavy rainfall fell in shizunai. a major river burst its banks causing serious inundation out there. in just one week, three tropical storms or tropical systems made landfall in hokkaido. there's only one path that the system had to take.

now, three storms making landfall in hokkaido is e the first time in rececorded histot for the area. extrtremely rare event took pla this week. now,ee are lookiking at dry condititions across hokkaido. then former system called mindul is now affecting with rain and snowfafall. japan had s significant rainfal yesterday. and today another round oheheavy rain is t to the north of the k to region. the risk of flooding and landslides is getting higher and higher day by day. to the south, there's another storm i want to mention. this is lionrock. right now it's packing wind gusts of 144 kilometers per hour. it will likely intensify to a strong typhoon in the next 24 hours. it will stay near the okinawa region through the next several days. the sea surface temperatures are

two degrees higher than normal which is warm enough to intensify the system. now, tokyo, there is unstable weather expected on wednesday. but as we go to thursday, dry weather will finally come back. but as we go into sunday, we see some train starts and that should continue into next week. now, western japan has been contending with high tempmperatures. it will l stay the samame into weekend. stay hydrated. across the south of china, there is a risk for spotty thundershowers and temperatures are going to be as follows. 33 in taipipei. and cloudy conditions in beijing with 32 on your wednesday. now, boston was hit by a twister. we h have some v videooming outf the city. the town of concord, massachusetts, was hit by an ef-1 tornanado monday. the e residents s and cleanunup are clearining away and removin debris.. momost of which were downed tre.

the tornado had a path of about 350 m meters across. but this was a night-time tornado hitting a heavy populated area. fortunately no one was killed. rightt now high pressure system is in control over the eastern portions of the united states. a chance for heavy rain at times across the south once again. temperatures as follows. 32 in atlanta with a chance for thunderstorms on tuesday. all right. here's your extended forecast.

the west may have fortune cookies but japan has a much older and more engrained tradition. a shinto shrine offers paper fortunes inside dolls for people who visit during the new year holidays. and it starts preparing them well in advance. atago shrine is said to date back over a hundred years. during new year's 500,000 people drop by to pray for good luck. it offers fortune telling slips of paper inside the dolls. >> translator: as i'm making them, i'm hoping the visitors will be happy in the new year. >> the shrine maiden also said she hopes those who visit will hold onto the ornaments after

enjoying the thrill of reading their fortune. on that auspicious note, we end this hour's nhk "newsliqwueex

>> hello, you're watching live frfrom paris. turkey launches a two-pronged defense against the islamic state group, shelling oppositions in syria days after the deadly suicide bombing in nkara blamed on the i.s. arech dairy farmers lock -- testing against the plunging price of milk.