i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to nhk "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following this hour. keeping on the alert. powerful typhoon meranti is inflicting damage on taiwan and heading to mainland china. and a battle of words.

sparring over pyongyang's latest test. typhoon meranti is bringing heavy rains and strong winds in taiwan with some reports of injuries. the powerful storm is moving towards mainland china and authorities there are issuing alerts of a possible landfall. in southern taiwan maximum wind speeds have reached more than 210 kilometers per hour. hit mountainous areas in the east and south. strong winds have knocked down trees and sign boards on streets and authorities say nine injuries have been reported. a temporary power outage affected about 630,000 households at one time. weather officials say meranti is approaching mainland china. they are bracing for the storm. fishermen in southern coastal areas are anchoring thundershower boats.

jonathan oh has the details on the storm. jonathan, how will the storm impact the region? >> james, it looks like we're still going to be dealing with heavy rainfall and pretty powerful winds as we go throughout the overnight period into thursday. that's when we're keeping -- that's the time period we're expecting for the landfall to take place. and i want to also show you the satellite imagegery for the seven-hour period during the afternoon. this is the reason why. when we first came to you yesterday with this, you were able to see a well defined eye. but now that's not -- is no longer clear. it's clouded up quite a bit because it's weakening and having resistance from the mountains. asas it tries to move towards maininland china, it's going to get that resistance throughout the next several hours. so that's going to hinder it from really being able to keep its intensity together.

look at this. wind speeds at 198 kilometers per hour with gusts up to 270 kilometers per hour. it's still a powererful storm. still considered violent. and we are going to keep an eye on the central areas of circulation. as it continues to move to the north and west, it's going to bring a lot of rainfall. notice the bright purple colors. so near fuzhou, we're talking about some places getting hundreds of millimeters of rainfall. so be on the lookout as we go forward in time. notice the rain is also expected to spread toward the north into places like shanghai. but by the time we go into friday, the system is going to deteriorate significantly. so we're talking mainly a rainstorm by that point. meantime, look at this. still looking at rain to the southern portion of taiwan for thursday, friday, and even into saturday. the rain continuing into fuzhou and into hong kong which is further west still getting the impacts of the rain as this

system continues to approach the southeastern coast of china. more coming up in world weather. >> jonathan, thanks. dozens of countries at the u.n. conference on disarmament have denounced north korea because of its latest nuclear test which took place last week. delegates delivered statements condemning pyongyang. >> this nuclear test is totally unacceptable for the international community including japan. >> we will not accept north korea as a nuclear state. nor will we accept north korea's possession of nuclear weapons. >> the american envoy said the u.s. will respond resolutely to pyongyang's defiance of international commitments and obligations. north korea's delegate fired the back. >> the u.s. is the very one which can tell the authority to develop nuclear warheads and have constantly proved every day

for the past decades have been an engine to reach this point. >> he said north korea will continue to increase the quality and quantity of its nuclear arsenal to act as a deterrent. north korea's nuclear activities are expected to be a key topic at the u.n. general assembly which convened on tuesday. the north is celebrating the nuclear tests. state run television reported tuesday a rally was held in central pyongyang. members of the country leadership and military officers attended. the vice chairman of the korean workers party delivered a speech. he claimed to the test was an act of self-defense. and called it part of countermeasures against sanctions on the country. the u.n. security council's most recent round of sanctions were imposed in march. the u.s. and south korea are stepping up military pressure many response to the test. american b-1 strategic bombers flew over seoul on tuesday.

japanese lawmakers are also trying to put pressure on pyongyang. they've adopted resolutions condemning the provocations. members of committees in both chambers passed the resolutions unanimously. they called the nuclear test a reckless act that's unacceptable to japan. the only country to have been a victim of atomic bombings. and they urged the government to work with the international community to rein in the reclusive nation. >> translator: japan demands north korea immediately and completely abide by u.n. security council resolutions, give up its nuclear weapons, and abanandon its development progr. >> the foreign minister said china has a pivotal rolol to ply as it accounts for 90% of north korea's trade. he said he's arranging an over the phone meetingng w with his chinese counterpart to seek cooperation.

okay. now for an update on the rio paralympics. japanese athletes have won a silver medal and two bronze on the seventh day of the games. that brings japan's medal tally to 1. to 11. the 400 meter wheelchair track. he began competing after he was inspired by raymond martin's performance in the 2012 games. he used all his energy he could muster to catch up to martin but couldn't quite get there and settled for second place.

>> in swimming, mura swam in the breaststroke in the visual impairment category. at the 50 meter mark he was in second place. but by the end he had to settle for third place. and it's his second paralympic medal. in men's 50 meter freestyle for swimmers with functional disabilities, japan remained near the front for most of the race. he earned his first medal. japan's tennis hopefuls weren't as successful in wheelchair singles. shineda played belgium. his powerful serves overwhelmed him and knocked him out of the running. japan's kamich faced the

netherlands. they got one set each. but kamichi ran out of energy and lost. she will play in the third place playoff. and that's it for tuesday's action from rio. shrinking demand for loans and trust funds is expected to hit hard. gene otani has the details along with other business headlines. >> japanese officials at the financial services agency say by 2025 over 60% of regional banks are expected to post negative earnings for their lending operations. a report says for fiscal 2014 the figure was about 40%. japan's shrinking populatation memeans there a are fewer borro and investorsrs around. the bank of japan's negative interest rate policy is also putting a squeeze on earnings. officials urged the regional banks to change their business

model to boost profitability. engineers and pioneer have come up with a car navigation system that uses big data for its driver assistance features. the new model warnings drivers when they approach intersections where accidents are frequent. on crossroads in japan including how many times drivers have had to suddenly brake. a camera attached to a rearview mirror measures the distance to the vehicle ahead as well as the lane width. an alarm sounds when a collision looks likely or when the vehicle swerves across markings. >> translalator: we hope buyersf preowned cars or those who already own vehicles will fit the system. >> pioneer says the system will be in stores later this month. checking the markets, tokyo stocks ended lower on jitters over a central bank decision.

giang nguyen reports. >> after a report the bank of japan is considering cutting interest rates further. the policy makers are meeting next week. let's take a look at the closing levels for this wednesday, september 14th. the nikkei fell 0.7% closing at 16,614. the index reversed all of tuesday's gains. ththe broader topix also fell b 0.6%. negative interest rates happened unpopular with banks. major japanese financial firms declined on the news including mitsubis mitsubishi, sumitomo, and mizhuo. on the bonds climbed following the report and so did holders such as t & d holdings, daiichi

life insurance, and sony holding. will see the outcome of the bank's meeting next wednesday z. and let's not forget if the u.s. federal reserve will announce on the same day. giang nguyen reporting. uncertainty over u.s. monetary policy. indonesia tumbled by 1.3% to the lowest in nearly two months. singapore also declined by 0.3%. the shanghai composite slipped 0.7%. losses in financial and property sector stocks pulled the index down to a one month low. but in sydney the market rose for the first time in days. the s&p asx 200 ended up at 5,227. here's a look at some of the

other business stories we're following today. researchers at a pharmaceutical maker will get financial support from japan and the united states to try to develop a vaccine for the zika virus. nhk has learned the company will receive banking from the two governments. public health authorities and laboratories may also provide takeda with resources. japan's foreign ministry has set up a panel of experts to study economic ties with the u.s. ahead of the presidential election. analysts say america's next leader might initiate a shift in policies. panel members are expected to talk about how japan can protect itself amid the growing influence of china. operators of a regional japanese airport have added international flights in a bid to boost tourism. ibaraki airport will add flights to and from south korea. two more flights with begin to okinawa prefecture.

anyone who is raising a family while working full-time can tell you it's a juggling act. people not in that position might have a hard time relating to it. and that can be a challenge in itself if you're working -- if you're a working mother and your supervisor doesn't understand your struggles. to bridge the gap, some businesses are helping managers understand what awaits parents when they leave office. >> reporter: at this major information service firm in tokyo, 60% of the employees are women. many of them have small children at home. ikeda is a manager. he's in his 30s and still single. he has struggled to guidede employees who are juggling work and child rearing. >> translator: sometimes i'm not sure what i can ask of them. because i don't know what happens when they go home.

>> reporter: the company has introduced a training program to help managers like him understand. managers are paired into teams and assigned to step into the shoes of a working mom. they take care of her children while she works, help with homework, and prepare meals. during training, ikeda finishes work at 5:00 p.m. he's teaming up with another manager who doesn't have children either. once they get to their colleague's homeme, things g gos smoothly than at the office. homework is a struggle. and cooking takes longer than expected. >> translator:r: i have no timeo think about anything even for a second.

>> reporter: at 9:00 p.m. the mother comes home. thanks to her managers, she was able to concentrate on getting her work done. ikeda spent four days in the program balancing work and child care. his coworkers say they've noticed a change. >> translator: i was so surprised when you said that i shshould tell you if things get too tough for me. >> translator: i realize i should consider working mothers' lives too. i think that will help the performance of the individual as well as the group. >> reporter: working mothers sometimes try to balance career and home duties by working reduced hours, but the arrangement can be frustrating. some women feel they aren't working to their full potential and lose motivation. this company created a training program in the hope of turning

things around. through role-playing, managers learn how to encourage working moms and to draw out their skills. >> translator: considering your career going forward, it might be a good idea to increase your workload little by little.. >> reporter: employee who is have small children in real life watch the role play and offer advice for improvement. >> translator: often managers said the person should do more work. he should have offered praise anand constructive feedbdback t. >> reporter: the company is now using the training program at its offices across japan. >> translator: it's not enough to be considerate toward working mothers. managers should provide a comfortable workplace where they can continue to build their careers. >> reporter: training programs aimed at building empathy and understanding for working moms are taking hold in japan. that's good for women who hope to continue building their careers and for company who is hope to benefit from their

skills. you can catch our report again online together with a full transcript. look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news. i'll leave you with the markets. tensions are escalating between residents and police in a southern chinese village once regarded as a symbol of

grassroots democracy. vil anlers are protesting against a court decision that found their elected leader guilty. on tuesday police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the villagers and they detetain 14 for disrupting publicc orde. video showed them hurling stones at police. many people have been injured. the village was in the international spotlight four years ago when residenents were allowed toto choose theheir lea by popular vote. but t last weekhe former village chief was sentenced to more than ththree years inn prisoson for purportedly taking bribes in connection with public projects. when he was detained in june. chinese authorities appear determined to stop the unrest from escalating. they're deleting videos and

messages posted online. rodrigo duterte is giving his first indication he's reconsidering an american defense treaty. >> point is i do not want to -- with china or with america. i just want to protect the waters. >> he says he doesn't want his country in the middle of a dispute despite manila claiming problems with beijing in the waters. announced the joint drills in april. they were intended to bolster to counter beijing's activities in thee contesteded waters. china has built runways and radar facilities on islands it has created. duterte has showed willingness to improve ties with china to receive economic assistancece. but t his relelations with

washshington have been making waves since last week. he used profanity to insult u.s. president barack obama leadingn to the cancellation of their first meeting. on monday duterte said he wanted american special forces to leave the philippines. china's president says he wants to dialogue with vietnam to resolve their conflicting claims. he told the prime minister that their common interests far outweigh their differences. xi jingping met in beijing on tuesday. xinhua agency says xi told the vietnamese leader they shohould turn into opportunities for cooperation. he said he wanted to deepen the political trust with china. the four highest ranking members of the chinese leadership have all held talks with him during his visit. china claims sovereignty over

much of the south china sea. a tribunal in the hague rejected china's claims. the u.s. and japan are urging china to accept the ruling. a cease-fire appears to be holding in syria more than a full day after it went into effect. but there are no signs of aid supplies reaching the much-needed areas. that was the key in the deal reached by u.s. and russia. 28 agency trucks are now stuck in an area controlled by bashar al assad's forces. they're waiting to enter aleppo to deliver supplies. turkish media says officials are only allowing u.n. deliveries. they also say the r roads aren' safe. in aleppo, there's been a pause in the relentless bombing. no major clashesere repororted between oppositioion forces. but russian military officials

have already accused members of the opposition off violalating truce. >> translator: since the cease-fire came into forcece, w registered 26 cases of shelling directed at residential districts and governmental army positions. >> a group monitoring syria's civil war has released updated figure on the toll the conflict has taken. it says more than 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict began more than five years ago. and at least 11 million have been forced to flee their homes. from our weather desk, jonathan oh is back now with a look at the rest of world weather. jonathan? >> hello, james. yes, we are still monitoring a couple of named storms over in the western pacific. it's something we'll be watching closely because they will continin to impactct land. one of them is impacting land now. as we go forward i in time, the other one is also expected to cause issues. so we have meranti which has

been really pounding the area over taiwan because of the rainfall and strong winds. and with all those winds, the storm surge come on shore. that caused issues. that was something that will continue b to be an issue as we go through the evening overnight periods. and the next area that needs to look out for the system is the southeastern coast of china as that area will be dealing with the effects of the storm as we go overnight into the day on thursday when things are going to start deteriororating. behind tha we have malakas thaht will continutoto develop. so we're expectiting it to beco a bit strtronger as we go into thursday and frididay. and then w what we'll be watchi for is that system to continunu to move toward the north and then start bringing rain to the okinawa islands and eventually turning its way towards kyushu. by the time we go into the weekend,hahat's whehen we talk about those concerns. i do want to point out that the heheavy amounts of rainfalll wi still be a part of the issue for

those in the island of taiwan during the overnight period but also on the souththeastern sidef china. will we see the same copious amount? not nececessarily because itt depepends how strong the system trtries to keep together. but as we go forward,d, the sysm wiwill deteriorarate rather qu. as that happppens, we're going have a hard time keeping it together. that may help toto tie off somef the additional rainfall. meanwhile we go to japan, we do still have the frontal stationary boundary. that's going to be part of the equation through the day on thursday. you still need your umbrellas with a high of 26 degrees. plenty of wet weaeather to talk about. and alalso hong kong as we go oo the next day.. now, a quick look at what's happening ovover northth americ. we do have a named storm right over florida. the name actually was attached while the center of circulation was on top of the state. julia is expected to bring a lot

of rain. we did have the tropical storm force winds in place. the big concern now is the heavy rainfall. that's going to destabilize to the southeast as well. so thunderstorms in atlanta, houston, and miami as we go throughout the work day. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

be sure to watch "newsroom tokyo" at the top of the hour. more to come here on nhk world so stay right there.

."nie: welcome to "france 24 i'm genie godula to here is what is coming up this hour. shimon peres is in critical but stable condition after suffering a massive stroke. the truce in syria holds for a full day, but concerns about security are keeping aid convoys on hold. a new inquiry from the u.k. blames david cameron for the political collapse in libya.