it's a wednesday evening here in japan. i'm james tengan in tokyo. nhk "newslinine" starts off wita quick look at the hour's top stories. squaring off. the new leader of japan's opposition party looks to take a swing at shinzo abe's economic policies for her first question in the diet. restoring public trust.

tokyo governor yuriko koike. and still making the cut. a japanese hair stylist is still wielding the scissors at age 95. the leader of japan's largest opposition party has confronted the prime minister in the diet for the first time since she was elected earlier this month. >> translator: we haven't seen the end of deflation nor a virtuous economic cycle taking place. when would a cycle of monetary -- expansion of consumption and further improvement happen? don't we need to look into abenomics? >> renho said increasing child care and such is the proper path. but shinzo abe said it created a

virtuous economic cycle. >> translator: people have been anxious as tax revenue decreased because of the deflation which lasted for more than 20 years. after the ldp came back to power, we were able to create a virtuous economic cycle by carrying out my economic policies. we can now say japan is no longer in a deflationary period. >> abe said he will fulfill his responsibilities by continuing to push forward with antibiotbe. koike had looked at the government. it's been under a host of problems. she revealed the tsukiji fish market is one that's cost public trust. >> translator: it's our job to find out who decided what, when decisions were made, and whether a coverup took place.

>> the tokyo government had planned to move the fish market to t toyosu some time this year. criticized previous plants saying they all denied knowledge of the problems. she also promised more transparency from the governor's office. and in her dealings with the metropolitan assembly. koike came to office following back-to-back financial scandals that caused her predecessors to step down. >> translator: i vow to show the people of tokyo how decisions are made and engage in debate. i will strive to continue reforms that are not mere extensions of what's already been done and earn the people's trust back. >> she added she's aiming to make the olympics and paralympics a success.

the contamination issue is making wholesalers worried. the fishers worry that that reputation could be in jeopardy. nhk world reports. >> reporter: this man works at the fish market. he's been procuring and selling crabs and abalone for years. >> translator: if there's an indentation here, it's not good. this one is pretty good. >> reporter: sakai and others are now worried about the market's reputation for high quality and safety. health concerns over the new site in toyosu are making them uneasy. >> translator: if a fish is sold in tsukiji market, it means its

quality is guaranteed. >> translator: the fish sold at tsukiji now have a certain image that could move when we move to toyosu and that is not good. >> reporter: the new market was scheduled to open on november 7th where a gas plant once operated. but an investigation revealed it wasn't prepared as it was supposed to be. the foundations of buildings were not filled with clean soil meant to protect from contamination. but tsukiji businessful group is now disappointed with the tokyo government. >> translator: it was shocking. and at the same time it's tedio tedious. we all accepted the plan because the safety information was

convincing. why didn't they follow the plan? >> reporter: sakai's company had prepared for the move before the scandal broke. the firm paid about $600,000 to secure enough space, but to keep that space, it needs to pay more around $5,000 per month. even though it isn't open yet. sakai believes that he shouldn't relocate until safety is guaranteed. >> translator: it's crucial that customers come to the market with trust. if thahat basis for doing busins falls apart, we can't be proud in our work. it's not just about un uncontaminated ground and water, we also need a clean image otherwise people won't feel safe. >> reporter: experts are expected to re-examine the safety of the new site and the tokyo government is looking into the issue. and until the problems are

rooted out, the workers of tsukiji are stuck in limbo and their businesses face an uncertain future. yumi nakamura, nhk world, tokyo. a south korean court is holding a hearing on whether to approve an arrest warrant for the lotte group chairman. the seoul central district court summoned him on wednesday. alleged he paid to his relatives. also certain groups by illegally intervening in other group companies. prosecutors sought a warrant for him earlier this week. >> translator: i will sincerely explain myself to the judges. >> shin reportedly denied the allegations during 18 hours of questioning by prosecutors last week. observers say the approval of an arrest warrant -- prosecutors reportedly have decided to

indict shin's brother and father on embezzlement charges. a major chinese state owned organization has made its debut on the stock market. gene otani has more on that and other news from the business world. >> postal savings bank of china had its initial public offering on the hong kong stock exchange on wednesday. the state owned lenderr raised billion dollars. it's one of the largest ipos this year. the bank issued about 12 billion new shares for the ipo. it ended is thee f first day at $4.77 hong kong. >> translator: with the funds we'll offer better services for our clients including the agricultural sector and small companies. >> the firm has around 500

million individual customers which is over one-third of their population. the turnover of the newly listed bank out performed other stocks in hong kong and overall share prices there ended in the positive. the hang seng index marked the second straight day of gains adding 0.2% finishing at 23,619. but the shanghai composite retreated by 0.3% finishing at 2,987. in other markets in the asia pacific region, seoul's kospi losing almost half of 1%. indonesia, however, edged up by 0.1% closing at the highest in more than four weeks. tokyo shares closed lower after gains the previous day. we go to our business reporter john ladue at the stock exchange.

>> too many things are weighing on the stock sentiment. now, energy-related shares and financials dragged down the nikkei. the index fell 1.3% closing at 16,465. almost all sectors were down. and the broader topix lost 1.4%. major crude oil futures dropped nearly 3% overnight. any consensus on capping output would be met on the meeting of algeria. and many are worried about the future of deutsche bank as it tries to deal with a $14 billion fine from the u.s. govovernmento settle mortgage security probes. now, concerns about europe's banking and the strong yen hit shares of exporters and banks like toyota motor and mizuho finances. shars of oil developer inpex and the refiner jx holdings were sold. next all investors will be

evaluating janet yellen's congressional testimony and are waiting for the outcome of the oil meeting in algeria. john ladue reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. a new survey says japan has lost some of its competitive edge in the world. the world economic forum think tank has released its global competitive index or cgi. officials at the institute h ha put japan in eighthth placace. down two notches from last yea. ththe three chart t topping economies remained unchanged. switzerland came in first. singapore second and the u.s. was third. as for other asian economies, hong kong ranked ninth. and china was 28th. institute officials praised japan's infrastructure and the large sums its companies spent on research and development. but they said that participation of women in the economy was low

compared to other industrialized nations. and they said japan was a less attractive destination for foreign talent. ceo of spacex says his company is developing a massive rocket with the goal of colonizing mars. musk says they could launch a manned mission to mars with a craft ear a a2024. theusable rocket would fir orbit ee earth where it refuelss bere heading to mars. the spaceship couldld reach the red planet in about 90 days. musk sss he hopes to get the cost down to around $200,000 per person. e cocompy plans to launch an unmanned spaceship as early as 2018. buthe timeline is realisti th point to t failure of spacexocket inune la year

and other o that blew up earlier this month during launch preparations. here's a look at somee of the other business stories we're following. executives at major japanese automaker say their overall production climbed in august up more than 9% year on year. ththey said the increase was mainly for vehicles meant for export. six out of eight companies saw the figure grow with nissan having a nearly 20% gain. toyota also enjoyed a double digit increase. the scandal that hit mitsubishi saw a double digit decrease with a drop of 16%. more and more everything from appliances to autos are made with internet connectivity. so businesses from japan and the u.s. are about to begin creating international standards for the so-called internet of things. japanesese companies like hitac and panasonic will be involved in the planning. they'll be working with u.s. firms like general electric and intel. the groups from both countries

plan to start the process as early as october. japan's tourism officials are gearing up for the autumn sightseeing season. there's a lot of promoting to do and there's one event they can't afford to miss. china's international tourism expo. >> reporter: some are promoting exotic culture. others are offering a relaxing time. whatever the pitch, everyone is chasing chinese tourists. 55 countries and regions set up booths at the industry expo in guangzhou. it pulled in half a million visitors. japan has a high profile. some 20 local governments and businesses took part. a record number.

>> translator: japan is a scenic country with great food. i'd like to visit. >> reporter: hot springs are popular. this exhibit featured a experience of authentic spring water. >> translator: it's warm and feels nice. my hands have got smoother. >> reporter: nanka electric railway joined the expo for the first time. a company mascot worked. the company's trains connect to the airport. they also serve many tourist spots in the region. >> translator: hello there. we're from osaka.

>> reporter: a record 3.8 million chinese have visited japan this past year. most of them come in groups. but now more people are traveling individually. and that means more opportunities for transport companies. they are using social networks in china to get the word out. offering gifts to people who register for promotions. >> translator: chinese people really have a strong interest in japan. for sightseeing, food, and other things. china has a large population, so we have high expectations. >> reporter: many countries are competing to travelers. but japan's tourist industry is

confident it can stand out from the crowd. nhk world, guangzhou. 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'm going to leave you with the markets. chinese authorities say they plan to punish the peoplple

responsible for shoddy repair work on the great wall. parts s of the unesco world heritage site have fallen to disrepair over the years. so the chinese government have been trying to repair sections of the wall. the picture on the right is what a damaged section looked like before repair work. the one on the left is after. the difference is obvious. chinese officials say a 788 meter of the wall has been cemented and itsts historical appearance badly damaged. news of the work is sparking outrage online. local residents are also upset. >> translator: it's going to affect tourism. the great wall will be ruined if cement covers all of it. >> local government officials have defended the work explaining they were trying to repair the wall and prevent it from crumbling. as japan's population grows

older, many senior citizens are continuing to work. but very few stay with it like this next beautician in the western part of the country. she still has the scissors in hand at the age of 95. nhk world reports. >> reporter: sakai ogawa has a long-term view on beauty. that experience is available to customers. 14,000 people live in the city. many of them are up in years. ogawa has spent 65 of her years as a beautician. many of her customers have been coming to her for more than half a century. this woman has been a regular for 63 years. >> translator: i know your style without asking. >> translator: please stay healthy. if you stop wororking, i'i've g nowhere else to go.

>> reporter: ogawa has served for decades. she relies on them. >> translator: could you please come now? it's very crowded. >> reporter: her daughter helps out when it's busy. she is 69. she lives next door and can come as soon as the phone rings. beauty runs in the family. mother and daughter 50 years ago at the salon. ogawa and other stylists were on the job from morning tonight. she still works hard. shopping every day at the supermarket and doing all the housework including cleaning and laundry. in her career and her life, she always strives for beauty.

she does her own hair before opening the door to the salon. and she decorates the space with fresh flowers. >> translator: i put the flowers here because it's where most people come in. >> reporter: her appearance and that of the salon offer customers a sense of elegance and professionalism. one of them stops by every day at 4:00. the owner of a bar across the street. >> translator: she waits for me and arranges her schedule around mine. >> reporter: and when she's away -- >> translator: i help out when her daughter can't. >> translator: my assistant is not here today. >> reporter: for 23 years,

they've had each other's backs. >> translator: after i finish, i'm always happy to hear a customer say she feels lightete or even tenen yeaears younger. i hope to continue doing this work as long as i can. it's my way of making people's lives a little better. >> reporter: no retirement plans for sakae ogawa. for her, beauty is a life along pursuit. nhk world, kochi. >> very inspiring. you're watching nhk "newsline." now for weather. what was a deadly typhoon is now a tropical storm battering southeastern china. sayaka mori joins us w with the details. >> megigi made landfall in taiw yeyesterday. it h has been downgraded but stl bringing heavy rainfall.

over the last 24 hours, over 350 mill miteimeters of rainfall. within the last couple of days, over 1,100 millimeters of rain fell. local media reports at least four people were killed and over 500 people were wounded because of the system. now, megi has been downgraded to a severe tropical storm. it's packing winds of 90 kilometers with gusts over 1267 kilometers per hour. the system is moving west at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour. it's still bringing strong winds over chi a and taiwan. the system will likely slow down although it's going to weaken.. more heavy rain is expected for china over the next 24 hours additiononal 350 millimeters of rain could fall which will of course raise the potential for flooding and landslides even further. including megi, there have been three typhoons that took the similar path and three of them were deadly storms.

and there's one more system which could affect it next week. this is named chaba. that means hibiscus in thai language. it's packing wind speeds of 65 kilometers per hour. it will likely intensify to a very strong typhoon by the time it reaches taiwan or near japan by monday. we'll keep you updated on the system. across japan, there is a seasonal frontal system producing significant rainfall. especially person japan has had tremendous amounts of rain. over 120 millimeters of rain by radar. i want to show you some video coming out of this area to show you the situation. the heaviest rainn in 50 years has hit parts this afternoon. warnings for heavy rain, flooding, landslides are in place. hundreds of people have been asked to evacuate.

they're asking people to watch out for more rain andnd floodin and tornrnadoes into thursday morning. the frontal system will likely shift towards the south. that means the pacific side of japan including tokyo will also see some heavy rainfall on thursday. watch out for flooding rainfall. now, tokyo will see one more day of wet weather on thursday. but as we go into friday, finally the sun will come out and temperatures will go to a pleasant 24 degrees. we'll see rain continuing at least into the weekend. now, let's go down to the southern hemisphere. one of the strongest storms in 50 years could affect the southeastern portions of the country. as you can see the lines are closely packed. that means powerful winds are expected to happen in the southeast. gusts could reach as much as 120 kilometers per hour. strong enough to cause structural damage and topple trees. the system will likely move towards the east. also melbourne will see stormy weather on thursday. it's a fast system so by friday ththings will be dryining up.

as they go into saturday, it's going to bee sunny the brisisba. and across the eastern portions of the united states, more wet weather is coming up. but eecially for the western mid-atlantic states and a system in the great lakes region. now, temperatures are going to be as follows. in the 20s in new york city as well as toronto. thunderstorms expected in columbia, south carolina. and across the west, sunny weather expected. quite hot in l.a. on wednesday. all right. here's your extended forecast.

and with that we conclude this hour of nhk "newsline." be sure to host: this is "france 24."

time now 60 minutes live around the world. these are the headlines. former israeli president and prime minister shimon peres has died. the man known as one of the founding fathers of israel passed away early this morning at age 93 two weeks after suffering a stroke. reaction to his death has been pouring in from around the world. french president francoise along said he was one of the most ardent defenders of peace.