tv Newsline LINKTV September 29, 2016 5:00am-5:31am PDT
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it's a thursday evening here in japan. glad you could join us here on nhk "newsline." we start off with a quick look at the day's top stories. ballooning budget. an investigation chain set up by tokyo's governor is recommending an overhaul to the 2020 games. stopping the slide. opec networks have agreed to cut
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oil production to boost prices. and blue water magic. nature lovers around japan are trading ocean views for a breathtaking spot inland. worried about the budget, tokyo's governor ordered a panel to look at cost estimates for the 2020 olympics and paralympics. it crunched the numbers and says plans for the games need a major overhaul. now governor yuriko koike is looking at what could be cut. >> reporter: you could say tokyo's new governor is experiencing some olympic-sized sticker shock. >> translator: the project proceeded without anyone knowing why the budget swelled up to $20 billion or $30 billion. >> reporter: yuriko koike's numbers were from a tokyo government panel's estimates.
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the results of which were released on thursday. the panel says the total cost for the tokyo olympics could be more than four times the original estimate. to get to the bottom of the surging cost, koike had set up an investigation team to look at the books for the 2020 games. controversy around the games is nothing new. the original design for the main stadium was scrapped for being too costly. so a new, cheaper design was chosen. in the cross hairs this time, three proposed waterfront venues that are well over budget. ariake arena is the planned volleyball venue. costs have doubled to $400 million. for swimming the budget to finish the olympic aquatics centre has also doubled to $678 million.
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for rowing and canoeing, costs for the sea forest waterway have risen a staggering seven fold to $488 million. what's more, the waterway was getting failing grades from athletes. >> translator: rowing boats are very narrow which makes them vulnerable to waves. the boats are designed to race on still surfaces only. >> reporter: the venues were chosen because they are near the heart of tokyo. the metropolitan government planned what they call a compact olympics. but because of the cost, panel members are recommending cheaper alternatives. they say the prospects for using these venues after the games haven't even been studied properly. making venue changes isn't something tokyo can just go
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ahead and do. it first needs approval from the international olympic committee and international sports organizations. but for koike, the changes may be necessary. >> translator: we cannot leave a negative legacy for people in tokyo. >> reporter: koike says she wants the review to be finished as soon as possible. there are less than four years before the games, so there's only a limited amount of time to get everything ready for the olympics. ayako sasa, nhk world, tokyo. meanwhile the president of the organizing committee for the games attended a closed door meeting by governor koike. >> translator: the executive board of the ioc decided on the venues after a rigorous screening process. i told the attendees it would be
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extremely difficult to overturn these decisions at the request of japan. >> mori also said it is just a proposal waiting for the governor of tokyo to consider. he added he will comment on it after hearing the governor's decision on the matter. countries around the world have been formally backing the paris climate agreement. now japan's prime minister shinzo abe has told upper house lawmakers his government wants to follow suit as soon as possible. >> translator: the japanese government will try as much as possible to cure global issues. we view it as highly important. >> abe says the government plans to submit a bill in the current diet session. that session runs until the end of november. the paris agreement is a global framework to curb greenhouse gas emissions after 2020. it was adopted last december. it'll take effect when at least
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50 countries ratify it and their emissions are 55% or more of global output. japan accounts for 3.8%. the leaders of the carbon emitters china and the u.s. backed it earlier this month. his country the is the fourth larger emitter. delegates from oil producing nations have reached a deal. let's go to gene otani from our business team for that story and all the other headlines. >> members of opec the world's largest petroleum cartel have agreed to limit their daily output of oil. it's the first time since 2008 they've agreed to such a deal. demand for oil has been shrinking due to the global economic slowdown. that's been causing prices to fall and in turn dragging on the world economy.
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opec memembers got together in algeria. they decideded to limit output between 32.5 to 33 million barrels a daday. it is to bee decided in novovem at t the next forormal opec mee. recent efforts to reach an agreement have not been successful. officials from saudi arabia, russia, and or big oil producers met to discuss a possible freeze in production levels. but they went home without a deal. and in june saudi arabia and iran couldn't narrow their differences on a collective output quota. iran has been opposing a production cap. it's eager to boost output now that western powers have lifted economic sanctions. and for more on the opec deal, we have nagata in the studio. thanks for coming in today. >> thank you very much. >> this deal took a long time to
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mend. how did they come to an agreement this round? >> i think firstly saudi arabia definitely needed agreement this time. they had the proposal two days before and to get a consensus. so that -- and also the secondly, iran and arabia and nigeria was to increase the production level. and saudi arabia allowed them to produce more. >> okay. saudi arabia obviously one of the biggest oil producing countries took the lead on this. are they getting desperate? >> yeah. they have a huge budget bdefici in the country. and they cut the salaries of minister this month by 20%. so budget deficit -- >> amount of deficit. >> $98 billion. >> that's a huge sum. okay. all right. now, iran has been far long time
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the -- basically their embargo has been lifted from western countries. they want to produce more. how did the saudis come to agreement with iran? >> iran is currently producing 3.6 million barrels per day. and they wanant to go up to 4 million barrels a day. saudi arabia is -- they can afford to cut their production. so they allowed iran to increase more. this time the collection quota is very flexible so that iran can increase the production level. >> and saudis -- meanwhile, saudi arabia can meanwhile lower their production level. so they're balancing out the total production within the members. now, prices. where are they going to goo fro here? >> yeah.
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i think the effect will be short time. i think the market is too much production and supply more than demand. stock label is very high. so that it will push down the crude oil price. >> how is shale oil having an effect right now. >> shale oil producer are having difficulty increasing their production level. but in the united states has been gradually increasing. so if the price goes up, shale oil producers will produce more. that will effect the market. >> now, what's the level that shale oil producers -- a lot of them went out of business, by the way. that's the oil price level that the shale oils can stay in business?
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>> it depends on the shale oil producer. different by country. by company. but i believe that maybe $30 in the bottom and up to $60 the highest level. >> so they can stay in business at this time at the current levels. >> yeah. >> v very briefly, the future o opec, how much power is it going to have? >> yeah currently they have lost their power due to the shale oil producers. they have a huge capacity so it's difficult for them to regain their power. but this time it's a change that saudi arabia might come back as producer and they might cut their production level and they can adjust the market.
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>> the unexpected deal surprised global markets. marked wti crude oil futures gained 6% to reach the $47 level. that boosted the market's appetite causing a surge in tokyo shares. john ladue has details from the tokyo stock exchange. >> i investors were pleasantly surprised about that opec oil deal. the gains in crude futures boosted and the. weaker yen helped exporters. let's see how the levels turned out this september 29th. closing at 16,693 and the broader topix also rose 0.9%. and we saw more risk appetite in the currency market as well. the dollar sharply rose against the yen. as many investors sold safer assets like japan's currency. now, oil-related stocks surged. japan petroleum exploration gained 8.8%.
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inpex rose 5.7%. a major exporter also saw significant gains on the weaker yen. panasonic rose nearly 3%. but higher oil prices are not good news for everyone. shares of major airline companies took a hit as the rising cost of fuel is believed to be squeezing profits both japan airlines and ana holdings ended lowewer. including the consumer price index and industrial production data both for last month. john ladue reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. upward momentum spilled over across the asia pacific region. hong kong's hang seng index was up by 0.5%. singapore also up. in sydney advancing 1.09%. 5,471 at the closing.
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highest level in a month. the australian dollar also saw gains. moving onto china, the shanghai composite gained a fraction to end shy of the 3,000 mark. ahead of a week long holiday next week. it seems nearly every week scientists announce a new development in the quest to create fully humanoid robots. japanese university researchers are the latest to take a step towards that goal. they've built a robotic arm that can mimic the subtle movement of human hands. takahiro nozaki oversaw the effort. his team used precision technology to build ann arm tha can pick up a potato chip with three fingers without breaking it. in the past they needed to make precise movements. but all they hahave to do iss ge
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its new arm through a particular motion one time. the arm learns that movement and can then rerecreate it. the team says its innovation could be useful in a wide range of situations including assembly lines and elderly care. it wants to commercialize the technology next year. the world's biggest music subscription business has finally launched in japan. spotify becomes the latest onlinene service to enter. the swedish firm offers more e than 40 0 million titles for a fixed monthly fee of about $10. it also offers free streaming with ads. spotify launched in 2008 and had rapipid growth. u.s. firms applele musicic and amazon as well as japan's awa and line a already offer music streaming services in japan.
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japan's first domestically produced passenger plane in nearly half a century has finally made it to the u.s. for test flights. the trip was delayed by a month due to technical glitches. the mitsubishi regional jet landed in the state of washington after stopping to refuel in russia and alaska. fired water cannons and appla applauded as the crew made their way to the tarmac. engineers will carry out more than 2500 hours of tests which are required to obtain safety certificates. the firm aims to deliver the jets to airlines in 2018. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. japan is looking at easing regulations for tour guides to tackle a shortfall in qualified people. under the current system guides who want to charge foreigners for their services need to file
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a certificate. they want to allow people without the certificate to charge but only if there are no certified guides available. it would also look at training people who don't have the qualification. three major japanese firms are working on a deal that would merge their struggling nuclear fuel units. hitachi and toshiba are discussing a tieup with mitsubishi heavy industries. the firms hope to reach a basic agreement by the end of the year. the divisions have been struggling due to the effects of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. and 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.
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u.s. lawmakers are pushing through a bill to allow the families of 9/11 terror victims to sue saudi arabia. they voted overwhelmingly to override a veto from president barack obama. it's the firirst time members i the house and senate have overruled one of obama's decisions. he said the legislation could alienate u.s. allies and expose american companies and troops to lawsuits. most of the 9/11 plane hijackers were saudis. their government has denied any involvement. it opposes the bill and has threatened to sell off u.s.
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bonds worth $750 billion if it becomes law. 27 people are missing in eastern china after a powerful storm caused a massive landslide. typhoon megi hit fujian. there was torrential rain and powerful gusts. china's central television reports that a lanandslide in t eastern province of zhejiang engulfed over 27 homes. they are calling for residents to evacuate. 400 rescuers worked overnight amid fears of another mudslide. a collapse left one person dead. homes and roads were inundated in many parts of the province.
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tourists looking for pristine waters in japan often head south to the beach resorts of places like okinawa. but south isn't the only option. the northern island of hokkaido has a natural gem of its own. nhk world reports. >> reporter: lake shikosu is a lake formed by a volcano. the lake's greatest charm is its perfectly clear water. scientists have named this the highest quality water in japan for eight consecutive years. no feeds into the lake. which is why it contains so few impurities. it is spring water and water
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from melted snow. takafumi itaea runs a dive shop. he used to work in okinawa so he knows about crystal clear water. he says this lake is exceptional. >> translator: it's different from the ocean and it's deep blue. completetely blue. there's no other underwater scenery like it. >> reporter: summer is the best time to visit. the warmer months set the stage far stunning contrast in colors. aquatic plants appear just below the surface. their emerald green foliage sways gently in the blue water. >> translator: what's that? it's green. >> translator: this is so nice. >> reporter: the urge to slip below the waterline is hard to resist. especially for divers.
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but they don't have to go deep. more than ten varieties of water plants make their home in the shallows. these plants create habitats for other forms of life. some of them dart about in playful schools. others are more timid, like the tiny flower. this is an endangered species. it grows only in hokkaido and only in the summertime. >> translator: the plants are really beautiful. it feels like you're flying. >> translator: it was truly beautiful. there are no other words for it. >> reporter: above or below, no matter how you look at it, the underwater world of lake shikotsu is pure magic.
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nhk world, hokkaido. >> thanks for that report. somewhere to consider if you're planning to visit hokkaido. cloudy, partly fair is the forecast for us here in tokyo where the current temperature reading is 24 degrees celsius or 75 degrees fahrenheit. humid conditions prevail. sayaka mori from our weather desk joins us for this hour's world weather update starting with the stormy conditions in southern japan. >> yes, rough weather is continuing in western japan. last night a couple of possible tornadoes were reported in the fukuoka prefecture. structures were damaged and one person got severely injured. now, typically about 25 tornadoes occur a year in japan over land and september is the peak season because some tornadoes occur because of tropical cyclones or frontal systems. this time a frontal system caused severe weather in the north of the region. right now the front is located
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on the south of kyushu. so there's a possibility for tornadoes cece again. now, wet weather will likely contue i into frididay across t west. but for the rest of japan, it's going to be generally dry including tokyo. so we will see the sun coming up finally in tokyo. the high's going to be 26 degrees and humidity is not going to be too high. we can enjoy a beautiful day in tokyo finally. furtheher down to the south, the is a tropical storm which we have been monitoring. this system is now packing winds of 65 kilometers per hour. this system will likely intensify to a strong typhoon and affect the okinawa region by monday and hikely affect main islands of japapan into tuesday and possibly into wednesday. we'll keep you posted. very visual storm system a affecting parts of australia. yesterday a cold front moved through the south of australia.
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statewide power oututage occuru in south australia yesterday. the system is now effecting the southeast coast and there's a low pressure system over the similar area. so we have severe weather warnings widely posted from australia to tasmania and new south wales. gusts could be up to 140 kilometers per hour on thursday. waves up to 10 meters. coastatal flooding is highly likely and heavy rains expected. please w watch out for the seve weather. as we go into sunday and monday, anotother r strong system will likely move through the region. different story across california. weather has been very dry. the whole of california is under drought at this moment. and 20% of the state is under exceptional drought. because of thehe dry weather. some wildfires are occurring. i want to take you to santa clara to show you the situation on wednesday. wilefires that started monday in
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northern california continued to scorch vegetation. the lola fire has burned the mountains. the area has been dealing with drought for quite some time. the blaze has forced evacuations. only 10% is contained. now, weather was extremely hot over the past three days or so. for example, california especially los angeles, you had a high of 40 on monday. san francisco had a high of 34 degrees. that's over 10 degrees higher than normal. now, as we g go into thursday, temperaturesre g going to be cooling down but dry weather will likely continue. conditions will not improve any time soon. now, temperatures for the rest of the u.s. are as follows. 18 degrees in seattle. 22 degrees in okay city. quite wet weather can be found across the east. 19 degrees for the high in new york city. and thursday toronto will see a high of 17 with rainy weather. all right. here's your extended forecast.
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genie: the refugee emergency. here on france 24. this is france 24. i'm genie godula. these are the headlines. the u.s. congress overwhelmingly overrides the president's veto for the first time ever. the new love will allow victims of 9/11 to sue saudi arabia. india launches its first direct military response to an army base in blames on pakistan. live coverage in a minute. the body of former israeli president shimon
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