♪ ♪ welcome back to nhk "newsline." > people in southwestern japn are preparing for a powerful typhoon which may become one of the strongest storms to hit japan in decades. haishen may landfall at close to full strength on sunday and monday. weatherr officials are calallinn people to prepare with thehe utmost cautition. >> translator:r: we urgege peopn areas where e the typhoon isis approaching to b be on the hight

alert as it could bring record breaking heavyvy rain, high h w, high waves and storm sururges. plse take measasures early t to prprotect your lifife and the l of your loved ones. >> weather officials say they would issue their highest emergency warning telling people in affected areas to prepare for the possibility y of tremendous damage. local farmers in kumamoto are rushing to shield their crops.

>> translator: it's beyond imagining. i'm so w worried, i can't even eat. >> in the kyushu region, officials arare releasing water from nine dams as they prepare for what couldld be an onslaugh of rain. the typhoon is first expected in okinawa. residents there are busy protecting their homes. and to find out more on where the storm is heading let's bring in our meteorologist sayaka mori. >> haishen could be a historic storm for japan because it will dramatically develop and approach japan. this is now categorized as a very strong typhoon, which is the second highest on the japan typhoon scale. it could hit the violent status, which is highest on the scale and drift over the amami region with intensity. as a slighter weaker storm it will head toward the north, toward the kyushu region sunday night into monday morning, and then it may make landfall in the korean peninsula as a very strong typhoon as we go o into monday afternoon. very fierce winds plus heavy

rainfall are expected for many areas. the okinawa region will start to see very heavy rainfall starting on your saturday, the amami will experience very strong gusts too. gusts could be as high as 306 kilometers per hour. the national record for the highest winds are 307 kilometers per hour, so it could surpass the current record. waves are going to be gigantic, too, and in fact one meter of rain is possible in the southwestern islands of japan. after that, it's going to approach kyushu with the pressure of nearly 930 hectopascals. if it makes landfall, it could be one of the strongest typhoons

that hit japan in the past. this is a list of the strongest typhoons ever to hit the country. actually, since 1951. the strongest is nancy in 1961. this one killed at least 200 people, and vera killed thousands of people because of storm surges and yancy 930 hectopascals. if haishen makes landfall in kyushu, it could be added to this list. stay safe. the weather is threatening to cut short the search for more than 40 crew members of a cargo ship that went missing off an island in southwestern japan.

on friday, japan coast guard patrollers recovered a second man drifting in waters 120 kilometers after amami, he had a life vest strapped to his body. the cargo ship was transported 600 head of cattle from new zealand to china when it sent out a distress signal on wednesday. the previously rescued crew member said the ship capsized after being hit by waves. the coast guard says it may have to call off the search due to the approach of typhoon haishen. now to china where authorities are showcasing how the city where the coronavirus pandemic first started has been recovering. they led foreign journalists on a tour of wuhan on thursday. the event included a stop at a hospital that was on the front lines of the battle to contain the outbreak there. officials recounted how they dealt with an influx of coronavirus patients starting in january. the tour also stopped at the yellow crane tower, a popular

tourist site. it reopened back in april after a 2 1/2 month lock down on the city was lifted. >> translator: when the infection situation was serious, residents worried about people around them being infected but i'm happy that everyone is healthy now. >> however, relatives of the nearly 3,900 people who died in the city maintain that local authorities helped spread infections by covering up the virus early on.

they continue to calall on authoritieies to take respsponsibility and say they wt the truth to come out. china has also been criticized by the united states and other countries for failing to deal with the virus quickly enough, allowing it to spread around the world. a czech delegation involving the country'y's second highest ranking g official visited taiw. the move triggggered china to threaten retaliation and potentially deepen the divisions betwn europe and beijing.

nhk world's has s more on the background of the controversial visit. >> reporter: we will never yield to pressure, we will continue to speak out bravely. we will engage with and contribute to the international community more actively. >> translator: thank you for the hospitality and for taiwan's friendship. this visit will be a precedent for other countries. >> reporter: just exactly what chchina doesn't want to happen.. beijing's constant high ranking trips to taiwan could become unknown. czech republic, the visit runs counter to the one china

principle which states taiwan is part of china. so why did the czech president decide to visit taiwan anyway knowing it would provoke beijing? one possible motivation comes down to history. during the cold war, the communist party wrote about what was then czechoslovakia. in 1 1968, the mass protest movement began, only to be brutally suppressed by the soviet union with tanks and d troops. many civilians w were killed. the e current czech leaders of e generation for democracy, a generation b between the former soviet union and modern day china. >> translator: i hope to express support for taiwan and its value of freedom. >> reporter: it is also part of the delegation to taiwan and hasn't held back from expressing his views. >> we really cannot remain silent about the human rights problems in china. >> reporter: another possible

reason for risking displeasure, confidence in economic ties with china. he became the first chinese president to make an official visit to the czech republic. he puts huge investments as part of the initiative, but most of them have not been realized. >> it's quite visible now that the chinese promises were not fulfilled, and that china is not reliable business partner. >> repororter: tensions between beijing have been building in recent years. in 2016, the two cities became friendship cities but when prague's mayor called for removing the one china principle in the agreement, the relationship was severed. >> china always imposes pressure. it has the power to impose pressure, and when the partners of china step pack to obey to the pressure, then the pressure goes further and further. so i very much hope that this visit of senator, which it would make other european politicians rethink whether the obedience to chinese demands is always to the advantage of europe. >> reporter: indeed, other european countries including france, germany, and slovakia have voiced opposition to china's reaction, proving there is no such thing as a simpmple visit. nhk world. now to simmering tensions between washington and teheran. the united states is imposing sanctions against 11 entities based in iran, china and the united arab emirates. the news comes after six of the seven countries that signed the 2015 nuclear deal rejected the trump administration's bid to reimpose u.n. sanctions on iran. the u.s. treasury and state department accuse the targeted entities of violating a u.s. ban on the export of oil and related products. the eleven entities will have their assets frozen and are banned from transactions with u.s. financial institutions.

in a statement secretary of state mike pompeo said the petroleum industry serves to fund what he calls iran's maligned activities throughout the middle east. pompeo suggested an expansion of entities, that entities will remain in place until iran changes its behavior. the trump administration withdrew from the iran nuclear deal in 2018. it said last month it was starting a process to restore u.s. sanctions against iran. a majority of u.n. security members are opposed to washington's move. france and the european union are decrying a u.s. decision to punish officials at the international criminal court for investigating the actions of u.s. forces in afghanistan. they are demanding the sanctions being withdrawn. french foreign minister said in

a statement on thursday ththat e u.s. measures are a seserious attack against the court and member countries. he said france supports the icc and its staff as well as the independence of the judiciary. the eu's foreieign policy chief called on the u.s. to reconsider its decision. he says the sanctions are unacceptable and unprecedented measures that attempt to extract the court's investigations and judicial proceedings. the trump administration has imposed sanctions on the chief prosecutor and a senior r officl of the icc over r its investigation into alleged war crimes by u.s. forces in afghanistan. the sanctions include a freeze on assets held in the u.s. >> we take the next step because

the icc continues to target americans sadly. >> the icc's assembly of state parties will meet shortly to discuss the actions taken by the united states. there was a space tlunch mars. nasa's mission was helped along by a japanese engineer. nhk world has more. >> reporteter: a rover has been developed by nasa scientists. it measures to find signs of life by studying what once held

rivers and lakes. the rover would hope to bring them back to earth by 2031. if the mission succeeds, it will be the first time soil has been brought back to earth. this scientist is working hard try to reach that goal. he's developing a system for nasa. his goal is to operate it on t e harsh envnvironment of mars. >> transnstor: the t temperatur falls to m minus 110 degrees celsius, whihich i it m makes i difficult t to operate the roboc arm. even if we send the same signal, the fingers may move differently in different temperatures. we work together as a team to solve the problem to finally achieve our goal! >> reporter: he majored in aero

space engineering at university. he decided on his career path in 2012 when he was watched nasa's rover land on mars. >> translator: i was amazed. i couldn't believe how cool "curiosity" was. after that, i was determined to work at nasa. >> reporter: he committed to achieving hisis dream by acquirg highly specialized knowledge. the rover has been on the way to mars. -- in february of next year. >> translatotor: i t thinkee finanally reacheded the manyy o

milestones as the rover explores the planet, we'll probably discover many things we've n ner seen before. i hope the news about our mission will lift the spirits of people around the world. >> they said the rover's name is "spirit" is a perfect description of what it takes to bring a mission like this to success. nhk world.

our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us with more. >> so haishen could become a historic storm for western japan as we go into sunday and into monday. we're already looking at severe weather across northern japan. in fact, we've got about 100 millimeters of rain in parts of akita and other parts of tohoku had record rainfall. . conditions are very unstable. that's why we're seeing spotty, heavy showers across many places of the main islands and in fact, conditions will stay the same into saturday, so watch out for thunderstorms and drenching rainfall. temperatures are going to be on

the high side in many placeses too. meanwhile, we have maysak over northeastern china. this made landfall in south korea on thursday, and we have haishen to the south. haishen could make landfall in south korea once again on monday. it could be stronger than maysak. stay safe. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thank you for watching and stay with us for more.

xxxxx ♪ this is "newsline" biz, i'm gene otani. tokyo's benchmark stock fell on friday following a plunge overnight on wall street. many investors took profits from recent gains. the nikkei average finished the day at 23,205 down 1.1%. investors sold shares after the dow saw its biggest one day decline since early june. tech shares were the biggest

losers with apple tumbling by 8%. the slump came just a day after the nikkei average fully recovered from its deep losses trigger in february and march triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. other markets are in the negative. the key index in sydney finishes down 3.1%. stocks in hong kong and seoul dropped, tech shares leading the loss. boiled eggs will last for 15

days. kewpie is well known for thehe seasoning products and mayonnaise. company officials said they're expanding their packaged food business. the new products are already on the shelves of some stores ahead of a full scare market launch honda motor and general motors have made plans to work closely together on developing and manufacturing vehicles. they have signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim of building a strategic alliance in north america. the japapanese andnd u.s. auto makers are planning to cooperate in research and development, parts procurement, internet connected services and purchasing. that includes sharing vehicle platforms involving combustion enginenes and electric motorors. engineering workrk is planned geget underway from early y nex year. the two car makers have teamed up in the development of electric vehicles. officials s at honda s say theye no plans of forming a capital alliance with gm.

u.s. pharmaceutical giant pfizer says it plans to seek approval for a vaccine for covid-19 as soon as next month. that would only be after the firm concludud it is effffectiv. pfizer has been developing the vaccine with a german partner. late stage t trials are now w underway in the u.s., brazil and elsewhere. pfizer ceo albert bourla sayaysf the reresults are posisitive, i will immediately seek approval from the u.s. food and drug administration as well as other regulators around the globe. he rejected any suggestion that the company is under political pressure to rush out a vaccine ahead d of the u.s.s. president election.

>> i understand why they are skeptical, and i want to assure everyone, but first of all, any political pressure is irrelevant. we will never ourselves submit for authorization or approval for a a vaccine e before we fee is safe and effective. >> dr. anthony fauci of the nationonal institute of health told the u.s. media it's hard to imagine a supply of vaccines being available next month but it's not out of the question. facebook says it will block political ads before the u.s. presidential election. the move is to lessen the amount of misinformation and interference that users of the social network will be exposed to. ceo mark zuckerberg says in a statement the election is not going to be business as s usual. he added that facebook will take steps to rededuce the chances o violence and unrest. the social media giant has allowed political advertising despite criticism it fans hostility among candidates.

the latest announcement indicates modification to this policy. facebook says it is also creating a label for posts from candidates and campaigns that try to claim victory before the election results are official. a formal announcement could be delayed this year. many voters are expected to mail in their ballots to avoid contracting the coronavirus. france has announced a plan to spend 100 billion euros. the plan unveiled is called france reboot. the country's largest stimulus is more than four times of the one introduced after the global financial crisis of 2008. it's meant to rebuild the

economy by 2022. france's ecoconomy shrank nearl 14% in the april to june quarter from the previous three months. nearly a third of the stimulus money will be spent on developing clean energy sources like hydrogen as well as on improving railways. the package also includes measures to create jobs for young people and tax cuts for businesses. european commission officials say the pandemic has exposed weaknesses in supply chains for raw materials. they've drawn up a plan to reduduce the eu's reliance on other reregions for rare metals earths, and other resources. >> we need to ensure a secure and sustainable supply to meet the needs of clean and digital technologies including in the health sector and space and defense industries. >> the commission says one material in particular that will see a surge in demand is lithium, which is a key element

in ev batteries. it wants to drasticacally reduc the dependence on countries such as china which supplies 98% of the rare earth elements. the plan includes a special alliance between companies. railways company is planning to use bullet trains to carry cargo in addition to passengers. this comes as the coronavirus pandemic has slowed demand for rail travel. bullet trains will transport products in spaces normally used for on board catering supplies. east japan railway has already tested this ouout. company president says the railway operator is looking to diversify revenue sources. >> translator: we don't expect passenger numbers to return to pre-pandemic levels, even if the virus is brought under control, so we're planning to use shinkansen to expand distribution services. >> in one example, the firm plans to carry grapes to tokyo from the central prefecturure o nagano. the company says it may use bullet trains to transport electronic parts. it's also eyeing partnerships with career r companies to delir goods. all right. let's have a look at the markets. ♪

from the "newsline" biz team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks very much for joining us.

>> hoping for a miracle in beirut. one month after catastrophic explosion killed nearly 200 people, rescue teams are digging through a collapsed building after detecting signs of life. coronavirus cases continue to rise in france. 7,000 new infections were reported thursday. the number of people being taken to hospital is also on rise. atley 12 schools have been closed because of the pandemic. and day three of a closely watched terror trial here in paris. 14 people are accused of aiding and abetting the jihadist government behind the attack on