♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. we begin here in japan where the new president of the main ruling liberal democratic party is getting the chance to assert his power. susuga yoshihide has filled key posts with veteran lawmamakers from the five ldp factions that backed his campaign. suga retained party heavyweight nikai toshihiro in the key ldp post of the secretary-general. veteran politician moriyama hiroroshi stays as diet affairs

committee chairpersoson. these influential figures were suga's most powerful supporters in the leadership campaign. suga also appointed former communication minister sato tsutomu as general council chairperson, the top role of the party's highest decision making body. former educacation minister shimomura hakabun remains in the party management as policy research council chairperson. and yamaguchi i taimei is named election strategy committee chairperson. suga is almost certain to succeed abe shinzo as prime minister f following a ve e in e diet on wedndnesday. if so, his cabinet would also be announced later that day. governments around the world will be watching how suga handles foreign policy. an expert in the united states expects the new prime minister to be a thoughtful leader with strong diplomatic skills.

michael green was a senior official on asian affairs under u.s. president george w. bush. he's met s suga several times. >> he's really studied and learned who can get the job done among the bureaucrats. so i think that under a suga government, the best and brightest officials are going go be given big responsibilities. they can start to wowork with their cocounterparts in washingn or in seoul or in beijing to make progress on hard d issues. >> green told nhk that south korea will be a big challenge for japan's new government. >> the next prime minister is going to be expected by the internationanal community, noto just the united states, but other friends like australia, europe, expected to try with korea one more time. >> green also talked about security between japan and its biggest ally, the u.s.

>> a very large majority of americans, intellectuals and public, a very large majority saying, if japan is attacked, we should fight to defend japan. so it would be stupid to try to change direction from what prime minister abe did. >> green said suga will need to adjust his approach depending on the outcome of the upcoming u.s. election. he warned suga may need to be ready to handle trump's difficult personality. a new japanese party comprising the two biggest opposition forcess officially tuesday. he vowed to do everything he can to khali the new government. the e constitutional democratic party held its meeting in tokyo. edano says thehe publilic has g up hope on the ldp.

>> traranslator: japanese polols has been negligent in terms of meeting and listening to the public. more people are losing interest. the opposition hasn't been able to show voters a clear alternative. >> the party will have 150 seats in the diet compared to the ldp's more than 390. edano urged his lawmakers to put up a goodd fight in the legislature espspecially withh biggest issueues facing japan right now. >> translator: suga's new administration launches tomorrow. let us start to fully debate measures on the pandemic and its economic impact as well as natural disasters such as more frequent flooding. >> the party'y's members also proved theheir platform which calls for freedom, diversity and an inclusive society. a former nissan motor executive has pleaded not guilty

to a charge of underreporting the income of ousted chairman and international fugitive carlos ghosn. this is the first hearing to be held in japan on the case, which has garnered worldwide attention. greg kelly attended the opening hearing of his trial at tokyo district court on tuesday. he is accused of understating ghosn's compensation by about $86 million in the carmaker's securities r reports f for eigh yearars through fiscal 2017. kelly said he denies the charges brought by prosecutors. he called ghosn an outstanding manager who was committed to protecting nissan's independence. kelly said when ghosn sought his advice about compensation, he consulted in-house lawyers and shared the legal parameters with the former chairman. meanwhile, nissan motor, which is also a defendant in the triaial, hasas accepted the cha of violating the financial instruments and exchange act.

attention is focused on what the trial may reveal about ghosn himself, who jumped bail in japan in late december and fled to lebanon, where he remains. doctors across the u.s. are still losing hundreds of people to coronavirus every day. that adds to the pressure on researchers racing to develop a vaccine. some people fear the science is being compromised. nhk world's catherine kobayashi explains. >> reporter: people across the globe have joined in an exercise conducted in the shadows. they've rolled up their sleeves to do something mosost shy away from as volunteers in vaccine trials. >> there's so many other stressors going on in this world right now that i wanted to use this opportunity to do something to helpp others. >> reporter: researchers in the

united kingdom halteted their experiments last week after a participant had a sererious reaction. theyey did not release any details. drug companies seldom do during trials to protect any competitive advantage. the trump administration has committed billions of dollars to research and to buying the vaccines when they become available. the president has hinted onone could arririve aheadad of the presidential election in november. >> and we're developing a vaccine in record time. it will be ready before the end of the year and maybe much sooner than that. >> reporter: many voters fear political pressure will corrupt the science. a poll by an american non-profit organization suggests 62% worry regulators could approve a vaccine befefore it's safe. pharmaceutical leaders issued a joint statement p pledging to adhere to high scientific and

ethical standards regarding the conduct of clinical trials. >> we would all be looking for good news, a and t the sooner t better, but, again, weave to remember that clinical trials take time. >> reporteter: public health experts say in the middle of a pandemic, americans are entitled to know more about the trials. in the words of one expert, trust is in short supply. catherine kobayashi, nhk world, new york. the head of an organization that helps immunize people in developing nations says potential covid-19 vaccines are being produced while still undergoing trials. the unusual move is to get one rolled out as quickly as possible. gavi ceo dr. seth berkley spoke to n nhk on monday. >> i it takes often, you know, seven to ten yeaears, sometimes even longer toto make a vaccine.

in this case, we're trying to accelerate it down to 18 months. >> gavi has invested in nine vaccines. in june, it launched a financing initiative together with the world health organization to ensure sufficient amounts, and also access for developing countries. as of monday, 177 countries and regions including japan are takiking part. berkley also warned of the potential for safety issues. he said serious side effects could undermine public confidence in all vaccines. here in japan, the city of kyoto has decided to double the number of staff at its public health centers by the end of this month to boost its capacity to deal with coronavirus infections. kyoto mayor kadokawa daisaku handed letters of appointment to the new workers in a ceremony on tuesday. the city plans to bring forward hiring plans and have staffing agencies send more nurses to

work in public health roles. local public health centers across japan have been increasingly overwhelmed as they struggle to cope with the coronavirus including handling calls from people with symptoms. >> translalator: i want to gete the field as soon as possible and learn on the job. hopefully as a public health workrker, i can help people gai proper knowledge of the coronavirus and take preventive measures. >> across japan, more than 77,000 cases have been reported. over 1,400 people have dieied. japanese tennis star osaka naomi is celebrating her third grand slam title after winning the u.s. open over the weekend. the 22-year-old's victory made

international headlines. her strong play is giving her a platform to make a difference off the court. >> reporter: it's been a hectic few weeks for osaka, but the young phenom is no stranger to highgh-stakes situations. on sataturday, it culminateded an emotional c celebration at center court. >> i feel likeke the finals was more mentally totoh, n notore so physical but i thinknk mentallye were both just really nervous and trying to t t through the match. >> repororter: adding to the ststress was the p pressure she on herself to put the black lives matter movement front and center. before each match, she entered the stadium wearing a face mask bearing the names of a black victim who died as a result of alleged racial or police violence. in the final, she honored tamir ricece, a 12-year-old who was fatally shot by police in 2014.

>> i think it t gave me a lot o motivationon, and i also tnk that, for me, sisince tennis is watched around the world, it was very important to, you know, hopefully share this story. so i felt slight pressure just because i wanted to do well, and of course i wanted to win, but at the same time, i felt like, you know what, no matter what,ti did something that i believed in. so, yeah, definitely, i was going into the u.sopenen with that goal. so it felt really amazing to win the tournament. >> reporter: osaka gained international fame after winning her first u.s. open in 2018. at just 20 years old, she was known for being shy and soft-spoken. but in the wake of the black lives matter movement, osaka has found her voice. and last month, she pulled out of a tournament to protest a black man being shot and paralyzed by police.

she said there was more important matters than tennis, emphasizing that before she's an athlete, she's a black woman. her boycott was part of a broader movement with players from across the sports spectrum refusing to play, and instead using their fame to shine a spotlight on racial injustice. >> i t think the most t difficu part is to s see, like, people still don't care. > reporter:r: and on sunday, teteams across the national football league used the season opener to show solidarity with the black lives matter movement. for osaka, saturday was more than just a victory. it was an opportunity to share the stories of black victims of violence who can no longer speak for themselves. >> i i mean, i feel like somethg changed in the sense that everyone's askining me about it so i feel lilike all the

interviewsws are asking me abou it, and that means that there's curiosity out in the world. honestly, i would just want them to think. >> reporter: the international tennis hall of fame announced osaka has met all the requirements to be inducted, but at 22, her career is just beginning. she's shown she wants to be known as more than just an athlete. north korean media say the country's leader made another visit to an area damaged by heavy rain and typhoons. observers say the repeated efforts may be an effort by kung to reassure the public. he traveled to a trof vince south of pyongyang. he inspected newly built homes and thanked military personnel for helping in reconstruction efforts. torrential rain and typhoons have lashed north korea in the

last few weeks. the extent of the damage is unknown. earlier this month kim reportedly sent an open letter to all party members in pyongyang. it instructed 12,000 of them to go to typhoon-stricken areas for reconstruction work. a new tropical depression has formed near the philippines. it could intensify and head toward the indochina peninsula. our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us now with the forecast. sayaka. >> a tropical depression has formed near the philippines, and this one will likely intensify to a tropical storm within the next 24 hours. right now we're seeing scattered heavy rainfall across the philippines. by the way, the japan meteorological agency has started to release a five-day forecast for tropical depressions. this is the first depression since the system was installed. this is now a tropical depression but likely will intensify to a named storm

within the next 24 hours. as a tropical storm, it could make landfall in vietnam as we go into friday. while weakening, it's going to head towards thailand into the weekend. heavy rain is expected along the west coast of the philippines due to the counterclock wise circulation. let's go to the north. we have a seasonal frontal system over central china and areas south of japan. scattered heavy rainfall over the southwestern islands of japan. western japan will likely see heavy rainfall in places on wednesday. we have another disturbance in easte northeastern china, heading towards the east and the attached cold front will shift over the korean peninsula. north korea and south korea could see severe thunderstorms on wednesday. temperatures are going to be 25 in seoul. there's a chance for thunderstorms on wednesday. it's going to be sunny in beijing and rainy weather in

hong kong, manila a as well as bangkok on your wednesday. let's go to europe. unusually high temperatures have beenen battering portitions of europe. that includes paris. we saw thehe high reaching 33.4 degrees on monday making it one of the warmest september days in recorded history. it was even warmer in the south of france i want to show some video coming out of the uk as well as france. the temperatures climbed up once again on monday as highs moved past their normal levels. in the united kingdom people flocked to the beaches to cool off or catch sun. in london, the merkley reached 28 degrees celsius monday. across the channel in paris, highs moved into the 30s, some ten degrees warmer than average. weather will remain very hot as we go into tuesday in paris, but starting wednesday, things are cooling down. 30 for the high in paris on wednesday, even cooling down to the 20s as we go into thursday. that's it for me. stay safe.

♪

>> that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching and do stay with us for more.

♪ this is "newsline" biz, i'm gene otani. people in china are spending again. officials say retail sales grew in august, the first increase this year. it may be a sign the chinese economy is pulling out of its coronavirus-related slump. the national bureau of statistics says retail sales grew 0.5% in august from the same time last year. auto sales accounted for part of the increase. the government has been

subsidizing the purchase of vehicles. some sec torsion are still struggling. the restaurant i industry saw a year-on-year drop of 7%. yet industrial production was up by 5.6% from a year earlier as demand for smart phones and automobiles increased. the spokesperson for the statistics bureau says the economy i is recoveringng, but benefits aren't being felt across the board. >> translator: some sectors o o companies are still facing difficult times because there's so much instability and uncertainty outside china. >> china's economy is recovering earlier than other coronavirus-hit nations, but it's still far off its pre virus performs. united airlines says it's closing a base for flight attendndants i in japan as b bu struggles due to the coronavirus pandemic. hundreds of jobs could be lost. a union representing united's

flight attendants said the company exexplained the base at narita airport near tokyo will close at thendnd of e momont 0 cabin tendantselonging to the base could be laiofoff. the union a askinthe e aiine to transfer themlslsewhe andnd save jobs. united told k k the ndemic h det an unpcedentedlow to rlines fcing theompany t make tou decisio to surve. the derationf aviati workers unions in japan says more foreign airlines are looking at cutting workers at their bases in the country. the operator of tokyo disneyland and disney seas says it's slashing winter bonuses by 70%, and it may ask some staff to take severance pay. the cuts will affect around 4,000 employees. oriental land has taken a big

hit t from thehe coronavirus papandic. it c closed its resorts from t end of february until july and is now running at half capacity. the company has cancelled its popular parades and says they won't resume for several months at least. the dancers wiwille e offered alalternative jobs in the rkrk sevevence pay. the e firm reported d a loss o 24.8 billion yen or about $234 million for the three months through june. the asia development bank says countries in the region will experience their first contraction in nearly six decades this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. a survey by the adb predicts these economies will contract by about 0.7%.

developed countries such as japan and australia are excluded in the outlook. the contraction could be the first since 1961 when growth was down 8%. the outlook contrasts with a 5.1% expansion lasast year. india's economy is expected to shrink 9% as the coronavirus infection continues to spread. southeast asia is forecast to fall 3.8% largely due to a battered tourism industry. but china is expected to buck the trend. the country should expand 1.8% this year as economic activities get back on track.k. the adb is expecting strong growth for the region next year. the rate is forecast at 6.8%, although the bank warns that a prolonged pandemic remains the biggest downside risk. the u.s. is committing over $150 million to five countries in southeast asia's mekong region to help rebuild their economies. tie land and vietnam are among

the recipients. the u.s. state department made the announcement on monday. it comes after the firstst ministerial level meeting of the recently formed mekong-u.s. partnership. the conference was held online on friday. the funds will go toward helping the countries recover r from economicic downturn cacaused by pandemic. they will also support other projects such as the construction of power grids. secretary of state mike pompeo said the u.s. relationship with these countries is integral to america's indo-pacific strategy. it's also seen as a way to counter china's involvement in the region. beijing has made major infrastructure investments and it says mekong countries will get priority with any coronavirus vaccines developed in china. leaders of the european union and china agreed to accelerarate talksks on a bit lateteral investment accccord, attemat

differenences remain o over the openneness of the chinese marke. china's state-run xinhua news agency quoted president ping as saying the chinese market is already open to eu companies and he says both sides should pursue openness and cooperation. european commission president ursula later said that a lot still remains to be done. >> we e expect the market acces barriers in china will be removed especially f for future and emerging digital technologies. they are the core of our economies, its carmelo anthony communications, computer sectors. we see our investors face too many barriers in these key sectors. >> the video conference also covered political issues. the eu's side reiterated strong concern over china's national security law for hong kong. xi reportedly brushed off the

comments saying beijing doesn't tolerate any country meddling in its internal affairs. the eu urged china to refrain from unilateral actions in the south china sea, respect international law and avoidid escalations of tension. let's have a look at the markets. ♪

>> from the "newsline" biz team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thank you very much for joining us. anchor: hello and welcome to

live from paris. . am annette young delegations to assign a show latater today at the e we house. palestinians are holding a day of protest in the west bank and gaza. we will be crossing to our jerusalem correspondent. also donald trump didismisses concerns over climate change on a visit to calififornia blaming the crisis on poor forest management. in return, j joe b