♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. we begin on the korean peninsula where there are conflicting explanations of last week's fatal shooting of a south korean fisheries official by troops from the north. a new report from south korea's coast guard says there's growing

evidence the man wanted to defect. officials say the man went missing from a patrol vessel in the yellow sea and could not have reached the spot where he was found unless he swam there. the findings are based on an analysis of the current at the time and the fact he wore a life jajacket.. the south korean report also says north korea knew the man's name, age and hometown as well as his desire to defect. pyongyang claims the man never disclosed his name and had tried to escape. south korea's coast guard and defense ministry have been investigating the shooting. the report's conclusions may also have been informed by north korea's military communication records. seoul is calling for a joint investigation to find out what really happened. japan's prime minister says he'll do whatever he can to bring back japanese nationals abducted by north korea decades

ago. suga yoshihide met with relatives of the abductees on tuesday for the first time since he took office. >> translator: i will personally lead efforts to bring back all ththe abductees as soon as s possssible. i won't miss any opportunities to achieve a breakthrough on this issue. >> suga told the families he's already asked for support from the leaders of the u.s., china and south korea. the japanese government says north korean agents abducted at least 17 japanese citizens in the 1970s and '80s, five were repatriated after a bilateral summit in 2002 but the rest are unaccounted for. one woman's father brought international attention to the issue leading the campaign to repatriot japanese abductees

before his death in june. >> translator: my husband did his best until his dying day, but he was unable to see our daughter again. now in heaven i believe he's still yearning for her return. >> the younger sisteter was abducted by nororth korea inn 1. he said he's followed japanan a north korea's negotiation for years but hasn't seen any tangibleprogress. >> translator: i told the prime minister that we don't want the government just to wait for north korea's momoves, but t te proposals and encourage action so we can see progress on this issue. >> other relatives also say t ty urged t the g government t to s the issue so they can reunite with their loved ones before it's too late.

fans across asia and around the world are mourning the death of actress takeuchi yuko. she e died by y apparent suiuic sundayay at the e age of 40. her dedeath which follows recen cases of japanese celebrities dying by suicide is opening up wider conversations in the country at a time of increased mental stress during the coronavirus pandemic. >> takeuchi yuko was a household name, rising to stardom in the 1999 nhk drama "asuka," and going on to play leading roles in movies and tv shows. her death has sent shock waves in the country intensifies because it comes after the recent apparent suicides of other japanese celebrities, inincluding 30-year-old actor, miura haruma. the reasons are unknown. the japanese government spokesperson voiced his concerns and urged people to seek help on monday. >> translator: celebrity suicides and their coverage by

the media can have an enormous impact. in some cases, they could cause or lead to other people ending their lives. >> according to oecd data, japan holds a record high suicide death rate among g7 countries. although the figure steadily fell over the last ten years, there were 246 more suicide cases in august 2020 compared to the same month last year. this company offers a telephone hotline to help with mental stress, commissioned by local governments and organizations. counselors say more people began seeking help after the coronavirus pandemic hit the country. >> translator: when we get a call from a person who wants to take their own life, we stay with them while anotother perso quickly contacts police or emergency staff. as a team, we do this simultaneously, otherwise it can be too late. >> fujikake adds that the coronavirus has caused many to

suffer financially and feel a sense of isolation, and the weight of those growing problems can lead to people feeling like there's no way out. 18% of the calls s safety net received in august were about suicide. fujikake says the celebrities' death can encourage desperate people to follow suit, but she says there is light at the end of the t tunnel. >> translator:r: people are strg enough to go through the toughest of times if someone is supporting them or if they have hope for the future. >> at a time of increasing isolation and anxiety due to the pandemic, safety net's members are hoping to break down barriers and create solidarity with those struggling.

the u.n. security council will hold an emergency session on tuesday to discuss armed clashes between armenia and as sur buy jan. their long simmering conflict has flared up again in recent days. a un spokesperson said secretary general antonio guterres called for an immediate cease fire. the two countries are at odds overer the nagornono-karabakrern in azerbaijan. the u.n. chief plans to speaeak with their l leaders. momore than 95 p people includi nearly a dozen civilians have died in the fighting. nagorno-karabakh is part of azerbaijan, but its population is mainly armenian. the foformer sovt republics have disputed it for more than n thr decades. the conflict has regional

implications. russia backs armenia, while mainly muslim azerbaijan receives support from turkey. the world health organization says tests that can diagnose covid-19 in minutes will soon be available to countries which are least able to afford them. the agency says it's distributing 120 million rapid tests across the globe. the w.h.o. director general announced the step on monday. >> this will enable expansion of testing in areas that don't have trained workers to carry out tests. >> u.s. and others developed speedier tests. costing up to $5.00 each, they're said to provide reliable results in 15 to 30 minutes. the tests will be delivered in over 130 countries in africa, south america and other places where weak testing systems have stoked the spread of infections.

rapid testing is also set to play a key role in the battle against the virus in the u.s. >> today i'm pleased to report to announce our plan to deliver rapid care tests in the coming weeks, very, very soon. >> the tests will go to places where the risk of infection is high including senior care homes. trump promised to get the kits into the hands of teachers so kids can head back to school and parntsds back to work. the announcement comes one day before trump faces off against democratic nominee joe biden in the first of three presidential debates. president trump has been forced on the defensive ahead of that big campaign event as his opponent takes advantage of reports that he paid only $750 in income tax in 2016 and 2017. trump vehemently denies that saying he actually paid

millions. "the new york times" also reported that trump paid no federal income taxes at all in ten of the 15 years before he became president, largely because he reported losing much more money than he made. trump tweeted that the fake news media is bringing up taxes and all sorts of other nonsense with illegally obtained information and only bad intent. he claims he paid many millions of dollars in taxes but was entitled, like everyryone else,o depreciation and tax credits. democratic joe biden is using the report to depict trump as above averagege americans. biden's campaign posted a video claiming that elementary school teachers and firefighters paid more income tax than trump did. trump's tax records could become one of the leading issues of the election. in 2016 trump's appeal to blue

collar workers was considered a factor behind his victory. nearly a decade after one of the world's worst nuclear disaster, the operator of the f fukushima daiichi plant has buililt an 11-m-meter high wall protect against a massive tsunami. it was recommended against a government panel looking into the potential of another earthquake and tsunami like the one that devastated the region in 2011. this concrete wall stretches 600 meters and stands between the sea and the number 1 to 4 reactors. further research from the government panel found a stronger earthquake could create waves even higher than this. so tepco also plans to build another seawall measuring 16 meters. the region is recovering from the 2016 quake and tsunami which

triggered a triple meltdown at the plant. the natural disaster left 18,000 people dead or missing. thousands more remain displaced. well, germany is kick starting its search for a safe place to dispose of highly radio active waste. the latest chapter in a saga that sparked decades of controversy. the government announced plans to phase out nuclear power after the fukushima disaster. the german organization in charge of waste management chose 90 potential sites for nuclear storage. it says geological data showed more than half the couountry wa suitablele. throrough that prorocess, the ay was able to ririke a notable site off the list. a small community that was chosen for waste disposal in the '70s and has been protesting ever since. officials say erosion in the ararea poses a safety ri.. >> translator: what we need is

scieientific standndards, not political, in order fofor local commununities to accept the sit selection. >> the waste agency will now begin the process of selecting a single site, taking into account both population density, and public opinion. a final decision is set for 2031. japan has become the world's first country to approve a newly developed cancer drug. it can be used for locally advanced or recurrent head and neck cancers that can't be completely removed through therapy. it's part off a new trereatment called p photo immunotherapy. it kills cancer cells when the patient's body is exposed to near infrared l laser light. japanese firm developed the

drug. the method was created after decades of research. he says he's overjoyed it's being given the green light. because the drug was approved quickly, its safety and effectiveness will continue to be assessed after entering the market. commercial space travel is set for another giant leap. nasa says the first operational flight of a spacex capsule will now launch on halloween. japanese astronaut and three othersrs from n nasa will be on board. they'll be flolown t to the internationanal space station f a six-montnth missssion. california-based spacex staged a successful piloted test flight of the crew dragon earlier this year. nasa is planning to commission the vessel to regularly shuttle astronauts to and from the iss. the project has become a symbol of the private sector's growing

role in the space industry. ♪ a tropical system is

churning over the water to the southeast of japan. our meteorologist sayaka mori joins us with the latest on the storm. >> severe tropical storm is still near japan. queue geeta means whale in japanese. the previous-named storm was dolphin. two ocean creatures in a row. that's really rare. kujira will pull away and not make any impact to the country. this is the third named storm of the see sochbltd usually two or three tropical systems make landfall in japan a year. weave had tleer rowland fall so far this year. that's the first time in 11 years. instead japan is looking at dry conditions. as we go into wednesday, we might see rain developing across western japan and we might see rain in tokyo for thursday. temperature in tokyo, 26 on wednesday, slightly warmer compared to tuesday. cooling down to the low 20s and

warming up to the higher 20s as we go into saturday. sunnyy weather s should r retur friday. the monsoon season has finally endeded across the northwestern areas of india. it was 11 days later than normal. the monsoon season will continue to retreat from the northwest to the southeast for the next couple months. we are still looking at the southwest monsoon showers across the south and eastern areas of india. we have alerts for rain posted as well. it looks like the heaviest rain will fall in the south of myanmar for the next 72 hours. it's been very dry a and hot. more wildfires ak k kurg across california. so far more than 8,100 wildfires in california and more wildfires could develop this week. take a look at there video from northern california. devastating fires have destroyed

homes, cars and vineyard in the popular napa sonoma wine region t. wine country inferno called the glass fire started on sunday. two other fires merged with it. authorities say the fires spread at a rate of one acre per five seconds. in fact, more wildfires could develop because temperatures will be very high and humidity level will be very low and winds are pretty strong across california. temperatures are going to be above normal. in fact, ten degrees above normal for the next three days or so. so stay on the alert for more dangerous conditions. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪

♪ >> that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline."

i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. do stay with us for more. this is "newsline" biz. i'm gene otani. japanese telecom giant has announced a takeover bid of about $40 billion to acquire a 100% stake i in its wireless subsidiary ntt docomo. it comes as the new prime

minister suga yoshihide says he wants to s see lower mobile pho rates in the country. >> translator: this takeover is to strengthen docomo's financial base. that will naturally enable us to cut prices. >> ntt management is aiming to streamline decision making to be able to adapt morore q quickly new technology and government pressure to cut fees. it plans to strengthen alliances with other group companies that offer corporate telecommunication services and operate international. ntt currently owns about 66% of the mobile phone carrier which is the most profitable part of the ntt group. docomo has the most subscribers in the country. the parent company has decided to takee full control of docomo by acquiring the roughly 34% of outstanding stock in the company. shares of ntt docomo surged by the daily limit of almost 16%

following reports of the expected takeover bid. meanwhile ntt fell 2.9%. ntt docomo will be delisted from the tokyo stock exchange once the offer is completed. the value of property slumped in japan. the land ministry says the coronavirus pushed down prices nationwide amid slowing economic activity and the absence of overseas tourists. a government survey shows that prices fell 0.6% overall as of july 1st compared to a year earlier. it was the first drop in three years. the cost of commercial land slipped .3%. the price of tourist destinations dropped, the capital used to be packed with foreign visitors. residential land values as a whole slid 0.7%. but the pandemic was also a factor behind higher prices in certain areas. the figure rose 1.4% in the 23 wards of tokyo.

demand for single family houses in those areas is rising as more people switch to working from home. prices of industrial land also increased .2% as the boom in online shopping drove up demand for logistics facilities. ministers from major economies have agreed to work toward establishing cleaner and sustainable energy systems. the group of 20 energy ministers have been spending two days in a video conference. they released a statement on tuesday endorsing the so-called circular carbon economy or cce. the approach involves collecting and reusing emitted carbon dioxide. the participants acknowledged that technological development will be important to push ahead with cce. the communique says they will also work toward promoting

transition to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. the global coronavirus pandemic has led to a sharp decline in energy demand and a plunge in prices. the statement has a reliable global market and stresses the importance of diversifying sources, suppliers and roots. the food service industry similar to many other businesses is looking for ways to cope with the covid-19 pandemic. cutting costs to limits may be essential, and chefs are finding they don't need to pay for a place they only use part of the day. >> the food is still sizzling when it makes its way from the kitchen to the customer. no time to waste. the restaurant is renting the

space by the hour. at 7:00 in the morning, an hour before opening, an employee sets out some decorations. then it's down to business from 8:00 to 4:00. the restaurant rents the space just for that period on weekdays. as a result, it only pays about one-third of what the conventional lease would be. use of the refrigerator and tableware is included. after closing time, the staff quickly cleans everything up. in the evening, another business comes in. oyamada kiyoto had been dreaming about opening his own restaurant for years. startup costs, though, were holding him back. renting by the hour allowed him to stop dreaming and start cooking. >> translator: i i didn't know could run a restaurant in this

way. discovering that was a turning point. >> reporter: with the rent so low, he's been able to keep his business going, even during the pandemic. >> translator: although i'm renting by the hour, i feel this is my establishment and my space. >> reporter: the arrangement came about because the landowner wasn't getting much benefit from the property as it was, so a kitchen was installed and the space was offered for lease on an hourly basis. >> translator: splitting the cost with others g gives renter the advantage of starting a bubusiness without having to pa very much. >> reporter: the leasing company is refurbishing another space with just a kitchen, no indoor seating. it expects the growth of takeout and delivery services, operating on even tighter budgets.

a father and son came to look it over. they plan to start a bento delivery service. keep the initial costs d down. they want to rent the facility just a few days a week. >> we didn't think moving forward with our idea was feasible until we learned about this hourly rental space. >> reporter: it's a model made to order for businesseses justs getting g started and those tryg to hang on. >> all right. let's have a look at the markets. ♪

a third of fighthting in sepaparatist region gerdau occcr about,t, pitting armenia and azererbaijan a against each othr once again -- the separatist region of nagorno-karabakh. donald trump and joe biden face-off in the first presidential debate of the campaign. america's growing coronavirus pandemic and trump's tax returns are set to take center stage. and in the netherlands, the coronavirus pandemic continues to grow. we will be talking to our cocorrespondeninin theagague in just a few