♪ hello and welcome to nhk "newsline."" i'm yoshi ogasawara. we begin in japan, where typhoon season is in full force. as people in the country take precautions against future storms, they're marking one year since one of the deadliest typhoons to hit japan made land fall. typhoon hagibus triggered mudslides and left over 100

people dead. a service was held in kna prefecture to remember those killed and the missing. this man lost his mother. >> translator: it was very difficult, day after day the past year, feelingng powerlessnesess, a w with a s s of despair because i couldn't save my family. >> typhoon hagibus released record rainfall on eastern and northeastern regions of japan. government officials say 300 riversov overflowed. landslides were reported in over 900 locations. damaged roads, buildings, and other structures is estimated at $17 billioion, makaking it one japan's most devastating disasters in modern times. at least 113 people died, two othersrs remain missining. more than 9,400 people in 11

prefectures are now living in pre-fabricated units, rental apartments, and other temporary housing. work is still under way in some ariireas to repair damaged strictures. the typhoon is are prompts residents to disaster-proof their home. there is a 47-floor tower outside tokyo. >> reporter: living high above the streets of kawasaki, this man could only watch the waters rise from below. >> translator: the typhoon was really strong, and it looked like there was a river in front of the shopping mall. >> reporter: his 12-floor apartment may have been safe, but the real trouble was in the basement. the rainwater far exceeded the

limits of the storage tank, submerging the building's electrical system underwater. the building went dark for a week, causing massive problems, especially for those living in the upper floors like hondaira. >> translator: if you can't use an elevator, you become a solitary island on land. >> reporter: compounding the problem was a nearby evacuation shelter, leaving residents no choice but to remain in place. >> translator: high-rise apartment buildings are usually made of concrete and are typically safe. we want residents to stay there so that we can prioritize people in areas where there is greater risk. >> reporter: to make that possible, the building owner has implemented new measures, including installing a shutter valve to protect key systems from flood damage. they're also working with

residents and local officials to create a more comprehensive emergency plan. >> translator: by continuing discussions, we expect to have a better disaster response moving forw ard. >> reporter: hondaira and his neighbors have been fortunate so far this year, and they hope the hard lessons of the past will be enough to keep them safe moving forward. our next story is from osaka. residents in the economic hub are getting a second chance to decide whether to reorganize the city into a structure similar to tokyo's. the so-called osaka metropolis plan was proposed by the biggest regional party. >> translator: let's create an osaka that will be recognized by the world as a major city on par with tokyo.

>> opposing the plan are local members of the liberal democratic party, as well as the japanese communist party. >> translator: it could lower the quality of services. the answer is clear, we should vote no. >> the campaign kicked off mondnday. the referendum asks citizens whether the city should abolish its current administrative structure and replace it with four special wards. supporters say the arrangement would eliminate duplicated work between osaka city and osaka prefecture. the current city structure would disappear, w with some of its major functions consolidadad and transfererred to the prefecture. voters rejected a similar referendum in 2015 by a narrow margin. voting takes place november 1st with 2.2 million eligible voters. the result will be legally binding, regardless of voter

turnout. if a majority supports the plan, it would take effect in 2025. canada is once again looking for international support in its efforts to free two of its citizens from chinese detention. the canadians have been held since 2018, later charged with spying. canadian prime minister justin trudeau spoke with donald trump about the case sunday, thanking the u.s. president for supporting a push for their immediate release. it comes after news emerged that former diplomat kovrig and businessman spspavor have been granted a consular visit. they were detained after canada arrested the chief financial officer for chinese tech giant huawei. the u.s. government issued the

warrant for meng wanzhou's arrest on fraud charges. her extradition is still before the courts. kovrig's wife gave a statement to a canadian broadcaster after the weekend's virtual visit. his first outside access in ten months. she says kovrig was at ststonis to learn details of the coronavirus pandemic and heartened by efforts to secure his freedom. and now to an update on the u.s. president's health. trump says is he immune to the coronavirus, but experts are questioning that claim. >> looks like i'm immune for a long time, maybe a lifetime, i don't know. yoeb real -- nobody really knows, but i'm immune. but the president is in very good shape. >> trump made the statement on a fox news program less than a week after he was released from hospital. he claims he has recovered from the virus and cannot be

reinfected. but health authorities have not ruled out the possibility that people can catch the virus more than once. experts are questioning the basis of trump's claim. trump also tweeted on n sunday that he e had received a total d complete sign-off from white house doctors. he also wrote, i can't get it and can't give it. that prompted twitter to place a warning on the tweet so that it would not be automatically displayed. the company says the message violates rules against the dissemination of misinformation about the coronavirus. the trump campaign is also facing criticism from the country's leading infectious disease expert. anthony fauci says comments he made months ago were taken out of context in the new election adad. the 30-seconond sp hitit t airwaves osasaturd. it stresses e e administraon's efforts to fighthehe panmic.c. >> psident trump tackleded the virus head-on, as leader

should. >> i can i imagi that anody y could be doi mo. >> u.s. media repts the edid remarks came from a inrview heid in mah. in rponse, fci relead a stement sang he waactually praising federal public health officials, not trump. he added that he has never publicly endorsed any political candidate in his decades' long career. ♪ now to the latest in a scandal involving a casino development project proposed by the japanese government. the tokyo court has f found two former advisers o of an online gambling company guilty of bribing a lawmaker. the tokyo district court

sentence sentenced masahiko to two years in prison and nakazato to two years and months. the judge said the men paid a lower house member over $70,000 when they held advisory positions at a chinese firm called 500.com. at the time, akimoto was a state minister in charge of the development of so-called integrated resorts, which include casinos. 500.com was looking to take part in the project. the judge said akimoto prprovid the o defefendants w with infoformation on the project in exchange for the money and extravagantt meals. akimoto resigned from prime minister suga yoe's administrat whenen arrested f for accepting bribes. he was charged w with witness tampmpering after he a allegedl offered the two defendadants moy in exchange for favorable

testimony. fewer people in japan have been applying for welfare despite the devastating economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. officials at the welfare ministry say the number of applications fell for three months in a row. the number for july was nearly 20,000, down a about 1 11% from same month last year. may and june show the same downward trend. the officials say people might have benefitted from an emergency cash handout of more than $900 available to all residents. an emergency small loans program may have also helped. but the officials are expecting to see a surge in the social security applications in the months ahead. they think that people will start running down their savings as the pandemic drags on. niigata prefecture in central japan has issued its first ever emergency bear warning after a woman was

mauled. the elderly victim was attacked in a vegetable field earlier this month. she died of her injuries on sunday. bears have injnjured eigight pe in niigata since april. prefectural officials met with police on monday and decided to issue the emergency warning. they called on people to stay alert. residents are asked to avoid places where bears have been spotted and to refrain from going out if bears are reported in their neighborhoods. they're also being asked to avoid going out alone, and to carry a bell or bear repellant spray when going into mountains. the prefecture is also asking municipalities to step up efforts to capture bears. prefectural officials say that bears are likely roaming closer to residential areas because food sources are scarce this year. tokyo's sexual minorities welcomed the opening of a new information and communication

center in the capital over the weekend. pride house tokyo legacy in the central ward comprises a group of organizations and companies supporting sexual minorities. the opening event was held on sunday. >> traranslator: i want to crea a community archive that contains all the history of lgbtq people. and house it in a permanent facility like this. >> the center has private counselling rooms, a library focused on lgbtq issues and an event space. >> translator: i want people to regard this place as a a home. people can think that if something happens there is always pride house tokyo, and someone who can listen to my ststory. >> the facility will also be a hub for information about minorities in sports. the organizers of the tokyo olympics and paralympics say unity and diversitity is a basi

concept of the games. we have breaking news from sweden, where this year's nobel prize in economics has just been announced. the award goes to a pair of academics from the united states. >> the sweden academy of sciences has today decided to award the prize in economic sciences in memoryy of alfred bell, jointly to milligram and robertrt b. wilson for improvements t to auction theor and invention of newew auctiono forums. >> the academy says they're being recognized for research that has improved auction theory, leadiding to thee invenn of new auction formats. it says their work has benefitted sellers, buyers, and taxpayers around the world.

♪ the typhoon did not make landfall in japan, but it's brought copious amounts of rain to the southern islands. sayaka mori joins us with the latest on the storm. sayaka? >> yes, no tropical systems h he made landfallll in j japan so this year. that's the first time in about three decades. it's been a very quiet typhoon year for the country. now, this typhoon didn't hit the main islands of japan, but it's brought record heavy rainfall to

many places. talking about the southern islands of japan. for example, a 710 millimeters of rain in five days. now, it is no longer a typhoon. it is now a tropical depression, meaning weaker than a tropical storm. it'll likely maintain its intensity as a tropical depression for several days over the water. interestingly, it is going to head toward the north later this week, and then it may affect central japan and northern japan later this week. central tokyo might see heavy rainfall once again on friday as well as saturday. it is going to be very chilly, as well, especially on saturday morning. it is going to be the chilliest morning so far this yearar. tropical storm made lalandfall centraral vietnam on sunday, making it the third named storm so far this year. it has bebecome a tropical depression that we saw heavy rainfall over central vietnam due to the northeasterly monsoonal flow last week.

1.5 meters of rain already, and more rain is on its way. the tropical depression is still bringing heavy rainfall. we have another tropical system over the south china sea. it's the 16th named storm, and it'll likely hit the province first. then nangka could make another landfall in northern vietnam. more rain is likely the next several days. it's been a busy hurricane season for the united states. delta hit louisiana last week. take a look at this footage. hurricane delta made landfall friday night. more than 500,000 residents had no power saturday morning. the storm flooded an area that was just recovering from hurricane laura from six weeks ago. delta was the tenth named system to make landfall in the united states, breaking a record set back in 1916.

the system is still bringing heavy rainfall to the northeast coast of the united states. more heavy rain is likely to hit the eastern part of the united states as we go into monday. that's it for me. have a nice day. ♪

♪ 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. ♪ people in northern japan lined upor a special sightseeing flight. the trip comes as the pandemic sees less people using air travel. japan airlines organized the flight together with the prefecectural government and a travel agency. they want people to see flying potential beyond getting from point "a" to point "b."

88 passengers enjoyed views from the sky during the 100-minute flight. the pleasure trip departed and returned from the yamagata airport. >> translator: it was really fun to see my hometown from the sky. >> translator: i was more excited than my kikids. >> iauaustralia, qantatas airwa has aoo offered a sight-t-seein flight. it flewss an a airport witit 15 passengers at low altitudes over famous sites, such as the great barrier reef and sydney harbor. the pandemic has forced carriers around the world to halt or reduce international and domestic flights. some are offering sight-seeing tours as a way to maintain business. this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. the number of foreign travelers coming to japan during the first half of 2020 plunged 77% from a year earlier due to the

coronavirus pandemic. it was the first decline in nine years. the immigration services agency of japan said 3.4 million foreign visitors entered the country in the january to june period. the number fell for the first time since 2011, when a huge earthquake and tsunami struck the country. about 97% of the arrivals stayed for a short term. they included tourists. most visited in january and february. visitotors from china topped th list, followed by taiwan. both figures fell more than 70% from a year earlier. travelers from south korea ranked third. the figure tumbled nearly 90%. the immigration agency said the entry ban is being eased gradually, but restrictions for tourists will continue. a report by the boj highlights prices in japan are under downward pressure amid the pandemic. the central bank estimates that

japan's output gap stood at minus 4.83% in the april to june quarter. a negative reading means demand is falling short of supply. it's the first time the figure has turned negative since the three months ended september 2016. the margin was the largest since the global financial crisis 11 years ago. the april through june period was when a state of emergency was in place nationwide due to the coronavirus. that caused employment to shrink and factory activitity to plung. an analyst says prices are on a downward trend. >> translator: the gap raises concern that japan could face deflation again. efforts must be made to improve the nation's growth potential. we've been having a number of nobel prize announcements over the past week. there were no japanese laureates this time in the natural

sciences, but there have been more than a dozen japanese researchers awarded the prize since the start of the 21st century. however, there are growing worries about japan's place in science as a raft of indicators point to the country falling behind. >> reporter: last year, the nobel prize in chemistry was awarded to a japanese researcher and two others for their create of lithium ion lbatteries. yoshino received a patent in the 1980s. >> translator:r: the resesearch wasn't a awarded until 30 0 yea afteter it proroduced results. so reseaearchers s starting at likely won't gain global recognition until the age of about 65. >> reporter: much of the work of the japanese laureate was conducted in the 20th century. but current data points to cracks in the foundations of such award-winning research in japan for the 21st century.

one indicator is the number of research papers. japan is gradually falling behind after being overtaken by china and then germany. japan also moved to third place in global patent filings from 2017 through last year. the cocountry seemems to be e l step in key technological injuries. japan lags behind in areas like telecommunications with china's ha w huawei pulling away with services and market share. the competitiveness coincides with fewerer young peoplple wil to bececome researarcher ththe number of students enteri doctoral programs has declined since its peak in 2003, down by almost 50% last year. another key figure has declined for japanese students. the number earning doctoral oc

degrees per capita is less than half compared to the u.s., germany, and south korea. some even feel japan is not a place where they can put their skills to use. this man works at an aerospace institute in the united states. he says when tryingg too get a b in japan, his doctoral degree was n not seeeen as valuauable. rather, hihis age e and the nam the school mattered the most. te also says in the u.s., often p students get paid salaries taking doctoral programs. >> translator: in japan, i think students don't feel there's enough reward for studying and having a hard time for an extra three years. i'm afraid if this continues, the country may lose its research capabilities. >> reporter: the nobel laureate

says thatt those w who receive degree should be betetter compensated. >> translator: japan needs to address how its industries treat those individuals with advanced degrees. >> reporter: the achievements of nobel prize winners have powered the technological trends shaping the world today. but as japan lags in scientific research, it's unclear whether it will be behind the breakthroughs of tomorrow. all right. let's have a look at the marketets. ♪

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

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