hello, and welcome to nhk newsline. more than a decade after one of the worst nuclear power disasters in history, there is a plan to deal with one of the main leftover problems. japan's nuclear regulator has approved releasing a treated water from the crippled powerplant into the ocean.

nuclear regulation authority officials met on friday to discuss and finalize the plan drawn up by the plant operator, tokyo electric power company. the plan is in line with what the japanese government decided. opinions from members of the public were shared at the meeting. some expressed concern over how the concentration of radioactive tritium in the water will be measured. nra officials concluded what the operators have done with the treated water, and the plan is reasonable. the fukushima daiichi plant suffered critical damage during the earthquake. the water is being treated to remove most of the radioactive materials, but it still contains tritium. the plan is to start releasing

it sometime next spring, but it will first be diluted so that the concentration of tritium is at about 1/7 of the level for the world health organization's guidelines for drinking water quality. the regulator says it will be checking to see whether the operator is making preparations as planned. friday marks two weeks since the fatal shooting of former japanese prime minister abe senzel. they believe that the assassinate her harbor a grudge towards a religious group that he thought of a belonged to. >> reporter: japanese political parties say they want to examine themselves. they want to be sure they don't

have ties to a group that has come under scrutiny. >> family should not have to collapse because they invested a large amount. we would like to investigate ties between diet members in our party and the unification church. >> reporter: the 48-year-old suspect gunned down the former prime minister as he was giving a stump speech before the investigation. tetsuya told investigators that his mother had donated thousands of dollars to the religious group and had left them in ruin. he said he wanted revenge, and needed a gun. nhk spoke to some of the group members on the condition of anonymity. one member said his parents had donated so much that they lost their properties. the other was claiming that the health of followers was failing

because they have not donated enough to drive bad spirits away. church leaders deny it. they say that donations are voluntary and based on people's faith. >> translator: we do not ask followers to make donations again. if we kn that they have gone bankrupt. >> reporter: the focus has turned to the relationship between political parties and the group. the japanese communist party has said it has set up a team to investigate any links. >> translator: we have long been fighting over the issue of large donations and illegal solicitation. we would like to play a role to uncover the truth. >> reporter: and other party wants to strengthen measures to protect people. >> translat: the unification

church has an issue of causing problems, and there is a group of lawyers engaging with them. >> reporter: no matter what motive the suspect had, the attack has renewed tension on the group and the problems people have linked them to for decades. >> the japanese government has officially decided to hold a state funeral for former prime minister of a on september 27th in tokyo. cabinet ministers made the decision on friday. they said that abe had responsibility as the country's former prime minister, and he made major achievements in foreign policy. the government will shoulder all responsibility for the event. abe will be the second former prime minister in japan's history to have a state funeral. the first was who died in 1967.

the chief cabinet minister said the ceremony will be non- religious. >> translator: the government will prepare for a state funeral in close coordination with people involved, so it will be a solemn and heartfelt service. we willeceive foreign dignitaries. >> a group staged a rally in front of the prime minister's office to protest the decision. organizers say 400 people took part. they include the leader of an opposition party. >> translator: it is not right for the cabinet to decide to hold a state funeral. there is no legal basis. >> protesters say a state funeral would force people to mourn, and would conceal the negative aspects of abe's legacy. japan's health ministry will offer a fourth coronavirus vaccination to medical workers and caregivers at facilities for the elderly or people with

disabilities. the expansion of the measure to prevent the spread of infection is effective immediately, following its approval by a panel of experts on friday. until now, only people aged 60 or older and other steamed at higher risk were eligible for a fourth shot. new vaccines which are effective against omicron variance are being developed, and may be developed as early as this fall. ministry officials told the panel that they allow people at high risk to receive the vaccines if they have already been inoculated twice. china's zero covid policy is wreaking havoc on the job market. the countries rigid pandemic rules have led to an economic slowdown and high on employment. as this next report explains, it has been especially hard on young people. >> reporter: this part of beijing is hope to agencies

term jobs. t people to short- many have come from rural areas hoping to find work. but china's economic slowdown is being felt in big cities, too. this man is from the country's northeast. he lost his job at a restaurant, and industry hit hard by china's zero covid policy. >> translator: i hope i can job soon and feel secure. >> reporter: some people haven't been able to land jobs for more than a year. jin used to work in the film industry, but theaters were shut down as a coronavirus measure. his job was slashed. he now spends his days online hunting for a job. >> translator: if i can't find the right job there, then my day is done. >> reporter: jao is

whatever he can to save money, like growing vegetables at home. he is concerned about his future, as the economy shows no signs of speeding up. >> translator: my biggest concern is running out of money. there were times i was so worried i couldn't sleep. >> reporter: the high employment rate is also causing stress for new graduates. the city of guangzhou is home to the most students in china, many of whom are lined up at recruiters for companies. young people are struggling to find stable jobs in an unstable market. >> translator: many companies have gone bankrupt because of the coronavirus this year. the environment for jobhunting is getting worse. >> reporter: others like this woman can't find work that meets their needs.

she interviewed with 10 companies here, but couldn't find a job in her field. >> translator: it will get more difficult in the fall, because companies will focus on next year's graduates. >> reporter: infections continue to spread in some parts of china, and officials are standing firm on zero covid. many are worried that the outlook for jobs won't improve anytime soon. russia is continuing attacks on eastern ukraine, causing widespread civilian casualties. the british defense ministry says russia is using air defense missiles, and says the missiles' poor targeting makes

it more likely they will hit civilians. rainian media and officials said on thursy that russian troops bombarded a school in the eastern region of donetsk and residential areas in civilians were injured. british intelligence said that russia is using strategic air defense systems such as the s300. the ministry said that the weapons are not suitable for ground attacks. they can cause more civilian attacks as they are likely to deviate from targets. talks between ukraine and russia about wheat exports are in the final stage. the move is drawing attention and made a surge in global food

prices. japan's new annual defense papers say that the international community should not tolerate russia's invasion of ukraine. it says that the invasion sets a dangerous precedent. the document published friday has a new section focusing on the implications of the russian offensive word. it says that if the invasion is overlooked, it could create the wrong impression that a unilateral change in the status quo could be tolerated in asia or elsewhere. the report also suggests that russia's increasing isolation on the world stage could lead to closer military and political cooperation with china. the white paper says that china is persistently trying to change the status quo around the senkoku islands in the china sea. japan controls the islands. china and taiwan claim them.

the report says china is a major security concern for the region and the international community. the document also says that stabilizing the situation surrounding taiwan is important for global stability. it urges the international community to tackle the common problem of attempts to change the status quo, and adds that japan will keep a close eye on the taiwan situation amid increasing tension. the white paper describes north korea as a grave and pressing threat, citing frequent launches of ballistic missiles this year, including icbms. it says that the north may take further provocative actions. lawmakers in india have elected the country's first president from one of its tribal communities. about 4800 federal and state lawmakers voted.

election officials confirmed on thursday that the candidate won the election over a candidate fielded by opposition parties. she is from an indigenous tribe in the state of odisha. they backed her to gain support from tribal groups in eastern regions. she will be india's second female president. the presidency in india is largely a ceremonial role. time for a check on whether with our meteorologist. a sandstorm swept through parts of china this week, causing problems for residents and commuters. we have details on what happened. >> hello there. weather has been severe across china this week.

a tornado hit parts of eastern china wednesday, killing one person and causing huge economic loss. on the same day, a massive sandstorm darkened the sky over northwestern china. we have this impressive footage. a powerful sandstorm hit the northwestern part of china late wednesday. winds hit 54 kilometers per hour, blinding drivers is visibility dropped to less than 200 meters in some places, and causing traffic to slow down considerably. it is very scary, and weather has been -- will stay that way until the weekend in china, because we have a storm system rolling through the country, and it is going to drag up warm air from the south. we will see unusually high temperatures. and a tropical depression could form south of japan, and it could affect the oak in our region next week. we have another system across japan. it has been affecting japan over the past couple of days.

they will continue to affect northern japan into the weekend. so be careful of heavy rain at times. strong winds as well as hail. morioka we'll see rain on saturday but the rainy season will likely come to an end in the region. osaka will see hot and sunny weather into next week, so be careful of heatstroke. refrain from outside activities during the heat of the day, and drink plenty of fluids and use air conditioners, and also inside vehicles temperatures will go up sharply, so be careful. don't leave your pets and kids unattended inside your vehicle. it has been hot across the u.s. as well, and temperatures are going to be in the 30s in many places, including the u.s. capitol as well as new york. that's it for me. stay safe.

and that's all for this hour on nhk newsline. thank you for watching, and

please stay with us for more. this is newsline biz. consumer prices rose in june by more than 2%. it was due to a higher energy cost and food prices. the internal affairs ministry says that the consumer price index including fresh food climbed 2%. the figure stayed above 2% for a third consecutive month, and

has been on an uptrend for a few months. soaring energy prices continued to pressure the index. electricity bills and gas jumped. gasoline was also up 12%. shoppers paid 3% more for food, excluding fresh items on the back of rising raw material prices. the bank of japan has previously set an inflation target of 2% in a bid to pull the country out of deflation. but boj officials have been saying all of along that price increases are not so-called good inflation. it is because they are not accompanied by wage hikes and growth in demand. millions of households in and around tokyo will soon be feeling the effect of the inflation trend. tokyo gas says it will be raising rates in phases starting in october. about 8.4 million households will be affected. major japanese mobile carrier kbdi has decided to pay compensation to users affected

by network problems earlier this month. kbdi has set up a special team to investigate the cause of disruption. he found the millions of customers were unable to make voice calls or connect to data networks for many hours. the company has decided to compensate them a certain amount of money. kbdi's contract says that in case of services not being available for 24 hours or more, the company will calculate fees for the period of disruption and refund subscribers. kbdi says that 39 million users have been affected. it will also consider compensation to customers with data communication services. kbdi plans to submit a report that includes detailed costs of the problems and measures to prevent a disturbance to the medication measure next week. the president of the company then plans to hold a news conference.

endanger a major japanese travel company is making a bid to improve finances that have been hit hard by the pandemic. h.i.s. owns a stake in the theme park. the dutch-style resort saw visitor numbers plunge during covid-19. recently repentance has been rebounding. officials blamed the slow recovery of their mainstay overseas travel business due to the pandemic. a major electric vehicle maker in china says it will enter the japanese market.

byd already sells ev's in many economies across the globe. they will start with three models, including an suv and a sedan. the suv can run 485 kilometers per charge, while the sedan gets 555 kilometers. the company also produces the batteries and has reduced the amount of rare metals to keep down costs. byd eventually plans to open 100 dealerships in japan. >> reporter: in the coming era, the questition is not whether t buy an electric car, but when to buy one. mobility will be a familiar option for all people in japan. >> japanese companies have put new models on the market this year, and so have foreign companies including south

korea's hyundai. let's take a look at what is happening in the week ahead. we can once again expect to see numbers indicating how the russian invasion of ukraine and the resurgence in covid-19 infections are affecting the world's economies. first we take a look at the u.s. federal reserve. the central bank will be wrapping up its next meeting on wednesday. policymakers are expected to decide on a large rate hike in a bid to choke off inflation, which is at a four-decade high. consumer prices jumped 9.1% that month from a year earlier. experts say that the fed will most likely decide to hike the

right by the same amount at the meeting. that could weigh on the japanese and even more against the dollar. the u.s. central bank faces a dilemma. a report this month is raising the risk of an economic slowdown in some parts of the country. u.s. officials on thursday will also be releasing gdp numbers for the april to june period. the economy last shrank at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter. that was the first drop since the pandemic recession nearly two years ago. the international monetary fund believes that avoiding a recession will be extremely difficult for the u.s.. the european single currency block will display key economic gauges later in the week. the european statistical office

eurostat will release the report on friday. that is the largest expansion since 1997 when statistics began. inflation has risen steadily for more than a year, and was initially fueled by post- pandemic supply shocks. now it is due to the fallout of the war in ukraine. experts say that peak inflation could still be months away. that makes a strong case for the european central bank to accelerate rate hikes. eurostat, on the same day, will come up with a plan for the period. the block says that it was up from the previous period. negative impact is expected to be felt in the second quarter. finally, japan's outlook

for june will be released on the same day. the ministry says that the gauge fell 7.2% in may. for the second time in a row, it attributes the downturn to supply change interruptions from shanghai. it now describes it as weekend, but officials say it was likely to recover from june onward, as the impact from the chinese zero covid policy gradually wears off. it is ill season in japan, where people believe that eating eel can ward off illness. one town in prefecture is home to several farms. this year's crop has grown to around 40 centimeters.

workers go to a local fisheries cooperative where they are sorted by weight. workers waste the eels in coldwater for a day or two to give the meat the right texture, then they are shipped. >> translator: i hope the people survive the hot summer with our eels. >> but co-op officials say daily shipments are down 30 to 40% last year, and that is because of short catches of fried. a revision on the kbdi story, it took 86 hours for kbdi to fully restore services . we apologize for that mistake. let's have a look at the markets.

and from the newsline team in tokyo, ■■?ç■ç■pgdki■? ♪

>> these are the top stories. russia's foreign minister says moscow's military goals in ukraine have widened beyond the eastern donbass region. sergei lavrov said russian forces will also focus on southern ukraine's regions. dozens wild are burning across france, spain, italy and greece. thousands have been forced to flee their homes as a severe heat wave sweeps across europe. u.s. president biden is threatening to take executiv