hello, thank you for joining us for this edition of "nhk newsline" from tokyo. we start in the uk. queen elizabeth ii, origins longest reigning monarch died at the age of 96. her death was announced thursday afternoon. her son, prince charles, has succeeded her to the throne. he says this is a moment of

greatest sadness for his family. hesays there comforted by knowing the deep affections widely held for the queen. the prime minister hailed her as the very spirit of great britain. >> queen elizabeth ii was the rock on which modern britain was built. our country has grown and flourished under her rain. how are people feeling right now? >> tokyo flags are at half mast across the country. we describe britain as a nation in mourning. people are gathering here in london and other cities to lay flowers and memorials and pay their respects for queen

elizabeth ii. she ruled for 70 years. most people in the uk have not known a time with another monarch on the throne. earlier this week, queen elizabeth appointed her 15th prime minister, liz truss. her health had been under intense scrutiny after her husband, prince philip, died last year. she had recently counseled and canceled many public appearances and was seen with a cane. while her death was anticipated by many in britain, it is still very shocking. >> what happens next? >> as you mentioned, her son charles has become the new british monarch. while there is a question of how you will live up to the role, the king is expected to address the nation on friday. the queen was incredibly popular. even under her rain, we have

seen young people in britain grow disinterested in the royal family. for now, funeral arrangements are being made foqueen elizabeth ii. her remains are being moved to london. an official ceremony will take lisette westminster abbey within the next two weeks. that will be the official day to commemorate queen elizabeth. we can see from the outpouring of emotion here in britain, and around the world, people are taking time to remember her legacy now. leaders across the globe are expressing condolences and honoring the queen's legacy. japan's prime minister expresses condolences. >> [ speaking non-english ] >> this is a huge loss, not just for the british people, but for the international community. japan will be with the people of britain in overcoming this

deep sorrow. a dry is prime minister -- australia's prime minister addressed the nation. >> this is a close of the second elizabethan age. the deep respect and warm regard in which australians have always held for her majesty will never fade. the leader of new zealand sent a message. >> this is a time of deep sadness, young or old, there is no doubt that a chapter is closing today. with that, we share our thanks for an incredible woman, that we were lucky enough to call our queen. in india, the prime minister posted about his memories with the queen. he wrote, he will never forget her warmth and kindness. people in tokyo have gathered at the british embassy

to say goodbye to queen elizabeth.>> reporter: i am standing outside the embassy compound. for the last several hours, we have seen dozens of people come here to pay their respects. we have seen people all laying flowers to express condolences. we have seen people coming here to pray. it has been a mix of people, japanese, and foreign residents. >> my families are loyalists. she was a good woman, and a good person as well. it is time to pay respects to that, and her life. we also spoke with [ indiscernible ], who lives in the uk. she grew to see elizabeth as her queen. >> [ speaking non-english ]

speaking non-english ]>> reporter: she is just one of a number of people in japan that feel a connection with queen elizabeth, and are devastated by her death. reporting for nhk world. queen elizabeth visited japan in 1975, three decades after the end of world war ii. the crowds gathered to witness this historic momentthe very first visit from a british monarch to japan. many got to see her during that six-day trip. that includes a top japanese hatmaker that was at the start of her career. she says she felt inspired by the queens fashion. >> [ speaking non-english ] >> the queen showed me a world i was not aware of. she gave me an opportunity to

look outside of japan. she was a graceful and wonderful person. i wish i could have had more time to admire her loveliness. >> [ speaking non-english ] the trip was a cultural exchange. e queen and prince phil got watch acto and nhk stio , rehearse for a historic drama. [ indiscernible ] played the made mainrole. he said he was distracted to look at her. >> [ speaking non-english ] >> the queen forged ties with

the japanese royal family. decades later, the crown prince of japan visited her again. then, as emperor, he attended a lunch at windsor castle. the royal expert says the connection continue to deepen as the ars went on. >> [ speaking non-english ] >> japan's emperor and empress had plans to visit britain on their first overseas trip after ascending the throne. unfortunately, the pandemic forced them to postpone it. it is clear that queen elizabeth remained devoted the relationship betweenjapan and britain throughout her final years. north korea passed a law, enshrining the right to use nuclear weapons preemptively.

state-run television aired a speech from the north korean leader as the supreme people's assembly. he said the country will never give up their nuclear program. by legislating the nuclear weapons policy, our country's status as a nuclear power is irreversible. >> reporter: he slammed the united states in his speech thing washington wants the north to give up a nuclear weapon so i can remove leaders from power. state media says the new law outlines when nuclear weapons can be used. that does include to respond to an attack or prevent an invasion. it allows for preemptive nuclear strikes if an attack is deemed imminent. japan's government is condemning the move. north korea's nuclear missile development poses a threat to the peace and security of japan and the international community. it cannot be tolerated. japanese officials are promising to work closely with

the u.s. and south korea to denuclearize the north. south korea's main opposition leader has been indicted over allegations that he violated election laws. it is as letting a dispute between the ruling and opposition camps. the south korean prosecutors said on thursday, they indicted him at his home. he leads the democratic party. in the presidential election in march, he was nearly defeated with the people's power party. he is accused of making false statements during the election campaign. they were about his involvement in land development projects when he was the mayor and his ea. the democratic party officials called the indictment and unjust political crackdown. they vowed to fight it. party officials filed a criminal complaint earlier this week. they allege he gave evolve false explanations about his wife's involvement in stock manipulations before the

presidential race. a scandal involving suspected sponsorship bribery for the olympics the paralympics is widening. tokyo prosecutors have interviewed the former prime minister. he let the committee organizing the tokyo games. the prosecutors have arrested and indicted a former executive of the organizing committee. they say he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from clothing retailers. they do suspect he also took money from publishing companies. both companies ended up sponsoring the games. investigators reportedly asked, what kind of authority he had, and about the sponsorship decision-making process? his lawyer declined to comment, saying it could affect the

investigation. in other news, russia handed over the bodies of three people that were aboard a tour boat that sank off of japan. three people were on the boat when it went overboard. 15 have been confirmed dead. 11 remain unaccounted for. russian authorities recovered two bodies from the coast in may. this is one of four russian held islands that japan claims. the third body was found in june on the shore of a southern island. the dna tests conducted in russia indicate the bodies belong to three people from the tour boat. i japan patrol boat of the coast guard recovered the bodies. it will arrive on saturday. the japanese authorities plan to conduct for the dna tests to confirm the identities of the

deceased. japan's prime minister and the leaders of seven countries agreed to further cooperate in response to the situation in ukraine. u.s. president joe biden hosted a video conference, including the leaders of all g7 countries, except france. they agreed to continue to provide support for ukraine, while right maintaining robust sanctions on russia. they plan to supply energy and food. japan will share the g7 meetings next year. they are determined to bolster unity among the members and partner countries in supporting ukraine. ♪ [ music ] ♪

switching gears to the weather, tropical storm that is lingering near western mexico is bringing severe conditions to the region. we have the details in our bold weather report. we have been following this over the last few days. this has been battering the western coastline in mexico, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. the system is moving along and parallel to baja, california. we expect the system to bring intense rainfall. what is interesting, as the system moves toward the northwest, it will come very close to los angeles, which has not been a storm like this in decades. it is a big deal. we will see an impact from there. some areas will see 100 millimeters of rain.

the area needs to get dried out once the system departs from the region. in europe, we have watched a low pressure system over the uk. we will expect that to continue into friday. you will need your umbrellas as you go through london. in vienna, we are looking at wet weather as well. into east asia we go. we are keeping an eye on a system, south of okinawa. this system is intensifying through the weekend. we are looking at the southern islands. this is a slow moving system. by the time we go into the first part of next week, we will see the biggest impact from there. this is a look at the forecast on saturday. before we go, here is some video coming out of the

disarray prefecture. it is the season for dragon fruit picking. it is a type of cactus that looks like the scales of dragons. this is the second most dragon fruit producing location, following okinawa. i hope you have a good day, wherever you are. ♪ [ music ] ♪

♪ [ music ] ♪ :includes this addition of "nhk newsline". coming up next is "newsline biz" . stay right there.

this is "newsline biz". sales of new energy vehicles in china have reached d an annual record, signaling a rapid shift to electric in the world's largest auto market. attorneys auto industry association says sales of new plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell

vehicles came to over 3.8 million units. that is more than double the number in the same period of last year. the eco-friendly models account for 20% of total vehicle sales. the government is encouraging the vehicles as part of economic stimulus measures. it comes as a more charging stations are opening up, and competition intensifies among manufacturers. the sales of new energy vehicles in china will hit 5.5 million units this year. the japanese government task force announced new measures to help those in households that are struggling with inflation. the measures include a cash handout of $350 to every household that is exempt from paying residence tax. it is designed to offset food and energy prices. they will subs that subsidize oil wholesalers until the end of the year to renew prices.

they plan to keep the price of the imported wheat is those of flour milling companies beyond next month. a special grant of $4 billion will go to regional authorities to support their communities in ways they see fit. the additional measures, combined with coronavirus initiatives will drain more than $20 billion from reserve funding in the current fiscal year budget. the prime minister says the government will continue to take bold action. he instructed ministers to compile new economic measures by the fall. the governor of the miyagi prefecture visited vietnam to appeal to young people to train as healthcare workers. he spent time at a facility near the capital, where students prepare themselves to come as technical trainees. he saw a nursing care class taught in japanese. he introduced the culture and

traditions to the students, encouraging them to choose the prefecture. he is expected to face a shortfall of nursing staff by 2040. that is due mainly to the aging of the population. as of december, the technical trainees in japan for more than 160,000 in all, were from vietnam. his appreciation against the vietnamese done, the income they earn in japan purchases less at home. this has led to a growing number choosing other destinations, like taiwan. japan's iconic bullet train will launch on a new route after getting the final clearance from transportation authorities. it will run on a line linking two prefectures. the 66th kilometer route opens in two weeks. the track will eventually be

extended north, where will link to a line that runs all the way to tokyo, and beyond. authorities completed the final safety check and given the railway company the okay to launch. the president of the real operator says he is determined to make this a success. he is confident it will draw more tourism to the region. north korea's ambassador to russia says freight trains are set to resume this month for the first time in more than 2 years. the ambassador reportedly made the comments to the governor of a region in russia's far east. they met. the authorities halted real cargo operations between the countries early in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. the north is eager to ramp up imports from russia, particularly as the prospect of restarting freight train services with china remains unclear due to the zero

coronavirus policy. the invasion of ukraine has isolated russia from the international community. once the senior u.s. official said that russia is trying to buy millions of artillery shls and rockets from the north to supply its forces in ukraine. russia's foreign ministry says it is prepared to resume oil and petroleum supplies to north korea. okay, let's take a look at what is coming up in the week ahead. starting with inflation figures in the u.s..

on tuesday, the u.s. labor department will come out with the consumer price index for august. the cpi rose by 8.5% in august. that is the fifth straight month above 8%. we have a slight pullback from the 9.1% jump in june. the soaring energy costs are pushing up overall prices and the acute labor shortages mean labor prices are rising as well. this is raising speculation that the federal reserve will raise inflation again. the august rate numbers will be released on thursday. the country posted a trade deficit of more than 1.4 trillion yen. it was the 12th consecutive month showing a deficit. the higher energy prices push up the value of imports. in the same day, the bank of england is scheduled to announce its policy decision. the doe raises interest rates by half a percentage point by

1.75%. that's the biggest increase in 27 years. the boe has created rate hikes for sixth straight time. jumps in energy and food costs has pushed up consumer price inflation to 10.1%. the highest level in four decades. >> later in the week, we will see key indicators from the world's second-largest economy, and the european single currency block. china's national bureau of statistics will announce production figures for august on friday. the job report rose 3.8%. that was down 1/10 of a percentage point from the previous month. production recovered after lockdowns were lifted in june. it has yet to show a sustained acceleration. the latest data suggest that the zero covid-19 policy is weighing on growth.

the government expressed readiness to prop up the economy. whether the measures are effective remains to be seen. on the same day, the european european union statistical office will see the revised prices. the annual inflation rate hit a record 9.1% in august, up from 8.9% in july. energy costs are expected to have risen by the most on record in august, pushing up inflation across the euro zone. the european central bank started a tightening cycle in july after years of loose monetary policy. the headline target is 2%. the soaring prices prompted participants to resume with another rate hike this month. let's get a check on the markets.

that is it for "newsline biz". thank you very much for watching.

>> the united nations says there is evidence moscow was forcibly taking ukrainian children to pressure to be adopted and the thousands of other ukrainians are being forcibly deported from russian occupied areas. the u.s. says these actions amount to war crimes. kyiv says it is making advances in russian controlled areas surrounding kharkiv as well as an offensive last week to retake the port city of kars