♪ welcome back to nhk "newsline." we have the latest at this hour. the yen rallied against the dollar after japanese authorities intervened in the currency market. it's the first time in 24 years japan waded into the currency market to buy yen which brings the climb back to the 140 level. the dramatic move came hours after the yen had tumbled to the

145 yen level against the green back. traders have been dumping the japanese currency following another u.s. rate hike and decision by the bank of japan to keep its easing money policy firmly in place. a senior finance ministry official said the intervention is designed to halt the slide. concern about the widenen gap japan and united states prompted a selloff of the yen. it shed around 20% of its value against the dollar this year, dramatically raising import prices and straining household budgets. relations between japan and south korea have been hung up on issues such as wartime labor. leaders of the two countries met at the u.n. in an effort to work things out. it was the first face-to-face sit-down between prime minister kishida fumio and president yoon suk-yeol since june. in their half hour talks, they agree their nations are key neighbors that need to work together. they also confirmed the importance of three-way

cooperation between tokyo, seoul and washington. the two leaders pledged to work closely on north korea. yoon reinforced his support for japan. kishida fumio and yoon will order stepped up diplomatic exchanges between talks between foreign ministers and agreed to keep in close touch themselves. the two sides remain at odds over a set of 2018 rulings by south korea's supreme court. it ordered japanese companies to compensate people who say they or their relatives were forced to work for the firms during world war ii. south korean district courts have since ordered the liquidation of assets seized from the japanese companies. the japanese government says the issue was settled completely and finally in 1965 when japan and south korea normalized ties. earlier i spoke to our former seoul bureau chief ikehata

shuhei for more. tensions have certainly been rising in recent years. did the meeting help diffuse things? >> usually i would answer that question by analyzing what the two leaders said. this time rather awkwardly we need to start with what to call this meeting. the south korean side has dubbed it a summary meeting and the first bilateral talks in two years and nine months but the japanese government insists this was not a meeting at all. it was a conversation, and one they refused to confirm until the last minute. regardless, we know they spoke for half an hour. i'll leave it up to the viewers to judge the best label. >> i see. so then what's behind this cautious attitude on the side of the japanese government. i suspect it has something to do with the wartime labor dispute. >> the japanese side has said the korean side needs to come up with a way to resolve this. it's easy to think the conservative hard liners the ldp wouldn't be happy to see the

leaders meet with the dispute still hanging over their heads, and it came at a bad time for the ldp. it's getting a lot of flak over the state funeral for former prime minister abe shinzo and ties to a controversial religious group. that's pushed the approval rating for kishida's cabinet to an all time low. let's look at a photo from the meeting. see the smile from yoon suk-yeol. i don't think it's a coincidence. they know they need to get past this issue, but it can't be seen as giving into diplomatic pressure. it wants to see some flexibility from japan, so this conversation or whatever you want to call it, might be seen as a step in that direction. >> so would you call it a meaningful achievement for the south korean government.

>> one thing for sure, hopes would have been much dimmer if the two leaders did not meet in new york. president yoon said last month that he wants to get this done before the assets of japanese companies are liquidated and his foreign minister recently met with people who claim they were forced to work during the war. that shows interest in the other side. it may also open up the possibility of the pair coming from elsewhere. a fund financed by japanese companies and some specific south korean firms. when it comes right down to it, just having this sit-down in new york may help seoul bring the public and opposition parties to its side. >> now, kishida also met with the philippine president and the two leaders have agreed to enhance bilateral ties. this comes as china steps up its maritime activities in the east in south china sea. kishida told philippine president ferdinand marcos, jr., he places importance on cooperation with the country he called a strategic partner that chairs basic values in the

indo-pacific. marcos said he hopes to strengthen his country's relationship with japan. the two exchanged views on north korea's nuclear missile program and the ukrainian situation. the leaders agreed to cooperate in resolving those challenges. they also confirmed they will continue arrangements for marcos to visit japan in the near future. in separate speeches at the gathering, kishida and u.s. president joe biden called for reforming the u.n. security council and in a meeting they agreed to work together on that. the leaders had brief informal talks, they reaffirmed this will work to strengthen the japan, u.s. alliance amid an increasingly severe security environment. they had in mind russia's invasion of ukraine and china's growing assertiveness in the east and south china sea. kishida expressed gratitude by the upcoming visit by vice president kamala harris. she will attend the state funeral for former japanese prime minister abe shinzo in tokyo on tuesday.

researchers monitoring north korea say sat heigellite imagers they're going to launch a submarine that could carry ballistic missiles. the group 38 north analyzed satellite images taken saturday on the shipyard on the eastern coast. it pointed out six barges and vessels around a submarine launch key and said so many had never been seen there before. the researchers also say the imagery shows the missile launch hatch of an experimental ballistic missile submarine. they say the size of the hatch suggests it can accommodate nortkorean ballistic missiles. next, taiwan says it's seen a growing number of chinese military drones entering airspace. on wednesday alone, its defense ministry reported over three dozen chinese aircraft near its

territory. almost half of them crossed the taiwan strait's so called median line between the taiwanese air zone. most were fighter jets. three reconnaissance drones were detected. taiwan has vowed a hard line stance against incursions. earlier this month, its military shot down a civilian drone that flew into its airspace near the chinese coast. beijing has been boosting its pressing in the skies around taiwan even as washington has pursued closer ties with taipei. u.s. president joe biden recently vowed to defend taiwan if it's invaded which china says is a threat to peaceful reunification.

ukraine's president has announced major prisoner exchange with russia. zelenskyy says more than 200 people have been released. >> we're bringing people home. today we have 215 pieces of good news. this is definitely a victory for our state, for our entire society. >> the deal with moscow is said to have been mediated by turk you and other parties. it is the largest prisoner swap so far into russia's invasion nearing the seven month mark. zelenskyy says 108 members of the battalion were freed. they fought a fierce battle at a steel plant in eastern ukraine. he says police officers and border guards were also released along with ten foreign nationals including british and u.s. cizens. >> translator: i am eternally grateful for you bringing us back, thank you very much. emotions are simply

overwhelming. >> ukraine says free 55 russians and one leader of a pro russian political party in exchange. much moscow issued no comment so far. a human rights group says hundreds of anti-war protesters have been detained across russia. it comes after moscow called over 300,000 reservists into active duty, the first major troop mobilization since world war ii. police in riot gear confronted demonstrators in central moscow who chanted antiwar slogans. many were dragged away and shoved into the police vehicles. similar rallies were held in dozens of other cities including ekaterinburg where there was another crackdown by security services. one protester who was in a wheelchair complained that her grabbed by officers.heeople unsanctioned ptests are illegal in russia.

demonstrators could face up to 15 years in prison. meanwhile, the partial mobilization appeared to have convinced many to try to leave the country. one-way trips out of russia are selling out fast. google data shows a spike in searches for airline searches following the announcement. flights to turkey and armenia have been booked solid. a russian student says his family jumped on the chance to get out. >> translator: this is an unplanned visit. i'm 17 and i haven't gotten a letter from the recruitment office yet but i have been attending online school, meaning i could get drafted, so we left. >> despite the surge in foreign flights, russia has not announced plans to restrict travel for eligible draftees. as russia orders more troops to the front lines, calls for a protection zone around europe's largest nuclear power plant are

growing. it comes as an attack has once again put the zaporizhzhia facility at risk. >> there's a conviction that the establishment of this zone is indispensable. let's be clear, this nuclear power plant has been shelled out. so you need to protect it in some way. >> grossi says negotiations to set up a secure zone around the plant have started. on wednesday, he met separately be ukrainian officials and russian foreign minister sergey lavrov, the chief of the international atomic energy agency says the danger level remains high. heavy shelling knocked out external power this month. things grew quiet after he led a team of investigators into the russian controlled territory. pre-dawn attacks once again forced operators to use back up generators to keep spent fuel cool. grossi said the attacks worried him and the issue must be resolved as soon as possible. foreign ministers from the group of seven nations say they'll work together to support

those affected by the fighting. the group discussed both what is happening in ukraine as well as the global impact. they're greatly concerned over putin's new troop mobilization and the hints of using nuclear weapons. each says they'll tackle food and energy shortages. and the japanese minister revealed new sanctions against russia. >> translator: we're looking at imposing a new ban on the export of chemical weapons and related goods to russia. we plan to make more russian related organizations subject to an export ban. >> he says the ministers also discussed other issues including what's with china and taiwan and the freedom of movement in the endough pacific. indough pacific.

♪ next in weather, we've been reporting this week about hurricane fiona that's impacting some caribbean islands. now it's inching closer to bermuda. our meteorologist jonathan oh has more on that in our world weather report. >> hello, we are continuing to keep an eye out on hurricane fiona, a category 4 storm that is now moving away from the turks and caicos islands and toward the bahamas. it's a well developed storm. as hurricane fiona dropped a lot of rain and whipped through palm springs and skirting the bahamas tuesday and wednesday. the dominican republic with full force. fiona will move northward aiming for bermuda and likely to affect atlantic canada during the weekend. here is a look at the forecast

over the next few days. notice the intensity stays quite strong, go near bermuda and notice atlantic canada, you're going to be in the thick of things with the storm, it's going to be one of the most powerful storms we have seen in quite some time. you pay want to get prepared for this because it's going to be quite intense once the storm comes nearby. further to the west, a cold front coming through, giving relief from the heat impacting the southern area of the united states. in places like oklahoma city, we're into the 30s earlier this week, dropping down to the upper 20s. thunderstorms still possible in places like denver with a high

of 18 as we go through thursday. meanwhile, across the western pacific and northwestern pacific we're keeping an eye on a developing tropical depression that's likely to become a tropical storm overnight into the day on friday. this storm is expected to remain a tropical storm in terms of intensity, and eventually making its way toward the edge of western japan and turning and going through the tokai regions. heavy rain friday and saturday. some locations, maximum amount rainfall totals could be about 350 millimeters. be on the lookout for that, and the storm will likely move out as we head towards sunday. that's a look at your forecast. hope you have a good day wherever you are.

♪ that is all for this edition of nhk "newsline." coming up next is "newsline biz." don't go away.

♪ this is "newsline biz." the yen rallied against the dollar after authorities intervened in the currency market. it is the first time in 24 years that japan waded into the currency market to buy yen which briefly climbed back to the 140 level. the dramatic move came hours after the yen had tumbled to the upper 145 yen level against the

green back. traders had been dumping the japanese currency following another u.s. rate hike and a decision by the bank of japan to keep the easy money policy firmly in place. a senior finance ministry official says the intervention designed to halt the slide. concern about the widening gap between interest rates and japan and the u.s. has prompted a major selloff of the yen in recent months. the currency shed around 20% of the value against the dollar this year. dramatically raising import prices and straining household budgets. they expressed concern about the effect of the yen's continued slide before the doj conducted the intervention. >> there are many factors at play in the market. i assume some of these that are driving the yen's decline are related to speculative investment. but what we can say is that a

rap rapid depreciation makes it difficult to draw up business plans and increases uncertainty about the future. this will have a negative impact on the japanese economy. >> now the intervention came just hours after the doj said it is sticking to the massive monetary easing policy. it's decision triggered the yen's further depreciation. doj board members made the decision at a two day policy meeting ending on thursday. the bank will keep the short term interest rate negative territory and continue buying government bonds to hold long term rates at around 0%. the doj said inflation target of 2% to pull the country out of deflation. august was the fifth straight month above that level with the consumer price index 2.8%. the doj says this is not the right kind of inflation as wages are not rising in tandem with prices. >> translator: right now we must

achieve a sustainable and stable inflation target by supporting the economy and raising wages. i think this makes it appropriate to continue monetary easing. >> the doj's stance puts it in sharp contrast with other central banks. the swiss national bank decided on thursday to raise key interest rate from minus 0.25% to .5%. this means the doj is the only major central bank with a negative policy interest rate. hours before the meet, the u.s. federal reserve hiked the key interest rate again by three quarter of a percentage point in a bid to attain the highest level of inflation in the country in four decades. now the widening interest rate gap between japan and the u.s. has accelerated yen selling as investors seek higher yields in the u.s. okay. let's see how the markets are reacting to the decisions. our business reporter is

standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. how rin how are investors taking the decisions from the fed and doj? >> well, both decisions came as no surprise. the fed hiking by 0.75% and the doj not changing the ultra loose policy stance. as the future hukz became more aggressive, the policy divergence became more apparent. the bank of japan has become the only central bank with negative interest rates. the doj along with the european central bank and the swiss national bank had been one of the few with rates below 0 in the last couple of years. however, the ecb pulled the rates into the positive in july. and the smb did the same at its policy meeting that took place right after the doj's on thursday. the boj is now alone with negative interest rates.

let's now check on how the tokyo indices closed this thursday, september 22nd. the nikkei declined by .6% ending at 27,153. the broader topix lost .25%. investors sold shares as they worry that the fed's aggressive outlook an rate increases would dampen global growth. >> can you tell us some of the specific levels that we're looking at for the fed's outlook? >> sure. the central bank's updated forecast shows the key rate peaking at 4.6% in 2023. the current rate is at a range of 3 to 3.75%. it hooks lilooks like there aref rate hikes in store. they're tightening aggressively as inflation real estate mains high despite the previous hikes. although the consumer price index did come off the peak, the figure for august was still above expecttations. in addition, an index that

indicates the trend of prices is still rising. the so-called sticky cpi looks at items for what once prices start moving the direction persists. experts say a sustained rise in the index signals that inflation is here to stay. many central banks seem to agree with the u.s. federal reserve. a smooth big rate increase has been seen this week. sweden's bank took the bold move of raising the key rate by >> okay. now asian currencies weaken against the dollar thursday. that was the result of a massive selloff triggered by another big rate rise in the u.s. >> the indian pupee and peso gained new highs. they were trading at the lowest level in 16 years. and the south korean wan dipped

to the lowest point in more than 13 years. >> a group of japanese firms can now buy and sell carbon emissions credits as part of a trial that's expected to form the basis of a nationwide trading scheme. more than 140 businesses and other organizations are taking part in the industry ministry test. they can get credits by cutting emissions more tras tickly than the goals. either by using renewable energy or through other methods. and they can trade the credits like shares and bonds. now participating firms are hoping the involvement will track environmentally conscious investors. the market is also expected to give firm's incentives to invest

more in carbon cutting efforts. the men stri plans to run the test through january next year and analyze the results when launching a full fledged trading scheme in fiscal 2023 or later. >> now japan has one of the world's fastest aging populations. one unfortunate consequence is a rise in dementia cases. for people who may be wondering about their own family members, there is a new hotline that can provide some clarity. the ai based service from telecom firm prompts callers to answer a few basic questions. it assesses the tone of their voice, the speed of their response and hundreds of other factors to determine whether they may be suffering from dementia. kit provide an answer in about a minute. the company says the service is 93% accurate. representative says his own grandparents suffered from dementia so he wants to the hotline to provide some certainty for other families.

>> translator: i hope this service will help people who are at risk of dimens dementia. >> the service is free until the end. next march. >> let's get a check of the markets.

>> that's it from tokyo. thank you very much for watching. o;o;ó7ó7■

>> syrian state media says israel has killed five soldiers near damascus. there were airstrikes inside government controlled areas of syria over the years. investigation is underway. in a ukrainian city bodies of hundreds have been found in sit. the bodies are to be exhumed for examination.