♪ ♪ welcome to nhk "newsline," >> i'm yoshi ogaswara. there are latest joint drills with american troops. the field exercises began earlier this month. pyongyang says they could trigger a war. the state linked website published commentary on thursday. it describes the drills as part of a scheme to rage a war of

aggression against north korea. south korea and the u.s. are trying to establish a military posture. the commentary said the actions of the two allies could cause a disaster. north korea has been launching missiles at an unprecedented rate this year on about 30 occasions. they're also growing concerns that north korea could soon conduct its seventh nuclear test. finland's defense minister warned of a very strong international reaction if russia decides to use nuclear weapons in ukraine. >> it is such a sad thing that there is such a debate on nuclear weapons. the situation is like that would never be the case again. >> he spoke to media on his three day visit to japan. he says that it's unlikely

russia will use nuclear weapons but the overall situation in ukraine is worrying. finland and sweden applied for nato membership in may after russia invaud vaded ukraine this year. their continuing on a working level. >> it's difficult to estimate the progress would have been made as soon as possible. hopefully during this year. russia and finland share a border extending about 1300 kilometers. he says his country plans to build fences along some parts of it. u.s. secretary of state anthony blinken expressed weariness of china's intention to speed up reunification with

taiwan as president xi starts a third tiermed as leader. blinken said in an interview with bloomberg that the chinese government no longer sees the status quo as acceptable. beijing has decided how to speed up the process of reunification including exerng more pressure on taiwan, coercion, and making people's lives there difficult. he added that china is holding on to the possibility of using force to achieve its goals. the united states sees china as its biggest competitor. blinken says the u.s. is not trying to contain or retrain china but it is resolute in standing up for its interests and values. he says the world order beijing wants would not be liberal but the one desired by the u.s. would be. china's president has named a long time ally as the communist party's propaganda chief.

li was appointed as new head of the party's publicity department. state-run television reported on the new session of the party's standing committee which li shulei attended. he was elected to the party's top decision making body on sunday. the 58-year-old was xi's deputy at the school for training senior officials. he became his vice president in 2009. li enters the prestigious peking university at the age of 14 and was considered a child prodigy. analysts say he will lead efforts to reinforce xi's authority. a dozen people have been killed in an attack in the southern city of shiraz. iran state run media quoted officials as saying armed terrorists opened fire at the people inside the shrine on wednesday. the holy site was crowded with

worshippers. the interior minister said the attack left at least 13 dead. a state-run news agency reports that the numbers could be even among those lled.hildren were the shrine has since been cordoned off. the news agency which has links with the islamic state militants said the group claimed responsibility for the attack. it said the attack was carried out against renegades or iranian shia muslims. president ebrahim raisi released a statement and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. he condemned the attack saying it will not go unanswered.

we turn now to japanese politics. a cabinet minister has been facing questions for apparently having his political funding managed by someone who is dead. now he says it was just an administrative mistake. internal affairs minister minoru terada has been accused by opposition lawmakers of making false statements in reports for 2019 and 2020. he offered an explanation thursday to the committee in the lower half of the diet. >> translator: the document's format was taken from previous reports and the accounting office's name was not updated. this was a clerical mistake. >> terada says he has asked his support group to immediately make a correction. still, opposition lawmaker demanded terada resign.

>> when we see a dead person has stamped something, we can only believe there's some ulterior motive. >> he could use his position as a minister as a way to take responsibility. terada belongs to the main partner in the ruling coalition, the liberal democratic party. lawmakers in his party had already been taking heat over other issues. economic revitalization minister daishiro yamagiwa resigned monday over his links to the religious group that used to be called the unification church. a local politician in southwestern japan is stepping down after allegedly impersonating a former national lawmaker. she says she was trying to raise awareness of that person's ties to the former unification church. horimoto wakako is a member of the city council.

she says she was questioned by police after distributing the fliers in august. the they appear to be written on behalf of another former political figure, who nhk is choosing not to name. that ex lawmaker had deliver a speech at the former unification church which was later confirmed to be true. the group has been under intense scrutiny for its allegedly predatory practices and extensive ties to japanese politicians. horimoto says it was an attempt to expose the former lawmaker's links to the organization. she denies she was pretending to be them. however, horimoto apologized for causing trouble with the incident and says she's stepping away from politics. researchers at the world health organization says urgent action is needed to prevent climate change from taking more

lives. the group has published their analysis in the british medical journal "the lancet." heat-related deaths between 2000 and 2004, and also from 2017 to 2021, and found the figure soared by 68%. the report also says climate change is helping the spread of disease. people are 12% more likely to get dengue fever than they were six decades ago. dengue outbreaks put further strain on health systems dealing with the coronavirus pandemic in south america, asia and africa. and floods in 2020 and 2021 killed thousands in australia, brazil, and elsewhere. the researchers point to over dependence on fossil fuels and delays on renewable energy. they also say health systems need to be urgently strengthened. ♪ it's time for a check on the

asian composers earned top honors at the geneva international music competition. it's considered a gateway to a professional career for young musicians. the prize winners selected from among 97 contestants. six vocalists performed pieces by finalists in the division. ♪ >> south korean won the top prize. his work was set to represent a dream world. it was written using sounds from the various >> japanese composer took second prize. his piece was based on stories from the bible. during the performance, singers

voice the sounds of waves and the cries of animals. >> translator: i think one of my personal strengths is composing music in a way that is a little extravagant. in that sense, i think i was able to demonstrate my individuality well. >> japanese and south korean musicians have taken many of the top prizes in recent years. ♪ with halloween around the corner, partying is ramping up in tokyo. and that brings crowds.

my colleague spoke with nhk world's reporter earlier to see how one world is preparing. he joined her from different voigs of a well known intersection. >> hello from the meta verse, erica. >> oh, my gosh. you look so nice today. hu. >> thank you. >> it's you. so, yeah. this is my avatar. it's an adaptation of the crossing. >> that's nice. >> yeah. so they are exciting. >> you can move. >>ep. >> they areike floating >> the greenghost. >> yeah. and giant bubble bath. and there are also like, levitating pumpkins. >> yeah.ween. so this is the third year that companies are hosting this event. >> so now we are back in the

studio. that was amazing and looked sod fun. why is this being offered? >> as you know, the real serious scramble attracts huge crowds every halloween. many come here to show off their costumes and behave responsibly. but things do get unruly at times. it's gotten so bad the local government will ban outdoor drinking in certain areas and ask stores not to sell alcohol for a limited time. the word is hoping to prevent those problems by offering the online version of the area. let's check it out a bit more. so this building is well known for having a lot of clothing stores. next door nhk world has a booth for people to watch a program on dinosaurs. over here your avatar can turn into a horror movie character. and there is the cable car that

shows you what it looks like from above. to visit this themed version of the area, scan a qr code on the screen. it's available until the end of halloween. last year 550,000 people including those from outside japan participated in this. organizers are expecting even more this time around. >> thank you. >> thanks for having me. >> it's time for a check on the world weather with our meteorologist. a tropical storm is once again headed toward the philippines raising concern of flooding and stormy conditions this weekend. sayaka, what's the latest? >> hello there, this year's 22nd named storm has formed to the east of the philippines. the name is nalgae meaning wind in korean. it's likely to intensify to a severe tropical storm by weekend and could make landfall in the northern philippines in the weekend. these areas were affected by a couple of tropical systems since september so people there are still dealing with recovery

efforts. after affecting the philippines, it will take its way toward the north end and head towards taiwan. eventually it could pass through the south of japan into next week. manila will see severe thunderstorms also. heavy rainfall continuing for the next several days. taipei could see conditions as well. should continue into the mid part of next week. let's go to europe. the swiss glacrs have experienced the worst ice melt since records began about 10 yes ago. take a look at this video. they lost 6% of their remaining value this year, nearly double their previous record settle in 2003. if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the alps

glaciers are expected to lose more than 80% of their current mass by the end of the century. in a report released by the u.n. wednesday, greenhouse gas concentrations climbed to new records last year. the global average temperatures since the pre-industrial period has risen by 1.2 degrees celsius already, and according to the recent u.n. report by the end of the century, we could see a 2.5 degree increase. more extreme weather could occur. immediate actions could be taken. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪

>> that's all for this edition

of "nhk newsline." do stay with us for more. >> this is newsline biz. the operator of japanese smart phone payment app is to set up a development hub in india to tap the country's information technology talent. sources say the subsidiary will set up operations in the northern indian state this month to develop apps.

the development hub is expected to be comparable to the home hub in japan. other japanese it firms including the group have also stepped up recruitment of indian staff. indian i.t. engineers are sought after globally and have already demonstrated success at u.s. high-tech firms. the vice chairman is executive chairman of the core of south korea's largest conglomerate. he takes over the top job. of has the company's earnings come under pressure from the uncertain business environment. sam sung electronics board approved it on thursday. they stressed need for stronger accountability and business stability. he is the third generation heir

of the group's founding family. he was jailed for crimes including bribing the former south korean president. he was given a pardon in august. the post electronics chairman has been vacant since his father died two years ago. his promotion was announced on the same day that the company posted a 31% decline in operating profit for the july to september period from a year earlier. >> a major department store plans to weather a tough environment by branching into a drastically different business. jay front retailing says they made new acquisition to enter the e-sport sector. the operator of the department stores will take over the store. the company manages professional teams and events. jay frontal choir more than 50% of the shares for about seven million dollars making it a

subsidiary by the end of november. the department store operator plans to organize each sporting events at the outlets and other commercial facilities. they thohope to gain a necessw stream. demand for office space is recovering in the united states. after a slump during the coronavirus pandemic. two japanese real estate giants are involved in major projects at new york's manhattan distri. tokyo land is a partner in the development of a 47 story building which was officially opened on wednesday. it cost $1.7 billion to build. they have a stake in a 61 story building project in the hudson yards area undergoing redevelopment. the building was completed at a cost of more than $4 billion.

leasing contracts have already been signed for more than 80% of the office space in the u.s. auto giant sold 49% stake in a local joint venture for what it called a nam naomin value. ford says they retain the option to buy back the shares within a five-year period. should there be a change in the global situation. >> quebec of canada lifted the key interest rate by .5%. the increase is smaller than the previous hike of .75%. this is a amid concerns about an economic slowdown.

canada central bank on wednesday said the policy rate at 3.75%. it was the six th consecutive increase. they've been trying to slow surging inflation. consumer prices in the country climbed 6.9% compared to a year ago. the bank need to continue to raise interest rates to curb inflation. they trud to limit the economic damage. >> if we do too much, with he could slow the economy more than needed. and we know as that is harmful consequences for people's ability to service debts, jobs, and for their businesses. >> many central banks around the world have been tightening monetary policy to combat soaring inflation including the u.s. federal reserve. but worries are growing that the large rate hikes could dampen economies more than necessary. >> the bank of japan kicks off the two day board meeting thursday.

the yen is weaker. and inflation is rising. people are starting to say the boj needs to do something by changing policy. we report that they may come as a surprise. >> the policy people are looking at is called yield curve control. or ycc. governor introduced it six years ago to spur the economy by keeping interest rates it does this by buying unlimited amounts of bonds from the market. but in the u.s., interest rates have been rising. this means the differential between u.s. and japanese rates is widening fast. that's causing the yen to fall against the dollar. investmentes in countries are

higher rates tend to give better returns. so japan's currency recently fit a 32-year low. the weak yen is causing import prices to rise. driving up living costs for regular people. one expert says this may put pressure on the boj to act. >> translator: there are statistics make it apparent the burden of higher prices is being felt by the japanese people. if the economy struggles because of higher prices, politicians could lean on the bank of japan to change policy. >> the boj will either end the policy on the own terms after the economy grows or it will give in to pressure before that. he thinks it will hold out until next year when the economy rebounds. another expert agrees saying there are two reasons it should not give in.

>> translator: the negative effects of the weaker yen are being felt right away. but there is a lag until the positive effects can be felt. world demand will soon rush to japan as the products and services are seen as che thanks to the weaker yen. >> the other reason is that there could be a destabilizing effect on the global economy. >> if the boj gives into pressure, japanese rates would jump. there is a higher possibility this could trigger a chain reaction of financial panic around the world. because japan owns much of the world as financi world's financial assets, stat built of the financial system is crucial. however the boj field curve control ends. they see it as unannounced. >> translator: boj might stop ycc this year to make it a surprise. if they announce the intentions

in advance, the cost will doing it balloon. >> in other words, if investors know japanese rates are set to rise, they'll bump previously issued bonds with lower yields. that could cause yields to shoot up in a okay the -- a chaotic way. they have to keep buying bonds nm the cap is lifted. to avoid this they have to end the policy without warning. he has surprised markets in the past. investors are wondering if he will do so again. waiting to see how and when his yield curve control policy comes to an end. nhk world. >> all right. let's have a look at the markets.

from the newsline biz team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thank you for being with us. ñn■x n

safely observe. >> this is al jazeera. richie sunak has taken office. jeremy irons will continue as finance minister. >> i will place economic stability at the heart of this agenda. this will mean difficult