hello and welcome to this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo with the latest at this hour. we begin in hiroshima which is now a space for summit diplomacy. japan's prime minister kishida fumio is meeting separately with other g7 leaders before the group summit gets under way on friday. >> at the summit i want to show the g7 nations unwavering

commitment for safeguarding a free and open international order based on the rule of law, which japan and the united states have been upholding. >> we stand up for the shared values including supporting the free people of ukraine as they defend their sovereign territory and holding russia accountable for its brutal aggression and retracting global challenges from strengthening our community and our commitment to nuclear nonproliferation to ensuring a free and open indo-pacific. that's at the heart of all this. >> the bilateral talks come as the countries are boosting the deterrence and response capabilities of their alliance over growing concerns over china and north korea. japan and the u.s. are also working together to strengthen supply chains of semiconductors and key minerals. at the g7 summit kishida hopes to highlight the risks of nuclear weapons in a city that was the site of the world's first atopic bombing in 1945.

he says he wants to reaffirm the g7's determination towards a world without nuclear weapons. food security and the state of the global economy will also be on the agenda. and for more on kishida and biden's meeting we're joined now by nhk's washington bureau chief. so what are biden's goals for the japan-u.s. summit? >> yeah, this meeting between biden and kishida came before the summit officially starts friday. this gave the two leaders an opportunity to align their agendas on critical issues. during the g7 the u.s. wants to reaffirm the leaders unied stance against russia's invasion of ukraine and china's growing influence. president biden would also like to take advantage of japan's g7 chairmanship to redirect the attention of european member countries who have been primarily focused on ukraine to the indo-pacific region.

>> now, masaru, one of the items at the g7 meeting will be to strengthen the alliance of the countries of the global south, isn't it? >> reporter: yes. china in particular is expanding its influence over the global south by lending money and offering support to build big projects which is making them concerned. some countries in the south pacific, africa, and other regions fear the u.s. has not demonstrated commitment to the regions for a long time. japan, on the other hand, has a track record of providing economic assistance to these countries including development and support of its own. the u.s. may need to rely on japan's credibility in the region in order to build stronger ties there. >> and what can we expect out of a possible trilateral meeting between the u.s., japan, and south korea? >> reporter: well, the biden

administration has long called for strengthening relations among the three countries, but due to the poor relationship between japan and south korea, it has often been necessary to meet separately even on security issues important to all of them. however, there's reason for a great opportunity for the relationship to be strengthened after south korean president yun proposed a solution. president biden has praised prime minister kishida's vision to resume diplomacy with south korea. during the bilateral meeting he may also -- he may have also discussed future fronts to ins tulleallize their three-way relationship and economic security. >> all right, we will be keeping an eye on that summit. thank you very much, masaru.

that was nhk's washington bureau chief. next nhk world is in hiroshima and will be covering events throughout the summit. earlier he spoke about what's happening in the city as it gears up to welcome the g7. >> reporter: police are everywhere and officers are being brought in from across japan. the national police agency says they are deploying up to 24,000 personnel, the largest number for any summit in this country since the year 2000. it all comes as there's been a lot of attention on security after two major incidents since last summer. in july former prime minister abe shinzo was shot dead at a political rally in the western city of nara. then about a month ago a man threw what was believed to be a homemade bomb towards prime minister kishida during an event in wakayama prefecture. they appear to be taking no chances in hiroshima.

the island where the summit is being held has been restricted to the public since monday. checkpoints have been setup on nearby streets. some stores are closing until the summit is over because it's so hard to get around. but this owner has another reason. >> translator: it was a hard choice, but i decided to close because i want to do my part to help the summit go smoothly, and i want the leaders to understand our wish for nuclear abolition. >> reporter: and that wish is clearly on display at the memorial near where the atomic blast happened. this whole area will be walocke down where the g7 leaders will meet. we've seen a lot of people from all over japan and also other countries visiting this place experiencing the history. here's what they have to say. >> it's a very special place because it brings a lot of

memories when i studied the second world war and the history of japan also. >> we are worried the situation will happen again in the future. >> survivors of the bomb tell their stories at the peace pumorrial museum. people designated as their successors convey them to audiences around the world. >> at that instant he saw a flash. flash, then he heard a roaring -- >> she speaks on behalf of --

m mutsu was 11 years old when he was exposed to the bomb. >> it's deeply moving to hear a real story of someone who survived, and it's so important i think it's passed onto generations and we keep on remember so we hopefully never repeat it. >> many in the city hope the g7 leaders can learn that lesson from coming here so history is never repeated. now we have more stories and analysis on the meetings between global leaders as well as voices of hibakusha on our website. you can check the latest news and pictures from hiroshima.

well-known japanese kabuki actor ichikawa ennosuke is apparently not life threatening after he and his parents were found collapsed. his promoter says he is in no danger of dying. it is believed he attempted suicide. police and other sources say ennosuke's manager found him on the floor. police are investigating. they say they found a note from ennosuke suggesting he may have attempted suicide. he's also been performing in an ongoing theater production in the capital. thursday's afternoon performance was canceled.

>> translator: i just want him to get well. i think it'll take some time for him to make a comeback. i hope he hangs in there. >> theater officials said thursday night's performance would go on with a standby actor. they have yet to come up with a plan for future shows. turning now to thailand where opposition parties have started negotiations to form a coalition government after emerging victorious in sunday's general election. the leader of the move forward party which won the largest share of votes said it's agreed to create an alliance with seven other parties. >> translator: we have confidence that we can form a government, but the team is negotiating the details. >> leaders of the eight parties held a joint news conference on thursday. they included the phua thai party. the leader says they'll release

a memorandum of understanding outlining a framework for the coalition on monday. the eight parties have agreed to support pita becoming the next prime minister, but it remains to be seen if they'll be able to form a government. the party's won a total of over 310 seats in the lower house, but they still need around 60 more seats including from the senate to choose the prime minister. move forward also diverges from its allies on some key issues especially the led magisty law which forbids insulting the royal family. the party campaigned on a promise to amend the law. next, montana is set to become the first u.s. state to completely ban tiktok. the legislation was signed wednesday. it alleges that the personal app's users could be shared with the chinese communist party. the ban takes effect in january. any entity, including google and apple, that offers the ability for people to download the app would be fined, but the penalties would not apply to

users. the popular video sharing app is owned by a chine a growing number of countries are banning the app from all personal devices. tiktok says this violates the constitution and the company wants to reassure people in the state that they can continue using the app. u.s. media say the law is likely to face legal challenges. a representative of the united nations world food program says more than 30% of afghanistan's population faces food insecurity. >> in afghanistan over 15 million people right now don't know where to get their next meal, and of which close to 3 million people are what we would say one step away from catastrophic or famine like condition. that makes it extremely worrying for us and for the people in afghanistan.

>> the u.n. says food prices are soaring due to russia's invasion of ukraine. but lee said on wednesday the wfp must cut rations in afghanistan due to a lack of funds. the country's economy has been deteriorating since the taliban returned to power in august 2021. prolonged drought has devastated crop harvests causing a serious food shortage. lee called on the international community to remain committed to afghanistan and help the country's people support themselves. in other news an lgbtq advocacy group in beijing said that shutting down operations due to what it calls circumstances beyond its control. the beijing lgbt center made the announcement on its official social media account. the non-profit founded in 2008 served as a safe space for the lgbtq community in beijing offering counseling and educational events. chinese authorities under president xi jinping have been

stepping up pressure on citizens critical of the government. analysts say beijing is nervous that lgbtq rights advocacy could spread western values and lead to criticism of its rule. in 2021, dozens of social media accounts with lgbtq topics were reportedly shut down. turning now to weather, it was hot once again in tokyo on thursday. our meteorologist jonathan oh has the outlook into the weekend in our world weather report. >> hello. we saw another hot day across japan. temperatures getting over 30 degrees in places like tokyo and also fukushima as you saw these highs really moving into what we would see during the real mid-summer as opposed to seeing them in the month of may. take a look at this video. beginning what happened on wednesday into thursday as hot weather is gripping parts of the country this week. it is leading to some serious consequences. the tokyo fire department says

dozens of people were taken to the hospital on suspicion of heatstroke wednesday. and in fukuoka prefecture they had to be airlifted to hospital due to the heat. meanwhile in contrast down to the south and western okinawa we're talking about the rainy season and announced the beginning of it for oak nugnaw waw on thursday. both places are seeing the season start about one week later than normal and about two weeks normal than last year. and we are seeing plenty of rain show up on the radar. and take a look what's happening in the map here and eventually moving to kyushu and see it spreading towards the west as we go through the day on friday because of a low pressure system also developing, and that's going to be moving cross, so you'll need your umbrellas. hopefully you can take the edge off the heat in place and talking about highs in the 20s coming up starting on friday from tokyo to osaka and naha.

hiroshima looking at rain for the day, and then going to the weekend dryer and highs will be in the mid-20s for those couple of days. across europe we'll be watching this low pressure system that's been stubborn down through the south. it's shifted to the balkans but another low will be into italy, but we're talk about flooding and landslides so be on the lookout for that. that's a look at your forecast. hope you have a good day wherever you are.

that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo.

coming up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so don't go away. this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. now the bench mark index for the tokyo stock exchange ended thursday sharply higher, one day after it climbed above the 30,000 mark for the first time in over a year and a half. the nikkei 225 finished at 30,573. that's up 1.6% from wednesday. it was briefly up more than 570 points.

foreign investors are helping drive the rally on concerns that interest rate hikes could weigh on growth in the united states and europe. market players snapped up shares after the u.s. debt ceiling impasse eased somewhat. president joe biden said he's confident america will not default on its debt. the nikkei 225 has risen for the last six trading days. it's been an upward trend since late march and is up 6% this month. and prime minister kishida fumio says his government will spend big to help foreign chip makers bring more of their operations to japan. kishida met with executives from taiwan's and micron technology from the u.s. >> translator: i'm delighted that the heads of semiconductor makers are here and are all positive about investing in japan. >> micron technology officials plan to invest up to 500 billion

yen or about $3.6 billion to develop and make next generation memory chips in hiroshima prefecture. samsung officials say they're also considering building a research and development center in japan. kishida said japan would provide financial assistance to help that idea come to fruition. they've earmarked some $9.5 billion to subsidize the development and the production of semiconductors. and the leaders of the group of seven nations begin their three-day talks in here shaema friday, and one of the main topics is economic security. semiconductors are key to this, but worries about supply are growing due to the mounting tensions between the world's two biggest economies. now, the recent pandemic also showed how vulnerable supply chains can be. as a result, countries want to make more of their chips at home

and japan is no exception. nhk world looks at what's happening on the country's southwestern island of kyushu to help japan raise its game. >> reporter: kyushu is sometimes known as japan's -- over $7 billion is being invested in a giant new plant. the world's largest chip maker taiwan semiconductor and manufacturing company is partnering with sony and others. the japanese government is covering about half the costs. but these efforts have been a long time coming. 30 years ago japan dominated the industry and was ground in the 1990s to the rising powers, south korea and taiwan. an expert says a key reason was

a lack of government support. >> we lost the gain against the taiwan or south korea or china. if you learn from the definitely we need support from the government. and just the investment for the facility or investment for technology or investment for their people. >> japan is taking other steps as well. rapidus a venture between sony, toyota, and others. it aims to produce chips for artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles. but these plans will need plenty of skilled workers.

training facilities have been setup and they are flooded with applicants. >> translator: who wants to go first? >> reporter: the center was setup last year by a company based in tokyo. it provides training for basic techniques in making semiconductors. >> translator: i want to absorb everything i can here to develop abilities that i can take with me. >> reporter: many people want to get in on japan's semiconductor revival, and the industry needs workers, so the center is planning to increase the number of people it can accept by ten-fold. >> translator: we hope to nurture many people who can lead japan's semiconductor industry into the future. >> reporter: still, industry associations are predicting personnel shortages of about

1,000 workers each year for the next decade. it believes all the building blocks to get back into semiconductors human resources could be the key to japan's comeback. nhk world. >> now, nhk has learned that officials from the g7 nations are working to include numerical targets for renewable energy. ein their declaration to be issued at their summit a draft statement stresses that the introduction of clean energy needs to go much faster to achieve carbon neutrality. the document includes a pledge that the g7 members will raise offshore wind power generation six fold and almost triple solar power generation from 2030 by current levels. the wind power figure equivalent to the output of 130 large power stations that for solar power 1,000 stations. post-nation japan hopes to agree with its poerns to work together

on technology to develop a film-type solar panel. the summit is also planning to adopt clean chaerj and call for invest wants from the public and private sectors and creating sustainable supply chains, but the members are believed to be divided over reducing dependence on coal fired thermal power generation and co2 emissions from automobiles. representatives from japan's top auto industry body are weighing in. they say it would be a mistake for car makers to put all their eggs in the ev basket. they say companies should use every clean technology at their disposal to cut emissions. those comments are from officials at the japan automobile manufacturer's association. >> translator: each country and region faces a different set of circumstances. we will respect these differences and live with this diversity. to this end the world needs a

variety of technologies. >> g7 leaders are split on the question of setting targets for ev numbers. the local industry group will exhibit a range of japanese evs, hybrid cars, and fuel cell vehicles in the host city during the summit. now, japan's trade deficit narrowed in april as costs for energy imports fell. the finance ministry says imports kpeeed exports by more than 430 billion yen or about $3 billion. that's about half as much as the a year earlier. the monthly deficit was the 21st in a row for japan. exports rose 2.6% in yen terms from a year earlier. auto shipments for the u.s. gained as an easing shortage of semiconductors helped production. imports fell by 2.3% as yen denominated cruel oil costs dropped 16%. japan's domestic travelers spent more during the first three

months of this year compare today the same period right before the coronavirus pandemic. the japan tourism agency says they shelled out over 4 trillion yen or about $30 billion from january to march. the figure was up half a percent from 40 four years ago and abou 80%. spending per traveller averages 42,000 yen or about $300. that's more than 20% higher than in 2019 before the pandemic. the data shows that more japanese residents are traveling in thaer own country. in the meantime tourists from abroad have surged in numbers as entry rules have been relaxed in recent months. okay, let's get a check on the markets.

that's it for "newsline biz" from tokyo.

♪ laura: will the pro-democracy opposition take power in thailand? it secured a significant victory in the general election, and promises major reforms. but with the military so powerful, how can it achieve this? this is "inside story." ♪ laura: hello there, i'm laura kyle.