hello and thank you for joining us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in toque co with the latest at this hour. the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant is assuring the public its operation to discharge treated and diluted water into the ocean is being conducted as planned. tokyo electric power company says the concentration of radioactive tritium in sea did not change significantly after

the discharge started on thursday. >> translator: we can confirm radio activity levels are low and no abnormal reading was detected due to the release. >> tepco plans to take seawater samples at ten points within 3 kilometers of the plant every day. it released the monitoring data taken a few hours after discharge dpan. it says the tritium concentration was less than 10 beckerals per liter. that's far less than the environmental standards of 60,000 per liter. tepco also released video which was shot when the act vivation started. ten minutes later the water started flowing into a shaft which is connected to a discharge tunnel. fukushima daiichi suffered a triple melt down in the 2011

earthquake and tsunami. since then water used to cool molten fuel at the plant is mixing with rain and ground water seeping into damaged reactor buildings. the water is being treated to remove most radioactive substances but still contains tritium. before the release the operator is diluting the treated water to reduce tritium levels to about one seventh of the world health organization's guideline for drinking water. the atomic energy agency says the plans are consistent with relevant safety standards. it says the discharge would have a neg ligible impact on people and the environment. despite that -- japan launched a protest at the meeting of the g20 trade and investment ministers. >> translator: china's measures are not based on scientific evidence and are totally unacceptable. we demand it lift the ban

immediately. >> the japanese government has set aside a $550 million fund to address reputational damage to fisheries and other industries. the environment ministry is also stepping up its monitoring of radiation levels in seawater off the coast of fukushima prefecture. it plans to check radiation levels once a week and publish results on its website and social media. u.s. media reports say an intentional explosion likely caused the plane crash in russia that's believed to have killed wagner group leader yevgeny prigozhin. "the wall street journal" said on thursday an early assessment of the situation by u.s. officials suggests a bomb exploded on the aircraft or some other form of sabotage caused the crash. a u.s. defense department spokesperson pat ryder told

reporters there's no information to suggest a surface-to-air missile took down the plane, refuting some initial reports. the private jet presumed to be carrying prigozhin crashed in russia on wednesday. russian president vladimir putin has expressed his condolences to prigozhin's family. >> translator: he was a man with a complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in life, but he also achieved the results he needed both for himself and when i asked him for the common cause. >> prigozhin drew attention after russia invaded ukraine as he sent fighters to major battles. in june he led an armed rebellion after an increasingly hostile confrontation with the russian defense ministry. now, the u.s. military says it'll soon start training ukrainian pilots to fly f-16 fighter aircraft. >> following english language training for pilots in

september, f-16 flight training is expected to begin in october at morris international air base in tusawn, arizona. >> the pentagon spokesperson says the pilots will learn specialized english needed to operate the jets before their flight training. he added the program typically lasts about eight months but experienced pilots could be ready within five. ryder says the u.s. wants the process to go as quickly as possible. several european nations are training european pilots. norway's prime minister said on thursday his country will donate f-16s. den mark and the netherlands have already announced similar plans. next, annual exchange program for japanese citizens to visit ancestral graves on russian held islands is in doubt. japan's top government spokesperson says the country is still awaiting a response from

russia. >> translator: we have been conducting diplomatic exchanges with the russian side through embassies and such, but we have yet to receive a positive response regarding the resumption of ancestral grave visits. >> matsuno said resuming the exchange program is the top priority. the visits began in 1964 and continued over the years with some interruptions caused by tensions with japan and the soviet union during the cold war. the visits were again suspended from 2020 with the on set of the coronavirus pandemic and russia's invasion of ukraine. former residents and their families are due to set sail on monday. they plan to hold the first of series of ceremonies at sea to pay homage to their ancestors. russia controls the four islands. japan claims them. the japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of japan's

territory. it says the islands were illegally occupied after world war ii. taiwan appears to be aiming to strengthen relations with the last african country it has diplomatic ties with. president tsai ing-wen will visit the nation of eswatini from september 5th through the 8th. she'll meet with the king and attend a ceremony marking the country's 55th anniversary of independence and visit a hospital china has supported. china has been working to expand its influence over africa, but eswatini has maintained diplomatic relations with taiwan. taiwan may be seeking nee projects with eswatini to bolster ties. nine countries have severed diplomatic ties with taiwan since tsai took office in 2016. five are in latin america

including nicaragua and honduras. taiwan now has diplomatic relations with 13 countries. a hawaii county has filed a lawsuit against the local power company claiming it's responsible for raecent wildfirs that left at least 115 people dead. maui county filed the suit thursday in a hawaiian state court. it claims the electric company was negligent and did not heed weather warnings. it said the utility failed to shutoff power despite strong winds and dry weather. witnesses reported seeing sparks from fallen power lines. the suit argues the system itself wasn't properly maintained. now, it isn't the first lawsuit to hit the power company. earlier this month residents from the town of lahaina filed their own suit. the town was effectively destroyed in the blaze. hawaiian electric industries has reportedly lost more than half of its market value since the wildfires. moving now to atlanta, georgia, where former u.s.

president donald trump made a brief appearance at a county jail. he was forced to surrender to authorities on charges of trying to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. it's trump's fourth criminal case as he gears up to run again next year. the former president's mug shot was published shortly after he was booked. trump was given an inmate number and paid a $200,000 bond for his release before trial. he's facing over a dozen charges in georgia including racketeering and making false statements. speaking after his appearance, trump claimed his political rivals were trying to abtaj his campaign. >> what has taken place here is travesty of justice. i did nothing wrong, and everyone knows i've never had such support, and that goes for the other ones, too. what they're doing is election interference. they're trying to interfere with an election. >> crowds of trump's supporters

gathered near the fulton county jail in solidarity with the former president. >> i'm here to protest a politically motivated witch hunt. >> a grand jury indicted trump and 18 others last week for conspiring to pressure officials to change the outcome of the election. it was his fourth indictment in as many months. he's denied any wrongdoing, and so far the charges do not appear to be affecting his political prospects. trump has been polling far ahead of others hoping to be the republican nominee in next year's election. for people outside ukraine, it can sometimes be difficult to connect with those suffering due to the russian invasion. this month a group of young people here in japan got an opportunity to better understand what ukrainians are going through.

ballet dancers from both countries joined together for a special performance. nhk world's koyama shoko reports. >> reporter: the venue is japanese as are most of the performers, but this dance does not originate here. >> translator: i feel like i've become a ukrainian. >> reporter: about 120 young people are performing. they're joined by dancers from the national ballet of ukraine. the show is especially meaningful for the group's artistic director. >> translator: the children of kyoto dance their hearts out for peace in ukraine. >> reporter: seven dancers with the national ballet trained with the performers for 14 days. the ukrainians mostly avoided

talking about the russian invasion, but he revealed a personal loss due to the fighting. >> translator: my uncle was killed two weeks ago. he left behind two little kids. >> reporter: his story gives the performers a lot to reflect on. >> translator: i don't understand everything they're going through, but i feel i'm starting to understand little by little. >> translator: i've learned something huge from them. they know the suffering of people expressing it on stage and understand the sorrow of war. i want to be able to tell people that war is wrong. >> reporter: then on saturday, just one day before their

performance, a russian missile attack on the theater in ukraine. it killed seven people including a 6-year-old girl. >> translator: it's worrying. for us the most important thing is that the people who remain in ukraine enjoy our performances, so we have to keep performing. >> reporter: the show went on performing the folk dance for the finale. on and off the stage, one main wish, peace for ukraine. >> i -- i won't cry. it's very take the soul, take the heart. it's amazing feel.

>> translator: today more than ever i feel that the power of art is stronger than politics or anything else. >> reporter: a power that informs and unites. koyama shoko, nhk world, kyoto. typhoon season is still under way in east asia with a pair of storms likely to bring some severe conditions along the pacific. our meteorologist explains the situation in our world weather report. >> yes, two tropical systems

have formed in the pacific. one is expected to move north and may possibly affect japan late sunday into monday. the system might not hit the country directly, but people on the pacific side should watch out for high waves and strong winds. and the other storm is likely to intensify into very strong typhoon status over the weekend. that system will move slowly near the philippines in the next couple of days then start to move north to taiwan and southern okinawa next week. the gusty winds and heavy downpours are the concern. please keep your eye on that. now, talking about downpours, people in parts of india are struggling with the monsoon season. we have some video. heavy monsoon rain hit northern india on wednesday. the downpours caused heavy

disruptions. the most heavy rain is in north eastern india. unfortunately it's expected to continue through the end of the week. finally in the united states a low pressure and frontal systems are making unstable weather conditions in the east. showers possible in new york, washington, d.c. and also down through miami. however, unusual temperatures all still a concern in the deep south. 38 on your friday. that's all for me. stay safe.

and that's all for now on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. coming up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so stay right there.

♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm ramin mellegard. now, the latest inflation figures for tokyo are out. growth in the inflation rate slowed as energy prices fell, but it's still well above the bank of japan's 2% target. the internal affairs ministry says the consumer price index for the capital central 23 wards in august was up 2.8% year on year. the index excludes volatile

fresh food prices, which fluctuate based on the weather. lower fuel prices pushed down energy costs with electricity bills dropping 22% and gas 14%. meanwhile, tokyo consumers are still feeling the wave of price hikes in super markets. prices of food excluding fresh items soared almost 9%. these figures for the capital are seen as the key indicator of nationwide inflation. we'll get those numbers on september 22nd. now, sales of tax-free items at department stores across japan in july topped levels not seen since before the coronavirus pandemic. tax is waived for foreign visitors who are returning to japan after travel restrictions were dropped. the japan department stores association says duty-free sales last month topped 31 billion yen or over $200 million. that's up 11% for the same month

over 2019 and more than triple the figure from a year earlier. >> translator: sales of tax-free goods per customer in july were about 50% higher than four years ago. high-priced items did especially well due to the weaker yen. >> july was the 17th month in a row the total department store sales have risen jumping 8.6% year on year. the hot weather drove sales of summer clothing and parasols. an nhk survey shows rising shareholder support for the inclusion of female board members in leadership positions. annual shareholders meetings in june saw more firms listed on the tokyo stock n add women to posts. 245 such companies with no female business leaders, 115 promoted women to the posts. executive backing for

appointments at these posts rose 2.8 points on average compared to last year. but with many firms with no women in top positions, support for those leadership positions dropped 6.2 points. shareholders in japan are increasingly calling on companies to fix the skewed gender balance in their boardrooms. now, japan continues to suffer under record setting heat, which is having an impact on many industries even the usually mild hokkaido in the north of the country is recording some of its highest ever temperatures. hokkaido is known for its agriculture and dairy industries. sugawa runs a dairy farm in the tokachi region with around 350 cows. >> translator: cows are comfortable in cold weather and are not used to this heat. it's way too hot for them now. >> he says the intense heat is causing his cattle to lose their

appetite and grow weak. some develop inflamed udders and die. milk output is down 20%. he's trying to keep the cows cool with fans, but electricity prices have been surging, pushing his operating costs up about 10%. and the heat has caused corn to grow faster than usual. the large harvest has pushed down market prices, prompting an agricultural cooperative to suspend shipments last week. turkey's central bank has raised its key interest rate by 7.5 percentage points. the aggressive move is an attempt to confront inflation with monetary tightening. turkey's inflation in july was about 47% compared to a year earlier. run away inflation prompted the decision to raise the key rate from 17.5% to 25%. the hike was larger than

expected and strengthened the turkish lira which had been weak against the dollar. the lira surged against the dollar about 5% on thursday. the central bank has been setting the rate by the president but after he was re-elected in may the bank has shifted the monetary tightening. the bank raised the key rate in june explaining inflation is worse than expected. and next nhk world's john ladue is here with biz picks. >> every friday we bring you the latest in business with biz picks. first, a wrap of the market this week. the nikkei average closed at 31,624 on friday, august 25th. for the week it gained about a half a percent. the index started the week with

a rebound led by a weaker yen and rallies in the high tech sector but the trend faded later in the week. tokyo stocks faded on friday with investors wary of higher interest rate prospects in the u.s. next, a look at the week ahead. china releases its index for manufacturing activity. it has been contracting for four straight months underlining the country's shaky recovery. later in the day a fast growing india is set to announce its latest gdp figures, and market participants will be closely watching u.s. jobs data that come out on friday to further gauge where rates could be going. this week india is our feature focus. india is gaining momentum on the world stage. it just made a historic landing on the moon this week joining the elite space club. the country is also expected to surpass germany and japan to become the third largest economy

within a few years. saito makoto of nly institute says the country is a bright spot amid the slowing global economy, and it continues to see robust growth. >> translator: due to the steady expansion of internal demand, i expect the indian economy to achieve over 6% growth for this fiscal year ending next march. although it's a slow down from the last fiscal year, 6% growth is remarkable considering that it outpaces china's target of around 5%. >> india's biggest economic strength is its huge population of more than 1.4 billion. but saito points out it also poses a challenge because the country needs to create employment opportunities for so many. >> translator: currently the vast majority of people work in industries with low productivity and low wages. and india will see around 10

million new labors in the coming year in the decade, but the economy can't leverage its large workforce without high quality jobs. for the country to grow effectively it needs to strengthen its manufacturing sector. >> prime minister narendra modi's government is in fact aggressively pushing its make in india initiative to boost the manufacturing sector. rising u.s.-china tensions are also offering a wind fall opportunity for india as more multi-national firms look to diversify their supply chains. but saito says it won't be easy for the country to rapidly replace china's as the world's factory. >> translator: india withdrew from the free-trade agreement in the asia pacific, so the country is weak in terms of linkages with the global supply chain. on top of that its trade policy often takes a protectionist stance such as increasing tariffs instead of cutting them, so right now i think it's difficult to walk the same path as china.

>> saito says with the west's move to derisk their economies from beijing, the role of china may be spread between india, asean, and other developing countries. i'm john ladue, and that was this week's biz picks. okay, let's get a check on the markets.

that's it for "newsline biz" from tokyo. i'm ramin mellegard. thank you very much for watching.

laura: thaksin shinawatra returns home. thailand's former leader, back from exile, was immediately detained. he supports the new government, which is backed by the military that ousted him. the winners of the election are out in the cold. so, what next for thailand? this is "inside story." ♪ hello there, and welcome to the program. i'm laura kyle. thailand's democracy enters another phase just as a towe