hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. north korea has amended its constitution to recognize its policy on nuclear force. pyeongyang says its nuclear weapons program is now permanently part of the country's basic law. north korea's state media says the supreme people's assembly wrapped up its two-day session

wednesday. it says the amendment will help the country deter war. pyeongyang had previously declared itself a nuclear power in 2012. in a speech leader kim jong-un said the country's nuclear force is now a permanent strategic asset. this comes after a new law last september legalizing a potential preemptive nuclear strike. meanwhile north korea also upgraded its aerospace agency into a bureau. it played a key role in recent ballistic missile launches. it was also behind two failed attempts to launch a spy satellite. north korea made it clear it wants to pursue space development in a recent visit to russia. pyeongyang is expected to make a third attempt to deploy the satellite in the coming weeks. south korea's yonhap news essentially says the upgrade

shows north korea is committed to future launches. taiwan has launched its first domestically developed submarine, a major step that it hopes will enhance deterrence against the chinese military. the vessel was unveiled at a launch ceremony in the southern city on thursday. construction began in 2020. >> translator: a domestically built submarine is more than just a goal, it's a concrete realization of taiwan's realization to protect itself. submarines are important equipment for the taiwan navy to develop asymmetric warfare capabilities. >> the administration has been pushing the strategy of having highly mobile capabilities to deter pressure from china's mobile military force.

thursday's sublaunch comes as china is increasing its military activities including aircraft carrier drills in the waters around taiwan. the united states, south korea, and japan were all mentioned at the ceremony. the united states is taiwan's largest arms supplier. the firm that built the submarine has not disclosed details of the vessel's capabilities. it's expected to go into service in 2025 after tests at ports and at sea. the philippines and the united states are set to kick off a joint naval exercise on monday. philippine officials say the two navies invited seven other countries including japan to join the annual drills. this comes as tensions have been rising between muunless and untila and beijing over territorial claims in the south china sea. the 12-day exercise will be held in the waters southeast of luzan

island. combat drills between the navy of the pihilippines and u.s. -- other countries invited this year are australia, canada, britain, new zealand, france, and indonesia. about 2,000 personnel are taking part. philippine navy officials say the aim is to further strengthen international defense cooperation and a rules based order in the indo-pacific. japan's maritime self-defense force plans to send the destroyer along with nearly 170 personnel. though practice responding to disasters and delivering humanitarian aid. japan deployed its largest destroyer the izumo last month to another exercise in the south china sea. the philippines, the u.s., and australia were also involved.

manila is keen to strengthen ties. police in central japan are trying to figure out why a man fatally stabbed his hospitalized wife and daughter and then fatally stabbed himself. officers in the city say a 73-year-old man stabbed his 72-year-old wife and 40-year-old daughter in separate rooms of a neurology hospital. they say he then stabbed himself there. they've learned the daughter was hospitalized about 20 years ago and the wife about six months ago. the man had since been living with his son. a hospital manager says the man visited his wife and daughter every other day with no incident. a family relative says the man used to take part in community events but started avoiding neighbors after his wife was hospitalized.

police are trying to piece together the sequence of events leading up. akihabara is one of tokyo's most popular spots for foreign tourists. land developers were divided over the project that's been discussed for decades, but now sources tell nhk there are enough landowners who support it for the project to meet the legal threshold for approval. the redevelopment includes a 170 meter high rise that would house offices and facilities near the station. it's long been a hub for electronic shops and establishments catering to fans of japanese subculture. the redevelopment is now expected today be indorlsed as an official project by the end of this year. tokyo is going to be

enhancing its already impressive skyline with what will soon be the country's tallest building. this next report looks at how a friendly rivalry between two of japan's biggest cities is driving the construction of more skyscrapers to ultimately attract foreign investment. >> the ceremony was held in tokyo on wednesday to mark the start of construction on what will be japan's tallest build. the torch tower will reach 385 meters once it's completed in 2028. that is roughly the same height as the empire state building in new york. the building will be a mix of c class around the world. >> the torch tower will surpass another tokyo skyscraper that was completed in june.

the jb tower and the mignato ward stands at 330 meters tall. the area is being revived to attract more foreign residents complete with an international school and high end hotel. the building's ceo says that as of august foreign companies are planning to take up a third of itsuture depends on whether it can compete with cities around the world. my company will help tokyo improve its global standing and become a viable destination. >> prior to this another big japanese city was home to the country's tallest building. in the western city of osaka, it was built in 2014 and remains an iconic landmark. tokyo and osaka are the country's two biggest financial

hubs and have had a long held rivaly. and osaka locals weren't too pleased to hear that tokyo dethroned them again. >> translator: i want osaka to come in first. >> translator: tokyo is the only city i don't want to lose to. >> osaka is also undergoing a major construction boost particularly around its commercial hubs as the city gears up to host the 2025 world expo. experts hope the competition between the two cities will drive more global investors to japan. >> high rises are meant to be functional and attctive to foreign investment. they should help engage global firms and bring in more professionals from overseas. >> japan's two largest cities are competing with the likes of

regional metropolis heavyweights like singapore, hong kong, and shanghai. and although flashy skyscrapers aren't the only way to raise global standing, it is a step in the right direction. donald trump skips the second televised republican candidates debate wednesday to deliver a speech to members of the united auto workers union. workers at the big three auto workers are on strike and both sides are said to be far apart on key economic issues. >> i side with the auto workers of america and with those who want to make america great again. >> trump also used the speech to attack president joe biden claiming biden's backing of electric vehicles would mean fewer jobs. the former u.s. president vowed he would not let the auto

industry decline but instead would make it better than ever. trump's choice to speak to auto workers in michigan shows the importance he places on winning working class votes. union members have been traditional supporters of the democrats. trump's speech comes one day after biden visited the striking auto workers picket line in michigan. more than 2,000 ukrainians are living in japan after the russian invasion of their homeland. with no end in sight to the war, the number of those who want to find jobs in japan is expected to increase. but one ukrainian in western japan is facing imposing l linguistc and administrative barriers. >> reporter: 24-year-old -- began working in the city of

oslo. he communicates with his colleagues in simple japanese or english. >> translator: i'm very grateful to be able to observe and learn from japanese dentists. >> reporter: he comes from the donetsk region which was unilaterally annexed by russia last year. some of his friends there have been killed in the fighting. as the fighting escalated, he and his fiancee decided to flee. they set their sights on a country that had long intrigued them. but first they had to make it through russia. >> we were all interrogated for a long time. i finally felt safe when we left russia. >> reporter: he now wants to obtain a japanese dental

license. so he arrives at work early every day to practice his drilling technique. he also has to pass the most challenging japanese language test hitting near 90 fluency to become a dentist. so he goes to school several times a week and applies his learning in the clinic. and then there's a dental exam. even though he was a dentist in ukraine, he has to pass japan's exam. and he doesn't know yet if he'll even be allowed to take it. that all depends on how the health ministry assesses his ukrainian education. the head of the clinic that employs him is doing his best to support. >> translator: i think he has

gone through painful experiences that he isn't able to talk about. i hope i can help by providing a good educational environment. >> translator: i hope to become a dentist in japan in future, but i worry about whether i can achieve my goal even if i learn japanese. >> reporter: for him reaching japan is only the start. building a life in to country is another daunting challenge but one he's determined to take on. it's time for a check on the

weather. even though it's late september people in parts of japan are still struggling with summer-like heat. our meteorologist has an update. >> october is just around the corner however we're still enjoying short leaves in tokyo. the marker hit 33 on thursday, and people in shizuoka felt almost 35 which is almost 10 degrees high above the average. in shizuoka prefecture about 30 students have suffered from heatstroke and some were hospitalized during sports day. the same concern will continue into friday. tokyo will see 31 and you could see over 30 in much of the cities in central to western japan, so please stay hydrated as much as you can. however, in northern japan heavy rain is an issue. an active system is sweeping

across the area into friday morning. in europe a couple of systems are making major disruptions. the storm is the first named storm of the season across the british aisles. flares and gusty winds have already been reported. another stormed area is moving slowly across the balkans. we have some video from the area. a number of major streets in central greece have been flooded after heavy rain hit on wednesday. many people were trapped in their cars in flooded streets while rain and lightening struck. trash can be seen floating in the water. unfortunately, the system is expected to stay over the region into the weekend. so thunder showers are still possible in athens and istanbul, however sunny skies will cover much of the continent. berlin will see much warmer conditions with a high of 26.

that's all for me. have a nice day. that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline."

i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching and please stay with us for more. ♪ this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. the hong kong stock exchange says it has suspended trading in shares of heavily indebted chinese property developer evergrande group. the reasons for the move have yet to be revealed. trading in evergrande shares has been halted since the opening of the exchange thursday. shares of the property

management firm and an electric vehicle maker under the group umbrella have also been suspended. am struggling group filed for u.s. bankruptcy protection last month, but talks with creditors have not moved forward. chinese media reports say several executives including the ex-ceo have been detained by authorities. bloomberg says the founder and chairman of the group is being monitored by the police. the head of the japan tourism agency says the release of treated and diluted water from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant has so far a limited impact on the number of chinese holiday makers coming to japan. there were concerns that the water discharge which began late august would deter chinese tourists from visiting their near neighbor. beijing has been staunchly opposed to the release.

japan's tourism chief spoke to reporters ahead of the friday start of china's national holiday period. t takahashi said a survey found some have seen certain number of cancellations, but others have more reservations than in the same period than in 2019 before the pandemic. >> we are aware the situation is different for each travel agency in terms of whether or not they are affected and to what extent. >> takahashi added that his agency will monitor the situation and continue to work on attracting visitors from china. the latest data shows the treated and diluted water release has definitely hit japan's seafood industry. the value of exports to china fell by more than 75% in august compared to the previous year. japan's finance ministry says

exports of unprocessed seafood last month were worth almost 2.2 billion yen or $14.6 million. china suspended imports of japanese seafood on august 24th in protest of japan's release of the treated and diluted water. before the water is discharged into the sea, the plant's operator dilutes it to reduce tritium levels to about one-seventh of the world health organization's guidelines for drinking water. the japanese government plans to spend about $139 million on emergency relief measures for the fisheries industry. that is in addition to a $535 million fund already allocated for measures against reputational damage. the government is also working to open up new seafood markets abroad. japanese auto makers have reported slumping new car sales in china in august. the firms have been struggling

with their line-ups of largely gasoline powered and hybrid models as the country rapidly shifts to electric vehicles. toyota says its sales last month fell over 6% from a year earlier with about 175,000 vehicles. honda's figures tumbled by a quarter. nissan sales were down nearly 30%. mitsubishi motors saw sales plunge almost 90% as the firm halted production in china due to business performance. the figures for subaru dropped over 70%. plauz dumanaged to post an increase over 1% as it rolled out new models. the situation for the firms in china stands in contrast to their performance elsewhere. seven of eight japanese auto makers saw global new unit sales rise in august. the companies posted robust figures in the u.s. and europe

as semiconductor shortages eased with toyota seeing record sales for the month. countries in west africa and south america often come to mind when you think of the world's largest producer of chocolate's raw ingredient, cacao, so it may come as a surprise taiwan is gaining worldwide recognition not only as a producer of cacao beans but also of high quality chocolate. >> this shopping mall in taipei offers a wide variety of chocolates. they started to win medals in international competitions about five years ago. their products are said it to have a distinctive fruity flavor. a bar of chocolate can cost anywhere from 8 to $20.

taiwanese chocolate is popular among consumers both at home and abroad. >> translator: i've learned on social media about the reputation of taiwanese chocolates, and my wife told me to buy some for her. >> translator: many customers are from japan, europe, and the u.s. >> this area is the largest producer of cacao in southern taiwan. he likely became the first farmer to cultivate cacao in the region about 20 years ago. he's now known locally as the father of cacao. he'd been focusing on prodgrowi trees that produce high quality beans. the amount of fat contained in the beans is important because it helps the chocolate melt smoothly in the mouth.

>> translator: big, round seeds contain more fat. they are perfect. i choose those kinds of seeds and grow them. >> the climate of certain areas in taiwan is suited to cacao production because the annual average temperature is about 25 degrees celsius. it also has annual rainfall of more than 2,000 millimeters. cacao trees cannot thrive in an environment with strong sunlight and winds. the tall palm trees planted in large numbers in taiwan shield the trees from these elements creating the perfect environment. taiwanese authorities are backing cacao farmers to boost brand recognition. they've been monitoring condition for domestic production and offering expert technical guidance to the farmers. currently more than 300 hectares are devoted today cacao trees.

that's 30 times the area from a decade ago. >> translator: we plan to develop the cacao industry to produce high end products similar to premium tea and coffee that will help farmers secure a certain level of income. >> the taiwanese chocolate industry is unique because the cacao farms produce chocolate by themselves. cacao beans from most other producing areas are sent to chocolate makers in europe or the u.s. taiwanese farmers practice what is known as tree to farm production. they do everything needed to make chocolate right from growing the trees. farmers produce more than 40 brands providing a rich variety of chocolates for consumers. >> translator: i believe taiwanese chocolate will be among the best in the world. i want to export taiwan's chocolate around the world. >> experts and chocolate lovers

are now constantly watching the expanding presence of taiwanese chocolate on the global market. all right, let's have a look at the markets.

and from the "newsline biz" team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks very much for being with us. i feel i come alive, but i

know i am a machine. >> origin of the species on al jazeera. laura: after a long, tough journey, thousand of asylum-seekers are crossing everyday into the u.s. despite the obstacles and barriers, their number is growing. immigration divides american politics and will be a central issue in next year's presidential election. so why is it so emotive, and what is the solution? this is "inside story." ♪ hello there and welcome to the program.