. hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. japan's environment ministry says tritium in seawater off fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant remains below the detectable level. it conducted its sixth weekly survey since the plant's operator began releasing treated and diluted water into the ocean in august.

officials collected seawater samples from 11 points off the coast of fukushima, miyagi, and ibaraki prefectures on tuesday going as far as 70 kilometers away. the ministry says the concentration levels of tritium at all locations was below the minimum detectable level of ten beckerals perliter. this matches the results of the last five surveys. the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant suffered a triple melt down in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. water used to cool molten fuel there has been mixing with rain and ground water. the accumulated water is being treated to remove most radioactive substances but still contains tritium. the plant's operator has been delighting it to reduce tritium levels to about one-seventh of the world health organization's guidelines for drinking water. the ministry plans to keep monitoring tritium levels once a week for the time being and

publish the results. the autumn holidays kick off in china on friday for the first time since beijing lifted its zero-covid policy. the chinese government estimates people take about 2 billion trips during this eight-day stretch, a 60% increase over last year. for more on this earlier kanako sachno spoke with our beijing correspondent nakumura genta. >> how's the first day looking there? >> i can already feel the holiday here in beijing. i saw lots of tourists from the countryside. this year the holidays include a host of midautumn festival and national day. that only happens when the dates happen to line up on the lunar calender. so it's a nice little bonus for people here who essentially

couldn't travel for years because of covid-19. >> translator: of course i'm a little excited. it's the first national day after the pandemic. i'm really looking forward to it. >> translator: for three years i couldn't go out because of all the blockades. even if i did, it was inconvenient. now that the restrictions are gone i can go wherever i want. >> reporter: many are also eager to travel abroad. a major chinese travel website says people are spending 20 times more on overseas travel compared to this time last year. the most popular destinations are thailand, south korea, and malaysia. thailand's government waived requirements for chinese tourists so it will likely be this year's top destination. >> i noticed you didn't mention japan. things have been tense between the two countries lately. is that having an effect?

>> reporter: well, beijing has been opposed to the treated and diluted water release from the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant, but individual trips to japan are still popular. the japanese embassy in beijing says visa applications have remained steady. chinese media has toned down its criticism of japan lately, so it may not have a huge impact. meanwhile flights between china and japan still aren't back to pre-pandemic levels, so tickets are expensive. that cost is probably the main reason why some people are choosing to go elsewhere. many chinese tourists are trying to find the most bang for their buck, and right now that's not japan. >> now, speaking of that, china's economy has been sluggish lately. do you think that will affect how chinese people spend their holidays? >> well, possibly.

spending was down during every other holiday this year. consumer spending has been falling for some time. the job market is weak, and some companies have cut salaries and bonuses, so consumers are increasingly thrifty. many chinese are still reluctant to spend money on luxuries like overseas vacations. how much people spend domestically during the holidays were the key to predicting the future of the world's second largest economy. ahead of china's national day president xi jinping told a gathering of senior officials and foreign diplomats that he's committed to unification with taiwan. xi spoke at a dinner reception hosted at beijing's great hall of the people on thursday. he told them about the need to uphold the one china principle and to deepen integration with taiwan by peacefully developing their cross strait relationship.

>> translator: no forces can prevent the complete reunification of the motherland, which is inevitable given the flow of the times in history. >> xi's speech also touched on china's slow economic recovery. he said his government will support people concerned for their livelihoods and urge them to work together for what is called the rejuvenation of the chinese nation. the u.s. government has announced that american and chinese senior diplomatic officials held talks in washington this week. it follows several other high level meetings this year as the two countries deal with strained relations. u.s. state department says u.s. assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs met with the chinese vice

foreign minister for asia wednesday. it says they discussed north korea and taiwan and reiterated the importance of maintaining open channels of communication. they're also believed today have discussed expected talks between the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken and chinese foreign minister wang yi. "the wall street journal" reported on thursday wang is likely to visit washington in october. it added officials are also discussing a possible visit to the u.s. capitol by the chinese vice premier. he's in charge of economic and trade relations with the u.s. the newspaper says the two countries are paving the way for a summit between u.s. president joe biden and chinese president xi jinping. there is speculation the two could meet on the side lines of the asia pacific economic cooperation forum in the u.s. in

november. the japanese government notified the ruling parties on friday that an extraordinary diet session will be convened on october 20th. it comes as rumors swirl within political parties that prime minister kishida fumio could call a snap election this fall. this will be the first diet session since kishida reshuffled his cabinet earlier this month. lawmakers are expected to debate measures to deal with rising prices among other issues. many are waiting to see whether an extra budget plan to finance kishida's economic stimulus package will be submitted to the extraordinary session. the government plans to draw up the package by the end of october, but kishida has not

said exactly when a supplementary budget plan will be presented to lawmakers. >> translator: it's very important that the prime minister's new stimulus package with its five pillars be discussed in the diet. >> calls are growing from the opposition for the supplementary budget plan to be submitted for a debate once an extraordinary session is convened, but some doubt that will happen. >> translator: i can feel it in the air. all this talk about economic measures and supplementary budget plan in the diet is about a possible election. >> he says kishida should be chastised if he does not debate the supplementary budget and instead calls for a snap election. the value of the japanese

currency continues to plunge, and it's impacting the average consumer. in this next report we look at how that's playing out on a daily basis from buying groceries to used smart phones. >> reporter: at this super market in tokyo, the cost of many staple items like noodles and canned food has gone up by 5% to 10% in the last year. >> translator: i look at the price for the product. >> translator: the prices will probably rise even higher if the yen continues to weaken. >> reporter: the manager says the store was forced to raise the cost of items like condiments and confectioneries by about 70%. >> translator: the prices keep on rising just when i felt they peaked. sales are not growing. i must be patient because the situation is likely to continue. >> reporter: in the japanese yen, one of the world's most

traded currencies has slumped this week. the slide has been partly due to a gap in interest rates between the u.s. and japan, which prompts investors to sell the yen. a chief market economist at japan's bank says the current market trend is unlikely to end anytime soon. >> translator: inflation is on the rise globally, and people are suffering because of the weakening currency. and japan's interest rate policy is fueling investors to keep selling the yen. >> reporter: earlier this month apple's new iphone 15 hit the shelves in japan at a much higher price tag, and it appears to be fueling a growing market for used smart phones. in 2022 used smart phone sales hit a record high of 230,000 units, the fourth consecutive year of record breaking sales.

>> translator: i can only afford it if it's up to 50,000 yen. i can't afford smart phones priced at 100,000 yen. >> translator: there is nothing we can do until the yen depreciation stops. consumers are powerless. >> reporter: this electronics retail store sells smart phones that customers say are still in good condition, and it's even attracting more consumers from overseas. >> translator: comparing used in good state versus new in our countries, it's half of the price. yes, it's the future. >> translator: foreign customers say used items in japan are in better condition compared today the same items from overseas. i've noticed more and more of them coming here to buy. >> reporter: while a surge of foreign visitors capitalizing on the cheaper yen isn't a bad thing, consumers in japan might be feeling the pinch a bit longer. for now foreign markets are waiting to see how authorities might respond if the yen

continues to depreciate. japan's first casino is one step closer to realty. osaka prefecture in country's west and a resort operator have signed an agreement to open an integrated resort around the autumn of 2030. prefectural government and osaka city officials attended a signing ceremony on thursday with the operator osaka ir corporation. osaka ir is funded by mgm resorts japan and other japanese companies. >> osaka has a strong business culture that wants to get things done and is a place that recognizes and is energized by the economic potential of the integrated resort. >> translator: we hope to see one of the world's top integrated resorts in the osaka bay area. >> the operator plans to submit a casino license application to

a government oversight committee for review. osaka prefecture received government approval last week to conclude the agreement with the operator. it's time for a check on the weather. multiple storms battered parts of europe causing severe floods. our meteorologist yummi hirano has the details. >> you can see the circulation. one is a storm named agnus heading up through the scandinavian peninsula.

another system has hit the balkans and turkey. people in istanbul experienced an amazing amount of rainfall. over 200 millimeters in just two hours and severe flooding has been reported. in addition the system caused devastating damages in southern greece. we have some video. people in a greek village located in a city had to deal with massive flooding for the second time in three weeks as the storm brought heavy rain. a nearby river overflowed its banks. cars were seen covered in layers of mud. unfortunately, the unstable weather condition will continue in the same area over the weekend, so locals should watch out for additional flooding. and behind agnas, the next system is approaching the british aisles to bring wet and windy conditions.

however, a high pressure system and sunny skies will cover much of the continent, so much warmer conditions than usual with a high of 27. in east asia a low pressure system is moving across north eastern china into the korean peninsula, and we also can see a tropical depression in the pacific. the system is pushing moisture into the southern island of japan and taiwan. so wet weather is expected in seoul, shanghai, and taipei. tokyo will have summer-like conditions with a while of 30. 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 do stay with us for more.

this the "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. the yield on japan's ten-year government bond has risen to its highest level in a decade. the move tracks a rise in u.s. yields. the japanese bench mark bond yield hit 0.77% at one stage on friday. investors sold japanese bonds after the ten-year u.s. treasury yield reached its highest level

in almost 16 years. government bond prices fall when their yields rise. investors believe that u.s. interest rates will stay higher for longer. they are also concerned about a deadlock in congress over a budget bill for the next fiscal year that could lead to a partial government shutdown. market sources also cite speculation that the bank of japan might start tightening its monetary easing in the future that prompted investors driving down their prices. in a related development the boj said on friday it will conduct an extraordinary bond pricing on monday to curb the higher yields. officials say they'll buy japanese government bonds with maturities between 5 and 10 years. the amount will be worth 300 billion yen or about $2 billion. the yield on the bench mark bond has been edging up since late july when the central bank decided to adopt a more flexible

approach to the yield curve setting an upper limit of 1%. foreign visitors are returning to japan in bigger numbers. the latest figures show their overnight stays exceeded 10 million for the second straight month in august. the japan tourism agency tracks guests from abroad staying at hotels, inns, and other facilities. it says the preliminary upper rose 14-fold from a year earlier to just 14 million. that's an increase of 9% compared to august 2019 before the pandemic. overnight stays by japanese residents reached almost 52 million. that was up 12.5% from last year but a slight decrease from four years ago. combined stays in august jumped by about a third from a year earlier. honda motor is going electric in america. the japanese car maker says it will start selling its first ev for that market early next year.

honda unveiled its prologue model in the state of michigan. the electric suv was developed jointly with u.s. auto giant general motors. the exterior and interior were developed by honda. gm has supplied at a battery that allows to travel about 480 kilometers on a single charge. >> translator: the name prologue refer tuesday the beginning of a new chapter in the u.s. ev market. we want to expand our sales here with this model. >> the administration of u.s. president joe biden has been trying to popularize evs as a measure to reduce greenhouse gases. just over 7% of new vehicles sold in the u.s. in the april to june period this year were electric. honda has been lagging behind some of its japanese competitors in getting to the starting gate. toyota motor and subaru put their new models on the u.s. market last year.

toyota motors says the seat upholstery in some of its new car models will be made from a material recycled from plastic bottles. the japanese auto maker says it wants to use more reused materials to reach its carbon neutrality goal by 2050. the material will be in several of toyota's four-wheel drive models to be launched next year in japan and overseas. the car maker will work with eight other companies to create the upholstery. they include a recycler in aichi prefecture and shiga prefecture. plastic bottles will be finely chopped and weaved into thread for the upholstery. 21 bottles will be recycled per vehicle. it will lead to a 10% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared to using conventional materials made from petroleum.

the latest figures show japan's job market in august maintained the same level as the previous month. that was as some employers were leluckitant to increase hiring as they struggle with higher costs. the labor ministry says there were 129 job openings for every 100 applicants unchanged from july. the ratio had been falling for three months in a row. officials say the manufacturing and construction sectors are offering fewer jobs even as they face a labor shortage. they say the firms are trying to control labor expenditures because rising prices for raw materials are cutting into their profits. data from the internal affairs ministry show that the jobless rate was 2.7% in august. that's also unchanged from the previous month. officials say an increasing number of workers are looking for jobs with better conditions as some employers move to hike wages. 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 market activity this week. the nikkei average closed at 31,857 this friday, september 29th. now, for the week it lost more than 1.5 percentage points. the index began the week on an upward trend lifted by the prospects of the bank of japan maintaining its ultra-loose monetary policy, but later in the week tokyo stocks turned sharply lower over concerns about the impact of higher interest rates on the u.s. economy. next, a look at the week ahead. china is set to make public its official index for manufacturing activity on saturday. the gauge of factory production has been contracting for five straight months, and that's deepening the uncertainty about the country's economy.

market participants will be closely watching the release of u.s. jobs data on friday to figure out the fed's next move. it has gradually moderated the labor market. the unemployment rate has reached its highest level in a year and a half. also on friday japan's real wages are due out. higher prices continue to shrink workers' disposable income. inflation adjusted real term wages are down for 16 consecutive months. so our feature this week focuses on the prospect for wage growth in the country. the chief economist at dieacha life research institute, he says with the bank of japan's massive easing in place the negative growth in real wages could continue for some time. >> translator: in my view real wages won't begin rising as long

as the yen remains weak. that's because japan relies on imports from around the world for much of its food. the lower yen raises import prices. grocery and restaurant spending account for about 30% of household expenditures, so as the bank of japan's easing policy weakens the yen, rising prices will continue to put pressure on wages. i believe the boj's excessive easing that could cause inflation to overshoot has led to a decline in real wages. >> japanese workers say they're hoping their salaries can keep up with higher living costs. this year major firms offer their largest wage hikes in decades, so the focus now is on whether the trend will spread to the wider economy. >> translator: the result of pay rises at small to mid-size firms are usually seen in july, but

july numbers are small so i should say it's slow going. even though larger firms are rising wages for 30 years, the effect on mid-size firms which pay about 75% of all wages in the country are not really being seen yet. we need more time and patience. >> looking ahead, kumano says next year's wage negotiations may not be as strong as this year as leading industries such as auto makers feel the effects of china's economic slow down. i'm john ladue, and that was this week's "biz picks." 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. >> this is politics.

>>myanmar, an unholy alliance. on al jazeera. >> the u.k.'s interior minister says the international asylum system is outdated and needs to be reformed. reviews that have been strongly rejected. so what is behind them? and do they have any support? this is "inside story." ♪ hello and welcome to the program. i'm mohammed jamjoom. a speech by