welcome to "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. nthose who criticized japan go silent. china and taiwan also claim the territory in the east chinese sea. but there have been no reports of demonstrations during the day. and japanese resident are returning to their routines.

protestors targeted the japanese embassy in beijing for eight days. the chinese government called on people to use restraint. and the site has been quiet two days. students at the japanese school in beijing went back to class on thursday. many of them live near the embassy. the school was closed for three days to ensure their safety. >> translator: some chinese people are too excited. we know many people who have common sense and take a global view. they see the dispute calmly. but no one hears their voices. >> all ten japanese schools across china have reopened. japanese coast guard crews are tracking chinese government ships around the islands and warning them not to approach japanese waters. coast guard officers have spotted 16 chinese patrol ships

in the area since tuesday. six of the ships have left the area. three are cruising near japanese waters. chinese state-run media reported earlier this week that 1,000 fishing boats were heading for the area. but coast guard crews say they haven't spotted the flotilla. the man expected to be the next leader of china, says japan should rein in its behavior. the vice president xi says the japanese need to stop undermining chinese sovereignty. xi met in beijing with u.s. defense secretary leon panetta and he criticized the island and said the purchase was a farce and urged u.s. leaders not to intervene. panetta says the islandful under the japan/u.s. treaty. chinese leaders say it should not apply to the territory. a senior official quotes panetta

saying, u.s. officials won't take side. panetta is urging diplomats to continue talks on the issue. u.n. secretary-general moon is urging leaders offpjapan and china to meet next week he wants the two to resolve their rift peacefully. >> i am increasingly troubled by rising tensions in the region over territorial disputes. pan has been watching the events. >> i urge concerned parties to resolve the dispute peacefully. must continue to build a mutual trust and confidence to avoid tensions in the region. >> the general assembly will start next tuesday in new york. the leaders of more than 120 nations plan to attend including japanese prime minister. >> a group of people believed to

be involved in anti-japan protests, surrounded a car, carrying the u.s. ambassador to beijing this week. the vehicle sustained minor damage. an internet video shows several dozen people stopping the car, carrying ambassador gary lock. the demonstrators threw plastic bottles, scuffled with security guard and attempted to snatch the u.s. flag from the car. the incident in front of the u.s. embassy in a neighborhood that hosts several diplomatic missions. the chinese foreign ministry launched an investigation into what happened. police in japan are looking into cases of hacking that may be related to the dispute. checking into reports someone tampered in recent days with the web sites of at least 19 government organizations. officials with the national police agency say the websites include that of the supreme court. images of the chinese flag appeared on saturday of the website of the tokyo institute of technology and someone stole

the personal data of more than 1,000 people who applied for an event at the facility. the websites of the defense ministry, the internal affairs and communications ministry and nine other offices were inaccessible for up to 15 hours because of the cyber attacks. police agency spokespersons say police agency spokespersons say, chinese users posted more than 4,000 messages on hacker websites and message boards, the messages call for cyberattacks on japan. the police say about 300 organizations were identified as possible targets. japanese government leaders are changing their plans as they try to define their new energy policy. they have been challenged to decide on the future of nuclear power after the accident last year in fukushima. their new policy suggests they

will miss the target for reducing green house gasses. the prime minister set a goal of cutting emissions by 25% over 1990 levels by 2020. he made the pledge three years ago at u.n. headquarters. the government unveiled its new energy policy document last friday. it said japan would phase out nuclear energy by the 2030s. the document suggested that reducing reliance on nuclear energy would lead to more dependence and qualified power plants and concluded e motie em could be cut by 5% to 9% by 2020. cabinet members announced their policy wednesday. it turned to the be less clear about phasing out nuclear energy. many japanese are still trying to figure out what all this means. joining us now in the studio is our correspondent following the story. what will happen to the reduction target in this new energy policy?

>> the government haven't given up their gel to coal to cutting emissions by 25%. it will be quite difficult to achieve that. 25% auz was an ambitious targetn before the accident. government imagined nuclear plants as the key source of energy when they set their targets. in fact, they planned to build nine new reactors to meet the target. now, two of the reactors are up and running. the government is promoting energy saving, and renewable energy. but for now coal and natural gas have replaced nuclear energy as the main sources of power. >> so, what will happen if government leaders withdraw from this target? >> well, as you know the fight against climate change is a global issue. negotiators from around the world are trying to agree on new climate treaty by 2015.

they hope to cover all of the major including emerging economies such as china and india. e experts say if the japanese government weakens its target it will be brought to negotiations. >> what next? >> the new energy policy announced wednesday is still a broad outline. we are still waiting for the details. an expert says government should get more consideration to climate change as they debate energy policy. >> i thin tick itk it's necessa the government to let the people know that both the nuclear policy and the climate change is important and we need to tackle those two issues in a manner. >> government officers say they will finalize their plans on how to reduce emissions by the end of this year. >> all right. we thank you very much.

the editors at u.s. business magazine, forbes have released their annual list of the 400 richest americans. mark zuckerberg suffered a big drop along with the stock price of his company. zuckerberg, founder of the world's largest social site fell from 14th place last year to 36th. his net worth is $9.4 billion, down $8.1 billion from 2011. microsoft co-founder bill gates tops the list for the 19th straight year. net worth is $66 billion. investor warren buffett came in second, and larry ellison, ceo of oracle took third place. global investors are seeking relative safety of yen denominated assets as european debt crisis continues. the balance of japanese

government bond held overseas hit a new record high at the end of june. the bank offp japan, released holdings, over a trillion dollars. the highest ratio on record. domestic financial institutions are also buying more japanese government bonds. they account for 65% of the total outstanding balance. banks are looking for steady earnings as japanese firms show sluggish demand for loans. japan's trade balance for august showed a red for a second straight month. exports plunged due to a slow down in the global economy. finance ministry officials released a report saying the trade deficit was 9.6 billion. exports fell, 5.8% from a year earlier in yen terms. that figure marks the third straight monthly decline. it was mainly exports of ships and steel. imports meanwhile fell by 5.4% from a year earlier. looking in detail at exports,

shipments to europe tumbled by almost 23%. as demand for japanese products plunged. exports to china also fell by nearly 10% as the chinese economy slowed due to the impact of the european debt problems. officials at the u.s. justice department say a japanese company agreed to pay $2 million in fines for fixing the price of air cargo shipments. yamato global logistics japan an affiliate of yamato holdings. justice department officials say the case involves shipment from japan to the u.s. made between 2002 and 2007. 13 other companies have agreed to plead guilty of price fixing they will pay fine thousands of $100 million. japan's leading mobile phone carrier is showing off

futuristic technologies, a smartphone, operated simply by gripping the handset. docomo presented its latest advance in mobile tech to the media wednesday. one smart phone enables to start up features and apps by applying pressure to sensors in the handset. the company showed off a hands-free tablet with eye tracking technology. this allows users to scroll using eye movements only. the technology will benefit people with disabilities. they will be able to turn tt pages of e books without touching the screen. and docomo introduced a headset used as a video feed. the company has not set a release date for the new technologies but hops to commercialize the products. people walking threw seoul

feel skyscrapers are closing in on them and stay late at work trying to get ahead. then they have to weave the crowd, avoiding crowd and motorcycles. some have said enough. they're searching for a simpler way of life. more from nhk world's ana jong. >> reporter: about 60 people live in a small mountainside village, three hour drive from seoul. the village opened in 2010. the majority of the villagers are aged 40 to 70. they also grow their own vegetables and animals. the villagers live a communal lifestyle sharing all facilities and they all eat together. they think this gives them a good opportunity to communicate with each other. they try not to be a burden on the environment and go to great lengths to avoid using conventional energy. solar panels, are set up here

and there, to save electricity. they want to lead a self-sufficient lifestyle. they collect their own rain water, purify it and drink it. 59-year-old, took early retirement from the national tax agency. he and his wife have been living here for two years. >> our society is so competitive, i always try to live better than other people. that tired me out. here, the air is clean, and fresh, and we're seldom in a hurry. it's really appealing. >> in seoul people are also seeking ways to escape the pressures of modern society without leaving the city.

they live communally. they have set up a school for their children that offers a free education. about 160 students from elementary to through high school take classes. in their previous schools some kids had been bullied or had trouble with exams. the students learn about the global eco system. at this school, a lot of teaching is done outdoors. >> as well as indoor classes we have outdoor ones too. so we can meet various people and have colorful experiences. >> the graduates get a certifica certificate. just the same, students are moving into the district to attend this school. >> the biggest advantage is that lessons of the eco system help students grow by making them think about nature and life. through learning the basics, i

want students to got more confidence and strength. >> there about 90 in seoul living communally. last week the city government opened a support center to advise and raise money for them. >> our society has become preoccupied with money. we stopped caring about others. in the past, although the people were poorer, they would look out for each other. we have to get back to that way of living. >> many south koreans are showing interest in communal living. they think it may be an effective way to copy with the problems of today's competitive society. ana jong, nhk world, seoul. the u.s. marine corps says it is ready to begin test flights of a controversial aircraft in japan as early as friday. the japanese government on

wednesday gave the go-ahead for the flights after confirming the safety of the mv-22 osprey. flights will take place at the air station in western japan. the marine corps recently declared a number of osprey crashes in the past were due to pilot error. to ease safety concerns of residents, the united states agreed the tilt rotor aircraft will not be flown below 150 meters or over densely populated areas. after the test flights, the u.s. military plans to transfer the osprey to okinawa by the end of the month. the u.s. hopes to have the aircraft in full operation by mid october. many residents remain angry about the planned deployment. defense minister will visit okinawa next week to meet with the governor and other officials. he will explain the government did all it could to guarantee

the safety of the ospreys. but the governor is still skeptical. >> translator: the central government its not addressing our concerns properly. >> he said the government lacks sincerity in the handling of the matter. >> all rigaw >> the united states has imposed sanctions to a firm in belarus for providing arms to syria. the company contributing to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. the officials say the firm provided parts for aerial bombs syrian forces used against rebels. the treasury department will freeze the assets in the u.s. and ban the firm from dealing with american companies. treasury officials also slapped sanctions on syria's army supply bureau and on the head of the research center involved in developing chemical weapons. documents i identified, 117 aircraft operated by iranian

airlines used to transport weapons to syria. a treasury official in charge of counterterrorism, said he hopes the penalties will help disrupt the flow of weapons to the syrian regime. iran's foreign minister pledged unwavering support for the syrian government. he met in damascus with president bashar al assad. syria's conflict is best resolved within the country. political analysts interpreted that as implying that assad should put an end to civil war. leadership in tehran wants to prevent collapse of his administration. western nations and arab nations allied with the united states, condemn the government and accuse it of applying weapons to the assad regime. he met with the leaders of egypt, turkey and saudi arabia and demanded that egypt, turkey and nations stay out of syria's domestic affairs. egyptian and turkish leaders,

urged assad to step down. a british newspaper says syrian government leaders have given serious thought to using chemical weapons against their own people. the allegation appeared in an interview in "the times" newspaper. the newspaper quotes a former army officer who was in charge of syria's chemical arsenal. he held the post until he defected to turkey three months ago. the unnamed official said he took part in a meeting where military officials discussed using chemical weapons. he said they considered using them as a last resort if government forces lost control of the city of aleppo or other key areas. the official said the discussions touched on how and where chemical weapons would be used. he said the participants were aware of the possibility of civilian casualties. syrian government leaders have said they will only use the weapons in the event of a foreign invasion. the government of egyptian president mohamed morsi has agreed to start free trade talks with the palestinian group hamas. the move could signal a shift in

egypt's pro-israel policies. egyptian prime minister met this week with hamas' prime minister in cairo. >> translator: specific discussions between experts from both sides will determine how the free trade scheme should be implemented. >> the spokesperson says free trade would help improve living standards among palestinians in gaza. the administration of former egyptian president hosni mubarak strictly controlled the movement of people and goods across the border with the gaza strip. that policy was seen as a gesture of support for israel. many expect israel and its ally the united states would resist a trade agreement between egypt and hamas. egyptian government officials have not made any public mention of the talks. president morsi is scheduled to visit the u.s. next week. french leaders are

tightening security at their embassies and other facilities overseas, bracing for the possibility of more violence after a french magazine published satirical cartoons the of the prophet muhammad. the cartoons hit the shelves on wednesday. one portrays the prophet naked. the publication comes amid tensions in the middle east and asia over a video made in the u.s. that ridicules islam. >> translator: religions should accept criticism and satire just like philosophy. >> the foreign minister has expressed concern that the cartoons could fan muslim anger. the government has ordered 20 of its embassies across the world to shut down on friday when muslim prayers. the french prime minister has banned a rally in paris this saturday against the film.

leaders of a france based muslim group condemned the decision but they're calling for calm. a very hot day here in tokyo. time now to check the weather forecast, with rachel ferguson. >> hello. we are going to head into eastern asia, see things are clear and dry across japan. and the korean peninsula. it's drier, i'm talking about the air. hot, humid. starting to see air off the continent which will be a lot less hot and sticky. there is going to be plenty of wet weather to be found though. down towards the south from southern china in through indo-china in toward the bay of bengal. we are seeing particularly heavy rain also across the philippines. with scattered showers through indo-china. taking you a little further south. i want to show you some pictures of a very rare phenomenon. this was captured on camera by an australian filmmaker. what we are looking at right

here, a fire tornado, the phenomenon is caused when warm, rotating, rising column of air picks up a bush fire which is what happened. this twister was 30 meters high. and lasted about 40 minutes you. can see the rotation in the cloud there. really quite a spectacle. all right, let's go now to north america. it has been a day of -- very heavy storms. it was for you on wednesday. thursday going to be a lot more peaceful, weatherwise. for you in eastern locations. still seeing showers though in florida. actually the tail end of the front is going to be bringing more heavy ran to nova scotia, thursday and friday. for many of you a lot clearer. and a chilly day as well. in behind the front. some cooler air, making it feel very much look autumn. you've will be seeing single digit lows for much of the midwest. waking up to, a very chilly day on thursday. showers moving through ontario in toward the great lakes region. however, if we head out to the west, well, looking very, very dry, actually warm as well.

late blast of summer coming to you in parts of oregon, down through california, you are getting 31 degrees in l.a. 28 in denver. all right, let's go now to europe. where things have been stormy indeed through parts of italy as well as, the eastern balkans. unfortunately not going to change much. just pushing further east toward the black sea. italy you will be seeing things recover a little bit on your thursday. high pressure moving in. should be nice and calm. but the storms are stim vell ve active. rain recorded in croatia. and has been, pretty stormy for places like serbia, as well as bulgaria. that is going to continue the eastward motion. showers moving up into northwestern russia to the north as well. you can see plenty of blue indicating, the rainfall across the british isles. coming into southern scandinavia, denmark and northern germany as well. for many of you it is going to be a pleasant thursday. 18 degrees in paris. 16 in vienna. 16 in berlin as well.

stays very summery however, down towards the south. mediterranean has seen temperatures in the low 30s, that's athens. 29 for you in madrid. as well as lisbon. things are warming up here into the weekend. i'll leave you now with the extended forecast. ♪ ♪

and that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo.

we'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. so do join us then. thank you very much for watching. ♪