making mice. japanese researchers push the the boundaries of reproductive technology to produce life in vitro. scientists the world over are experimenting with the origins of life. researchers in japan have made a breakthrough in the field. then they produce mice through in vitro fertilization. researchers at kyoto university took the cells of female mice to generate stem cells. they applied protein to them to develop what are called germ cells.

the researchers transplanted the germ cells into ovaries. they succeeded into producing the cells. they fertilized the ova with normal sperm. they placed the fertilized eggs in female mice, and they waited, and then the mice did what the team had hoped for, they gave birth to normal offspring. >> translator: we are reproducing the mechanisms of sperm and ova in test tubes. research on chromosomes has helped identify the cause of infertility. this achievement will improve our chances of finding a cure. >> the group succeeded last year in generating mouse sperm from ips cells. cyto says researchers need to be what they do next.

the kyoto group generated sperm last year. if the research progresses without a hitch, it could be possible to create sperm and ova from a single individual using ips cells. if the eggs were fertilized by the sperm, in theory it could be possible to artificially create a human being. the japanese education minister allows researchers to create ova and sperm using ips cells. but it bans fertilization of these cells. >> those research pose serious ethical questions as well there? >> yes, let's listen to how bioethics expert views this issue. >> researchers have so far refrained from fertilizing ips

cells because such an act would be problematic. an increasing number of, obstetricians, treating couples are raising questions about the ban. demanding the latest technology be made available to treat their patients. the line should be drawn to clarify to what extent the latest technology can be used to treat infertility. >> i think the debate should start as soon as possible in view of the rapid progress into being made into ips cell research. the issue does not only concern scientist thousands, i think everyone in japan must be involved in effort to find the right direction by carefully weighing the merits and demerits. >> right. thank you very much there.

offices with japan maritime self defense force have spotted chinese naval ships in international walters of southwestern japan. the first fleet in the area since japan nationalized three islands in the east china sea last month. defense ministry officials say the seven vessels were navigating between okinawa, two destroyers, rescue ships and supply ship were heading toward the pacific ocean. chinese naval ships passed through the sea lane several times a year to hold exercises. three of them sailed through after drills in june. the region is more than 200 kilometers east of the senkaku island. japan any purchase of the islands reignited dispute over them. analysts say chinese commanders dispatched the fleet to so they intend to maintain a presence in the area. the u.s. navy deployed two nuclear powered air craft carriers in the western pacific. they're navigating within reach of the senkaku island.

the uss george washington based in tokyo and the uss john c.steniss are operating together. several warships, vessels equipped with the aegis air defense system are running along side them. a spokesperson says it provide a comb combat ready force that protects the interest of the u.s. and allies. south korean defense ministry lodge aid protest with the japanese government in a dispute. this one in the sea of japan. japan claims that the islands, south korea controls them. ministry officials say a japanese helicopter entered a restricted area around the island. south korea's kbs television reported the incident. defense ministry officials say the helicopter took off from a japanese self-defense ship about 50 kilometers east of the island. they say, it entered a buffer zone just outside south korean

airspace. fighter pilots issued warnings then the helicopter left. air craft must receive permission to enter the area. japan's maritime self defense force officials denied there was a problem. they say the helicopter's crew was taking part in routine training over open sea. they admit the aircraft, entered the buffer zone but say it never flew into south korean airspace. taiwan's envoy to japan calling for a quick resumption of talks on fish rights around the island. returned to tokyo after three weeks away to protest japan's purchase of the island. >> there is no change in taiwan's claim of sovereignty over the island. i want japan to understand taiwan's intent to promote peaceful die lpeace f peaceful dialogue and development. >> talks have been suspended for more than three years. >> a taiwanese airline will

start regular flights between tie p taipei on the sea of japan. plans to operate two flights a week from january to the end of march. company managers say they're still arranging their schedule for the route after that. the airline operates chartered flights between taipei and nigata, carrying skiers and sightseers. 12,000 taiwanese visited last year. prefecture officials hope to see more tourists despite the dispute over the island. people who live on work in one area of tokyo keep reading abut the divisions between japan and china. but ties between japanese and chinese neighbors are closer than ever. nhk world's correspondent has more. >> reporter: for 30 years, chinese have been operating

restaurant and other businesses here. at the moment, they run more than 300 enterprises. you find japanese and chinese businesses right next door to each other and there is plenty of interchange among them. >> i always greet chinese people i know. i think we have a good relationship. >> japanese people are very kind. >> reporter: four years ago something thap penn something happened that could have shattered peaceful relations. chinese business people have decided they would set up a new china town. but they hadn't consulted with their japanese neighbors. a key member of the china town

project. >> we wanted to bring together and create a network of chinese people living and working in this area. we just wanted to create some sort of structure. >> but the japanese merchants feared their area would be taken over. >> we can't accept the decision to turn this neighborhood with its rich history into a china town. >> groups from outside the district, joined the mounting opposition. emotions ran high. riot police were called in. he felt there had to be a solution. he met often with the chinese to discuss the future of the shopping area. as a result, he learned both

sides shared the same goal. they wanted the area to prosper. they ended up agreeing it would be better if the chinese merchants, join the areas business association. together they could. >> we were on the same page. if they became contributing members of our community they were more than welcome. i think it's important to talk and work together to understand one another. it took place around the anniversary of diplomatic ties between japan and china. many japanese and chinese joined in a traditional japanese celebration.

this is a amazing. i don't think people can go on disliking people from other countries anymore. i think it is time for us to all come together as one. trained relations between japan and china. but, the ties between the two peoples, remain close. policymakers at japan's central bank, unanimously decided to maintain their current monetary policy. based on a boj business sentiment survey released monday, policymakers said

personal stendi ispending remad steady. output and exports by manufacturers one of the main drives of the japanese economy are relatively weak due to a slowdown in the chinese and other economies. they also concurred that come pans are cautious about the business outlook. their policymakers implemented additional monetary measures in september that included expanding to $1 trillion the fund available to buy government bond and other assets. in the two-day meeting through friday, the unanimously agreed to keep the monetary measures unchanged to wait and see their effects. the european union says member nation s a as agreed to imports of natural gas from iran and strengthen sanctions. diplomats reached a preliminary deal. discussing extra sanctions against i ran, the country

refuses to stop uranium enrichment which could lead to nuclear weapons. the u.s. will adopt new sanctions all it meeting of foreign ministers on october 15th. natural gas enters the eu region from turkey. volume is not large at the moment. but future demand for natural gas is expected to grow. a summary of the recent u.s. central bank policy meeting, shows some members expressed concern that a large scale stimul might lead to unexpected inflation. they said inflationary pressure could be kept under control. the fed released the minutes of the federal open market committee meeting that ended on september 13th. policy makers decided at the meeting to launch a third round of easing. they cited persistently high unemployment, as major economic risk. first time in two years, fresh easing measures were taken. the fed would extend 0 interest rates until mid 2015.

the minutes also show many participants suggested it would be better to set numerical targets for inflation and unemployment rates rather than time frame. government officials are trying to promote use of renewable energy. they introduced a feed, for f.i.t. system, and applies to japanese utilities to buy green energy at prices well above market rates. and, the head of energy and infrastructure for kpmg japan. she shared her views with nhk world's correspondent. >> thank you so much. >> my pleasure. >> three months on from the new ruling, what is your assessment of the impact on the growth of the renewable energy market? >> the government has announced, that, as of the end of august -- the application or approval of

the renewable -- energy, ibps, which is a, japanese government, is 1.3 in two months. since the beginning of july. and then what they're expecting for the first year is to -- 2.5 gigawatts. which means in two months, we already passed 50%. of what they're expecting. this really indicates -- the government f.i.t. program was attractive enough. to induce a lot of -- a new entry into the market. >> japan aims to expand its green industry into a $10 trillion market by 2020. even companies outside the energy business, such as telecom operator, soft bank, and convenience store operator,

lawson are generating solar power. foreign firms are also keen to clinch a piece of the green pie as well. coming into the japanese market to satisfy the need. it is going to be more, technological, or companies like, ge, or those kind of, those kind of companies to get into, japanese market. to satisfy increasing for the wind or offshore. geo thermal market. >> to expand the market further. developing wind power. the technology, something different, from, what they're

using in europe because of the sea is much deeper in japan. we needed to have another technology to float the windmill on the sea. which is a totally new technology. and then, i think -- this technology once proven can be exported. >> but she stressed renewable energy as a source has its limits. supply cannot be controlled and demand has to be managed. new technological breakthroughs are needed to stabilize the system. >> i think with this change in the power sector, there is going to be a lot of innovations will happen in japan. which is -- which is some of the things that the scrjapanese companies are very good at. and i am really hoping that -- that some of the japanese companies are -- making a good progress.

the chinese homes have been a landmark since the 19th century. but developers are tearing them down and putting up high-rise buildings. now, young residents with inspiration from japan, are trying to save the traditional homes. nhk world's shun ishibe reports. >> reporter: resident take in the exhibit. young pictures, snap pictures of models of traditional arcade houses. more than 100 replicas are on display. >> this exhibition is perfect for young people.

the 35-year-old architecture designer, organized the event. the idea of this exhibition is to show all the possibilities offered by the arcade houses. the buildings date back to the 19th century. traders competed to show off their wares by putting up magnificent houses. in modern times, people have converted to ground floor of the houses into shops. but the old homes are giving way to a building spree. lin grew up among the arcade houses. he is sad to see them go.

>> the houses used to sit on both side of the street. but they were torn down and replaced by apartment buildings. when i was a kid -- we used to play around the neighborhood. he gathered photos of arcade houses and used them to make the models. he paid the company nearly to models. lin says the inspiration for the exhibit came from his love of japanese plastic models. nobody makes plastic models belter than tbel better than the japanese. love the intricate ones based on science fiction anime. >> to prepare the displays, lin

got together with his friend. the work came naturally. and their entire generation grew up tinkering with plastic models. no detail is too small. not even window frames. all in all it takes three days to complete a single model. what they made is true to the structures, right down to the relief and the exteriors. i want people to take a pz tiff view in saving the houses. if we can protect values through the models, the houses may survive after all. but the arcade houses, unprotar protected by any regulations. they aren't officially registered as assets.

lin and his friend hope their efforts will help protect the old homes before the only ones left are plastic models. lots of sunshine, here in tokyo. time now for the world weather forecast. here is rachel ferguson. >> let's get you a check on tropical storm, sitting to tt east of the philippines. it picked up the piece, moving 15 kilometers an hour. tropical storm gaemi. it is going to be intensifying before it makes landfall. then quickly we should see it become a tropical depression. the peak of the wind and the waves will be on sunday night just before making landfall. as i say then it will weaken off. we still have the rain to deal with as well. it could bring even as much as 300 millimeters to parts of central vietnam. then as it moves inland towards

cambodia, heavy rain is going to spread. japan looking nice and clear today. but we are still seeing potential for a few thunderstorms at the moment toward the northwest. in fact this morning, there were reports of about 60 millimeters of rain in one hour and strong wind as well. now, it is going to be clearing up shortly. and a round of moisture toward the north. any additional rain will be welcome. and keeping an eye out here. and looking clear and fine. there will be ongoing showers down toward the southwest in toward the bay of bengal. all right, let's head into the americas. again, dry, across much of -- central and western locations. but -- we are starting to see some very wintry weather. in fact -- some heavy snow coming down in parts of wyoming. we have a weakening storm system bringing snow across into ontario as well. further out toward the west, very dry. also windy. and that, could spell fire

weather for you. in parts of oregon as well as washington state. out toward the east, going to be more of a rain event. any where from texas up through into quebec. should be seeing a good chance of showers. now that cold air is going to be moving further toward the northeast. 28 degrees, new york city. nice warm day. saturday won't be too bad. getting down to 14 degrees sunday. be prepared for the drop. 8 degrees in denver. expected and 12 in chicago. with 3 in the forecast for winnipeg. to the south. different story. low 30s in houston, texas. go now to europe. it is going to be quite split as we head into the weekend. down toward the south. very dry. in fact, warming up toward the southeast. but it is going to be wet, windy, much cooler, across the northern half of the continent. heavy rain, across the british isles, towards the south. with the very potent low moving across -- the north thern continent. and then, for finland, down through the baltic states. another round of heavy rain.

strong wind. temperatures are going to be falling as well. we head into the weekend. 14 degrees in berlin. and 16 in london. 21 in paris. going to fall down by 5 degrees into the weekend. even through, bucharest. going to warm up to 27, saturday. sunday. then dramatically fall done to 17 degrees at the start of the week. i will leave you with your extended forecast. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

and one more story before we go. some 80,000 fans of a world famous south korean rapper, danced late into the night at a free concert in seoul. ♪ gangnam style >> the singer, psy played "gangnam style" and performs a horse riding dance during the number. it's become a worldwide phenomenon and gone viral on the internet. the song is number two on the u.s. billboard chart. if it reaches the top, the first number one song by an asian artist in about half a century. japan's artist hit number one in 1963, with his song, tsukiaki. that's all for now on this edition of newsline. i'm yuko aotani in tokyo.

thank you very much for joining us.