families separated during the korean war. the north koreans say they will allow the south korean government to decide the time and place of the meeting. spokespersons for the south unification ministry say they hope the trucks will work toward building trust between the neighbors. the north korean regime hasn't made a provocative statement for nearly a month and has been showing a willingness to engage in dialogue in other nations. japan's cabinet adviser visited the north in mid-may. and a close aide to north korean leader kim jong-un went to china later in the month. now, authorities in pyongyang are trying to sbees overseas investors in an effort to inject some life into their stagnant economy. they passed allah allowing the creation of new commercial economic zones. the state-run news agency says foreign companies and individuals will be able to set up businesses in the zones. it says the law covers ventures in a number of sectors including

manufacturing, agriculture and tourism. the agency says the north korean government will give investors preferential treatment regarding land use, employment and taxes. it says the law will protect investors' rights and assets. but the agency says it does not apply to existing economic zones such as the one in kaesong. u.s. president barack obama has announced a shake-up of his foreign policy team. the move includes the nomination of susan rice as his new national security adviser. >> am extraordinarily proud to announce my new national security adviser. >> rice is currently ambassador to the united nations, a post she's held since 2009. she's known for her diplomatic skills and was obama's top choice to take over as secretary of state in his second term. but rice wound up withdrawing her name from consideration. republican lawmakers had criticized her handling of an attack in september on the u.s.

consulate in benghazi, libya. the post of national security adviser does not require senate confirmation. obama described rice as a consummate public servant. he called her a patriot who puts her country first. >> and i look forward to continuing to serve on your national security team, to keep our nation strong and safe. >> obama has picked former harvard professor samantha powers to be the new u.n. ambassador. powers is a human rights advocate. she was a member of the white house national security council until february. well, straight to the markets this hour. and tokyo share prices extending losses, closing at a two-month low. investors had been jittery over market volatility since may 23rd when we saw that 7% loss. the average ended today below

the 13,000 mark, the first time that's happened since early april. it was down just about 0.9%, 12,904. the key index did sway between positive and negative territory today. investors sold a broad range of shares toward the close due to the yen's advance and declining stock prices in other asian markets. as we can see here, other asian markets were down pretty much across the board today. this is as investors remained cautious about a possible scaling down of the u.s. fed's quantitative monetary easing. in hong kong, the hang seng index shed more than 1% today. it finished at a one-month low of 21,838. investors sold major issues like property and banks. and that's due to fears that a change in the fed's monetary stimulus could lead to money flowing out from hong kong. the shanghai composite extended its losing streak to six days today. the index fell about 1.25%, 2,242, that's a three-week low. there's caution about the

chinese economic outlook. many investors are waiting for key economic figures due out on the weekend. the tokyo stock exchange says foreign investors sold the third largest amount on record last week. that's since it began taking data in 1974. officials at the tse say foreign investors sold shares on its first section worth 99.4 billion u.s. dollars. that's between the period of may 27th and 31st. net selling by foreign investors were posted for a second week in a row at $1.3 billion. now, during the same period, domestic individual investors were net buyers of $2.2 billion. market sources say foreign investors have locked in profits, many feeling uncertain about the u.s. monetary policy. meanwhile, domestic investors have bought on dips in anticipation of a return to the bullish trend for the market. japan's leading wine maker

says the weaker yen is forcing it to raise prices. executives at marchand said they'll introduce cost increases of between 3% to 8% in september. the move will affect 800 of the company's wines, both domestic and imported. they're raising prices for the first time in about four years. officials say poor grape harvests in france and spain are also to blame. other wine makers will likely follow suit. officials are all considering price increases. japanese consumers have also been hit by a rise in the cost of basic food items. the weaker yen is affecting the price of cooking oil, flour and also mayonnaise. officials in china are hoping to increase ties with their neighbors in south asia. they've opened a trade fair in the southern province to promote commerce. it's the first event of its kind in the region. the fair is partly sponsored by china's commerce ministry. about 1200 companies from india, pakistan, afghanistan as well as other nations are taking part.

chinese vice premier kai spoke at the opening ceremony. he said asia is shaping up to be the world's most vibrant region and that china's development benefits all nations in the area. exhibitors are showcasing a variety of locally produced goods. they include woodwork, indian jewelry and also afghan carpets. an indian jeweler at the fair said that expectations are high for inland regions of china. it's developing into a promising market with high demand for imported luxury goods. the baltic state of latvia will likely join the eurozone next year, becoming the 18th member country. european commission, the european union's executive body, asked member nations to accept latvia's application for membership to the single-currency bloc. >> i'm very glad to announce that we have concluded that latvia is ready to adopt the euro on the 1st of january, 2014. >> now, rehn also said latvia's adoption of the euro symbolizes confidence in the single

currency. the baltic country joined the european union in 2004. its economy grew at an annual rate of more than 5% in 2011. latvia is filing it's certain to be accepted as the country does meet economic criteria, and these include the ratio of budget deficit to gross domestic product and the inflation rate. latvia would be the first new eurozone member in three years following estonia. visitors to japan's northern island of hokkaido enjoy the local cuisine, especially dairy products and seafood. many tourists from around asia find the food so tasty that they want to send some home. but the high cost of shipping has held them back, that is until now. >> reporter: one of hokkaido's biggest ports. recently people who operate small food businesses have started shipping their products to asia. the seafood is sent on the same day it was caught.

the customers receive it two days after shipment. >> today we are shipping scallops, clams and king crabs to taiwan. >> reporter: the goods are flown out of this airport. the gateway to hokkaido. this is cheesecake. and this is seafood. shipping fees were lowered in 2012. this makes asian home deliveries much cheaper. for example, shoppers from hong kong, taiwan and singapore pay about 80% less than before. the reason, packages leave japan straight from hokkaido and not through tokyo. until now, private transporters in hokkaido have not been dekee about shipping small packages. often they didn't fill up a

shipping container and it was complicated. so government officials stepped in. they agreed to accept some responsibility if the shippers lost money. they were concerned that sales of agricultural and fish products might fall. it was thought that increasing exports would help the food industry. >> translator: we want to bring people in hokkaido together and expand this program. it will be a big boost for us. >> hi. >> reporter: the tourists offer a good opportunity for the food businesses. 260,000 tourists travel to hokkaido from asia each year, and they look forward to tasting the region's distinctive food. >> translator: it's delicious. very delicious. >> reporter: but the only food they typically bought was sweets and other small items, easy to carry back home.

buying large quantities of perishable food was out of the question. there was no way to get it home quickly and cheaply. >> translator: i would buy it if it could be shipped. >> translator: i would buy a lot. the seafood is great. >> reporter: representatives of the government and a shipping company dropped in on souvenir shops to promote the new service. they explained, for example, the cost of shipping $200 worth of crab to hong kong would be $100, about 70% or 80% less than before. >> translator: about 10% of visitors from singapore, hong kong and taiwan are very affluent. they want to take the food home and enjoy it. >> translator: with this new service, we'll be able to fulfill our customers' wishes. >> reporter: other prefectures

are following hokkaido's example. their agriculture and fish industries are slumping, too. so local officials are implementing new strategies to counteract the trend. >> okay. that is going to wrap it up for biz this hour. let's close things out with a check of the markets.

u.s. military pilots in japan are training to fly the osprey, a tilt rotor aircraft with a patchy safety record. they fly in okinawa, and some residents are worried. so the mayor of osaka is suggesting they do some of their training near his city on the mainland. hashimoto traveled to the capital to make his suggestion to prime minister abe. the governor joined the meeting. hashimoto leads the japan restoration party. the other is secretary-general. he made his proposal in response to safety concerns among people in okinawa. 12 osprey aircraft are deployed there. hashimoto said japan's main island should share the burden. he asked abe to consult u.s. military commanders about the possibility of their using yao airport in osaka prefecture. abe said everyone in the country should consider how to reduce the burden on okinawa.

>> translator: the problem will remain unresolved for centuries unless something concrete is done. >> chief cabinet secretary suga welcomed the proposal. he said government leaders will study it. yao mayor said hashimoto had not consulted him. he said no one is sure whether the osprey is safe. japanese leaders have worried for years about the falling birth rate. government officials say the average number of children a japanese woman gives birth to has increased slightly. health ministry officials estimate the fertility rate hit a 16-year high in 2012. the latest figure suggests women are having an average of 1.41 children in japan. that's up 0.02 points from 2011. ministry officials say the rate

rose among women in their 30s and 40s. but it declined for women in their 20s. they say the increase does not mean a turnaround for the declining number of children in japan. the national graduate institute for policy studies agrees. >> translator: the declining trend is attributed to the fact that more people in their 20s cannot marry for economic reasons. nearly half of young people working nonregular positions, their work situations are extremely unstable. >> matsutani says the number of children will continue to fall until such labor problems are resolved. people often say music has no language and no borders. that's certainly been akayoshi's experience.

the pianist has lived in the u.s. for more than half a century. recently she reformed her renowned orchestra for the first time in ten years. and she held a series of concerts here in japan. nhk world's keiko kitagawa spoke with her. ♪ >> reporter: jazz legend returned to tokyo in april from her base in new york. it was the first time she played in japan in ten years. ♪ in 2006, she became the first japanese musician to be given the jazz masters award, one of the most prestigious honors in the music industry. looking back on your career, was it a long way, or was it in the blink of an eye? >> i think probably not that long.

it's went by quickly. if i would recount and say what happened year after year, then i realize it was a long year. but it went pretty quickly to me. it's something to do with my age. >> reporter: she moved to the u.s. in 1956. the jazz world was very competitive, and she met with discrimination both as a japanese and as a woman. you often choose a long yellow road to start your life concert. >> we are what they call yellow race. when i was in japan, i was just plain like somebody else. that's the only way that i knew how to play from a record. when i went to the states, i realized that in order to be somebody else, i have to find my

own idiosyncrasy. boy, that was a tough job. it's a long way to become a decent jazz player, and i thought about that. so that's how the title came about, it's a "long yellow road." ♪ >> reporter: in 1973, together with her husband, sax player lou, she formed a big band, incorporating many japanese themes and motifs into her jazz. ♪ how did you find your

originality? >> it was a fusion between african rhythm in new york and melody, what have you, and born in america. but i have a different background. and i decided that i should probably my job it is to try to infuse some of my culture into jazz, history and perhaps make it a little bit richer. ♪ >> reporter: her piece entitled "hope" expresses her wish for the abolition of nuclear weapons and for world peace, so the atomic bombing of hiroshima will never be repeated. you've been playing a piece called "hope." can you tell us why? >> unfortunately a jazz musician

cannot change the world. we can't change the political decisions and so on. but just because we have no power or no influence, we don't do anything. no. it doesn't matter whether you have power or not. we should say what we think. that's what i think. ♪ people have gathered at a temple in western japan for the unveiling of a special statue. it's a replica produced to mark 1,250 years since the death of a prominent buddhist monk. ganjin was a chinese monk who worked to spread buddhism in japan in the eighth century. he finally arrived in japan after five failed sea voyages and losing his eyesight.

the original statue is designated national treasure. it's only shown to the public a few days a year. people gathered at the temple which was established by ganjin. the buddhist eye-opening ceremony breathes life into the statue. priests reside as sutras and scatter paper as part of the ritual. the streplica was made in exact the same way as the original. it will go on display on friday. let's now bring in robert speta for a check of the weather. robert, i hear there's a tropical storm headed towards florida. how bad is it going to be? >> well, it does look like we'll be seeing heavy showers. already there has been some reports of tornadoes in and along the florida peninsula all due to our new tropical storm, tropical storm andrea. now, it's on the weaker side of the intensity scale here. really we did confirm enough with that center of circulation, though, yesterday. the hurricane hunters out of

biloxi, mississippi, flew down there, flew around it a little bit, got that center reading about 1,001 and that center of circulation. with that said, this is the center of the circulation, where that track's going to be going. but the bulk of the weather is actually on the right side of this storm system. tampa, even extending towards jacksonville as it pushes off towards the northeast. orlando. this is where you'll be seeing the rough weather. over towards pensacola and tallahassee, on the other hand, you may not be getting too much rain showers after it does push overhead, but there is the risk of flooding. like i said, there's already been some reports of tornadoes. now, nothing like we see out here towards the west and central plains, these monster f-4, f-5 tornadoes. when you see them with landfalling tropical systems, they're usually rather weak. but the problem is they're very fast moving and rain shrouded and just mixed in with the generally foul weather. so we're going to continue to watch this as it does rush over the florida peninsula. and then eventually it's going to roll off towards the northeast, affecting the east coast of the u.s. along with this low-pressure

area. the same storm that's been bringing foul weather towards the west, it's now moving east bringing scattered showers across the appalachians. 50 millimeters expected in illinois, indiana, areas hit by flooding recently. so any more rain is just going to be making the situation worse out here. and then after that pushes off towards the northeast, andrea is going to fall in behind it and rush along with it, bringing coastal waves rather high and the risk of coastal surge along the east coast after it pushes off towards the northeast. that is this storm system. now, behind it, fairer weather is working its way in. denver with a high of 25. take a look at phoenix, 42 here for your high on your thursday. it is just going to be absolutely sizzling out there. now, here into eastern asia, i first want to start off with the tropical area as well. not a named area, but it has it is potential for development. just north of palau. down towards the south, you could still be seeing lingering showers. the bulk of the precipitation at this time looks like it's remaining offshore going into

the weekend. by next week we still want to watch it. take a look at this inflow coming into it. that's going to help it strengthen. that's creating flooding over the philippines. you've already seep reports of flooding. it does look like accumulation totals could add up to 50 to 100 millimeters going through the next 72 hours. another low-pressure area moving across the pacific coast of japan. that's bringing heavy rain into the region as well. you still could be seeing showers going through thursday. even into friday, after that pushes by tokyo, you'll be expecting some showers to pop up into the afternoon hours especially inland. once you get the max of that daytime heating. before pushing off east, behind it, okinawa, you're getting a break for a short time on friday. but by saturday, this low-pressure area, which is bringing rough weather across china now, will eventually work east. actually, yesterday we were talking about hubei province seeing the bulk of the precipitation. you confirmed that with about 115 millimeters of rainfall. does look like west of shanghai, that's where the rough weather's

going to be going next. up to 250 millimeters could be occurring here. so the threat of flooding and even landslides is going to be accompanied with it. as far as the temperatures, well, it's into the 20s here. tokyo cooling off to 23 on friday. but the good news by the weekend, it will start to rebound back into the high 20s. that is a look at the world weather. here's your extended forecast.

and that's all for this

hour. i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching.

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis tonight a conversation with phil jackson. his new book is entitled "eleven rings: the soul of --"elevenre quote rings: the soul of success."

>> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. phil jackson retired from basketball after earning 11 rings and another to rings as a player with the knickerbockers. that does not stop every team from pursuing him to come back to the bench.