but abe may still achieve his goal. the ldp has worked for years with the allies, though the members are cautious about amending the constitution. abe may approach some members of the opposition democratic party who may be interested in reopening the debate. all the things abe wants to accomplish carry certain risks. but the results of this election give him a mandate for his wider agenda, both at home and abroad. >> thanks very much for your insight. nhk senior political commentator there. >>> now, prime minister abe sees this vote as his second shot at political redemption. he led the ldp to a crushing defeat in the 2007 upper house election, then re signed. abe took power again last december, determined to do things differently, more from nhk world's nickio kishima. >> reporter: abe came roaring back to power last december after defeating the democratic party in a general election. the land slide victory marked a political comeback for abe. he resigned as prime minister in 2007 after only a year in the job because of

abe stopped over in manila on saturday after visiting malaysia and singapore. abe referred to south china sea territorial disputes between china and southeast asian countries including the philippines. he said all countries should observe international law and refrain from any unilateral action. abe also said japan will use official development assistance to provide ten patrol boats to the philippine coast guard. aquino said the countries concerned should pledge to each other that they will act in a responsible manner. he also expressed hope for a peaceful solution based on international law. after the meeting, abe stressed importance of bilateral ties. >> translator: the philippines is our strategic partner. we share basic values and interests. i hope for stronger ties between the two nations. >> both countries are facing maritime territorial claims by china. >>> on friday, abe met u.s. vice president joe biden in singapore. biden stressed that the u.s. position that japan and china should each seek to ease tension between the two countries. biden said the uni

so abe will have to do some negotiating. nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa reports. >> reporter: the liberal democratic party and others in favor of amending the constitution gained 81 seats. the number combined with uncontested seats reached 143, a majority, but still short of the two-thirds needed to revise the constitution. abe's liberal democratic party wants to revise article 96 first. the article says modifying the constitution requires a two-thirds vote by lawmakers in both houses of the diet, followed by a national referendum. abe argues a simple majority in both houses should be enough. liberal democrats also want to change article 9, which prohibits japan from having a military. they want to change japan's self-defense force into a military. >> translator: i think that japanese people are starting to consider amending the constitution as a political issue for the first time. >> reporter: but the ldp leaders face a hurdle. their longtime coalition partner new komeito, is cautious on changing the constitution. >> transla

abe flew to washington to try to fix things. and he wasted no time stressing he would take a firm stance when it comes to the territorial disputes with china, south korea and russia. he vowed not to budge. >> translator: i declare to protect the lives and property of citizens and territories of the country's land, sea and air. >> reporter: for abe, protecting japan means upgrading the self-defense forces to a national defense military, and having the right to defend allies that come under attack. the prime minister says he's ready to revise the constitution to do that. restarting nuclear reactors and amending the institution, these issues are dividing the country, but prime minister abe says he's ready to tackle them head-on. his first term in office was cut short, but he's determined to show that this time around he's in it for the long haul. michio kijima, nhk world, tokyo. >> so that's the record that prime minister will be running on, and voters will judge him on the results. our political commentator has covered both abe ad

abe will visit may layer shark singapore and the philippines. he says the prime minister's hoping to forge stronger ties with members of the association of southeast asian nations. >> translator: asean nations have grown rapidly. japan wants to improve its economic ties with them. >> the prime minister will hold talks with u.s. vice president joe biden in singapore. abe visited vietnam, thailand and indonesia in january and myanmar in may. >>> it's time to take a look at what's going on in world weather. it's a sunny day in tokyo. let's find out what's happening across japan. >> yes, well, the end of the rainy season was declared pretty early in much of japan this year. however, it looks like it has made a comeback across much of eastern continental asia. this is due to a seasonal front stretching from eastern china into sea of japan. underneath it, heavy rain will be found. in the past 24 hours, 200 millimeters has fallen in south korea. i know that in seoul, people are wading through flooded water at the moment and houses are inundated. this a

prime minister shinzo abe wants to amend the constitution. he will need the backing of two-thirds of upper house members. abe says japan should be able to exercise the right to collective self-defense. he also wants to upgrade the status of the self-defense force to a national defense force. abe told reporters last month that he hopes to build a broad coalition of lawmakers who support constitutional change. but some regard abe as too hoekish and worry that the changes will cause friction with japan's asian neighbors. while polls suggest many of the japanese voters are still wondering whether the constitutional amendments are really necessary. we'll see how the japanese voters feel about this and other key issues in just over two weeks. >>> the european central bank has kept its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of .5%. this is aimed at supporting the eurozone's sluggish economy. the bank's poll makers decided to keep the rates on hold at its headquarters in frankfurt, germany. in may the board cut the rate to 0.5%. the regional eco

japanese chief cabinet secretary said abe will visit malaysia, singapore and the philippines. he says the prime minister is hoping to boost relations with members of the association of southeast asian nations. >> translator: asean nations have grown rapidly. japan wants to improve their economic ties with them. >> the prime minister will hold talks with u.s. vice president joe biden in singapore. abe visited vietnam, thailand and indonesia in january and myanmar in may. >> thai kick boxes or muay thai is the country's natural sport, said to be the strongest standing martial art in the world. muay thai fighters begin training from an early age. the government and national media have refrained from criticizing muay thai because of its special place in thai culture, but medical experts want to ring in some changes. >> a young fighter is loved. muay thai is getting more and more popular in thailand. the number of fighters at the age of 16 is more than 900 initially. but that number is expected to be more than 100,000. >> translator: child boxing is so exciting. it's a lot like adu

abe has taken bold steps. that's something previous prime ministers couldn't do. >> reporter: but the weaker yen means the cost of imports such as fuel and raw materials are surging. trucking firms have been feeling the pinch. >> translator: we have to spend nearly half of the money we make on fuel. we're barely hanging on. >> reporter: the more trucks she has on the road, the higher her operating costs. and she can't pass those increases on to her customers because competition in her industry is too fierce. >> translator: 99% of the trucking industry consists of small and medium-sized businesses. if we fail, it will have a major impact on the nation's economy. >> reporter: some people are concerned abenomics will have a major impact on their lives. this woman and her husband live on a pension of about $1500 a month. she says with prime minister abe and the boj trying to end deflation she's already noticed prices are gradually rising. her husband's medical bills are adding up too. their expenses are starting t

things changed when abe took over. he found his policies dubbed abenomics would drag the nation out of inflation once and for all. >> prime minister abe rushed to implement what he called three hours of economic policy as soon as he took office. >> translator: japan's biggest challenge is reviving the econom economy. >> abe in his first arrow at fiscal spending. his administration allocated $100 billion on public works projects. abe called on business leaders to raise wages so workers could enjoy the trickle down effect of the stimulus. the second arrow focused on monetary easing. abe named the new governor of the bank of japan. he quickly fulfilled the prime minister's expectations and introduced massive credit easing measures. >> we will do everything necessary. >> the central bankers announced a plan to double what is pumped into the economy and achieve a 2% inflation rate within two years. investors responded immediately to dollar top the 100 yen mark for the first time in four years. the key nikkei index exceeded

abe's economic policies have helped win him their support. he's focused on fixing japan's fiscal woes since taking office at the end of december. his three-pronged approach promotes monetary easing, stimulus spending and a growth strategy to spark private investment. our poll suggests 65% of respondents agree with his plans, and 80% say they consider economic policies one of the major issues in this election. voters give post disaster reconstruction slightly more weight. many people want the government to speed up the pace of the work in the northeast. the third most important issue with voters is social security policies. pension, health care and nursing care for the elderly. it's interesting to note how respondents view one of prime minister's abe's main priorities, changing the constitution. he wants japan to have a military and the power to defend its allies if they come under attack. on a list of eight issues, though, revising the constitution comes last. abe argues his party needs to win this election to ensure a stable future for japan

abe is trying to consolidate his power.e and his liberal democratic party control the lower house. but opposition parties hold the majority of seats in the upper house. and that's created a divided diet where passing legislation can be tricky. in the days leading up to when japan decide, we'll be looking at some of the key campaign issues and hearing from voters about what matters to them. candidates from these nine parties are running in the election. the groups qualified for political party status. they include long-established parties and others that are relatively new on the scene. several groups that failed to meet the standards are still fielding candidates. in all 433 candidates including independents are running in this election. many voters have been watching prime minister abe shape his foreign policy. they've seen him notch up some successes along the way. but they're keenly aware they'll need more time to improve relations with two of japan's most powerful neighbors, china and south korea. nhk world's susimo koj

they do point to a victory for the coalition of the ldp and the coalition of shinzo abe a -- shinzo abe. the majority. they need to rule both in the upper house and in the lower house of the japanese parliament. a low say, it has been turnout. there has been a certain amount of voter apathy with a number of people being undecided. they are unimpressed by many of the candidates on offer. it looks like shinzo abe has done enough to one the majority -- when the majority he needs in the upper house with his coalition partners -- to win the majority he needs in the upper house with his coalition partners. >> we are getting reports from nhk that shinzo abe has won that election. that's the latest information we have coming out of japan. rob mcbride, thank you very much. other news, more than 50 people have been killed and more than 150 injured in a series of bomb attacks across iraq. the latest incident happened on the outskirts of baghdad on sunday morning. four people were killed in a roadside bomb blast restaurant -- bomb blast next to arrest -- to a restaurant. jane arraf is joining us no

but right abe has smooth sailing. he's about to win his party sweeping elections in the upper house. and then he'll be clear through 2015, 2016. that's great for japan. the dpj, the opposition party in japan is toos aboutee fighting amongst emlves with opposition parties to pose much of a challenge. i do believe that abe's commitments are not just to the three arrows of abe-nomics but also very much to restarting nuclear energy after the fukushima crisis which was difficult to do. as well as joining the transpacific partnership which he is using as external pressure and motivation to get the japanese economy moving. and all of this comes from something fundamental about abe. he understands that the rise of china is creating urgency in japanese reform. that if they don't get it right this time around t might be too late. and the first time when he was prime minister, some almost 10 years ago, he focused on the national security. he focused on creating a league of democracies. he was too early, unfocused and he had heal

nhk world reports. >> prime minister abe argues the japan-u.s. alliance became unstable in the former administration. he met with president obama to try to smooth things over. then he guided japan to join talks for the u.s.-led partnership despite opposition. japan must work even more closely with the u.s. >> abe sat down with vladimir putin and convinced him to resume federal negotiations. he actively promoted japanese industry including nuclear power technology. >> the cabinet diplomacy has been a very active and dynamic one and has been able to visit so many countries in a short, short time. it's rather amazing when you think about previous experiences in many cabinets. >> some describe abe as a leader. his approach to disputes and issues had an impact on the region relations. chinese leaders dispute japan's control of the senkaku islands in the east china sea. abe has stressed there is no room to back down. chinese president has taken similar steps. they haven't met. japan ghost guard officials say the government ships continue to enter japan

abe is pushing to amend the constitution. that he hasn't done, or that hasn't been done since it took effect in 1947. the prime minister wants to change its pacifist core and make the self defense forces more like a military. but even if he gets the political power he needs to do that, he'll still have to convince the japanese people. nhk world's jun yosimoto walks us through the issue. >> reporter: voters have been hitting the books ahead of the upper election. they've been learning more about the constitution now that politicians are debating whether to change it. the managers of this bookstore say sales of constitution-related material are two to three times higher than usual. >> translator: i'm interested in the constitution as the ldp's consumer draft is a popular topic at my college. >> translator: i think we should seriously think about the constitution before the election, especially when there is a group of politicians who want to change it. >> reporter: u.s.-led allied forces took control of japan after world war ii

abe met biden in singapore. abe is on a tour of three nations in southeast asia. biden said the united states reconfirmed its position on the senkaku issue including its responsibility as japan's ally. abe said japan always keeps the door for dialogue with china open. the senkaku islands are controlled by japan but claimed by china and taiwan. >>> all nippon airways says it has found damage to the wiring cover in distress signal wiring in 787 dreamliners. ana says the damage was found in two transmitters. one had been taken out for inspection from a plane used for domestic flights and the other was kept as a backup. the carrier says the actual wiring is unaffected and no safety risk exists. the japanese carrier discovered the damage while inspecting all emergency locator transmitters for its fleet of 787s. earlier this month at heathrow airport, a fire broke out on an ethiopian airways dreamliner. they expect a problem with the device caused the fire. ana and japan airlines own a total of 30 dreamliners. transport officials have asked both carriers to remove the t

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but before he revises article ix, abe wants to change article 96. it stipulates modifying the constitution requires a two-thirds vote by lawmakers in both houses of the diet. then a national referendum. abe argues a simple majority should be enough. >> translator: it's nonsense to say that you can't change the constitution if one-third of lawmakers oppose it when more than half of japan's citizens want to do this. revising article 96 will make it possible for the people to renew the constitution. >> reporter: lawmakers in the u.s., germany and south korea also need approval of two-thirds of their legislators to change their constitutions. the u.s. and german constitutions require additional legislative approval. in south korea, amendments must be approved by referendum. politicians in all of these nations have amended their constitutions multiple times since world war ii. those in japan have not since it took effect in 1947. some experts say the reason is that people who want to revise it haven't come up with a proposal that's convincing enough to s

abe. to a large extent, it was priced into the market. so we only saw very, very modest move. >> it was very muted indeed. i think really with japan, we've seen the first days, the initial liquidity-based rally. the second stage we've seen in america is a much more subtle stage in markets. the initial pumping is very easy. the second stage is about language and political maneuvering. don't forget, america tried target, you know, various other measures in between to try and get things moving. and they didn't work. and the language used around that. and i think that's the difficult phase that japan now faces. >> all right. george, thank you so much for that for now. but you are going to stay with us. >>> jpmorgan is reportedly close to a $410 million settlement with the federal energy regulatory commission to settle allegations and manipulate power markets in california and the midwest. "the wall street journal" says the bank would also forgo $20 on million in unpaid claims from electricity customers in california. the settlement will repor

abe wants to change afrticcal nine, the constitution's pacifist core. takafumi terui shows us what's at stake. >> reporter: japan's self-defense forces look like a military. they have more than 200,000 personnel. men and women who are armed with 740 tanks and 355 fighter jets. they also have 4 l48 destroyers nearly twice as many as france. the sdf has an annual budget of almost $60 billion. the fifth largest in the world for an armed force. >> the sdf can take military operations only in the case of emergency. they cannot take any kind of military actions in peacetime. on the other hand, the sdf is treated as military force in international society even in peacetime. >> reporter: but people in japan don't use the words "military" to describe the sdf. article 9 of their constitution prohibits them from having military forces. >> land, sea and air forces as well as other war potential will never be maintained. >> reporter: for decades japanese leaders stressed the self-defense forces are for just that -- self-defense. and they've limited their activities.

abe and his liberal democratic party aim to wrestle back control. in the days leading up to when japan decides, we'll be looking at some key campaign issues and hearing from voters about what matters to them. candidates from these nine parties are running in the election. these groups qualified for political party status. they include long established parties and others that were recently founded. several groups that failed to meet the standards are still fielding candidates. in all, 433 candidates, including independents, are running in this election. >>> an issue that has come up as a priority with voters in poll after poll is post-disaster recovery. nearly 300,000 people from northeastern japan are still considered evacuees more than two years after the earthquake and tsunami ravaged their communities. many of them are frustrated with the pace of restoration efforts. when they vote, they'll be casting ballots for the party they feel will give them their lives back. >> reporter: temporary housing units are part of the land scam in yamada. the town

minister shinzo abe a pass -- prime and their -- prime minister shinzo abe's economic reforms. >> roseibbons adding up to enough for a big majority, in conjunction with the ldp's coalition partners, the newcombe? -- the new komeito. it was an agenda he promised to continue. >> the japanese people have given us their strong support. we are very grateful for that. regarding our economic policy, we intend to continue with that as swiftly as possible. what is being asked of us is that the ldp show its strength and proceeds with its economic policy so that the japanese people feel the benefits of that. >> for japan's voters going to the polls mirrors the feeling that the ldp was at least the safe choice. was littleere choice in an election that saw the main opposition democratic party of japan decimated. >> who else is going to give us solid government for economic growth? i voted ldp, but did not want to. party that no one you can truly trust. i suppose the only safe option is the ldp. >> many people in japan now hope that years of political factionalism will give way to a more effective g

12-year-old abe tullis was looking forward to mowing the lawn. his dad doing it many times but in early june, he got his first chance, almost immediately, something went wrong. >> i just heard the lawnmower stop. and i heard him shout out. >> reporter: the lawnmower hit a 2 1/2-inch nail and flung it straight into abe's chest. >> it it felt kind of like dinging, but kind of like a bruised ding nick. >> i pulled the shirt up and watched him breathe, as the chest expanded, the nail pulled in and looked like it could be deep. >> is this what it felt like to be shot. >> reporter: but abe was lucky. he is head of a trauma unit, he knew not to pull the nail out. he called for his wife. >> his eyes rolled back and he was having a hard time breathing. the hospital x-rays show how grave the condition was. the nail penetrated deep in abe's heart. he was rushed to surgery. more good luck, it turns out that the nail was long enough to keep the hole in abe's heart plugged. any shorter, it could have killed him. roughout the ordeal, abe had one brief moment of

abe has tried to consolidate his power. he and his liberal democratic party control the lower house. but opposition parties hold the majority of seats in the upper house. and that's created a divided diet, where passing legislation can be tricky. in the days leading up to when japan decides, we'll be looking at some of the key campaign issues and hearing from voters about what matters to them. candidates from these nine parties are running in the election. these groups qualified for political party status. they include long-established parties and others that were recently founded. self groups that failed to meet the standards are still fielding candidates. in all, 433 candidates, including independents, are running in this election. and they'll be talking about a number of different issues during the campaign. one that's come up again and again is the tvp or transpacific partnership, a free trade agreement. prime minister shinzo abe pushed for japan to join the negotiations after he took office. he won the approval of all

prime minister shinzo abe and his ruling liberal democrats are campaigning hard for support. they're trying to consolidate their power. abe and the ldp controlled the lower house, but opposition parties hold the majority of seats in the upper chamber. and that's created a divided diet where passing legislation can be tricky. in the days leading up to when japan decides, we'll be looking at some of the key campaign issues and hearing from voters about what matters to them. candidates from these nine parties are running in the election. the groups qualified for political party status. they include long-established parties and others that are relatively new on the scene. several groups that failed to meet the standards are still fielding candidates. in all, 433 candidates including independents are running in this election. now, if you ask people in japan to list the issues that will be on the top of their minds when they go to the polls, many will mention energy policy. the future of nuclear power has been a matter of public debate since 2011 when an accident crippled a plant i

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abe's economic policies helped win him this support. he is focused on the fiscal woes since taking office since the end of december. the approach promotes monetary easing and stimulus spending and a growth strategy to spark private investment. 80% say they consider economic policies one of the major issues in this election. voters give post disaster construction more weight. the third most important is social security policies. pensions, health care, and nursing care for the elderly. it's interesting to note the main priority. changing the constitution. he wants japan to have a military. the power if they come under attack. on a list of eight issues, revising the constitution comes last. abe argues his party needs to win this election to ensure a stable future with japan. the liberal democrats and their partner control the lower house. the opposition controls the lower house. it takes more time for him to pass legislation and the divided diet makes it tough to change the constitution. he needs 2/3 support in both chambers. voters ma i n

less than a year after putting abe in power, they have a chance to judge him on his record. don't miss our special coverage leading up to the july 21st election here on "newsline." . >> time for a check on the weather am people in the caribbean are dealing with the remnants of a storm that made landfall there. we have the latest. >> good morning, catherine. as you may recall, we have been tracking the storm system. tropical storm chantal. it has become a remnant low pressure system south of haiti. yesterday was the peak of the stormy conditions across the caribbean. let me show you a video. it has lost force, but it's threatening floods around the surrounding countries. fishing has been suspended because of the rough seas. the peak of the weather is over, but the remnants are expected to affect jamaica, eastern cuba through thursday and then towards florida peninsula by friday. pulling you back, you can see the storm system is bringing cloud formation over the countries. looks like it will bring the bulk of the rain across the eastern cuba area and hispanola. we will keep a

less than a year after putting abe in power, they have a chance to judge him on his record. don't miss our special coverage leading up to the election right here on "newsline." >> experts are in japan to work on predictions, hoping technology can limit the impact of extreme climate conditions. officials from the u.s., russia and europe convened near tokyo. they are talking about improving observations of weather phenomena and predicting heat waves and extreme storms could mininize development. developers created a next generation satellite. they plan to launch it next year. the developers say it can track ty fans and take readings every 30 seconds. >> translator: the satellite could be very helpful in monitoring the environment as well as giving better meteorological data on disasters on cooperation, we can use this next generation satellite. >> the participants conclude their suddenly meeting on friday. >>> more than 100 illustrators from around the world teamed up if are an exhibition for important memories. the show from hand to hand was inspired by the 2011 earthquake an

japanese voters give their backing to shinzo abe and his economic reforms. agent should legal experts start work on a new constitution. legal experts start work on a new constitution. there has been a changing of the guard in belgium. after nearly 20 years on the throne, king albert has stepped down due to health regions and made way for his son, philippe. before leaving, the outgoing king delivered one last address, urging belgians to stick together despite deep divisions between the countries. jan french-speaking communities. philippe was then officially sworn in. huge crowds turned out to celebrate the coronation of their new canaan. -- their new king. >> it was their first kiss of king and queen, and the crowd seemed to love it. belgium's seventh royal couple, with their four children in tow, greeted the public. people waited for hours to catch the first glimpse of the old and new monarchs. philippe took over from his father, albert, who announced his abdication less than three weeks ago. albert will be keeping his title, just like his sister-in- law did

in these photos he was about 200 pounds and about 19% body fat. >> where are the abs coming from? in those pictures you can push the stomach out. >> yes, and in the recent photos where he weighs 200, he has more abs. >> that is so sad the beginning pictures. >> and the quick weight loss is a scheme, and that is why he is showing us easy ways to get in shape and stay in shape and you don't need an expensive gym membership. he is holding a melon out of the refrigerator and showing you how to do squads -- squats and l lunges. >> i like his message of real expectations. >>> this is going to make you crazy if you have ever shipped a package. fedex lady loading the packages on to the truck just like that. throwing them in. like it is no big deal. >> wait a minute, in her defense, those are sort of letter boxes, and those are the small, i don't know, i'm hoping and trying to make it better here. well, they look like boxes where there would not necessarily be fragile things. if it is fragile wouldn't you put the sticker on it, and then throw in ten at a time. >> yes, a fragile stick e, yo