in the past, major campaigns were conducted each year in hokkaido. bears were hunted to deter them from attacking people. financial incentives were offered for killing bears. and the number of hunters gru. by the 1980s, there were concerns that the bears might be extinct. so the campaigns were ended. now, some 20 years later, there is an entire generation of bears that have no memory of being hunted. they have lost their fear. at the same time, tourists are not aware of the risks. the people in this photo could easily have been attacked, if the mother of the cub had been nearby. >> translator: people are not aware of the danger. it's a major concern. >> reporter: a growing number of tourists are even feeding the bears. >> translator: don't give them food. >> reporter: if bears get used to human food, they may come looking for it where people are staying. for the same reason, food should not be left lying around. it needs to be disposed of properly. this town has launched a campaign warning people not to feed the bears. a garbage disposal bin that bea

she has only once visited hokkaido in mid winter but the

they also got a taste of melons from the northern island of hokkaido. more than 20% of japan's food exports end up there. >> translator: i really value japanese foods. their high quality and beauty makes them very attractive. >> japan's foreign ministry has been urging hong kong to lift its import ban on foods from five japanese prefectures. hong kong officials posed the ban after the nuclear accident triggered by the 2011 earthquake. >>> now let's check on the markets. japanese stocks underperformed other forces in asia pacific. earnings reports were a focus across the region especially in hong kong. starting in tokyo the nikkei fell 2.12% to end at 13,752 after a rise of almost 4% for the index in the previous two sessions. the stronger yen weighed on the market. the japanese currency gained ground after government officials countered media reports saying they might cut the corporate tax rate. in china, the shanghai composite shed 0.87% closing it 2,081 and extending its decline from wednesday. shares of drug makers declined following reports that reg

tohoku as well as hokkaido and toward the south as well. we have another low pressure system sitting here to the east of the philippines. this could be our next named storm. this developing at the moment. and then a remnant low over the north of indochina which was a named storm that made landfall in northern vietnam yesterday. it's now a remnant low but still bringing significant rainfall. you could see another 100 millimeters or so for portions of northern thailand and laos. as we go into the americas and more heavy rain here. southern portions of missouri have seen more than 250 millimeters of rain in the last 24 hours. and that wasn't even the only round of rain. this week we've seen about three rounds of rain this workweek coming through oklahoma and kansas and heading on into missouri. so this is really significant rain falling on already saturated land. flash flooding will be a problem. concerns certainly along with golf ball-sized hail. lots of thunder and lightning. could see the flood threat moving up. heavy rain here and also up

northern hokkaido we saw one report about 90 millimeters in a one-hour span there. about 180 millimeters in just three hours. that's record breaking for the month of august. pretty small but potent storm system. it's going to continue to work its way off to the east. some break in the middle. then we have another storm system pushing across central and eastern china. eastern china has been seeing rain showers from this. it's going to be widespread about 50 to 150 millimeters rain in some areas here. not welcomed at all. you've been seeing some pretty severe flooding. all week we've been showing you these videos. show you another one out of eastern china here. four people were rescued by firefighters after heavy rain caused rising mountain currents here on monday. the four who had been having a barbecue in the mountains when the torrid started raging were found by firefighters. they were stranded in about 30 meters of water. the firefighters used a rope to help all four to safety. good news at the end of this, all were rescued. all too often we see these stories end

hokkaido! cleveland! bangkok! people! people, please. you're forgetting what the olympics are all about-- giving out medals of beautiful gold so-so silver and shameful bronze. ( groaning and muttering ) i have here a letter from a little girl named lisa simpson. she says her town might not be important enough to host the olympics but she asks if the torch could just pass by

. >> the group left from hokkaido last month. they ranged in age from 23 to 91. many used to live in the northern territories. others were relatives. this woman wanted to visit the graves of her grandmother and sister. she is 87. and thought this visit might be her last opportunity. her son accompanied her. it was his first visit. >> translator: i want my son to remember where i come from. i want him to see it. >> translator: i've been thinking i should make a visit at some point. i want to see what the island looks like. >> but there were complications. a russian vessel showed up. before sailing to their destination, the japanese had to stop to complete entry procedures. then the travelers could travel to their destination, shikotan island. it took three hours to complete the paperwork and receive authorization. if the ship had been allowed to travel straight to the island, the voyage would have only taken four hours. but with the side trip, the journey took 12 hours. finally, they caught sight of the island. they had to use small boats to reach shore. this is t

damaging winds, thunderstorms and even tornadic activities cannot be ruled out in hokkaido and parts of the tohoku region this afternoon. and across the west, moderate to heavy rain is likely to fall for northern areas of china and further down towards the south we have a tropical storm that's packing winds of about -- quite strong winds. 72 kilometers with gusts of 108 kilometers per hour. it's directly affecting luzon with rain and strong winds. it looks like it will move up to the north while intensifying. it could hit taiwan by a severe tropical storm by thursday morning local time. the sea surface temperature is quite warm enough to energize the system so it could intensify into a typhoon by friday. so very heavy rain is likely to fall in taiwan starting thursday or starting wednesday or thursday. that's not good news because this area is still working on the recovery efforts due to tropical storm. but for now heavy rain will be found across northern years of the philippines. trouble is that 200 millimeters or more is expected in some places enough to trigger further flooding or

they also got a taste of melons from the northern island of hokkaido. hong kong is the largest importer of japanese foods in the region. more than 20% of japan's food exports end up there. >> translator: i really value japanese foods. they're high quality and beauty makes them very attractive. >> japan's farm ministry has been urging hong kong to lift its import ban on foods from five japanese prefectures. hong kong officials imposed the ban after the nuclear accident triggered by the 2011 earthquake. >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.  >> i'm the executive vice president of the wilson center. i want to welcome all of you today. the wilson center was chartered by the congress as the official memorial to our 28th president. it is the nation's key nonpartisan policy form for tackling global issues through independent research, open

into hokkaido we have a low pressure area accompanied by an upper level trough. it's keeping things unstable just enough for isolated pop-up thunderstorms that form up through tuesday. some could even become severe. but that's for the most part out here in japan. high pressure's going to be dominating the rest. and throughout most of the week the weather's going to be fair. but there is a new storm system coming in. and that's moving in from the west out of central northern china going to push through northeastern china into the korean peninsula and off towards japan. bringing showers with it especially there in the northeastern china. you've been seeing worst floods in decades out here. you do not need more rain. this video out of northeastern china where hundreds of oil wells at one of china's major oil fields have been forced to close following just these weeks of heavy rains. the oil extraction equipment has been submerged at the docking oil field located on the confluence of three rivers in china's northeastern province. officials say they're taking these pr

lightning, thuer and heavy rain are psible for hokkaido and afternoon thundershowers are likely for japan. the main story for asia will be the heat. heat warnings and advisories posted for inland china, south korea an japan and aomori prefecture hot across most areas. temperatures could be heating 37 degrees for chongqing and kyoto. people are trying to find ways to cool themselves off. i'll show you this video coming out of gifu prefecture, japan. residents in gifu prefecture got a taste of winter in the height of summer. local authorities set up a snowmaking machine in a national park. iturned four tons of ice into snow. famies got some relief from the 36-degree heat as they played in the powder. a very unusual combination. the children even took turns on a slide. i want that snow and the slide as well. temperatures expected on the hot side in tokyo as well as gef u prefecture. 35 is the expecd high and hot weather across most of china. but southern china, a nice relief from the heat due to heavy rain. hong kong only 24 degrees for the high today. in north america we have a disturbance

. >> translator: i feel like visiting hokkaido. the photos are beautiful. >> beginning last month, tourists from thailand are not required to obtain visas to visit japan. their number is expected to increase even more in the future. >>> this young teenager is playing a game of cup and ball. but don't be fooled, there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. for a start, the game kendama takes years to master. as for the teen, he's got determination you'll seldom see in a playground. >> reporter: kendama is a traditional japanese toy. but some people take it very seriously. one of them is this 14-year-old. his dynamic routine can be hard for the eye to follow. it seems simple enough. three cups on a spike, a ball, and a string. but the variety of tricks is endless. tensui's already had success on the international stage. here he is in poland competing in the kendamu section of a juggling competition. tensui took first place in the speed trick category. >> translator: i live for kendama. it's part of my heart, my body and my life. >>

japan and russia are discussing ways to settle a territorial dispute over four small islands off hokkaido. japan claims the islands which have been controlled by moscow since the he had end of world war ii. they began talks in moscow on monday. >> translator: we would like to start discussing timing and negotiations over a peace treaty. >> translator: i will work with mr. morgalov to fulfill the important mission given to us by our respective national leaders earlier this year. >> japan and russia have yet to sign a peace treaty to formally end hostilities almost 70 years after the second world war came to an end. japanese prime minister and russian president agreed in april to restart negotiations. they also agreed to move toward concluding a peace accord. efforts are underway to arrange talks between abe and putin on the sidelines of the g-20 summit, the gathering will be held in early september in russia. arrangements are also underway for reciprocal visits by the two countries' foreign ministers. >>> a senior u.s. lawmaker has called on japan and south korea to be more open to comprom

another small low heading into hokkaido is going to bring some storms, could be a little bit on the severe side. temperaturewise then on friday looks like another hot day in chongqing, 37 degrees and staying dry. picking up the showers in shanghai, continuing rain in taipei there as well. seoul going to be see some showers, 30 degrees for the high. tokyo should be staying mostly dry with a high of 34. on then into the americas. what we're seeing here is some increased monsoonal flow across the southwest. you can be seeing showers and gusty winds, maybe hail up in the mountains. and then we have showers and thunderstorms moving along here south of the great lakes and up into new england. it's not going to be anything particularly severe. might help to clear the air. it's been rather muggy up here in the northeast. and then down towards the south still seeing these showers through much of the southeast. the gulf states there. the rain is not going to be particularly heavy, but it has been very constant for the last few days. so there will be the potential for some flooding. here are your tem