jaxa says its h2b rocket lifted off from the tanegashima space center in kagoshima late friday night. it's expected to arrive at the iss late on tuesday of next week. the spacecraft will deliver nearly six tons of food, water, and other supplies, including new lithium ion batteries made by a japanese company for the station's solar power system. jaxa will also conduct an experiment using a tether to nudge hazardous space junk into a low orbit so that it can eventually burn up safely in the earth's atmosphere. >>> indonesian president joko widodo visited the western province of aceh two days after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the area, which is regularly struck by violent tremors. patchari raksawong at our bureau in bangkok has the details. >> wednesday's quake killed at least 100 people and injured several hundred more. more than 110,000 buildings were destroyed and about 23,000 people are living in temporary shelters. joko pledged to rebuild the affected areas including the pidie jaya district near the epicenter. survivors performed friday prayers in the district which was one of t

it was launched from the space center in kagoshima prefecture in southwestern japan last friday. it is the largest of the four types of cargo spacecraft currently in use to transport food, supplies, and equipment to the iss. it's also the only one that has never had an accident in six successful missions since its first launch in 2009. the cargo this time includes japanese-made lithium ion battery cells, which will become the main power source for the iss. astronauts are scheduled to install them as early as next month. >> the vehicle has the new lithium ion batteries. it's going to be really exciting. >> in late january or early february, the rocket will be use said to conduct an experiment to remove space junk, using japan's technologies. >>> it's time now to take a look at business stories. japanese companies are feeling optimistic according to the bank of japan's latest survey. ai joins us from the business desk. >>s as you know, boj officials reach out to 10,000 companies in japan across the country, they ask them what they think about business conditions. in the latest surv