he is sharing the voices of people in kumamoto through online photos.hey feature the smiling faces of residents who are struggling. and many in taiwan are already responding. some say that they want to be r visit the place and meet the locals if possible. >> people in taiwan are eager to know about kumamoto. they're afraid that the visit to the region might hinder the reconstruction which is not exactly the case. >>> people in bermuda in the north atlantic are trying to clean up. hurricane nicole made a rare direct hit on the island delivering damaging winds and heavy rain. >> it is improving at this time, the storm system starting to track to the northeast. we still have tropical storm warnings in place, but really, this area did take the brunt of this storm system. actually max winds were reported upwards of 196 kilometers per hour, this was a category 4, by the way, when it moved directly over the island, it's very rare to have the eye of this storm actually encompass the entire island of bermuda pulling out to the northeast. about 65,000 people out

in kumamoto prefecture the quakes left 110 people dead, including those who died from fatigue, stress, and other factors. the tally of damaged buildings came to about 172,000. in some areas toppled buildings have yet to be cleared away. the town of mashiki was hit hard. a temporary housing complex in the town is still home to over 1,300 people. among them are iwao nozaki and his wife. their house was damaged to the point of being uninhabitable. the long stay in the shelter is beginning to affect his health. >> translator: since i don't move much, my legs may be getting weak. i'm worried about whether i can rebuild our home in the same location. >> a gymnasium in mashiki was designated as an emergency shelter and is still hosting 100 evacuees. mitsuko fujita came to the shelter after her home was damaged. she asked for her home to be repaired. there is a waiting list. the shelter will be closed at the end of the month making her future uncertain. >> translator: i want to return to my own house again. i feel most at ease when i'm at home. >> mashiki town officials are planning to advise

yamaha managers are thinking about outsourcing the production of 50 cc scooters to a honda factory in kumamoto prefecture, southwestern japan. yamaha is currently building them in taiwan. the companies are also aiming for joint development of electric scooters and motorbikes for business use. for example, those used to make deliveries. a tie-up would be a major shift. these two rivals used to engage in fierce competition, mainly over sales of 50 cc scooters in the 1980s. but these small bikes are built to specifications unique to japan. they're not well suited as exports, and they're also low-priced with small profit margins. analysts see the planned alliance as a way for the two firms to remain competitive, by shifting their resources to bigger, more profitable motorcycles. motorcycle sales in japan are predicted to fall short of 400,000 vehicles in the current fiscal year through march. that's less than 1/5th of the peak level. >>> the international monetary fund has marked down this year's growth forecast for the united states from the prediction it made in july. the imf cut its u.s. growth

this is due to a resumption of operations after a series of earthquakes in kumamoto prefecture. but the readings fell in ship building and heavy machinery. the stronger yen fueled uncertainties. the index for major nonmanufacturers was plus 18, down a point. that's the third consecutive decline. the mood darkened among retailers as personal consumption remains sluggish. for the coming quarter, the index for major manufacturers is expected to be plus six, but the mood among non-manufacturers is predicted to worsen, again, because of the stronger young yen and sluggish consumption and surplus 16 down two points. >>> daiichi life holdings have set up a new company to integrate their asset management services, asset management one is one of the biggest firms of its type in asia. the company is set to handle about $500 billion in assets from individual customers, pension funds and others. company president told reporters that demand for financial products that offer stable returns is growing amid market volatility. he said his firm plans to deliver products that balance return and ri

. >>> kumamoto city castle has been opened for the first time since it was rattled by the earthquake. they invited media in to see the damage caused. workerss beganan repairing the walls and turrets in july. now they're assessing what needs to be done inside. city officials say the m most dazzling room survived largely unscathed.d. its gold leaf paintings were unharmed. but part of the floor sank about four centimeters. other rooms weren't so fortunate. the quakes distorted paintings, cracked the walls of a tea ceremony room, and warped some paper screens. most of the damage occurred when sections of the exterior wall chanced. >>> "newsroom tokyo" comes toña7 genie: you're watching france 24. time for 60 minutes live around the world. i'm genie godula. these are the headlines. the nigerian government says 21 schoolgirls kidnapped by boko haram have been released. that comes after government negotiations with the group brokered by the red cross and the swiss government. the terror suspect arrested in germany last week has killed himself despite being on suicide watch.

aiding small and medium sized firms and restoration work in kumamoto prefecture hit by earthquakes earlier this year. >>> > the paris agreement onn climate change will go into force on november 4th. japanese cabinet ministers h ha endorsed a bill aimed at gaining the diet's approval needed for its ratification as participating countries move to ratify the deal. the paris agreement is a global framework to curb greenhouse emissions after 2020. 75 nations have agreed to the agreement such as u.s., china, india. signatories are expected to hold their first meeting in morocco last month. but it's unclear whether japan will have it ratified by then. yamamoto said he will make every effort possible to gain the diet's approval in time but also explained missing one meeting won't be a major setback. >> translator: i think most countries will agree that japan has contributed well to the discussion and i think japan will play a pivotal role when setting up t the rules. >>> here's a look at some of the other stories we're following. japan's current accounts stayed in the black. finance officials said

the report says the kyushu okinawa region is recovering from the strong earth quake in kumamoto with local businesses in operation. the bank raised its assessment saying mitsubishi resumed outfit for many vehicles. but the tokai region was downgraded for the first time in four years. the report said the pace of recovery had slowed, saying consumers are concerned about ththe effects of the stronger y on exporters and are spending less. the bank's assessment of the other six regions was unchanged. it saiaid they continue to recor moderately. >>> checking the markets. tokyo dropped thin trading, we report on the details from the tokyo stock exchange. >> better-than-expected earnings results from major u.s. banks on friday supported the markets. concerns over china's economy capped gains. let's see the closing levels this monday october 17th. the nikkei ended up .25%. the broader topix gained .4%. traders became concerned over china's economy. that's after the central bank said its daily reference rate for the u.yuan in six years. solid u.s. retail sales and producer price data also supp

but a series of earthquakes in neighboring kumamoto prefecture in april scared tourists away even though ufuin didn't suffer major damage. the numbers plummeted about 80% from before. today the leading concern among ufuin's businesses is not the earthquake's physical damage but the economic one. nhk world's keiko tomora has more. >> reporter: the center of ufuin is busy these days. many tourists seem to have come back. all that so numbers returned to about 80% of the levels before the disaster. >> translator: i decided to come to see if i could support the town. but many people are already visiting. >> reporter: the town of yufu has apparently recovered. but local people think it won't last. their anxiety is growing. that's because the japanese government has been providing subsidies since july. the money is used to give steep discounts to tourists booking trips in areas affected by the earthquakes. but the funding will dry out by year end. kei shishono, an official of the tourism association, says he's worried about what lies ahead.s tourism association, says he's worried about what lie