>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm shery ahn. >>> both houses of japan's diet has elected the new leader of the democratic governing party yoshihiko noda as the country's 95th prime minister. >> translator: the house of representatives has decided to designate yoshihiko noda as prime minister of japan. >> the lower and upper houses named noda as japan's sixth prime minister in five years at plenary sessions. noda was elected democratic party president on monday. he will replace naoto kan who has occupied the country's top post since june last year. noda is working to select senior party officials and cabinet members. we asked people here in tokyo what they expect from the country's new leader. >> translator: he should have a clear direction as prime minister. >> translator: including the strong yen, there's many problems with our economy. i would be happy if priority was given to reviving japan's economy. >> translator: focus should be on rebuilding efforts due to the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. and improvin

nhk world, bangkok. philippine president aquino has met the leader of the country's main muslim separatist group secretly in japan. the two sides talked about ways to revive their stagnating peace negotiations. according to the president's office, aquino held talks with abrahim of the islamic liberation front at a hotel near tokyo's narita airport on thursday night. on the philippine island, the militant group has been in talks and peace talks that is, with manila after striking a cease-fire agreement eight years ago. however, the negotiations have made slow progress. details of the talks are unknown, but the president's office says both sides exchanged opinions on the peace negotiations and agreed to accelerate the process. >>> for decades now, thai cuisine has been celebrated the world over for its distinctive aromas and flavors. recently a group of experts has given the country's cuisine a big thumb's up with the introduction of french dishes inspired by a famous spicy thai salad. nhk world has the de

finance minister told nhk saturday he will closely monitor the market on monday. he mentioned the possibility of buying yen if the yen continues to rise. >>> researchers have found evidence that a number of tsunami have previously hit northeast japan, the area pounded by the march 11 disaster. now, a japan professor says he suspects that huge tsunami hit the region every 1,000 years. professor hiakowa studied geological layers on the coast which runs between iwate and miyagi prefectures. he found five layers are composed of rounded stones. he believes they were carried there by a tsunami. the strata are situated above volcanic ash. they were likely to have been gradually formed with black soil. he also discovered six layers of the same kind in miyako iwate prefecture and believes the most was by an tsunami caused by an earthquake 115 years ago. traces of a huge tsunami by the earthquake which struck over 1,000 years ago having found inland in miyagi and fukushima prefectur prefectures. >> translator: based on these findings, a major tsunami hits the region every 1

nhk world, islamabad. >>> russia's largest state run oil company is teaming up with u.s. oil giant exxon mobil to explore for oil and gas in the two countries. representatives of the two companies signed an agreement in southern russia on tuesday. prime minister vladimir putin was also present. under the agreement, exxon mobil will join the russian company in developing oil and gas fields on the continental shelf in the arctic. the company will take part in the oil exploration projects in the gulf of mexico and texas. experts said an area of the arctic covered by the agreement contains an estimated 5 billion tons of oil reserves. the russian company had reached an agreement with major british oil company bp to develop the arctic continental shelf, but the plan fell through. >>> time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin tonight with this item sent by irib, iran, and rtm, malaysia. more than a billion muslims around the world celebrated a festival on wednesday. the event marked the end of ramadan, the muslim month of fasting

nhk obtained a copy of the draft calling for assets to be used as soon as possible. the draft calls for $500 million to be use ford humanitarian activities and another there are 500 million to provide food and other supplies. ahead of the meeting, the german deputy ambassador to the u.n. spoke to nhk. >> we need to act very quickly on the defreezing of the sanctions, so that the libyan people will be in a position to reconstruct the country as quickly as possible. >>. security council members are expected to meet again on thursday to discuss the issue pz. >> fighting is intensifying between government forces and aldied kooida militants. 42 people have been killed in the past two days. the local al qaeda affiliates has grown while government forces are preoccupied, cracking down on protesters demanding that their president resign. fighting has continued between the affiliates and the government in the southern province, since the group took control of most of the region in may. >>> in the provencial capitol on monday, several soldiers were killed in a clash with al qa

nhk world, fukushima. >>> an nhk poll shows the approval rate for the cabinet of prime minister naoto kan has risen to 18%. the figure is up two percentage points from the previous months when the rate marked a low since the party took place. the disapproval rating is down three points. 44% said it seems better than any potential ruling block. among those who say they do not support the cabinet, 40% said it lacks the power to carry out policies. as when kan should step down, 45% said by the end of this month. 28% said he should resign between september and the end of december while 14% opted for next year or later. >>> a japanese government panel on space programs has urged the government to put priority on developing a satellite for global positions systems. the body says the government needs to optimize its limited annual budget of about $4 billion for space exploration. the panel says developing a gps satellite should be the top priority as new businesses can be created by providing detailed positioning information. it says the satellite can also be used to confirm the location of

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm shery ahn. >>> in libya anti-government forces appear to have toppled moammar gadhafi's regime and they are endeavoring to form a transitional government despite continued pockets of resistance from gadhafi loyalists. the national transitional council of anti-government forces began sending senior members to the capital tripoli from its base in benghazi in the east on wednesday. it aims to launch a transitional government there by the end of next week. the forces are still searching for gadhafi amid severe resistance from gadhafi loyalists in many regions. fierce fighting broke out on wednesday in tripolin u salin in the southern strict of tripoli near an international air important after loyalists seized those areas. they're retaliating against the anti-government force business means of snipers and rocket fire. gadhafi loyalists also appear to be launching an offensive near ras lanuf, a key oil city. >>> north korea media reported thursday the country's leader's talks with russi

join nhk world for japan six months on and 9/11 defining a decade. beginning september 5th. then on sunday september 11th we'll mark the anniversaries. 2:30 p.m. japan time for the 3/11 disaster. >>> in other news, libyan's opposition leader has urged the foulers of muammar al gadhafi to surrender before friday. if not they will opt for military action to put them under control. the head of libya's national transitional committee jalil spoke to supporters on tuesday. jalil said the ousted leader remains a threat to the libyan people until he's placed in custody. gadhafi's regime has collapsed since rebels seized control of tripoli last week. supporters are maintaining resistance in his hometown of sirte. the ntc is continuing talks with loyalist tribes on a peaceful solution while mobilizing troops around where gadhafi is set to be hiding. >>> join a mine sweeping drill in the persian gulf with united states and british forces for the first time. the drill will begin in mid-october. the defense ministry says that msdf was invited to join the drill by the u.s. and british nav

a security guard at the station told nhk that there is no sign of them being inspected. some bereaved families remain unconvinced about the official explanations. >> translator: unless the government clarifies its responsibility and discloses the facts, i will consider taking legal action. >>> even though it's summer, classrooms in the tsunami-destroyed areas are busy with students and teachers. they are making up for lost time caused by the march 11th disaster. >> reporter: the harbor in onagawa once bustled with fishing boats. the tsunami completely upended life in the town located in the miyagi prefecture. five months later, not much improved. even now, almost 500 people live in shelters. this junior high school was built on elevated ground in the center of town. even so, it barely escaped the tsunami. earthquake damage forced classes to be stopped. then a series of aftershocks further interrupted classes. to get back on schedule, the town offered supplementary lessons for three mornings. 11 college students studying to be teachers helped conduct the classes. one of t

nhk world, fukushima. >>> an nhk poll shows the approval rate for the cabinet of prime minister naoto kan has risen to 18%. the figure is up two percentage points from the previous months when the rate marked a low since the party took place. the disapproval rating is down three points. 44% said it seems better than any potential ruling block. among those who say they do not support the cabinet, 40% said it lacks the power to carry out policies. as when kan should step down, 45% said by the end of this month. 28% said he should resign between september and the end of december while 14% opted for next year or later. >>> a japanese government panel on space programs has urged the government to put priority on developing a satellite for global positions systems. the body says the government needs to optimize its limited annual budget of about $4 billion for space exploration. the panel says developing a gps satellite should be the top priority as new businesses can be created by providing detailed positioning information. it says the satellite can also be used to confirm the location of

thanks for joining us. >>> hello i'm tomoko kimura with nhk world tv. this week we're introducing social network services. a traveler going to romania. and a film on killer whales. the documentary series asia in view focuses on outstanding people in the region. the latest episode spotlights key players of indonesian social network services and looks at how society is evolving with technology. somewhere street looks at cities worldwide as seen by a walking tourist. this time we visit brasov in romania, a beautiful time with a medieval atmosphere. you'll enjoy the beautiful view of architectures. the next documentary features rare images of the unusual hunting behavior of killer whales living in argentina.

lieutenant general bakhar gaye of senegal spoke to nhk on thursday. he stressed the need to send 8,000 peacekeeping personnel to south sudan which became independent in july. >> we know what is going on unfortunately in japan. we know that serve busy with the reconstruction. it is this will, this attitude of the japanese people that we want you to bring in this new country. >> reporter: the lieutenant general gaye says south sudan has only managed to pave roads in the capital so peacekeeping troops are needed to help build infrastructure. he also says armed groups that fought in the civil war are being demobilized, but the country still faces threats and needs a strong security force. >>> china is putting the brakes on the opening of a new high-speed rail link. the government hasn't made a formal announcement about the delay. it's faced criticism over the safety of its bullet train service since a collision last month killed 40 people and injured more than 190 others. the new service has reportedly been tested since july 26. it runs about 100 kilomete

in an interview with nhk, he defended policies such as preferential treatment for the country's rural poor. >> reporter: thailand's new prime minister delivered a policy speech in parliament on tuesday. after winning last month's general election. the younger sister of thaksin pledged to expand the program to buy rice to boost farmers' income. she also promised to revitalize rural farms. thaksin spoke with nhk in tokyo on wednesday, admitting that he was involved in drafting some of the policies announced by the new administration. >> part of the policy during campaigns i helped to share the ideas with the executives at the palace on the ideas of how to help the people. for example, the minimum wage. >> reporter: critics describe the policies as similar to the ones pushed by thaksin's government. but thaksin dismissed the criticism. >> popularism means that you just hand out giveaways. but this is not really a give away. you have to move the people from the bottom. that is, if you want to spur the economy, you have to start from the bottom. >> reporter: thaksin has been in self-impose

nhk world, pattaya. >>> and now let's take a look at the market figures. >>> hello there. time now for your weather update. very active frontal system continues to stretch across the northern end of east asia. plenty of wet weather from much of china. dealing with widespread rain. we could certainly see up to 100 meters fall within the next 24 hours. still remains unstable. that rain less intense than yesterday's brief and heavy showers expected throughout the day. and the northern end of japan dealing with heavy showers as well here. especially for tohoku. heavy rain to erupt there today. also elsewhere across the country is similarly unstable. it has been raining here for days. the risk of flooding landslides will be pretty high. somewhere else that's dealing with a lot of rain, of course areas around the bay of bengal. that widespread rain continues to impact much of indochina. but for india as well, that rain remain it is fairly widespread and dealing with those downpours hearing of staggering amounts falling in the last 24 hours. here you want to watch out for things

nhk spoke with a pakistan public relations officer in islamabad. he said they were fabricated to harm the image. >>> now let's take a look at the market figures. >>> time now for our weather update. across eastern asia we see active clouds stretching through the korean peninsula and into northern japan. lots of wet weather to be found underneath for central china looking at pockets of heavy showers around hunan and also north korea looking at significant amounts of rain. japan, too, looking unsettled throughout the country today. the northern end getting into heavy rain. but also in the south as well, lots of hot and humid air coming in from the pacific. that's going to produce torrential downpours here. up to 150 millimeters. could see afternoon thunderstorms break out across western and central portions as well. that's enhanced by daytime heating. again we're going to be dealing with extremely hot conditions across the region. 34 in tokyo today. 36 in fukushima. coming in at 34 degrees in osaka. elsewhere looking at 26 in seoul. 40 degrees in cho

nhk world, pattaya. >>> and now let's take a look at the market figures. >>> hello there. time now for your weather update. very active frontal system continues to stretch across the northern end of east asia. plenty of wet weather from much of china. dealing with widespread rain. we could certainly see up to 100 meters fall within the next 24 hours. still remains unstable. that rain less intense than yesterday's brief and heavy showers expected throughout the day. and the northern end of japan dealing with heavy showers as well here. especially for tohoku. heavy rain to erupt there today. also elsewhere across the country is similarly unstable. it has been raining here for days. the risk of flooding landslides will be pretty high. somewhere else that's dealing with a lot of rain, of course areas around the bay of bengal. that widespread rain continues to impact much of indochina. but for india as well, that rain remain it is fairly widespread and dealing with those downpours hearing of staggering amounts falling in the last 24 hours. here you want to watch out for things

nhk spoke with a pakistan public relations officer in islamabad. he said they were fabricated to harm the image. >>> now let's take a look at the market figures. >>> time now for our weather update. across eastern asia we see active clouds stretching through the korean peninsula and into northern japan. lots of wet weather to be found underneath for central china looking at pockets of heavy showers around hunan and also north korea looking at significant amounts of rain. japan, too, looking unsettled throughout the country today. the northern end getting into heavy rain. but also in the south as well, lots of hot and humid air coming in from the pacific. that's going to produce torrential downpours here. up to 150 millimeters. could see afternoon thunderstorms break out across western and central portions as well. that's enhanced by daytime heating. again we're going to be dealing with extremely hot conditions across the region. 34 in tokyo today. 36 in fukushima. coming in at 34 degrees in osaka. elsewhere looking at 26 in seoul. 40 degrees in cho

nhk reporters saw kim getting out of a factory and shaking hands with plant officials. later in the day, his convoy was seen entering a dairy factory. kim then traveled to the industrial city of daqing, home of some of the largest oil fields. police officers were seen standing guard every 100 meters around the expressway. observers say by showing his willingness to learn from china's economic development, kim is confirming north korean's close ties with china. >>> now we go to a bureau in bang kong, patchari raksawong has the latest on what's going on in the region. >> now a powerful bomb blast has killed at least ten people and wounded dozens more as a crowded marketplace in volatile northwest pakistan. people shopping for a festival that marks the end of ramadan were among the victims. the bomb went off in the town of risalpur on wednesday night. police say the device was placed on a parked bicycle in an area busy with shoppers preparing for next week's festival. of aiyed. >> translator: after a breaking the fast meal, we came out to sit with friends. there was a blas

nhk has confirmed that wenzhou station, near the site of the accident, 14 trains had been taken out of service on tuesday. about two-thirds of those in operation were running late. there has been no official explanation for the delays. but a shanghai based tv station and other media have cited sources within the railway authority as saying the disruptions are due to continuing equipment inspections. passengers at wenzhou south station say they are worried about the safety of the high speed railway system but they need to use the line. they express frustration that authorities have done nothing to ease their concerns. >>> time to check on some of the stories we've gathered by broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by rtm malaysia. >>> the malaysian government began a comprehensive program on monday to register the approximately 2 million illegal workers in the country. about 330 private firms have been engaged to register the illegal workers over the next two weeks. the aim is to improve national security and halt human trafficking. registered workers will be allowed to

that was nhk world's political commentator. >> u.s. president barack obama says he is looking forward to working with japanese prime minister yoeshihiko noda to tackle the various economic and security issues facing both countries. obama made the remark in a statement on tuesday and congratulated noda on his election as prime minister. obama said the u.s./japan alliance has served as the lynch pin of peace and security in the asia pacific region for the last half century. he said the u.s. and japan can ensure the next half century enjoys the same stability and prosperity. the u.s. has been seeking concrete progress on the long delayed relocation of a u.s. marine air base in okinawa within the prefecture. it is hoped that japan will also join negotiations for the trans pacific partnership at an early stage. the u.s. government wants to hold a bilateral summit late september at the earliest when noda will attend the u.n. general assembly in new york. time now for the latest in business news. we've had some fresh manufacturing come out an

nhk world reports. >> reporter: about 6,000 people joined the ceremony to remember the moment when an atomic bomb destroyed this city and killed tens of thousands of people. junior high school students from iwate in fukushima prefecture took part in the memorial service. the march earthquake and tsunami along with the nuclear crisis hit their city hard. 66 years after the destruction of nagasaki, japan's triple disaster is creating anxiety among atomic bomb survivors. tokyo electric power company's fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is still not under control. >> translator: this year with the accident at the fukushima nuclear power plant, many people are facing the threat of radiation. i personally promise to use the rest of the time i have for the realization of a peaceful world without nuclear arms. war and the threat of radiation. >> reporter: the mayor of nagasaki called for the abolition of atomic weapons but also devoted part of his peace declaration to japan's nuclear crisis. >> translator: how is it possible that we are threatened once again by the fear of radiation? have

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." on this saturday, august 13th i'm ron madison in tokyo. our top story this hour, share prices rising on the new york stock exchange friday with the benchmark index, at one time gaining more than 200 points. market rallied right after the opening bell with the announcement that u.s. retail sales for july increased from the previous month. well, that news somewhat eased concerns about the u.s. economic outlook. the market also getting a boost after european markets rose sharply and this was thanks to a ban on the short selling of stocks in france as well as three other countries. taking a look at the figures, the dow jones industrial average closing the day at 11,269. you see a gain of about 126 points on the session. to the new york foreign exchange market, the u.s. dollar traded at the upper 67 yen level on friday. and meanwhile, looking at gold futures now, those were down for a second consecutive day after reaching a record high of $1,800 an ounce on friday. gold fell after they announced they were raising the amount of cash the speculat

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm shery ahn. u.s. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke gave an anticipated speech on the u.s. market economy. the markets were focusing on whether he would talk about more monetary easing but he did not mention specific plans. the gathering held in jackson hole behind closed doors was attended by many. will be delayed more than had been anticipated. he cited the reverse effects of the sector on financial markets. bernanke also mentioned concern about european sovereign debts and developments related to the u.s. fiscal situation. he said these developments have hurt household and business confidence and both pose ongoing risks to growth. he said the federal reserve board will discuss measures at the committee meeting in september. he said the meeting would be held over two days instead of the originally planned one date to allow a fuller discussion. >>> japan's prime minister naoto kan is leaving office less than a year after taking power. kan spoke to the nation. here's what he had to say. >> translat

nhk world, jakarta. >> very adorable and looks yummy as well. that wraps up our bulletin. i'm dhirakaosal dhra from bangkok. >>> assembled by the apec. their mission is to see what companies can learn from the march 11 quake and tsunami so they can resume normal operations following a disaster. here is more. >> reporter: sendai is is the largest city in the disaster zone. this is the first conference since the quake and tsunami. they are here to discuss bcp. business continuity planning. it's how to stay in business when a disaster strikes. the quake and tsunami in march hit things hard. domestic cars was out for two months after the quake. also effected assembly lines in the united states and other countries. governmental shares would exchange ideas on how to promote bcp and the key compani operating after an emergency. a recycling company in sendai will make a presentation about how they have reconstructed business based on their bcp. if companies can recover sooner, they can minimize losses and prevent related businesses from being effected. a report of these discussion

nhk world, bangkok. >>> in the philippines, survivors and families of hong kong tourists killed during a bus hijacking gathered on tuesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. many of them are still seeking justice. the group dressed in black mourn the loss of their loved ones at the site of the incident in mani manila. but as monks chanted, offerings of food and drink were made to the victims. >> we are really upset because when i look at this picture i would think of the times that -- we will never forget this. and we will continue to fight for this brother. to fight for their justice. >> the incident began when a policeman hijacked a tour bus. eight people died. the fiasco triggered public outrage in hong kong. they say the response of the philippine government has been inadequate. they're demanding a formal apology. >>> staying in the philippines, the country has acquired a large warship from the united states. the purchase comes amid rising tensions through tensions in the south china sea. it also highlights the challenge for the philippines to keep its naval deterrent

nhk world, miyagi prefecture. >> five months after japan's tsunami and earthquake triggered a crisis, the struggle to get the fukushima daiichi plant under control is far from over. workers are trying to get the system that decontaminates water working at full capacity. tokyo electric power company has resumed the cooling systems for spent fuel storage pools at four of its reactors. it fixed a problem at the number one unit on wednesday. tepco has been cooling three reactors since late june by cleaning up highly radioactive water then recirculating it. the safety agency says the temperatures of the reactors have been relatively stable at around 100 degrees celsius. the lowers the risk of another hydrogen explosion. but the filtration equipment has been plagued with problems. the operation has been repeatedly suspended slowing down the process. tepco is reducing the amount of water it injects to reduce the buildup of contaminated liquid. that means its plan could be delayed. >>> the accident at fukushima daiichi isn't getting in the way of a deal between japan and vietnam to build two

nhk world, miyagi prefecture. >> five months after japan's tsunami and earthquake triggered a crisis, the struggle to get the fukushima daiichi plant under control is far from over. workers are trying to get the system that decontaminates water working at full capacity. tokyo electric power company has resumed the cooling systems for spent fuel storage pools at four of its reactors. it fixed a problem at the number one unit on wednesday. tepco has been cooling three reactors since late june by cleaning up highly radioactive water then recirculating it. the safety agency says the temperatures of the reactors have been relatively stable at around 100 degrees celsius. the lowers the risk of another hydrogen explosion. but the filtration equipment has been plagued with problems. the operation has been repeatedly suspended slowing down the process. tepco is reducing the amount of water it injects to reduce the buildup of contaminated liquid. that means its plan could be delayed. >>> the accident at fukushima daiichi isn't getting in the way of a deal between japan and vietnam to build two

a human rights organization told nhk about the military's use of force. it called for international intervention to stop the violence. >>> the worsening situation that adopted a statement condemning the suppression of can't violent protests. it falls short of a legally binding resolution. >> rt security council don dems human rights and the use of force by the syrian authorities. >> the presidential statement condemning the suppression of protesters by the administration of the president was adopted on wednesday. the statement follows three months of discussions and a motion to syria. by britain and france and other countries. they had russia to maintain close talks instead of a legally bining resolution. the statement expresses great concern over the hundreds of debts resulting from the crack down and urges the syrian government to stop all violent acts. it makes no mention of measures such as the use of force or sanctions that were incorporated into a resolution adopted against libya in march. some members would close relationships and are reluctant to

nhk world, benghazi, libya. >>> russian president dmitry medvedev and north korean leader kim jong-il held talks on wednesday. a spoke woman for medvedev says north korea is ready to resume without preconditions the six-party talks on its nuclear program. medvedev met kim at a russian military facility outside ulan-ude in eastern siberia. it was the first summit between the nations in nine years. >> after the talks, a russian news agency qteth pridtiposwans yi k io impose a moratorium on testing and production of nuclear weapons. medvedev told reporters both sides agreed to construct a natural gas pipeline from the russia far east to south korea by way of north korea. >>> kim jong-il's visit to russia is his third since becoming leader of north korea in 1994. >> reporter: after succeeding his father kim il-sung, kim jong-il worked on enhancing diplomatic relations with a number of countries. he made his first trip to russia in july 2001, taking his private trn a 24-day, 18,000 loter journe kim held a summit with then russian president vladimir putin in moscow. thleaders ised a joint d

the international criminal court in the hague told nhk monday it contained information the son has been held. gadhafi called on his supporters to fed to the end. the opposition says about 20% of the capital remains under government control and the regime is still resisting the offensive. libya fell into civil war in february. since then, the whole african nation has been in turmoil. >>> moammar gadhafi has ruled libya for 42 years. he's the longest serving head of the state in the arab world. >> reporter: gadhafi took power in 1969 at the age o he led a bloodless coup against the king. he was initially a fierce opponent of the west. and he's long been accused of repressing any opposition. in 1988, libya was blamed for the bombing of an airliner over the scottish town of lockerbie. the united nations imposed economic sanctions. in 2003, libya accepted responsibility for the lockerbie bombing and said it would abandon its plan to develop weapons of mass destruction. libya's relations with the west improved in later years, thanks to its oil and gas reserves. gadhafi made his first speech a

yujiro futori, nhk world. >>> a british newspaper reported that special forces from that country were on the ground in libya assisting the fall of tripoli. "the daily telegraph" on wednesday quoted defense sources as confirming that soldiers from the british army special forces sas regiment have been in libya for several weeks. the paper said soldiers have been dressed in arab civilian clothing and carrying the same weapons as the rebels. after taking part in the fighting to capture the military headquarters in tripoli that served as gadhafi's residence, the forces are now involved in tracking him down. britain's defense secretary liam fox appearing in a local tv network on wednesday acknowledged that nato is supporting the antigovernment forces' hunt for gadhafi but did not comment on the activities of the sas. >>> the syrian government has intensified its crackdown on demonstrators following the virtual collapse of the gadhafi regime in libya. more than 20 people are dead. antigovernment demonstrations took place wednesday night and thursday in damascus and other parts of syria to d

>>> welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa with the latest at this hour. >>> japan's prime minister naoto kan is leaving office barely a year after taking part. he's the fifth prime minister to quit in as many years. he spoke to the nation about a couple of hours ago. here's what he had to say. >> translator: earlier, as of today, i decided to step down as the ruling democratic party president and also as long as the new leader is elected, i'm going to step down as the prime minister. >> kan apologized for failing to prevent the nuclear crisis that followed the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. he said japan must reduce its reliance on nuclear power. >> translator: japan is a great, proud country, but we do have a lot of nuclear reactors, nuclear plants, in the land, and that is what we have experienced this time, and that is the incident in which i felt the powerlessness as a prime minister because we were not able to prevent losing many lives at the time of the earthquake and how to contain that aggravati

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. >>> moving to overseas, nhk has learned the chinese government is planning on building a $300 million industrial park in northeastern giling province to host north korean firms. it will be the first of its kind in china. provenÇal authorities say the complex will be built in tumen city which borders north korea. the project is the latest move by the two countries to strengthen their economic ties. in june, they started the construction of two special economic zones in north korea's border area. >>> china apparently wants to help its ally open up its economy and supply goods according to market demand. north korea is aiming to ensure a smooth transfer of power from current leader kim jong-il to his soon kim jong-un building on its relationship with china to so it can revamp its own economy >>> u.s. vice president joe biden is now in china on his first leg of the asian tour. one objective of the trip is to build a relationship with the likely successor president hu jintao. biden is expected to hold wide ranging talks with vice president xi jinping during his six-day visit. many believe

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm shery ahn. the dollar hits a record low of u.s. and credit worries in europe. the lowest it had ever been previously was 76.25 yen after the march 11 disaster that hit japan. market sources say one factor behind the dollar -- may have to launch monetary measures. for insight on the impact of the weakening dollar on the u.s. economy, we spoke with chief economist at jp morgan chase bank. >> the u.s. is the economy which is at most risk of going into recession right now. japan is in a process of rebounding after the disasters that hit it earlier this year. and we do think that the u.s. is suffering in terms of its performance in asset markets and portfolio flows as a result of the disappointing news that the u.s. might fall into recession. in the context of the move in the currency, we do believe a fall in the dollar's value is an encouraging sign providing some cushioning against the weak ness in the economy. we also believe that the weaker dollar while it is helping to add some inflation pressure in the system is not going to deter

nhk has learned that the defense ministry plans to send a team of experts to the country by the end of august to study security and road conditions. after hearing from the team, the ministry will make a final decision on whether or not to send ground self-defense force troops as peace keepers. >>> the buddhist statue at a temple in nara has undergone an annual dusting ahead of the mid-august holidays when people pay visits to their ancestors' graves. on sunday about 150 people including buddhist priests gathered for a ceremonial chanting ahead of the traditional dusting. they then climbed on to the hands and the knees of the strew and carefully removed dust with brooms and dusters. some were raised on hanging chairs to clean the statue's shoulders and face. many people took pictures of the scene as dust filled the temple hall. >> translator: i'm glad i could see this. >> translator: it's easy to see how big the buddha is when people climb on to it. >>> now let's take a look at the extended weather forecast for selected cities around the world. >>> that wraps up this edition of "newslin

>>> welcome to nhk "newsline." >>> on this anniversary the city is filled with prayers for peace. in light of japan's current nuclear crisis, city mayor urged the government on saturday to review its energy policy. 60,000 people remembered the moment in 1945 when an atomic bomb destroyed city. the names of 275,000 a-bomb victims were placed in a vault. more people have died of the a-bomb's effect since then and earlier deaths have now been confirmed. [ bell tolls ] there was a minute of silence at 8:15 a.m., the exact time the bomb exploded. the mayor of hiroshima called for a lasting peace in a world free of nuclear weapons. >> the time has come for the rest of us to learn from the experience and the desire for peace. then we must communicate what we learned to future generations and to the rest of the world. >>> this year, japan has had a fresh reminder of the dangers of atomic energy. the earthquake and tsunami cause aid crisis and people in japan are again living in fear of radiation. the mayor of hiroshima never wants the situation to be repeated. >> translator: from the comm

. >>> nhk poll shows the approval rate for the cabinet of japan's prime minister naoto kan has risen to 18%. the figure is up 2 percentage points from the previous month when the rate marked a low since the democratic party took power two years ago. the cabinet's disapproval rating is 65%, down 3 points. among respondents who said they support the cabinet, 44% said it seems better than any potential ruling block. among those who said they do not support the cabinet, 40% said it lacks the power to carry out policies. asked when kan should step down, 45% said before the end of this month when the current diet's session is to adjourn. 28% said he should resign between september and the end of december while 14% opted for next year or later. >>> finance ministers and central bank governors of the group of seven industrialized nations have released a joint statement on ways to stabilize financial markets. following the move, the japanese central bank is taking action. the statement was released on early monday morning after an emergency phone meeting. it says g-7 members confirm that they

nhk world, bangkok. >> fun and slimming at the same time. >>> and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm dhra dhirakaosal. >>> let's take a look at the market figures now. >>> welcome back to your weather update. now, for east asia we're still keeping an eye on an active frontal boundary that ends up in central china. its been active the past few days. it continues to dump plenty of rainfall. it's been focusing its energy along southern japan. but now towards south korea as well. it's going to be wet all along this area throughout today. of course, the tail end of that also impacting central china. china will see shaufrs spread along the southeast corner of the country. and heavy pockets of rain is going to be possible. some areas could see as much as a hundred millimeters in the next 24 hours. tropical showers and thunderstorms widespread across the philippines as well as throughout the indochina peninsula. let's get a look at the temperatures. 31 the high in manila. 32 in hong kong. 31 in chongqing. and 28 in tokyo. definitely warmer than yesterday, but still not quite that strong

nhk world, bangkok. >> fun and slimming at the same time. >>> and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm dhra dhirakaosal. >>> let's take a look at the market figures now. >>> welcome back to your weather update. now, for east asia we're still keeping an eye on an active frontal boundary that ends up in central china. its been active the past few days. it continues to dump plenty of rainfall. it's been focusing its energy along southern japan. but now towards south korea as well. it's going to be wet all along this area throughout today. of course, the tail end of that also impacting central china. china will see shaufrs spread along the southeast corner of the country. and heavy pockets of rain is going to be possible. some areas could see as much as a hundred millimeters in the next 24 hours. tropical showers and thunderstorms widespread across the philippines as well as throughout the indochina peninsula. let's get a look at the temperatures. 31 the high in manila. 32 in hong kong. 31 in chongqing. and 28 in tokyo. definitely warmer than yesterday, but still not quite that strong

nhk world's her row toe has more. >> reporter: mimisaka is an old town in western japan. nowadays, though, it's got a new claim to fame. two members of the world cup winn winners,ed in a sheco, japan, midfielder aya mia ma got two. miho fudge mow toe was a substitute goalkeeper. as for you, actually you're smaller than i thought. >> translator: everybody says so. >> reporter: both players belong to the local soccer club, yunogo belle, they are the leaders mentally and strategically. it was created ten years ago by the municipal government and the private sector. it's fourth in the 19th women's league. but miyama is the only player on a provisional contract. the rest have to work at other jobs to earn a living so they can't devote their full attention to the sport. fudge moto is employed as a staff member of the athletic soes jags. she takes care of various projects including publishing news letters for theion i bow belle fan club. we visited the club's marketing department but the only person we found there was the executive manager. why are you by yourself? >> we're pinc

nhk world, wuhan. >>> time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by slrc sri lanka. sri lanka's first solar power plant was inaugurated on monday. the 500 kilowatt project has been funded by south korea at a cost of $3.8 million. the electricity is expected to save 200, of fuel a year and cut carbon monoxide emissions. by 2020, the government intends to increase the share of renewable energy in the national grid from the current 6% to 20%. and is planning several solar powered plants in other parts of the country. >>> malaysian cargo ships -- to protect them from pirates as this move through. a ceremony was held on monday to launch the second container ship to be modified to serve as an auxiliary vessel. in 2008, the malaysian navy deployed five ships to combat piracy. >>> in china august 8th has been designated as national fitness day to mark the start of the 2008 olympic games. visitors of all ages went into the birds nest stadium and the olympic culture center to participate in a range of events including roller ska

nhk world, wuhan. >>> time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item sent by slrc sri lanka. sri lanka's first solar power plant was inaugurated on monday. the 500 kilowatt project has been funded by south korea at a cost of $3.8 million. the electricity is expected to save 200,000 liters of fuel a year and cut carbon monoxide emissions. by 2020, the government intends to increase the share of renewable energy in the national grid from the current 6% to 20%. and is planning several solar powered plants in other parts of the country. >>> malaysian cargo ships -- to protect them from pirates as this move through. a ceremony was held on monday to launch the second container ship to be modified to serve as an auxiliary vessel. in 2008, the malaysian navy deployed five ships to combat piracy. >>> in china august 8th has been designated as national fitness day to mark the start of the 2008 olympic games. visitors of all ages went into the birds nest stadium and the olympic culture center to participate in a range of events including

nhk world, beijing. >>> clearly a flourishing trade, but it does have its critics. they say the mountain dogs are not adapting well to the urban environment. and are dying of illnesses. another problem is the dwindling number of pure blood tibetan mastiffs. a bubble around developed around the market. but like all bubbles, it could very well burst if not properly managed. true dog lovers will surely be keeping an eye on this one. >>> rescuers in central japan continue their search for three people after a fatal accident on a river. a sightseeing boat capsized on wednesday, killinga the least two people. fire department officials say the boat was carrying 23 people, including the crew and a tour guide. it capsized on the river. two women in their 60s and 70s died, and four others were sent to the hospital. the operator of the sightseeing tour says the boat did not have a motor, and was powered by the crew. it says the river was slow moving during most of the 50-minute tour, except where the boat capsized. that part of the river is known for its strong current. the op

nhk world, beijing. >>> clearly a flourishing trade, but it does have its critics. they say the mountain dogs are not adapting well to the urban environment. and are dying of illnesses. another problem is the dwindling number of pure blood tibetan mastiffs. a bubble around developed around the market. but like all bubbles, it could very well burst if not properly managed. true dog lovers will surely be keeping an eye on this one. >>> rescuers in central japan continue their search for three people after a fatal accident on a river. a sightseeing boat capsized on wednesday, killinga the least two people. fire department officials say the boat was carrying 23 people, including the crew and a tour guide. it capsized on the river. two women in their 60s and 70s died, and four others were sent to the hospital. the operator of the sightseeing tour says the boat did not have a motor, and was powered by the crew. it says the river was slow moving during most of the 50-minute tour, except where the boat capsized. that part of the river is known for its strong current. the op

nhk world's yoshio anima reports. >> reporter: singapore hosted the world trade fair for organizations involved in the water industry. at a july event japanese participants took up more space than other countries to promote their products. >> i'm very impressed that one thing about the way the japanese reduced the leakage. >> reporter: japan's water treatment acumen and other operators are considered world class, but setting water for entire cities is difficult. there is a growing trend around the globe. private companies have set the system as a profit-making enterprise but japan has come up with a new strategy that involves municipal governments skilled in managing water infrastructure. they are having the japanese municipal governments getting private companies in the cities to sell and install the infrastructure. >> translator: japan's private sector needs to handle the on-the-ground work, after the municipalities have taken the business initiative. the money earned by private firms leads to tax revenues, so this will be a huge plus for japan. >> reporter: ho chi minh city in vietn

nhk world, kobe. >>> in other news, south korea says it has returned fire in the yellow sea after a north korean artillery shell landed in waters near the two countries' maritime border. the south defense ministry said artillery fire was heard five times in waters west of the korean peninsula on wednesday. the ministry said that the south fired back twice. residents of the south korean island say they evacuated to shelters after hearing shell fire, but returned home because the north made no further moves. the ministry says the firing was part of a routine north korean military exercise, but is investigating to determine if the north intentionally fired a shell near the border. north korea does not recognize the border, and claims that waters around the island are its territory. north korean artillery attacks on the island last november killed four people, including two civilians. south korea then beefed up defense in the area. >>> china is testing out the latest piece of hardware in its growing military apparatus. its newly refurbished aircraft carrier has left on a trial voyage. the for

nhk world, kobe. >>> in other news, south korea says it has returned fire in the yellow sea after a north korean artillery shell landed in waters near the two countries' maritime border. the south defense ministry said artillery fire was heard five times in waters west of the korean peninsula on wednesday. the ministry said that the south fired back twice. residents of the south korean island say they evacuated to shelters after hearing shell fire, but returned home because the north made no further moves. the ministry says the firing was part of a routine north korean military exercise, but is investigatinto determine if the north intentionally fired a shell near the border. north korea does not recognize the border, and claims that waters around the island are its territory. north korean artillery attacks on the island last november killed four people, including two civilians. south korea then beefed up defense in the area. >>> china is testing out the latest piece of hardware in its growing military apparatus. its newly refurbished aircraft carrier has left on a trial voyage. the forme