one of them is sakamoto. his family runs a snack shop. >> translator: my brother's obsessed with those eggplants. even when he's supposed to be working, he slips out to water them. >> reporter: sakamoto and the other volunteers don't have any farming experience, but they're passionate about growing the eggplants in their own neighborhood. >> translator: we want, first of all, for locals to discover these vegetables. then we want our businesses to use them to create something new. that's what we're going for. >> reporter: these shopowners are taking the lead. they're experimenting with the eggplant to create new dishes. the vegetable has even inspired the neighborhood's new mascot. >> translator: tastes great. >> reporter: the interest in edo-tokyo vegetables isn't about harvesti and eating rare plants. it's about a community coming together to revive something that was once forgotten. rina nakano, nhk world, tokyo. >>> people in northern japan are sweating through unusually high temperatures. sayaka mori join

mari sakamoto, nhk world, sydney. >>> the australians are encouraging their japanese counterparts to join talks on the transpacific partnership. australians are already taking part in the negotiations. but prime minister yoshihiko noda remains undecided on whether japan should join the talks. >>> disputes continue between china and southeast asian countries over territories in the south china sea. the u.s. is seeking a resolution and is sending its defense secretary to asia for the third time in less than a year. patchari raksawong at our bureau in bangkok has the latest on what's going on in the region. >>> defense secretary leon panetta is set to visit japan, china, and new zealand this weekend. the trip is the latest move in the pivot to asia policy of the u.s. panetta is expected to discuss the territorial disputes during his trip to china. plans for panetta's tour were announced by pentagon spokesperson george little at a news conference on thursday. >> this weekend, secretary panetta will depart washington for his third visit to asia in eleven months as secretary of defense. >>