suga said they will maintain their determination to protect the nation's territory. he went on to say that the government doesn't intend to escalate matters and will continue to pursue dialogue with china to ease friction. >>> a nuclear plant operator is hoping to put a reactor back online. the government ice nuclear regulator on wednesday. are now offline for safety checks the plan to aim -- to clear the government's new safety rirms, however the new operator before going back online. nhk polled 136 municipalities -- the survey asked local governments whether they will approve or restock if authorities find that the reak fors meet new requirements. about 12% said they're ready to approve. about 67% remain undecide. there's no legal requirement for obtaining use before restarting a reactor, however, over 40% of local governments felt they should ask for approval. some point out that a legal deaf knicks of consent is necessary. >> the state government should play an active role in providing sufficient explanations regardless of hosting or surrounding communities. >> h

suga says both sides agreed that the first report may come in the late summer or early autumn. but he says it's not currently known when it will be ready, and he said so far there's been no reason given for the delay. the government says at least 17 japanese nationals were abducted by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s, but returned to japan in 2002. >>> now, japan has just gotten a little bit bigger. coast guard officials reported that fresh lava flows continuing south of tokyo that took on new proportions last year. the island is located about 900 kilometers from tokyo. it made its way into the news in november when a new island formed nearby, the result of lava flows from an underwater volcanic vent. in a month, the new island had joined with the original island. an aerial survey by a coast guard aircraft has found several craters in the center of the island. three of them were observed spewing lava and cinders 100 meters into the air, with smoke reaching roughly 1500 meters. the island is now about seven times larger than before the eruption in november. coast guard

chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga was commenting on president xi's remarks.uga said japan has respected many countries for its consistent efforts as a peaceful nation during the 70 years since the end of world war ii. and he stressed the importance of friendship with china. >> translator: japan and china share responsibility for the region's peace and safety. the world is paying attention to our relations. >> suga said prime minister abe has always maintained that the door for dialogue is open. he said it is important that leaders of the two countries meet and talk, even when they have contentious issues. japanese officials are hoping for a meeting between abe and xi on the sidelines of the asia pacific economic cooperation summit in beijing in november. and the chinese president gave japan a mixed message. he took hard and soft lines in a speech on relations. an expert on china explains why. >> translator: president xi appealed to people in china saying the government will not bend to japan. and they will continue criticizing japan over historical issues. th

chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga says the four islands are being occupied by russia without legal grounds. he says japan has no means of stopping infrastructure projects there. >> translator: we have to reach a fundamental settlement over the northern territories issue. we will negotiate tenaciously with russian officials to seek a solution that is acceptable to both sides. >> suga says the opening of the airport will not affect plans to arrange a bilateral summit. >>> many japanese farmers struggle to make a profit in a country that imports more than half its food. one farmer in northern japan is using innovative marketing techniques to stand out from the crowd, and he's watching his bottom line grow. nhk world's risa wakabayashi explains. >> reporter: at the airport in hokkaido, the gateway to japan's far north. many airport stores sell fresh seafood to travelers, but there's one store that's attracting customers with a sales system called sumekodai, which means all you can stuff into a container. six kinds of organic cherry tomatoes are sold by the cupful. customers try to stuf

chief cabinet secretary suga >> translator: the incumbent governor nakaima has given approval of the land relocation project in henoko, and we will steadily implement the plan. i don't think it will become a focal issue in the gubernatorial election. >> suga is also minister in charge of alleviating the burden of the bases in okinawa. voters will cast their ballots on november 16th. the politicians have been clarifying their stance on the relocation plan and on how to reduce the burden of the u.s. bases. >>> people in northeastern japan on thursday are marking three and a half years since the earthquake and tsunami. but many say the building of public housing has been slow. only a fraction of planned new housing units stand completed. tens of thousands of evacuees still live in temporary shelters. as of the end of august, a mere 3,060 units out of planned 29,000 had been finished in the three most affected prefectures. officials say selecting locations and acquiring land take time and blame the delay on the factors as the labor shortage and a lack of building materials. meanwhile, nh

suga explained japan won't tolerate any attempt to change the stat kus quo by force. russian's foreign ministry says it was disappointed with the news. it says japan is unable to carry out its own foreign policies and is moving in a hostile direction. >>> nato officials say they have observed a significant withdrawl of russian forces from eastern ukraine. a spokesperson welcomed what the organization calls positive signs. nato says there is a reduction in artillery fire between ukrainian forces and pro-russian separatists. last month nato released satellite images showing a number of russian troops had crossed the border into ukraine. this prompted the united states and the european union to criticize the russian government. russia has not admitted to sending troops into ukraine. nato officials say russian special forces continue to operate in the country and thousands of troops remain deployed near the border. the spokesperson said nato will continue to monitor the situation. >>> a plan to remove radioactive water from tunnels at fukushima daiichi is facing new diffi

japan's cheap cabinet secretary suga says pyongyang conveyed the information through diplomatic channels in beijing. >> translator: north korean officials said their special investigation committee is sincerely conducting investigations related to all japanese. they added that the investigations are still in an initial stage and expect they will be completed in about a year. they said they cannot comment beyond the current stage at this point. >> prime minister abe said he regrets that more time is needed for the first report. he said when north korean officials started the probe in july, they setd the first report would be ready by late summer or early autumn. >> translator: it's no use receiving a superficial report that doesn't contain anything substantial. we want a solid credible report after a thorough investigation. >> abe said relatives of abduct ees may suspect that pyongyang is buying time and closely watching the probe's progress while japan maintains its policy of dialogue and pressure. the government says at least 17 japanese nationals were abducted by north korean agents in

chief cabinet secretary suga said japan will exercise its sovereign rights in these waters, in accordance with the u.n. convention. >> translator: i believe resource developments in the area will enhance japan's national interests. >> the u.n. commission shelved the decision on other areas because of opposition from china and south korea. the government will continue working to obtain full recognition for these claims. >>> japanese leaders have been hoping people who run firms across the country will send more to support economic recovery. managers seem to be following through. good morning. >> good morning, catherine. managers tend to reinvest in themselves and their businesses when they're feeling optimistic about the economy. one of the ways they do that is they pie new equipment for thems. the latest data shows they're doing just that. machinery orders in july rose for a second straight month. officials at the cabinet office say major machinery makers received orders worth about $7.2 billion in july. that's an increase of 3.5% from sgrun. that figure is less than the market expectatio