>> translator: there is no doubt that takeshima is part of japan, both in terms of history and international law. >> welcome to nhk world "newsline." prime minister yoshihiko noda has assured the public that he would protect japan's national interests and diplomatic rows with south korea and china, and he made an appeal for calm. noda stressed the importance of maritime territories for japan. he said authorities will ensure stable control over remote islands and increase security in the waters around them. he said government officials will make better efforts to explain japan's stance to the international community. noda criticized south korean president lee myung-bak for his visit two weeks ago to the takeshima islands in the sea of japan. he urged south korea again to accept japan's proposal to refer the issue to the international court of justice. >> translator: south korea unilaterally occupied the islands after world war ii. the question is whether this act was justified and in line with international law. what's important is to adopt a peaceful and diplomatic approach based on internat

>> translator: there is no doubt that takeshima is part of japan, both in terms of history and international law. >> welcome to nhk world "newsline." prime minister yoshihiko noda has made an appeal for calm. noda stressed the importance of maritime territories for japan. he said authorities will ensure stable control over remote islands and increase security in the waters around them. he said government officials will make better efforts to explain japan's stance to the international community. noda criticized south korean president lee myung-bak for his visit two weeks ago to the takeshima islands in the sea of japan. he urge south korea again to accept japan's proposal to refer the issue to the international court of justice. >> translator: south korea unilaterally occupied the islands after world war ii. the question is whether this act was justified and in line with international law. what's important is to adopt a peaceful and diplomatic approach based on international law and justice. >> noda said it's important for both sides to keep a wider perspective in mind. >> translator: wise p

the japanese call the islands takeshima, the south korean call them dock ckddokdo. south korean officials need to agree before the court will hear the case. >> translator: japan will propose to south korea that we settle the takeshima issue based on international law in a calm, fair, and peaceful manner by bringing the issue to the international court of justice for arbitration in the near future. >> he said japan regards south korea as an important member of the united nations. he appealed to the government in seoul to allow the matter to be heard in court. foreign men ster gemma has summoned the south korean ambassador to inform him of the decision. south korean president bak made an unprecedented trip to the eyelets last friday. they say he entered the territory illegally and they summoned the japanese ambassador from seoul. this territorial dispute between japan and south korea has been going on for more than half a century. the takeshima or dokdo islands are located 150 kilometers northwest from shimane prefecture. there's two main eyelets and several dozen sma

the takeshima or dokdo islands are in the shimane prefecture. there's two main eye lets and several other smaller rocks. the japanese government stated in 1905 that the islands fell under shimane's jurisdiction and named them takeshima. they adopted an ordinance in 2005, the 100th anniversary of japan's claim. they declared february 22nd the day the eyelets came under their jurisdiction and called it takeshima day. south korean leaders have refuted japan's claim for many years. they took action to control the territory in 1954. members of the coast guard landed on the islands and started building several facilities. that same year japanese official proposed that the two countries jointly take the matter to the international court of justice. the south korean refused. they said no territorial dispute existed. in 1962 the japanese proposed for a second time that they bring the case before the court. south korea again refused. >>> japan's finance minister is hinting at the possibility of canceling some foreign exchange agreements with south korea.

the japanese call the islets in the sea of japan takeshima. members of the international olympic committee say political messages have no place at the games. the south korean football team spoke to the media after they arrived home. park was not there. and other players did not answer questions about what he did. but a representative of the korea football association said park had apologized for causing trouble. he said there was no political intent, and that the player did it on impulse. south korean president lee myung-bak visited the islets friday. japanese government official had asked him not to go. they are planning on taking the territorial dispute to the international court of justice. >>> once fifa receives the report from south korea's football association it will rule on the issue. then officials at the international olympic committee will decide whether park's action constituted a breach of the olympic charter. >>> an nhk monthly poll shows a big majority of japanese worry about an unprecedented visit by south korea's president to

they call it takeshima. president lee flew to the islands accompanied by his environment and culture ministers. a senior south korean official stationed there briefed lee on the situation. he also inspected coast guard facilities and an observatory deck. he left after one and a half hours. experts on the issue say lee's trip will hurt japan/south korea's relations. >>> prime minister noda reacted sharply to lee's visit to the islands. >> translator: takeshima is japan's inherent territory, historically and based on international law. the visit by south korea's president was unacceptable. the japanese government is adamant on this issue. >> the noda administration has launched a protest against the visit with south korea's ambassador to japan. it has also ordered its ambassador in seoul to temporarily return to tokyo. lee made the trip as south koreans are getting ready for a presidential election scheduled for december. many have criticized him for how he's handled this territorial issue. they also want him

they call it takeshima. the president flew to the islands accompanied by his environment and culture ministers. a senior official stationed there briefed lee on the situation. he also inspected coast guard facilities and an observatory deck and left after one and a half hours. experts say it will hurt japan/south korea's relations. >>> prime minister noda reacted sharply to lee's visit to the islands. translate takeshima is japan's inherent territory, historically and based on international law. the visit by south korea's president was unacceptable. the japanese government is adamant on this issue. >> the noda administration has launched a protest against the visit with south korea's ambassador to japan. it has also ordered its ambassador in seoul to temporarily return to tokyo. lee made the trip as south koreans are getting ready for a presidential election scheduled for december. many have criticized him for how he's handled this territorial issue. they also want him to resolve another ongoing dispute with

the south koreans call the islands dokdo, the japanese call them takeshima. lee told leaders of the national assembly he had been planning to visit them since 2009. he said bad weather prevented him from doing so last year. lee said he decided to go ahead with the visit after a meeting last december with japanese prime minister yoshihiko noda. noda demanded the removal of a monument to south korean women forced to work in brothels during world war ii. the monument stands in front of the japanese embassy in seoul. lee said he was unhappy with noda's reluctance to resolve the issue. he said he had anticipated the japanese react tuion to his vis. a poll in south korea suggests 85% of the public approved of the trip. 12% disapproved. >>> some south koreans are showing their support by swimming to the islets. about 40 people set out on monday morning from south korea's eastern coast. rock star kym jang-hoo is taking part, along with students from the korea national sport university. they'll take turns swimming legs of the 220 kilometer trip. they'll aim to arrive

they both claim sovereignty over the takeshima islands in japan. a south korean documented handed to a japanese diplomats asserts there's no dispute to settle. south korean president bak recently visited the islands causing japanese leaders to call for international mediation. japanese foreign minister gemba said south korea is failing to offer a substantive plan on the issue. they use historic evidence the eyelets belong to japan. they will not elect a trial unless south korea agrees, but japanese voters hope to win international support by showing that south korea's claims are groundless ls. >>> international forces in afghanistan are keeping a nervous watch wonder being their ail rays and enemies. a man in an afghan uniform shot and killed three australian soldiers earlier this week. that's 15 this month. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the latest insider attack happened in uruzgan. among who was the gaven soldier into the national base shot three australian soldiers. the attacker climbed over the fence and fled. >> he turned his weapon on isap

both countries claim sovereignty over the takeshima islands in japan.apanese proposal was rejected to go to the court to together. japanese diplomat says there is no territorial dispute to settle. it says the islets are the countries's territory. their president recently visited the islands, causing japanese leaders to call for japanese. south korea is failing to offer a substantive counter proposal to resolve the issue. japanese government officials plan to petition the icj over the next few months. they will use his stories evidence that islets belong to japan. judges will not accept a trial unless south korea also agrees. but japanese leaders hope to win international support by showing that south korea's claims are groundless. >>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the hour.

go it alone in an attempt to settle its dispute with south korea over sovereignty claims over the takeshima islands. japanese government officials are preparing to present the case to the international court of justice despite south korea's refusal to parcipate. the south korean government rejected a japanese proposal that the two countries approach the court together. south korean officials say the islands are part of their territory so there is nothing to settle. south korean president lee myung bak landed there earlier this month. that prompted the japanese leaders to call for international mediation. japanese foreign minister koichiro gemba said south korea has failed to offer substantive proposal to resolve the issue. japanese government officials plan to petition the court in the next few months. they will present what they call evidence proving the islands belong to japan. the court will not review the matter unless south korea agrees to participate. >>> international forces in afghanistan are keeping a nervous watch wondering about their allies and enemies. a man wearing an afghan m

the islands are called takeshima in japan and dokdo in south korea. both countries claim sovereignty over them. the swimmers set out monday morning from gyeonsangbuk-do on south korea's eastern coast. singer kim jang-hoon is one of those taking part, along with those from the korea national sport university. they'll take turns swimming legs of the 220-kilometer trip. they aim to arrive on wednesday on the anniversary of korea's liberation from japan's colonial rule. the swimmers will stream video of their attempt on the internet. relations between the two countries have soured since south korean president lee myung-bak visited the islands last week. some in his country are pushing him to strengthen south korea's territorial claim. japanese government oicials say they are considering taking legal action at the international court of justice. >>> an nhk monthly poll suggests a majority of japanese worry about lee a visit to the islands. it could negatively affect japan/south korea relations. nhk surveyed 1,639 people aged 20 or over from friday to sunda

. >> but japan still has territorial disputes with south career over the the island of takeshima or dokdo and a dispute with china over islands. japan's relationship with its neighbors remains fragile. bbc news, tokyo. >> still to come on gmt, is normality on its way to somalia with a new constitution, parliament, and president. we will speak with the current prime minister. just over three years since the army and sri lanka decided to crush the militants. our correspondent charles haviland has been to a narrow strip of land that became the tamil tigers' last bastion. >> this is where the final bloody battle was fought in 2009. thousands of people perished in this place. since the end of the war, the area has been off-limits to journalists. after several requests, the bbc has been granted permission to come here to see extraordinary sights like thousands of burned out vehicles that you see behind me. some of these ordinary people's vehicles, small cars, rickshaws. some of them were trucks used by the tamil tiger militants. just across from here, a. poignant sight that is thousands of dest

the japanese call them takeshima. ambassador shin guk-su met with governor nakamura. shin had been scheduled to attend a japanese/south korea forum this week. organizers suspend the event after lee myung-bak visited the islands earlier this month. nakamura called the tensions regrettable. he noted the close ties between nagasaki and soulths korea and said he hopes to rebuild them through tourism and cultural xarchlgs. shin said many south koreans visited nagasaki. he agreed such visits could help mend relations. >> this is a difficult period in our ties with japan, but i think it's important to continue promoting friendly relations. >> reporters asked shin about the dispute. he didn't comment. >>> a court ruling sent shares of samsung electronics tumbling on the south korean stock exchange. they were down 8% at one point. samsung's stock price started falling right from the open. it closed 7.4% lower from friday. the decline came after a california court ruled last friday that samsung infringed on apple's patents on the designs of the iphone and ipad. it ared the sout

the japanese called the islands takeshima islands. the south korea government officials need to agree before the court will hear the case. japan regards south korea as an important member of the united nations and apepealed to the government in seoul. foreign minister koichiro gemba has summoned the ambassador. to inform him of the decision. south korean president lee bak made a visit to the islands on friday. japanese government officials say he entered theirtorytory illegally. they recalled the ambassador from seoul. the international court of justice will not handle any legal dispute without the consent of the party concerned. south korea refused proposals to take the dispute to court. in 1954 and 1962. >>> british government officials say they will never allow safe passage to a man who is of interest to a number of countries. julian assange is trying to avoid extradition to sweden. the founder of wic -- wikileaks has been holed up in the ecuador embassy in london. he faces arrest if he leaves embassy grounds. people around the wor

they're called takeshima in japan and dokdkdo inouth korea. in the letter noda says japan proposes that the two countries resolve the matter peacefully according to international law. he urged south korea to act cautiously with a broad view of bilateral relations. a south korean government official told nhk that the letter has got the facts wrong. south korean media have reported that the government is not happy with japan calling the territory by its japanese name. asked about south korea's decision to return his letter, noda only said he learned about it in the news and didn't have further knowledge of the matter. japanese foreign minister koichiro gemba called lee myung-bak's recent visit to the islets an illegal landing. >> translator: the visit was extremely regrettable. i would say it was an illegal landing. >> gemba also used the word "illegal" to describe south korea's occupation of the islets. the reference is the strongest expression ever used by the democrat-led government. he said no matter what expression the government uses, its

japanese officials want the court to settle their claims to the takeshima islands in the sea of japan. japanese embassy staff in seoul received a document notifying them of the rejection. japanese officials made the proposal last week. they were responding to a visit to the islands earlier this month by south korean president lee myung-bak. a spokesperson for the foreign ministry in seoul said the document stated the islands are south korean territory. he said his government will never go to the international court of justice even if japan files a petition on its own. >> translator: japan should immediately abandon its illegitimate thought, claim and behavior over the issue. >> foreign minister koichiro gemba said they'll take property measures, including bringing the disfut the court on their own. however, judges will not hear the case without the consent of south korean officials. the chinese embassy in tokyo says it thinks a radical japanese group was responsible for a recent incident. a japanese flag was ripped from a vehicle carrying japan's ambassador china. >> embassy spokes-mi

japan calls them takeshima. south korea controls the islets and calls them dokdo. no da's letter asks for both sides to settle the dispute peacefully and in accordance with international law. his government wants to bring the issue before the international court of justice. but the south korean government refused to accept the letter. officials there sent it back to japan's foreign ministry by registered mail. no da is planning to talk about the territorial issue later on friday. he's also expected to speak about a group of islands in the east china sea. japan controls the territory and calls it senkaku. china and taiwan claim the islands as their own. >>> the territorial dispute is just one issue creating friction between japan and south korea. lee myung bak's comments about the japanese emperor are causing a stir. the president said emperor akihito should offer a heartfelt apology to koreans who died fighting for independence from japan before he visits south korea. senior south korean official says the japanese government is overreacting. the official argues lee

the japanese call them takeshima. the south koreans refer to them as dokdo. south korea controls the islands. the japanese government maintains they are japanese territory. government officials say a visit by the south korean president would seriously damage relations. they say japan will react strongly if the visit goes ahead. >> to mark the occasion a landmark ceremony took place at the site of a former u.s. base now heavily polluted by dion. here's our report from danan. >> it's been 37 years since the war ended. u.s. and bed lambist government wills finally work together to clean up asian agents used in combat. it's a historic moment for people on both sides. >> the u.s. and vietnam it are moving earth right here and taking the first steps to bury the legacies of our past. this morning we celebrate a milestone in our bilateral relationship. >> reporter: the u.s. government has provided $43 million to eliminate the dioxin left behind from the production of agent orange in parts of what is now tanan international airport. in the four-year project more than

they say noda's weakness allowed the south korean president to visit takeshima, the islands controlled by south korea and claimed by japan. and opposition members say that the same weakness allowed hong kong activists to land on one of the senkaku islands which are controlled by japan. opposition politicians say noda should have used diplomacy to prevent the landings. >> so how has the noda administration reacted? >> well, members of noda's own democratic party say that the motion will weaken the leadership of this country and send the wrong message diplomatically. they also say that there are a lot of domestic issues to solve and opposition parties should be helping. >> how do you think this will affect the japanese people? >> well, opposition parties are refusing to join deliberations in the diet, and they control the upper house. so that effectively shuts down the workings of parliament. ministers want to introduce measures to help lower income earners cope with the consumption tax hike. they want to reform the electoral system so that there are a similar number of voters in each co

the island are called takeshima in japan and dokdo in seoul. >> translator: this territorial dispute will only be resolved once japan accepts the islets are south korea's territory and should be fully prepared for this issue. >> japan launched a strong protest after south korea's president lee myung-bak visited the islands on august 10th. >>> south korea's red cross says it will give $100,000 in aid to north korea. thousands in the country are reportedly suffering after recent heavy rain and floods. the funds are for tents, food and sanitation. north korean state-run media say heavy rain from june to july caused floods in many parts of the nation. they say 169 people died and 400 are missing. downpours have been affecting pyongyang and other areas since last week. south korean government officials say they've yet to decide on aid to the north. they say they are confirming the extent of flood damage. >>> people across japan were glued to their tv during the london olympics. the country had its most successful games with 38 medals, including seven golds. now the medalists are home and

they're called takeshima in japan and dokdo in south korea. in the letter noda says japan proposes the two countries resolve the matter peacefully according to international law. he urged south korea to act cautiously with the broad view of bilateral relations. a south korean government official told nhk that the letter has got the facts wrong. south korean media reported that the government is not happy with japan calling the territory by its japanese name. asked about south korea's decision to return his letter, noda said he learned about it in the news and didn't have further knowledge of the matter. >>> a controversial u.s. military transport aircraft could arrive in okinawa soon. the top commander of the u.s. marine corps in japan has indicated that the osprey could be sent to okinawa by the middle of next month. the aircrafts are currently at iwakuni base in yamaguchi prefecture, western japan. >> it all depends on when we get the approval of the japanese government. so i would like to say that it would be by the middle of september that

noda criticized south korean president lee myung-bak for his visit two weeks ago to the takeshima islands in the sea of japan. he surged south korea again to accept japan's proposal to refer the issue to the international court of justice. >> translator: south korea unilaterally occupied the islands after world war ii. the question is whether this act was justified and in line with international law. what's important is to adopt a peaceful and diplomatic approach based on international law and justice. >> noda says it's important for both sides to keep a wider perspective in mind. >> translator: wise people of south korea, our important partner and neighbor with whom we share common values, we need to remain calm, despite our different positions. >> the south korean foreign ministry spokesperson responded to noda's remarks. >> translator: prime minister noda repeated an illegitimate claim over our territory. it clearly belongs to south korea historically, geographically and in line with international law. we condemn the remarks and urge the prime minister to immediately withdraw the claim

the islands are called takeshima. president lee flew to the islands accompanied by his environment and culture ministers. he made a formal protest. >>> japanese leaders plan to meet on saturday to discuss how to send a stronger message. some senior officials are urging caution. they say the leaders should avoid making their relations with the south koreans anywheres. >>> analysts watching the territorial disputes say president lee may be about to take a harder line toward japan. they say his visit to the island shows he's prioritizing domestic support over relations with neighbors. japanese government leaders had asked lee not to make the trip. his term ends in february. poll last month put his public approval rating below 20% for the first time. he's lost supporters with the economy slowed down. south koreans are becoming increasingly anti-japanese, angry about japan's claim on the islands and upset about historical issues such as korean women allegedly forced to work in brothels for japanese soldiers during world wa

the islands are called takeshima in japan and dokdo in south korea. >> translator: this territorial dispute will only be resolved once japan accepts the islets are south korea's territory. we should be fully prepared for this issue. >> japan launched a strong protest after south korean president lee myung-bak visited the islands on august 10th. >>> u.s. and south korean troops are training together to prepare for the possibility of war with north korea. north korean leaders have condemned the action. about 56,000 south korean and 30,000 u.s. troops are testing countermeasures. they are testing out what they will do if north korean forces attack south korea. a north korean foreign ministry spokesperson said the drill is a provocation. north korean state media reported kim jong un visited the military, speaking to troops on the island of pyongyang in 2010. kim told the servicemen, north korea will fight a sacred war for national reunification if enemies fire on its territory. >>> south korea's red cross says it'll give $100,000 in aid to north korea. thousands in the country are reportedly su