. >> reporter: the street light was invented by a professor at yamaguchi university. he's been studying the effects of light pollution on rice plants for ten years. yeah ma motto began to look into the effects of artificial lighting on crops by observing a rice paddy at the university. he found that rice plants exposed to the glare of street lights at night experienced a delay in their development. normally in late summer when the nights begin to grow longer rice plants sense that autumn is approaching. and begin to produce fruits. but street lights misleads the plants into sensing that the days are still long. resulting in stunted growth. professor yeah ma motto investigated the effects of light pollution on a number of farms. this area does not have street lights. farmers were concerned that light pollution would affect the quality of rice and result in lower prices. but others were also worried about safety. >> translator: many female college students use the road in the evenings. there have been calls for putting up street lights. >> reporter: to develop a street

nhk world, yamaguchi. >> that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets. >>> wednesday marked two months since a powerful cyclone hit the south pacific nation of vanuatu. a team of japanese experts went to vanuatu to try to assess the strength of the storm and the damage it caused. >> reporter: this image of cyclone pam was captured by a japanese radar satellite. the eye of the cyclone is clearly visible. the pressure near the center of the storm reacd 896. the strength of a super typhoon. many buildings were destroyed. and more than 160,000 people, 60% of the population of vanuatu, were affected. late last month, a research team from kyoto university went to tanna, an island near the center of the damage. it suffered the most damage. this neighborhood is in the northern part of the island. most of the buildings here were destroyed in the high winds. this church built of concrete blocks was one of them. jutting from the damage, the research team determined the wind speed was close to 290 kilometers per hour. >> translator:

nhk world, yamaguchi. >> mmm, italian sake. curious to see how that tastes. thanks, ria, for that interesting report. >>> turning to weather now, sayaka mori is here to tell us how typhoon dolphin is affecting southern japan. >> yes, we have been watching a typhoon named dolphin. clouds are engulfing the okinawan islands. it's moving at a very slow pace. right now moving at 15 kilometers per hour towards the northwest. i think the worst conditions will likely occur sometime between late tuesday into the early part of wednesday across the islands. waves are going to be up to eight meters along with very strong gusts as high as 180 kilometers, strong enough to cause structural damage. but the system will not affect mainland japan. a rain band has shifted towards the south. so it's nice weather across many parts of the country at this moment. the rain band is now affecting the southwestern islands of japan including where the rainy season has started today. there was eight days later than normal and also two weeks later than last year. i think the okinawa region

. >> reporter: a tiny sake brewery nestled in the mountains of yamaguchi prefecture. the workforce numbers, just two. -- is the owner and the brewmaster. every month he produces a new limited edition sake. recently, he started making a different kind of brew using rice from italy. he's using same rice that is usually eaten as risotto. >> translator: italian rice is a similar shape to japanese rice, but it's a completely different size and color from the rice we usually eat. >> reporter: the rice comes from northern italy. an area famous for rice growing. it's also famous for its water. high quality rice and gorgeous water. these are the two essential ingredients of japanese sake. -- took a holiday there. she's a sake promoter. on learning the local people wanted to promote their town, she persuaded them to create their own brew. the plan agreed with this group of six italians including an architect who decided to come to japan to study how to make sake. she put them in touch with sintani. it turns out he is the per forget person to help. >> translator: its brewing is

abe wrote thank you for everything including the lincoln memorial tour yamaguchi sake and haiku. there was a the east at an official dinner. the president recite ad haiku, a short and traditional japanese poem. the white house tweeted the u.s.-japan relationship has never been stronger. the message closed with the japanese phrase that means see you soon. during the visit abe made a speech at the joint meeting of the u.s. congress and held talks with obama. >>> families of missing japanese nationals and those abducted by north korea have made an appeal to the u.s. public. they are calling on americans for help and understanding. a private group investigating suspected abductions by north korea held a rally in los angeles. the group's leader said people need to step up international pressure on pyongyang to resolve the issue. one woman whose sister is among the missing called for international efforts to rescue any victims. the sister disappeared in 1984. one man at the event is the younger brother of an abductee. he was kidnapped in 1977 when she was 13. >> translator: we would be

christie yamaguchi's guess is 29 when she's 43. some are having fun with the site searching celebrities uploading pictures of zombies or cartoons to see where those numbers come? >> let me tell you it's a little addictive. scott mcgrew was in the newsroom. he randomly asked me, how old do you think i am? excuse me? >> they're not a guess, they're using technology to look at your facial structure but when it's not accurate. >> it is if i'm younger. >> it's always the younger number. >> mike, you're looking good. >> laura, 23. i hope i didn't guess too old. we'll check that out. >> thank you. >> i'm within striking distance, that's why i say this. over here towards san jose, laura, always youthful. san jose looks wonderful as well. great shot of 101. easy drive. look at the maps. there are no delays for the south bay. on our maps we don't show the overnight road construction work that goes on for 280 or 85. typical of friday coming in to the weekend. the road crews shift the schedule. north of here though on the san mateo bridge. it

kristi yamaguchi. some people are having fun with the site. uploading pictures of zombies or cartoons. i don't want to brag but it told me that i looked 27. >> you're actually 29. >> i know. it was within one year. it's a wonderful site. >>> some new office buildings in sunnyvale are overshadowing neighbors and residents are demanding change to that. two new buildings built last year will be filled in with linkedin and apple employees. the neighbors say the buildings are blocking their sunlight and cell towers and tv signals. >> there are people in their yards or in their houses and they are concerned that people are going to be in there watching what they're doing in their own yards or their own homes throughout the day. >> the company that owns the buildings has offered residents $500 to put in trees and other privacy measures but the buildings are pretty tall. the city says it is trying to mediate the situation. >>> gas prices are causing many people to do a double-take at the pumps. prices jumped nearly 40 cents just in the last week. righ

some hawaiians like walter yamaguchi who lost his business to the lava believes this is the work of palaed to give me long vacation. why cry? might as well smile and start over again. >> the hawaiian philosophy of the whole thing, if pale wants the house, let her take it. if she wants to come back and reclaim the land, let her have it. it's hers in the first place. if she wants it, she's going to take it. >> as the lava cools, it creates a vast sea of rolling black rock right over the land. more than two decades after lava destroyed 100 homes, new residents have come to build on top of the rock, even though they know kilauea's fury may return at any moment. >> what amazes me is the fact that after it came down, burned a few houses and it was present in the area, people would still build houses. right now there are 30 or so houses that are built on the flow that took it. they're sprouting up. >> the 1990 disaster in this village is just one chapter in the continuing saga of man's turbulent relationship with nature in the aloha state. a phenomenon nick plans to be around to document for ye