>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> new concerns. a senior tepco official warns the situation at the fukushima daiichi is not under control. >>> attempting diplomacy, u.s. and russian officials agree to discuss ways to get syria's warring parties to talk. >>> and a japanese opera singer uses her voice to give tribute to victims of two tragedies. >>> a top official from tokyo electric power company says he does not think the situation at fukushima daiichi is under control. his statement comes amid new concerns that radioactive water at the stricken nuclear plant may have reached the ocean. leaders of japan's main opposition are now demanding answers from the government, particularly the prime minister. nhk world reports. >> reporter: japanese prime minister shinzo abe spoke with confidence before the international olympic committee. >> let me assure you that the situation is under control. >> reporter: but a top tepco official appears to have contradicte

nhk world. >>> time for a check on the weather. good morning. as we've been reporting, people across japan are cleaning up after a storm swept through. what's it look like the morning after? >> well, good morning, catherine. they low over east of o'die da is moving away so conditioning are better and we're seeing clear skies across much of the country today, however, it did the devastation it brought drenching amounts of rainfall and, in fact, it got possibly three tornados swept through two regions. and in three prefectures, emergency warnings were in place which means people were forred to evacuate. look at this. it's apparent that so much rain has fallen across much of the central regions. more than 500 millimeters have been found in the course of 48 hours. a lot of these areas seeing more than 450 millimeters and the flooding situation, still, will not be aleleviated yet. even though clear skies are found here across japan, the rough sea conditions will be continuing and thehe flooding a last night's risks will be remaining in place across t

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> the five permanent members of the u.n. security council have agreed on a draft resolution to eliminate syria's chemical weapons. >>> officials at tepco have taken the big step of restarting two idle reactors, the same type as those that melted down at fukushima daiichi. >>> and a bank loaned $2 million to organized crime groups and took steps to rectify the situation for more than two years. >>> a major breek-through has been made on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly. the five permanent members have agreed ton a draft resolution through a compromise. since the conflict began, three security council draft resolutions on syria have been voted down. nhk world has the details. >> reporter: the draft was presented to the security council in a closed-door meeting on thursday night. it could be voted on as soon as friday. >> it is something which is working very pragmatically and strongly for this effort of the elim

. >>> hello and welcome to nhk. it's friday, soept 20th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. . >>> north korean leaders pushing to restart talks on their nuclear program and have the backing of a powerful ally. the chinese for when minister wang yi has urged the united states to agree to the resumption of the suspected six-party talks on north korea's nuclear program. >> translator: i look forward to having a deep discussion with secretary kerry and explore how we can work together to relaunch the six-party talks. negotiators from north and south korea, the u.s., china, japan and russia launched the talks in 2003. the north koreans and the chinese want to re-open the talks without any preconditions. but officials from the u.s., south korea and japan want authorities in pyongyang to take concrete steps towards denuclearization before they renegotiate. u.s. eresearchers said a north korean nuclear reactor that's been shut down for years may be back up and running and say the facility is capable of generating weapons' grade plutonium. >>> caroli

nhk world. >>> people in afghanistan are increasingly worried about the prospect of a taliban comeback after most international forces leave next you're and, perhaps, a return to civil war. the militant group is regaining strength in areas where foreign troops are leaving. nhk has this report. >> reporter: taliban influence in north afghanistan is on the rise again. we had a rare opportunity to film a taliban unit in the province. members are split into subgroups, tasked with carry out strikes against both international and afghan forces. on this day, they're planning another attack. >> translator: foreign forces have been defeated and they're trying to flee afghanistan. our victory is near. >> reporter: german troops are responsible for security around here. but they are getting ready to go home. by the end of 2014, only a few will stay behind to carry on training they were ta afghan colleague. >> translator: we will be responsible for local security until the date of withdrawal. >> reporter: m

an eyewitness has told nhk what he saw on that day after keeping quiet all these years. nhk world's thi ha thwe reports. >> reporter: last week buddhist monks gather in myanmar's largest city of yangon. they had taken part in the deadly demonstrations in 2007. they pressed the government to disclose the truth of the incident which they claim remains unresolved. >> translator: the government should disclose the cause of the incident, in line with its democratic reforms. >> reporter: on september 27th, 2007, buddhist monks and others protested against the military government's economic policies, which they blamed for soaring prices. the military government resorted to force to suppress the protests. 31 people were killed, including a japanese photojournalist, kenji nagai, who was covering the demonstration. the military government later said that a stray bullet had struck and killed nagai. even today, the government has been refusing to return his video camera and the tapes it confiscated, despite repeated requests from his family and the japanese government. the tapes cou

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at the stories we're following at this hour. >>> houses have lost their roofs and many residents are injured near tokyo. people are blaming a tornado. >>> u.s. president barack obama is trying to convince congress to approve a military strike on syria, but faces opposition from lawmakers and americans weary of war. >>> and we'll tell you why the price of japan's national drink is going up much to sake lovers dismay. >>> eyewitnesses say sharp gusts of wind that overturned cars and left a swath of damaged buildings near tokyo came from a tornado. the gust began shortly after 2:00 pm on monday and left a trail of debris in the city of koshigaya. video shows what appears to be a tornado. firefighters and police say the powerful winds ripped through parts of the city and did extensive damage to nearly 90 buildings. police say at least 63 people were injured. one of them reportedly suffered a fractured skull. >> translator: bits and pieces flew in our house, i heard windows b

from all of us here at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us. until next time, good-bye. ♪ >>> japanese architect jun aoki. in july 2013, a major shopping mall he designed opened in shanghai, china. the unique skirt-like form of the building drew lots of attention. for many years, one of the world's leading luxury brands has called on aoki to design its stores in cities ranging from hong kong to new york. in september 2013, a new design by aoki debuted on ginza's japan's busiest shopping

nhk world. >>> it's getting cooler. day by day here in tokyo. americans and others who live in the northern rockies are already seeing snow and earlier than usual. meteorologist sayaka mori explains in world weather. >> hello there. i want to start off by showing you this pretty picture. this is the rockies. you can see lots of snow piling up on the mountains and actually the coldest air of the so far spilling in from the north lowering temperatures and causing this white stuff. you're expecting about 40 centimeters of snow to fall in the northern rockies into thursday. the cold air is expected to invade toward the southwest as we go into wednesday. los angeles, long beach, not too bad. dropping sharply as we go into wednesday. look at this. only 20 degrees in long beach on wednesday. that's about 15 degrees difference since tuesday. looking more like mid december, actually. in las vegas, 24 on thursday. last time we saw this number was in may. in such conditions, you can easily catch a cold, so please keep yourself warm. now, across the other s

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> nations divided g-20 talks conclude in russia with leaders still split over a possible military strike against syria. >>> taking no chances. south korea says it will stop imports of marine products from parts of japan over fears they could be contaminated by radioactive water. >>> sexual violence in india has caused nationwide soul searching, but we ask has anything actually changed for indian women? >>> u.s. president barack obama went to st. petersburg, russia, hoping to gain international support for a military strike against syria. but after two days of talks, leaders of the world's 20 major economies are still divided over what to do. earlier president obama tried but failed to persuade chinese leader xi jinping to support an armed intervention in syria. the crisis dominated the talks. some leaders called for a swift and united action against the syrian government. others emphasize the need for the u.n. security

ryuta okatani, nhk world, shanghai. >>> it is time now for a check on the weather. powerful storm is affecting people in some areas of southern japan. meteorologist sayaka mori tells us more. >> a severe tropical storm is affecting the easter islands quite hard. it looks like it's going to move away from the islands but the stormy conditions will continue into this afternoon. we're expecting the high waves of about seven meters with gusts reaching nearly 130 kilometers per hour so very dangerous situation out there. and this system will likely head towards the northeast, moving away from mainland japan, because there's a strong air current in the upper atmosphere that suggests rain so pabuk is expected to move towards the northeast. after the system has clearer conditions and koocooler air wi be moving into mainland japan. pleasantly cool conditions throughout most of the country throughout the day. crystal clear skies for parts of the korean peninsula, the mongolia, nice conditions to go out but wet weather still conditions for southern china. it's not good news. t

. >>> hello there and welcome to nhk. it's friday, september 27th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japan's prime minister has stepped into the spotlight at the u.n. general assembly to weigh in on some of the world's most pressing foreign policy challenges. shinzo abe gave his take on the situation in syria and the threat posed by north korea. we have details. >> reporter: like many leaders, prime minister abe took up the prolonged turmoil in syria. he started his speech condemning the chemical weapons attack against civilians in the country. he said the japanese government strongly supports efforts of the international community to destroy the stockpiles of these weapons. abe also promised more humanitarian support for syrians inside and outside of the country. >> translator: i would like to announce that the government of japan will newly provide additional humanitarian assistance to syria and surrounding countries of approximately 60 million u.s. dollars and implemented right away. >> reporter: abe also brought up japan's neighbor, north kor

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> the u.s. president prepares to seek international backing for a strike on syria as g-20 leaders gather in russia. >>> policy makers at the bank of japan are taking a positive view on the economy but staying the course on stimulus. >>> and religious leaders in thailand struggle to accept a controversial buddhist monk with a past that's hard to believe. >>> the group of 20 leaders are meeting in the russian city of st. petersburg, and the crisis in syria is expected to dominate the talks. u.s. president barack obama is at the summit to try to get other leaders to support a military assault against the regime. it says it attacked their own citizens last month. obama has the backing of president francois hollande. xi jinping has already voiced opposition to a military strike. japan's shinzo abe is scheduled to meet obama on the sideline. the u.s. president has won the support of at least some u.s. senators. the senate com

kurando tago, nhk world, tokyo. >>> u.s. central bank is under allegations that the policies may have leaked before the announcement. they said last wednesday it would not start tapering its u.s. bond-buying program. heavy trading on chicago gold futures for example, began right after the fed's announcement which was unusualry quick. the growing speculation that fed's policy decision may have leaked to some traders in chicago. and they might have taken advantage of the information. th >>> pilot free trade zones in shanghai as early as the end of settlement hoping the initiative will encourage investment and help to maintain economic growth. the trial zones will be in four areas of shanghai where tax incentives are already in place and officials plan to ease regulations on the financial sector as well as on foreign investment. internet access in china is limited and social network and facebook is banned but they may lift restrictions for online activity. government officials are concerned about the economy. china is faced wit

sources tell nhk the country has tested a ballistic missile engine. >>> the company in charge at fukushima daiichi says it's safely disposed of rainwater that built up at the nuclear plant during the severe tropical storm. >>> and as tensions between their governments persist, many japanese are staying away from china, but more chinese are choosing to come to japan. >>> diplomatic sources have told nhk that north korea has tested an engine for a new intercontinental ballistic missile. they say the test happened last month at a launch site in the country's northwest. the sources say the engine tested could be used in this type of missile, which was recently on display at a military parade. similar tests were carried out at the same launch site in february. this comes amid suspicion that pyongyang has restarted a nuclear reactor capable of making weapons grade plutonium. north korean leaders in the meantime have been calling for international dialogue. officials are expected to attend the symposium on their nuclear program in china on wednesday. analysts said they're using the tests to press

nhk world u.n. headquarters. >> japan's foreign minister met with british foreign secretary almost hague on the sidelines. they agreed to work together on the crisis in syria. hague and other british leaders for the humanitarian assistance, he was thanked. he said they're willing to offer additional aid to help those displaced by the fighting and eliminate chemical weapons. hague praised japan's contribution and said it's important to raise more money to help those in need. >>> a powerful earthquake has shaken southern pakistan. at least 70 people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 are injured. experts with the u.s. geological survey say the magnitude 7.7 quake hit at about 4:30 local time on tuesday. they say the earthquake has cut communications with the affected area. so they cannot accurately assess the situation. local media say the roofs of two schools have collapsed. and many houses have been damaged. the town is about 70 kilometers south of the estimated epicenter. residents in the c

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's some of the stories we're following this hour. the u.s. administration says it does not want to go to war with syria but wants to send a strong message to the assad regime. japan's prime minister is considering a tax hike that could help fill some big gaps in the national budget. and that's got some business people nervous. >>> and two and a half years after the nuclear accident in fukushima, we look at the fate of the people who were forced to abandon their homes. >>> the u.s. administration is stepping up efforts to gain support for military action in syria. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is spearheading the diplomatic push while president barack obama is preparing to personally argue the need for a strike to the american people. nhk world reports. >> reporter: at home and abroad, the obama administration continues to make its case for military strike against syria. speaking in london, the u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, said washington still believes diplomacy is th

kuranga tago, nhk world, tokyo. >>> the u.s. central bank has begun looking into allegations that its policy decision last week may have leaked before the announcement. the federal reserve surprised markets when it said last wednesday that it would not start tapering the bond buying program. u.s. broadcasters reported that heavy trading on chicago gold futures, for example, began right after the fed announcements which was unusually quick. there's growing speculation that the fed's policy decision may have leaked to some traders in chicago, and they might have taken advantage of the information. the fed is examining media organizations about the possible leakage. >>> japanese and chinese corporate executives say they will work together to improve relations between the two countries. the chairman of major chinese group cidic and ten other groups met in tokyo. he is upset by the recent strained relations. they said they want to improve the sector to improve ties. he said he will cooperate in helping turn the bilateral ties around.

>>> welcome to nhk "newsline." it's september 19th. policy makers at the u.s. federal reserve had to throw investors for a loop. many who work in the markets expected the people at the fed would decide to start retreating from their stimulus campaign. the policy makers surprised them when they announced they would stick with their strategy of easy money. chairman ben bernanke said the economy is growing at a moderate pace. he pointed to rises in household spending and business investment. he said the job market still lacks steam. >> in evaluating whether a modest reduction in the pace of asset purchases would be appropriate at this meeting, however, the committee concluded that the economic data do not yet provide sufficient confirmation of its baseline outlook to warrant such a reduction. >>> fed officials noted that an uncertain outlook on the debate over the u.s. budget is holding back economic growth and prices for goods and services are below targets. the central bank will keep buying $85 billion worth of treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities every

>>> hello and welcome back to nhk world "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> russian leaders use their influence with counterparts in syria. foreign ministers sergey lavrov urged the syrian leaders to turn over their chemical weapons saying it might help to avoid a military strike. >> translator: in the establishment of international control over chemical weapons in that country would allow avoiding strikes, we'll immediately start working with the syrian government. >> lavrov urged syrian government leaders to join the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons. he presses argument in a meeting in moscow with his syrian counterpart. and they said the government welcomes russia's proposals but he said they're concerned about the security of the syrian people. the united nation's secretary general said he might ask them to transfer the chemical weapons for a safe place for storage and destruction. he said a political solution is the only viable way out of the syrian crisis. he pressed for an international meeting

♪ >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we'rfollowing at this hour. a day of remembrance. people in japan honor the victims of a disaster two and a half years ago and reflect on the impact the tsunami still has on lives. >>> a personal appeal. u.s. president barack obama addresses the american people, promising to pursue a diplomatic solution on syria. >> and continuing tension a year after japan nationalizes the senkaku islands, china says it will continue to send vessels to patrol near them. >> many people in japan have marked the day that changed their lives. it's been two and a half years since the march 2011 disaster. the magnitude 9 earthquake and the following tsunami killed nearly 16,000 people. more than 2,600 people are still missing. the disaster triggered the crisis the fukushima daiichi plant. about 290,000 people are still living in temporary housing. many survivors stopped on wednesday to pay tribute to those they lost. they observed a minute of silence at 2:46 p.m., the m

jean-baptiste niard, nhk world. >>> time now for a check on the weather. it's a pleasant morning here in tokyo. we have the latest in world weather. >> good morning. it's going to be another day of typical weather across japan thanks to a migratory high pressure system moving in from the continent. the cent tore the east of the country so because of the northeasterly winds, we may see a little bit cloudier conditions in the pacific coasts today and tokyo. it was sunny in the korean peninsula yesterday but things are changing. a new system will form from southwestern china extending all the way up towards the korean peninsu peninsula. rain could be heavy, especially across south korea and china today. up to 100 millimeter is likely. now, for the down toward the south, the low pressure system is set to move in to vietnam and intensifying the southwest monsoon. severe weather is likely in some places. we have a report of hail in laos not so common in the area because usually temperatures are too high to create such frozen stuff. now, temperatures will be at 3

>>> hello, and welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in to goy. >>> syrian leaders are taking steps to give up their chemical weapons. ment ba smar al assad has endorsed a proposal. and he said his country is applying for membership in the international treaty that outlaws such weapons. assad made the comments in an interview with russia's state-run tv channel and outlined the government's plan to hand over the stockpile to international monitors but said u.s. leaders need to stop threatening to attack his country. >> translator: within days, our government will start the necessary procedures to join the chemical weapons convention. >> assad said members of his government will hand over information on their stock pooips a month after they sign the treaty but said they won't follow through until the u.s. stops threatening syria and stops supplying weapons to what we called terrorists. members of his regime commonly used the term when refers to opposition forces. >>> u.s. secretary of state john kerry has demanded

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's tuesday, september 17th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the united nations inspectors handed in a long-awaited report on the use of chemical weapons in syria and found what they called clear and convincing evidence that such weapons were used to attack civilians. secretary-general ban ki-moon says the report makes for chilling reading. >> chemical weapons were used on a relatively larger scale. this was a grave crime. and those responsible must be brought to justice as soon as possible. >> syrian opposition leaders say last month, government forces used poison gas to attack their neighborhoods in the suburbs of damascus. hundreds of people were killed. the investigators interviewed survivors, they collected blood and urine samples, and they checked the soil for chemicals. they reported that almost all samples tested positive for the nerve gas sarin. they concluded that surface-to-surface rockets were used in the attack. they did not say which side used them. but u.s., british and french envoys say the

nhk world explains. >> the professor is an expert on sports marketing. he said many people around the world dream of holding the olympics in their home countries. to see the games as a way to boost the pride of citizens and enhance their image. >> the olympic games help the city to create the new image or help them to do a lot of good branding of the city. >> people in japan are bringing the olympics back to tokyo. the city hosted the games once in 1964. the country's spans about $10 billion to host the event. the japanese built athletic facilities along with highways and trail lines. they expanded tokyo's airport. officials wanted to show the world just how far japan had come since the defeat in world war ii. but 2008 beijing olympics was a landmark event for the people of china. hosting the games was a symbol of china's emerging economic strength. they said the 1984 games in los angeles proved the olympics can be a money making event. >> because of marketing, the olympics can make a profit. many cities start realizing how good the olympics are. a city

nhk has learned the countries are also discussing possible u.s. surveillance operations in the south china sea as well as joint use of other bases on philippine territory. nhk world's charmaine denagrasias has more. >> subic bay, northwest of manila. this is part of an economic zone. new shopping malls and hotels make it a popular tourist destination. but during the cold war subic was the navy's largest facility in asia. the base played an important support role in conflicts including the vietnam and gulf wars. it was returned to the philippines in 1992 amid a rising sense of nationalism. today, once again, u.s. war ships are using the base. a carrier, a rescue boat and a marine research vessel. port officials say 89 american warships used the facility last year, double the number from a year earlier. the united states has been lobbying hard asking officials to support its joint use of subic. the mayor received a visit from the u.s. ambassador. >> when i talked to him june 26. he just asked me what is your stand. what was my stand as the incoming

nhk now has the story. he spent more than 40 years raising cattle in the town. his farm is about 14 kilometers from the nuclear plant. two months after the accident, fish officials ordered farmers in the area to carry out cattle. they worried the contaminated meat might make it to the market. this man kept his herd alive. he's now looking after 360 contaminated cows including some from nearby farms. >>translator: i will never abandoned our cattle or give in to the killing order. >> reporter: he's proposing the cat hl be kept alive in order to study the effects of radiation. he has defense around the property damaged by the earthquake. he has no income to support his activities. >>translator: i've been exposed to high levels of radiation trying to keep the cattle alive even though they no longer have commercial value. i keep asking myself, why am i doing this? >> reporter: his effort hasn't been in vain. his attention of scientists interested in studying the impact of radiation on the animals. >> moto is a professor at the university. he's looking into the effect

nhk world. >> that wraps up our bulletin. i'm cholaphansa narula in bangkok. >>> here are the latest market figures. >>> the autumn sumo tournament has moved into the second week. our sumo reporter joined us earlier. >> with just six days left in the tourney, one man is sitting at the top of the standings with a perfect record. it's grand champion hakuho. he is in a field of 42. the 28-year-old mongolian's performance has been perfect. he's looking for his fourth consecutive title, his 27th overall. his challenger is goeido. hakuho tries to pull him down, but goeido keeps up the pressure. goeido finishes him off. handing hakuho his first defeat. now, let's turn to the others. harumafuji bounced back with five straight wins. also, there are two who have managed to stay in the title race. both at 7-2. you have to give them lots of credit. it's not often you find such low-ranked grapplers fighting for the top spot. here's how these fighters fought on day ten. harumafuji won his last tournament in january, so it's been a while. h

more from nhk world's kuran kuranda tago. >> reporter: the tower on on a festive glow thursday night. instead of the usual white lights illuminated the tower's frame, the structure was lit up in the colors of the olympic games. they have shown their support for tokyo's bid. they say the city is the best choice for the 2020 olympic games. on the ground of a nearby temple, the city's hopes are spelled out clearly. a rendition of japan's naegsal flag illuminate tokyo's olympic aspirations. >> we believe tokyo olympic 2020 will give us strong energies and powers to get over the disaster 3/11. >> translator: it's so beautiful. i hope our dream comes true and tokyo hosts the olympic games. >> reporter: tokyo was the first city in asia to host the olympic games in 1964. it was a historic event that offered japan a chance to showcase its recovery from world war ii. this time the slogan is again recovery, not from war but from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. tokyo has made its case to the ioc. it says japan is in need of another dream to help build the future. this summer, teams of runners to

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's wednesday, september 4th, i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. u.s. president obama is trying to persuade lawmakers, privately and publicly. he has won the backing of some of the most influential politicians in washington. obama met with 16 republican and democratic leaders at the white house. he wanted to convince them to prove military strikes against the regime of syrian president bashar al assad. he told them an attack would hinder assad's ability to use chemical weapons. >> i think it is appropriate we act deliberately, but i also think everybody recognizes the urgency here and we're going to have to move relatively quickly. >> the republican speaker of the house of representatives has opposed obama's policy since he took office. but john boehner said u.s. forces need to act. >> i'm going to support the president's call for action. i believe my colleagues should support this call for action. >> secretary of state john kerry and secretary of defense chuck hagel are also backing

>>> welcome to "nhk newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> seeking international support, u.s. president barack obama goes overseas to try to convince world leaders to back an offensive against syria. >>> while in washington, u.s. lawmakers weigh the risks of a military strike. >>> the tide is turning in the philippines, people who once demanded u.s. forces leave the country now want them back. we'll tell you why. >>> u.s. president barack obama is seeking international support for a streak on syria. he arrived in stockholm earlier and is holding talks with fredrik reinfeldt. in russia he hopes to convince g-20 leaders that military action is necessary. the u.s. and britain and france say they are convinced syrian forces used chemical weapons to kill hundreds of civilians last month. the regime of syrian president ba bashar al assad needs to be punished but faces stiff opposition from the leaders of russia and china. vladimir putin and jinping also stated their objections to

>>> welcome to nhk. i'm in tokyo. >>> u.s. president barack obama said he's spoken by phone with his iranian counterpart. they had the first conversation between american and iranian leaders in more than 30 years. >> just now i spoke othe phone with president of the islamic republic of iran. the two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over iran's nuclear program. >> obama said he promised his country would not develop nuclear weapons. he said he now believes the u.s. and iran can reach a comprehensive solution over tehran's nuclear program. the white house spokesperson says the conversation lasted 15 minutes. the last time u.s. and iranian leaders spoke was the year of the hostage crisis in tehran, 1979. meanwhile, an iranian diplomat is getting ready for more talks with the international nuclear watchdog. he spoke with an international atomic energy agency representative for the first time since the president took office last month. and they agreed to meet again next month for a more comprehensive discus

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> the u.s. president is said to clarify his stance on syria in a primetime address. >>> the japanese government takes a concrete step to deal with the radioactive water that has leaked at fukushima daiichi. >>> u.s. president barack obama is preparing a direct appeal to the american people. he's scheduled to lay out his case for a military strike on syria in a nationwide televised address on tuesday night. obama is expected to clarify his position that the action would be limited and the u.s. would not go to war. but russian proposal might help stop the u.s. from using any force at all. russia's foreign minister has urged the syrian government to put its chemical weapons stockpile under international control. he said syria could avoid u.s. military strikes if it does so. syria's foreign minister walid al mousalem said his government welcome the proposal but they're concerned about the security of the syrian people. obama said h

akihiro makoda, nhk world, st. petersburg. >> president obama came out of the conference room and gave his take on the chances of military intervention in syria. he admitted leaders are divided on the wisdom of any armed action without a u.n. security council resolution. he said he'll tell americans why he believes the u.s. must launch strikes. >> i intend to address the american people from the white house on tuesday. the kind of world we live in and our ability to deter this kind of outrageous behavior is going to depend on the decisions that we make in the days ahead. >> u.s. state department officials are trying to protect americans from what they say are threats to security in syria's neighbors, lebanon and turkey. they've told most of their diplomats in lebanon to pull out, and they're urging u.s. citizens not to travel there. >>> turkey is taking steps to tighten security along its southern border with syria. this comes ahead of a possible u.s. military strike targeting the administration of syrian president

nhk world, tokyo. >>> here's the weather forecast a storm has made landfall in western japan. how is that affecting residents there? >> people in western japan are dealing with the storm system. i think they will be working on the flooding auation for quite some time. this is dumping heavy downpours and the stormy conditions are still affecting the area. let me first show you a video from the district. severe topical storm has been dumping very heavy rain. it made landfall at 3:00 a.m. this morning. 96 millimeters of rain in one hour. over 250 millimeter has fallen over the past 24 hours. that's more than the monthly average for december. public transportation has been disrupted. this is still maintaining the intensity as severe tropical storm status. this is quite a fast moving system, but it's making a very erratic movement. it will be staying in japan for quite some time. packing up 126 kilometers per hour in the center of this. 122 kilometers per hour gusts have been reported already. and that's likely to continue. so the rough sea conditions as well as the tropical moistu

. >>> hello and welcome to nhk. it's tuesday, september 24th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> leaders will discuss and debate a range of issues but will talk about the civil war in syria. us president barack obama and leaders of other nags are expected to weigh in on a u.s./russia agreement to eliminate the country's chemical weapon's arsenal. members of the u.n. security council have been discussing a resolution the make that agreement legally binding. western leaders want to include possible military action and other sanctions if the administration of syrian president bashar al-assad doesn't comply. u.s. secretary of state john kerry met with officials from egypt and the united arab emirates to drum up support for the resolution. russia and china are expected to oppose it. u.s. leaders accuse forces loyal to assad of carrying out a poison gas attack last month in the suburbs of damascus. hundreds of people died. if president blames rebels trying to overthrow his government but he admitted in an interview his country has been stockpiling

nhk world reports. >> fall brings the rice harvest. work is going smoothly. but there's no driver in sight. a satellite controls the harvester to sentimenter accuracy. about 36,000 kilometers above earth, the satellite orbits as a part of japan's first home grown satellite positioning system. most countries rely on the global positioning system or gps. but some factors cause gps data to lose its accuracy on its journey to ground receivers. two of these are the shift of the satellites out of their orbits and a delay in the signal caused by the ionisphere. they can be off as much as 10 meters. the system sends collection data and reduces the error to sentimenters. the system achieved positioning at the level of accuracy. the key was producing the most accurate correction data as possible. this is the heart of the system. at japan air yo space exploration agency. correction data is being collected and sent to the satellite. unique algorithm is used to calculate factors that influence the gps accuracy. data is produced to increase the positioning errors. improved

. >>> hello and welcome back to nhk world "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following. >>> the five permanent members of the u.n. security council agree on a dra resolution to eliminate syria's chemical weapons. >>> officials at tokyo electric power company have taken a big step to restarting two idle reactors, the same type as those that melted down at fukushima daiichi. glue and relaxing restriction, a major hub of commerce in china hopes to boost foreign investment through free trade. >>> a major breakthrough has been made toward eliminating syria's stockpile of chemical weapons on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly. the five permanent u.n. security council members have agreed on a draft resolution through a compromise. since the conflict began, three security council draft resolutions on syria have been voted down. nhk world's kunihiro yamamoto has the details. >> reporter: the draft was presented to the security council in a closed-door meeting on thursday night. it could be voted on as soon as friday. >

>>> hello there and welcome to nhk. it's friday, september 27th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japan's prime minister has stepped into the spotlight at the u.n. general assembly to weigh in on some of the world's most pressing foreign policy challenges. shinzo abe gave his take on the situation in syria and the threat posed by north korea. we have details. >> reporter: like many leaders, prime minister abe took up the prolonged turmoil in syria. he started his speech condemning the chemical weapons attack against civilians in the country. he said the japanese government strongly supports efforts of the international community to destroy the stockpiles of these weapons. abe also promised more humanitarian support for syrians inside and outside of the country. >> translator: i would like to announce that the government of japan will newly provide additional humanitarian assistance to syria and surrounding countries of approximately 60 million u.s. dollars and implemented right away. >> reporter: abe also brought up japan's neighbor, north kor

>>> welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> funds to fight a potential disaster. japan's leaders pledge $470 million to manage the latest crisis at fukushima daiichi. >>> securing support, u.s. president barack obama gets the backing of an old adversary for a strike on syria. >>> and traditional lake farmers of central myanmar float ideas for protecting their way of life as the country rides away towards economic development. >>> japan's leaders have approved a $470 million plan to deal with hundreds of tons of contaminated water accumulating at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. right now about 400 tons of groundwater is leaking into basements of the damaged reactor every day and is being tainted with radioactive substances. the water is being pumped out and stored in tanks. the government plans to use the funds to decontaminate that water and freeze the soil around the buildings to prevent groundwater from seeping into the basements. translator: we've drawn

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> the operator of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant has resumed decontaminating wastewater after fixing the system it uses to reduce radioactive material. >>> bashar al assad promises to comply to see his stockpile of chemical weapons eliminated. >>> in autumn the skies over china are usually a clear blue. but this year, a cloud of pollution is obscuring the view. >>> the operators of fukushima daiichi nuclear plant have resumed the operation of a system used to filter radioactive materials from water. it says human error caused the suspension last week. workers at tepco resumed their test run of the advanced liquid processing system, or alps, designed to eliminate radioactive materials from the water that is accumulating at the plant. they suspended operations on friday. they had just resumed it for the first time in a month and a half. the workers detected a reduction in the flow of contaminated water in a pipe that

>>> hello and welcome to nhk. it's friday, september 20th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> a rebel group affiliated with al qaeda has overrun a northern syrian town following heavy clashes with western backed opposition forces. >> translator: we had fierce battles with al qaeda linked militants in the town of asaz and around the border checkpoint. >> an official of the free syrian army said the militants killed several of their men in the northern town. they said fighting began when the al qaeda group attempted to detain a german doctor. they also said asaz is now almost entirely controlled by islamic militants. the ssa had controlled the town since last year. officials said the militants also attacked an area near a checkpoint on the furcalish border. the fsa has led the al qaeda forces but recently extremists clashed with fighters. the united states and other western countries have been providing military aid but observers say the situation may become complicated as al qaeda rebels increase their presence there. >>> the russian presid

nhk world has more from new york. >> many of those gathered here believe they need to address the rights of people with disabilities. so they met for what is called the high-level meeting on disability and development. heads of government and ministers have never met before in this kind of forum. they've been revisiting the millennium development goals. world leaders set those targets in the year 2000. they promise, for example, to reduce extreme poverty by half and establish universal primary education by 2015. now the leaders are trying to figure out what to do after 2015. and as they set new goals, they want to help people with disabilities. the secretary-general said they want to break barriers and open doors. musician stevie wonder put it another way. >> i'm looking forward to when i can write a song about how great, not only one nation, but all of the nations of the world opens up and handles what they need to handle. making the world accessible for those with any disabilities at all. >> the key words here are inclusivity and accessibility. they say people with disabilities must be

nhk world reports from pyongyang. >> the japanese delegation is 7 locations. the japanese citizens were believed to have been buried. they will be more than 70 across north korea that contain japanese remains. this is the north eastern part of north korea. afterworld war 2, about 1,600 died of illness or hunger. they said they found remains of japanese victims. >> i found many human bones here. >> they said they gathered bones that have been unearthed and buried them. but the majority of the remains are still abandoned and lay in these fields. this is the head of north korea's team of investigators. they told nhk he was a resident in japan and moved ba being to his home country about 40 years ago. he found the documents were in the whereabouts of the remains in 2008 and his experiences in japan allowed him to launch the study to find the remains. the team visited the north eastern town. it's a remote village, but 900 kilometers north of the capital of pyongyang. >> a witness could said there is a depressed area here and that's where remains are buried. >> a fl

yuki hiraka, nhk world, tokyo. >> an amazing athlete. brazil's president has called off a planned trip to washington amid allegations u.s. agents have been spying on her. she was scheduled to meet barack obama in the capital. baum called rusev to change the trip, but he couldn't persuade her to change her mind, it came from downs from edward snowden. they suggest the u.s. eavesdropped on emailses and text messages between her and her aides. he has demanded u.s. officials investigate the allegations. >> at least 35 people have been killed in a wave of attacks in iraq. car bombs exploded almost simultaneously in baghdad and most of them went off in a predominantly shia neighborhoods. security officials say at least fwien people in the capital were killed and more than 100 wounded. a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the northern city of mosul, a mainly sunni area. six police officers were killed in that attack. sunnis have grown increasingly frustrated with the government of nuri al maliki. nearly 4,000 people have been killed in

nhk world followed one former activist on his return to myanmar and filed this report. >> reporter: a former activist arrives. was one of former leaders returning to myanmar this month. the 48-year-old exile lives in the united states. he can meet his mother for the first time in 70 years. >> translator: i'm happy to see my friends and family and get myself refreshed and get myself for a new fight for democracy. >> reporter: he was a leader of the pro democracy movement in 1988. he was later arrested twice for -- served a total of eight years in prison. on his release, he left myanmar and sought asylum in the u.s. the government has allowed him to return on a temporary basis using his american passport. he's reunited with his former comrades before the ceremony marking 25 years since demonstrations. he is amazed by myanmar's economic growth, high rise buildings and roads jammed with traffic. but they tell him the government is still operated by the military. my yan march's democratization is only halfway complete. >> translator: democratization is happening in urban areas but not in c

nhk world, the hague. >>> india's central bank has raised its key interest rates. the reserve bank of india is trying to halt the rupe slide and ward off inflation. it has taken the step amid speculation that the u.s. federal reserve will start tapering its massive monetary stimulus. they raised the repo rate by 0.25 percentage points to 7.5% immediately. it's the first time in about two years for the bank to push up the interest rates. rbi governor noted that the are you you -- rupe rebounded after the fed decided to keep the monetary easing policy unchanged. but governor ra jan was caution about the strat bank's future moves. he said the monetary authorities have to improve the country's economy before the fed eventually scales back its bond-buying program. >>> japanese prime minister to with representatives from business and labor to achieve a positive economic cycle. abe addressed the inaugural meeting of government business and union leaders on friday. they called on the government to take bold steps to maintain the recent economic uptrend. they said they will

a foreign ministry official told nhk the country may stop visits by japanese whose relatives died on the korean peninsula toward the end of world war ii. authorities in pyongyang have allowed six groups of japanese to visit the suburbs of the capital and other cities since august of last year. the korean peninsula was once under japanese clone yalt rule. many japanese died in what is now north korea as the war came to an end. more than 20,000 remains are believed to be buried there. a north korean foreign ministry official told nhk exclusively that the visits by relatives could end this year. the official said the planned construction of housing and other projects in the area could halt the program. the official revealed north korean leaders want the japanese government to agree to hold talks on what to do quit the remains. they in turn want to get back the remains of north koreans who died in japan during the war. those individuals were conscripted by the japanese military and private companies. some experts say north korean leaders are trying to improve relations by making the rema

in a recent interview with nhk, qatar's foreign minister, dr. attiyah, harshly criticized the use of chemical weapons against civilians. the government of qatar has backed syria's opposition. in november last year it hosted the formation of the national coalition for syrian revolutionary and opposition forces. the group was formally recognized as the legitimate representative of the syrian people. foreign minister attiyah accuses the assad regime of killing innocent people, including children, with toxic gas and says he would support direct military action. >> no one has the facility to launch but the regime. and it has been used before. it has been used before in february. we always wish to see something happen through u.n. security council, but with the reluctance of the security council and with the, unfortunately, the blockage of vetoes, then i think there is another way for the international community to save and protect the syrian people. >> he also acknowledged there are foreign volunteer fighters flooding into syria to support the rebels

. >>> diplomatic sources have told nhk that north korea has tested an engine for a new intercontinental ballistic missile. the tests happened last month at a launch site in the northwest. the engine testing could be used in this type of missile which was recently on display at a military parade. this comes amid suspicion that pyongyang has restarted a nuclear reactor capable of making weapons grade plutonium. senior officials are expected to attend a symposium in beijing on wednesday on their nuclear program. analysts say they're using the tests to pressure the u.s. into restarting talks on nuclear issues. north korea has been under international sanctions for nearly a decade and it's taken a toll on the country's economy. the government's decision in 2003 to allow limited free enterprise injected much needed investment into its capital in pyongyang. its people can be seen in fashionable clothes and even buying tablet computers. foreign reporting is highly restricted in north korea, but nhk world was allowed to visit from late august to early september. all that you wealth seems to be r