>>> 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. >>> union yan officials are looking for a way to break the deadlock over their country's nuclear program. >>> forecasters are telling tokyo residents to be ready for heavy rain and intense winds, as a powerful typhoon races toward the city. >>> a new nhk poll suggests japanese prime minister shinzo abe remains popular, even after he announced his plan to raise the consumption tax. >>> a proposal was made on the country's nuclear program, meeting with delegates from six major powers for the first time since president hassan rouhani took office in august. the two days of talks are happening in gin eve a. participants include mohammed sareef and foreign policy chief ashton. envoys from the u.s., russia, china, france, and germany are there, too. ashton's spokesperson said zarrif gave a 30-minute presentation to explain tehran's ideas. they propose to accept tougher inspections, in exchange they want western powers to ease ec

>>> 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. >>> media says members of china's weaker ethnic minority may have been involved in a deadly car crash in beijing. >>> u.s. officials say they're conducting a review of their intelligence gathering methods as new abuses come to light. >>> and people in turkey are marking the 90th anniversary of their republic's founding, and japanese leaders are reflecting on ties that date back nearly as long. >>> people in china have more questions than answers about a deadly crash in beijing. a vehicle plowed through a crowd in tiananmen square. five people died. media in hong kong are reporting members of the weaker ethnic minority may have been involved. the allegation has come to light as fresh images of the crash have surfaced. nhk world has the report. >> reporter: the video was shaky, but it clearly showed the aftermath of the incident. people across china are talking about it. a sport utility vehicle plowed into a crowd of touris

masaki suda, nhk world, islamabad. >>> and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm dhra dhirakaosal in bangkok. >>> emerging chick powers still struggling with poverty. emboldened citizens still demanding democracy, the threat of violence, the push for peace, the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every week day live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." >>> the japanese government is urging the private sector to help make the country more tourist friendly ahead of the 2020 olympics and paralympics in tokyo. more than 300 people took part in a meeting organized by the tourism agency. they were related to the travel, hotel, and transport industries. the agency commissioner said the public and private sectors should take the olympics as a golden opportunity to cooperate. >> translator: we believe we need to make efforts step by step to make our country more friendly to foreign visitors. >> officials from the agency and transport ministry called for support in providing multilingual sign boards at tourist and transport facilit

nhk world's chie yamagishi reports. >> reporter: the u.s. congressional stalemate has drawn criticism from around the world. an expert on japan/u.s. relations says the political turmoil symbolizes divisions in the country between democrats and the republicans and within both parties. >> american society has been paralyzed and the extremist views now are becoming more and more influential on both sides, right wing and left wing. so it has continued to be very difficult to make a consensus among americans. >> reporter: the crisis forced president obama to cut short his week-long trip to asia this month. he missed the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum in bali, and the east asia summit in brunei. he also didn't have a chance to meet leaders from nations negotiating the transpacific partnership agreement, even though it is a u.s.-led initiative. they say the president gave the impression that interest in the asia-pacific region is declining. >> if the perception of decline in this region expands, more countries in this region may have stron

more from nhk world. >> reporter: the u.s. congressional stalemate has drawn criticism from around the world. an expert on japan/u.s. relations says the political turmoil symbolizes the divisions in the country between democrats and the republicans and within both parties. >> american society has been polarized, and extremist views are now becoming more and more influential, on both sides, the right wing and left wing. so it has continued to be very difficult to make a consensus among the americans. >> reporter: the crisis forced president obama to cut short his week-long trip to asia this month. he missed the asia pacific economic cooperation forum in bali and the east asia summit in brunei. he also didn't have a chance to meet leaders from nations negotiating the transpacific partnership agreement, even though it is a u.s.-led initiative. tetsuo kotani said the presi gave the impression u.s. power and interest in the asia pacific region is declining. >> if the perception of u.s. decline in this region expands, more countries

nhk world has his story. >> reporter: he landed in paris in september. he's the only chef of french restaurant in fukushima. he was about to become the first foreign trainee ever to cook in the residence of the french president at the palace. the palace is the main stage where french entertain dignitaries. pride is at stake with every meal. the food is to convey the essence of french culture. >> translator: it's like a three star restaurant where you can't make reservation. you feel the weight of culture and tradition in the condition. >> the palace's head chef was served some of the best cuisine for 40 years. it's no exaggeration to say he's one of the hidden of french diplomacy. he visited fukushima in february this year. he decided to get behind the prefecture's recovery and agreed to train a japanese chef in paris for ten days. >> translator: i want to see the people from this region recover their confidence. that's why i agreed to accept this young chef as a trainee. >> since the earthquake, he had wanted to revive interest in the foods from his pre

. >>> now we spoke to nhk world in bali. he tells us there's doubt the tpp members can come up with a pact by the year end deadline. >>translator: right now it's unlikely the leaders will sign a tpp pact on time. those from the u.s. and emerging economies are having trouble narrowing differences. they are stuck on issues such as copy right and patent protection along with fair private sector and state owned businesses. officials say negotiations over the elimination of tariffs on farmed and other products will likely continue into next year. some government officials in emerging economies have been critical of the united states stance. they say american delegates are pushing their own business rules too hard. meanwhile, chinese leaders seem to be alarmed by the growing u.s. presence in the asia pacific. they consider the tpp just one example, so they're trying to counter this move. along with their work to boost the frame work, they want to hammer out a series of multilateral and by lateral economic agreement. the united sta

kurando tago, nhk world, beijing. >>> the concern about unrest has evolved into media control. chinese officials have abruptly halted nhk's satellite tv transmission in china during reports related to the crash in tiananmen square. audio and visual feeds were cut off during an nhk news program for overseas audiences on tuesday. one suspension lasted for two minutes at noon japan time. another halt at 7:00 p.m. lasted for 40 seconds. it occurred during a report about chinese authorities suspending nhk's tv coverage of the crash. after the crash occurred on monday, nhk tv news report was halted for several seconds. >>> the japanese defense chief says the military will monitor chinese aircraft. they flew over the southern islands of okinawa. four passed between the islands and made round trips over the pacific ocean friday and sunday. they didn't violate japanese air space. commanders with the self defense forces scrambled fighter jets as a recaution. the jets were a rare event. >> translator: it's the first time this many aircraft have flown between the islands. we're aware this

>>> hello there and welcome to nhk news. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> china politically sensitive sites. a jeep now plowed through tienemen square. the driver and two passersby were killed. the jeep veered off a road beside the square and crossed over barriers and crashed into a crowd and then it caught fire. microbloggers posted photos of the incident online. but soon after, the pictures were taken down. authorities wiped the crash site clean of any trace of the incident. police keep tienemen square under tight security as close to key political institutions and they don't want december strators to gather there. the square was the scene of pro-democracy protest in 1989 which ended in a military crackdown. >>> police in china have arrested aid man who crashed a bus into police vehicles. lus hit two officers and damages vehicles. the police arrested him at a nearby bus terminal. they're still trying to figure out why he did what he did. >>> three protester faced judges on monday for campaigning against corruption. th

>>> mellow and welcome to nhk. it's thursday, october 31st. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> lawmakers in washington have launched a new round of talks over something they've had difficulty agreeing on before. a panel of democrats and republicans will draw ground rules for services and but they are already staking out familiar positions. party leaders agreed earlier this month as part of the deal to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. lawmakers approved a bill two weeks ago to re-open the government and avoid a default. and the approved a stop gap budget through the middle of january. panel members have until the middle of december so agree on a longer term plan and have to work towards easing automatic spending cuts that started in march. the chairman of the house of representatives budget committee, paul ryan and the chair of the senate budget committee, patty murray, called for compromise. but republicans and democrats are still wide amart on taxing the wealthy, cutting spending and other issues. some fear another g

>>> 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. >>> workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant say they're seeing more and more effects from a leak of contaminated water. >>> prime minister shinzo abe says he stands by leaders who have come before him regarding the view on japan's past colonial rule and aggression. >>> and a dog that's been through some challenges is training to help people get through challenges of their own. >>> the people in charge of the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant have another challenge on their hands. tokyo electric power company officials say the effects of a leak of contaminated water are expanding. they've detected a sharp rise in radioactivity in groundwater at a monitoring well. nhk world reports. >> reporter: workers at fukushima daiichi seem to have a new challenge on their hands every day. more than 300 tons of contaminated water leaked out of a storage tank in august, and they've been dealing with the effects ever since. some of

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's thursday, october 17th. i'm catherine kobayashi. in tokyo. i'm ross mihara in tokyo. >>> emergency teams are looking for dozens of missing residents on izu oshima after a powerful storm triggered flooding and landslides. typhoon wipha killed at least 18 people in eastern japan as it churned past the pacific coast. almost all of the victims lived on izu oshima. nhk world's michio kijima reports. >> reporter: emergency teams encountered a ravaged landscape when they began their work on izu oshima. mud had coated fields and roads. twisted bits of trees were strewn here and there. homes were wrecked. rescuers found one woman trapped in the debris. they managed to get her out safely. typhoon wipha bore down on izu oshima overnight. fierce winds lashed the island. record rainfall soaked it. more than 800 millimeters of rain fell in 24 hours. more than double the monthly average and the worst downpour since data became available 75 years ago. local police and firefighters say all that rain caused the river to break its banks triggering dea

--www.ncicap.org-- >>> hello and you're watching nhk. i'm in tokyo. >>> people in northeast japan are breathing easier after a worrying night. a 7.1 earthquake struck off o'the fukushima prefecture early on saturday. the japanese meteorological agency issued a tsunami advisory and then lifted it a few hours later. some cities just before 3:00 a.m. japan time. a 40 centimeter wave reached a port in iwaki prefecture and one in kuji port. a 30 centimeter wave was seen in ishinomaki. and a 20 sent mytory in the city in iwate prefecture. officials say they lifted the tsunami advisory because sea level fluctuations became smaller. tohoku power company observed a 55 centimeter tsunami just after 3:00 a.m. japan time at a port near the plant in miyagi prefecture. >> translator: the tsunami advisory has been lifted. we think slight fluctuations in sea level will continue for about half a day. we want people on or near the coast to exercise caution. >>> officials have lifted a tsunami advisory for the country's east coast. they issued that a few h

. >>> hello there and welcome to nhk. it's thursday, october 24th. i'm catherine kobayashi, in tokyo. the company in charge of the damaged fushima power plant is facing another water problem. workers are rushing to transfer tainted rain water to underground storage pools as another powerful typhoon bears down on the japanese archipelago. typhoon francisco is expected to hit the main island on the weekend. officials have received permission from the nuclear regulation authority to use several underground pools. they have a storage capacity of about 9,000 tons. managers stop using several of the pools in april after leaks were discovered. they now say they have no other option but to use three of the other pools. the company has been storing tainted rain water in hundreds of above ground tanks at the plant. and in the basement in a turbine building. but they are now almost all full. >>> nuclear regulators in japan are criticizing a recent report by the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi plant. managers of tepco submitted the document outlining

>>> 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. secretary of state gives syrian leaders credit for complying with u.n. efforts to destroy their chemical weapons arsenal. >>> leaders plan to adopt a strategy to invest in public infrastructure as they meet in bali for the annual apec summit. >>> the number of people suffering from smartphone addiction is rising in the u.s., and south korea, so, too, is the number of services to help addicts unplug. >>> international inspectors have begun the process of destroying syrian president bashar al assad's most feared weapon. experts from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons and the united nations arrived in the capital of damascus almost a week allege. they're following through on a security council resolution demanding that syria dismantle its stockpile. they visited a military facility on sunday. they began the process of destroying rockets that can carry chemical arms and facilities that produ

nhk world, back to you. >>> a japanese government official told nhk world a request for the release of the samples by scientists is being considered. >>> australia's new prime tony abbott has advised indonesia to work on his key campaign pledge. he's met with president susilio bambang yudhoyono to discuss the issue of asylum seekers. abbott showed his focus on emerging asia by visiting indonesia before traditional allies like the united states and britain. 20 business people went along to seek opportunities in the growing economy, but abbott says bilateral relations are strained by asylum seekers. thousands of people each year cross the sea in rickety boats risking their lives. on friday, a boat carrying middle eastern asylum seekers en route to australia sank off the indonesian coast. at least 33 people are reported dead, and dozens missing. abbott campaigned for election on his so-called stop the boats policy. he promised authorities would intercept and send back seaworthy vessels, but officials in jakarta said that could breach indonesian sovereignty. the foreign minister last week

. >>> hello, and welcome back to nhk world "newsline." it's tuesday october 22nd. i'm catherine kobayashi, in tokyo. >>> the international atomic agency presented the result of the week-long study in fukushima to japan's government. the u.n. nuclear watchdog said the one myly see very decontamination goal cannot be consuled and they need a more realistic view of radiation and related risks. we have this report. 66 >> reporter: the disaster at the fukkushima daiichi plant in march of 2011 spread radioactive substances over eastern japan. the government ordered more than 80,000 residents in fukushima prefecture to evacuate as they were living in areas where radiation levels exceeded 20 millisieverts per liter. the iaea did the research in fukushima this month at the request of japan's government. inspectors check the progress of the decontamination and made up a preliminary report. the agency said the work was progressing well but the 1 millisievert goal cannot be achieved through decontamination alone. it stressed the government should explain to the public that an

nhk world. >>> populous. prosperous. pushing ahead. china's rise brought it wealth, power, and problems. an income gap divides its people. pollution threatens their health. and disputes at sea strain relations with its neighbors. find out about the challenges china faces, on "newsline." >>> police in yangon, myanmar, are trying to find out what caused an explosion at an american hhotel. police say something exploded monday evening at the traders hotel. it's not clear what. the hotel is located if an area where many foreign firms have opened offices. businesspeople from western nations flooded into yangon as foreign investment and many stay at the hotel. police are investigating whether there's any link to another explosion in yangon. a bomb attached to bottom of a truck went off on sunday. two people were wounded. >>> rescue workers in central colombia are searching for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed condominium. they found two bodies. nine other people are missing. the 24-story building was in a residential area. construction

nhk world, vancouver. >> it's time now for a check in world weather. we are joined now with the latest. people in central vietnam are dealing with the aftermath of a typhoon. what's happening there? >> catherine, apart from the typhoon hitting tokyo metropolitan region as we speak bringing dangerous conditions outside, the typhoon nari landed tuesday. typhoon nari made las vegas tuesday morning killing some people and injuring a dozen others. strong winds of 133 kilometers per hour were reported. many trees were downed and hundreds of houses were damaged. 122,000 people moved to safer ground in several provinces. 2,000 travelers were stranded. nari has weakened to a tropical storm. it brings staggering amount of rainfall pounding the central regions. it will be lots of rain to the region across thailand where the previous system has been lingering over bringing moisture and dumping in heavy rain. land is well saturated. additional rainfall could give the cause to further landslides and mudslides. >>> we have another tropical depression formed over the

nhk world has more analysis of the east asia summit. there's a diplomatic tug-of-war under way between china and the united states. and asean looks like it's somewhere in the middle. now, which way is it likely to go? >> president obama's absence from the east asian summit made east asian members anxious. they were relieved by china's position at the talks. china says it's ready to move forward with discussions on the legally binding code of conduct. but despite it, observe essay china is still reluctant to sign up to rules restricting its actions in the south china sea. so asean faces a huge challenge to encourage china to cooperate and keep the process moving in asean's favor. >> now, how will it shape the future relationship with the u.s., china and other key regional players? >> china is asean's biggest neighbors. it will be a long-term challenge. on one hand, asean needs to cooperate with china. but on the other, asean needs to counter china's growing strength. china agreed to discuss the code of conduct partly because it wants to

from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us. until next time, good-bye. >>> from the four winds and the scent of the earth come the color of the seasons. exploring the four seasons of japan. yokohama harbor, japan's busiest destination for passenger ships, the harbor has been in operation for more than 150 years.

nhk world's shun ishibe has more. >> reporter: "please release him." this is a message that's been carried for two days this week on the front page of the "new express" newspaper. the reporter in guangdong province was detained by police last saturday after he wrote about corruption at a major state-owned company. police say the article damaged the firm's reputation. the "new express" called the reporter's arrest unjust, and it's demanding that he be released. it's almost unheard of that such a demand is published in china where the media is under tight government control. the pleas are attracting a lot of attention around the country. >> translator: they should have first investigated the case. i don't think it's normal. >> translator: it is quite natural for reporters to write about the case. >> reporter: messages critical of the police and in support of the newspaper are being posted online. other newspapers have come out in support of the "new express." support for the plea is spreading. partly because people are becoming more vocal about the tight

from all of us here at nhk world, thank you for watching. tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation with david dinkins, the former mayor of new york city who has put down what he has learned in more than five decades in a new text called "a mayor's life." we are glad you have joined us with former mayor david dinkins coming up right now. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: being the mayor of new york is called the second most difficult job in america. he just chronicled his life and times governing new york's gorgeous mosaic. i'd add you back on the program, sir. glad to have you back on the program, sir. we will get straight to the text. there is a major race happening in the city of new york. michael bloomberg got the city council to give him a third term. herself in terms of being the next mayor, but one of those finalists got his start working for you. tell me you have endorsed and take it away. >> i endorse bill thompson, the past controller. mike bloomberg did pretty w

tomoko kamata, nhk world, tokyo. >>> india's new central bank chief is in the spotlight. market investors are watching to see if he can steer the country's economy toward more sustainable growth. governor rajan says he aims to contain inflation and reform the financial system to regain sharp economic growth. in an interview with nhk in mumbai on wednesday rajan suggested the reserve bank of india may further hike its key interest rate after raising it for two straight months, but he stressed attention must be paid not to dampen economic activities. >> so, you know, one of the things you have to do to bring down inflation is slow down demand. you know, a hike in the interest rate helps do that. now, you have to be very careful because demand is no doubt greater than supply but alternately quite weak. so we're doing that very carefully to make sure we preserve whatever sort of momentum there is in the economy but at the same time contain inflation. >> india's gdp growth is losing momentum. it grew at around 5% last fiscal year. the governor stressed the need to promote fina

noriko okada, nhk world. >>> a u.s. newspaper is reporting that the spying on chancellor merkel and other world leaders stopped after the obama administration launched an investigation. "the wall street journal" quoted a senior u.s. official as saying the nsa made the surveillance decisions. the newspaper says the official account of what happened suggests president obama went nearly five years without knowing about the spying on world leaders. it reports obama was briefed on broader intelligence collection priorities, but didn't make decisions on specific targets. and it says the president only learned of the spying after his administration launched internal and external probes of national security agency operations a few months ago. the decision followed revelations by former nsa contractor, edward snowden, who said agents had been secretly gathering the phone and internet data of private citizens. u.s. officials tell "the wall street journal" that american agents have suspended spying on merkel and other world loader

nhk world. >>> a pertinent question, so where is typhoon francisco now? our meteorologist, robert speta, is tracking the storm. robert? >> as of rain now, it's down to the south, just east of okinawa. it will change going through the day on friday, and eventually out toward saturday as the storm system tracks off to the northeast. first bringing heavy rainfall across western japan, then going into tokytokyo. we're going to be seeing heavy rainfall. it's not going to be a big wind event out here. the max of the winds will stay offshore. by the time it gets up here it will be a strong tropical storm. it's the rain that's going to be a problem. western japan, pretty heavy showers here. tohoku area, 50 to 100 millimeters, and isolated areas could see up to 200 millimeters of rainfall here going through friday night into saturday. so something we want to continue to watch. i do think the bulk of the rough weather is going to be down here towards the west, and also across the southern japanese islands. i'll be back a little bit later on with more information on

an nhk crew was allowed into the site. the facility simulates an underground tunnel. the water inside is assumed to be radioactive. some of it has been frozen. groundwater has within flowing into the buildings and becomes tainted with radioactivity. water used to cool melted fuel also becomes contaminated. some of it has been flowing into underground tunnels connected to the turbine buildings. highly radioactive water accumulates in these tunnels. tepco officials say this is the main source of radioactive water leaking into the sea. this is tepco's plan. pipes are inserted into the tunnels along with a clay-based packer. a liquid coolant then goes into the pipes to freeze the packer and surrounding contaminated water. the ice serves as a wall to stop the water. workers will then pump out any contaminated water left in the tunnels. tepco workers began the experiment in august. they say they created a two-meter-square ice wall in about six weeks. >> translator: the ice wall is preventing water from flowing in here. so the test shows it's possible to block the flow. >> b

nhk world. >>> a japanese government official has told nhk world that authorities are considering the request by the scientists to release the samples. >>> now, japan's nuclear regulate a regulator is coming under fire from a group of leading experts. they say the body charged with overseeing the aftermath of the accident in fukushima is too bureaucratic. they fielded comments on monday from six experts studying the crisis in fukushima. they looked at the nra's first year of operation. one of the experts is a lawyer who served on a diet panel that investigated the accident. >> translator: the regulators are acting like bureaucrats. when something goes wrong, they summon tepco officials and demand explanations. people must doubt that the regulators are really getting the truth. >> another expert said drafting rules and standards isn't enough to win public trust. he urged regulators to take a more proactive stance in dealing with the crisis. others pressed for reforms at nra secretariat. it's staffed mostly by personnel from the previous regulators. they were under a government umbrella

>>> hello, thanks for joining us on nhk world. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a german newspaper says president barack obama has known for years that american agents were eavesdropping on chancellor angela merkel for the last three years. this contradicts reports that obama had told merkel he didn't know. citing a u.s. intelligence worker involved in the spying operation, he said nsa chief keith alexander informed obama in person about the surveillance in 2010. the paper quoted the source as saying that obama did not stop the operation back then, but let it continue. the article said they increased the surveillance to include the contents of merkel's text messages. the agency then started tapping a new, supposedly bug-proof cell phone she acquired this past summer. media reports say obama apologized to merkel when she called him on wednesday. the president told merkel he would have stopped the bugging had he known about it. specs spokespersons for the nsa have denied the allegations. the agency said in a statement in beijing on sunday that nsa chief alexander n

nhk world reports. >> reporter: the impact of a weaker rupiah is evident throughout markets in jakarta. this is a food called tempeh, but now its price is is soaring. tempeh is made of fermented soybeans. indonesia imports most of its soybean supply. >> translator: the price just goes up and up. it's such a headache. >> reporter: this factory in western jakarta has been running for over three decades. but the owner is struggling with soybean prices that have risen by about 30% over the past three months. >> translator: the soybean price has been increasing drastically. all the producers have been badly hurt. >> reporter: to cushion the impact, he is offering a product that is 20% smaller at the same price, but his biggest client is refusing to accept the reduction in size or a major price hike. he has been forced to fire three employees. and he sees no light at the end of the tunnel. some neighborhood factories have already gone out of business. the situation is getting tougher by the day. >> translator: i can't survive with higher soybean prices. i will have to lay off more workers or

nhk world reports. >> reporter: decontamination of this farm began last month. it is less than 90 kilometers from fukushima daiichi power plant. masahiro yamakawa owns the farm. >> translator: the work has finally started, though, we've run up against so many difficulties. >> reporter: before the disaster, yamakawa let his 30 cows graze freely. they ate grass in the woods. milk from this diet has a different taste and composition every season. this milk made yamakawa proud. >> translator: i love this landscape. the cows in the forest. not only the cows, but also the natural surroundings. it's precious to me. >> but after the nuclear disaster, radiation contaminated the foliage and soil at high levels than the government limit. yamakawa stopped the grazing. then weeds overran the forest. he didn't know when the grazing could restart. so he had to let his employees go. he hasn't used his milking equipment in more than two years. yamakawa almost gave up farming, but other farmers talked him out of it. a local farmer took care of his cows. he also milked them after

nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa reports. >> reporter: malala yousafzai is unlike any child her age. the 16-year-old education campaigner has gone from a hospital bed to speaking at the united nations in the span of a year. >> instead of sending weapons, instead of sending tanks to afghanistan and all these countries which are suffering from terrorism, send books. instead of sending tanks, send pens. instead of sending soldiers, send teachers. >> reporter: malala first gained attention as a blogger who documented life in the taliban controlled area of swat valley in pakistan. she wrote about extremist attempts to stop girls from getting an education. that made her a target. taliban gunmen stormed her school bus a year ago and shot her in the head. the assassination attempt left her in critical condition. she was flown to a hospital in england for emergency surgery. malala made what doctors called a remarkable recovery. and ever since, she's become an even more prominent spokesperson for the right to an education. malala's bravery and the strength of her convictions have inspired peop

the contest is hosted by nhk. the 40 the anniversary event attracted 331 entries from 57 countries and territories for tv programs and audio visual presentations. >> the prize goes to cultural shock. [ applause ] >> the grand prix went to cultural shock produced by italy's artist. the program is a cross media attempt to look to video and the internet that encouraging audience participation. the show follows young people who travel to their native country to accomplish a mission through webcasting. the tv documentary challenges stories was produced by the public israel broadcasting authority. it won top honors in the primary age children category. the first in prize in the youth category went to the online game, mission u.s., flight to freedom, produced by a public media, 13 wnet based in new york. >>> and that's all for this edition of nhk. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> i'm the executive vice president of the wilson center. i want to welcome all of

>>> 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 head of japan's nuclear authority had some harsh words for the operator of fukushima daiichi. he's demanding the company step up measures to prevent more contaminated water from leaking. >>> ministers from 21 pacific rim economies are in the indonesian island of bali. they're trying to forge closer ties across the region. >>> and fewer and fewer young japanese are exercising their right to vote, so some young activists here are looking for inspiration from a young american. >>> engineers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant have resumed testing of filtration systems after operations were suspended for half a day. they say a glitch in the control system of a holding tank caused the decontamination system to automatically shut down. an alarm went off on friday morning indicating something was wrong with the advanced liquid processing system. the engineers found the control system of the holding tank was sending ou

 -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. we start with breaking news this hour. meteorological officials in taiwan say a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the island's east coast. we don't know if there has been damage or casualties. taiwan's central weather bureau says the earthquake hit the eastern county of qu uh alen an hour ago around 9:00 p.m. local time. a worker at a hotel said he felt a big tremor. he said 300 guests were evacuated. he says no one was injured. the tremor was felt about 100 kilometers southeast of the epicenter. we'll bring you more information as details come in. china's foreign ministry says it suspects a connection between monday's deadly tiananmen square car crash and the east turkestan islamic movement. they are fighting for freedom for the region. beijing call it is movement a terrorist organization. authorities are expected to step up restrictions on ethnic wiegers in the name of fighting terrorism. with a ch hua chunying spoke. >> investigators detained five suspects since

nhk world, ishinomaki. >>> time now for a check of the weather. a typhoon is battering southwestern japan, and another is on the way. meteorologist sayaka mori tells us the latest. >> hello, there. we've been focusing on typhoon francisco francisco. clouds are covering minamidaito island. we have some video from this location. trees are swaying in the winds and gusts of about 105 kilometers per hour were reported this morning. ferry services and flights have been canceled due to strong winds and high surf. now, it looks like the southwestern islands of japan will remain on the stormy side throughout the day. and it looks like gusts of about 200 kilometers per hour are likely with waves of about 10 meters today. and a rainfall of about 150 millimeters into the next 24 hours. kn now, starting friday, francisco is starting to move toward the northeast as it interacts with jet stream. and then probably stay over the waters into the weekend. but, of course, mainland japan, kishu, will be feeling quite stormy conditions into the weekend. and before the

nhk world. >>> the olympic torch relay is underway in the russian capital, moscow. it will make a 65,000-kilometer journey en route to sochi where the winter games will kick off in february. [ cheers ] >> the olympic flame was flown from olympia, greece, where it was lit on september 29th. it arrived in moscow on sunday after a relay across greece. vladimir putin lit the olympic flame red square in front of a crowd of spectators. he said the sochi olympics is a big event that all russian people are pulling together for. he says it's a shared dream that is finally becoming reality. the 65,000-kilometer route is the longest in the history of the winter olympic games. a total of 14,000 people will take part in the torch relayover 123 days. russia is hosting the olympic games for the second time. it held the summer games in moscow in 1980. >>> it's time for a check on the weather with our meteorologist. good morning, a storm has made landfall in eastern china. what's the latest there? >> yes, we've been tracking a severe tropical storm since last week. it's finally made

nhk world. >> you will be able to catch a more indepth report. that's the upcoming broadcast of our program "asia" this week. >>> hornet attacks have been a problem. state health officials say more than 1600 people have been injured by hornet stipgs in recent months. they sbruked the provincial government to put medical institutions on alert to treat victims and offered the extermination of hornets in residential areas and local firefighters have been mobileized to deal with or net nests on over 1,000 occasions. >>> time for a look at your market figures. >>> a british journal said universities in asia are catching up with the u.s. and british counter parts. they rank the university of tokyo number one in asia and 3rd worldwide. the times higher education published this world university rankings 2013-2014 on wednesday. it raised on the basis of 13 performance indicators including content and citations of published work and outlook. they show the top ten universities are located in the united states and britain. the california institute of technol

nhk world, singapore. >>> time now to check on the weather. the calendar says it is october, but it's still very hot and humid here in japan. here's sayaka mori with the details. >> hello there. tropical storm dennis is downgraded and is a low pressure system but producing rain showers for northern parts of the country and also bringing southerly winds creating much higher than average temperatures for much of the country especially the hokoriku region. the high rose to 34 degrees as of noon. extremely hot conditions across japan. it's not going to be as hot as today, but things will be on the hot side into tomorrow. further down toward the south, there are a couple of tropical depressions and both of them could become tropical storms within the next 24 hours. so far, we've had 24 tropical storms. the average is 26. now, across the west, then, we have a low which is actually producing persistent heavy rain for the western parts of the indochina peninsula. it would become a more stronger system,s stronger system as we go into the next couple of

nhk world's junio sumoto has the story. >> reporter: he rans a gas company in ishinomaki. he's very busy these days with reconstruction effortses. he has another commitments, as well. he started an english magazine with two friends last year. >> they named it rolling press because they want to set people's minds in motion. they write about what's going on in their hometown. >> translator: we're trying to focus on locals who are working with a positive attitude. >> reporter: he had a good reason to start a magazine for people overseas. the march 11 tsunami destroyed his home and his business. he says the devastation made him feel hopeless, but then many foreign volunteers arrived and offered help. i was amazed that so many of them came and worked so hard for it. i'm not sure i would have done the same thing in their situation. >> reporter: orikawa's team is working on an article about a japanese restaurant that was destroyed in the tsunami. many foreigners helped clear debris from the ruins. the restaurant was able to reopen this summer in time are for its 100th anniversary

. >>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." >>> government ministers from countries around the pacific have gathered to talk about the challenges their countries face and ways to cooperate. they're representing the 21 member states of the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum. they will improve the infrastructure in their countries and enjoy closer economic ties. our reporters saw the contents of the draft joint statement and the draft says a strong sustainable facilities like ports are vital for stronger economic ties among apeculiar member countries. it says the government leaders will step up their infrastructure development and investment over the coming three years. the draft also says the leaders will ensure more transparency in their schemeless for accepting bids from contractors acquiring land and imposing taxes. and it says that they'll create systems for cooperation between the public and private sectors. >>> the u.s. government shutdown is having repercussions for the country's diplomacy. president barack obama has canceled his plans to attend next week's economic summits

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani and here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. democrats and republicans in the u.s. congress still can't narrow their differences in the standoff, so the government shutdown enters day two. >>> they would launch an attack on north korea if they detected signs the country was about to initiate a nuclear attack. and it happens just once every 20 years, but when one of shi o shinto's most important goddesses moves house it's spectacular. republican and democratic law maeks in the u.s. are blaming each other for a partial government shutdown. they failed to agree on a spending plan for the fiscal year that began tuesday. hundreds of thousands of federal employees are facing unpaid leave. president obama is blaming the republican-led house of representatives. legislators there are demanding that the budget bill includes a delay in immreming obama's health care reforms. >> they've shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable he

nhk world has the story. >> the conductor is a young m t maest maestro. they performed last month in japan, but he made time at the end of his trip for a special stop. he visited an area of miyagi prefecture devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. >> there no words. it's very sad. i think the important thing is the hope. the hope of the people to keep working and living. >> they led a workshop at the local music festival with 120 junior high and high school kids from the region. >> music has power. mou music can fill young people with hope. >> they were there with a large gap between rich and poor. many young people who can't escape poverty turn to crime. they have the option of free music education. leaders hope young people can find a way out of poverty through music. it was through this system that they were discovered and he quickly became a global star. >> in life you go through difficult times. sometimes you get lost, but there is always the light of hope, finding music that can leave you something special in that moment. it should provide th

nhk world, miyagi prefecture. >>> thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast tracts of land are still waiting to be restored. and more than half the fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt. people in northeastern japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster. but step by step they're moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on the road ahead right here on "newsline." >>> a canadian writer known for her short stories about women in small towns has won the nobel prize for literature. >> the nobel prize in literature for 2013 is awarded a canadian author alice munro. >> the announcement was made in stockholm. they said munro is the master of the contemporary short story. one book was pub lirked in 1974 and became a canadian best-seller. in the view from castle rock she wrote about three generations of a family who emigrated from scotland to canada. she is 82 years old. she says she has retired from writing. >>> a pakistani schoolgirl who survived an assassination attempt is getting international recognition for her human rights

shinya sato, nhk world, bali. >>> and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm roselyn debhavalya in bangkok. >>> smartphones have revolutionized communication, but they've also brought new dangers, particularly for people who use them as they walk. experts at japan's transport ministry and automakers have come up with a new software to protect pedestrians from traffic accidents. the software works in two ways. it uses gps data to predict how a pedestrian is likely to move, and then that data is exchanged between the smartphone and vehicles. if danger seems imminent, the system warns both the pedestrian and drivers. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> the new system can even identify pedestrians who can't be seen. that's something that existing systems cannot do, because they rely on cameras and sensors to recognize people and vehicles. the software is still in the development stage. ministry officials say they hope to put the technology into practical use in the 2020s. >>> japanese fishermen in fukushima prefecture are marking a first. they're hauling in wh

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we are following this hour. >>> the nobel peace prize has been awarded to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, the group that is working to dismantle syria's chemical arms stockpiles. >>> japanese leaders have agreed to sign a u.n. statement calling for a ban on the use of nuclear weapons after refusing to endorse it in the past. >>> a renowned conductor has traveled from far away to teach students in northeastern japan about the healing power of music. >>> the global watchdog dedicated to the elimination of chemical weapons is the winner of this year's nobel peace prize. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is based in the hague. opcw experts are currently in syria dismantling the country's stockpiles of these arms. >> the nobel peace prize for 2013 is to be awarded to the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, opcw, for its extensive work for eliminating chemical weapons. >> the chairman of

nhk world updates you on what's happening across the peninsula. wednesday and thursday here on "newsline." >>> international experts examining syria's arsenal of chemical weapons say they're making progress. they say they've already inspected more than half of the sites disclosed by the government. experts with the organization for the provision of chemical weapons arrived in damascus. their mission is to dismantle syria's chemical weapons program. syria's government has declared 20 sites to the u.n. inspectors say they've checked more than half of them. they've destroyed equipment from producing chemical agents, rockets, and item at six site. team members plan to complete their work by next june. but some weapons facilities are in areas where government and opposition forces are fighting. the head of the organization says a temporary cease-fire is needed to ensure their safety. >>> a passenger plane has crashed into the river in laos. 49 people were on board. a spokesperson for the airline says there were no survivors. officials with laos airline

nhk world. >>> school children in northeastern china are getting an unexpected holiday. severe air pollution in the city of harbin is causing officials to shut down schools. heavy smog began shrouding the city over the weekend. officials have been measuring levels of the pollutant pm 2.5, they say the density sunday night exceeded 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter. the levels in some areas were so high they couldn't be accurately measured. officials here in japan advise people to stay indoors when the daily average is likely to exceed 70 micrograms. administrators in harbin have closed all primary and middle schools. and officials suspended bus services. they began providing central heating to homes over the weekend. some say a sharp rise in the amount of coal burned for the service is causing the smog. >>> a series of suicide bombings in iraq has killed at least 50 people and wounded 70. sectarian violence has been escalating and sunnis are increasingly frustrated with the primarily shia government. one of the attacks took place at a cafe in southern baghdad on sunday ni

>>> 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 nobel prize to physics has been awarded to two scientists. >>> leaders of some asia-pacific nations vow they'll sign a u.s.-led trade pact by the end of the year as china pushes to forge its own agreements in the region. >>> and the head of the u.n. united nations wants to increase the number of inspectors in syria who are working to eliminate the country's chemical weapons arsenal. >>> two scientists who developed a theory 50 years ago about a tiny particle have won the biggest award in their field, the nobel prize in physics. the higgs boson gives mass to all things. its existence was confirmed last year. >> the nobel prize in physics to professor francois anger, and professor peter higgs. >> they predicted the component of the higgs boson. they said the discovery of the particle was confirmed in july of 2012 by research conducted at an underground lab in switzerland. about 6,000 scientists from around the world

nhk world asked him what to expect. >> another fmoc meeting is coming up very soon. is it fair to think we shouldn't expect anything new from the fed within this year? >> i certainly think it's very, very unlikely that the fed does anything at the october fomc meeting. simply the data they've seen will not be looking very, very promising and i think they're likely not to want to move at that point in time. i think march is looking more likely as the first time in the first taping. that will be janet yellin's first meeting to chair the fomc. i think the thing they'll be looking for is clear evidence that the labor market is continuing to improve and that the pace of economic activity in the united states is picking up. i think that's really what they want to see. obviously, they're balancing that against the potential for some financial stability concerns that they stay easy too long. but i don't think they've seen enough evidence that there really are significant financial imbalances at least in the united states at present to cause them to want to prematurely begin