welcome back to "newsline," i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. delegates from tokyo have wrapped up two days of talks in pyongyang over issues that have divided the two nations for decades. the head of the u.n. mission to fight ebola says the next 30 days will be decisive in the battle to bring the crisis under control. and an unmanned rocket heading for the international space station has exploded. it burst into flames shortly

after takeoff. japanese officials have wrapped up talks in pyongyang with their north korean counterparts. they've met to discuss the progress of an investigation into the fate of missing and abducted japanese nationals. it's thought the two sides also spoke about other issues of concern. the second and final day of talks lasted for more than five hours. japanese media were given special permission to film part of the meeting. the delegation is being led by japan's top diplomat for asian affairs, junichi ihara and his team met with the north korean officials heading the special investigation committee. there are four panels. the delegation placed priority on meeting members of the panel looking into abducted japanese. they also expected to be briefed about missing nationals, those left behind during world war ii, and the japanese spouses of north koreans.

there's also a panel handling the issue of the remains of nationals who died there near the end of world war ii. the chief of that investigation, kim hyon chol, gave a statement. >> translator: we organized the investigation panel, and conducted a thorough investigation of cemeteries, and burial places containing japanese remains. we hope to report to the japanese side about the details, and our findings. >> it's the first time in a decade the two sides have met face-to-face in pyongyang. japan's government maintains at least 17 nationals were abducted by north korean agents in the 1970s and '80s. five returned in 2002. the head of the u.n. mission

to fight ebola says the next 30 days will be crucial in bringing the crisis under control. anthony banbury spoke in an exclusive interview with nhk in ghana's capital, where the u.n. mission is head if quartered. >> the month of november is when we need to now put all those capabilities into action. naacp the fight against ebola. and aid to achieve these very ambitious targets of 70% of people with ebola in a treatment facility. and 70% of burials being done safely. so we have a hard, difficult job ahead of us. >> the world health organization says confirmed or suspected ebola infections have now topped 10,000. the majority of cases are in west africa. >> anywhere from 40% to 70% of new cases of ebola are caused by unsafe burial practices. >> members of the u.n. mission have launched an unprecedented

effort to contain the virus. they brought in supplies stored in and around a 5,000 square meter warehouse in accra. the items include materials to build hospitals, and medical and communications equipment. team members then transport the goods to liberia, sierra leone and other countries. >> i hope member states around the world will respond to the critical, urgent needs we now have to bring this crisis under control. the thing we need the most are trained medical teams. the only way we can reliably stop it from spreading and stop it from posing a risk to people around the world is to end the crisis here in west africa. >> banbury says time is running out, and more people must get involved. a u.s. rocket has exploded seconds after liftoff. nasa officials say it was carrying an unmanned freighter bound for the international space station. and they say no one was injured.

the rocket was developed by an american company called orbital sciences. it was launched from a complex in the state of virginia. but moments after takeoff the rocket suddenly fell, and then blew up in flames. it was carrying the cygnus cargo ship loaded with about two tons of food and experiments for the astronauts living aboard the iss. officials say so far they haven't determined the cause of the explosion. orbital sciences is one of two companies hired by nasa to fly cargo to the iss after the space shuttle's were retired in 2011. >> our team worked very hard to prepare it. we conducted a lot of testing and analysis to get ready for this mission. however, something went wrong and we will find out what that is. we will determine the root cause, and we will correct that, and we'll come back and fly here at wallops again. >> company officials say several experiments were destroyed,

including a special camera developed by japan's chiba institute of technology. senior researcher tomoko arai says the camera was supposed to be placed on the iss to observe shooting stars. she witnessed the explosion about three kilometers from the launch site. >> translator: i thought it was odd that the rocket wasn't really rising, and then there was an explosion. i immediately ran out of the stands. we worked hard to develop the camera for the liftoff, so this is very disappointing. >> arai says she and her colleagues have another camera as a backup. she said they'll be ready for the next launch. now, let's go to what's happening in the world of business. here's our ron madison from the biz desk. ron? >> all right, thank you, miki. well, the business and financial world certainly keeping a close eye on a meeting of policymakers at the u.s. federal reserve. many believe that it will wrap

up with an announcement for the fed to end quantitative easing or qe. fed officials are believed to have started their two-day meeting by looking at recent instability in the markets. this includes falling share prices triggered by growing uncertainty over the global economic outlook. then the policymakers are expected to discuss their bond buying program. they said in september they would continue with their tapering with the aim of stopping it completely. it's widely believed they will decide to do just that. the fed launched its third round of quantitative easing called qe-3 back in september 2012. officials purchased u.s. government bonds and other securities to pump $85 billion per month into the markets. but since last december they have been reducing the program's scale by $10 billion at every meeting. the fed's monetary policy has had a significant impact on world markets. they helped boost stock prices. but it's also prompting investors to pull funds from emerging economies. well now the focus is on u.s. interest rates. the key rate is near zero.

and people want to know when it's going to rise. many market experts say the middle of next year or beyond. the decision won't be easy given the state of global economic growth. europe remains stagnant, and japan is in a sluggish recovery following the hike in the consumption tax in april. and emerging economies seem to have lost steam. >> i think monetary policies are going to move -- the fed is going to raise rates a little bit. it's going to see what happens to both financial markets, and to the u.s. economy, and to the global economy, and if it looks like the economy can sustain further increases, it will move. if it looks like things are weakening, it will stay put. >> and investors are closely examining every statement coming out of the fed. its policymakers say they will keep the key rate near zero for what they called a considerable time. well, investors in asia are optimistic that the fed won't decide on anything that would really sway the markets. this lifted sentiment across the

region. shares of earnings-related news were in the spotlight, as the reporting season is now under way. investors found the latest releases from the region's major companies broadly positive. nikkei average climbing nearly 1.5%. it finished above the key 15,500 level for the first time in three weeks. investors bought shares of nomura holding after it announced upbeat earnings, coupled with a share buyback plan. and in seoul the kospi really surging ahead today more than 1.8%, 1,961. that works out to a three-week closing high. shares of lg electronics surged after its profit had more than doubled from a year earlier for the three months through september. and in hong kong, the hang seng index seeing gains for a second straight day today. shares of casino operator nguyen macau shot up after posting better than expected earnings. this also pushed up sector peers such as galaxy entertainment. negotiators taking part in the trans-pacific partnership free trade deal ended their latest meeting just two days

ago. but they'll sit down again at the end of next week. minister in charge says top trade officials of the 12 countries will be meeting in beijing on november 8th. akira amari met with members of a panel from the ruling liberal democratic party. he briefed them about the talks that ended in sydney on monday. he said japanese and u.s. negotiators made progress on some outstanding issues. those include tariffs on five categories of farm products. >> translator: a lot of key, difficult issues, remain unresolved. we will continue the discussions with the u.s., and with all of the other nations involved. >> amari said negotiations are nearing the final stage. the talks in beijing will be held on the sidelines of a meeting of the asia pacific economic cooperation forum. the people at the japanese finance ministries say the economy is still on a recovery track. that's the third quarter in a row that they've made that

assessment. but, they warned that some sectors do remain weak. the heads of the ministry's 11 regional bureaus reported on local trends in the august to october period. well, they found weakness in some areas, including corporate output. that's because auto production remains pretty flat after the tax hike. officials say unseasonably cool weather over the summer drove down demand for air conditioners. but they do expect demand to pick up for smartphones, ultrahigh definition 4k tvs and also fall clothing. they say the job market remains strong in the hotel and restaurant sectors. officials expect the recovery trends to continue but they warn there's uncertainty due to the economic situation in europe, and other overseas countries. officials at leading japanese chemical company asahi kasai are looking to strengthen their medical business. they've announced the acquisition of an american firm that makes equipment used in respiratory care. asahi kasai will purchase all the assets of impact

instrumentation. the company is based in new jersey. the purchase price not made public yet. impact makes emergency ventilators and other equipment used in ambulances as well as helicopters. now other big japanese manufacturers have been making moves to strengthen their medical businesses, as well. they include mitsubishi chemical holdings and sumitomo chemical. well, people across the world share homemade videos on youtube. that's the planet's largest video sharing website. more than 1 million of these so-called youtubers are so popular or charismatic they're able to earn revenue from advertisements. and company managers in japan have taken note of this. nhk world tells us why. ♪ >> reporter: youtube gathered in mid-october for an award ceremony from dance to rap, their performances attracted hundreds of fans.

this is awesome. >> translator: it's so much more fun seeing them in the flesh than on a computer. >> reporter: some of these performers have millions of online fans. japanese firms are tapping into the popularity to advertise. this youtuber plays big box noises using his mouth and nose. he has more than 4.3 million subscribers. when the maker of hair care products asked him to make a promotion video, he did something a bit unconventional. ♪ this man shared videos of himself playing smartphone games for an online gamemaker.

the video has also become a hit. perhaps because the players don't seem to be advertising anything. executives wondered if they could use youtube to reach younger customers. yomoshu contains traditional herbs that supposedly recharge the body. but 60% of its customers are over 50. the company has been struggling to attract younger people. so they approached youtuber koji saito who rapped about the drink. the results topped expectations. it caused over 1 million hits. >> translator: it's important to express the product in an entertaining and humorous way.

the number of new customers in their 20s trying to liqueur was up by 20% over a year. >> reporter: youtube has become a new marketing tool, alongside tv and print media. with millions of smartphone users viewing content online companies are being pushed to change their marketing strategies. nhk world. >> okay. that is going to do it for biz this hour. let's check in and see what's going on with the markets.

u.s. officials are stepping up security at government facilities in washington and other major cities. the move comes after last week's shooting in canada's capital city, and calls by militant groups for attacks on the united states. homeland security secretary jaye johnson says officials need to take such precautions to safeguard government personnel and facilities, as well as visitors. islamic state and other militant groups are urging attacks on the u.s. and its citizens. a gunman last week broke into the parliament building in ottawa. many people are asking whether there's enough security at u.s. government facilities. a man armed with a knife last month entered the white house. police arrested another man last week when he jumped the white house fence. homeland security officials say

there's no credible information about specific plots aimed at u.s. targets. more than 2,000 political and business leaders have gathered in dubai for the world islamic economic forum. participants at this year's event are looking for peaceful ways to counterislamic extremists. the forum chair spoke of using economic development to bridge the gap between rich and poor. he said making a more level playing field would make religious and sectarian conflicts less likely. >> the most common denominator is business cooperation, so a win-win situation. >> a representative from dubai said muslim countries can become more harmonious through economic progress. other participants said business and economic development would discourage the spread of extremist ideology.

other topics at the three-day meeting include expanding markets for products and advancing women's role in muslim societies. the mayor of jerusalem has visited a muslim holy site as tension increases between israelis and palestinians. mere bare cat inspected jerusalem's old city, also known as temple mount and is next to a jewish holy site. non-muslims are not allowed to pray there or enter its mosques. palestinians are worried that right wing israeli lawmakers may be looking at the idea of dividing the site so that jews pray there. that has led to clashes between palestinians and israeli security forces. it has long been a flashpoint. former islamic prime minister ariel sharon inspected the site in 2000 when he was a leader of a right wing party.

that triggered a massive palestinian uprising known as the second intefadeh. the mayor's visit came one day after prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the government will speed up planning for 1,000 more shelter homes in israeli-occupied east jerusalem. people often take a stroll through a japanese garden to admire the simplicity and serenity. but those looking for a piece of tranquillity in the u.s. are seeing the exact opposite. many japanese-style gardens are being abandoned due to a lack of caretakers, and now one man is trying to change that. nhk world explains. >> reporter: this is the portland japanese garden in the western state of oregon. it was created in the 1960s to

commemorate portland and sapporo becoming sister cities. every year, more than 200,000 people visit here. and they enjoy the garden as a place of healing. >> being in a japanese garden is like -- is being part of nature. >> i love the gardens. they're very peaceful, and inspiring. >> now i think the next thing -- >> reporter: landscape architect uchiyama offers workshops to visitors about how to take care of trees and plants. >> it's important just keep moving around. otherwise what's happen is once you lock in on one location you tend to take too much. >> reporter: he was born into a family that's run a gardening business for three generations in western japan. he came to the u.s. to study, and his roots are now firmly planted in portland.

>> translator: human beings were born from nature, too. deep in our heart, i think we all yearn for nature to return to nature, always. >> reporter: the japanese government first exhibited a traditional-style garden at the 1893 international expo in chicago. today the garden is still here, and it's adored by many citizens. >> if the people of chicago, this garden really reflects their relationship with japan, which is quite strong. so we work very lard to keep this garden intact. >> reporter: but some gardens are in bad need of a makeover. this one in nashville, tennessee, has seen better days. the caretakers found it too expensive to maintain. and they didn't have enough people with the right skills to

take care of it. and that's the worry of delegates who have gathered at this meeting of the north american japanese garden association in chicago. it was founded three years ago by people who manage the gardens and share similar concerns. >> many gardens were facing problems. bad condition. not enough money. people were not using them. >> reporter: back in portland, uchiyama has started to eye a new labor force. he's begun to invest in training young apprentices. desiree williams has been learning not only gardening techniques, but also the philosophy behind it. >> translator: one can touch the heart of arts by working on it. and directly experience it. i would like desiree to understand that.

>> a japanese garden never loses interest because it has all of these diverse, layered levels. and so you don't look at it and see everything one time. it's constantly changing, and evolving, and there's so much subtlety. >> reporter: more than a century after the first garden was dug on the u.s. soil, uchiyama is working hard to help plant the seeds of success to make sure the japanese tradition will continue to grow. nhk world. it's time to check on the world weather with our meteorologist jonathan oh. jonathan, it was another gorgeous day here in tokyo. what's the latest? >> hello, miki. the latest is we're going to see a slight change as we go into thursday and through the rest of the week. the reason why is because we have a line of rain that is continuing to develop in the central and southern portions of china. there's not really a particular

forcing mechanism associated with this. but, with the low down toward the south, and with the rainy season setup, every once in awhile, now that we're going into the later part of october, some of that moisture does move into the southern portions of china. and when that happens eventually we will see the rain moving toward the east. so, we're looking at the possibility of seeing some rain for the korean peninsula on thursday, increasing clouds for japan, and then raining come up possibly as we go into the weekend. now the high pressure system in place right now is providing some of the cooler weather as the air drops in from the north, providing these types of pictures. you can see the colors starting to change, the leaves, from the green to the yellow and also to parts of the orange and red colors. this will be more of the scene as we go throughout the coming weeks as temperatures progressively get cooler. so coming up on thursday, we're going to see the clouds increasing for tokyo. a high of 20 degrees. notice seoul will see a chance for some rain. again with that moisture coming in. shanghai, chongqing already

under the influence of this particular system. you'll see more of the precipitation as we go in to the next day. i'm going to take you over into hawaii, where we are seeing a little bit of a situation on the ground level, not in terms of the weather, but in terms of a natural situation. that's causing some problems for the residents in hawaii. let's take a look at some video and let me give you an idea of what this actually is. a slow moving lava flow from the ongoing erupting kilauea volcano has been advancing toward the town of pa hoe wow for several weeks on hawaii island. the first eruption occurred on june 27th. it crossed onto residential property tuesday and is now threatening to consume its first home. and the lava, it is hot enough to destroy houses, roads, and businesses in its path. because it is so hot, it just takes over wherever it goes. and so residents in hawaii, not being threatened by any weather situation, but definitely with volcanic situation they will have to be very careful. now back in terms of the weather, let's look at the forecast for north america.

high pressure controlling the western portions of the united states. keeping a good portion of the country dry. the remnants of ana have now come onshore creating windy and wet conditions for places like british columbia and the pacific northwest. and then the low pressure system over the great lakes has now lifted towards the north and east, driving down the colder air, so the eastern seaboard you're going to see the possibility of rain, maybe a few scattered showers and thunderstorms from time to time. and much cooler temperatures for places like atlanta. you'll be down to 22 after highs in the upper 20s. 20 in d.c. 19 in new york. with a chance for some rain coming up on wednesday. now the forecast for europe, we are continuing to monitor the balkan peninsula, as this low down in the mediterranean sea is causing some very unstable conditions. we're looking at the possibility of seeing some storms with this. more rainfall for an area that probably doesn't need any more rain. and we also have a cold front dropping in from the north and that's going to help cool temperatures down. 12 in stockholm, 11 in warsaw. mainly dry conditions for the central portions of europe, because of high pressure that is

dominating the forecast. wrapping things up, i want to take you over into india, we're keeping an eye on this cyclonic storm. it is a very severe cyclonic storm and packing winds of 185. it's continuing to intensifnten. one of the strongest storms we've seen in this region for quite some time. expected to bring a lot of rainfall into the northwestern portion of india as we head into the weekend. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

that's "newsline" for 'tis hour. i'm miki yamamoto from tokyo. thank you very much for joining

>> ready to enter the fight, iraqi peshmerga forces gather just across the turkish border as they prepared to join the battle against the islamic state group in the besieged syrian town of kobani. unity to fight the ebola epidemic, the u.s. ambassador to the united nations of bows to help west african -- vows to help west african countries with the outbreak and trace the care workers in the countries. and an unmanned rocket explodes just after takeoff, it was loaded with supplies to the international space station. those of the headlines on