ilinhe u.s., kan will attend a u.n. summit on the millennium development goals that aim to reduce poverty by lfn developing countries by 2015. on the subject of japan/u.s. relations, the prime minister said he hopes to discuss ideas with president obama on how to deepen the alliance. china is stepping up its protests over japan's detention of a fishing boat captain earlier this month.neworon tues, the chinese premiere demanded the captain's immediate release criticizing japan for what he ca the fisherman was arreste after he rammed his trawler into ja vessels in the east china sea. it happened off the senkaku

islands which are a part of okinawa an are claimed by china and taiwan. chinese premier wen jiabao renewed th t skipper's release when he met with chinese students studying in the united states.cha' state agency quoted him as saying they are his nation's territory. the arrest has anger cne . he vowed that china would take further action if japan does not comply with its demand. this is the first time that the chinesere h commented onhe incident. china has canceled top level talks with japan that were t kelan the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly in new york. japan's chief cabinet officer sengoku says japan and china ould hold talks to resolve the issue.

speaking on wednesday, sengoku stressed that the government needs to follow due process in addressing the issue under japanese law but look into the future, he said. it's important to address the issue based on the understanding that japan should have a mutually beneficial relationship with china as a major neighbor with growing economic and other strengths. families ofapes nationals abducted by north korea have urged the new minister responsible for the issue to take concrete action to bring their loved on he. minoruani d i minister. he met families of the abductees on wednesday in tokyo.

he told them he's closely examining the information that's been collected and he will do his best tol troblem. he said he wants to see the return of the abductees to japan as soon as possible. north korea officially acowdg in 2002 that its agents kidnapped japanese nationals in the past. the abductees disappeedn e 1970s and '80s. five of them have been returned but no further progress has been made to secure the release of the others. japanese art lovers are calling 2010 the year of impressionists. masterpieces are on show at gaeries across japan. this exhibition featuring the

master of pastels has opened near tokyo. many scholars have pointed out the influences of japanese cuurinisor. but very few know about a japanese merchant who actually met him and inspired him with his country's art. nhk world brings you a story of an artistic friendship long buedn sty. >> reporter: one of the most famous works in art history. flash floods when it was painted 130 years o, everything about it was new to the public. the competition, how he captured the subject's rapid movement, and the theme of working class danners. degas loved paris for its innovations and trends, japanese ar and craftwere one o them. first highlighted by the paris

expo in e 1860s, his collection of japanese prints numbered over 100. hijapanese fend, hshi, played a key role in inspiring this obsession. >> translator: he looked so full of life. >> this woman inherited a group of diaries and photos related to haishi. she's been working on tracking down his life history. she has a plaster cast of haishi made by a friend of degas. a son of a surgeon, haishi came to paris at the age of 25. he was a french interpreter at the paris expo of 1878. he decided to go it alone in paris and open a small gallery just as the market for japanese art was taking off.

he sold over 100,000 japanese prints in his 27-year stay. haishi's shop attracted leading figures of the scene hungry for new art and information about japan. among them were the impressionists, claude monet and edward monet were just some of his customers. >> translator: japanese art was so popular in paris at the time. the country was turning into an industrial nation, and the emerging bourgeois class were buying his works. haishi was lucky to be there at the right time. >> degas was one of haishi's

earliest customers and vice versa. one day, haishi gave him a gift, a print depicting the daily lives in of japanese in the edo period. the price of the work was double the annual salary of the average french worker. degas learned of the value. >> translator: oh, dear, i must get him a second drawing. >> reporter: the main theme for degas were like these pictures. he had it by his bedside for 25 years. it inspired him to draw similar subjects of bathing women. the perspective of this painting by degas, the top creating

something of a public scandal. he said he wanted to draw naked women without them knowing they are being observed. >> translator: the theme subjects are definitely influen influenced. the influence can also be seen in the composition. the space on the right cuts off abruptly with a table making it look like a flat panel. that is also typical composition. >> this is a letter haishi received from degas. he says, i received the beautiful book. i'm surprised and happy. let us accumulate more good memories. she showed us the book that haishi had sent, the first japanese art history in french

edited by haishi. she said he must have been eager to teach people about the beauty of japan's cultural works. >> translator: isn't it beautiful? haishi served his customers very courteously and many became frien friends. in the end, he was greatly respected. >> reporter: she visited degas' exhibition. and could see the influence in the series of bathing women. >> translator: i think degas received the inspiration of the natural butte offy naked women from the uikoa. >> reporter: if it were not for his friendship with degas, the

masterpieces that enrapture us may never have been produced. nhk world. >> he left paris in 1905 while japan was at war with russia. he carried home about 200 paintings by impressionists, including about 15 by degas. haishi had planned to build approximate the first impressionist museum but died soon after returning home at the age of 53. last week's tokyo game show drew a record number of game makers and visitors from all over the world. for the first time the show provided an opportunity for business tie-ups between top developers in japan and china. the organizer of the game expo says over 200,000 visitors and business people attended during the show's four-day run. this is the highest number in the show's 15-year history. the organizer says this year's focus on the asian gaming

industry was behind the event's record turnout. even the two leading game companies in japan and china were able to forge a new relationship. the japanese game maker will allow its chinese counterpart exclusive chinese marketing rights for a popular game software it developed. >> translator: we'll take competent skills from the japanese company and develop more qualified products. we'd like to grow in this global market. we aim to be the best online game company in china. >> translator: china is the innovator in the online field. it is a big market from which we can learn a lot. there are limitations for japanese companies who seek to enter the chinese market. the best option is to collaborate with local chinese firms. >> the computer game sfri has long been the hall milwaukee of creative japan but the scene is now changing as an increasing

number of foreign firms are showing their presence in the japanese market and the strength was apparent at the tokyo game world. >> reporter: at the tokyo game show nearly 200 companies from 14 countries set up booths. half of them were foreign firms. we see a bigger presence from chinese. about 30 chinese gamemakers have products. they have gradually growing numbers the past few years. china is the biggest foreign presence in this year's game show. most of the chinese gamemakers were showing off their state of the art online games. this is because gaming in china means going online. japanese players can choose from a wide range of console games and portable games but few online games have been developed here. the reason online games are popular in china is that they

are -- the chinese gamemakers hope to take their skills in developing online games worldwide. >> translator: i set up an office in japan in the near future to make it as a global company, you have to succeed here in japan. >> translator: i came here to find a business partner. i'm confident i will succeed because i have good products. >> reporter: patrick, ceo of the chinese game software maker riku visited the tokyo game show in search of new trends. he opened an office here last year targeting the japanese market. he's constantly researching the market and has so far been successful. his product is sunshine ranch, an online social networking game. the game's success is phenomenal

with 5 million japanese users. gamers grow crops on their farms. you can visit the farm and help exterminate insects. then the friend can return the favor by watering your crops. the interaction is a key to the game's charm. the company carefully tailored sunshine ranch to the japanese market. gamers can enjoy japanese landscapes and food on the screen. his company is now working on a new online game together with japanese creators. he even tried to draw on the creative minds of college students majoring in game design. >> graphic designer, some are programmers, some are game designers. >> all right. i think that's really cool.

so when does it start? >> reporter: he is also expanding his network with japanese game manufacturers. he says companies in china and japan can exchange product and skills to help fill in each other's gaps. the coo and he agreed to look for ways to work together. >> translator: we want to cultivate a new market with your cooperation. i want to take a closer look at the chinese market in the near future so i will visit your beijing headquarters. >> by working with the traditional japanese companies, i think it's -- we will make the game as popular as possible into the world, into chinese, japanese, into american, european, the world market. >> reporter: his company is

launching the version of its flagship online game next month. like many chinese gamemakers, the company is attracted to the mature japanese gaming market. expanding their reach into japan is another step on the way to global success. and here is some of the news received from broadcasting stations across asia. we begin with this item sent by irib iran. a terrorist attack in iran killed ten people on wednesday. the explosion happened in a northwestern city during the annual military parade which marks the beginning of the iran/iraq war. authorities say most of the dead are women and children. the blast also injured more than 30 other people. the investigation into the attack is under way. preparations for the

upcoming 2010 commonwealth games in dell high suffered another set back when a foot bridge under construction near the main stadium collapsed on tuesday. 27 workers were injured on the accident, five of them seriously. the foot bridge was to connect a car park with the stadium. at least two top athletes have withdrawn from the games citing security concerns. many teams have postponed their arrivalal saying the athlete's village does not immediate adequate hygiene standards. the third biggest sports event is due to open on october 3rd. in china the traditional midautumn day festival is being celebrated on wednesday. on this day each year people gather to admire the beautiful full moon while eating special cakes. at the temple of the moon park in theation's capital a solemn ceremony was held to offer a sacrifice to luna, one of china's ancient gods. the temple has hosted this

ritual since ancient times. people express their respect and gratitude for their ancestors. people perform the ritual of attaching to trees written wishes for peace and harmony. hi, again sumo fans. it has become a daily preview. does hakuho's opponent have what it takes to become the stopper? and every day hakuho has answered by extending his historic winning streak. the looking to make it 58 in a row. his opponent on day 11 is aran. the russian told our reporter he wanted to get a right hand inside and attack immediately, which he does. problem is that hakuho has his own strong right-hand grip and his favorite left-hand outside, too. uh-oh, hakuho delivers the overarm throw. not only does he exten

streak, he's a commanding two steps ahead of the pack in this championship race. the most exciting matches on day 11 involved the ozekis starting with a man fighting to hold onto that rank, kaio. in a bit of trouble with a 5-5 record and facing the meat of his schedule taking on fellow ozaki harumafuji. he leads 15-10. this turns into an upper body battle and kaio eventually gains the upper hand. he wins with a rare technique, an arm bar counter throw. amazingly, that appeared twice on day 11. it's the first time since may 1995 in the top division, so a big victory for kaio as he moves to 6-5. hakuba meets kotooshu. hakuba is known for jumping to

the side at the initial charge and sure enough, dances to his left, but that seems to take kotooshu by surprise. from there hakuba able to get a solid inside position and take the ozeki over the edge. the biggest upset on day 11. kotooshu once again disappointing in the second week. ozeki bal toe has been able to win despite hurting him knee but he has a difficult opponent in kakuryu. the mongolian gives baruto all he can handle. he uses a move from mongolian sumo with an outside leg trip. baruto goes crashing down to the clay, and with that he's probably crashed out of the picture as well. so here's the leaderboard as we enter the final third of this september basho. hakuho moving closer to his 16th career title.

three men kotooshu, yoshikaze and takekaze are mathematically in the race but realistically i'm not so sure. here's the complete results from the division on day 11. hochiyama over toshomi. tamawashi with eight straight wins. takekaze and yoshikaze from the same stable and the same fine record. they show their pride, tochiozan outstanding as a new scomer.

hakuba with the upset. he needs a winning record. hakuho remains perfect. on day 12, hakuho meets kaio, the ozeki was the last man to defeat hakuho. that coming way back on day 13 of the january new year's basho. hi, there. it's time again for a look at what's going on in the world of weather. we're going to begin with our latest tropical storm. this is going to be ma la cass. it's beginning to be a little bit better organized and it will continue to gain some strength as well as speed in the coming days. look at this. right now moving in a westerly direction, but it should be veering toward the north over the weekend. we're looking at it right now around 83 kilometers per hour. gusts over 125, and it should be making its way to be a typhoon

in the next several days. we'll keep an eye on that. now, for the rest of east asia, we have high pressure over northern china as well as mongolia and it's also going to be drying up in the korean peninsula. very good news because we had some significant rains over the last 24 hours. now, that rain is actually going to be pushing its way towards japan. i'll get to that in a second, but i do have to point out this low here, stubborn low. it's the remnants of the moisture from tropical storm fanapi which actually made landfall several days ago. it's still here. it will bring more wet and potentially flooding rains across parts of southeastern china. now, let's get back to this rain right here. very heavy, moving through japan. it's going to be pretty much raining all of our thursday, and some places seeing over 100 millimeters or more within a 24-hour span. so flooding and flash floods will be the biggest concern. temperatures look like this as we head into thursday. 24 in tokyo. so much, much cooler. it will feel much nicer outside.

22 in seoul. 25 in beijing and around 19 degrees in e. on to north america. some severe storms are going to be starting to make their way felt across parts of the lower midwest into anywhere from kansas to wisconsin right here. that frontal boundary moving on through. it's going to be very potent, and behind it we have a lot more moisture, and why is that? well, a tropical depression is actually moving its way, pushing in moisture into the four corners region, and you can see that rain just scoots its way up in towards the northern plains. it will be particularly heavy over the next 24 hours. now, the east coast, southeast warm, dry, still summery. temperatures in the 30s for parts of new york, washington, atlanta, all the way into houston as well. behind that front though, much, much more reasonable 18 in seattle and 10 degrees, a little chilly, in winnipeg. last, let's take a look at

europe today. no complaints across continental europe. you're looking at mild, fine, dry, and sunny weather. now, where it's not going to be so nice is in the british isles. you can see very windy and messy low moving through. another complex of storms into parts of norway as well. so windy, wet, and certainly going to be pretty cloudy. now, that rain will continue to move further eastward, but this high is kind of blocking it coming into continental europe, so well done for you. across the mediterranean it's going to be a bit stormy especially near areas like southern italy and in towards greece. here is a look at how temperatures will be on thursday. 27 in rome, so not bad. 21 in vienna. we have rain pushing into london and paris but it stays dry for madrid and lisbon. here is your three-day outlook.

and that's all we have for

this edition of "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo. we'll be back in half an hour. thanks for joining us on nhk world. j