Emperor akihito and Prime Minister shinzo abe as well as family members of the war dead. Abe paid his respects to the war dead and said the people of japan have never forgotten that the countrys current peace and prosperity was built on their sacrifices. Translator we humbly face lessons from history in order to contribute to world peace. We will do our best to realize as a society where everyone can live peacefully and hopefully. At noon, the participants observed a minute of silence. The emperor expressed his profound sense of remorse over the war. This was his first public appearance since the video message was released earlier this month in which he indicated his wish to abdicate. Nearly 80 of the family members who attended the ceremony are 71 years or older. The number of war widows remains at seven. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister shinzo abe sent a ritual offering to tokyos yasukuni shrine. Honoring the war dead. They have since made the offering on the anniversary. The offering came from abes private funds and was delivered by his aide. Those remembered at the shrine include leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. The aide says he delivered the offering in the name of the president of the ruling liberal democratic party, a post abe also holds. Translator i visited the shrine and delivered a ritual offering on behalf of the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, two ministers from abes cabinet made their visit to the shrine. They are the internal Affairs MinisterSanae Takaichi and tamayo marukawa. In charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and paralympics, they say they offer their gratitude for people who lost their lives in the name of the states. Lawmakers from seoul visited disputed islands on the day that marks the end of japanese rule of the korean peninsula. The takeshima islands have been a bone of contention between japan and south korea. South korean public broadcaster kbs reported ten lawmakers from the governing and opposition parties disembarked on monday morning. The politicians offered encouragement to personnel stationed on the islet in the sea of japan. South korea controls the islands. Japan claims them. Officials in tokyo maintain they are an inherent part of japanese territory. Late last month a prominent opposition lawmaker visited the islets. Moon jaein is widely believed to be planning to run in next years president ial election. Japans top governmement spokesperson criticized the move. Translalator the visisit is unacceceptable in light of japas position on the island. It is deplorable that the visit took place despite our prior protests and demands for suspensionon of such moves. Suga said the government had lodged a strong protests with seoul and demanded measures to prevent a recurrence. Japans latest Gross Domestic Product figures are out and investors have learned the numbers are worse than many had expected. Government officials have announced the countrys real gdp in the april to june quarter was basically unchanged from the previous three months. That works out to an annualized growth of 0. 2 , marking two consecutive quarters of expansion. Housing investment was up 5 , but other areas didnt fare so well. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 60 of gdp, was up only 0. 2 . And Business Investment was minus 0. 4 . External demand pushed down gdp by 0. 3 points on the back of a stronger yen. One of japans economy ministers has responded to the gdp data. Nobuteru ishihara hopes the governments new fiscal plan will boost growth. The measures were announced earlier this month. Translator steadady implemementatition of stimulusu measures can enable a recovery backed by private sector demand. But we need to Pay Attention to the downturn in emerging economies. The effect of the uks exit from the eu as well as geopolitical uncertainties around the world. Ishihara added a series of earthquakes in southwestern japan in april dampened Consumer Sentiments. Earlier Catherine Kobayashi spoke to our correspondent. She started by asking whats behind japans sluggish growth. The main factors are the continued weakness in Consumer Spending and exports. Many consumers kept their pursestrings tight on the back of global uncertainties and increased Social Security costs. The stronger yen has hurt sales at department t stores as forei visitors cut back on shopping. The british vote to leave the eu dampened sentiment, and chinas economic slowdown weighed on exports. A series of earthquakes in southwestern japan has also been hindering production and exports of cars and semiconductors since made april. Many uncertainties there. What are the prospects and risks for the economy . Many economists are forecasting moderate growth of around 1 for the rest of the year. Since policymakers have ruled out stimulus measures. Prime minister shinzo abe is trying to introduce a new fiscal package worth more than 270 billion. The bank of japan is continuing on with its aggressive monetary easing measures, including a plan to double the purchase of etfs. Postponement of a consumption tax hike is also expected to prevent Consumer Sentiment from worsenening. Even so, the stronger yen and slowdowns in economies overseas are eating into corporate earnings and keeping private investments at a low level. And that could further dampen personal spending. Many analysts also point out the government stimulus may not be enough to boost the economy as many of the measures will take time to generate a significant impact. Policy options seem rather limited. The central bank has already been buying up huge sums of government bonds and has lowered the key Interest Rate into negative territory. The fiscal debt is ballooning, and labor market reforms that could lift the nations productivity are likely to take more time. So many economists and investors seem far from optimistic as they keep a very close eye on the countrys economic path. Checking the markets. Tokyo stocks moved in and out of negative territory following lackluster gdp. Our Business Reporter has more from the tokyo stock exchange. Following the gdp numbers and with trading volumes thin during the holidays, tokyo indexes ended in a narrow range. The nikkei closing at 16,869 down 0. 3 and the broader topix, 1,316, down 0. 5 for this monday, august 15th. Some stocks stood out on positive corporate news. Sharp was one of those, and it confirmed last friday y that it had received cash infusion of about 3. 8 billion from taiwans Hon Hai Precision Industry also known as foxconn. Shares were up 10. 38 . Shares of toshiba also in focus surging on the back of profits from the last quarter up 6. 28 . This compares to losses from the same time last year as the company went through restructuring and cocostcututt measures. Metal sector shares like hitachi metals and jfe holdings did not have a good day, as you can see there declining. Overall demand from china and emerging economies remains sluggish. Many people in japan are taking Summer Holidays this week so trading is expected to be thin. Ramin mellegard, reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. And moving on to other markets in the asia pacific region. The shanghai composite soared 2. 4 to close at 3,125. Speculation the government would soon announce details of stock trading link between hong kong and shenzhen boosted sentiments. In hong kong hang seng extended its winning streak to a fourth day. Investors picked up financials, which may benefit from the new trading link. The benchmark in sydney edged up. Banking shares erased losses in the resource sector. The south korean market was closed for a holiday. Thailands economy has grown at a faster pace for the second straight quarter. Officials credit higher spending by consumers and the government. Officials at the National Economic and social Development Board said april to june gdp expanded by 3. 5 from the same period last year. Thats up from 3. 2 in the january, march quarter. Sales of automobiles and Home Appliances rose. Consumer confidence improved as antigovernment protests ended. The number of Foreign Tourists increased about 8 from the previous year, and the government ramped up investment in highways, irrigation and other infrastrucucture. Officials said the growth foforecast for the year remainst 3. 5 leaning towards the upper range. Were into the final week of the rio olympics, and japanese sports fans have been tuned in to tennis. They watched Kei Nishikori power his way to japans first tennis medal in 96 years. Nishikori is ranked seventh in the world. He faced fifth ranked rafael nadal in a playoff for bronze. He beat his rival two sets to one winning japans first olympic medal since 1920. There was jubilation in the hometown of western japan. Translator im overjoyed. I feel proud of him, as if he was my son. Translator i was a bit nervous when he dropped the second set but i thought he would make it. Wrestler shinobu ota added to japans medal tally with a silver in the grecoroman 59kilogram class. The 22yearold beat londons Gold Medalist from iran in his opening match. He met his match in the final losing 80 to the reigning champion Ismael Borrero molina. Of cuba. Still silver is his first medal grecoroman wrestling since sydney 2000. In athletics, usain bolt made o olympic history once aga. He became the first man to win the 100meters at three consecutive games. Later this week hell try for the triple in the 200meters and 4x100 meters relay. And bolt wasnt the only recordbreaker on the track. South Africas Wayde Van Niekerk ran the fastest ever 400 meters to take gold and smashed Michael Johnsons 17 year world record. Here are the medal standings for day ten. The United States tops with 26 golds and japan stands at eight with seven. Officials at the World Antidoping Agency say hackers have accessed the account of the russian whistleblower yulia stepanova. Wada officiaials say hackers obtained the password for its computer system. The 800meter runner is a former member of the russian track and field team. Wada requires athletes to register their locations so they can be contacted for a doping test at any time. The system also stores test results for athletes around the world. Agency Officials Say no other accounts have been illegally accessed. After exposing the doping program, stepanova fled to the u. U. S. With heher husband. Reports sasay they moved to a n address on friday after being notified of the hackining. The International Olympic committee refused to allow stepanova to compete in rio as a neutral athlete. Newspapers around the world are shutting down their presses because of falling circulation. A japanese newspaper in the u. S. Could meet the same fate, and more than a century of Community Ties may not be enough to save it. Nhk worlds reporter has the story. Reporter in los angeles, one of the oldest newspapers published in the United States serving the japanese american community. The paper was all in japanese when it launched in 1903. An englishonly section was added later. This special edition report on japans attack on pearl harbor in 1941. The paper also advised readers. It also carried advertisements for japanese businesses and other useful information. Over more than a century, it has made itself an indispensable part of the japaneseamerican community. The Japanese Community over the years became more diverse and more dispersed geographically. For me, it was kind of like the glue. Reporter but this march the rafu shimpo announced d out o the blue it may shut down in december. The publisher says at its peak in the 1980s, the rafu shimpo printed 23,000 copies, but circulation has now dropped to onethird that figure. Manager the Younger Generation do not read newspapers. They add americans of japanese descent are less interested in joining the japaneseamerican community. I dont really know much about japanese culture. Reporter this man and his grandfather before him were publishers. He works with a Popular Store thats run by a Third Generation japaneseamerican. He plans to sell a new line of tshirts featuring photos the paper has printed over the years. Even a little revenue from the tshirts, besides the recognition, youre helping us take a step here and a step there. My grandfather reading the newspaper and myself and my parents read the newspaper. I try to do my part. Reporter at a meeting, he frankly describes the papers financial situation and asks for support. Translator if people ask their children and grandchildren to subscribe to the paper, i believe that will be a great help in the long run. We want to stay around. We know we need to change. I consider it a long journey uphill. And you go one step at a time and you have to be patnt. Reporter the rafu shimpo has helped japaneseamericans navigate u. S. Society for more than a century. As their community changes, the paper must evolve to survive. Nhk world, los angeles. Japans traditional garment, the kimono, is being used as a canvas to highlight the history and culture of each of the teams that will compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. We focus on the kimono representing palau and the artisan whose contribution is an expression of his desire for world peace. Nhk world has more. Reporter a woman in kimono dyed crystal blue. It represents the e island nati of palau in the South Pacific. 82yearold Norihito Sakai created the kimono. The kimono master whose career stands seven decades has long been acclaimed for his fine technique and creative ideas. When it comes to designing and painting japans signature silk garments, hes without doubt one of the nations top artisans. One event inspired him to create a special kimono for palau. The emperor r and emprpress of n visited the nation last year to pay tribute to those who died there during world war ii. His longforgotten wish was revived. He decided to make a special kimono to commemorate all those whwhsacrificeded their lives. He chose a sheer fabric normally used for summer clothing. He mixes several colors to create images in the minds eye. Sakai wanted to recreate the colors of the tropical ocean and the Emerald Green of palaus jungles. The sheer fabric is extremely thin, which makes it easy to dye. It takes great technical skill to draw a perfect gradation of colors for the design. I wanted to create a gradation of color in the kimono from Emerald Green to crystal blue. The gradation eventually reaches the base color of deep blue. Reporter he took a break while he was making the kimono. He visited his hometown. He wanted too rediscover his creative purpose in making the kimono. The young man in the photo is sakais cousin. He was drafted into the army and died when he was 23 years old. Sakai recalled that he had a secret crush on sakais sister. On the day he went to war, he had his picture taken with her. Translator there m must hav been many youngsters like my cousin who wanted to build a family in peace. I wanted to soothe such souls who couldnt fulfill their dreams. Reporter sakai resumed painting the kimono withth rened fervor. Keeping in mind the romantic image of the national bird. He drew the birds flying and nesting. He wanted to honor the memory of of those who could not realize their dreams. After six months, sakais mission was finally accomplished. The National Birds cuddle together in windmill palm trees are against a backdrop of the beautiful South Pacific ocean. By expertly working with the sheer twolayered fabric, sakai magically conjured up an animated vignette from the flat cloth of the kimono. Sakai named the kimono eternal peace in blue. Sakai showcases his latest artwork to officials at the embassy of palau. The design element in the kimono shows the unification between the world and peace through the symbolism of our birds. Translator many spirits peacefully sleep in palau. I want to dedicate my new kimono to them. Reporter sakai dreams that one day he will visit palau, carrying the kimono with him to pay tribute to the war dead. Nhk world. And youre watching nhk newsline from tokyo. Were in the middle of the Summer Vacation season here in japan, but a tropical system approaching the country may dampen outdoor plans this week. Jonathan oh joins us with the details. Jonathan, is there any reason to be worried . Hello, james. Yes, there is a reason to be a bit worried in terms of the heavy rainfall thats coming up. Weve been dealing with rainfall during the past 24 hours. So in different portions of japan because of a lowpressure system that was over the sea of japan. You can see the clouds associated with that moving over the northern portions of the country. We also had a tropical system thats now departing away from hokkaido and down toward the south, this is going to be the big story, at least for the next few days as we go into tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. Chchlt hanthu wilill be moving n dealing wi s stronr r winds and gher w waves. In the meantime, the moisture remaining from the lowpressure system bacack towardrd the westl contntin to moveo northehern portions of ththe cotrtry. A lot of cloud cover ahead of the rain that will be coming. Speaking of the system, lets get a little closer look at it. Notice the nice spin thats associated with the severe tropical stor