Main stronghold for more than two years. Iraqi and Kurdish Forces say the militants are withdrawing from some areas while others are striking back with suicide bombings. The president of iraqs kurdish region said the operation marks a turning point in the fight against terrorism. He said the Iraqi Government and iraqi Kurdish Forces have taken back about 200 square kilometers of farmland and villages. But pentagon spokesperson peter cook was cautiously optimistic. We are in the first day of what we assume will be a Difficult Campaign that could take some time. He also said it remained to be seen whether Islamic State members would stand and fight, but hes confident in the capabilities of the iraqis. Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte will arrive in beijing tuesday for a fourday trip to china. Its his first visit to the country since taking office in june. He is expected to meet separately with the president and the premier. The visit comes after an arbitration tribunal in the hague ruled in favor of the philippines in july and dismissed chinas claims to almost all of the South China Sea. The Philippine Government regards the ruling as the basis for talks between the nations. China has dismissed the decision and maintains its not a precondition for the meetings. Duterte has emphasized the philippines will not make any concessions on the territorial dispute, but he expressed his desire to pursue joint development of the South China Sea with china and also receive economic assistance from the country. It took more than a decade after world war ii for japan and the former soviet union to normalize ties. While they were no longer at war, a territorial dispute stood in the way of them signing an actual peace treaty. But after all these years, things may be about to change. Reporter the Russian Embassy in tokyo hosted a forum to mark the 60 years since the normalization of diplomatic ties. About 200 academics, businesspeople, and journalists discussed the history, recent developments, and prospects for the future. The Russian Ambassador stressed that both sides need to be on the declaration. Translator it is important for us to look back on this historical declaration in 1956 and think about what we can learn from it. We should make the most of it for the development of the relations between russia and japan. Reporter on october 19th, 1956, japan and the soviet union signed the joint declaration in place of a peace treaty. The soviet union agreed to continue peace treaty negotiations after normalizing diplomatic relations. But a peace treaty was never signed. The reason . Differences over four russiancontrolled islands claimed by japan. The japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of japans territory. It says the islands were illegally occupied after world war ii. Russia says the islands became its territory as a result of the war. Prime minister shinzo abe and president Vladimir Putin have agreed to take a new approach to push the negotiations forward. In may, abe proposed an eightpoint Economic Cooperation plan, including energy and Industrial Development in the russian far east. Putin says that kind of cooperation is the only way to enhance the relationship of trust between the countries as they work toward a solution to the territorial dispute. The two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the apec summit next month. And putin will visit japan in december. Participants of the forum shared high hopes for putins visit. Translator i hope both leaders will send out the message, Prime Minister abe to the japanese people and president putin to the russian people, that they reached a solution without either of them giving in. Translator if the two countries sign a peace treaty, it will increase stability in the Asian Pacific region and both russia and japan would be able to play a central role in the international community. Reporter putins visit to japan could end up being a turning point for bilateral relations after seven decades without peace treaty. But for that to happen, laying groundwork for the visits in the two months ahead will be crucial. Japanese government and business officials are worried about sluggish consumer spending. Theyve come up with a plan to loosen peoples purse strings. Ai uchida joins us from the business desk. How are they planning to make me spend more money, ai . Good question, krath lin. You know black friday, the shopping spree in the u. S. Happens after thanksgiving. People in japan, they want something along those lines. But more frequently. And they want to call it premium friday. The idea is to get people to leave work early on some fridays and enjoy shopping or eating out. It is part of their strategy to revitalize the economy. Government officials want to expand japans Gross Domestic Product to 6 trillion. Private consumption accounts for 60 of gdp but its still in the doldrums so people in government and representatives of business groups have decided to Work Together to get consumers to spend more. Translator we need to make it easier for consumers to have the time and ability to increase spending. This could be one way of doing that. They plan to make the last friday of every other month premium friday, starting in february. Companies will be encouraged to let employees leave work earlier than usual. Theyll also Ask Department stores and restaurants to provide special items and services. Travel agencies could offer new package tours for weekends. Three Major Japanese Companies have launched an online information source to attract more overseas tourists, deepen their understanding of japan, and increase exports. Travel agency jt bchljtb, logis firm Nippon Express, have joinly established fun Japan Communications. The new company is taking over a web Service Previously run by Nippon Express that had about 330,000 members outside japan. Fun Japan Communications will provide information about tourist attractions, culture, technology, food, and cosmetics. Translator we want to same late the growth and development of japan through our activities. The Company Plans to focus on asian markets by providing information in local languages. Now lets get a check on markets. Wall street, that ended modestly lower overnight. Major indices opened higher on some strong corporate earnings reports but declines in oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. And thats why we saw both the Dow Jones Industrial average and the techheavy nasdaq falling just about. 3 . Now were going to see how tokyo is reacting to all this. For that were going to go to john ladue at the tokyo stock exchange. Tell us what youre seeing over there. Good morning, ai. Yes, investors have been trading cautiously ahead of a slew of data out of the u. S. And china. As weve been seeing, theyve been quite sensitive to information. Lets see how stocks opened here this tuesday, october 18th. The nikkei is down. 2 . And the broader topix is down about the same margin. Monday the nikkei closed slightly higher after a volatile day of trading. Positive u. S. Bank earnings supported the market but concerns over chinas economy capped games. Worries about oil prices are far from over. Benchmark crude futures fell on reports that iran may increase its output. The wta briefly fell below 50 a barrel. This may drag down Energy Sector shares. And worries over chinas economy are still lingering. Thats after the central bank set its daily reference rate for the yuan at the lowest level in six years on monday. Following this, chinas major indexes fell. And china markets will open in an hour and a half. Lets look at the asiapacific region. Australias major index is now up about. 25 . Now on monday, sydneys indecks fell sharply on a decline of casino stocks after reports that china detained employees of australias crown resorts. So well be keep an eye on that today. All right, john. Tell us about currencies. Because looks like the dollar is retreating against the yen, whe where are some major pairs now . The dollar pulled back from the 104 yen level to 103. Investors have been taking profits after the greenback had been strong for the last couple of weeks. The dollar yen is currently at 103. 73. On monday, Federal Reserve vice chair Stanley Fisher said economic stability could be threatened by low Interest Rates and many traders are wondering whether the fed will decide to hike its key Interest Rates. Today investors may be in a Holding Pattern ahead of the u. S. Inflation data due out on tuesday. And also the china gdp data thats due out on wednesday. So well keep an eye on that. Back to you, ai. John, thanks a lot for that. Well touch bathe business you in a few hours time. John ladue from the tokyo stock exchange. Warning bells are sounding for japans buddhist temples. Their shrinking role in peoples daily lives threatens to put them out of the spirituality business for good. Some chief priests say it is time to seek wordily advice. Reporter this temple belongs to one of japans largest buddhist sects. Een reforming the way they manage temple operations. Those changes include the appointment of a new chief administrator. Sunaga is a certified buddhist monk. But his background is not temple life, its business. He worked for many years as a management consultant. Translator new years no future for temples if they try to deside of just by providing Funeral Services and managing grave yards. He opened a Community Center in ginza not far from the temple. Activities here are open to all members of the public. This man is giving a lecture on inheriting wealth. Its a serious subject but its presented in a style of traditional japanese comedy. Other courses on offer include buddhism classes in english. And yoga lessons. Some classes are free. For others there is a small fee. Yasunaga says the goal is to widen the temples role in peoples lives, and not just parishioners tornado transto survive we have to go out into the cities and we need to change the way we meet peoples needs. For instance, we can help ordinary Office Workers solve problems that are distress them or fulfill their intellectual interests in their time after work or on their days off. Reporter other monks are going out into the world. This man is taking a night bus to nara city on a 500kilometer journey to the capital. Two years ago his temple opened a branch in the heart of tokyo. Its called the temple for everyone. Monks take turns manning the tokyo outpost on oneweek rotations. One of the key services is consultation. True to the temples name, anyone can walk in off the street and ask for advice. Translator i get irritated easily in my daily life. The frustrations get to me at home as well as at work. Translator did in buddhism we define suffering as living. Which means that things dont always go the way one wishes. Its a struggle to get the life we want. Translator after talking to a monk, i feel mentally and physically refreshed. Reporter people seek help on everything from trouble at home to frustration at work. Priests keep a record of their consultations. Now running at more than 100 a month. That helps them offer some continuity in their advice for repeat visitors. Translator many people are struggling with relationship problems. I believe the aim of our work is to have people think they want to come again. I will keep doing my best. Reporter this outreach work seems to be bearing fruit for the home temple back in nara. The temple used to serve people mainly in the local area. Priests now say they are getting requests from tokyo. Theyve taken more than 700 bookings for Memorial Services from people in and outside the parish. The temple recently set up a new graveyard open to all sects of buddhism. Translator i think the temple is approaching the original form of what it used to be. We welcome anyone who comes. We feel that this is a temple for everyone. Reporter reformers say modern management thinking can help keep temple doors open. If thats true it may also give monks a more active role in the community. Ill have more headlines for you in business. Heres another check on markets. Over in thailand, tens of thousands of people mourning the death of king king continue to descend on the grand palace in bangkok. The king passed away last thursday. People across the country have come to say goodbye to a man they saw as a father. Reporter crowds of mourners dressed in black continue to pour into the grand palace to pay their respects to their beloved king. When their time comes, they enter a room with his portrait to pray and say farewell to the man who ruled their country for seven decades. This family traveled three hours by bus. They said rain or shine, it was a journey they needed to make. Translator the king is the father of the country, and we, the thai people, are like his children and grandchildren. Hes given so much to the thai people. More than we can ever repay. Reporter teams of volunteers are on hand to help, offering the mourners food and water while they wait. More than 30 food trucks are giving out free hot meals. Translator right at this moment, thailand is in sorrow. So our group wants to help alleviate the suffering of the people by treating them to a free meal, and to dedicate this good deed to our father, the king. Reporter around the field near the grand palace, students and children as young as 5 are helping to collect trash. Reporter older people have the financial ability to give out free food. As for us, whatever we can do to help, well do it. So we help pick up trash. Translator we want to be part of this to help our father, the king. Reporter motorcycle drivers are lining up to give free rides to the people heading to the palace. This driver says since the death of the king, he feels inspired to help people. Translator i want to help people going to pay their respects. People who have come from elsewhere and dont know the area well, so they can get to the right place. So they can quickly see the king. Reporter people are still gathering here around the grand palace from far and wide. They are here not just to show their love and respect for the late king, but also a stand of solidarity to help each other overcome this difficult time. Japanese scientists have opened new doors to infertility research. In a first, they use stemcells to grow mouse eggs in a completely artificial environment. They use those eggs to produce healthy offspring. The team members are from kyushu and kyoto universities. They worked with induced pluripotent stem cells or ips cells. The cells have the potential to develop into any kind of tissue. The researchers put mouse ips cells into a liquid culture similar to the inside of an ovary. It took a month to create about 1,000 eggs. The eggs were fertilized in vitro and put into a female mouse, which eventually gave birth. In previous studies mouse ips cells had to be transplanted to a mouse ovary for the eggs to become viable. Professor hiyashi says the study is likely to contribute to understanding the causes of infertility. Translator this study is a big step as now we can observe the very complicated Development Process of eggs in its entirety. An expert on Regenerative Medicine says it as scientifically significant achievement but says the method may not be producing human egg cells any time soon. Japanese government guidelines allow ips cells to create eggs and sperm for research but do not allow fertilization. Sport climbing has become increasingly popular in japan. Our next story shows how a japanese para climber is drawing on International Success to promote the sport. Reporter when it comes to sport climbing kobayashi is one of the best in the world. Even though he is virtually sightless. Translator right, right. Down, down. Okay. Right, right, right. Reporter the climbers make their way up artificial rock walls using supports known as holds. Kobayashi sees nothing so he has to rely on his coachs directions. Translator when i grab one hold, it makes me want to reach the next. The challenge is to do my very utmost. Reporter kobayashi took up sport climbing at 16. But due to retinal problems, his vision started to fade when he was 28. And soon he couldnt even see peoples faces. He became very depressed. But then he met an american mountaineer who climbed mt. Everest, despite being totally blind. Translator i never imagined a blind person could climb mt. Everest. I realized that visually impaired people can do much more than i thought. Reporter kobayashis passion for climbing was rekindled. Since 2011 he has represented japan in many turn a. M. S for the visually impaired. Thanks to his strong sense of spatial awareness, once he touches a hold he remembers its position. He also has great flexibility. This has helped him power to victory in the para climbing World Championship three times. Kobayashi also holds workshops around the country to promote sport climbing amoney people with disabilities. To date, more than 2,000 people have joined in his workshops. One is 16yearold kawaii. Hes been training with kobayashi since 2010 and has improved considerably. Hes also been picked for the japanese team. Translator i admire kobayashi. Not only because hes a great climber. But also because hes promoting sport climbing for people with disabilities. Translator i think when people are able to do things they thought impossible, they find confidence, and potential in themselves. Reporter kobayashis aim is not just to get more people involved in sport climbing. He is also campa