welcome to "newsline." i'm michio kijima in tokyo. members of the u.n. security council are at odds over a response of syria's crackdown. the u.s. leading efforts for a resolution calling on president bashar al assad to resign, but russia stands in the way. the council met on tuesday to decide whether to support the arab league's position on syria. the league wants assad to immediately halt violence and transfer presidential power to a deputy. it also proposes holding elections for a new government.

qatar's prime minister hamad bin jassim al thani asked a security council to back the plan. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton asked to security council to support the plan. britain and france have also endorsed it. syrian ambassador to the u.n., bashar jaafari, said the country can solve its own problems. russia's envoy vitaly churkin said the u.n. should promote dialogue between the assad administration and opposition forces. >> the security council cannot prescribe recipes for the outcome of domestic political process. this is really not the business of the security council. >> russia said on monday they called on the syrian government and opponents to hold talks in moscow. it said the assad administration gave a positive response. u.s. state department spokesperson mark toner dismissed the idea. >> we've seen time and time again syria play this kind of shell game with various

proposals, various peace efforts, various attempts at dialogue. they pretend to engage, attempt to -- or pretend to engage and then nothing ever happens or comes of it. >> toner said the u.s. wants the u.n. security council to take action. he stressed the importance of putting international pressure on assad. in october russia and china blocked western-led efforts to adopt a resolution, calling on assad to halt oppression of protesters. and the syria story is playing out on a number of other fronts. iran's supreme leader is accusing the u.s. and other western nations of interfering in syria's domestic affairs. iran is one of president assad's main supporters. observers say that collapse of his regime could weaken tehran's influence in the region. israeli soldiers are training to respond to a missile attack from syria. this drill simulated a cross-border counterattack.

soldiers and tanks used live ammunition and took control of a mock syrian village. the two nations had been adversaries ever since israel occupied syria's golan heights after the 1967 middle east war. saudi arabia finance minister said his country is determined to provide the world with the oil it needs. there are growing concerns about oil supply due to on going tensions over iran's nuclear program. >> saudi arabia has always been there to help stabilize global oil supplies at reasonable prices. >> the interview with nhk he said this pledge should reassure the japanese people. japan gets about 10% of its oil from iran. the u.s. and european allies have strengthened economic sanctions against iran. in response, the country has threatened to close the strait of hormuz, a key oil shipping route. japanese electronicsmaker sony announced that vice

president kazuo hirai will replace howard stringer as president and chief executive officer from april first this year. outgoing and chairman ceo stringer is expected to be appointed chairman of the board after the company's shareholders meeting in june. hirai who is 51 years old has been boosting sony's music and game software business in the u.s. he was appointed vice president last april and is currently responsible for the company's television, personal computer, and digital camera businesses. hirai's main challenges as a president will be how to revive the tv business. it's likely to post a loss for an eighth straight year due to poor sales in europe and the u.s. another factor for the loss is intense competition from south korean rivals. china has defended its drilling activities at a gas field in east china sea. japan says the action contradicts an agreement to discuss joint development of the resource.

nhk last week filmed flames on a drilling rig in the kashi gas field. known as tianwaitan in chinese. the gas field lies near the median line separating exclusive economic zones of japan and china. the countries agreed in 2008 to discuss joint development of areas in the east china sea, including the kashi gas field. japan launched a protest on tuesday saying unilateral development is unacceptable. it also demanded a resumption of negotiations for a treaty on gas field development. in a written response sent to nhk on wednesday, china's foreign minister said there is no dispute that the field is in chinese-controlled waters. it said the drilling is a legitimate activity. the ministry also said china is talking with japan about implementing the 2008 agreement. next patchari raksawong in bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> india is set to buy 126

french made aircraft to replace its current fighter jets. the deal would be worth more than $10 billion, marking india's move to quickly modernize its military. india's pti news agency says the indian government is entering final talks with dassault aviation over the purchase of rafale jets. dassault won the deal with a lower bid in a two-way competition compromising several european defense partners. the rafale is to replace an aging fleet of jets obtained from russia. india has become the world's largest importer of weapons as it seeks to modernize its defense forces. it is mainly procured equipment and weapons from russia as a traditional ally. but recently it bought military cargo aircraft from the united states. india's move to choose a european firm shows that it hopes to diversify suppliers as

it pushes to upgrade its military. next, we go to indonesia where the booming economy is starting to attract overseas investment and not only from large foreign businesses, but also small and midsized enterprises or smes. indonesian regulations on foreign companies are complicated, so an array of new services is popping up to help those smes get to work. nhk world reports. >> reporter: sme in jakarta is doing a rolling trade. the operator not only rents out office space, it also handles legal procedures for companies entering the indonesian market. and it introduces them to perspective clients and

contracts. business is booming. one japanese ip venture recently opened its office here. it started with only three people including local hires. they hit the ground running and quickly make the sales call at indonesia's largest bank. a member of the rental office staff, fluent in japanese, a,ed them. using his network, they could directly meet with senior officials at the bank to try to sell the company's services. they made a promising start with the bank requesting more information. >> translator: frankly i didn't expect indonesia's largest bank to take it seriously, but the result was good.

>> reporter: experts no longer leave downtown, in this industrial zone in a jakarta suburb, smes including electric parts manufacturers continue to join the boom. as more japanese come to the area, they need places to leave and entertainment too. this japanese style bar, which opened five years ago, is busy every day. >> translator: i come here at least four times a week. so does he. this is where we japanese gather. >> other companies offered them housi housing. this developer plans to connect nearby industrial parks with

public transportation and build a residential area in the middle. schools, hospitals and shops may follow. >> it will come and definitely the training is here because the need is here, yeah. and if starting from, of course, all the major manufacturers are here. but they left out the sme sector which i think is important component. >> reporter: indonesia is one of southeast asia's emerging economy powers. businesses of all sizes are flocking here to try and grab their share of the pie. nhk world, jakarta. that will wrap up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok.

mitt romney has claimed another victory in the republican primary race. the former massachusetts governor won convincingly in florida. it's a major step in his bid to challenge president barack obama. >> to the people in this room and the people all over florida, thank you tonight for this great victory. my leadership will end the obama era and begin a new era of american prosperity. >> romney took 46% of the vote. former house of representatives speaker newt gingrich came in second with 32%. further back in the field were senator rick santorum and congressman ron paul. romney took advantage of his huge cash reserves to run negative ads against gingrich in florida. he had lost to gingrich in south carolina, a largely conservative state. florida sends 50 delegates to the republican national convention, a major bloc of voters. romney's victory in state gives him strong momentum ahead of the

so-called super tuesday contest on march 6th. japan has been called an abduction haven. while international law grants equal status to mothers and fathers in custody battles, japan usually favors the mother. the result, hundreds of foreign fathers who claim their children were abducted by japanese spouses. but after years of resistance, japan is preparing to yield to international rule. >> reporter: at the end of last year, there were 193 unresolved cases of children reportedly abducted to japan. the united states, britain, canada are among the countries lodging the complaints. those countries have urged japan

to ratify the hague convention. an accord concluded in 1980 that bans parents from taking children across borders when international marriages break up. 87 countries have signed the convention. the u.s. has taken a particularly hardline stance. >> we are actively engaging foreign governments to go ahead and join the hague convention. >> reporter: japan announced last may that it would join the treaty. it's the only country yet to sign. late last month, a government panel drafted legislation to implement the convention. >> so, why did japan refuse to sign the convention for so long? >> one of the reasons is a gap in the family law system between japan and other countries.

like in the u.s., parents can have joint custody of a child. in 1989, our united nations convention of children's rights said it's better for both parents to look after the child. but in japanese law, custody is given to only one parent, and that's typically the mother. why? experts say the idea dates back to the 1960s when the japanese economy started to boom and the father's role was to bring in the money. mothers were the caregivers who stayed at home. and even half a century later, it's still conventional for a japanese mother to look after a child after divorce. >> all right. if japan signs a treaty, will that solve the problems? >> some people fear that it won't.

one article in the draft legislation is called in concern. the hague convention states that if a child is taken from a country without one parent's permission, the other parent can demand legal help to bring the child back. but japan's draft legislation says a mother can refuse to return a child when in case of domestic violence. a japanese family law expert says most abduction cases in japan stem from violence. he says the parent often has good reason for not returning the child. >> translator: in any country domestic violence in the presence of a child will damage the child psychologically. the child will suffer greatly.

>> this canadian father says that could provide a loophole in the law. he moved to japan in order to claim custody of his daughters. he claims his partner took them from canada without his permission. he says the relationship between husband and wife should be considered separately from that of parent and child. >> in the case of child abuse, perhaps, yes, then you will remove the parent from a child or vice versa. but not in a case of spousal abuse. it is not a reason to not return the child. this is not acceptable. a child has a basic right to see and know both of its parents. >> both sides say it's unclear what level of violence would warrant a parent refusing to return a child. they say they need more precise criteria. >> thank you. appreciate it.

the foreign ministry says the draft legislation will be shown to the diet next month. if it pass, they plan to sign the treaty as soon as possible. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan, post march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and the road ahead shows the efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nuclear watch and the road ahead on "newsline." the painter pablo picasso suggested every child is an artist, but not many children win a place in a museum. an exhibition in central japan features works of elementary school students, some of whom lived through the disaster last march. nhk world has their pictures and their stories.

>> reporter: this girl found her inspiration in fireworks. colors explode over a devastated town. the earth opened up on march 11, something she says looked like hell. she wrote about it in a school essay. >> translator: i saw cracks in the ground when i looked outside a window. they kept opening and closing. i was so frightened that i couldn't stop my body from shaking. >> reporter: she feared the earth would swallow her town. the tremors damaged her home, but her family didn't have to move. just five minutes away everything was gone. she was one of more than 400,000 students from 14 countries who

submitted their works to an art competition. only 300 won a spot on the walls of this museum in central japan. some of them survived the disaster. judges awarded her and three other children a special prize. >> translator: i praised her efforts and thought young people like her will reconstruct our town. i made up my mind not to cry anymore. >> reporter: the tsunami washed away her home. she moved into temporary housing. volunteers paid for her to travel last summer to a lantern festival. she made this collage of what she saw.

>> translator: i created this so i wouldn't forget the kindness of people. i think if people are not helping one another, we cannot reconstruct my town. >> reporter: the tsunami washed away most of this girl's hometown too, but the waves didn't get her home. still, the nuclear accident forced her to spend a lot of time inside. she painted what she saw outside. >> translator: the sunflowers were energetic like the sun. they inspired me, so i decided to paint them and i was happy with the result. >> reporter: visitors to the exhibition say they feel encouraged by the works and by what the children are expressing

>> translator: considering the hard circumstances, the paintings were full of energy. i was impressed. >> translator: they're feeling of wanting to paint is amazing. >> reporter: she spent much of last summer wondering if a fire works festival would go ahead. the fisheries company that sponsored the annual event lost everything in the disaster. then donations started pouring in from people in other parts of japan. organizers spread the word. the festival was back on. a burst of color in the painting illuminates a dark town covered with piles of rubble. she calls it a beam of hope. >> translator: light from the fireworks seem to lead to the future. i believe the fireworks represent our determination to move on.

>> reporter: she says she's loved to paint since she was little. she says she's inspired to create new works and to inspire others through them. nhk world. rachel ferguson is up next with weather. >> hello again. a powerful winter storm has been hitting japan. and even though we're going to see it move away into thursday, what will remain is very intense wintry pattern. we know what that is, snow right along the sea of japan side of the country. let's see what some of the totals are now at, more than 4 meters in parts of aomori prefecture. up in hokkaido record break snowfall here as well. down towards the south, 2 1/2 meters, more than 2 1/2 in

daisen, 153 centimeters there also. so we'll be looking at some extremely heavy snowfall this winter and not even really into february. the 1st of february, so a few weeks left to go of potentially heavy snowfall. now as you can see the next 24 hours shows more precipitation here, even coming across into the pacific side. we have been staying dry in tokyo. that will continue. the temperature will drop, though, into tomorrow, about 12 degrees today ahead of that system. tomorrow, down to about 6 once again. now, along with that heavy snowfall we have been experiencing some very strong winds. now, waves could reach 8 meters. winds up to about 80 kilometers an hour. that's what it is going to be doing. blowing all the snow around, potential for avalanches as well as those injuries people have been sustaining trying to move the snow themselves off of roofs and such. anywhere you're seeing in the red here up to 80 centimeters of

additional snowfall into thursday morning is likely. even down here toward the south, about 60 centimeters potentially of additional snowfall. we're just going to see those totals going up and up into the next couple of days. all right, temperatures then, tokyo down to 5 tomorrow. minus 8 in seoul and minus 1 in beijing. these temperatures are going to be recovering into the weekend. once that system passes, high pressure will move across japan and also the korean peninsula and we'll see temperatures improving a little bit into the weekend. as we head into north america here, it is still fairly quiet across much of the continent. we will see a few snow showers for the intermountain west. maybe some rain and sleet in lower lying areas. then down here in the southeast, we could see some heavy snow, rainfall that is as well as thunderstorms potentially for the gulf states, louisiana, maybe some of that could turn a little bit on the severe side. generally it is going to be rain up towards the mid-atlantic here. northern parts of new england as well as eastern canada, you'll be seeing some windry precipitation, but generally

temperatures are way above average at the moment. for tuesday, you got 16 degrees in new york city. 19 in d.c. these temperatures are actually going to fall, certainly for new york city and up towards the northeast. these temperatures will fall into your thursday. but through the midwest, as well as the southeast, average for you for a couple of days yet and into the weekend. as we head into europe, the story here has been the cold that is sweeping across the northern two-thirds of the contine continent. we have a bit of a system here causing things to be fairly unstable in the south. that's bringing some very heavy snowfall to parts of italy, particularly. you can see the snowplows are out. traffic looks very, very difficult indeed. some people having problems there with their cars. and, of course, you have to shovel all that snow away. one system is going to be moving away. but in its place comes yet another round of precipitation. so it looks like those issues will be prolonging into the next 24 hours, certainly, maybe 48

hours beyond that. here are your temperatures then. minus 18 in kiev. these are highs. minus 16 in warsaw. minus 15 in moscow. even out here in paris, minus 4 for the high. thursday looks like winter is going to have it europe firmly in its grip. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

nhk world radio japan will begin broadcasting swahili programs in tanzania on wednesday. public broadcaster tanzanian broadcasting corporation will air nhk swahili programs. nhk will be the first major foreign broadcaster to air on tbc. it will broadcast between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. daily on fm radio. about 30 million listeners will be able to get the latest news from japan. that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour. i'm michio kijima in tokyo.

thank you for watching. bye-bye.