welcome back to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. chinese president hu jintao is wrapping up his first official visit to the united states in five years. one of the main objectives of his trip was to ease deep-seated mistrust on the economic front among u.s. congress and business leaders. did hu succeed? nhk world's junpei yoshioka in

washington. >> reporter: on thursday hu attended a luncheon in washington with corporate leaders. there he stressed that the strengthening of bilateral economic ties would help revitalize the u.s. economy. >> reporter: the united states had a $250 billion trade deficit with china as of november 2010. some participants in the keptic about the benefits to the u.s. of boosting economic ties. >> i think they were addressed, but many of the issues have a great deal of work that remains to be done. >> reporter: the chinese government has agreed to business deals with the u.s. worth $45 billion, including the purchase of 200 boeing aircraft. the deals were timed to coincide

with hu's visit. but the perception of china as an economic threat is deeply rooted in the united states. u.s. lawmakers have voiced criticism over the yuan's exchange rate, which they say is causing the bilateral trade gap. there are even nonpartisan moves in the u.s. senate to implement sanctions against china. >> you could say all the rhetoric is in the right direction. will the united states be satisfied? i don't think so. here are the reasons. first of all, there are plenty of firms in the united states who really want to see the chinese rnb appreciate, you know, start moving up. >> reporter: hu and u.s. president barack obama agreed at their summit to strengthen cooperation, despite their differences of opinion. but hu's visit has further

highlighted the need for concrete achievements, such as the appreciation of the yuan to win the trust of china's critics in the u.s. june junpei yoshioka, nhk, washington. une junpei yoshioka, washington. ne junpei yoshioka, washington. e junpei yoshioka, n washington. junpei yoshioka, nh washington. junpei yoshioka, nhk washington. thanks to its robust growth, china is moving toward becoming one of the world's most influential nations. only in the last few days, it has become more certain that china will this year overtake japan as the world's second largest economy. some are finding their way into an unexpected part of japan's real estate market. its forests. >> reporter: the chinese economy continues to thrive. at a luxury hotel in beijing, a recent trade show featuring overseas properties attracted a large number of investors. they are mostly middle class business people and public sector workers.

chinese are not allowed to own property under the country's socialist system. for them the japanese market is especially attractive, as japan has few restrictions on foreign ownership of land. >> translator: i don't think $2 million is expensive. our place is about the same price too. >> reporter: chinese people with deep pockets are buying up japanese properties. their cash is now flowing into unexpected places. this vast forest is now owned by an investor in hong kong. it's equivalent in size to 400 soccer fields.

last year hokkaido prefecture discovered that foreign investors had purchased last tracts of forest land. many are chinese investors. why are they buying japanese forest land? the hokkaido prefectural government felt uneasy about the development. it asked the relevant departments to investigate. water is one reason for their anxiety. many of these forests are in areas where water sources are protected. the government restricts development in these zones, but the maximum fine for cutting down trees without a permit is only $6,000, which may not be enough to prevent the exploitation of resources. >> translator: we are concerned that if someone buys a forest, they might feel they can do whatever they want with it because they own it.

>> reporter: but japan faces a dilemma. a growing number of japanese who own mountain land want to sell. mr. okamura is in his 80s and owns land in the mountains. in the late 1950s the government began to encourage the establishment of tree plantations. the economy was booming and trees were in high demand for house building. however, in recent years cheaper imports have weakened the competitiveness of japanese lumber. now prices have declined to one-fourth of their peak. okamura has put a lot of work into growing his trees, but the lumber isn't worth much, and he can't earn enough money to support himself. >> translator: i hope to sell my land while i'm still healthy.

i don't care who buys it. >> reporter: more chinese investors are showing an interest in japan's forests. this hokkaido realtor, who asked to remain anonymous, is about to show a property to agents representing investors in china. the property lies in one of the more popular tourist areas in the prefecture. the area is designated as a national park. this lake side land is up for sale. >> translator: who is buying this? i can't tell you that. it's like a state secret. i don't want to make a big deal of this purchase. >> reporter: chinese investors are pinning their eyes on japan's forest. in the next couple of years the

realtor is expecting ten times more increase from chinese who are shopping for this type of land. >> now, what are the reasons behind these purchases? earlier we spoke what chinese expert who specializes in china's economy and investment trends. >> we have good and very high skyscrapers, but we don't have enough, you know, nature resources. you mentioned forests, for example, and clean water. they come here just looking for nature resources. in the short-term view, i don't think they just, you know, consider how to bring the return of the investment back to china because in china, inside china, the investors, they have enough money. they don't face some difficulties about, you know, the shortage of liquidity, so they just want to put the money here, but not a deposit. they just want to buy some

property. personally, i'm chinese. i have to say that chinese individuals, they haven't been internationalized. most investors, they are selfish about profit. i think for every country investors almost the same, but we need to communicate to each other. while i think that, you know, chinese economy is still going to continue the high level economic growth and and also the investments will expand continuously to east asia countries, especially japan, korea, and other asean countries, i think, basically, this is good news for our east

asian countries regionally. but i have to say we need to create some architecture and also we need to do more effort to create a win-win gain. >> that was ke long, a specialist at the research institute. investment from china is expected to grow over the years. japan faces challenges in drawing up guidelines to benefit from investments while preventing overdevelopment at the same time. the u.s. state department plans to send a senior official to japan, china, south korea to coordinate policies on north korea's nuclear program. deputy secretary of state james steinberg will visit seoul tokyo and beijing over a three-day period january 26th.

the announcement came shortly after north korea's leaders announced high-level military talks with the south on thursday. the north wants to explain its artillery attack on yeonpyeong island in november and its alleged sinking of a south korean ship in march. in response to the proposal, the south has suggested the two sides hold preliminary talks. meanwhile in washington, chinese president hu jintao expressed concern about north korea's uranium enrichment program for the first time during the summit with barack obama on wednesday. an nhk reporter says the united states wants to use the tour by the official to boost collaboration among the three asian countries and persuade north korea's government to take concrete action towards denuclearization. japanese prosecutors have decided not to indict a former coast guard officer who leaked video footage of the conclusion between a chinese trawler and japanese patrol boats in the east china sea. prosecutors will also not indict

the trawler's chinese captain who was released with charges deferred. prosecutors in tokyo decided on friday that a 44-year-old coast guard officer need not be charged. they said that although the videos constituted official secrets that the officer obtained while on duty, the level of secrecy was low and the footage had been accessible by anyone in the coast guard. prosecutors in okinawa also decided not to charge the 41-year-old chinese trawler captain with obstruction of official duties. they said the collisions were not premeditated and did not result in any casualties and that the captain has already returned to china making it difficult to try him in japan. japan has renewed its agreement with the united states on the upkeep of u.s. military forces over the next five years. japanese foreign minister seiji maehara and u.s. ambassador john roos signed the agreement on friday.

>> translator: the terms of the agreement are based on a respective strategic interest. >> it is host nation support that allows us to maintain some of the critical defense capabilities that are not only important for the defense of japan, but critical for the stability in this region. >> the duration of the pact was extended from three to five years in view of the recent military moves by north korea and china. japan will continue shouldering over 70% of the costs needed to maintain u.s. forces stationed across the country. japan's financial contribution is to remain unchanged at a level of about $2.3 billion per year. the japanese embassy in london has launched a protest against a tv program aired last month by the british broadcasting corporation. it says the airing of a comedy program discussing a double atomic bomb survivor was carried

out in an insensitive manner. on december 17th, the host of a popular quiz show "qi" referred to a survivor of the atomic bombings as the unluckiest man in the world. yamaguchi experienced attacks in japan and nag save in august 1945. he died in january last year at the age of 93. the host explained yamaguchi suffered burns in the atomic bomb attacks. the comments drew laughter in the studio. >> he was in hiroshima on business when the bomb went off. >> yes. >> so he got on a train in nagasaki and the bomb fell again. he was celebrated. he became a sort of hero. >> after being alerted by a japanese national living in britain, the japanese embassy sent a letter of protest to bbc and the company producing "qi." the letter calls it inappropriate and insensitive to the feelings of the japanese

people. >> translator: it's unforgivable. i cannot understand why the broadcaster dealt with the nuclear bombing in a comedy program. how can they call my father -- how can a nuclear power call my father unlucky? >> translator: i cannot stay calm. i want to ask producers what they really think of atomic bomb survivors. >> later on friday the japanese nbc received a letter from the program's producer expressing regret. the embassy says the producer explained that the program was not intended to hurt the feelings of japanese people and it is very regrettable the broadcast caused displeasure. the japanese government has raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in seven months. >> translator: an upward revision was due to some favorable moves that were seen mainly in the auto sector.

>> the government's latest monthly report released friday says car production turned higher due to rising demand in china. auto output had been languishing as sales continued to fall after government incentives for buyers of ecofriendly cars expired last september. the report also says personal consumption is on a recovery path despite patches of weakness. for instance, it points out, television sales dropped after subsidies for buyers of energy saving appliances came to an end. exports showed a moderate decline as some conductor shipments to asia fell. overall, the report says the economy appears to be showing some encouraging signs while basically still remaining at a standstill. looking ahead, the report says the economy is expected to pick up with the support of modest recovery in the global economy but adds it's necessary to

closely monitor currency movements for their impact. japanese space engineers are now preparing for the space cargo transporter nicknamed the white stork. the unmanned spacecraft will lift off saturday carrying experimental equipment and drinking water to the international space station. this is the second mission. the first completed its mission in autumn 2009 and received praise around the world. japan's space agency developed the unmanned space cargo to transport supplies to the iss, which is orbiting earth. it is remote control from earth and will dock with the station next week. it was another exciting day

in sumo. after suffering a stunning defeat on wednesday, hakuho bounced back with a win on thursday. heading into day 13 he was the sole leader with just one loss. hakuho did win on thursday but he looked shaky. we'll see if the grand champion can put on a more solid performance against ozeki kotooshu. he reaches out, his go to weapon. he shows a solid defense unlike their last meeting in november when hakuho disposed of the bulgarian ozeki in a matter of seconds. this time ozeki puts up a fight. however, hakuho keeps his poise. when he decided to go in for the kill, there was nothing he could do to stay in the ring. hakuho remains at one loss. staying right behind hakuho in the title race was okinoumi with just two losses. let's see if he was able to hold his own on day 13. okinoumi is on a role.

since day five the rank and filer has put together a nice eight-bout winning streak. can hakuba cool off red hot okinoumi. he shows resiliency staying away. okinoumi tenaciously goes after the mongolian to finish him off. okinoumi keeps his one-loss record. another bout you don't want to miss from friday's action. these two fought each other 15 times in the pas leading the series 12-3. he denies the attempt to go inside. he unleashes a throw. baruto defends by chugging ahead. baruto takes the match and snaps his three-bout losing streak. now here are the current

standings. we see in this situation a number of times hakuho is sitting at the top of the standings at 12 and 1. rank and file okinoumi is just a step behind with two losses. it is still numerically possible for kotoshogiku to win but his chances are slim and none. finally a recap of all 21 top division matches on day 13. koryu pushed wakakoyu out from the rear. okinoumi extended his winning streak to nine.

day 14 second place okinoumi loses his bout and hakuho wins his, then hakuho will clench the emperor's clup for the sixth straight time. sumo fans, don't miss the exciting finish this weekend. now let's look at some of the news we gathered from broadcasting stations across asia. we begin with this item sent in by cc tv china. a pair of giant pandas are going to be staying in the united states for five more years.

this follows an agreement reached on thursday between china and the u.s. as part of efforts to support panda breeding. the female and male have lived at the smithsonian national zoo in washington d.c. since the year 2000. they produced a cub five years ago that was sent to china in 2010. thousands of malaysian hindus celebrated the festival of penance and thanksgiving on thursday. in georgetown the streets were filled with pilgrims heading to a local temple. some pilgrims pierced their cheeks or tongues with spikes and skewers in a show of penance while others carried heavy milk pots up steps to the hilltop temple. 277 steps. the festival is also celebrated in other parts of the country. many consider it a celebration of malaysia's multiculturalism. hi there. time again for an update on the

world's weather. dry skies are going to dominate much of eastern asia this weekend. strong high pressure in place over china. you will notice that it's going to be very cold. now, northern locations, northern china up into mongolia as well, just a frigid blast of arctic air is going to be coming down, bringing those temperatures down below average. japan will also be dealing with continued snow for the western coast and up into northern locations. friday into saturday gets a little bit weaker, but by saturday night it will become intense again. you need to watch out for avalanches when you have all that snow just continuing to, you know, accumulate, especially since it's been snowing like this for about a month. so do watch for that. down towards the south, the philippines continuing to see rain moving through. mostly showers, not quite as heavy as it was, but it will continue to rain and the wind will also be pretty intense into the weekend. here are your temperatures, 10 degrees in tokyo, partly cloudy skies. just about freezing in seoul and beijing. dry skies but cool for you.

6 degrees in shanghai, partly cloudy skies also. a few showers in chongqing, hong kong seeing a fine day. okay, into north america we go. it is going to continue to be fairly warm in the southwest, but cold will be spreading elsewhere, even coming down into the lower plains here. out to the pacific northwest we have another storm moving through. this one is going to pour down the rockies with snow, as much as 20 centimeters up in the mountains. then out to the east, temperatures will really be coming down through the great lakes region. i'll show you that in just a second. snow moving up through the northeast and into eastern canada. you can see about 30 centimeters in parts like maine and new brunswick. the wind is also going to be very intense. it's a fast-moving system but a pretty intense one at that. here is your corridor of heavier snow moving into the northeast where you see gray and heavier amounts in the intermountain

west. here are the temperatures we were talking about, minus 14 in chicago. that's your high. you have to figure in windchill as well. all of these purples, that's where it's going to be very, very cold. but even coming down in towards the southern plains, houston, just 11 degrees for your high and of course your overnight hours will be much cooler than that. into europe we go. staying very settled out to the west. the fact high pressure spreads all the way out into the east staying dry, but it does allow all of that very cold air to funnel right down in towards iberia. you'll be seeing a pretty cool weekend. up to the north, snow moving in towards scandinavia and northwestern russia. then down in the south we've got this other low sitting over italy. things will get intense, snow to the north and thunderstorms and rain to the south. that's italy in the next 24 hours. all of that just pushing through in towards the black sea. here is your temperature chart for saturday. minus 7 in moscow with snow. minus 1 in stockholm. 2 degrees in berlin. 0 in vienna. sunny skies for you, 15 athens. showers on and off.

5 degrees in madrid, that's your high there. getting very chilly all the way down into the southwest. here's your extended forecast. ♪ and finally, we have this story from kyoto, which has more to offer here at week's end than just a stroll around japan's asian capital. visitors can receive a blessing at a temple that's a world

heritage site for the shopping they will be doing this year. toji temple holds a fair on the 21st day of every month to mark the date when the buddhist priest kobo daishi died in 835. the first fair of the year is especially popular. an estimated 100,000 people visited the temple on friday. most of them began with a prayer in front of a statue of kobo daishi before they got busy with shopping. more than 1,000 stores line the streets, selling clothes, and traditional souvenirs. rabbit dolls made of silk cloth sold well because 2011 is the year of the rabbit in the chinese zodiac. that's it for this edition

of "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo. thanks for joining us on nhk world. jj