welcome to nhk world "newsline." smoke continues to billow from mt. shinmoe in japan. tremors from periodic eruptions now have another concern. weather officials forecast rain thursday afternoon, raising the risk of mudslides. on wednesday morning, the volcano straddling the prefectures sent up a column of smoke hundreds of meters high.

two weeks past since the mountain awoke from its slumber. in miyazaki prefecture, the municipality offices busy removing ash from the roads to make them safe. garbage trucks were used to cart ash to a dump site. weather officials say thick layer of ash and stones could become hazard if there is substantial rainfall. the foot of the mountain on the miyazaki prefecture side is at risk for mud slides. residents are on alert if the rain gets heavy. officials warn people to stay four kilometers away to avoid the risk of large rocks blown from the volcano. the city office is preparing residents for further resupgss disrupting or distributing a hazard map, rather, to about 43,000 residents in. a village about six kilometers away from the crater, officials deliver the maps house by house. the colors in red and yellow shows areas at risk from lava flows if there is a sudden

eruption. the u.s. government says a ten-month investigation has concluded that no electronic control problems caused unwanted acceleration in toyota vehicles. >> there is no electronic-based cause for unintended, high-speed acceleration in toyotas. >> transportation secretary ray lahood released the results of the investigation on tuesday. the department says the only causes of so-called runaway vehicles manufactured by toyota motor were mechanical problems, not electronic. toyota has always said the unintended acceleration problems were caused by sticky gas pedals and loose floor mats. the u.s. space agency nasa

helped find the cause of the problem by subjecting toyota's electronics systems to a variety of conditions. the results have helped lift skepticism about toyota's electronic throttle control system. the sudden acceleration problem led to massive recalls of toyota vehicles from 2009 to 2010 and a sharp drop in sales. toyota says it believes this rigorous scientific analysis by some of america's foremost engineers should reinforce confidence in toyota and lexus vehicles. the automaker also says it hopes the study will help put to rest unsupported speculation. china's central bank has raised key interest rates for the third time in just four months. the move shows china's determination to head off inflationary fears. the people's bank of china said on tuesday it's increasing its one-year lending rate to 6.06%, a rise of 0.25 points, and the

deposit rate to 3%, also up 0.25%. the rate hikes will be effective from wednesday. both rates were increased last october and then again in december. china appears to be actively addressing concerns about growing inflation. in december, the consumer price index showed a year-on-year rise of 4.6%, well over the government's target of 3%. real estate prices also remain high. the central bank has repeatedly adopted tight financial measures, including several increases in its reserve ratio for domestic banks but the measures have not helped to prevent the consumer price index from rising. the world's major cell phone makers are standardizininining chargers to help consumers and reduce waste. they made the announcement tuesday. the consumers will be able to

use a single charger for all new cell phones, regardless of the maker. >> translator: it will be beneficial for european consumers. we hope this spreads around the world. >> the participating firms include the biggest cell phone manufacturer nokia apple, south korea's samsung electronics. the involvement of key players in the industry may allow new specifications to emerge as a global standard. in japan corporate failures increased the first time since january. the number of bankruptcies totalled 976. the figure was up 2.8% from a year ago. bankruptcies of restaurants and retail shops rose 23% year on year, while an increase of 37.9 was registered or 37.9% was registered in the real estate business. there are only two bankruptcies with liabilities of more than 10 billion yen or $122 billion.

an upward trend continues in the number of business failures with comparatively small debts. the firm says rising prices of resources and food could force more small and mid-size companies to go bankrupt as it's harder to pass the rise in cost on to the products. it's snow crab season in japan. the tasty crustaceans on shipped by the thousands in a port in tottori western japan. before they're auctioned they cross paths with an expert grader. >> reporter: snow crabs sold here are a winter delicacy. fish markets hum with energy at this time of year. lots of tourists buy the crabs while they're in season. sakai is one of japan's major ports for receiving snow crabs.

this day's catch arrives at around midnight. larger snow crabs sometimes fetch more than $120 apiece. shinichi ueno has been grading crabs here for more than 20 years. he separates the crabs by size and quality. >> translator: first i sort by size and weight. a one-kilogram crab is classified as extra large. >> reporter: just by holding them, ueno gauges weight difference as small as a few dozen grams. he also pays attention to freshness. crabs are sorted into over 40

grades, depending on their shell color and the number of legs still attached. dark-shelled crabs sell for less. this one looks normal. >> translator: it's light for its size and when you press it, the shell indents a little. the color is fine, but the crab is soft. >> reporter: ueno also judges what's under the shell. the grading is done in temperatures below freezing. crabs don't appreciate being handled. it sometimes happens.

now and then, his gloves get punctured. tonight's catch was about 7,000 crabs. ueno stays up all night grading until the auction starts early in the morning. >> translator: there are lots of graders, but ueno is the most reliable. >> translator: you need experience to rate them quickly. >> reporter: it's 5:30 in the morning. all the crabs that ueno so expertly graded are sold. the snow crab season continues until the end of march.

>> sure not fond to be pinched by crabs. let's look at tokyo stocks. edging upward on wednesday morning. here is a look at the nikkei average. ending the morning session 10,659, up 23 points. key index opened higher as investors took their cue from good domestic earnings. toyota boosted market sentiment in early trading. the market later turned downward as share prices fell across the asian markets following china's interest rate hike. >> on the tokyo foreign exchange, the dollar is showing modest gains on wednesday morning following a rise in u.s. long-term interest rates. the greenback currently trading 82.36-37. euro standing at 1.3634-3638. euro/yen 112.27-32. sources say participants are buying the dollar, expecting that the difference in long-term

interest rates between the u.s. and japan will widen. tens of thousands of egyptians are continuing their protests despite the government's announcement of a plan for political reform on tuesday. the government said committees will be set up to propose constitutional amendments and monitor its implementation. vice president omar suleiman said on state-run tv that he agreed to establish the two committees when he met representatives of opposition groups on sunday. he added that they will begin work immediately. the amendments will include presidential term limits and relaxing the rules on who can run for the presidency. a committee of 12 legal experts will draft a plan on constitutional changes by the end of this month. the government also announced the release of 34 political prisoners from detention,

accepting an opposition demand. however, at the rally in tahrir square in central cairo, protesters continue to demand the immediate resignation of president hosni mubarak. u.s. defense secretary robert gates says the egyptian military's restraint has contributed to the evolution of democracy in egypt. gates praised the egyptian military for taking a neutral stance toward anti-government t. >> i think that the egyptian military has conducted itself in exemplary fashion during this entire episode. they have done everything that we have indicated we would hope that they would do. >> the u.s. defense department has apparently been trying to persuade the egyptian army not to use force against the protesters. the u.s. government has conducted exchanges with the

egyptian military for over 30 years, providing more than $1.2 billion in military aid each year. earlier shery ahn spoke with yasushi kudo who has been covering the unrest in egypt. >> let me start by asking you, more attention is being folksed by recent moves of the muslim brotherhood. why is the group seen as so important? >> the muslim brotherhood is egypt's largest islamist group. it was formed more than 80 years ago. its slogan is, "islam is a solution." it preaches islam and helps egypt's poor by educating the illiterate and setting up hospitals. needless to say the brotherhood has strong support from poor egyptians. it receives the second highest number of votes in the 2005 parliamentary election and is now the largest opposition group in the country. however, the government has banned its activities. the brotherhood has been accused of being fundamentalists and part of a matrix of the middle east islamic groups that fund or

carry out terrorism. >> but it did start talks with the government on sunday. >> um-hum. it was a first time in a three-decade-long history of the mubarak regime, that dialogue happened between these two sides. that means the government admitted the brotherhood speaks for at least part of egypt's population. this was one of the key concessions made by president hosni mubarak. >> and the muslim brotherhood maintain as firm stance on israel, against israel. do you see any change in its attitude since the talks? >> on tuesday nhk world interviewed the brotherhood's deputy chairman. he hinted at a more flexible attitude. >> translator: legally, we cannot cancel international treaties, including the peace agreement between egypt and israel, but we intend to ask the people for their opinion on this issue. any agreement should be

discussed by parliament and the egyptian people must be allowed to speak. >> however, the deputed leader reiterated his demand that mubarak resign immediately. he warned that if the government refuses, then the muslim brotherhood will not take part in further dialogue. if the brotherhood gains more influence in these transition talks or in the next government, it could have an impact on the relations between egypt and its allies, especially the u.s. that's something we have to watch closely. >> yasushi thanks again for coming in. nhk world's yasushi kudo. a committee investigating a sumo match fixing scandal is urging about 70 rikishi wrestlers to submit mobile phones and bank statements for examination. the scandal surfaced earlier this month.

at least 14 wrestlers and stable masters have been implicated. it indicated wrestlers were fixing bouts and trading wins and losses for money. the first day of questioning on tuesday, the in-house committee asked wrestlers from the top two divisions to bring their mobile phones and bank books. only some provided their phones. one said he accidentally dropped his into water. another said his phone broke, after his wife accidentally stepped on it. >> the committee has confirmed the involvement of three of the 14 wrestlers and stable masters who have been implicated.

it strongly suspects that another wrestler was involved. russia demanded japan apologize for what it calls a complaint against its flag. it summoned the embassy in moscow demanding an investigation and punishment for those responsible. it urged japan to prevent similar instant debts from happening again. sergey lavrov told a russian news agency the incident would not affect the upcoming visit by his counterpart. he is due to arrive in moscow by friday. monday was northern territories day in japan. the northern territories are for russian-held islands that japan claims as its territory. military officials of north and south korea will hold talks again on wednesday, after discussions on tuesday failed to

narrow differences. working level talks are being held at the truce village of panmunjom. the south korean defense ministry said its aim is to set a date and agenda for a future high-level military meeting toward easing tensions on the korean peninsula. south korea insisted that north korea should first apologize for its two recent attacks and pledge to prevent any recurrence. that includes the sink of a south korean warship in march and artillery attack on a south korean island in november. south korean officials said after that they would be ready to take up the other issues. north korea opposed setting pre-conditions. the party led by myanmar's pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi has called for the united states and european countries to maintain their economic sanctions against the country. the national league for democracy or nld released a statement on tuesday ahead of the formation of a new administration. the nld says the main reasons for the sanctions are human

rights violations and the lack of democratic procedures and should be lifted only after these problems are solved. in myanmar, a new administration will be formed shortly. nhk's correspondent in bangkok who has been following this story says the country is expected to promote a shift of power to civilian rule with the kusht military government maintaining its control. our correspondent says the statement reflects concerns that aung sung suu kyi and the nld might lose political influence if the u.s. and european countries lift the sanctions and promote dialogue with the incoming government. hello there. time now for your world weather update. in east asia certainly seeing lots of clouds in place, producing rain and snow for central and northern japan, contending with more snow for this morning, we're looking at up to ten centimeters in places like kanto, 30 centimeters in other areas. once that system moves out this

afternoon we will see much dry conditions returning to southern and also areas towards the pacific. while the northwestern corner will be dealing with more snow showers. across the korean peninsula, northeastern china, we've got a high pressure system firmly in control so holding on to that dry weather here. for inland china we've got widespread rain that's going to continue to move in an easterly direction. we could well use without some places of rain in shandong and with the cold air in place there is that chance of snow or sleet in some areas. as for southern asia looking at scattered showers across the philippines again, looking generally dry for indo china peninsula, although along the malay peninsula, pockets of showers are possible and that could worsen the flooding situation out here and in fact, we've got some pictures coming out of malaysia, so let's take a look, taking a look at the recent footage here, taken on monday in the southern end of malaysia, you can see floodwaters are still very high

in many areas. tens of thousands of people are remaining in evacuation centers. cleanup efforts have started, though. the weather conditions aren't too bad as you can see but there is that risk of isolated thundershowers especially in the afternoon that could certainly, the additional rain could certainly keep floodwaters high as well. another area of concern is of course sri lanka, dealing with more on and off showers, afternoon thunderstorms to watch out for as well. taking a look at your temperatures then, we've got 24 degrees in hong kong today, 24 in taipei, so stays mild here, but further north, things certainly cooling down, 3 degrees in seoul, 3 in beijing and we've got 10 degrees in shanghai. now, over towards the americas, here it is going to be bitterly cold, winds remain very strong as well for many areas and lots of snow talk about as well. over towards the northeastern corner this winter storm is going to be moving out of the continent, but not without

producing more snowfall, in the new england states as well as eastern canada and across the central and southern sections of the u.s. we'll be seeing widespread snow major storm system moving through, some of that could be quite heavy for places like oklahoma, so do watch out for dangerous driving conditions, if you are in the area. houston is going to be 8 degrees, so much cooler than yesterday, stays very, very cold across the upper midwest, minus 12 in chicago, and eastern canada as well. only minus 7 in toronto, dropping to minus 2 in new york. on the other hand, down towards the southwest, los angeles it will stay very pleasant and warm. all right, here is your extended forecast now.

the headlines this hour. smoke continues to billow from mt. shinmoe in southwestern japan. residents dealing with volcanic ash and tremors from periodic eruptions now have another concern. weather officials have forecast rain for thursday afternoon raising the risk of mudslides. on wednesday morning, the volcano straddling the prefectures sent up a column of smoke hundreds of meters high. two weeks passed since the mountain awoke from its slumber. in one town in miyazaki's prefecture, the municipality office is busy removing ash from the roads to make them safe.

garbage trucks were used to cart about 240 tons of volcanic suddener to a dump site. weather officials say the thick layers of ash and stones could become a hazard if there is substantial rainfall. the foot of the mountain on the miyazaki prefecture side is on risk for mudslides. residents are on alert. officials warn people to stay four kilometers away from the crater to avoid the risk of large rocks blown from the volcano. the office is preparing residents for further eruptions distributing a hazard map to about 43,000 households. in a village six kilometers away from the crater, officials deliver maps house to house.

the u.s. government says a ten-month investigation has continued that no electronic control problems caused unwanted acceleration in toyota vehicles. >> there is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in toyotas. >> transportation secretary ray la hood released the results of the investigation on tuesday. the department says the only cause of so-called runaway vehicles manufactured by toyota motor were mechanical problems, not electronic. toyota has always said that the unintended acceleration problems were caused by sticky gas pedals and loose floor mats. the u.s. space agency nasa helped find the cause of the problem by subjecting toyota's electronic systems to a variety of conditions. the results have helped lift skepticism about toyota's electronic throttle control system. the sudden acceleration problem led to massive recalls of toyota vehicles from 2009 to 2010 in a

sharp drop in sales. toyota says it believes this rigorous scientific analysis by some of america's foremost engineers should reenforce confidence in toyota and lexus vehicles. the automaker also says it hopes the study will put to rest unsupported speculation. the world's major cell phone makers are standardizing their chargers in the european union to benefit consumers and reduce waste. the european commission, the eu's executive body and digital europe, an industry body comprised of electronics makers made the announcement tuesday. under the new standard, consumers in the 27 eu countries will be able to use a single charger for all new cell phones regardless of the maker. >> translator: it will be beneficial for european consumers. we hope it streds around the world. >> participating firms include the biggest cell phone manufacturer nokia apple and

samsung electronics. the involvement of key players in the industry mail out the necessity specifications to emerge as a global standard. in japan, corporate failures increased the first time in 17 months in january. private credit research firm takido bank said the bankruptcies totalled 976, up 2.8% from a year ago. bankruptcies from restaurant and retails shops rose 23% year on year, while an increase of 37.9% was registered in the real estate business. there were only two bankruptcies with liabilities of $122 million. an upward trend continues and the number of business failures with comparatively small debts. the firm says rising prices of resources and food could force more small and mid-size companies to go bankrupt as it's harder to pass the rise of costs on to the prices of products.

we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com