islamists took them and hundreds of other workers captist last week a t a gas plant. the seven japanese flu back along with the remains of seven colleagues. the survivors worked for japanese engineering firm. officials flew back with them. staff in algeria say they are working to bring that person's remains back to japan. chinese and japanese should leave a dispute over territory to future generations.

he met with the leader of japan. the countries have maintained a friendship by shelving the matter of the senkaku islands. japan nationalized the islands in september. china and taiwan claim them. if current leaders do not have the wisdom to solve the problem they should leave the debate to future generations. japanese and chinese should learn more about each other through culture and economic changes. financial analysts are looking into the future and projecting the big picture from the year ahead. what are analysts saying about japan? >> we just heard from those at the imf yesterday. now we're hearing from the japanese government. officials there project that the country's economy will grow 2.5%

in the coming fiscal year. that's due to stimulus measures and a global economic recovery. a large scale economic package will push up the gross domestic product. they forecast a moderate global economic recovery will lift corporate sentiment and boost spending on plant and equipment. the officials expect people will rush to make more purchases including things like houses before a plant consumption tax hike in april 2014. the government has concluded that the economy will expand 5 2.5% in real terms and 2.7% in nominal terms. based on the assumption that prices will pick up modestly the

government projects nominal growth will exceed real growth for the first time in 16 years. the dollar is gaining further ground against the yen. earlier it hit a high. now it's changing hands to 39 yen. traders have seen rates drop to a five-year low. that's provided a brighter outlook for the american economy. the consumer price index dropped in december for a second month running as well. the euro is trading higher and that's being quoted at 120.77 to 79 against the yen. now to stocks. a weaker yen is prompti ining inverinver investors to buy. let's take a look at other

markets in the asia pacific region. the kospi is trading lower by half a percent. in australia the benchmark index is trading higher by .4 of a percent. german chancellor expressed concern. her remarks suggest that japan's efforts could be regarded as a deliberate attempt to devalue its currency. she stated that g-20 discussions are focusing on political manipulation. she added she's not completely without concern at the moment about japan. the abe administration decided to work together for strong monetary easing measures to get out of deflation.

the german leader warned that governmented should not break banks by putting pressure on them. some economists approve of the policies as necessary to pull japan out of prolong stagnation. u.s. president barack obama has picked mary joe white to head the securities and exchanges commission. obama made the announcement on thursday. he said the sec played a critical role during the financial crisis but it needed to do much more to reform wall street. >> we need to keep going after irresponsible behavior in the financial industry so the taxpayers don't pay the price. i'm absolutely confident that mary jo has the experience and the resolve to tackle these

complex issues and protect the american people in a way that is smart and in a way that is fair. >> white served as a u.s. attorney in new york and led investigations on financial crimes and terrorist attacks, including the 1993 bombing of the world trade center. white said she'll devote herself to protecting investors and ensuring the transparency of u.s. capital markets. the obama administration is pushing for financial reform to avoid a recurrence of the financial crisis. japan's toyota motors and bmw group have teamed up. executives from the two automakers announced the collaboration in japan. >> we have high hopes for this project as it promises a bright future for cars. >> they hope to create a fuel cell system including a motor, battery and hydrogen tank by the year 2020. they will develop next

generation batteries that are expected to be more powerful than the current lithium batteries used in electric vehicles. toyota and bmw will decide by year end on a method to merge their technologies to develop a new sports car. the two motor companies are already business partners. two years ago they decided to cooperate in eco friendly technologies. that's going to do it for business in this hour. i'm going to leave you with a check on markets.

a program featuring emergency measures is being introduced by japan's national police agency. online threats last year using computers infected with a remote control virus prompted police for the measures. they failed to detect the infection. the new measures call for close cooperation between i.t. firms and law enforcement through personnel exchanges. police officers obtain information through former hackers and others who have advanced technologies that can discover weak points in the

country's cyber security system. officers are being asked to identify viruses and analyze cyber cases. it proposes sending investigators to the united states to study fbi counter measures against cyber crimes. japanese prosecutors have questioned two former executives of tokyo electric power company about the 2011 accident at the fukushima power plant. prosecutors are believed to have asked them what plans tepco made and pressed on the power supplier's prediction of the likelihood of a disaster of that magnitude. they are accusing both the government and tepco management

of professional negligent resulting in death and injury. prosecutors are likely to face major challenges pursing their case. legal experts say it could be difficult to hold individuals criminally responsible for the accident. it may be necessary to prove the disaster was predictable and to detail the health impact of the radiation it released. thousands of people waiting to go home. tons of debris waiting for disposal. vast tracts of land waiting to be restored. overcoming the challenges of japan's 2011 disaster won't be easy. but step by step, people are moving forward. find out how on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time, right here on "newsline."

thousands of victims of human rights cases are set to receive compensation. the philipine congress has approved the measure nearly three decades after the former strongman fell from power. money recovered from the regime's ill-gotten wealth will be used to pay the victims. a committee of the philippine congress approved the bill late wednesday. total payments will exceed $246 million. the abuses occurred during a period of martial law that lasted from 1972 until marcos fled the country in 1986. his government is accused of making false arrests, torture and executions. some 10,000 victims or surviving relatives are eligible for compensation. the downfall of the regime gathered pace following death in 1983 of senator ben akinu, father of the current president and fierce critic of the marcos

regime. he was assassinated on his way from the airport. his wife led the people power movement that ousted marcos in 1986 and propelled her to the presidency. how to use the billions of dollars that marcos and his family gathered corruptly has been a lingering question ever since his downfall. filipinos were shocked to see the luxurious jewelry and shoes collected by former first lady imelda marcos. the money illegally acquired by marcos and his family should be transferred to the filipino government. the filipino economy is finally emerging as one of the most exciting. growth in the third quarter of 2012 was an impressive 7.1%, nearly matching the pace of china. those who go overseas to work make valuable contributions to the nation's economy. but more and more citizens are finding they're rich enough to

go abroad not for work but for fun. nhk's catherine temple has more. >> the capital manila is a city that's changing. the economy is booming. as the population expands, so does personal consumption. but people aren't interested in just buying things. they're going places, too. a vacation to japan used to be a dream for most people. but now for the middle class, it's a real possibility. in order to get people to go to japan, this travel agency offers different kind of packages. the president of the company, eileen dimenti and her staff, are busy planning new trips for spring.

>> this year we will concentrate on things we should not miss in japan, the cherry blossom season. >> some of the filipino tourists heading to japan will travel on a low-cost carrier that began operating between tokyo and manila last march. commercial jets like these are helping the travel market really take off. >> we'll continuously grow, again, because of the affordability. >> japanese destinations are eager to show what they have to offer. the street fair in manila attracted different companies from japan. >> it's a paradise for hot springs lovers.

so you have to let the water from the river into your home. and you can make your own hot springs. >> an official described the prefecture's beautiful scenery and delicious food, including its tangerines. >> the opportunity to do the networking here is doing an immensely on the opportunity to understand japan. >> japan, we feel, is a very safe place to go to, so it's another good alternative to china. so we're going -- i'm positive there are more people going to japan. >> economic growth in these countries are impressive. three years ago they tried to attract people to singapore, but more recently, filipinos are becoming more active. i was surprised to see japan is

attracting a lot of attention. >> classic economic nations are eating the consumer markets for the travel industry. japanese companies are lining up to welcome more visitors from the philippines in the coming years. nhk world, manila. an older brother of south korean president has been sentenced to two years in prison for bribery. a former lawmaker was accused of receiving over $700,000 in

bribes from a bank chairman on several occasions since 2007. he pled not guilty during court hearings while prosecutors sought a three-year prison term. a court on thursday convicted him of most of the charges in his indictment. the court said that he betrayed the public trust and deserves a harsh punishment. following the ruling, his lawyer will discuss whether to appeal. the one-time heavyweight of the country's ruling party was arrested last july. it's the latest blow to the soon to be departing president who has suffered a series of corruption scandals in his last months in office. he's expected to grant a number of pardons around lunar day next month. japanese horse breeders are considered among the best in the world. still they're in trouble. scores of racetracks have

closed. selling horses have been harder. breeders have developed a new sale strategy to survive. >> hidaka is where most of japan's racehorses are. that includes paying top dollar for racehorses. this buyer is typical. >> any higher offers? sold for $11,000 to mr. kobiya of china. >> he bought ten horses that day. >> $11,000, mr. ko from china. once a chinese buyer spent nearly $560,000 in a single day. local breeders took note. >> a single chinese customer buys many horses all at once. that's why we like selling to

chinese. >> many of the chinese buy horses for a popular competition called speed racing. in china, it's speed that attracts the fans as gambling is against the law. the prize money is low and what matters is the prestige of winning. that's why they spend so much on horses. we visited the rancher whose horse won the championship. ming owns four companies. he also owns 130 racehorses and he's always on the lookout for more. so whenever he hears about a top quality horse from overseas, he buys it. >> this is a japanese horse. they perform well.

i've spent about $11 million on horses so far and every year i'll keep on buying them. >> as long as there are buyers like ren, japanese will be selling horses to chinese. some potential customers turned up for the third china shanghai international horse fair. >> he has 400 horses. >> he asked potential buyers to fill out questionnaires. he wanted to know how to reach them and how many horses they owned. later, he'll invite them to auctions. but up against sellers from the u.s. and other countries, that includes south africa and with their low prices, but very competitive. >> horses are treading at 20%

global average so there's huge value there. >> japanese counter by stressing the quality of their horses. the breeders made a dvd in chinese. it shows japanese horses finishing first and second in the latest world cup. >> please watch this dvd and check out our japanese horses. >> seems japanese have high-quality horse breeding. their horses are among the best in the world. >> i hope to continue doing business with chinese customers and continue to build trusting relationships. >> a lot rides on this strategy. if the japanese succeed in china, they will continue to keep the best horses in the world. not exactly horse racing

weather in north western japan. we have the weather picture. >> we have winter storm conditions and nasty weather to come for the weekend across the northwest of the country here in japan. some of the other areas are looking at 80 centimeters. in some areas we're already seeing about three meters of high snow debt. on top of that we may see a meter. close to a meter through this weekend. looks like it's going to continue. i say winter storm conditions because the associated gusts are very strong. we're talking about 126 kilometers per hour. that will be picking up the ways

along the coastal areas. it's going to be a very bad weather weekend ahead of us. meanwhile pacific side will be remaining dry. they're seeing sunny skies here in metropolitan tokyo with temperatures rising up to 11 degrees on our friday. pretty warm for this time of year. seoul very different story with cold warnings and advisories posted in much of the area. seoul dipping down to minus 7 for the high. let's take a look at what's happening in the north american continent. the arctic air is dominating. a low pressure system will be developing and moving toward the great lakes region. the precipitation here with the low pressure system developing

in the south eastern areas will be mainly rain but freezing rain is also likely in the tennessee valley. towards the pacific northwest growing snow could make a significant stage for traveling disturbances. temperatures are shaping up like this. still you can tell that the arctic biting frigid cold air is in store for you out here. winnipeg minus 20 degrees. to the south of that jet stream at 24 degrees. los angeles hanging on to the high teens. here in europe thunderstorms are very active in this mediterranean regions but out toward the north high pressure dominates. cold temperatures are still going to be in store. finally due this system moving in, the warmth will come. it's going to be really bad news

for the heavy rain. finally a retleef that freezing temperaturing. i want to lead you off with this video talking about freezing temperatures. the not only people were shivering cold weather affected some animals. really cute. it's coming from wales ape and monkey sanctuary. they are keeping warm by bundling up in blankets. the zoo keepers gave them blankets as well as hot tea as temperatures dipped to near freezing on wednesday. i think that's the hot tea he's drinking. cute. i'll leave you now for your extended forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us.