glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, november 20th. i'm catherine kobayashi in toke tokyo. the ebola epidemic continues to spread. the number of confirmed or expected cases topped 15,000 in eight countries. that's with transmission still being intense and widespreadsierra leone. the w.h.o. says 15,105 people are suspected with the virus or contracting it.

most of the cases are in the three western african countries. the past week saw more than 1,000 newly confirmed or susp t suspected inspections. 700 were in sierra leone. the country is lagging far behind. health officials only have complete information on 66% of the patients. a cuban doctor working in sierra leone has been confirmed to be infected. the doctor will be flown to geneva for treatment. w.h.o. says 580 health care workers have been infected. about 330 of them have died. french government officials identified citizens who appear in a video made by militants with islamic state. they suspect the two men may have been involved in killings.

the group posted a video online sunday that shows a beheaded american aid worker. peter kasak was detained. another video shows people in camouflage uniforms. they say they identified the identities of two militants. both are 22 years old. media reports say one was influenced by islamic extremism over the internet. he joined islamic state. french officials say about 1,000 people from the country joined the group. 375 are still believed to be in iraq or syria. police in western japan arrested a woman on suspicion

she killed her husband. they believe she poisoned her husband with cyanide. she was taken into custody in kito. she did she denies killing her husband. she called an ambulance after finding him unconscious in their home. he was later pronounced dead. >> translator: we detected cyanide in the victim's blood. that led to today's arrest. >> police confiscated material containing cyanide to a site linking the woman. ingesting a small amount of the poison can be deadly. people close to the couple say the two met through a matchmaking service. he died one month after they got married. in march she claimed her innocence. >> translator: how would i get the poison?

there is no way i would commit a murder. >> police reopened an investigation into the death of one of her acquaintances. the 71-year-old man died two years ago. police originally thought he died after he fell off his motorcycle, but they since found traces of cyanide in a stored blood sample. she denied involvement in that death. japanese authorities say chinese ships are avoiding being detected by working at night. >> translator: the suspected coral poachers have entered the territorial waters after nightfall. they roll up the nets and flee the waters when they catch sight of patrol ships coming.

>> reporter: officials have been analyzing satellite images taken around the area of the islands. they've been trying to assess the movement of the poaching boats. the officials say last tuesday, there were about 40 ships in the waters. during the day, most of them stayed at least 45 kilometers from the islands. at night, triple that number moved into japan's territorial waters. earlier this week, an nhk television crew caught sight of the ships operating off the islands at night under lab light. the crews were seen hall hauling nets.uling nets. officials say many of the ships are still operating in the area even though the number has dropped from more than 200 at one time to 44 on wednesday. members of the japanese

organizing committee are trying to cut rising costs's head of the 2020 games. they are considering moving some of the games west of the capital. they met with officials from the international olympic committee in tokyo. they spent two days reviewing preparations. members say they are thinking about using existing facilities or those under construction. they planned to construct new buildings. they are also considering using a venue in osaka in response to a request from the japan football association. the stadium is now under construction. the head of the ioc coordinating committee said he thinks using existing facilities is important. he praised preparations for the tokyo games. progress on the games is going well. president of the tokyo 2020 organizing committee said the soccer venues need approval from the sport's international governing body fifa.

there was a time when the value of what japan sold in foreign markets was greater than it imported. data this morning show that trend hasn't changed. looking at the numbers, what do the latest numbers tell us? >> we saw a spike in smart phones. japan he's ministry officials say the country trade balance is in deficit. that's the 28th straight monthly shortfall and the longest run of trade deficits since comparable data became available in 1979. the trade deficit last month was about $6 billion. the balance has been in the red since july 2012. exports rose 9.6% from the same

month last year. policy makers at the u.s. federal reserved pumped huge amounts of money to get it moving again after the 2008 financial crisis. when they saw the economy was back on its feet, they ended the quantitative easing program. now we get a look why they did that. members of the federal open market committee released minutes they held in late october. they noted the improved labor market was one of the reasons they improved quantitative easing. some worry that could hurt the u.s. economy but many said there would only be a limited effect. in october, the fed said it would keep its key lending rate close to zero. some wanted to cut that phrase to prepare for an early interest

hike. others argue that could be seen as a significant shift in the fed's policy. those minutes made it clear to investors about the difference in monetary policies between the u.s. and japan. traders snapped up the dollar. it surged to the 1.18 yen level overnight in new york. it's holding above $1.18 here in tokyo. the fed minutes showed the u.s. is heading toward higher interest rates. japan is boosting its monetary easing measures. the yen is sliding against the euro. the single currency trading at a six-year high against the yen. >> the lower yen is making many people around the world choose japan as a holiday destination. lots of them like japanese food. an online destination guide are traveling up to help tourists find the meal of their dreams. people to use gurunavi use a

call center to make a reservation. trip advisor will help make reservations online. it will cover about 1,000 restaurants in osaka and tokyo. 10 million tourists visited japan in 2013. it looks like that record will be broken this year. the number topped 1 million in october. let's take a look at stocks. investors are buying export-related shares. the nikkei popped up 0.4% at the open. the nikkei up by 0.4%. south korea's kospi is trading lower.

in australia, the benchmark index is up by 0. 4%. government officials hope to calm concerns by improving profits of how the pension fund is invested. >> the government pension investment fund is an independent administrative body that manages the public pension fund. it's a national nest egg worth more than $1.2 trillion. gpif has been putting 60% of investments in national bonds. another 12% goes into domestic stocks. the body unveiled a new strategy last month. the policy keeping a relatively large amount of holdings in japanese government bonds will change. under the new strategy,

will reduce holdings by 35%. >> the person in charge is the welfare minister. he spoke to nhk world's senior commentator how the government is reforming the public pension system. >> translator: you improved the change in investment strategy. there will be fewer bond holdings and more stocks. that is a big shift in portfolio. why? >> translator: prime minister abe attended the world economic forum in january. he started reviewing the government pension fund

portfolio. he announced some forward-looking reforms. that set in motion the reevaluation of the fund mechlt plan. thanks to abe's economic policies, the japanese economy is emerging from its recent period of deflation. new investment plans have been put together with aims of ensuring citizens can get their promised benefits. the plan is based on the assumption the japanese economy with it grow at a gradual rate. the wage increase comes out 1.7%. the government bond offers around 0.5% at the moment. there is no way to get a 4% increase from bonds alone. >> translator: you said this is a key element of the prime

minister's economic policy. how does gpif continue to growth? >> the financial services agency decided to apply a principle called the stewardship code. the gpif announced the institution will have to abide by this principle. they will have constructive talks with corporations the fund invested. the national pension fund's investments will help to maintain a healthy economy. >> investors seem to have welcomed the change. critics argue it's just the fund inflating prices. how do you respond to that?

>> translator: the pension fund's investments serve the sole purpose of benefitting the people who receive pensions. using the fund in any other way is prohibited by law. it's possible the assumption that pension reformed will yield positive economic effects could have an impact on stock markets. but that isn't our goal at all. >> translator: you said portion of the fund should be invested in venture firms and they are expected to grow and in turn would boost the economy. do you think the reform will increase investment in sectors? >> translator: the basic portfolio proposed by the gpif gives an upper limit of 5%

investment in infrastructure and private entities such as ventures. this is the first time there's ever been an upper limit put in place. it has been implemented to strengthen the risk management framework. the gpif made it clear this is being done. so venture and infrastructure investments can be included. i believe the gpif will think about its next steps carefully. in any case, i think if all this results in a positive growth cycle for the economy, that will benefit people receiving pensions. >> translator: some people are worried about the change. if the stock market crashes, for example, they wonder if they are

to receive less pension payouts or if premiums would go up? what would you tell these people? >> translator: how can the government ensure citizens are going to get the pensions they are expecting? the best way is with a broad range of investments. diversity provides minimum risks and secures interest gains. diversification of investments deals with different stocks and bonds, with prices that move in different ways independently of one another. we ensure that the funds offset each other. thereby reducing risk. i think it would be good if people thought of it that way. we must lower our risk as much as possible by doing this, and still achieve our return. that must be our focus. >> translator: the government is

considering reforming the finance governance. what needs to change? >> translator: what is important is to create a system of governance or internal checks and balances. that will allow employers to check with one another so no one can make an independent decision without the consent of others. it's important a decision-making body oversees the body that makes its decisions. we don't want people to make investments blindly without fully understanding the economic conditions at hand. gpfi needs to increase fund managers with a deep understanding of the macroeconomy. >> translator: gpif reform plans are drawing a lot of attention from abroad. what kind of message do you want

to send? >> i visited many parts of the globe. the portfolio of japan's public pension fund must be diversified to meet global standards. if we can do that, we could also strengthen the japanese economy as a whole. the international community is watching whether japan can do this or hoping that it will. whether or not japan can reform its pension system will be seen as an indicator of whether japan can revive its economy. we must make sure citizens in the future can receive pension payouts. that's what the gpif must put its focus on. >> that's all now for business news. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

a koala that attracted leader will soon go to the zoo in tokyo. she was hugged by u.s. president barack obama, vladimir putin and other leaders at the summit in australia. her charm gave the leaders a moment of relief during their stringent debate. the name means "friendship." officials in queensland planned to present the koala to commemorate its anniversary. they are looking to forward to receiving the koala in january. scientists are finally getting result. comet 67-p consists of ice in a

layer of dust. it was launched by the european space agency ten years ago onboard an unmanned spacecraft. it was only able to collect a certain amount of data before the batteries ran out. scientists say the comet's surface is made up of ice 10 to 20 centimeters thick. the scientists say the probe detected organic molecules on the surface. it is believed to contain substances essential important for the birth of life. components of ice are thought to be similar to the sea water on earth. the findings could be evidence in favor of a theory water and life on earth were generated by a collision with a comet.

it is time for a check of the weather. good morning. we're seeing historic and deadly weather conditions in western new york. people are dealing with massive amounts of snow. what's the latest? >> what we are seeing, at least at this time, is a little bit of a break. what you have been seeing over the past 24 to 48 hours is the winds coming from the west. you can see these lines running over the lakes. that is lake-effect snow bands over michigan. earlier we were talking about snow out of grand rapids. you see this thick line here. the winds were moving parallel to the lake.

this is downtown buffalo. in the suburb, you see the heaviest of the snow accumulated. some areas 165 centimeters out there. you can see an additional 60 to 70. you are talking about gusty winds and the dangerous wind chill. a lot of rough weather. we may see rain. even towards cleveland. sunday and monday rain for beautiful low. it will add to the snow accumulation. there is the risk of roof collapse. we are talking about the threat of flooding. problems to come. new yo new york and atlanta. it's warming up for you.

back to the other side of the country. dreary in seattle. los angeles 19 and partly cloudy skies. switch gears. not as dramatic as off the northern hemisphere. in braise ideal, we are seeing a different kind of severe weather. we have rain showers and thunderstorms in the forecast. there is a problem that over the long term -- let's show video. many hoped the start of the wet season would bring relief. below the average of 161

millimeters for the month. there is rain in the forecast. you need it over an extended period of time. sao paulo, no rain there for you. may see with it conditions during the overnight hours during the overnight hours. snowfall in north eastern china. the tropics being hit by a tropical monsoon. i'll leave you with your extended forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us.

today's asian voices comes to you from china. a focus is on the software industry. can it become a mainstay of the chinese economy? nu soft corporation is one of the newest software companies in china and has 80 offices worldwide. it offers a wide range of services from car navigation systems to software for cell phones to health care services in rural