glad to have you with us. people in tus are feeling optimistic about the way their economy is going and investors are sharing that view. they've been buying the dollar and selling the yen, taking it to a level not seen in more than seven years. the dollar rose above 120 yen briefly during trading h new york. analysts say investors are buying the dollar because they think a drop in crude oil prices will boost economic recovery in the united states. and they say traders are selling the yen because of a growing

divergence between monetary policies in the u.s. and japan. but it's not just the dollar that investors are buying ch they want to swap their yen for other kournsys, too, time to hand things over to our business desk. >> investors just don't want to hold on to their yen, so we're seeing it weaker against the euro, the sterling, the one. in the last two years, the yen has lost 31% against the euro, 36% against the british pound, 35% against the south korean one. so, you might wonder what happened two years ago. prime minister abe returned to office in late 2012 and implements policies that worked to weaken the yen, so, overnight, the dollar yen was at 120 last month, 110 in february, two years ago, 80s.

let's look at what's been going on. >> reporter: the dollar was last trading at this level in 2007 before the global financial crisis hit. the down turn prompted traders to buy yen. they saw it as a safer investment. but the situation began turning around when prime minister shinzo abe took office late the following year. investors expected abe to favor a weaker yen as a way of helping japanese exporters. in april 2013, policy makers at the bank of japan kicked off a large monetary easing program. that helped weaken the yen even further. by last december, the dollar was trading in the 105 yen range. it has gathered more momentum as the outlook for the u.s. economy improves. another boost came when boj policymakers announced additional easing measures in late october. >> traders have seen the yen

plunge. they're wondering how long it will go on. so, tell us about the speed it's been so fast. >> yes, well, economists say falling crude oil prices are helping to fuel a recovery in the u.s. many people expect economic activity to there to keep expanding, so they're buying the dollar and dumping the yen. they also point to the different directions being taken by policymakers in japan and the u.s. but those at the bank of japan recently ramped up their financial stimulus. they're buying so many bonds that yields are plumeting and investors are finding them less attractive, so people are looking to invest in the u.s. instead where officials are thinking about raising interest rates. this has also weigheded on the yen. the japanese currency has weakened against the dollar by ten yen in just over a month and

the trend only seems to be gaining pace. >> what does a weaker yen mean for the japanese economy? >> well, exporters have benefitted. they've enjoyed a surge in profits and seen their share prices rise, too. people hope the weakening yen will eventually create a cycle. executives are suddenly making bigger profits so they can raise wages for employees. employees can then use their higher wage to drive up earnings for companies. but some economists say there's a hole in this logic. they say the weaker yen won't give a big boost to exports because mainly manufacturers shifted their factories overseas when the currency was stropg and they say the situation is hurting those that focus on the domestic market. executives at these firms are paying more and more for imported materials. they say there's a risk that whatever the government does may become ineffected if the yen

falls further. >> thanks very much. in other headlines this morning, people who represent workers at japan's top selling car maker are pushing for a pay rise. they say thousands of staff at toyota deserve a bigger slice of the firm's fortunes. leaders of the federation of all toyota workers unions will start negotiations over pay next spring. they'll ask for a base wage hike of more than 330,000 workers. they say the cost of every day goods is going up and making life harder for their members and they say executives should pennsylvania on more of their growing projects to pass on their cycle of earning and spending. union leaders won a pay rise and

are asking for a bigger increase in the next round of talks so negotiations are likely to be tough. the head of the european central bank has taken more monetary easing measure ts early next year. mario draghi held a news conference on thursday. the central bank's policy board decided earlier in the day to keep their key interest rate at board d low of 0.05%. members may ramp up easing if they judge the current members inefficient. >> early next year, the counsel will reassess the monetary stimulus achieved. >> draghi indicated that if necessary, the board will not wait for consensus to broaden their easing policies. that's despite opposition from germany and other nations. concerns about deflation persist in the euro zone, although they launched easing twice in the past six months. market players are urging the

central bank to boost its stimulus by buying a larger range of stimulus including government bonds. the euro fluctuated while draghi was talking to reporters. investors felt the ecb's president stint was not enough to boost growth in euro zone. but after draghi hinted at the possibility of further easing, this euro fell. let's get an update on the dollar yen pair after hitting the key 120 yen level overnight. the dollar has pulled back a bit. some traders are selling trades to take profits from accident gains and tokyo share prices are lower. nikkei down lower than one-fourth percent. analysts say investors may take a wait and see stance due out later tonight. looking at ore other markets. kospi trading lore wii a tenth of a pe percent. australia is, too.

so, looks like a negative start to our morning in this part of the world. i'll leave you with a check on some other market figures. it's time to check on the weather.

people in the philippines are making preparations for a powerful typhoon heading their way. robert speta has the details. >> yes, let's start off talking about this storm system, still a violent typhoon and not expected we have forced evacuations in place across parts of samar and this is some imagery. this is very in close to where we saw haiyan hit last year. this is people lining up to get gas for their vehicles, their generators. just crowded in up empty shelves. not just that, people out there getting supplies, but also, people need to be getting ready to evacuate and head to some shelters out here. this storm system still a very severe storm and at this time, it has downgrade from a violent typhoon to a very strong typhoon recently. n now, that is some great news,

but it's still enough to cause some damage. still enough to cause some significant storm surges, especially in these areas just north of that center of circulation. you can see upwards of about a 3 to 4 meter surge especially in those low lying areas and not just that, but the winds are going to continue to curb farther inland and you're still going to be seeing that rainfall. i think that's going to be one of the biggest issues with this system. it's the persistent range over an extended period of time and there could be serious flooding, even landslides coming out of this. some areas could see about 500 millimeters of total precipitation. just some incredible totals. and as we have seen in previous typhoons out here, this area of the philippines is vulnerable. actually tropical storm washi, big problem with this one was the heavy rainfall and flooding. over 1,100 deaths occurred with that cue to the storm and one year ago, we had typhoon haiyan.

so going to continue to watch the storm system. >> thanks very much. we'll see you later on in the hour for more details in world weather. we take you to new york where several thousand people took to the streets to protesting a decision by the city's grand jury not to indict a white police officer over the choke hold death of a black man. demonstrators gathered wednesday night through early thursday. police say they arrested 83 people, but there were no clashes between demonstrators and police. police officers confronted eric gardner for selling illegal cigarettes in july. new york mayor bill deblasio vowed to retrain the city's police officers. >> a lot of people felt a lot of

pain, a lot of frustration. my message to people is take that pain and frustration and work for change. relationship between police and community has to change. the way we go about policing has to change. >> president obama also said he would work harder to establish trust between authorities and black communities. >> when it comes as we've seen unfortunately in recent days, to our criminal justice system. too many americans feel deep unfairness. >> calls for protest continued on the internet thursday night. more than 60 protests against police brutality have been held in over 25 states in the u.s. and more are expected. last week, a grand jury in the state of missouri cleared a white police officer over the fatal shooting of a black teenager. the decision sparked protests across the country. fierce gun battles erupted

between russian security forces and islamic militants in chechnya. it took place in the central city of grasny. police opened fire at a check point br attacking a media building and a high school. russian media report the fighting left ten security force members dead and 20 others wounded. the bodies of nine militants have also been found. no students or teachers were in the school at the time of the battle. the director of a russian think tank says it's possible the attack is connected to international terrorism. >> it is clear that from the standpoint of islamic state, russia is as much of a foe, as much of an enemy as the united states and the west. >> people in chechnya and other parts of russia have suffered attacks by extremists. now, the deadly fighting raged

hours before vladimir putin parliament. he delivered his annual state of the nation address. he said crimea has cultural and religious significance for his country. he said people in the region expressed their desire to join russia in a referendum and he said russians will forever accept the region. putin referred to the collapse of ukraine's pro russian government in february. he criticized western countries for supporting the move and he said a let jit mat ukrainian president was toppled in a violent coup. he clearly showed his opposition to the united states. he says the u.s. is exercising direct and indirect influences on russia and its neighbors. he also criticized the global antimi antimissile defense system deployed by the u.s. >> translator: the u.s.

antimissile defense system can unbalance the global military status quo. it is not only a threat to the security of russia, but for the whole world as well. we will secure our necessary troops. although we won't take part in the arms race. >> the president said sanctions by western nations could provide a stimulus for the russian economy, but he didn't outline any strategy in his speech. olympic committee executives are gathering in monaco to discuss ways to reform the summer games like reinstating sports like baseball. they will compile recommendations based on 40 proposals, called olympic agenda, 2020. the agenda released last month would scrap the ceiling of 28 sports, while maintaining the number of events and athlete ts.

that means host cities can propose to include one or more new sports in their games. agenda 2020 would also allow competition to take place at facilities outside the host cities. this is intended to reduce costs and minimize the impact on the environment. if the proposals win approval at the full ioc membership meeting next week, they would open the way for baseball and softball to be reinstated for the 2020 tokyo olympics and also allow the akigs of new events such as karate and squash. japan admitted the largest amount of greenhouse gases on record during the last fiscal year. officials blame the rise on increased emissions of carbon dioxide from manufacturing and other plants. they also point out the increased use of fossil fuels since the 2011 fukushima disaster. preliminary figures released on thursday show the country

produced close to 1.4 billion tons of heat trapping gases in fiscal 2013. an increase of 1.6% from a figure a year earlier and the most since comparable data became available in 1990. the government is trying to cut emissions by 3.8% from 2005 levels by fiscal 2020. it set the target after considering the fact that all the country's nuclear plants remain offline, however, fiscal 2013 emissions represent a 1.3% increase from 2005 levels. ministry officials plan to strengthen measures to achieve the reduction goal. they say they will promote the introduction of renewable energy sours and conversation measures ch. chinese are showing willingness to improve religions with their japanese counterparts.

now, chinese premier says both sides need to strengthen bilateral ties. he met members of the friendship committee. it's a panel of experts from the two countries. >> translator: relations between japan and china are important for the two nations as well as for the rest of asia. >> japanese government courses quoted li as using a saying learn from history and aim for the future. an adviser to the board of toshiba led the japanese side. >> translator: the premier expressed his hope of normalizing relations with japan. relations have been strained for a long time. >> this is the first time the committee has met in three years. they want to continue toward peace and stability in asia.

people around the world are marking international volunteer day, and a japanese man is marking the occasion by turning chocolate into hope. he's using it to help underprivileged children find the path to sweet success. nhk has that story. >> reporter: colorful chocolates roll off the production line. this confectionary factory in central japan produces sweet snacks. here, you can find treats that support disadvantaged children around the world. this 51-year-old started the charity organization this past

june. he uses some of these chocolate delicacies to give back to those less fortunate. >> translator: being kind to people and receiving kindness from others makes both people feel good. i want that kindness to be passed on. >> reporter: he used to manage the factory but now completely devotes himself to supporting children. he now takes the sweets to local hotels and shops to ask for their cooperation, by selling his chocolates and pies. >> translator: i fully support his mission of lifting up children through sweets. >> reporter: he realized the importance of volunteerism when he became involved in the activities of world vision japan, an mpo providing financial support to children

overseas. with his child sponsorship program, the organization invites people to become sponsors of underprivileged children. funds go to projects that benefit the entire community, such as digging wells and building schools. the program aims to help establish a safe, peaceful environment for the children. he often receives letters from sponsored children. he personally sponsors five children in rwanda, mongolia and other countries. he also visited a school in ethiopia that was built from donations. >> translator: this girl wearing a pink shirt, i asked her what her dream was, and she shyly told me that she wanted to become a nurse. i realized that by building schools i'm giving her an opportunity to have a dream. that's what keeps me going. >> reporter: monday and more people in his community are joining his efforts.

neighbors stop by to purchase treats and support his cause. >> translator: i feel very warmhearted if my purchase can give a little help to the children. >> reporter: i'm at a high school near the factory. students here are lending their support to the project. recently, a student who found the activity inspiring took the sweets to a school festival. with the help of fellow students, they sold more than 200 boxes. >> translator: i'm honored. students can only do little things, but those who bought the products leave with a big smile on their faces. i think that's wonderful. >> reporter: he is donating a part of the organization's profits and money from supporters to build schools in asia and africa. the first school constructed with their contributions is to be completed in myanmar by the end of january. he intends to help build more schools and promote the activity in japan. >> translator: we just got started, but i want to spread

this idea further. we are building the first school with the hope that it will lead to others. we will continue to do our best. >> reporter: wakao believes little acts of kindness in a small community can actually make a big difference in other parts of the world. nhk world. as we've been reporting, people in the philippines are bracing for a powerful typhoon heading their way. robert speta joins us with more on the situation there and elsewhere in world weather.

>> yes, let's start off talking about this storm system, still a violent typhoon and not expected to decrease from that anytime soon or even prior to landfall as it does track off here towards the west. it is going to be a big rainmaker. you're going to expect a threat of severe flash flooding and also landslides across parts of the southern -- expect to maintain that intensity as it does continue to come on shore likely making landfall there by saturday afternoon going into the evening hours into central portions of samar, but let's look at the rest of the picture because i want to talk about the weather that has been occurring across parts of korea and japan. some areas, we have seen record breaking rainfall for the month of december. 48-hour rain totals into miagi

prefecture, some areas well over 150 millimeters of rainfall. in hokkaido, we've seen some snowfall. around 100 centimeters, so the severe winter weather system continuing to occur here. in tokyo, partly cloudy skies, but farther towards the west could see 30 to 60 centimeters through your saturday. behind it, things stay on the chilly side, too. a high of minus 3. the low is getting down here minus 10. beijing at 4. continues to be the cold spot on the map with minus 11 in those partly cloudy skies. now as we move towards the americas, the big topic is this storm system now working its way from california, same system that brought that rainfall over there earlier this week, continuing to track up through parts of texas, oklahoma and then your going to continue to see this develop more and could bring the threat of thunderstorms as moisture surges in and out of the gulf of mexico and translates over toward snowfall into the northeast and even some freezing rain across

parts of the new england states. all the cities into this direction, you want to be ready for some slick roads and delays at the airports. possibility of some cancellations out there. let's wrap things up here in europe. still looking at the severe weather threat across italy. not so much the threat of tornados or hail, but the continuous rainfall. we've been see iing rain for several weeks. it's continuing to pump on shore and that is really going to be bringing that threat of flooding, so something we want to watch, but north of where this system is, things are still on the chilly side. berlin with a high of only 4 in warsaw and moscow, just at the freeze i freezing mark on your friday. here's your extended forecast.

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