glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's friday, january 9th. armed police in france are using helicopters and searching homes looking for the country's two most wanted men. they say both suspects in wednesday's terror attack on the satirical weekly "charlie ebdo" are still on the run. they've detained nine people who may have connections to the pair. internor minister says they've determined the suspects are the brothers. photos taken at the attack site and an i.d. card left in an abandoned card led to their identities.

their name and photos have been widely released across france. authorities are still trying to track down their where abouts. police are canvassing wide areas, including a town 80 kilometers from paris. the interior minister says the younger brother was found guilty in 2008 for being part of a jihadist recruitment ring in france. he said the group sent fighters to join the conflict in iraq. the brothers were under police surveillance before the attack and phone records and internet logs are being examined for clues. attacks in france have shocked people around the world, including japan. they feel sorrow and sympathy for the victims and they're angry about this attack on freedom of the press. nhk world's mitsuko nishikawa reports. >> reporter: japanese people from all walks of life were stunned by the killings in

paris. one of them is prime minister shinzo abe. he had strong words about the attack. >> translator: cowardly attacks are totally unacceptable, no matter what the reasons are. i strongly condemn those responsible and offer my heartfelt condolences to all the victims. >> reporter: the head of the national police agency pledges firm action against international terrorism. he says lice wilprevent terrorists from entering japan he ss the force is working with intelligence agencies from france and other countries. people in japan know that no country is safe from terrorism. officials have tightened security here in japan, too. the french embassy has increased patrols in and around the building. japanese police officers are patrolling schools, businesses and other facilities with ties to france. ♪ about 200 people gathered at the embassy to pray for the victims.

ambassador theirry dana says terrorists threatened the staff of "charlie hebdo" for many years. he says the journalists showed bravery by refusing to compromise as they continued to work. some people held banners to show support for the victims. >> i feel very upset for france, not only for the murder that had been made, but also for the symbol that it represents for france, for the liberty, for the press. for those things. >> we have to see -- all the minorities have to stick together and also all the population, because otherwise this could happen again. >> translator: today i feel a rush of emotion and at the same time i have renewed

determination to pursue freedom. the french people's love of freedom is tremendous. compared to our feeling, a barbarian act like this is nothing. the love of freedom will prevail in the end. >> reporter: it was a time of mourning, but many people at the ceremony say the tragedy in paris has taught them an important lesson. they say all the people in the world should realize how important it is to protect freedom of the press. mitsuko nishikawa, nhk world, tokyo. some muslims in france have seen attacks on their places of worship. french media report explosives were thrown into the courtyard of a mosque in the central city of le mans. police say the devices were training grenades. they also found a bullet hole in a window. several shots were fired at a mosque in the southwest district of port la nouvelle. in eastern france an explosion

was heard in front of an arabic restaurant near a mosque. no casualties or serious damage are reported in either incident. there's been another shooting in paris. police are investigating whether there is any link to the killings at "charlie hebdo." french media say a man fired an automatic rifle at police on thursday morning. one female officer was killed and a civilian employee was wounded. the gunman fled the scene and is still at large. french interior minister bernard cazeneuve visited the site of the attack. the shooting took place in southern paris amid tight security in the french capital. u.s. defense authorities have unveiled plans aimed at cutting military spending. they'll shut down 15 bases in europe and return the sites back to their home governments, but they say the move won't affect

their commitment to security in the regions. partners announced on thursday plans to consolidate infrastructure in six countries. they'll pull about 2,000 air force personnel from their base in britain and they suspect they'll save the government $500 million a year. chuck hague lg said in a statement the measure will help maximize u.s. military capabilities in europe and support its nato allies. >> we are consolidateing some infrastructure in order to be more efficient, but we are not affecting our operational capability. >> the department also announced a plan to deploy f-35 joint strike fighter jet squadrons to britain in 2020. many european leaders have been concerned about threats from russia after the crisis in ukraine ukraine. a former president of peru has been sentenced to an additional eight years in prison

on charges of embezzlement. he is already serving a prison term for human rights abuses. a panel of judges ruled he must repay about $1 million of public funds. he was accused of diverting about $40 million to pay for favorable coverage in tabloid newspapers during his re-election campaign in 2000. the 76-year-old former leader claimed innocence during the trial. he said he had no knowledge of the payment and bore no responsibility. he has indicated he will appeal. the former president was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2007 for ordering security forces to kill citizens during a crackdown on leftist insurgents. the new sentence will not prolong the time he spends in jail regardless of whether he appeals. executives at toyota motor are expecting a stellar year and the people who represent those who work in the factories want

to make sure every gets rewarded. >> they'll probably ask for a raise of about $50 a month. this is the second year running they're asking for more money. the union was successful last year, but this year they're asking for more than double that. executives are forecasting the biggest net profit in the company's history, so union representatives think workers deserve more. representatives will announce their plan to members at a council meet ging this month. toyota executives forecast their net profit for this fiscal year will exceed 2 trillion year for the first time. that's about $16.7 billion. they say the weaker yen has helped deliver bumper sales in overseas markets. people in other industries will be paying close attention to the gauche yass. they often make their decisions about pay raises based on what happens at toyota.

government officials from japan and south korea want to mark a major anniversary by deepening their ties. they've agreed to collaborate on energy and tourism projects for the 50th year of normalized relations. japan's deputy foreign minister met with his south korean counterpart in seoul. they confirmed officials from both sides will work on energy ventures in other countries and they agreed to do more to boost tourism going both ways. he called for an end to south korea's embargo on seafood from fukushima and seven other prefectures. officials introduced the restriction on concerns over contamination in 2011. ann called on japanese officials to cooperate with a second round of surveys next week. he said people in south korea need assurances that the seafood is safe to eat. the people who run one of

japan's bigs discount store chains want to woo more customers from aboard. executives say they'll make it easier for tourists from china to spend money at their outlets. the executives held a conference in beijing to explain. they say they'll accept payments with china union pay cards at all of their 262 outlets across japan. they plan to expand the service before the chinese new year holidays in february. they're also preparing an online reservation option to foods and other goods they say will make shopping more efficient. the executives say chinese customers have led a sharp rise in sales to foreign tourists, but say they can do much more to tap that source. they want to boost the percentage of their sales that go to foreigners from about 3% now to around 10% by 2020. that's the year of the olympics. the president of the group firm

says he wants to lure more tourists to rural areas. >> translator: foreign visitors are already increasing but in order to double the figures, we have to improve our services further. >> and now, let's take a look at what's happening on the markets. global investors have regained their confidence. they're buying stocks on speculations that the european central bank will unleash new stimulus soon. investors in tokyo are also in a positive mood this friday morning. the nikkei up by half a percent. analysts say market players are finding comfort from crude oil prices that are holding steady. the euro remains weak. against the dollar, it slipped to a nine-year low. it is coming back a touch.

and the dollar that is locked in the upper, mid to upper 119 yen range. trards are holding back from active bets before the release of u.s. payroll data laettner the day. let's look at what's happening in other markets in the asia pacific region. kospi trading higher by about three quarters of a percent. benchmark trading higher by more than nine tenths percent. we are seeing a pretty positive start to our friday morning. i'll leave you with a check on some other market figures.

japanese artists are giving kids a new way to have fun. they've built an interactive program that expands their imaginations. >> this museum is dedicated to science and technology. this special exhibition under way has generated a lot of buzz. it focuses on developing children's imagination by letting them interact with digital art. this hop scotch set relies on computer graphics projected on the floor. the creators of this animation paid a lot of attention to detail. see what happens if i step on a frog. the creators behind this project

are called team lab. their specialty is to leverage the latest technologies to breathe new life into traditional forms of art. this man founded team lab in 2001. he now presides over 350 digital artists. >> translator: parts of our traditional wisdom has been thrown away because it was considered outdated, but actually some aspects of it are perfectly suitable for the new digital society. >> reporter: the interactive playground features 15 installations. each one of them offers a unique experience centered on a particular concept. this one is about establishing connections. blocks of different colors create a path for different things. red cubes for trains, blue for rivers, and green for roads.

the focus is to allow children to develop their social skills while building networks together. one of the fascinating attractions here is this giant animated screen. why do children love it so much? because it brings life to their drawings. the children decorate an object among a set of predetermined shapes. once they feed it into a scanner, their object immediately pops up in 3-d on the screen. each child's imagination contributes to the atmosphere of the animated landscape. >> translator: whatever we do, each of our actions has a direct impact on the world. our goal here is to get children to feel through their physical experience that they share this world with other people.

>> reporter: one day these children will change the world through the power of their imagination. mikko suzuki, nhk world. a bank of japan survey shows seven japanese municipalities are competing to host a summit of major industrialized countries. it would take place in the country in 2016. the governor of nagano visited the foreign ministry on thursday. the governor spoke of the benefits of having the summit in the resort town to the foreign minister. the six other cities are sendai nagoya and hiroshima.

the government will look at facilities like convention centers and hotels, as well as transportation and security. it will also consider the city's ability to garner attention abroad. two young tenors one from japan and south korea, performed in a joint concert marking the 50th anniversary marking the normalization of ties between the countries. ♪ >> the japan music agency concordia produced the concert. it took place in tokyo. the tenor from japan has received international awards. the singer from south korea performed many charity concerts for the tsunami that hit northeastern japan. >> translator: it was wonderful. and i felt my heart was cleansed. it will help me to have a great year.

>> translator: it was so great to collaborate with mr. whee. >> translator: i think we showed the audience that it's possible for japan and south korea to be close friends and i hope the two governments also become close. ♪ people living in iraq's kurdish autonomous region have seen signs of prosperity. their economy has been enjoying growth, but their growing concern that islamic state

militants, isis, could reverse their foreigns. >> the -- is taking enormous toll on the economy. one major development has been hit hard by unrest. a $2 billion project to build high-rise condominiums and villas. has been relying on low labor from india, but the fighting has forced most of the workers to return home and it has disrupted the building materials. the project has fallen far behind schedule. >> translator: roads have been blocked since islamic state took mosul. work is suspended because work can't get through. >> the developer starteded the project after hiring iraq workers and changing delivery routes but these measures have

more than doubled the cost. officials say they are losing money and don't know whether they will be able to fillbuild the new condos. >> translator: the local building industry had been thriving. we called it a construction revolution. i'm afraid this project won't attract customers now. >> the tourism industry has suffered a severe blow. the area used to draw 3 million visitors a year from iraq and abroad. but that number had dropped by 60%. officials with the regional government have done an emergency meeting. they presented this from 40 major companies took part. they discussed ways to turn around the businesses. >> many challenges in this

sector. especially in the economy sector because isis was coming to the border. >> people who fled the threat of islamic state have been flocking to the region. but the local authorities are finding it difficult to support them. in november officials of the whole governor right opened a huge camp for displaced people. nearly 30,000 now live here but the camp can accommodate only a tiny fraction of the more than 2 million displaced people in iraq. people who can't find a place have been squatting in buildings that are still under construction. ali has been living here for months with his wife and two children. he elected wood and plastic to build a tent.

at night, the temperature drops below freezing. his children are constantly coughing and running fevers. getting more and more worried. he's heard some people have died from severe cold. his wife says she has trouble sleeping. she has nightmares about the militants killing her children. the region has long been an engine of iraq's economy. but islamic state militants are putting businesses and lives at risk. it's time now for a check of the weather.

more than 1.5 million syrian refugees in lebanon and jordan are dealing with severe weather conditions. >> a powerful winter storm is sweeping across the middle east rn countries. people are dealing with powerful winds, lashing rain and heavy snowfall. over a million refugees are struggling in their damaged structures. we have video coming out from these regions. residents in jerusalem woke up thursday morning to a blanket of snow over the city. 5 centimeters fell. most schools were closed in anticipation of the storm. further north in jordan thousands took shelter from the frigid weather. snowfall and high winds destroyed some of the tents people are staying in due to conflicts in the region. people crowded around the camps as temperatures dropped to a freezing point. the average for this time of the year is around 13 degrees. in southeastern lebanon,

villagers have died in a snowstorm in an attempt to make a dangerous trek. unfortunately, we still have a low pressure system that is lingering over these areas and this is creating more gusty conditions as well as heavy rainfall. snow not so much is going to be tapering off and in israel there's warnings out for snow, strong winds, flash floods and high waves. rough weather will be continuing into sunday night. in jordan b, we're likely to see heavy patches of rainfall that will continue across the area throughout the weekend. across turkey where we have about 3 meter high snow depths that's likely to taper off, which is good news. a little bit of snow flurries will be flirting with the mountains. we have a couple of low pressure systems that will bring gusty conditions in the central european area up to about 120 kilometers per hour is likely and you can see the gradients. it's really close to each other, very tight. this system will also bring up

to 160 kilometers per hour winds combined with some patches of heavy rainfall. but not so much the precipitation. it's going to be a huge winter storm that could damage structures. out towards the south, the peninsula looking nice. 15 degrees and plenty of sunshine. paris, we're looking at some rainfall on your friday and minus 8 is for your high. so, another frigid day for you. in the americas we're talk inging about the windchill factors being as low as minus 30 degrees. even in the big apple, this is what happened. this is the fountain from the bryant park which completely froze up on thursday. the mercury hit minus 14 degrees hence this picture. but the conditions will not be improving. likely see a drot of the temperatures in the minus sub zero temperatures continuing into sunday. chicago was minus 22 degrees.

that's likely to have a little bit of an improvement. still, jacksonville, minus 3 degrees and we're seeing snowfall. florida is where there's sunshine, not a really typical event. across the bigger picture now, we're likely to see gusty conditions but los angeles at 21 degrees. a quick look here in japan. while we have the winter pressure pattern that is still intensified, gusty conditions prevailing and more snow to be piling up. we may see about 50 centimeters additional snowfall. the temperature not bad this tokyo at 10 degrees for the high but really cold in seoul, 2 degrees on friday. i'll leave you now for your extended forecast.

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

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are being rebuilt in the devastated areas at a rapid pace. in this situation, a project was launched to build affordable houses using locally produced timber. driving this project is the kamaishi local forestry association. five of the central figures including the president and the accountants perished in the tsunami and the cooperative was in danger of closing down. however, as part of its efforts to revive, it launched a