♪ welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday february 10th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the former head of south korea's intelligence service has been sent to jail for three years after a major legal turnaround. a seoul high court judge ruled won sei hoon should be imprisoned for trying to influence the outcustom a presidential election. the judge reviewed a decision by a lower court which found the former director of the national intelligence service guilty of political meddling. but he received a suspended sentence. the high court judge concluded that won made his subordinates launch an online smear campaign during the 2012 presidential election. he said they used more than 700

twitter accounts to post a slew of messages critical of candidates who ran against park geun hye. she won the vote by a slim margin. the judge said won neglected his duty to maintain neutrality and meddled in the political progress, and he said the former spy chief harmed the country's democracy. won has the right to appeal this latest vertical. members of the largest opposition party new politics alliance for democracy want president park's predecessor to apologize for what happened. and they say park cannot hide from this issue. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is calling on thailand's military leaders to restore democracy in the country. he met with interim thai prime minister prayut chan-o-cha in tokyo to talk about strengthening economic relations.

abe and prayut agreed that japan will help build infrastructure in thailand including railway networks and the japanese will assist with the construction of a port facility and an industrial park in southern myanmar. the prime ministers also spoke about maritime disputes. they said international law should be followed so conflicts at sea can be resolved peacefully. their nations have both been dealing with china's growing presence in asian waters. abe agreed to support thailand as it transitions back to civilian rule. the process involves establishing a new constitution and holding parliamentary elections. prime minister prayut says those elections could happen as early as the end of this year. he is the former army general who led the coup nearly a year ago that brought down thailand's elected government. he spoke exclusively to nhk world's senior commentator aiko

doden. >> it's the first time that prayut as interim prime minister has agreed to an exclusive interview with a foreign media organization. thailand went through a period of political turmoil last year. the country was sharply divided by those loyal to former prime minister thaksin shinawatra and those who opposed him. thaksin is the elder brother of yingluck shinawatra who served as the country's prime minister until just before the coup. prayut assumed the post of interim prime minister in august 2014 after leading the coup, saying it was necessary to achieve a breakthrough in the political deadlock. but under his interim government martial law is still in force and there is a ban on demonstrations and other gatherings. prayut says a coup was inevitable in the interest of national reconciliation.

>> translator: political rivalry between opposition and government created social disparity. this continued for nearly ten years and it created deep social conflict. i'm trying to create national unity and solidarity. martial law in thailand is helping to bring stability and security to the country and the people. >> the interim government wants to move forward with political reform to resolve the standoff between the two rival camps. it also plans to formulate a new constitution and hold a parliamentary election. prayut mentioned when he intends to hold the election. >> translator: we are working on the road map that we laid out. after drafting the bill and the constitution we will prepare for an election as early as the end

of this year or the beginning of next year. >> reporter: anti-government demonstrations which started two years ago aggravated the turmoil in thai politics. this has had an adverse impact on thailand's economy especially on tourism, one of the country's main industries. prayut stressed the need for continued support from the international community including japan to help thailand as it works on restoring its economy. >> translator: give me time to restore democracy. i want to enjoy the benefits of democracy as much as other countries do. please help thailand and asean to develop the region. thailand is located in the center of the indochina peninsula. it is attracting growing attention not only for the

geographic location but also as a production center for the huge asean market of 600 million people. what paths lie ahead for thailand in its attempt to return to civilian rule? prayut bears great responsibility in ensuring that thai politics has a soft landing. aiko doden, nhk world. >> you can see more of our interview with thailand's interim prime minister prayut chan-o-cha in our program "asian voices" later this week. managers of japan's damaged nuclear plant are facing another delay in dealing with a major source of contamination. they're working on blocking the flow of radioactive water from reactor buildings to underground tunnels. tokyo electric power company officials met with members of the nuclear regulatory authority and the nra members approved a plan to delay the project until

later this month. tepco tried to create ice barriers to stop water from leak out of the reactor buildings. workers were supposed to remove the highly radioactive water that has collected in the underground tunnels and after that they would have filled in the tunnels with cement. however, efforts to block the flow of water failed. engineers need to fill in some gaps that may be left in the area where the tunnels and reactor buildings meet. the setback will likely affect a separate project to build an ice wall around the four damaged reactor buildings. tepco officials say they're two weeks to a month behind schedule on that work. three reactors at the daiji plant. experts are trying to determine the state of melted fuel inside. they need that information to make progress on decommissioning work. so they're planning to take a new approach using elementary

particles called muons. these flashing streaks of light show traces of a muon. the particles are collected when cosmic rays collide with the earth's atmosphere. experts hope that observing muons passing through the reactor buildings will create images of the field in much the same way as an x-ray. workers on monday installed an observation device outside the number one reactor building. they're planning to install another device on tuesday and continue observations until march. the leaders of germany, france ukraine, and russia will meet on wednesday to work out a cease-fire in eastern ukraine. fighting between pro-russian separatists and ukrainian government forces has intensified since last month. and here's the aftermath of one flare-up. a massive explosion rocked a bomb-manufacturing facility in an area controlled by the separatists. around 20 people were reportedly

hurt. among them residents living nearby. the separatists blame government forces. fierce battles between the two sides continue near the town of dubaltseve. it's a key transportation route. officials with the ukrainian defense ministry say attacks from rebel forces sunday through monday killed nine soldiers and injured 26. experts believe both sides are trying to create a military advantage before the planned talks. authorities in afghanistan say a u.s. drone strike has killed a veteran militant who was reportedly a recruiter for islamic state. the group has been trying to add people from afghanistan and pakistan to its ranks as it works to boost its presence beyond syria and iraq. police in the southern afghan province of helmand say an aircraft fired a missile at a moving vehicle on monday. they say it killed former talent commander abdul rulf and five others. american forces captured rauf

after the collapse of the taliban regime in 2001. he did time at the u.s. detention center in guantanamo bay, cuba before being released a few years ago. rauf is believed to have recently joined islamic state. he reportedly began recruiting fighters after being named deputy governor. a senior u.s. official says iraqi forces are preparing to launch a major ground offensive against islamic state. john allen says the u.s.-led coalition will provide air and tactical support as the soldiers try to recapture areas controlled by the militants. allen is the u.s. special presidential envoy for the coalition against islamic state. he told a jordanian news agency the ground offensive will begin shortly. american forces have been training iraqi soldiers to be more effective in their battle against the militants. the troops are expected to try to take back iraq's second largest city, mosul. the islamic state seized it last

june. allen also praised jordan for its role in the coalition fighting islamic state. russian president vladimir putin has blamed foreign intervention in syria and iraq for the rise of islamic state. he made the remark in an interview with an egyptian newspaper. putin said the current situation stems from what he calls a heavy-handed and irresponsible interference from the outside. he also cited the unilateral use of force and double standards. the president said the international air strikes against the militants lacked legitimacy because they were not directly sanctioned by the u.n. security council and he argued the u.s.-led campaign in syria requires approval from what he calls the legitimate authorities. unlike western powers putin has backed the administration of president bashar al assad since the start of syria's civil war nearly four years ago. syrian foreign minister walid al morlam says his country will

never allow anyone to infringe upon its sovereignty. and he says the government does not need foreign ground troops to fight the militants. he blamed islamic state for killing a jordanian air force pilot but he criticized jordan for carrying out air strikes on syrian soil. observers say members of the assad administration are worried attacks by foreign forces might help rebels who are fighting to topple the president. it's time now for the latest in business news. finance leaders from the group of 20 nations are having a high-stakes meeting in istanbul turkey. ai uchida joins us now from our business desk with the latest. ai tell us what's on the agenda for this meet pg. >> catherine, g20 delegates, they've flown in from around the world and they bring with them a pretty long list of things they need to talk about. they're addressing tensions in the eurozone slumping oil prices, monetary easing by central banks, even rising extremism. the delegates say they'll monitor the effects of monetary

easing in europe and asian countries. many people are worried the anti-austerity government in greece will cause instability. from japan finance minister taro aso is attending along with the center bank governor kuroda. aso said japan will pump an extra $30 billion into its economy as part of an additional stimulus package. he explained the decision to postpone a second increase in the consumption tax from 8% to 10%. and he said officials are drawing up new plans to tackle japan's public debt. aso also talked about the importance of measures to tackle terrorism. >> translator: the g20 member nations are working hard to cut off the flow of funds to terrorists. i've urged them to do everything they can. >> delegates will talk more about anti-terror measures when they meet again on tuesday.

now finance officials in india are talking up their economy. they say gross domestic product for the fiscal year through march will grow 7.4%. the officials say falling crude oil prices have stabilized inflation and that's encouraged people to spend more. just last month they revised up growth for fiscal 2013 from 4.7% to 6.9%. they say they used a new method to calculate the figure based on international accounting standards. but many experts are confused by the change and some have cast doubt on the growth surge. more and more people are calling on the administration of prime minister narendra modi to make reforms. they're looking for the next fiscal year that's due out at the end of this month. in china pronss and cities have delivered more evidence the world's second biggest economy

is slowing. nearly all of them have lowered their growth targets for 2015. officials in more than 20 provinces and four cities announced their targets at local government meetings. those from beijing have cut their target by half a percentage point to 7%. officials from other governments slashed their targets by up to three percentage points. those from shanghai declined to name a target at all. they merely said they're aiming to achieve stable growth and make structural reforms. president xi jinping has said he wants to focus on quality of growth rather than speed. officials from the national government will unveil their growth target in march at the annual national people's congress. economists expect them to set a target below last year's goal of 7 1/2%. now let's get a check on markets, see what is happening today. uncertainties over the greek debt problems are weighing on

global investor sentiment, and tokyo share prices did open lower. the benchmark nikkei is trading lower by .6% at the moment. 17,606. currency traders, they're also worried about the developments over in greece. they're buying the yen against the dollar and the euro. that's because they regard the japanese currency as a relatively safer asset. and looking at some other markets in the asia pacific region this morning south korea's kospi is in the negative, down by a quarter percent. 1941. let's see what's happening down under. australia's benchmark index, that's in negative territory as well. down a third of a percent at 5,795. so looks like we've got a pretty negative start to our asia pacific markets this morning. i'll keep track of trading for you throughout the day. i'll leave you now with a check on some other market figures. ♪

♪ some people in japan are living with the legacy of a disfiguring illness. they've been cured of leprosy, or hansen's disease, but they're still struggling with the stigma. the sickness is caused by bacteria that attack the skin

and nose and leave victims disfigured. that together with the contagious nature of the sickness is why people afflicted with leprosy were often isolated from society for centuries. the disease is now curable with the proper treatment but for many people around the world who suffered from the sickness as well as from the isolation and discrimination the pain has never gone away. until the late 1990s leprosy patients in japan were forced to live in one of 13 state-run sanatoriums around the country. even people who had recovered were not allowed to leave. at one point the number of patients living in the facilities reached 10,000. more than 200 elderly people still live in a sanatorium on a remote island off the coast of western japan. and they say they're worried their stories will be forgotten. so they've made contact with people in a similar facility overseas. nhk world's daichi takahashi reports.

>> reporter: the island of cuillon in the midwestern philippines was at one time home to one of the world's largest sanatoriums for leprosy patients. some 7,000 people lived here in isolation. masao ishida has long wanted to visit the facility. he has spent most of his life in the sanatorium in japan. >> thank you for coming. it's a dream come true. >> thank you. welcome. >> reporter: it was modeled after the one on this island. >> translator: i think the two sanatoriums in japan and the philippines are somehow connected. in a sense, it seems that the two facilities are just like brothers. >> reporter: ishida first visited the island museum.

this panel depicts the gate that separated the sanatorium from the rest of the island. this is a coin which could be used only on the island. ishida learned that leprosy patients here were cut off from society and treated inhumanely just like what happened in japan. but that's where the similarities end. people here were allowed to have families and to live as families. but in japan it was the opposite. japanese patients were forbidden from having children. pregnant women were forced to have abortions and men were sterilized. >> translator: in the philippines people were allowed to get married and have children. i'm sad we did not have the same

opportunity. >> reporter: agnes suffered from the disease and lost most of her fingers. but she still managed to raise three children, and she now has six grandchildren. agnes makes pendants for a living. she gave one to ishida as a gift. ishida says he's envious that former patients like agnes are fully participating in society and living life to its fullest. >> translator: we should expand our human networks and communities. we have to live life with confidence. >> reporter: ishida is working to have a place in japan where he spent most of his life

registered as a unesco world heritage site. he says he was moved hearing about the experiences of the former patients in the philippines. >> translator: the children and grandchildren of former patients will pass on the history of the leprosy sufferers. they will preserve and nurture what's good. i think we need to carefully study whether we can make use of such a network. kishida says the trip to the philippines has made him even more determined to work with people who suffered similar experiences in other countries. he says he wants to make sure that their stories are passed on to future generations. daichi takahashi, nhk world. it is time now for a check of the weather.

people in many areas of western europe are digging out of heavy snow. meteorologist robert speta has all the details in world weather. >> yes. so what we are seeing out here is really one storm after another. it's been riding along this jet stream which has been skirting down through the mediterranean. at least at this time. high pressure has moved in overhead across western portions of europe. but that was not the case earlier this week and into the past weekend. let's actually go to some ridiovideo out of this area. first starting in northern spain where snow definitely came down. a very serious snowstorm trapped many people. officials were deployed here. you see them traveling by foot to deliver daily needs, medicine and livestock. also into austria many roads were -- well really created some traffic chaos on the roads out here due to heavy snowfall. resulted in a massive car pileup involving over 60 vehicles and several people were injured. trying to move his car out of

the way. 1,300 workers have been deployed to clear the snow off the roads in that specific case as well. and what we are seeing at least clearing conditions as i mentioned. but back toward the east where the storm system is headed not so much the case moving across italy and now over toward the balkan peninsula has been bringing some rough weather out here already. in western turkey you actually did see one report of a tornado. even back here toward the west in athens you've been seeing on and off rain and snow mix and still some snow in your forecast. still could see upwards of about 20 centimeters across parts of sturky and even the winds gusting as high as 80 kilometers per hour. if you have travel plans out here, be ready for delays at the airport. take a look at the temperatures, though. north of that things on the cold side, a big dip in the jet stream really ushering in that cold air mass. kiev with just a high minus 3. moscow at minus 7 there on your tuesday. now, let's move over toward the americas. talking about the snowfall. in the east coast you have just been seeing really one storm

after another. this is one way to put it. take aimage. this is what people in parts of new england have been waking up to what it feels like almost every day for the past several weeks. i actually grew up in an area like this. and this is absolutely a pain to go out and clean on a daily baseus. all that snow off the cars out here. unfortunately, that has been the case. more snow in the forecast once this snow moves away. then on the west coast we do have another storm system which has been impacting an area here. you can see about 20 centimeters of total snowfall accumulation and higher elevation combined with winds gusting as high as 100 kilometers per hour right near the immediate coastline. look at that. another storm system comes in later on this week. it's going to be impacting british columbia. as far as your temperatures, seattle 12 with those rain showers in your forecast. staying warm toward the south, though. los angeles up to 23 there on your tuesday. then we move toward eastern asia. the big topic out here has been the snow in japan, but back toward the west we've actually been looking at high pressure

dominating there. it's been creating some relatively warm temperatures for parts of china, still the fog in there and southwestern portions of china. but the temperatures are on the ride. take a look at hong kong. 18 for a high. sunny skies. still -- partly cloudy skies, even beijing. back toward tokyo. 9. some sunny weather on your tuesday. not the case for awful japan. actually parts of japan even toward fukushima prefecture. some 100 people got trapped on a train out there because of snowfall. all associated with that sea effect snow. and more unfortunately in the forecast. hokuriku upward of 60 centimeters expected there through wednesday. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook. ♪

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

>> greetings from berlin and welcome to our highlight of the past week. lining up this time with the following stories -- chilling out. we visit the world's first ice hotel in sweden. light and shadow. we check out the haunting

installations of kristin and davy mcguire. atlantic escape. picturesque funchal on madeira is a big tourist draw. and we starts up -- and we start off katzper kowalski is no ordinary photographer. that's because when he clicks the shutter he's dangling somehwere in mid-air -- either in a paraglider or in a gyrocopter. the 37 year-old specializes in aerial pho