. welcome to newsline. it is thursday, january 28th chtd i'm catherine in tokyo have attended a state banquet in manila held in their honor. the philippines president spoke at the start of the dinner. >> translator: it is a great honor for our people to host the imagine esty indeed emphasizes the depth of the friendship between our two nations. >> akin na also said he had solidarity between the two countries, shared prosperity for generations to

[ speaking in a foreign language ] >> the em pore or said it is the couple's deepest hope that their visit will contribute to better understanding and friendship between the two countries. the imperial visited the two of the unknown soldiers who died in battle. on thursday, they'll meet local residents, including people of japanese decent and japanese

nationals. people in western japan after affects of the record cold spell. 120,000 households are still without at that poitap water, b across the region. >> people in the city got a bit of relief as warmer weather thawed pipes. on wednesday, they saw their taps run dry again. this time, because officials cut off the supply. directly rising temperatures resulted in new ruptures and the loss of a lot of water. >> translator: we're trying to avoid a long water stoppage. >> maintenance crews are having a tough time spotting leaks. the aging population means abandoned houses to check.

and even when they find the source, finding the valve is another challenge. residents are frustrated. >> translator: i need drinking water for my children. i hope it will be restored as soon as possible. >> there is my third time today, all i need is water. not money. >> leaks sprang up right across cue shoe and water inside fell rapidly. but the largest city managed without cutting service. a reservoir was introduced decades after the city suffered a major drought. tokyo is the only other japanese city with a backup. it's a costly solution for smaller municipalities.

nhk world. new u.s. fighter jets have been strongly oppose their presence because of the noise and local authorities complain they were not informed beforehand. 12 f-16 fighter jets flew there wednesday. u.s. air force officers say they'll stay until the end of the next month. they say the deploy mentis part of a drill. noise problems will increase. he says the situation is the complete opposite to the u.s. and japan's stated goal of reducing its burden of hosting u.s. forces. he demanded the jets be withdrawn. three local towns surrounding the base plan to conduct a survey on noise next month. china's foreign minister

descending the country's actions in the disputed south china sea. in a meeting with his u.s. counterpart, he said the construction of facilities in the territory is to protect the country's sovereignty. china claims almost all of the sea and has been accused of building up reefs in the chain. mill titary eyesing them, no intention of. >> translator: there are a lot of facilities for the private sector and public service in the islands. besides, there are certain facilities for our defense. it's consistent wintinternation law. every country has the right of self-defense. >> wang pointed out the philippines in vietnam deployed forces first. they both claimed the territory as well. >> translator: if the exercise of the right to self-defense it

militarization, then the self-china sea has already been. >> u.s. secretary of state john kerry urged china to move forward, to ease tension which has risen in past months. >> i stress the importance of finding common ground among the claimants, and voiding a destabilizing cycle of mistrust or escalation. >> it's time now to move on to business news. central ba central bank officials in japan have a lot to talk about. joining us now from the business desk. what's on the agenda. >> prices catherine are what is on the agenda. markets have been volatile since the start of the year. oil, one commodity for much lower than people thought. japan imports a lot of it, which brings down over all prices, but that might be good for

consumers, but for banks, to keep it stable, it's not what they were expecting much they may have to tweak their policy to reflect that. analysts are expecting the bank of japan, 1.4% to around 1%. the new fiscal year begins in april. for fiscal '17, they're not expected to make any big changes in the outlook of 1.8%. the central bank officials will discuss if they need to push back the date for achieving their 2% inflation target. bank of japan governor said last weekend in switzerland that the underlying price trend is not deteriorating, but pointed out that some indicators on inflation expectations have been somewhat weak. with that in mind, the policymaker also carefully monitor if it's needed to hit that inflation target. over in the united states,

their central bank has wrapped up its two-day policy meeting. the federal interest rate policy. the statement notes improvement in labor market conditions, but says economic growth slowed late last year, as exports weakened. it says the fed officials closely monitoring global economic and financial developmen developments, such as china's slow down, low energy prices and volatile stokt markets. the fed has indicated it will make four incremental hikes this year. waiting to see if they'll go ahead with the next hike at their policy meeting in march. given the increase uncertainty in the global economy. all right, let's take a look at what is happening with markets, stock prices on wall street turn neglect give following the fed statement, and that spilling

over to tokyo. lower this morning. it is falling, it fell below 17,000. right boof the 17,000 mark. sold on the fed recognizing a slowing global economy and the recent market turmoil in stocks and crude oil. let's look at currenciecurrenci. the dollar traded between the mid and upper 188 yen announcement. currently the dollar is right around mid 118 yen levels. the euro gained a touch, $1.09, it's at $1.08. asia pacific region, mostly negative pictures. south down 3/4%, australia, 0.10%. two major japanese companies about $150 million fine, that's

more than 137 million euros for participating in a car tell and coordinating prices of auto parts. the european commission says the collusion took place between mitsubishi and high attach chee, among themselves carenin parts from 2004 to 2010, an trti trus rules. the cartel to the commission. the e u.s. competition commissioner criticized, saying it affected car manufacture ares in europe and ultimately hurt consumers. they stressed they'll crack down on acts and infringe on free competition in the economic area even if the collusion takes place outside of europe. well, this week we've been running a special series on en tra pra nears, in our third and final installment, we sit with

an innovative robot. cutting edge technology helping people to make better connections. nhk has the story. this robot can communicate so naturally that you might think you're talking to a human. in fact, you are. the robot called ohemei, has a speaker and eye microphone. operated remotely by a person using a tablet or smartphone. it's the brainchild of 28-year-old. >> translator: the robot is a personal avatar where they can't

be physically present. >> what says ory apart is the to use body language to convey the user's feelings, like worry, pleasure and even humor. >> translator: i had the idea that a robot could help make people more connected, communicating by phone or skype doesn't feel personal. >> the company released last summer. it has already attracted some dedicated users. he's an engineer who works for a company that makes artificial limbs. he is recovering at home after having throat surgery. while he is away from his office, he attends meetings through the robot. >> translator: you're not close enough to see the thumb, are

you? >> translator: i feel like i'm right there, not completely there, but i can express my feelings you through the body language. >> fugi was inspired to create the robot because of an experience he had as a boy. he was sick throughout his childhood and was forced to miss about three and a half years of school. >> translator: i was really depressed for a long time, thinking that no one needed me. if something like this robot was around back then, i would have put it in the classroom and attended my lessons remotely from the hospital. that may have saved me from feeling isolated, and could have helped me make a smooth return

to school. >> fuji is already working on the next challenge. he is making improvements to the robot so it can be used by people suffering from serious diseases or disabilities. on this project, he is receiving from one of his staff members. >> translator: this is our newest version of the robot. >> both the use of his arms and legs in a traffic accident. fuji wants to help people in similar situations go out and play an active role in society. >> even if you're like him and can't move your body, as long as your mind has vigor and you have

someone who recognizes your efforts and tells you thank you, you're a great help. i'm strongly motivated to realize such a future. >> and you can watch our series on our nhk world website. here's another check on markets.

malacia antiruption agency new move prime minister, it announced werchs it will seek a review of a decision to clear him of wrongdoing in a multi-million dollar scandal. the agency said it would sub my the decision to an independent panel that reviews cases public prosecutor has not pursued. he has been criticized for reports he received $681 million from a state fund shortly before the general election three years ago. on tuesday, malaysia's attorney general cleared him of any criminal offenses, saying the money was a personal donation from the saudi royal family. he has returned $620 million because it had not been used. but he did not mention what happened to the remaining $61 million. opposition lawmakers and antigraft activists have

criticized the attorney general who was appointed by him. last year, tens of thousands of people staged protests in the country. they demanded that najib step down over the scandal. the former director of the museum in tokyo. afghanistan's decades of conflict that still continues. they will eventually be returned. omari told us he thanks japanese specialists for protecting afghan artifacts. the cultural buddha statues. said seeing the pieces made him feel the happiest he had ever been. added japan's care of them was a big gift to his people. the city is considering displaying them in afghanistan after their return. >> this will be introduced into civilization and each culture and also with the unique art of

our country. >> before the artifacts are returned, they'll be exhibited in various places, including tokyo in april. health authorities in central and south america are scrambling to combat the ongoing outbreak of the zika virus in the region. brazil's government said it will deploy 22,000 troops, to raise awareness and mow ski tow breeding ground. tourist sites ahead of the annual rio carnival. brazilian, a condition in which babies are born with brain damage and abnormally small heads. nearly 4,000 infants in brazil have found to have the birth defect. the world health organization says as of last

saturday, he had received reports of infection in 1 countries and territories. the outbreak originated with a patient in columbia told the news conference on tuesday, they expect to see 600,000 cases in the country this year. they said the outbreak is likely to peek between march and april. last week, authorities in el salvador warned women in the country not to get pregnant until 2018. one of japan's best known soccer players has a new goal. the national team at two world cups, you know's using the sport to promote reckon sillzation in bosnia. communities are still recovering from one of the bloodiest civil wars in modern making frequent visits to

bosnia. this summer, he plans to open an academy for children in the city of mostar. mostar is split between catholics and muslims. after fierce fighting in the 1990s, the communities remained divided. he believes the key to reck reconciliation lies with the younger children who doesn't have the war. that pleays a key role. >> mutual respect, communication, these are things that can be learned through sport. the aim is not to develop soccer players. it is to train children to become community leaders through the sport. moto's interesting the

region, sparked by hearing from players from the former yugoslavia, he went to graduate school where he learned through sports. already 60 children from both communities have begun training at the academy. >> how do you feel being around kids from other ethnic groups? >> it's good. we can play together. i like it here. >> attends the training sessions. muslim forces in the war, he lost his uncle and many close friends. his hope is that his children will never have to experience

war. >> translator: there certainly an invisible wall in this town. i hope that by interacting through sports, that wall will disappear one day. >> translator: i hope that eventually, the local people will take over and turn that academy into a safe place where children can develop their bodies and mind through sport and by inter alktiacting with o people. >> for moto, sports means a lot than just competition. he hopes the project will inspire similar initiatives as well as in the world. nhk world, mostar. time for a check of the weather. people across japan have been bundling up. meteorologist robert spet particul.

>> yes, actually we were looking at record breaking temperatures across parts of western japan, ex tending through the japanese islands, taiwan, numerous casualties due to hypo therm mia because of the chilly temperatures. if you do not like the cold, there is some good news in the forecast. you could see the cloud cover coming in southeastern china. rain fall in a few low cases, 50 to 100 millimeters. as this comes up, you have these southerly winds, and as that moves through, that's going to pull up those southerly winds and warmer temperatures with it and definitely bring above average temperatures for most of you out here, record breaking for the southern japanese islands. heavy rainfall. we do have some snow on the grounds for western areas. this is going to melt this off rather quickly. localized flooding. tok

tokyo, rain to snow mix into inland areas, downtown locations friday and saturday, rainfall. higher elevations, storm system is going to be potent. heavy snow fall for a few locations. bigger pig tie bigger picture, winter like in bay jang, ba tore, minus 20 for your high there on thursday. look over towards europe. big topic into western europe. low pressure, moving off to the scanda navia, behind it. bluster reconditions. some flooding there over norway. big things with the westerly winds, kick up the showers, into scotland, foothills, some snow, definitely making for some slick drives conditions for the rainfall continuing coastal areas. bigger picture, thiengs are staying mild towards the south.

average temperatures for those you in vienna, earlier this week in athens, when you have rain/snow mix, moving through greece, 17 for the high on thursday. let's look over towards the americas. earlier talking about tornado in florida. rain showers coming in this area, and a few thunderstorms. back towards the north, cold air, some lake-effect snow showers across some of these areas. big topic is going to be this storm system right here. that is going to bring some rough weather into british columbia and localized heavy ryan, 50 to 70 millimeters coming out of this. as it pulls off the east, mid to early to mid next week, it's going to be a big snow maker potentially for areas across the central u.s. watching out for. relatively calm now.

temperatures lynnering into the single digits. southwest, though, los angeles with a high to 23, warm side. 72 hours, you are looking at some above average temperatures. hot spot on the map. front pulling through and cool off. vegas getting down to 15 down there by sunday. all right, extended outlook.

that concludes this edition of newsline. thanks for staying with us.

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