glad to have you with us on this edition of newsline. friday, january 29th. planned syrian peace talks may face further delays due to demands from opposition block supported by saudi arabia. the u.n. arranged conference was to start friday in geneva with representatives of the syrian government. more than 100 armed groups make up the forces fighting syrian president, bashar a sod. who will represent them at the talks. mainly secular block backed by

russia is now in geneva preparing for the meeting. opposition group supported by saudi arabia were steel inry odd on thursday. funds to the army of islam, which it calls a negotiating partner. russia has reacted sharply to the talks, calling it a terrorist organization. one of the opposition chief negotiators is a senior member of the army of islam. he said the saudi backed block will participate in the u.n. ensures a halt to fighting and the lifting of government blockades on opposition held areas. the resignation of japan's economic rye revitalization amari is a blow to the governor. ry revitalization plan. he stepped down amid allegations of mishandling funds. a magazine reported last week

reported last week that a construction firm gave him funds. he admitted receiving funds, however, he denied pocketing the money. he said the funds were registered as political donations. in a cheerful press conference, he said he was stepping down as supervisor, he was responsible for how things were handled. he also said he did not want the allegations to distract from proceedings at the diet. ish sheree reform minister and environment minister. he now has to focus on seeking the early passage of a budget plan for the next fiscal year which starts in april. the government coal legs hopes to start negotiations on monday. the main opposition democratic party says it continues to

question abe bears responsibility for appointing amari to cabinet. it's also considering summoning a. amari as an unsworn witness. governing coalition have eck pressed concern that it could cause a delay with budgetary planning. the operator of a nuclear plant in central japan plans to bring one of its react tors back online on friday. it will be the third reactor to restart since the government introduced new regulations following thethe power company restart the number three reactor at the toakahama plant if no proksz with the control rods. generating and transmitting electricity on monday. they hope to begin commercial operations late next month.

they'll use mocks fuel, met tone yum, spent nuclear full and uranium. first used of the fuel in japan in about four years. last april, a court issued an injunction to keep the number three and number four reactors at tack hama off-line. it was reversed after they filed an objection. utility number four reactor as late february. japan's em per or and empress are ending the five day visit to the philippines. one of the couple's last stops to a war memorial near manila. both will pay their respects to people who died in world war ii. they're visiting the philippines since the normzation of diplomatic ties.

their first visit in collie rye yeah. they belt the structure in 1973 to honor the war dead. the site was added to the itinerary at the couple's request. they laid flowers at a cemetery dedicated to filipino victims of war. nearly half a million japanese are estimated to have died in the philippines during world war ii. newsline will have live coverage of the impairial couple's. at least 400 monuments. erected after the war by former soldiers of the now defunt imperial armed forces. they're falling into disrepair or have been removed. nhk reports. >> reporter: here, a three-hour drive from the capital manila.

a japanese investigates memorials in the philippines, and keeps the record of the allocations. >> translator: our generation must pass down the legacy of the war to younger generations where people will gradually grow oblivious, leaving the dead in the philippines to be forgotten. >> on the outskirts in the southern island, one monument is taken care of by local people. >> translator: the city was home to a japanese immigrant community of about 20,000 people. in addition to soldiers, many residents died here during the war. age 88, led a project to erect the monument. >> translator: this is me, and here is my brother.

>> he moved before the war, but his brothers were drafted and died in the war. 20 years or so after the war ended, he visited to comfort the soles of the wounded. he said strong japanese sentiment among the locals. >> translator: people become unbalanced when their loved ones are killed or harmed. they want to get revenge on us. >> 57-year-old owns a farm. his relatives were killed by japanese soldiers. >> translator: when the fighter planes came, my mother and others ran for their lives and took cover in the woods, fields and bushes around. my uncle was killed by a japanese soldier. >> but after seeing japanese people, he comes here to mourn

the victims. his feelings changed. santos started to talk with other people, and he then decided to lay a memorial for free. >> translator: i felt japanese people respect the dead, and i respect this about them. there is no need to live in the past. >> completed 11 years ago, the monday knew menthas been maintained by santos and other local people. the mond >> translator: i've been there 51 times already. my main purpose besides praying for victims is to build good relations with the local people. we shouldn't forget the importance of friendship. i have to get my ideas across to

everyone. >> the monument for sharing each other's pain and maintaining exchanges to keep memories alive. nhk world, the philippines. >> japanese officials have released a number of economic data we're learning about household spending, industrial spending and consumer prices. joining us now from the business desk. how is it looking? >> nobody was expecting anything terribly optimistic, even sork the numbers are worst than they thought. what they're finding is that things are costing more, companies are producing less and people are tightening their pursestrings. japanese shoppers were frugal in december. they say spending by all households with two or more members fell 4.4% from a year ago. december marks the fourth straight line of decline.

average $2,600. the fall was steeper for households headed by people working. that number was off 5% and marked the fourth consecutive decline. officials at the economy ministry say industrial production fell 1.4% in december from the previous month. that makes it two straight months of decline. the officials maintain their assessment, saying production has sea sawed. they predicted ae are bound of 7.6% in january, but a drop of 4.1% in january. inflation measures, they say the consumer price index last month was up 0.1% from the same month the previous year for the second month in a row. the gauge was also up when energy and all types of food were excluded. rising 0.8% year on year. rose for the 27th consecutive month. on to markets, tokyo shares

did open higher, following gains on wall street, as well as oil prices for a third straight day, but the neiki is losing steam. it is down a little over 0.4%. data for household spending and factory output. the capital good, but energy gaining. let's check on currency. the bank of japan later today, the dollar yen at 118.74 to 77. it's up against the dollar following when's federal reserve decision, trading at $1.09. let's look at what what is happening across the region. negative picture this morning with both australia and south korea markets down.

>> a japanese government backed fund expected it decide a plan to help out sharp. in the meantime, a taiwan company has a rescue plan of its own. both sides are in discussions with sharp, and its main creditors behind closed doors. but sources close to the matter say the japanese electronics maker will likely pick the fund to rebuilt its business. the sources say that innovation network corporation of japan will go ahead with an investment of about $2.5 billion in sharp, and acquire a majority stake. incj plans to ask the two main banks for $2.5 billion in financial support. taiwan based electronics wants to invest about $5 billion to buyout sharp and take part in its management. sharp has been caution toward that plan. the japanese government wants to

prevent the company's technology from leaving the country. many regions locally produced food, but sales in these markets fell by half in just one 3 years, so they're fighting back. nhk has more. >> reporter: this is the market, one of the biggest and most popular in south korea. hundreds of shops sell vegetables, fish and other produce in the century old venue. sthe these shops have been hit by online shopping. so the market operator has been working hard to rework the decline. >> a young generation has set up shop in this traditional market and making a big difference.

the operator has filled vacant space for rent by young traders. they in turn have expanded the range of items sold at the market. the results have been promising. 30 unique new businesses have sprung up. among them is an arts gallery and a handmade gift shop. the market now forms with young people and has become -- >> translator: ordinary markets only sell food, but this one has lots of other items. i'm glad i came. >> the new blood has revitalized the market. sales are up 24% from a year ago. >> translator: we need to attract people of all ages. it cannot survive if it is just a place for buying and selling.

>> other markets in seoul have taken note. this one has started a new online and phone service. a shopping agent to buy food on behalf of customers who order them. today, shopping agent is connie sue. she has lived near the makt for years. and knows it like the back of her hand. >> how much is beef today? she goes to shop in the market, checks each item carefully and selects them for freshness and price. with the help of a sub siddy, the order and delivery service costs less than $1. >> translator: i buy food for customers by checking it thoroughly as if it were for my own family. >> today, she is delivering the ingredients for a hot pot dish

to a young mother. >> translator: this a beautiful green onion. >> for a hot pot, firm i don't knows are better. so i've chosen one as firm as i could find. without the service, i don't think i'll use the market. >> the south korean government financially supports the revitalzation. they're working together to stop the decline. that means their future looks more secure. nhk world, seoul. >> that's the latest in business news for this hour. here is another check on markets.

family members of japanese nationals taking look into the faft of the ab duckties and other missing nationals months ago. since then, the families have heard nothing. a rally was held in tokyo to appeal for support. the grooup's representative, addressed the gathering. his sister was abductsed at the age of 22. >> translator: no ab duducty ha come home. i want the japanese government to speed up its efforts to all

the abducties can return. >> translator: we are getting older. all i want is to have the abd t abducties freed and to see them gem. >> they adopted a areslution protesting the status quo. they demanded the government use it to tighten sanctions against north korea. the japanese government says north korean agents abducted 17 japanese nationals in the 1970s and '80s. 12 of them remain unaccounted for. the rivers of hope kied doe in japan are some of the world's prime salmon breeding grounds.

it returns through a major urban area. they're getting human help in reproducing. >> the river runs through sap pore row, a city close to 2 million people. . each year, the river is stocked with 200,000 young salmon. this is a season when they show off. the salmon swim 20 kilometers from the mouth of the river and lay the eggs right in the middle of soporo. >> i'm impressed they've gotten here. i walked to this spot to see them. they really work hard to get here. >> people here look forward to the sal man each year. they thought the numbers were to the stocking of the river. a recent study has revealed

something else is going on. >> it turns out that 70% of the salmon in the river are not those that were released as youngers. they are salmon that were born in the wild. this man is a member of the group working it increase the goun count. she believes they should be making the river more suitable for the fish. >> translator: the fish don't have enough safe places to lay eggs. >> salmon lay eggs in shallow river with a gentle current. females use the tails to clear the riverbed to lay eggs. they need a soft riverbed with lots of little rocks and gravel.

however, the river is obstructed by dams and other man-made. they believe it leads to a hard riverbed with few stones. she and the group try to soften the riverbed before the salmon returned. they concentrated on a narrow part of the river between the bank and the sand. the current there is gentle and the water is shallow. good for salmon eggs. the group with shovels, crowbars and picks. but the soil was hard. without help, the salmon would have difficulty making a place to lay eggs. >> the salmon are working really hard doing things that take humans this long to do is amazing. >> digging up 10 meter area took

three-hours. >> translator: it has become much softer. they should help the fish to be able to dig down, about 10 centimeters. >> an advisor to the project thinks humans should do their part to make the riverbed mo more -- >> translator: the salmon lay their eggs and return to the sea. our goal should be to kre atd conditions to allow the cycle to continue as part of a larger ecosystem, sim becomelized by the sal man. >> my dream is for salmon to be able to lay their eggs naturally in the center of the river. it would be good if we can maintain the wild salmon that come here to live. >> the people of saporo would welcome such an explosion. they're happy to share the city with salmon of the wild.

time now for a check of the weather. people across the u.k. preparing for some rough weather. meteorologist robert spet skbroints joins us with the details. >> this storm system rolling over head right now, definitely going to be bring in gusty winds and already they're at london heathrow, an hour-to-hour and a half delay on average, just because of the strong cross winds continuing to come through. but back towards the north, also looking at some snow fall parts of scotland, 10 centimeters, over ireland as well, winds 145 kill lometers per hour. definitely potent, down towards here, it's creating that very high pressure, and that means we're going to be looking at high winds coming out of this. meanwhile, i want to mention

towards italy, you have the big blue h. that means dry conditions. that's been the case as of late. i know last week, we had some rainfall, higher elevations, but over all, it has been exceptionally dry. we have some video out of italy, built in 1959, lowest recorded level since it was originally built about 1% of its capacity, and the level continues to lower, lack of water pressure is leading to the collapse in a few of the walls here, and many italians across the area are rationing the water. we're not going to be seeing enough rainfall in the near term or long-term. noaa, the entire month of february, you could see dry

weather expected over all, not from a specific storm, but just overall, much of italy, the ball kin pins peninsula. we're expecting above average rainfall for those of you here, just because that jet stream being a little farther off there towards the north. now let's take a look towards the americas. speaking of some heavy rain, how about here into the southeastern u.s. florida, two days ago, we were talking about tornado here. it continues to linger, stretching all the way back, over the peninsula, localized flooding. flip side, pacific northwest, we have this storm coming on shore. it's going to work its way across the rockies. the south, the tail end is going to be pushing into parts of central california, even towards nevada. rainfall in much cooler temperatures out here.

look at los angeles dropping down to 16 for your high on sunday. las vegas getting down to 14 there for those of you, and a little bit farther north in reno, maybe some snow fall. japan, talking about snow, the tokyo area in fact could see some of the white stuff here on friday into saturday morning. maybe about 5 to 10 centimeters. west already, heavy rain fall. it all shifts off towards the east though, interacting with that cold air, so higher elevations, seeing about 30 to 40 centimeters of the fresh stuff out there. heading into saturday morning. all right, here's is your extended outlook.

and that is all for this edition in toek yekyo. thanks for staying with us.

stacey thunder: on this edition of "native report," we attend the opening night of a photography exhibit by the late david barry. we go into the kitchen to learn about fry bread. and for this week's archive segment, we learn about the spirit little cedar tree. we also learn something new about indian country and hear from our elders on this "native report." announcer: production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community and the blandin foundation. [music playing]