it's the top of the hour in tokyo and this is nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara. the struggling electronics maker sharp appears closer to having a new owner. they are negotiating with the taiwanese firm also known as fox con. they look set to sign a deal next week, possibly monday. the chairman was at sharp's factory on friday. sources say the twoe at the fin preparations for a take over. sharp's board agreed to the take over late last month. sources say the representatives

have nearly finished screening the liabilities and have found no obstacles. more americans are working. data for last month showed the jobless rate stayed below 5% and show a surge in hiring. the department of labor said unemployment was flat on the month at 4.9%. before january it was not that low in eight years. nonfarm employers at the jobs and expected around 190,000. employment stayed strong despite the stock markets and fall in crude oil prices. average hourly wages lost steam. they rose 2.2% year on year and fell slightly month on month. they are studying the jobs data for clues about the timing of the fed's next hike in the key interest rate. policy makers ended years of near zero interest with the hike in december. they are due to meet on the 15th

and 16th of this month. a court in tokyo opened a hearing in a damagingses suit. a group of 50 current and former individual shareholders are suing for about $2.6 million in damages. the plaintiffs say they suffered losses after toshiba's accounting scandal triggered a plunge in the share price. the firm and the former officials intentionally misled investors, presenting false statements in the securities report. lawyers for toshiba and the former executives denied allegations and they are asking the court to throw out the case. the legal team representing the investors said individual stakeholders in western japan filed similar suits and the total number of plaintiffs has risen to around 100. they add that another group of more than 150 current and former shareholders are expected to

file similar suits later this month. bank of japan governor is denying he plans another interest rate cut for now. the central bank applied negative rates as they try to hit a 2% inflation target. >> translator: at this point i'm not answering further lowering the negative interest rate. >> he spoke at an upper house committee and believes quantitative and qualitative easing steps along with the negative rate policy will lead to an early achievement of inflation goal. he indicated that he would take additional monetary easing measures if necessary. delegates from all parts of china are getting ready to gather for the national people's congress. they will spend ten days discussing the priorities and expectations. high on their agenda are plans

to grow the economy. economic growth fell to the lowest in a quarter of a century. the government wants gdp and average incomes in 2020 to be twice what they were in 2010. leaders will share their blueprint for the coming years. they are expected to maintain the gdp target of at least 6.5% a year. they will like lie drop an economic model that depends on cheapula labor and waste resources and try to drive ecofriendly growth using innovation. another goal is lifting more than 50 million people out of poverty. for this year, leaders will aim to cut surplus production of steel and coal and clear housing inventory. they will likely push to cut the debts of companies and local governments. they are expected to help

companies by cutting taxes. they will deliberate with a surge in spending on defense. the premier league will talk to the media after the gathering ends on the 16th of this month. north korean leaders are ramping up rhetoric against un sanctions, threatening the world with what they call a merciless physical response. a newscaster on state run tv read out a statement and they are an evil entering crime aimed at isolating the nation. >> if any undesirable affairs occur, the united states and other major countries, they are followers and those that contributed to the un resolution will be responsible.

>> kim jung un made sure the warheads are ready to be fired spnt to depend the country. they pledged to maintain measure until they give up the arsenal. they want to guarantee survival and the only way for the north to survive is by abandoning such weapons. philippine officials have inspected a north korean cargo vessel at a port in manila. we now go to bang caulk. >> the ship is one of the newly black listed vessels that had the asset freeze. kathleen o campo has details.

>> the north korean vessel was immediately inspected by they said the vessel arrived from indonesia, carrying a load. >> the vessels are coming from north korea to be more careful for inspection and that's what we did. we conducted inspection and the insecurity. >> inspectors department find any suspicious materials, but the freighter was included on the list of 31 ships covered with the new un measures. the vessels are owned by the north korean shipping firm, ocean maritime management company. they were black listed after another freighter was detained in panama the previous year for carrying munitions.

the cargo included two jet fighters. the security council on wednesday unanimously approved the toughest sanctions yet. all cargo going to and from the north must now be inspected. but un security council resolutions have not always been applicable to member states. the countries are expected to play a key in covering the loopholes because pyongyang has diplomatic ties with all ten asean members. >> southeast asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. thailand's capital of bangkok and surrounding areas are at risk because the city is sinking while sea levels are rising. you don't have to travel far to find communities being lost to

the ocean. we have a report. 30 kilometers from bangkok. the village on the gulf of thailand is one of the worst affected communities. the village temple had to be raised almost two meters. it used to stand at the center of the village. now is an island protected by a dike. others are submerged. part was swallowed up by the sea and they show where the old road used to be. about a kilometer of land is already lost. remnants of the community are still visible above the line. crumbled concrete structures and

the krim brim of a watering tan. >> translator: over there was the first primary school. the flags are there to demarcate the ruins. >> they said 200 households have left. she herself had to move eight times to escape the encroaching waters. >> translator: i lived here since i was born and seen the separations and damage to the village. we could be the last generation fighting for our land. if we don't try, the village will surely disappear. >> an expert monitoring the area since the early 1990s said the rate of erosion is about 30 meters a year. he estimates that in 20 years another kilometer of land will be gone. in 50 years, it could be two kilometers.

>> translator: including this village, the whole area of the upper gulf of thailand along the 120 kilometer, about 7,300 acres of land disappeared. at the worst point, the shoreline was lost by one kilometer. this is the reality. the situation will be more severe. >> thailand's capital and the largest city of bang tock is also threatened. built on a swampy river delta, it has been sinking for decades. a government survey found over the past 30 year, bangkok and surroundings sunk by about one meter due to massive ground water pumping. many houses and shops in this suburb are on low-lying ground prone to flooding. they built raised cement floors to keep the water out. >> i raised it twice already and

now we wait and see. if the waters come up further, i have to do it again. >> between the rising seas and the government endorsed the committee issued a warning to the cabinet. pointing out that areas are barely one meter above sea level. they floated the idea of relocating the capital. from coastal villages to the streets of bangkok, thais must prepare for more changes to come as rising sea levels literally reshape the country. nhk world, bangkok. >> that wraps up our bulletin from bangkok. >> officials from tokyo and okinawa ended a legal battle

over a plan to relocate a u.s. air base, but it's not resolved yet. they are heading back to the bargaining table. >> translator: following the settlement, the government wants to negotiate with okinawa sincerely to reach an amicable conclusion. >> it is meaningful that they accepted the settlement. now both sides need to show accountability to solve this long standing issue. >> abe agreed to suspend construction on the plan base. they will drop all lawsuits against each other and hold talks. the central government filed the suit in november. it is one of three cases. the government wants to move the u.s. marine corps station to a coastal area within the

prefecture. residents call it the most dangerous base in the world because it is in the middle of a densely populated area. the governor wants it moved out of okinawa all together. he revoked a permit to reclaim land, but tokyo wanted a court to give it the authority to override the decision. the two sides remain far apart. he said there is no other alternative than that of the current relocation plan. he immediately criticized abe saying it wasn't an appropriate comment given the settlement was just reached. they will deal with the case carefully to reach a final deal. >> white house spokesperson told nhk the government will not comment on legal procedures, but he did say the current relocation plan is the only way to avoid continuous use of the

base. police in japan are enhancing capacity to prevent terrorist attacks from harming the most vulnerable people and places called soft targets. they conducted a drill in central tokyo, a venue that would be challenging to guards because it hosts thousands of people. police greeted a scenario in which a terrorist places a bomb outside and attacks the hall in a concert. police officers and employees at the venue ran an evacuation drill. a special riot unit subdued a man playing the role of an attacker. members of a bomb squad practiced removing a mock explosive device. police have been working together with managers of large facilities to step up security following the terror attacks in paris last year. >> translator: i think cooperation between the police and the private sector is crucial to attack anything

suspicious. >> they are tightening ahead of the group of seven summit they host in may. japanese officials have drafted a plan to counter global warming through 2030 that includes a long-term goal of cutting green house gas emissions by 80%. the plan was presented at a panel on friday and calls for the promotion of energy saving and energy technologies and the use of nuclear energy. the goal is to cut green house gas emissions by 26% by 2030 compared to 2o 13 levels. it's the first time they set a long-term target to cut back emissions by 80% by the year 2050. the plan comes from agreements made at the climate change conference in paris last december. countries agreed to bring down net global emissions to in the latter half of the century. the head of the government panel stresses that a long-term perspective is essential.

>> we need to tackle the issue throughout the century and for more than 100 years from now. >> the environment minster shares his view. transwe need a long-term strategic pressure that includes drastic changes of the economic and social systems as well as lifestyles. >> officials intend to have the plan formally approved before the g 7 summit. >> on march 11th, entire communities were watch washed away. the journey from disaster will look at the region and people five years on. they are helping to stay connected as a build a new

future. he carries on with his duties in the place where he was born and raised. >> the train station was there and city hall was there and the museum was straight down this street. it's harder to harder to remember what the down looked like. >> almost all of the museum's collection have been donated by the team of the city. they had a link to residents's lives. parts of the portrait of the community's history. nothing made him happier than people coming to see them. in march of 2011, the tsunami overwhelmed. six employees died or remain

unaccounted for and only he survived. he recruited to begin searching for the 560,000 articles of the collection. rescuers were being looking for missing people, but the museum team members were concentrating on finding objects. not everyone appreciates the efforts. >> translator: comments like why don't you look for people instead of things. those words hurt. if i didn't do it, who else would? >> after the earthquake, the museum moved temporarily to a school building that had been vacated. for five years, he and his staff have devoted themselves to

resurrecting the collection. every day, they remove salt for items soaked by seawater. some things will never be as they were. for example, traditional dolls. the clay just couldn't stand up to the onslaught of the tsunami. nobody makes these dolls anymore and the staff was despondent. it turned out not all was lost. >> someone from the city donated this after the earthquake. we are exceptionally grateful. >> the plum blossom motif on the red kimono is characteristic of the dolls. families will display their own collections praying for their daughters's happiness. the doll was donated by this woman. >> translator: mothers would pick out different dolls each year for their daughters.

my own mother did too. >> she brought the dolls with her when she got married. later she displayed them for her own daughter. >> they contain my mother's hopes for me. if the museum accepts them, children will be able to enjoy looking at them for years to come. >> with the passage of time, he sees signs that public opinion is coming around. construction of new buildings in the community will begin in july. the whole city has to start anew. >> as we rebuild, there is one thing we must not forget. our history. we must preserve it in our new town. >> each item in the collection

establishes that link. the future will have tangible evidence of the past. >> next, homecoming. the tsumani swept an untold number of objects across the pacific. it generated good will between communities an ocean apart. >> it's a place of comings and goings. >> late last year, this shrine gate was restored. this is the most instruct ufr. it was washed away and it arrived back home. this is a carpenter that

restored the gate. >> translator: i'm feeling happy that we have been able to restore the torii here today after many, many months. >> in 1988, he built the gate that stood on this spot. local fishermen prayed here for safety before going out to sea. but in 2011, the five-meter high tsunami engulfed the port and the gate was lost. two years after the disaster, a part of it turned up on the other side of the pacific in the u.s. state of oregon. he works at the japanese garden there. he tried to figure out where the beam had come from. characters carved on the torii provided the clue of a name of person who seemed to have donated the gate.

he visited the disaster area in japan and found that the torii could have come from a port there. he gathered donations for returning it from individuals and businesses in the u.s. and japan. >> translator: torii have special meaning for japanese people. once the lost part was found, i wanted it returned to its original place. >> newspapers picked up on the story. he was among those who read of the long journey. >> when i saw newspaper, i knew it was the torii i had built. >> in october last year, the beam came back to the place from which it had left. it had traveled 14,000

kilometers in the round trip across the ocean. people thought they would never see it again. but there it was along with the man who traveled from the u.s. so share the joy of the homecoming. >> the characters i carved here allowed it to return home. i'm overcome with happiness. thank you very much. it made everything worthwhile. their generation will learn the story of the gate. >> i'm very happy. >> the gate belongs to the children. i hope they will always treasure it. i did this for them.

>> adults have hopes for the restoration of the torii. it's for the revival of the fishing industry. >> i put up the torii hoping that all people in the area will be able to reestablish their lives as they were before the disaster. >> the community plans to hold a celebration in may inviting people from the united states who helped with the project. the rebuilding of the gate has built friendships across the ocean. nhk world. >> please join us for more stories in the series, journey from disaster. >> march 11th, an earthquake strikes japan, setting off a stat strofic chain reaction that devastate the coast and a plant

is sent spiraling out of control. years on, survivors are rebuilding their lives and learning lessons from the tragedy. there is a long way to go. journey from disaster and resilience. >> here's a quick look at the weather. that's all we have on "newsline." thank you for watching and have a good day. xnóx

king coal. who's still financing it? many major investment funds are pulling their money out. in kenya, we engage with elephants and find out why they need special protection. but first we report from north africa, where people in tunisia are growing increasingly frustrated. reporter: the people of tunisia are taking to the streets again. five years ago, this was the birthplace of the arab spring, with mass civil unrest directed at the government for its mishandling of the economy. there was so much hope that things would change after the fall of the regime.