held hello there, welcome to "newsline," i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. federal reserves have been thinking about the timing of future rate hikes. but uncertainties in the global economy making them cautious. out come of the latest policy meeting. let's go straight to ai uchida. this time officials decided not to raise rates. >> there he debated, but in the end, the officials decided to leave it unchanged between 0.235 and 0.5%. the u.s. has been expanding at a

moderate pace, but global and financial developments continue to pose risks. the fed raised rates in december for the first time in nine and a half years. it suggested it would continue to make further moves four times during 2016, but now the officials say it will likely be twice. >> committee continues to feel that we're in a course where the economy is improving and inflation is moving back up. and as i indicated, if events continue to unfold in that way, we're likely to gradually raise rates over time. >> yellen added the officials will look at how the economy behaves and look for any surprises. recent moves by the counterparts in japan and europe, which have lowered rates into negative territory. well, u.s. stock markets

ended higher, after the release of the fed's decision, the dow jones, closing 17,325. the tech heavy nasdaq rose good morning, rami. >> good morning, investors expected no change. but a lot were cheered by the comments from the fed chief, janet yellen, we're seeing the continuation of that positive sentiment here for the nikkei and the opening levels. topics back above the 17,000 level, 1s 7,104. what are the consequences, however, which may effect investors is that shift lower that we saw in the dollar, actually, following the fed meeting. so let's have a look at some of

the levels here with the key pairs, the key pair of dollar/yen. clearly well under that 113 yen level. traded as high as 113.81. we'll see how that continues. that says the fed is looking at the downside risks from the external factors, an downgrading on investments. u.s. industrial production data didn't help. it fell 0.5% in february. now, we need to look at the reaction in energy stocks as well. crude oil showed strong gains of major oil producers would meet next month to discuss a cap on output. this follows an agreement between saudi arabia and russia, should other producers follow. producers such as iran are inclined to go the other way.

they want to increase after sanctions have been lifted. ai. >> tell us how the asian markets are opening this morning? >> exactly, obviously the follow-through from the fed affects the indexes. seoul kospi trading higher, 200, also up almost 0.60%. china's markets will open in one and a half hours. we'll keep track of that. shanghai extended nourt day national people's congress in the session, premiere lee transportation billions of dollars. in that sector will be gearing up for increase in sales. they'll be carefully projecting demands for the products. convenient store business, chinese companies looking to tie up with japanese partners, 7/11

will be in strong contention for new business in china as well. so a lot of focus there. but for now, the nikkei up 111 points. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that update. leaving liquid crystal display maker and letting go of some workers. japan had been looking for sharp which decided to accept a takeover bid by taiwan hon hai. they'll i'd dal t they will -- near tokyo, about 600 employees are currently working at those sites. the firm has decided to move some of the people to other plants in japan, but some others will be asked to take early retirement. the firm reportedly also has restructuring or merger plans

for its chinese plants. the moves include possible sales and closures. many major companies and labor leaders have struck deals on wage strikes and working conditions. managers have been giving pay increases for the last two years during the annual negotiations. many of them granted record high raises, last year. but the picture now is a bit different. nhk world has more on the outcome of the talks, and the effects it may have on japan's economy. >> reporter: about 2 million workers in major industries like cars, steel and electronics got their answers from company managers after weeks of negotiations. union officials are gathered here to share information on the outcome of the negotiations. the figures are starting to come in. many major companies have agreed to give raises. executives say they'll hike base

salary by more than $13 a month. managers at electronics makers, such as panasonic and hitachi have agreed for raises. >> third straight year working in those corporates. still, the amount of the increase is small compared to last year, and under workers' demands. they had to accept only half of what they asked for. they say global market turmoil and a slow down in the economies are making japanese companies reluctant to spend more on wages. >> translator: we went through some very fierce negotiations. there have been some drastic changes in the business environment this made it a lot tougher for us. >> reporter: this could pose a problem to the overyou'he overa.

create a cycle. an export forecasts that given the limited wage hike, the growth of personal consumption would stay around 0 to 1%. >> government officials were hoping companies would offer bigger wage increases than last year. but there ose expectations were met. it looks like a heavy blow. weaker performances than big companies. the wage hikes are likely to be smaller. >> if weak demand continues, that would hurt japan's chances of generating the cycle of pay raises and consumer spending. modest wage hikes are threatening to keep japan's stock in the slow lane. nhk world.

and tokyo markets are trading higher this morning. i'll leave you with a check on markets. a video showing a man, he went missing after he entered syria in june last year. the video was posted opposition activist facebook page on

wednesday. the syrian man who posted the video told nhk by telephone that he is being held by the al qaeda linked front. he said he obtained the video mediating for his release. he entered syria accompanied by a guide last june. in the video, the man says his name is jumba, on his birthday, march 16th. the man then gives a message to his family, saying he wants to hig his wife, father, mother and father. it looks like he was reading from a prepared text. the foreign minister made a statement about the video. >> translator: we know about the video. we're analyzing it. securing the safety of the japanese citizens is one of the most important duties. we are using every channel we have to gather information.

>> he said he would refrain from making further comments considering the nature of the issue. a chinese government official has said tsunami auto lert center is being set up in the south china sea. the chief of the country's state administration wang hong made the remark on wednesday. >> translator: we have finished the first stages of construction of the center. it has already begun initial operations issuing tsunami alerts on the south china sea. said cooperation in the region is one of the government's important focuses. he also said china hopes to work with neighboring countries and create a peaceful and harmonious sea. he did not give details. construction of artificial islands in the south china sea is not for military purposes,

but for provision of civil services. observers say the nation wants to reenforce its claim by providing disaster information. china claims most of the south china sea, but several nations and taiwan say some areas belong to them. some business people and workers in south korea are calling on their government to reopen the kaesong complex. seoul suspended operations with pyongyang last month. executives and companies that did business in the complex held a rally near the border on wednesday. they marched to the gait of the compound on the south korean side. the demonstrators asked the government to allow the resupgs of operations and to compensate them for the damage they'vesived from the suspension. the closure was part of south kore korean sanctions against the north following a recent nuclear test and rocket launch by pyongyang. the north responded by saying it

will seize all assets of south korean firms in the complex. a team of japanese researchers says it has made a break through in alzheimer's research. the scientists say lab mice with the disease were able to recall previously established memories. they say the findings could pave the way to treat systems of the disease. a mouse had been put in a box and given an electric shock show showed hesitation. it had not retained the memory of it. the mit center for neuro genetics used light. it then started to hesitate when put back in the box. researches say it was able to recall the experience through the stimulation. nobel laurette people with

early stage alzheimer's disease may not be erased but could be inn accessible for recall. in our series, women of vision, we've been giving women who are influencing japanese society their due. today, it's a grief counselor who has become more important since 2011. her efforts to heal the heartache caused by the earthquake and tsunami. >> reporter: the town in northeastern japan was devastated by

she them. >> translator: i know all of you have difficult days. you lost your homes and family members. nevertheless, you've continued to work. >> reporter: took her husband and parents from her, her home too. she is now raising three sons by herself.

>> reporter: she says grief tends to linger when the losses come from a catastrophe. >> translator: in disasters, people suffer immense losses all at once. their family members, homes, heirlooms and communities are torn away from them. survivors tend to blame themselves, because they can't find anyone else to hold responsible. >> reporter: she speaks from experience. she barely survived the earthquake 21 years ago. she had already been a grief counselor for several years, but the quake made her realize that the work was actually her mission. she has counseled more than 20,000 people. in 2009, she became the director

of the country of the first institute for grief counseling. she says that the changing face of japanese society makes caring more important than never. >> translator: when families were larger and communities were tighter, people had more access to support. if someone died, everyone comforted the family. that's hardly the case any more. >> reporter: what especially concerns her now is loneliness in the areas, leading to high rate of suicide. above the national average. she regularly holds talks to coax survivors out of a sense of isolation. >> translator: revealing the grief of the death is helpful, don't you think. >> translator: i hope we can support each other. i want to move forward for a

real recovery. >> translator: as long as even one tear remains in people's minds, i don't believe recovery has occurred. we need to develop the determination to bring about a true recovery. >> she also teaches grief counseling to nurses, care workers and teachers. she tries to instill in them the spirit that she she says those in despair are the only ones to be helped by care and counseling. she believes everyone can benefit from in the more compassionate society. nhk world.

the ultimate showdown of human versus machine has come to an end. south korea as master and google's artificial intelligence program faced off in five intense rounds of the traditional strategy game, go. many are surprised by the result and are looking at what ai could mean for the future. nhk world reports from seoul. >> reporter: this isn't your average board game match. for five rounds in one week, people have gathered to watch the game of go fought between one of the world's top players, and the computer, google's ai program, alpha go. >> i think he'll win 4-1, even if machine is strong, there is no way it can out smart humans. >> most believe he would beat the computer in the game, which allows an enormous number of possible moves, far more than chess. >> players judge their next move

using intuition and experience. it was believed to be impossible for even the most advanced computer to do the same. until now. the machine swept to victory, losing only one of the five matches to its human opponent. >> translator: alpha go has enormous concentration and doesn't get sigh logically both could beat ai if i faced another match. >> google used a new technology called deep learning in alpha go. that enabled the software to develop its own judgments by repeating games with other computers. it allowed the software to

obtain a type of intuition, just like humans. >> it's been absolutely mind-blowing week. we've learned a lot of things from playing, and of course, he exposed service weaknesses in the system that we feel we can improve. >> so can it be said the software is better than go than humans? this professional player doesn't think so. he watched all of the games online. >> translator: alpha go can find the solution with the highest probability in a difficult situation faster than humans. but ai is slower than humans when it comes to solving a specific problem. >> it has sparked new interest in artificial intelligence. at this conference, experts are talking about the feature of ai, and what it will mean for humans. the technology is already used in our daily lives, in tasks

such as online picture searches, or much talked about self-driving technology. one of south korea's top researchers believes ai will enhance people's lives. >> translator: operating ai is like having a secretary that takes care of everything without having to spell out the details. if you think your secretary is intelligence is increasing, there is nothing to be afraid of. >> but others are concerned artificial intelligence could constitute a serious threat to humanity. experts predict humans will have fewer work opportunities, if ai technologies develop. >> translator: i fear that one day, a super artificial intelligence may emerge and humans will have to be wear. >> computer to master, but the results of the match of the century has shown that ai technology is evolving more

rapidly than expected. some think that means humans may have to consider how to live with highly competent machines. nhk world, seoul. all right, it's time for a check of the weather. people across japan are seeing sunny skies and it's starting to feel warmer out there. meteorologist robert speta joins us with more in world weather. >> yes, at least over the next 48 hours, if you do like the spring weather, get out there and enjoy it. across most of japan, temperatures continuing to spike up here. into the high teens, low 20s, including the tokyo area, but things could be changing by the end of the weekend. for now, high pressure still dominating, keeping things rather warm. you have the sunny skies continuing to linger out here. you might see the pollen in the air, if you suffer from hayfever, that might bother you here throughout the day on your thursday into friday. but things are going to be

clearing up, because as far as the pollen is concerned, but the precipitation, we have a low pressure down southeastern china, heavy rainfall for you. it shifts off towards the east into western locations of japan, even moving towards tokyo. saturday morning, maybe some snow in the higher elevations. this is definitely going to be on the wet side. before that moves out and moves toward the east. we get a cool down early next week. for the time being, though, as i mentioned, definitely spring like out there. tokyo with a high of 19, sunny skies for you, shanghai, rain showers passing through, high of 18. seoul up to 15. beijing, up to 18 here on your thursday. all right, let's take a look over here towards europe. talk about spring weather. not just with temperatures, but also the severe storms. powerful low pressure continuing to linger and brought heavy rainfall, about 57 millimeters,

two centimeter hail, and really, the severe weather, eastern locations of the peninsula, extending greece towards croa a croatia. so definitely a severe weather threat continuing to linger. the good news back towards the north, away from the jet stream. looking at fairly descent conditions berlin, sunny skies, continuing to dominate, temperatures into the low teens out there. just back towards the east, foul weather into poland, warsaw, high of 7. moscow up to 4. snowful the snowfall there for you. australia, summer weather, but also the incoming autumn season. it doesn't look like much, but

the left side of your screen, we have a frontal area working its way into the picture. that's going to track its way across victoria there into new south whaels, strong to severe, but one of the more noticeable things, especially going into the weekend, is going to be the temperature drop. melbourne, dropping down to 18 there by your saturday. sidney, similar conditions with the rain showers expected on thursday. into northern australia, can't get away from talking about this, because we have a tropical low out here. it is no longer expected to become a cyclone in the near term. still could bring heavy rain fall. something to watch as it moves awful the queensland and could become a cyclone yet again. leave you with the extended outlook.

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

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