♪ a very warm welcome to nhk "newsline" broadcasting to viewers around the globe. it's 10:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the back and forth between the united states and mexico over president trump's planned border wall continues. on thursday, the white house said it wants to make mexico pay for the wall through import taxes. the white house says it's proposing a 20% tax be imposed on all imports from its southern neighbor. the announcement is another hit to relations between the two countries. earlier on thursday, mexican president enrique pena nieto tweeted he would skip a summit with trump which had been scheduled for next week.

pena nieto was responding to a tweet from trump saying it would be better to cancel the meeting if mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall. the wall was one of trump's main election pledges. it would span the more than 3,000-kilometer border. estimated construction costs would be in the billions of dollars. over 10 million people from mexico and elsewhere are estimated to be in the u.s. illegally. trump is also expected to sign executive orders pushing ahead with pledges from his election campaign. american media reports trump plans to have a temporary ban on all refugees and is preparing an order to suspend visas for anyone from seven predominantly muslim countries, including syria and iraq. trump sees it as an anti-terrorism measure. >> we're going to have extreme vetting in all cases. and i mean extreme. and we're not letting people in if we think there's even a little chance of some problem. >> and when it comes to terrorism, trump is supportive of reintroducing the practice of

waterboarding, an interrogation method widely considered a form of torture. he says it absolutely works. that so-called enhance interrogation technique was deemed ineffective after being used at american prisons around the world. it was eventually banned by barack obama. trump says he'll listen to the advice of his defense secretary and newly appointed cia director on the matter. both have indicated opposition to the technique. north korea's foreign ministry has issued a statement against the new u.s. administration. the statement was broadcast by state run television on thursday. it reiterated that pyongyang will continue to strengthen its capability for self-defense and its preemptive strike powers. it added the situation won't change unless the u.s. and its followers halt their nuclear threats and war drills. analysts believe north korea will monitor the trump administration while continuing

the threat of test launching and intercontinental ballistic missile. it's one of two crude oil pipeline projects blocked by president obama which trump has approved. >> that kind of decision has to be consulted with the indigenous people themselves because they will be affected. >> it will have an adverse effect on the living environment of the people. last month the obama administration blocked the project out of concern for its environmental impact. the proposed route of the pipeline passes near a native

american reservation in state of north dakota. opponents say it will contaminate the river they use as source of fresh water. the doomsday clock has been set at its closest to midnight in 64 years. the symbolic gauge of world peace measures how close civilization is to destroying itself with nuclear arms, climate change or other means. a team from the bulletin of the atomic scientist magazine said the clocks hands were moved 30 seconds from 3 to 2 1/2 minutes before midnight, the final hour. the group said the united states and russia, which possess more than 90% of the world's nuclear weapons, remain at odds in a variety of theaters. trump's stances on arms control and climate change were cited as causes for concern as was north korea's repeated nuclear tests. the group expressed hope that trump and russian president vladimir putin will work together to reduce nuclear arsenals.

in 1953, the clock jumped to two minutes before midnight after the u.s. and soviet union tested hydrogen bombs. but after the cold war it was turned back to 17 minutes. in the past two years, the clock stayed at three minutes before midnight as little progress was made on nuclear disarmament. switching gears, let's take a look at business headlines. leaders in japan have been trying to pull the country out of deflation. this morning we're getting the latest data on that. tell us how is it looking. >> consumer prices are not rising at the pace that officials would like to see. this morning we're seeing the index for the whole year of 2016. it shows that prices were actually down for the first time in four years. cpi is the leading game of inflation. officials at the internal affairs ministry say the cpi was

0.3% lower from 2015. the index includes oil products but not fresh food. for the month of december, cpi was 0.2% lower than the same month a year before when fresh food is excluded. that was the tenth straight month of decline. japanese government officials and business managers are getting ready for a campaign that encourages consumers to get out their wallet and spend some cash. it's called premium friday. it kicks off february 24th. the campaign calls on participating companies to let workers leave their offices at 3:00 p.m. on the last friday of each month to give them more time to spend their money. the aim is the boost the economy through higher consumer spending. the operators of the shopping arcade under tokyo station are encouraging restaurants to give discounts to customers who arrive earlier than the usual dining hours. they want them to serve

alcoholic beverages from 3:00 p.m. on friday. >> translator: i'm not sure if the premium friday campaign will take route throughout society. while considering expanding participating stores to include ones other than restaurants after seeing the results from the first trial. >> tour companies want a piece of the market. this firm has launched a website with a premium friday theme. it advertises tours that depart on friday afternoons. the company also plans to give out special coupons. >> we are thinking of two night, three day pass or overnight that leaves on friday. i think these will give customers more choices. >> a manager at the firm says the deals will boost the number of tourists to nearby countries like south korea and to taiwan. let's turn to markets now. tokyo share prices opened higher. that's after a mixed close on wall street.

the dow bounced back on solid u.s. corporate earnings and that's helping stocks. the nikkei trading in the positive. shares of financials continue to advance as investors anticipate more deregulation under the new u.s. administration. energy shares are higher and that's after oil prices jumped overnight. let's take a look at currencies. the dollar gained overnight against the yen from the lower 113 yen level. it's trading in the mid 114 yen level. analysts say expectations are providing some support to the u.s. currency. policy makers at the federal reserve meet next week. let's move onto markets open this hour in the asia pacific. australian shares trading higher. that's after a holiday. currently they are trading up by .7 percent. hong kong opens in less than

half an hour. >> thailand's central bank governor says the u.s. withdrawal from the trans-pacific partnership could lead to more integration in his region. he says it could accelerate moves by asian countries toward regional trade alliances. >> translator: if we use this opportunity to accelerate international trade deals, it will be a chance for us to improve our regional economic ability. >> he pointed to another trade deal. the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement or rcep. the china-backed deal includes many asia-backed countries but excludes the united states. >> translator: asian countries have been enjoying good economic growth. what's important to us is regional cooperation.

>> malaysia's trade minister says if the tpp fails, his country would focus on enhancing asean's economic integration and pushing to conclude rcep. >> anyone with a good additional camera can take beautiful photos. formal studios of the past. nhk world gives us a snapshot. >> reporter: this couple is on a date, but this time it's a little different. they brought someone else along, a photographer. >> translator: great. very nice. now cheek to cheek, please. >> reporter: the professional behind the camera, accompanies couples on outings and takes

their pictures for a fee. he shoots about 200 pictures over a couple of hours. prices start at about $100. >> translator: wow. it's amazing. this is the first time for me. the pictures are more natural and informal than the traditional kind. we want him to capture what we're really like. >> translator: of course i'll post them on twitter. i can't wait to hear what people have to say. >> reporter: the service has attracted lots of young customers through word of mouth. the company that provides it receives about 200 orders a month. people who want more natural looking portraits of their kids can now visit a special kind of studio. like the one inside this ordinary looking house. conventional studios often use harsh lighting. but here, a professional photographer tries to capture a child's expressions under natural light. surrounded by lovely furniture. at the studio, creating the right atmosphere is just as

important as understanding how to use the camera. >> translator: thank you. i'm so happy. professional photographers can capture a child's changing expressions when they're smiling or surprised. that's something i can't do. >> reporter: japan's portrait studio industry is undergoing a transformation. in tokyo, the number of children is on the rise. that presents an opportunity. >> translator: parents and grandparents tend to spend more money on kids these days. so i think this market will continue to grow. >> reporter: getting into the business is easy. all you need is money to rent a house and to hire someone to shoot the pictures. many firms not normally associated with the photography industry are getting into the

act. this woman took advantage of the opportunity to expand into this area. >> translator: i didn't know anything about this business. or about how to use cameras either. but they taught us everything so i don't need to worry. that's very important. >> reporter: people used to have formal portraits taken to document key events in their lives. these new services allow anyone to capture more personal moments whenever and wherever they like. nhk world, tokyo. that's the latest in business for this hour. here is a check on markets.

a japanese woman has received an award for supporting children for what's considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. she's using it to send a message to her country. >> translator: with our utmost love and respect on behalf of the ukraine.

the president gives the most prestigious award to you. >> reporter: her organization dedicated the past 26 years to, that have been helping children in the nuclear devastated area of chernobyl. >> translator: we've supported children suffering from diseases caused by the chernobyl disaster for a long time. i feel you've recognized our efforts. >> reporter: in 1986, a reactor in the former ussr exploded. sending huge amount of radioactive substances into the air and contaminating wide areas. it had severe repercussions on residents' health. the children of chernobyl, kids were still physically suffering. in 1998, volunteering at

hospices and introducing japanese culture to children undergoing operations. the organization donated tons of relief supply and equipment, even an ambulance. it supported almost 12,000 ukrainian kids. a big way they do that is by finding people in japan to act as sponsor parents. >> translator: i think our relationship is based on a strong human bond. my sponsor child has a disability and can't use his hands properly. but he tries so hard to write to me. it makes me so happy. >> reporter: she visits belarus every year to check in on the children. one of them underwent a thyroid operation at age seven but it created other problems. she later married and had a daughter. but died at the age of 24. >> translator: they suffered

from not just thyroid cancer, but brain cancer, liver cancer, or various diseases when they are still so young. the situation has kept on like this for 31 years. and no one knows when it will end. >> reporter: today, the group cares for the children's kids. she says it shouldn't be an issue if their diseases are indirectly related to the accident. she says, if there's even a slight possibility it's linked, they should be taken care of. after the fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 the group decided to offer support in japan. they've been monitoring children's health and giving families information. she feels most people in japan are moving past concerns about the accident. but she warns, it's just too soon to let go. >> translator: people need to

know that three decades after chernobyl the damage is still being felt. in japan, we have to remember that we still don't know the full extent of the fallout, even though it's already been six years. we need to keep watching the situation. >> reporter: she says the victims of the disaster need to be continually cared for. and she hopes the medal will serve a reminder about how that work will never end. nhk world. athletes around the world are looking forward to the olympics and paralympics in three years time including a handball team. they've been getting some much-needed financial support. now they're starting to dream of

competing on a global stage. >> reporter: amazing jumping paired with powerful agility. last month the national handball team arrived in japan to play handball. the average age of the players is just 19. it was seiji tashiro who made arrangements for the team to be invited to japan. for three years he was coach of the zambian handball team to help develop the sport. >> translator: they are very strong at jumping and have excellent stamina. they have great positioning in handball. i think they can qualify for the olympics. >> reporter: zambia is a developing nation and does not

have a strong economy. this sports center in the capital was set up thanks to donations. but players get no financial support, and many have to give up their dream of playing for the national team. tashiro wanted to give the team a chance to train in japan, so he set up a crowd funding campaign. the campaign raised about $35,000. enough to bring the 12 players and their coaches to japan. in one match, they faced one of japan's top high school teams. for the zambians, this was the first match they've ever played abroad. from the start, they scored goal after goal. but they relied too much on their individual skills rather than playing as a team. and this gave their opponents chances to score. although they managed to win,

the match also underlined the weakness in their teamwork. >> translator: they are really strong. they are tall, and they jump really high. it was a really tough match. >> translator: handball is a team sport, so i think they need to work together more and keep focusing on their goal as a team. >> reporter: two days later, tashiro brought the zambian players to the national training center where japan's top athletes come to improve their skills. >> everything okay? >> reporter: the center's coaching director put them through their paces. >> so this is three against two. you need pressure doing like this. what do you do? yeah, good. >> reporter: the zambian players

were quick to pick up the new tactics. >> great job. >> i really appreciate everything that he has done for me, for the team. he has supported me very much. i want to come back here in 2020 when the olympics are in japan. >> translator: i want to help them make their dreams come true. they all have a strong desire to compete at the tokyo games. ♪ >> hopefully we'll be able to welcome them here in tokyo in 2020. ncht it's been cold across japan. they are experiencing a warm morning. robert speta joins us. >> temperatures are on the rise across the pacific coastline of

japan. the warmer the temperatures are pushing up into the mid teens. the main reason for this we have the front coming in from the west. plenty of cloud cover. out front of cold fronts we typically, especially the stronger cold fronts have the strong southerly winds that move in and the warm air has opinion coming up out of tropics. temperatures heading through the next several days will be april like out here. very spring like. once the low does push by, it's bringing gusty winds and heavy snow in parts of back towards the west it will remain on the rain side. a lot of that will melt off. it brings the threat of avalanche and river flooding. take a look at your temperatures above average for much of japan

over the next several days. 15 today in tokyo. it is going to cool down once the low pulls by. another low is coming in. that will warm things up again. even up to 16 by monday and back towards the west. some scattered showers to start off the next workweek. if we look back further towards the west, high pressure is dominating eastern areas of china. keeping things on the clear side. seoul at 1. shanghai getting up to 10 while the tropics, 28 in manila. that sounds warm elsewhere but 28 is relatively cool there for the capital of the philippines. if we take a look out across eastern half of the u.s., big thing here is cold air as well. we have this front right here. you can see it stretches back towards florida. that's kicking up a few thunderstorms down there towards the south. the big topic is the cold air plunging in out of canada behind it. let's move in over our lakes.

huron, erie and ontario. down wind we're looking at snow bands sets up. plenty of snow in the forecast. we have the like effect snow in place. fp you have travel plans anywhere across this area be extra careful and be prepared for delays. temperatures like this, chicago with a high of minus 1. los angeles warming up, 18. miami, 25. actually, you've been looking at some record breaking high temperatures out there for a few days now. staying warm in the southern areas of the florida peninsula. if we take a look across the europe, we have this low right here moving across ireland. gusty winds today. east high pressure is dominating and keeping things rather chilly out here. even cold for down towards the south across parts of greece including athens. athens you have snow in your

forecast. high of only 6. cool in warsaw. minus one in moscow. minus two on friday. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook.

♪ ♪ and that is all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us.

rita aspinwall: on this edition of "native report," we watch as glass artist jes durfee transforms simple glass rods into incredible works of art. ernie stevens: we attend a community-wide celebration of indigenous peoples' day. rita aspinwall: and we interview dr. bob powless, who helped found one of the first university indian studies programs in the united states. ernie stevens: we also learn about what we can do to lead healthier lives, and hear from our elders on this "native report." narrator: production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community, the blandin foundation, and the duluth superior area community foundation. [music playing]