a very warm welcome to nhk "newsline" broadcasting to viewers around the globe. it is 10:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. our top story this hour. officials in u.s. and japan are finalizing details on a new economic framework for preparations between their country's leaders. the prime minister and the president will meet friday in washington. the framework would see cabinet ministers from both sides discuss macro economic and trade policy. shinzo abe plans to confirm with donald trump that the two countries will work together for mutually beneficial economic relations, and a stronger alliance. he's eager to show it remains strong. trump earlier said he'd be open to exploring a trade deal with japan.

he pulled out of the transpacific partnership deal to pursue biliteral negotiations with countries. he's been critical of japan's auto market, calling it unfair and has suggested the country is trying to weaken the yen. donald trump has once again slammed his country's courts, calling them too political. it comes after the american president's officials argued to judges in favor of his controversial ban on travelers from seven mainly muslim nations. trump spoke to police chiefs and sheriffs on wednesday, and criticized the federal appeals court session the day before. he said he heard things he couldn't believe. >> you can suspend, you can put restrictions, you can do whatever you want, and this is for the security of the country. a bad high school student would understand this. anybody would understand this. >> a court in washington state blocked the order nationwide last friday, prompting the trump administration to take the case to the appeals court.

the three-judge panel is expected to announce its decision this week. as trump's travel restrictions remain on hold, many people are rushing to the united states. at an airport in cairo, families of syrian refugees gathered to leave. this man and his family are on their way to chicago. they were notified they could emigrate last month after fleeing war-ravaged syria three years ago, but trump's immigration order had put their plans on hold. >> translator: i panicked, because it happened after we had sold all of our belongings. now, i'm happy, and i want to learn english in america and send my children to school. >> with the court's decision coming soon, many fear the order could suddenly be enforced again. trump and his turkish counterpart, recep tayyip erdogan, have confirmed their countries will cooperate to fight terrorism. under president obama,

diplomatic relations had frayed. the turkish presidential office says the leaders held their first conversation on the phone since trump took office. turkish officials say trump expressed his support for the country's fight against the islamic state militant group and other terrorists. the news agency says erdogan asked the u.s. to stop supporting a kurdish group in syria. the turkish government accuses it of being linked with militants who carried out terror attacks in the country. and american support for the group has caused friction. the news agency didn't say how trump responded. other reports say the director of the central intelligence agency will visit turkey thursday. observers say it appears to be part of efforts to improve ties between the nations to help combat islamic state militants and deal with other security issues. now let's look at business news. japanese government officials have released fresh data, shows just how much companies in japan are spending on upgrading their

facilities. ai euchida is with us from the business desk. what are you seeing? >> we are seeing an increase in spending. company managers are investing more, by doing things like buying new equipment. machinery orders in december were up for the first time in two months. still, officials are maintaining their assessment of the economy, saying that the recovery remains at a standstill. officials at the cabinet say orders in december were up 6.7% in yen terms from november. the figure excludes the shipbuilding and power sectors because they tend to see large fluctuations. officials released the outlook for the january to march period they expect orders to rise 3.3% from the previous quarter. britain's lower chamber of parliament has passed a bill giving prime minister teresa may the power to notify the european union of the country's decision to leave the bloc. the legislation cleared the house of commons with 494 votes

in favor and 122 against. the bill will now be sent to the upper chamber. british media are reporting the bill will likely become law early next month. some lawmakers voiced opposition to the measure during parliamentary discussions, but many others say they respect the result of the national referendum. may reportedly aims to officially notify eu leaders of britain's intention to leave at their summit starting may 9th. opposition to brexit is strong in scotland, where many people want to remain in the eu. now, as for markets, investor sentiment is dampened after a mixed close on wall street and lingers uncertainty over u.s. growth policies. the political future of europe is also a concern, so, market players are buying up safe haven assets like u.s. treasuries and the japanese yen. tokyo share prices opened lower. the nikkei trading in negative

territory, at 18,926. most sectors are weighing on export-related issues, especially car makers. investors are taking a cautious stance ahead of friday's japan/u.s. summit. let's check on currencies. the dollar/yen, hovering in a close range, is right now just above 112. the green back edged slightly lower overnight to the upper 111 yen level and that's after investors sought safer plays, pushing u.s. treasury yields lower. now, the euro is also higher against the u.s. currency. the single currency bounced back from a one-week low. it's now trading at the upper end of $1.06. the euro has been under pressure ahead of presidential elections in france, the euro/yen, meanwhile, is a touch lower -- higher, rather. now, moving onto markets open this hour in the asia/pacific. we're seeing modest moves elsewhere. seoul flat, australian shares are down by a little more than a

tenth of a percent at the moment. china markets open in under half an hour. well, many japanese companies are trying to figure out ways of encouraging workers to leave the office early and take more time off. financial firm orix's solution is to start paying workers to extend their paid holidays. the company will give employees about $270 to $450 if they take more than five consecutives day offs from april. over 9,000 workers, including those at group companies will be eligible. officials say they want to raise the number of days that workers take off. the company's work force took 65% of all the days coming to them during the last fiscal year. the aim is to raise the ratio to 80% in the next year, starting april. a dispute is intensifying between two japanese corporate units over a power project in

south africa. mitsubishi heavy industries wants hitachi to pay $6.8 billion to cover losses from a joint venture. their company is expected to post losses, and that's due to ballooning costs for the project, which a hitachi sub sid their launched before the joint venture was set up three years ago. executives at mits bee shy heavy industries said talks are continuing, but declined to give further details. hitachi officials are refusing the request for money, saying it lacks legal ground. both sides say their joint venture will continue, despite the dispute. >> that's the latest in business for this hour. i'm going to leave you with a check on markets.

onto other stories we're following this hour, the japanese government is once again demanding south korea remove a statue of a girl symbolizing people referred to at wartime comfort women. it was installed by a civic group in front of japan's diplomatic mission in pusan. it seems the dispute is unlikely to be resolved any time soon. the spat started a month ago when japan recalled its consul general in pusan as well as its ambassador in seoul to protest. >> translator: we'll seize every opportunity to call on south korea to fulfill its obligations in line with our bilateral agreement. >> that agreement was signed in 2015. it included a promise by south korea to try to remove a similar statue in front of japan's embassy. south korea's acting president has indicated his government wants to resolve the issue for the take of diplomatic ties, but nothing has been done yet.

indonesian police have banned a massive rally planned by hardline islamist groups in jakarta saturday. security officials are nervous, ahead of an election, in which the first ethnic chinese and christian governor of the capital is set. the rally was organized to protest against the governor, better known by his nickname, ahok. he's now standing trial for blasphemy. the city feared the rally could be a repetition of one in november last year which turned violent. on tuesday, jakarta metro police said they had received notice of the protest from the organizers last week, but they will not allow it to go ahead. earlier in the day, national police chief tito karnavian told media that the rally was suspected of being political in nature. the organizers are upset by the ban, as indonesian law guarantees freedom of assembly. the incumbent governor, known for his tough-talking style and

strong stance against corruption, remains a front-runner in the february 15th election. he's running neck and neck with a muslim candidate, who is the son of the former president. pope francis has issued a stinging criticism of the atrocities against the rohnigyas muslim minority in myanmar. the state where they live has been at the center of a massive counter insurgency operation carried out by myanmar's military. the pope strongly defended them, who are facing persecution in the buddhist-dominated country. >> translator: they have been suffering for years. they have been tortured. they have been killed. simply because they want to live their culture and their muslim faith.

let us pray for them. let us pray to our father who is in heaven for our rohingya brothers and sisters. >> the counterinsurgency operation was launched after insurgents mounted deadly raids on police posts in october. the u.n. human rights office said friday the crackdown has likely resulted in hundreds of deaths. soldiers are accused of committing summary executions, rape, arbitrary arrests and arson. the crisis has triggered an international outcry, including from muslims in neighboring countries. the fighting has caused over 60,000 people to flee into neighboring bangladesh. the controversy over the 2020 tokyo olympic golf venue remains unresolved.

the country club in question doesn't allow women to be full members, and while people call for that to change, the club has defended its exclusionary policy. we have the details. >> reporter: in japan, there are many golf lovers. over the past week, the sport's been getting extra attention. but it's got nothing to do with the game itself. >> translator: i think it's a bit outdated. >> reporter: what she says is outdated is a policy that's been in place for decades. the 80-year-old country club is taking heat for barring women from becoming full members. as the host golf club for the 2020 tokyo games, that's something critics say is unolympic. the controversy has surprised the men at the club. >> translator: it's an extremely

troubling situation for us. we are suddenly involved in a political controversy. >> reporter: club officials say they explained their policy to the ioc two years ago. the club says, while women cannot be full members, they can still be part members. they say that allows them to play more than 90% of the days through the year. the head of japan's sports agency says that's not good enough. >> translator: i believe the olympic events should be held at the club where men and women are equal under its rules. >> reporter: historically, golf country clubs have been male-only areas. but times have changed. three years ago, the world renowned golf course, st. andrews in scotland, opened its doors to women.

some of the world's most prestigious golf clubs have also joined in changing their ways. this golf expert agrees things are changing, but says, you can't force a club to alter its rules. >> translator: there's a trend for even private clubs to eradicate discrimination, but it's something the board members must decide. >> reporter: we put in an interview request with the country club, but no board member was made available. an official did say they want to take time to hear from their members, so they haven't set a specific timetable for a decision, and added, they need further direction from the ioc. meanwhile, female golfers say something needs to change. >> translator: i think there's no choice but to change the venue, if this issue continues

to get bigger. >> translator: we better stick to the principle of gender equality, which is the original olymp olympic. they have time to change the rules. >> reporter: if the membership rules don't change, japan could end up going as far as reviewing the plan for which club will play host for the olympics. nhk world, tokyo. south koreans are gearing up to host their own games. the 2018 pyeongchang winter olympics. with exactly a year to go, a clock in seoul has started counting down. the 17-day event will be the first winter games in south korea. >> translator: i'd like to see the whole country come together to make the games a big success.

>> translator: i want to see south rian athletes win a lot of gold medals. >> the organizing committee is working hard to drum up interest in the games as a scandal involving the president dominates the headlines. now, in a couple hours, we'll have a live report from pyeongchang about the preparations for the games. onto other stories now. an annual flower vest value in northern thailand is known as a dazzling site. this year's event was dedicated to a key figure in the country. we went there on the week and an have the story. >> reporter: the theme of this year's festival was honoring the late king. he was a wildly respected father figure, who kept the country together during politically turbulent times. the colors of the flowers are related to the late king.

yellow being his symbolic color and white representing respect. >> translator: during the mo mourning period, it was considered too early to organize such activities. but we decided to hold the event to repay the love he had for us in the form of flowers. >> reporter: this year, participants decided to dedicate their float to the beloved king. it features portrayals of the late king. the clothes are made of flowers. his facial features are seeds. the team leader began taking part in the parade 40 years ago. the members arrange flowers late into the night in order to keep them fresh.

they don't start earlier than three days before the festival. >> translator: i'm very proud to be part of the work. it's the last thing we can do for the late king. we're so delighted to do it. we help each other, even though we're tired. everyone puts their heart into it. ♪ >> reporter: the flower float parade is one of the event highlights. on the big day, the floats travel along a five-kilometer route in the city center. this year, 22 floats from different districts took part. judges grade the competing floats on their creativity. thousands of spectators line the route to get a glimpse. >> i have never seen something like that. it's great. yeah. >> translator: the decorations are very beautiful. they're magnificent, just like

the late king. >> translator: the float appears at the tail end of the parade. it was the moment when the contestants' hard work was shown off. their creativity won their first prize. >> translator: the king passed away, but we need to move forward. and continue to do what he taught us, through his life's work. >> reporter: people in thailand are still mourning the loss of the late king. but as a seed turns into a flower, the thai people will take on his legacy to create the thailand of the future. n a team led by japanese scientists has witnessed the creation of a new planetary system. this is the first time humans

have observed the process that leads to the formation of planets and stars. the scientists hope the observation will lead to a better understanding of the creation of our own solar system. they made the observation using the world's largest radio telescope in chile. the telescope, which sits at an altitude of five kilometers. it has 66 antennas, which capture weak radio waves generated from the gas and dust that make up new planets. the scientists located a star-forming region about 450 light years away. in this image, the proto-star is located in the central blue region. it is just like the sun in our solar system. the red region shows gas and dust spreading out like a disc. the scientists observed the gas and dust gathering inside the disc. this will eventually lead to the

formation of a group of planets. >> translator: we couldn't have achieved this without the telescope. we expect that many planets will be born from this region in the future. >> sakai says she intends to observe more store-forming regions. she intends to find similar s solar systems to ours. in central japan, a wintry sight is forming. what are you seeing right now? >> hello, catherine. we are seeing the snow falling through the area. the combination of the cold air coming in from the north and low pressure moving to the south. this is the northern portion of the country region. i'm going to take you live over into mito. let's look and see what's happening. notice that snow is starting to come down in the area. it was chilly this morning.lows

degrees. we're seeing potentially up to 30 centimeters in the mountains as we go forward in time. that's a pretty nice look there. and we are going to see this progressing as we go throughout the day. now, tokyo, we saw some flakes, a little bit, as we went throughout the morning hours. we'll continue to monitor that and see what happens, because we will see two low pressure areas moving to the north and east. more of that cold air filtering from the north. so, as soon as we start to see that mixture, that combination taking place, more snow may be forming as we move forward in time. plenty of snow to talk about all across the island of honshu. as we do throughout the day on thursday into friday, the northern portions of the plains may see close to 30, up to 30 centimeters of snowfall. and further back toward the west, i mean, even into portions of chugoku, we could see 80 centimeters of snowfall into friday morning. then from friday to saturday morning, combine that together, we're looking at close to 100

centimeters possible, kinki, up to 70 centimeters. i want to point out, where you saw that video coming out of, we have heavy snow warning in place. so, that is something that folks will have to look out for. plenty of snow ranging from sendai. partly cloudy skies in sapporo. kind of unusual, a break from the snow. saturday and sunday, a chance for snowfall to take place. tokyo, warming back up by the time we go into the weekend, a high of 10 for saturday and sunday. very different story in australia. the eastern seaboard, looking at very hot temperatures. some places may exceed 40 de degrees. lots of rainle into western australia. and we have a frontal boundary into perth. look at this. it's going to be quite hot, even

into the capital, a high of 36. so, be on the lookout for that. now, wrapping things up with a look at north america. we have a bit of a stormy typesetup happening for those in the deep south. tennessee, georgia, into the mountains of north carolina and maybe into the upstate of south carolina, a risk for some strong thunderstorms overnight into thursday. so, be on the lookout for that. that same low pressure system will move to the north and southeast and bring a chance for some winter storm conditions. for those of you in new york city up to boston, be on the lookout for that. snow also possible into the rocky mountains, low comes onshore, bringing some rain to vancouver and seattle. high of 6 in vancouver. we're looking at warmer weather to the south. los angeles, a high of 24 on thursday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

we have one more story to share with you before we go. people have been flocking to see the luxurious interior of the state guest house in tokyo after it opened for public viewing last year. the building is designated a national treasure. it was built in 1909. the government opened it for public viewing all year round last april to help attract more foreign tourists. officials say around 540,000 people visited from april through december. most were japanese.

the officials say they're trying to attract more visitors from other countries. this room is called the morning sunlight room. it's where state guests meet the emperor and empress. next week, the room will be closed to the public for about two years for renovations. >> translator: i usually see the state guest home from outside. this was my first time to see the inside. it was just awesome. >> translator: i really felt as if we were in europe. it was wonderful. >> an official says he wants people who visit the guest house to enjoy the opulent decor of the many rooms. and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks very much for joining us.

♪ >> welcome to "in good shape." coming up -- herbal medicine -- treating colds with natural remedies. freerunning -- an exciting way to stay fit. and video games -- when entertainment becomes an addiction. and here's your host, dr. carsten lekutat. dr. lekutat: it's a dream come true for every computer nerd, to be on the same steps as my heroes of my favorite computer games. but computer gaming can be addictive. and that is what we are going to talk about today with our expert in berlin. i am here at the museum for co