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. the u.n. security council a missile launch. japan, the u.s. and south korea had requested the meeting. the joint press statement says the council deplores all missile activities by north korea. it contributed to the company's development of nuclear weapons delivery system. the japanese ambassador to the

u.n. emphasized the importance on concrete actions. >> we have to implement the very robust, strong resolution that we already have. that's a starting point. >> u.n. secretary general denounced the launch calling it a further troubling violation. china's support is needed for any new response. the north fired a ballistic missile into the sea of japan on sunday morning. >> north korea is a big, big problem. we will deal with that very strongly. >> trump brought it up at a conference with canadian prime

minister on monday. the u.s. will take all necessary measures to defeat threats. china has criticized north korea for the launch but its blamed continued tests on the u.s. and south korea. >> china opposes launches that run contrary to u.n. security council resolutions. the root cause is the conflict with the united states and south korea. >> china called for countries concerned not to raise tensions. it urge them to exercise

self-restranself-r self-restrai self-restraint. a former japanese admiral says north korea's latest missile test shows possible advances in the country's high-level missile technology. on monday north korea released an image of its test firing of an upgraded version of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, or slbm, on the previous day. a professor with the university of technology who has served as commander of a japan submarine fleet says the missile resembles an slbm that was tested last year. its range is estimated as 2500 to 4,000 kilometers. ito said solid fuel may have been used in the latest launch and he says it's better than liquid fuel, which can be easily detected by satellites during the missile fueling process. >> translator: if north korea becomes adept at producing solid rocket fuel and uses it to propel short-range scuds, or nodong missiles, it could pose a

real threat. it would be able to launch surprise missile strikes against south korea and target u.s. forces in japan. >> ito says north korea probably wanted sunday's launch to show it can fire a missile any time without being detected. in an nhk exclusive, japanese prime minister shinzo abe has laid out the details of his weekend discussions with the u.s. president. the two leaders agreed on bilateral cooperation, especially on security in east asia. >> translator: president trump is surprisingly a good listener, though it may seem that he isn't. he's also very frank and open. but he's very committed to his campaign pledges. >> japanese officials say the

summit was a great success in terms of security cooperation. the leaders affirmed that the bilateral security treaty covers the senkaku islands in the east china sea. their join statement stipulates that japan and the u.s. oppose unilateral action seeking to undermine japan's administration of the islands. china and taiwan claim them. chinese government ships have repeatedly entered japan's territorial waters around the islands. >> the u.s./japan alliance is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the pacific region. i also want to take this opportunity, mr. prime minister, to thank you and the people of japan for hosting our armed forces. >> trump had previously suggested that japan should pay more to maintain a u.s. military presence in japan. but abe says trump did not mention the issue during their meeting.

>> translator: defense secretary mattis visited japan and said the japanese and american cost sharing model is an example for other nations to follow. i think that settled the issue. we were wondering whether president trump would mention the matter, but he didn't. rather, he thanked japan for the warm hospitality extended to the u.s. marine corps at the joint news conference and other occasions. >> abe explained his view of trump's stance on china. >> translator: i think the u.s. government is in the process of establishing its foreign policy against china. right before our summit, president trump talked for one hour over the phone with chinese president xi jinping. the timing was very good for me. president trump and i were able to discuss how to deal with

china, taking into consideration what the leaders of the u.s. and china talked about and various other factors. >> the two leaders also called on countries concerned to avoid actions that would escalate tensions in the south china sea. these would include the militarization of outposts. they stressed all nations should act based on international law, but they did not name china specifically. china reacted sharply. the foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated that the islands are chinese territory. >> translator: japan and the u.s. should avoid incorrect announcements that complicate the matter and negatively affect the peace and stability in the region. we strongly oppose japan using the security treaty to draw in the u.s. and bolster illegal territorial claims. >> geng also criticized the u.s., saying the country is

showing off its military power by sending vessels and aircraft to the south china sea. he said this is the main reason that china needs to have a military presence in the area. >> looks like members are sticking to their promise to each cut production. you'll remember they agreed last november to cutout put for the first six months of this year and that in itself was significant. it was the first time in eight years they decided to cutout put. january figures show that me members were able to keep production within 32.5 million barrels per day. the group said on monday that the total production in january fell by 890,000 barrels we are

day to 32.1 million. all ten member countries subject to the cut reduced output. saudi arabia's production fell by about 496,000 barrels per day. iraq by 166,000 and the united arab emirates by 159,000. crude prices appear to have peaked. attention is now on whether russia and other non-opec producers which also agreed to curb production will stick to the agreement. officials revealed in december it was expecting a considerable impairment loss on its nuclear power business in the u.s. they estimate the loss at around $6.1 billion. the officials will announce how

they plan to turn around their nuclear business. that will include bringing the operations under the direct supervision of the production orders. toshiba plans to spin off its flash memory business and sell a stake up to 20% in the new company. main creditor banks don't think it will be enough to revive the struggling company. let's turn to markets. tokyo stock prices open higher. that's after major indices on wall street closed. let's take a look at where it is now. it's down. 19,4 19,427. that's a loss of a little more of .1 of a percent. industrial materials are gaining on higher iron ore prices.

crude futures fell overnight despite the opec report showing high compliance with production cut deal. data suggesting higher u.s. shale output weighed on prices. let's take a look at currency. the dollar is moving without clear direction. many analysts think a rise in march is unlikely. let's move onto markets open this hour in the asia pacific. we're seeing losses in seoul. australia is up. that's up by more than a third of a percent. china markets open in under half an hour. moving on, nhk has learned that japan's leading cement maker is shutting down a factory that produces high quality cement at the end of march. behind the decision is the falling demand for construction materials. sources say the corporation will close the factory of a

subsidiary in hiroshima western japan. the subsidiary is the country's only producer of white cement. it's used for libraries, art museums and sculptures. sales of the material have been sluggish of weak demand as a result of fewer public works project. the executives say they will use imported white cement to meet future demand in japan. next up, rolling out japanese style service in myanmar. a japanese taxi company is betting that hospitality and safety will give it an edge in a crowded market. here's more. >> reporter: yangon is set to have 50,000 taxis. competition for customers is

heating up. but riding in a cab can be touristy. passengers must negotiate the fares. >> usually i'm not using a taxi. >> a japanese taxi company it has offering japanese service and hospitality. >> translator: in such a saturated market, safety and good service are what matters. i'm sure we can use japanese know how to get ahead. >> he teaches drivers japanese style manner.

first step is to show them the japanese way of bowing. he recently joined the firm. he was working as a taxi driver but struggled to make ends meet. he decided he'd be better off joining the japanese company. the company's goal is to teach taxi drivers the same skills as japanese drivers. he tries to cover all of the details. >> can you grip the handle here?

>> yeah. >> when you want to turn right or left, you should stop the car. >> translator: we are supposed to provide attentive service to foreign visitors. >> after week of training, he meets his first passenger, a japanese businessman stationed in the city. he greets him with a bow. he drives carefully focusing on safety, but he gets mixed up near his destination. >> excuse me? >> yes, sir. >> he turns around.

he finishes the job doing everything he's being taught. >> translator: he was my first passenger so i was nervous. i took care to drive safely and i'll continue to do my best. >> using japanese hospitality to make -- business for this hour. i'll leave you with the latest in markets.

on to other stories we're following this hour. a tour bus has flipped on to its side in a highway in taiwan killing 32 people and injuring 12. the bus veered off a curb monday night. it slid on one side. there were 44 people aboard. the bus was returning to the city from a blossom viewing tour. the cause of the trash is not the clear. a pakistani court banning the celebration of valentine's day in public places across the muslim majority nation. leading newspaper says the order is the result of a petition submitted to the high court by a private citizen. the person described valentine's promotions on mainstream and social media as against islamic teachings adding that they should be banned immediately. in major cities, bakeries, restaurants and related businesses often promote the

occasion. they urged people not to celebrate the day saying that it was not a part of muslim tradition but a western one. as many as 1.5 million tokyoites could need to leave their homes in the event of flooding in the east. that's assessment of a government panel. it also says it would take hours for most of them to reach safety. the panel is looking at the possible impact of flooding and ways to deal with it in the low lying area, the five wards are along the river. large sections are at sea level and vulnerable to flooding. the residents pay face difficulty getting away from flood waters. bad weather, traffic congestion and disrupted train services could slow them down. panel members plan to discuss ways to mitigate these problems. they'll release a report around march of next year. police officers and psychiatrists across japan are

working together to tackle the problem of stalking. they're assessing an effort to encourage habitual offenders to seek professional help. they met at the police agency on monday. police across japan have received more than 20,000 reports of stalking every year. they now recommend psychiatry counseling where a person is warned or arrested and shows signs of becoming a repeat offender. >> it's been pointed out that it's effective and also necessary to conduct treatment or counseling aimed at getting rid of obsessions. >> but officials say about 60% stalkers reject the advice to see a doctor. police aim to step up effort to prevent stalkers from posing a risk. there's the old saying that

a picture's worth a thousand words but it can also convey different feelings. our next story features a japanese photographer who uses his distinctive style to influence how people feel about certain jobs. >> one, two, three. >> he takes portrait with a difference. >> translator: one, two, three. here comes the picture. >> people often say the photographs are reminiscent of manga. even his family portraits look very different from conventional posed shots. >> translator: sometimes the images are quite unexpected and that's really fun. in fact, capturing these kinds of images has always been an obsession for me. >> thanks to his knack for

bringing out the personality of his subjects, his reputation is starting to spread. he has been shooting a series of photos for a local children's magazine that introduces various kinds of jobs. his images highlight the appeal of working in each field. they have helped to reinvigorate the company's featured inside. after using the photographs, some firms say the number of job applicants has increased. is a researcher specializing in vegetable production. his work was going to be featured in the magazine and he's keen what makes it so enjoyable. >> translator: many things can't be conveyed through our research alone. i hope the pictures help introduce our project. >> while preparing for the photo shoot, he was fascinated by the researcher equipment.

>> translator: we used this meter to measure the ripeness of fruit and vegetables. and this one if you put tomato juice in it shows the sugar level. >> translator: wow. amazing. >> he sees the way that people use the tools of their profession as a symbol of their pride in their work. after three hours of preparation, he's ready to shoot. 20 members of the research team are going to be in the photo. >> translator: one, two, three! one, two, three! this is the last one -- one, two, three. thank you very much. >> for the team, the photo

illustrates the enjoyment they feel for their work. >> translator: work can be interesting. work is important. i want to carry on taking these kinds of photos to help rekindle people's enthusiasm for their jobs. >> combining the art of photography with the feel of animation, his images are helping to empower workplaces around japan. a very serious situation out here. thousands upon thousands of people asked to evacuate in northern california. over the past several months we have seen several major snowstorms come across this region along with heavy rainfall there. you get a lot of snow melt.

this area was under drought but all that snow melt really filled up this reservoir. one of the largest in california provides a third of the drinking water for the entire state. you have the dam back towards the right. what happened this past weekend was a fisher opened up right in the middle of this. they shut this off but that began to erode as well. they turned this one back on and there's erosion going on. at that point they asked people to evacuate just because of that possibility of really an uncontrolled spill coming from this very large reservoir. i'll show you some video to give you an idea of what's going on there. you can see the erosion from the auxilliary channel there. emergency workers are flying up

rocks trying to fill in these fishers that have opened up there. as we mentioned, this is the nation's tallest dam. this will be taking some time so very serious situation ongoing here. many towns down river that have been evacuated. there's more rain in the forecast. right now they are trying to release as much water as possible before more rain water and snow melt gets into that reservoir. you can see here in our forecast by thursday into friday have more precipitation expected out there. hopefully get the water level down low enough over the coming days. do want to bring your attention back to the bigger picture here back towards the east coast. we have a separate storm system blowing through parts of new england and off through nova scotia bringing some gusty winds. have some images to show you out of boston where, see right there, some pretty gusty winds

out there. widespread blizzard warnings were issued for this region. numerous flight delays as well. see in well. we have another low coming in out of ontario heading towards the southeast. that will bring additional snowfall. plenty of precipitation. some areas have seen upwards of 70 to 80 centimeters. do want to snow across the sea of japan, still talk about snowfall. we have a bit of an upper level low coming through. maybe even a few flurries this afternoon into the tokyo region. not enough to cause problems but something you want to watch out for. high pressure will be standing in behind that. good news for those of you that

do not like cold weather, getting up to 18 by friday. up to about 24 heading into the weekend. here's the extended outlook. >> and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us.

♪ michelle: hello and welcome to "focus on europe." i'm michelle henery. child custody battles can be trying and brutal no matter where you are in the world. but here in europe, if the parents come from different countries and a dispute arises, national courts have been accused of routinely deciding solely in the interest of their citizens. a french father has succeeded in having courts in france award him full custody of his daughter. the german mother, however, is only allowed a few brief supervised visits. she says, "i feel betrayed and sold." hamar alpar-benjamin is considered a hero in his home country romania.