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. we start with the latest development in the suspected assassination of a sibling of north korea's leader. south korean government officials say fingerprint checks prove that a man killed in malaysia on monday was the half-brother of kim jong-un. the officials told nhk that the malaysian government asked them to compare fingerprints taken from the body with those of kim jong-nam which they have on file. the officials confirmed that the prints match. kim jong-nam fell ill at kuala lumpur international airport and

died while being taken to hospital. national intelligence officials in seoul told lawmakers they believe he was assassinated. south korean media reports say there's some information he was killed because he recently sought political asylum in the south. one expert thinks an assassination may have been ordered over another reason. >> translator: i had information that some north korean defectors were considering an exile government under the leadership of kim jong-nam. >> malaysian police are still trying to determine the cause of death. there are several accounts about how he was apparently poisoned with a needle, a spray or by a cloth put over his face. the police have arrested a woman with a vietnamese passport in connection with the case. they say they took her into custody wednesday morning at kuala lumpur international airport. police say the suspect told them

four men convinced her and another woman to play a trick on kim jong-nam. she told them she didn't know she was involved in a murder plot. as of thursday morning, there have been no reports of the death on north korean state-run media. china is the north's biggest trading partner and has the closest ties with the isolated country. beijing's reaction to the case so far has been calm. >> translator: china is aware of the coverage. we'll keep paying attention to the matter. >> nhk spoke to a chinese political expert who questions pyongyang's involvement in this. and he says the incident will have little impact at the official level of either country. >> in terms of the inferences on china/north korea relation, this person had been very, very ordinary person. just like an ordinary person who was killed. that will produce little, zero

inferences on the bilateral relations. especially during the past two decades. he never played political roles in china or in north korea. >> observers say china had provided kim jong-nam with security, but yang xiyu claims it was only because he was the son of kim jong-il. but a japanese expert on north korea sees more behind the suspected attack. he says if it's confirmed to have been an assassination, it shows the leader of north korea not only has bad relations with china but is also afraid of it. >> translator: kim jong-un had to take out his half brother in a way that shows to the international community that he's a terrorist. his half brother had no significant power in north korea. why was he so afraid of him? i believe the incident shows how

bad the current china/north korea relations are. >> nishioka says the chinese communist party leadership has been urging kim jong-un to make reforms in his country and halt its nuclear program. but we know he's refused to do that. nishioka says at the same time, chinese leaders have sheltered kim jong-nam who has been in favor of reform. >> translator: the chinese communist party has provided kim jong-nam with special security protection. that's why he stays alive even though pyongyang ordered his assassination. he was killed this time because he was outside of china. it means kim jong-un has long suspected that the chinese communist party is trying to topple his regime and establish a pro-china, pro-reform government in north korea. >> nishioka says it's not likely there will be an immediate repercussion for pyongyang. >> translator: kim jong-un has a

strong grip on power, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do this sort of thing. so i don't believe there will be any big political turmoil soon. but north korean people follow confucian ethics and will not respect a leader who has killed his uncle and brother. as for senior officials, they've been afraid that the china/north korea relationship could worsen, and the government could collapse at any time. they've been taking bribes and selling information to earn foreign currency so they won't go bankrupt if that happens. they are not working out of loyalty to the leader. i think that now officials will be even less loyal to the government. u.s. president donald trump has questioned his country's commitment to a two-state solution for the

israeli/palestinian conflict. trump made the statement after talks in washington with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> so i am looking at two-state and one-state and i like the one that both parties like. i'm very happy with the one that both parties like. i can live with either one. >> the leaders held a news conference on wednesday after his first summit since trump took office. passed u.s. administrations have upheld the two-state solution as a cornerstone of middle east peace policy. it calls for israel and the palestinian state to co-exist. trump's remark is likely to draw criticism from palestinians. trump also took up the issue of israel's contentious settlement construction in the west bank. >> as far as settlements, i'd like to see you hold back on settlements for a little bit. we'll work something out. but i would like to see a deal

be made. i think a deal will be made. >> the two leaders agreed israel's arab leaders who also have concerns with iran could help with future peace talks. the u.s. office of government ethics says the white the tweet referenced the accords of the 1990s when the two-state solution was proposed. palestinian president mahmoud abbas stresses he's still committed to a two-state solution and agreed with trump's call for israel to pull back on settlements. they say there's no plan b and everything must be done to bring about a two-state solution.

the u.s. office of government ethics says the white house should consider disciplining a presidential adviser. that's after she publicly promoted ivanka trump's clothing line. the ethics office wrote to the white house of a strong reason to believe that kellyanne conway violated federal ethics rules. she's a senior counselor to president donald trump. the guidelines prohibit executive branch employees from using their positions to endorse specific products. conway referred to ivanka trump's fashion line on the fox news channel's "fox & friends" last week. >> it's a wonderful line. i own some of it. i fully -- i'm going to give a free commercial here. go buy it today, everybody. you can find it online. >> her comments followed retailer nordstrom's decision to drop the label. the ethics office asked the white house to investigate the matter and report within two weeks if disciplinary steps will be taken. the president himself sparked controversy by accusing nordstrom of what he says was

unfair treatment of his daughter. let's now turn to business headlines. investors are happy to see the latest economic indicators out of the u.s. they released retail figures for january. ai uchida is joining us. breakdown the data for us. >> absolutely, catherine. people are buying things even though the goods themselves are getting more expensive. investors are taking that as a positive sign for the economy and think the trend will prompt policy makers to hike interest rates before summer. both the consumer price index and retail sales rose more than expected. labor department officials say the cpi jumped 6% from the last month. prices of gasoline, clothing and new cars rose but used vehicles were cheaper. the so-called core cpi excludes food and energy. that rose 2.3% from a year earlier. some market players say the

latest numbers make it more likely that fed policy makers will raise the key interest rate sometime in the first half of this year. meanwhile, americans are spending more. retail sales grew in january. the number was a little more than $470 billion. that's up 0.4% from the previous month. gas stations, home appliance stores and restaurants enjoyed brisk sales. but car dealers saw a decline. market sources say sales of new cars peaked out after raising for two straight years. well, following those strong figures, wall street's major indices closed at record highs but the risk on sentiment fizzles out by the time the nikkei opened. it's down to 19,398.

analysts say many investors are selling stocks to book profits. one day after the nikkei showed robust gains. the dollar briefly went up to almost 115 yen after the release of uscpi and retail sales data but lost steam on profit taking. right now, back at 113. the dollar is trading at the highest level since the end of january, though, and that's as janet yellen did not rule out a rate hike at the next policy meeting in march. let's move on to the asia-pacific. kospi is down 2% as well and australian shares are down by just about the same margin china markets will open in half an hour. the chair of the u.s. federal reserve is concerned that president trump's immigration

policies could slow growth. >> immigration has been an important part of labor force growth in the united states and immigration would certainly affect the potential of the economy to grow. >> yellen stressed the importance of immigrants in the labor force during her senate testimony the previous day. the chair has also been expressing concern that trump's proposed tax cuts and stepped-up spending plans could hurt the country's fiscal health. the auto sectors has been one of japan's leading and how some companies are fighting back. here is that story. >> reporter: this company is one

of japan's top makers of auto parts. in recent years, it's been seeking out other industries. it was dropping sales after the financial crisis nine years ago. it created something new, a production support system for farms. an essential component system is this sensor which detects temperature, humidity and amount of light. the data is fed to a computer. it works out the ideal conditions for in the shortest amount of time. for instance, if the sun is too strong, it grows. if the humidity drops, sprinklers spring into action. more than 19 farms in japan have

adopted this system. farmers say -- >> translator: there's uncertainty about the earnings outlook for the auto industry. so we're using technologies we've developed to expand into other fields. >> reporter: the trend is spreading through the sector. for example, one company put this on display, a model of a human skull. this is a feature product, a bone, which from an accident or deceased. the leading maker of spa drugs, it uses a material for spark plugs. the company is able to produce

parts of any degree. executives realize they could know how to create safe and strong bones, changing trends are driving their strategy. a spark plug if electric vehicles become more mainstream. >> translator: the time may come with our products are no longer needed. we feel a sense of crisis so we've embarked on this new business. >> reporter: finding new ways to use long-standing technologies for auto parts makers this could hold the key to survival. nhk world. >> i will have more headlines for you in business in the next hour. for now, i'll leave you with a check on markets.

on to other news. tepco submitted inaccurate plans for the restart of one of its plants. they are in the final stages of testing a plant in northern japan. they must meet government requirements introduced after the 2011 fukushima nuclear disaster. regulators met with tepco officials on tuesday and they discussed buildings that would be used as headquarters in an emergency. the company initially said one

of them didn't pass a number of quake-resistant tests three years ago but admitted it actually failed all seven tests, meaning the building may not be quake-proof. that information was not passed on to the section in charge of a report that was submitted to the regulator. the prefecture's governor says he'll demand the company submit an investigative report. >> translator: we have to trust tepco but an explanation is now doubtful. we want the company to take responsibility for the error and explain things to us. >> translator: this is very regrettable. i conditionally support plans to restart the plant but now i think stricter terms are needed. >> the regulator is demanding that tepco provide more details about how the error occurred. india has launched more than 100 satellites on one rocket and successfully put them all into orbit.

>> one, zero. >> the rocket lifted off on wednesday from the southern state of andhra pradesh. it placed the satellites in various orbits before reaching an altitude of about 500 kilometers half an hour after launch. the rocket's load included an indian observation satellite weighing more than 700 kilograms and nano satellites launched for the u.s., the netherlands and the united arab emirates. the head of the indian space research organization, kiran kumar, hailed advances in the country's space technology. he said india hopes to grab a share of the commercial launch market. india has been developing space launch technology at a far lower cost than japan, europe or the u.s. its launch fees are about 20% cheaper than average. being at the top of the

fashion world isn't necessarily about creating trends, nor is it about glamour. japanese designer yohji yamamoto has a message for the times. >> reporter: the top of the crop in the world of fashion kicked off 2017 in paris. yohji yamamoto was there. the theme of this men's collection, hard worker featured on the runway were setups that remind you of the industrial revolution, white lab coats with heavy work boots and chic coveralls. yamamoto gave the designs an elegance. his respect for people who earn their money through toil and

moil. >> translator: the world today is dominated by capitalism the money makes money way of business. hard labor doesn't pay well. i hate that. we all should sweat over the work we do. >> reporter: yamamoto's own success didn't come without effort. in 1983, he shocked the fashion world with the line-up of black clothes. until then, the paris collection was known for displaying colors of the seasons and glamour. yamamoto redefined beauty. ever since, his collections have been an expression of his beliefs. >> translator: i've always felt that my role as an artist is to go against the norms of society. by doing so, i can contribute to society. it's easy to say, but actually

takes a lot of effort to do. >> yamamoto acted on his word and had to take on a challenge outside of his comfort zone. so at the age of 73, decided to hold his first art exhibit in tokyo. he spent two straight months facing the canvas. the motifes he chose included personal memories. cherry trees remind him of his mother for a picture of a cherry blossoms he drew as a child. his mother raised him on her own. she taught him the importance of working hard and using your own hands. so he painted and painted until he was physically and mentally exhausted. >> translator: it was a grueling task. you have to start from scratch

and complete each picture all alone. >> he sent out this invitation for paris fashion week, an employee timecard. his collection is a tribute to all people who have toiled to survive. yamamoto put that spirit into his designs. >> translator: i've always believed on walking on the wild side of the street. if i took the main path, it would mean a dead end for me. >> reporter: people are so caught up with money and fame that they've lost perspective, yamamoto says. they need a reminder, it's the process that counts. minori takao, nhk world. people in tokyo might be

rethinking their seasonal fashion. it's quite warm out. and many residents are shedding their heavy coats. meteorologist robert speta has the latest. >> actually, as we head through thursday into friday, things are going to continue to warm up across much of japan. we have this area of high pressure moving in that is bringing clearer skies but also a low coming in from the west and out ahead of this, you'll remember there are strong southerly winds. with that, we'll look at what we call warm air invention coming around taiwan and pulling across the eastern peninsula and the mercury will continue to climb up to the high teens to low 20s, about ten degrees above your seasonal average for this time of year. with that front, though, i do want to note ahead of it it will bring dry, warm winds. that means you could look at the threat of hey fever and al

lett lergies. you may see running noses or itchy eyes. we'll see precipitation work its way in across northeastern china. good news for beijing clearing up the air the last several days. some rather rough air indeces have been reported. scattered showers and higher elevations you should be seeing some snowfall. but as we head into saturday and sunday, the sea effect machine will be turning back on again. in sapporo, snow for you on friday, saturday and sunday. tokyo getting up to 19. seoul, getting up to about 4 there on your friday. cooling off, i should say, with some scattered showers. and shanghai at 19 and cooling off as well once the front does push by. let's take a look down towards the south as well. i want to talk about new zealand where you do want rain. a little bit of a low pulling off here off the island bringing

scattered showers. it's actually very welcome. i'll show you why. we have video outside of christchurch. you can see this very large wildfire that's been burning. the city near there was evacuated on wednesday. emergency warnings were put in place due to the wildfires. it's really coming near some homes out there. you can see this aircraft water bombing the area. trying to combat that blaze. they really want the weather to help out with this. with that low coming in from the north, as i mentioned, it will usher in precipitation, as it slowly creeps down here towards the south. you may see gusty winds out ahead of that as well. it's going to bring some relief to those out there combatting that fire. let's talk about what is going on out here with our tropical cyclone just off the coast of

m mozambique. up to a category 1 equivalent if this was in the atlantic. tracking off towards the west, there's plenty of moisture in the air. so this will weaken as it moves over land due to friction and it really loses its energy source but it's going to keep some of that moisture and that means plenty of rain for southern mozambique. so a flood threat over the next several days. all right. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

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

♪ >> welcome to "in good shape." coming up, how the germ "helicobacter pylori" takes hold of the stomach. a new way of treating tooth decay. and a look into the potential dangers of anesthesia. >> hello and welcome to "in good shape." today, i am at one of the charite clinics here in berlin, the benjamin franklin campus in the southwest of the city. today, we are going to talk about anesthesia. how risky is it, and is it true that some patients even wake up during surgery? we're going to meet dr. christoph stein, the head of the anesthesiology department here at this clinic.