♪ glad to have you with us on this edition nhk "newsline." it's 10:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. the government acquired a 50.1% stake in tokyo electric power company through a state-backed bailout fund after the accident

which put the utility under state control. the government was planning to sell tepco stocks next month as a step towards reducing its control but it will cost about $188 billion to take care of the aftermath of the accident. that's about double earlier estimates. the extension of state control over tepco means the government will give up current plans to cover the clean-up cost of $35 billion by selling the utility shares. the government is now considering other ways to raise the money. two women in malaysia have been charged with murder for the suspected assassination of north korea leader's half-brother. before the indictment police took them to the site of the killing of kim jong-nam as part of their investigation. an amateur video posted to the internet shows one of them walking through the lobby of kuala lumpur airport. they were trying to confirm whether the women are the same ones in surveillance footage on the day of the attack.

the suspected women were detained after kim died. the police believe they smeared a toxic nerve agent on his face. their lawyers met with reporters. >> she said, "i'm innocent." >> of course, they're frightened and they're saying that they're innocent. >> the women claim they thought they were taking part in a prank for a tv show. police say four other suspects from north korea have returned home. they demanded pyongyang hand them over and want to question a staff member of its embassy as well as an employee of the state-owned airline. at the same time, the victim's body is at the center of a diplomatic row between the countries. the health minister says there are steps that need to be followed. >> our next one is to identify the body.

for that, we need materials from the next of kin. no progress in that respect so far. >> north korea has strongly denied involvement in the killing and hasn't accepted the body is kim's. state-run media says it's absurd to claim highly toxic vx nerve agent was used and accuses the u.s. and south korea of trying to topple the country's government. china's foreign minister's believed to have questioned a north korean official on kim's killing, but details on the conversation are not yet known. foreign minister wang yi met with ri kil song on wednesday. wang also addressed the issue of the ongoing missile and nuclear development. he asked pyongyang to exercise self-restraint. wang hopes concerned nations will halt any actions that impede the goal of denuclearizing the korean peninsula. u.s. and south korean troops are

currently conducting drills nearby which the north has denounced. analysts say the chinese side also explained its decisions to suspend coal imports from the north for the rest of the year. that's in line with a u.n. security council resolution. shifting gears now, stocks have rallied on wall street. dow jones industrial average surpassed 21,000 for the first time in history. and tokyo markets are following suit. ai uchida joins us now from the business desk with all of the details. what's behind all of the >> following the rally on wall street, tokyo's nikkei average surged to its highest point this year which the is highest since december 2015. the index is trading in positive territory, up by more than 1% at

19,598. shares of financials are leaping ahead and a weaker yen is giving a boost to export-related stocks. let's take a look at currencies, then. the dollar did briefly climb above 114 yen this morning touching a two-week high against the japanese currency. more investors believe it will hike the key interest rate this month after hawkish comments from some fed officials. analysts say the odds of a rate hike in march has doubled to 70%. in the asia-pacific, we are seeing gains elsewhere as well. seoul's kospi is trading higher and australia up by 1.1%. ch china's market will open in under half an hour. u.s. officials have frozen the assets of certain investors for suspected insider trading.

the move relates to a deal involving japanese i.t. giant soft bank. the scc officials say the unnamed investors made $3.6 million in profits through soft bank's takeover of fortress investment group of the u.s. softbank announced the deal after the new york stock exchange closed on february 14th. the scc alleges that the investors obtained information about the acquisition before it was made public, bought fortress shares and later sold them at higher prices. they plan to demand to return the profits and pay fines. the head of taiwan's precision industry for hon hai says he's very interested in buying a majority stake in a semiconductor business that toshiba will spinoff. >> yes. i'm sure yous. >> you're serious? >> very serious.

>> more than $20 billion? >> i don't know the details. this is not disclosure in this moment, but we are very serious. >> the business has great potential for growth given the energy efficiency of flash memory chips. he said the devices can be used in new technologies, including 8k ultra high-definition tvs. it took over japan sharp last year. toshiba's proceeds will cover huge losses from its nuclear power business in the united states. filipino president rodrigo duterte since taking office.

nhk's world has more. >> reporter: environmentally friendly vehicle zips down the street of the town of manila. it was built by a japanese farmer. >> i think they should have it help clean the air. >> reporter: rapid growth in the philippines has caused air pollution. that has led the japanese manufacturer to build a factory in manila four years ago. it received an order for 3,000 tries kells for the philippine government. >> translator: we are a foreign company here. but we'd like to help the philippines get back its beautiful skies. >> reporter: that was changed in the administration last june.

they put the brakes on the project. president rodrigo duterte began an -- he's made rural development his top priority. the plans to put 100,000 electric tricycles on the road was given a back seat. planation. the company was forced to halt shipments. tens of thousands of dollars in monthly expenses. >> translator: the project won't go ahead without the decision of a person in authority. we're facing a huge challenge. >> reporter: the company enlisted the support of an official from the home prefecture in japan and brought him to a meet with the philippine government representatives in january. they asked that funding for the

tricycle project be restored. >> we understand that it should begin because our secretary is pro environment also. we want to increase our growth in our gdp. >> translator: it's a fact that the project has been delayed due to the change in government. the department of energy apologized for the trouble. >> reporter: the company received the outstanding payment soon after the meeting, but there's still no prospects that more orders are on the horizon. it's now looking for new customers and ways to cut costs. the company hopes that the experience in the philippines will help it establish a foothold in southeast asia. and that there will be fewer obstacles on the road ahead. atsuhiko mizutani, nhk world.

i'll leave you with a check on markets. on to other stories now. japan's emperor have attended a

welcome banquet in the vietnamese capital. they are on their first ever visit to vietnam. the country's president said the trip will lead to a new age of friendly and cooperative relations between the two nations. the emperor spoke of the growing familiarity between their people. >> on thursday, they will meet people who have studied or want to work as nurses and caregivers in japan. they're scheduled to leave for thailand object sunday to pay their respects to the late king. supporters and opponents of south korea's suspended

president held separate rallies in seoul on wednesday, a national holiday. the constitutional court is expected to rule soon on whether to uphold the impeachment of park geun-hye. people at the pro impeachment rally said park should be arrested immediately if her impeachment is upheld. she and a close friend have been at the center of a political corruption scandal that's rocked the country. >> translator: she allowed her friend to take overstate affairs. she is not a capable person. ♪ >> many elderly people attended the anti-impeachment gathering. a representative said park never acted in her own interests and that it's wrong to name her as an accomplice of her friend. >> translator: the country's leader should not be impeached

while our national security is being threatened. >> the court held its final session on the case on monday. south korean media say the ruling may come early this month. if the court upholds the impeachment, a presidential election must be held within 60 days. a side effect of the political scandal that's engulfed south korea's politics is youth engagement. young people have joined the rank and file of protesters who called for the country's president to step down. now those young people are calling for voting rights. nhk reports. >> reporter: many high school students throughout south korea are politically energized and they want more of a say. >> translator: we want to elect the country's leader ourselves in order to create a better society for ourselves. >> reporter: the corruption scandal involving the president

and her long-time friend has kept this man busy engaged in social issues. he is in his last year of high school with the university entrance exams on the horizon but he's got politics on the brain. >> translator: i believe our society should be one where efforts are rewarded and supported to make such a society, i'll continue to campaign for political issues, including teenage voting rights. >> reporter: the country's teachers don't think a change is a good idea. they say students need to focus on university entrance exams, not politics. >> translator: they would argue about who should be elected. if they were eligible to vote, they wouldn't be able to concentrate on their studies. >> reporter: the voting age from 19 to 18 was proposed by opposition lawmakers last may. >> the bill of lowering the

voting age must be passed before this upcoming presidential election. unlike other countries, only south korea has the minimum voting age at 19. >> reporter: they cleared a hurdle in january but it won't be debated in the general session this month. it says a further discussion is needed. >> translator: many parents are concerned about the bill. if we lower the voting age, we have to transform our school system, including the age for graduating from high school. >> reporter: another possible reason for the ruling party's hesitancy is the fact that it's got relatively low support levels among young voters. recent polls show south koreans are evenly split over the issue. this teenagers will continue their campaign. >> translator: if teenagers talk more about politics from their younger years and if they carry out their rights to vote with their own views, i think our country can avoid making the

same mistakes of the past. >> reporter: this year's crop of 18-year-old account for only 1.5% of the total electorate. but a country that's been sharply divided by scandal, every vote counts, nhk, kim chan-ju, seoul. his country will abide by a controversial agreement with tokyo on people referred to as wartime comfort women. >> translator: the japanese government should squarely face history and have sincerity and consistency in educating future generations and reflecting on its past wrongdoings. >> he was commemorating the 98th anniversary of the independence

movement from japan. relations between the countries have gone through ups and downs since. in late 2015, park geun-hye reached an agreement on wartime comfort women, calling for japan to provide $9 million to a foundation to support them. there's been backlash to the deal in south korea and diplomatic relations soured in december after a civic group placed a statue symbolizing the women in front of the japanese consulate general. tokyo recalled its ambassador. >> translator: the two countries should respect the spirit of the agreement in implementing it. both sides must take efforts to ease the women's suffering and restore their honor and dignity. >> they have been urging officials to remove the

march 11th marks six years since a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern japan. today, we turn to these red gates of a shrine in a small fishing village near the northern tip of japan's mainland. we featured a number of stories on them and their special journey. they were destroyed by the tsunami and swept all the way across the pacific. thanks to the goodwill of many people in the u.s., they were returned home. but the story didn't end there. nhk world has an update. >> reporter: this traditional japanese toy was made by elementary school students. these book marks, too. the kids are getting everything

ready to send to their new american friends. this red gate is a symbol of that friendship. it started when parts of their home town and through the window you can see them. originally built to offer protection for the bridge, but they were washed away under the shores of the u.s. state of oregon two years after the tsunami. thanks to the people there, they found their way home. the story was big news there. and it got the attention of school kids in portland. they drew pictures and wrote messages for the children in

okuki. >> i want to meet with them and play with them. >> reporter: there are letterings and drawings sent along with the gates. the act of friendship and kindness came as a surprise. >> translator: i was so happy. it made me want to become their friend. >> reporter: the pictures and letters were very pretty. i want to send letters back to them. >> so they decided to do just that. they asked their teacher to help them translate the characters in their names into english. >> hope. >> hope. >> happiness. >> happiness. >> happiness. >> happiness. >> colorful. >> colorful. >> reporter: then they wrote their names in japanese together

with what they mean. for many, it was their first time writing words in english. >> my name is kai. kai is happiness. >> my name is -- and that is colorful. >> okay. >> translator: i want to learn more english words because i want to be able to talk and have fun if i visit portland. >> reporter: the children also put together a thank you message. >> thank you for making the poster. it's really cute. >> i have a cookie. >> i have a banana.

>> friendship. >> for the students of okuki, these gates don't just stand for protection, they are a gateway to new friendships and more. nhk world, okuki. >> certainly a symbol of friendships and also goodwill and recovery for generations to come. let's shift gear now for a check of the weather. people in tokyo are seeing cloudy skies outside their windows. meteorologist robert speta has the latest in world weather. >> yes, across much of japan, for that matter, we're looking at this area of low pressure moving overhead. and with that, widespread cloudy skies out here. we're also seeing scattered showers, even in the tokyo area during the morning hours. it's been tapering off but there's a separate low back here towards the west that is triggering up thunderstorms and it's going to be tracking off

towards the east. so through the afternoon and into the evening hours, if you are in tokyo, don't put away those umbrellas just yet. you're going to be looking at more rain out there and a few rumbles of thunder follow behind with northwesterly winds even through northern areas of tohoku. blizzard conditions heading into friday and saturday before high pressure works its way in from the west. already this is bringing clear conditions if you are in the eastern and northeastern areas of china out here. actually, beijing, sunny skies for you. same thing for shanghai. up to 11. hong kong, 22 with clear conditions. tokyo today, scattered showers and temperatures barely pushing into the double digits. let's take a look here in south america specifically across peru. earlier this week, we actually had imagery out of this area we had severe flooding.ain. but now i'll show you some video

coming out of lima where this has resulted in some landslides, in fact. now, this is -- across the area, you can see heavier rain in the past 30 years and the end result, you can see right there, that is absolutely intense video being seen there. and over the past month, across most of peru, so far the flooding this year has killed 26 people, displaced about 250,000 people, and this is still ongoing. actually, we still have heavy rainfall warnings in place for northern areas of the country north of lima here where you could be seeing upwards of 200 millimeters in a 24-hour span with the rain still coming down out there. as far as lima is concerned, cloudy conditions for the most part. you may see a passing shower but overall still ongoing in a lot of these areas. the wet season is not over yet so still expecting the rain to persist into march and april as

well. let's take a look across the north and talk about our severe weather season which has kicked in across the areas in the u.s. this storm system has produced several deadly tornadoes. the tornado threat is still ongoing but i think more so large hail and damaging winds. the winds in excess of 100 kilometers per hour and we could be seeing golf ball-size hail. even towards new york, laguardia, numerous flight delays. they had to shut down the airport for a while. towards the west, rough conditions. in fact, in atlanta, pretty significant temperature drop. 26 down to 15 for a high on thursday. columbia, south carolina, down to 19. overnight lows are near the freezing point. if you're in new york or washington, it was warm on wednesday. snow possibly in the forecast at the end of the week. all right. 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 for staying with us. n8

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