a very warm welcome to nhk ""newsline" broadcasting to viewers around the globe. it was commissioned to target u.s. military bases in japan. four ballistic missiles fell into the sea of japan.

the launch came days after u.s. forces joined drills. it was in retaliation to what it called warmongers going ahead with their joint war exercises. u.s. officials say an extended range scud may have been included. they say there may have been multiple types including a new modified version of the medium range nodong. it's highly likely they were powered by solid fuel making them harder to detect. japan's defense ministry is making an effort to recover the missiles. prime minister shinzo abe held an emergency meeting right after the launch. he told reporters further provocations are possible. >> translator: president trump

said he wants us to have 100% confidence in him and the u.s. >> abe and trump requested an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council and joined other world leaders to condemn north korea for the launch. u.s. president donald trump has signed a new executive order aimed at strengthening immigration control. his previous attempt proved contentious leading to confusion and a court challenge. the revised order signed on monday bars people from sudan, syria, iran, libya, somalia and yemen. they cannot enter the united states for 90 days if they do not already possess a valid visa. the directive takes effect on next week. >> protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the united states is a vital measure for strengthening our national security. >> a federal court in the state of washington issued an

injunction against the original order signed in january. the decision was supported by an appeals court last month. the original measure included a travel ban on iraqis, but they've been exempted as a result of bilateral talks. visa applicants from iraq will undergo more rigorous screening. the previous order drew criticism for causing confusion at airports. they say the estimate covers a 17-year period from 2013 to 2030. the estimated figure show that direct investments and visitor spending on the games will generate about $30 billion in

economic benefits. officials want to cooperate closely with other municipalities to enshire ture benefit will be felt across the country. japanese deputy prime minister is getting ready to meet u.s. vice president mike pence in april. what can we expect from the talks? >> what we can expect investors, economists to follow the meeting rather closely because it will be the first economic negotiations between the two countries since president trump's inauguration. japan's economy minister is preparing for the meeting by having talks of his own with the new u.s. commerce secretary. they spoke on the phone for 20

minutes. the april meetings are likely to focus on infrastructure, cooperation and trade. president trump is aiming for bilateral trade pacts. the american leader has criticized japan's car industry saying u.s. struggled to sell cars in japan. he said the issues were not mentioned during the phone conversation with ross. still a white house trade adviser has criticized the non-bar yorier non-barriers.

at a speech in washington he stressed the need to cut down america's trade deficits with countries including japan, china, germany and mexico. >> it is a coincidence that japan has high non-tariff barriers and exports more vehicles than the united states in two days than the u.s. exports to japan in a year. >> japanese government officials said that japan is not imposing tariffs on american cars nor conducting any unfair trade practices. executives at the car maker peugeot-citroen will buy general motors from the u.s. the buyout will cost about $2.3 billion. it will include gm's european autofinancing. global sales are expected to

increase to 4.3 million units per year. they've been major european business for gm but it's been sluggish for a long time. gm will exit from the european market. let's check on the markets. tokyo stocks opened lower this morning as geo political risks are deafening sentiment. they weigh up concerns over north korea's latest missile launch. president trump's allegations that he was wiretapped is also reduced risk appetite. taking a look at the nikkei it is trading just a touch lower at 19,3 19,371. investors are selling technology and health care sectors. energy related shares are providing some support to the benchmark. the dollar touched 114 overnight and it is back above it.

114.00 to 05 at the moment. the greenback gained some ground against the euro on renewed concerns that le pen may be elected as france's next president. let's move onto markets open this hour in the asia pacific. we're seeing seoul's kospi trading higher. australian shares are also higher. those are up by .3 of a percent. officials from japan's trade union said about 1,500 union representatives attended. the confederation leader called

for union members to work together to maintain recent wage rises. >> translator: we should return to the idea that pay rises are standard. we should not stop the movement to raise base pay. >> unions are trying to narrow the gap in working conditions between staff on regular and non-regular contracts. managers at leading car and electronics manufacturers are cautious. they say the economic outlook is uncertain under the administration of u.s. president trump. management representatives are due to respond to union requests next week. japanese are spending more of their household budgets on food. economists use a special gauge to track this trend and it's called the engel's coefficient. in japan it's been declining since world war ii. the trend has reversed in recent

years as people's live styfestl change. we report on what's happen ng japan. >> living costs are tough and food prices are going up. >> i try to cut back on my spending to save money. >> my washer isn't working well but i'll keep using it until it breaks down. >> reporter: many japanese are not spending much these days. some are splurging on food. this woman is enjoying a four course meal at a french restaurant with her family. she says she dines out as often as four times a week. >> translator: we like trying new restaurants because it's

fun. we take pictures of what we ate so we can talk about it later. we like to return to some of the best places. >> reporter: she leaves in an apartment with her husband. they got married two years ago. since they moved in together they haven't renewed their home appliances. they don't own one. they spend money on dining out than buying things. that leads to a better quality of life. they have been spending more than 35% of their household budget. >> reporter: the growing number of double income couples boosts and gives coefficient as well. >> translator: deli food is

convenient when i work late. i frequently buy food here. >> reporter: over the past decade the number of double income households have risen by about 10%. household spending for ready made food has grown at the same rate. the peak hour to buy prepared food at the supermarket is now 6:00 p.m., two hours later than before. sales have boomed. >> our customers expect a lot from us. we sense their need for ready made food and strive to provide the service they want. >> reporter: this change in consumer sentiment. >> many japanese people are not optimistic that their salaries will increase. they are getting more selective with their spending.

people are also drawing the line between low and high priority items and shelling out only on things that matter a lot to them. >> reporter: the engel's coefficient may offer businesses an important clue as they struggle to spur consumer spending. nhk world, tokyo. >> more for you next hour in business. here is the latest in markets.

march 11 is six years since the tsunami hit japan. in our next story you'll meet the person behind the project and find out what challenges remain for shop owners. >> for the shopping arcade, it's

a grand reopening. these businesses have spent the last few years in temporary structures. for shop owners and customers this day is a big deal. >> translator: i like it because it's more spacious than before. it feels like we finally reached recovery. >> he was instrumental in getting the arcade built. his business manufacturers and sells processed food made from locally caught seafood. >> translator: i'm really happy because i didn't expect to have this many customers today. >> this is what it looked like before the disaster. homes and public facilities all crowded into a small area. close to 100 businesses were in the town center including his.

>> translator: my store was located right here. >> the tsunami destroyed his home, his processing plant and his store. this is what it looked like. it was started by his grandfather over 80 years ago. three months after the disaster, he used what little money he had to buy a car. he used it as a mobile store making the rounds of evacuation centers. for his factory he rented land from an aconveyance and built a temporary processing facility. for the equipment he got a bank loan. somehow he managed to keep himself in business. at the same time he got together with other business owners and started planning to rebuild the shopping arcade. >> translator: by concentrating

business in one area we can build a new community by creating a place where everyone can gather freely. >> the government's recovery plan didn't have enough room. houses and public facilities were being rebuilt on higher ground with limited land. so the business owners opted to rebuild close to the original location but it meant there would be a 2 kilometer distance between the residential area and the shops, not something everyone was happy about. >> translator: it's best if shops are close to home within walking distance. >> translator: i think it's inconvenient for those that don't own a car. >> translator: we don't have any options.

our only choice is to close our businesses or to keep them going. >> with that in mind, he started developing new products in hopes of attracting out of town customers in addition to locals, including a new burger. it's made with octopus a regional delicacy. >> translator: we weren't the own the course of our customers if we always sell the same thing. if we don't cater to the needs of our customers, we won't have a business. >> that is finally what the others can focus on, running their businesses again in their new shopping arcade.

from space trips to deep sea exploration, science inspires children around the world. in many countries, far fewer girls than boys become scientists. that's especially so in japan, but some are trying to change that. here's that story. >> reporter: this small gadget may look like just a toy, but it's carrying a big dream for these kids. >> three, two, one -- >> reporter: close to 100 teams spent six months preparing to compete in one of the world's largest robotics championships. meet this team, a girls-only team and the only one to make it to the finals. the eight teammates go to the same all-girls high school. they get together three times a

week to learn about robotics and to share their passion for science. >> space technology. >> information technology. >> space technology. >> reporter: akane umeda is fascinated by space. when she was 10, she was inspired by a japanese spacecraft that returned to earth with an asteroid sample. >> translator: i thought it was really cool. i want to do space research, developing spacecraft or satellites would be nice. >> reporter: umeda and her friends all hope to become part of what's a small club, female japanese scientists. a recent survey shows only 14% of the country's scientists are women, which ranks it last among developed countries.

physics teacher taro suzuki wants that to change. two years ago he started the team's robotics club. >> translator: they were developed to help people communicate or take care of senior citizens. i think girls could offer better ideas than male students in such areas. >> reporter: two days before the competition, the team was busy going over their final tune-ups. but frustration grew because the robot wasn't working properly. on the day of the competition, their hard work was put to the test. >> three, two, one!

>> reporter: the team's robot performed really well but not as good as the girls had hoped. even though they gave it their all, they failed to make the top eight. those teams get to go abroad to compete internationally. they thought that it was game over, but then this happened. the team was given a special award for showing great potential for growth, and with the award comes a prize -- a trip to compete in denmark. the judges hope that the award will encourage these girls to pursue their dreams in science and more will follow. ayumi takahira, nhk world, tokyo. big smiles there. a powerful sicyclone is

impacting madgascar. robert speta has the latest in world weather. >> let's start off talking about this serious and life threatening storm system for anybody who has not made the preparations out ahead. they are definitely in danger at this time. the city of about 34,000 people where people are right near the immediate coastal areas under the threat of not only damaging winds but we're talking about the chance of storm surge here and winds right now sustained at about 200 kilometers per hour in that center of circulation. do remember this is a southern hemisphe hemisphere. the right front quadrant or the worst of the storm is down towards the south. this rotates in a clockwise motion. that's where you'll see the worst of the conditions. it's not just the wind and storm surge but the storm will track towards the south right along the hadgascar island and right

over the capital where they are in fact in a drought at this time. you'll want the rain but too much in a short period of time will be a lot of run off. it will continue to pull that moisture off the indian ocean. not only a dangerous storm but life threatening for anybody not heeding warnings out ahead of this. changing gears to just as serious as a topic but not so much with a cyclone. it's a drought just north of madgascar here across somalia. you have been under a serious drought recently. just over the past 48 hours the somalian prime minister has said 110 people have died not only to a lack of clean water which is also bringing in things like food water shortage. the u.n. estimate about 500

people in this country need aide. millions of dollars have been brought in. this is north of where we're seeing the cyclone bringing abundance of rain. do remember we are in the middle of the dry season. we're starting to get near the end of it across somalia. good news in april the rains come in. that should help out a little bit. this is still has been a very serious winter out here with the northeast monsoon still ongoing situation. i want to take your attention out here across japan where we have a winter storm ongoing across. about 30 centimeters in the past 24 hours has been seen out there in many locations. we're looking at winds about 70 to 80 kilometers per hour. still coming in from the northwest. the sea effect snowfall will

continue continue. many looking about 60 centimeters out there. 35 centimeters down toward the south. i want to take your attention to this very quickly. a momentum here. it's the solar eclipse. a little different view. you can see the shadow move across the atlantic. that was last week. move over towards africa. left that shadow as the moon pass between the sun and the earth. here is your extended outlook.

that's all for this e dedit of nhk "newsline." . thanks very much for joining us. x

♪ >> hello and welcome to "focus on europe." thanks for joining us. i'm damien mcguinness. and today we're looking at some of the big issues affecting many europeans including populism. and sexism. in some spanish cooking clubs the traditional rule is no women in the kitchen. but not everyone agrees. this woman says it's sexist and misogynistic. but more about that later. nesrin escaped the conflict in syria and is now safely in turkey, where she recently got married. but this was far from a fairy-tale happy ending. she's only a teenager and her family is destitute. w