joining us on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. u.s. companies hired more workers than expected in february. many market investors believe this clears the way to raise the interest rates at a policy next week. the u.s. lib department released figures on friday showing that nonfarm jobs increased by 235,000 last month. the rise exceeded market expectations. the number of new jobs also lowered the unemployment rate by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.7% and average hourly wages rose 2.8% last month compared to february last year.

earlier this month federal reserve chair janet yellen said a hike in the key rate would likely be decided at next week's meeting but that would only happen if employment and inflation continued to evolve in line with expectations of fed policy makers. it would be the fed's first rate increase since december and also the first for president donald trump's administration. investors are also waiting to hear what yellen has to say about the pace of future rate hikes after the policy meeting. japan's prime minister says his administration will end its main u.n. peacekeeping mission in south sudan. the government will not send another team to replace the current unit. >> translator: the current team will return around the end of may after completing construction of the roads they are working on.

the mission reached the five-year mark in january. that makes it the longest of its kind. sdf personnel helped build main roads linking the capital to other cities. and contributed to the country's development after it declared independence. south sudan's development is now entering a new phase. so i've decided that we can end a chapter of the sdf's engineering activities in juba. >> abe also said he will keep some officers at the headquarters of the u.n. mission in the country.

and japan will continue to offer assistance. it started sending the sdf members in 2012 to help restore the newly established nation which has grappled with violence. the scope of the mission did not include combat or other security enforcement work. that's because of strict limitations in japan's war renouncing constitution. but the abe administration has given the current unit an expanded role. allowing it to come to the defense of u.n. staff in the event they come under attack. the deployment has been heavily debated in the diet. japan's self-imposed criteria limit the sdf to areas where ceasefires are in place. opposition law makers grilled the government on the security situation in south sudan. a u.n. adviser warned of the conflict between the government and rebels risks escalating into genocide. hundreds have been killed. more than a million have fled the country and there are severe food shortages. but japan's top government spokesperson says the decision wasn't made due to the worsening security. he said it's because the

government recognizes that the mission has achieved certain results. it's expected the sdf will have a lot of work to do in preparation for removal from the south sudan. they sent heavy machine in to build roads and other infrastructure. for security purposes it brought in armored vehicles. jap japan's defense ministry said the sdf unit has 180 machines and vehicles in the country. it's going to take some time to ship out all of that equipment before the withdrawal is complete. malaysia's police chief has confirmed the victim of the attack at kuala lumpur last month was, in fact, kim jong-nam, the half brother of north korea's leader. the first time the police confirmed the identity of the man. he was carrying a passport with the name kim chol. >> we have established that kim chol is kim jong-nam.

we have fulfilled the requirement of the laws on this identification. >> malaysian police has said dna samples from the family of the man why necessary for identification. the police chief did not confirm. he said it's to protect other witnesses. it's not clear who they are. pyongyang has refused to acknowledge the body is kim jong-nam's and is demanding it be handed over. prime minister called for unity on friday as he tries to bring home nine north koreans. the countries have barred each other's citizens from leaving over diplomatic tensions over the death of kim jong-nam. special prayers were held around the country. >> i pray for him so that they

can come and go to their family again. >> reporter: malaysia is demanding that pyongyang hand over four north korean suspects. it also wants to question three other north korean nationals including an embassy staff member, but pyongyang has not been cooperative calling the investigation politically motivated. as tensions rise between north korea and malaysia, the asian football if he had der rags has decided to postpone a soccer match between the two countries. the afc made the decision on friday to delay the 2019 final round qualifier. it cited the escalating diplomatic tension. the match was scheduled for march 28 in pyongyang, but they asked the agency to change the venue to a mutual location. it said under the current circumstances the safety of players and officials cannot be

assured. the new date will be announced in due course but it did not refer to a change of the venue. the asian cup is held every four years to determine asia's soccer champion. south korea's constitutional court has upheld the impeachment of president park. she's the first president in the history of the country to be dismissed from the office. the decision means a snap presidential election must be held in the next 60 days. the announcement has led to protest that's has left two people dead. >> translator: the court's judges u nnanimously agreed on e decision. we will dismiss president park. >> reporter: crowds of people gathered long before the decision was handed down. some were calling for impeachment. >> translator: i feel great.

>> translator: i'm shaking with joy of the decision. >> reporter: others why outraged by the ruling. >> translator: the court decision is unacceptable. >> reporter: the riots crashed. two people died and around 30 were injured. park was the country's first female president. for many she changed south korean society. but a series of scandals around her reputation. the constitutional court said park supported by her confidantee. the verdict means that park could be arrested or indicted as

a citizen. she was unwilling to uphold the decision. hwang kyo-ahn is serving as the acting president. >> translator: everyone must accept the constitutional court's decision and inviting and antagonism. >> reporter: the foreign minister has commented on the change of power. >> translator: taking into consideration north korea and other issues, it is vital for japan and south korea to continue to work together to maintain regional peace and stability. >> reporter: thousands of people have gathered at the center square to celebrate and to protest it.

park has been ordered to leave immediately and she will stay overnight for security reasons. nhk world, tokyo. washington says it's looking forward to working with whomever south koreans choose as the next leader. mark toner said he will work with whoever is up next. he said their alliance will be a linchpin of regional stability. and the united states will continue to meet the commitments with respect to defending from the threat of north korea. u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson is scheduled to visit south korea next week. japanese business leaders reacted to the decision to confirm president park's impeachment. the head of the japan association of corporate executives said he is watching the unpress departmented impeachment with interest.

he says he hopes south korea will return to stability so the two countries will return to economic ties. the chairman of the business federation says he hopes the bilateral relationship will continue to move forward under whoever is the new president. he says his organization will continue to work to achieve closer ties. ♪ ♪ a school operator in the center of a controversy over a land deal has given up its plan to open a new elementary school in osaka, western japan. there were questions raised about the purchase of state owned land and indicated the policies on education are supportive of the prime minister.

moritomo gakuen bought the land last year at less than 20% of its appraised value. the application has been withdrawn for the school. the operator has been under fire for submitting contracts to the government and some suspect it used different fees to make the management plan look good. opposition lawmakers grilled prime minister abe. abe said neither he nor his wife had anything to do with the plan and denied she received any money. the chief moritomo gakuen said he will step down. >> translator: i can categorically state that i have never asked any lawmakers to

help us acquire land and that the president nor his wife has done anything to help us. >> the parents of 20 students will have to look for an alternative school for them to attend in april. the government will consider buying the land back as stipulated in the contract. people in myanmar held the ceremony to mark the completion of hundreds of houses for members of minority groups displaced by the decades long civil war. they have been living on the border. the project in the southeastern state of karenne has been held. it was funded by the japanese government. some of the people have been living in thailand. >> translator: i'm very happy to be living in my own country again. it is much more free here compared with other countries. >> translator: i hope the latest japanese aid will lead to a complete cease-fire and

reconciliation that people in myanmar are longing for and improve people's lives. >> in august last year, most ethnic groups in myanmar participated in a peace conference but sporadic fighting continued. the prime minister said that ending years of conflict is their top priority. japanese diplomats say they hope the aid will bring about a better standard of living and the armed groups will understand that. >> now that the u.s. has pulled out of the trans-pacific partnership, the rcep pact will cover half the world's population and 30% of global gdp. our reporter reports on thailand's expectation for the framework.

>> reporter: responding to the u.s. announcement of its withdrawal from tpp, concern was advised about american policy. >> the consequence of donald trump's america first policy must come to the conclusion that it can only end in sorrow for the other parties. >> it will have a huge impact on our issues and economic growth. >> reporter: but thailand takes a different tact. the thai government has not taken part in tpp, they are concerned that the pact would lead to higher prices of medical products. the agreement causes protection. thailand has instead been supporting the asian centric network.

members include china, india, japan and asean countries. >> translator: we believe that the negotiations will end in success, the negotiations should see progress before the end of the year. >> reporter: the industrial sector has high hopes for expanding exports to the huge chinese market. the company uses fish and exports to china and elsewhere. the company sees the exports rising to china once the agreement comes into place. the farm hopes to make inroads into china and other countries such as india and japan. >> translator: the framework for china and india when this region is united we have more

purchasing power. >> reporter: experts say the rcep will benefit not only thailand but the whole southeast asia. >> translator: the agreement will make southeast asia the core. the members will be equipped with great bargaining power. >> reporter: thailand and other asian nations are gearing up to form a new trade work without the united states. nhk bangkok. saturday marks since years since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated north earn japan. support for survivors used to focus on volunteering but recent business injected know how into the business and surprised

everyone. >> the carp are still jumping in koryama city, the problem is business is not. fisher men say sales have fallen steadily since the 2011 disaster. >> translator: fukushima carp used to be the best known and fetch the highest prices. now they are the cheapest. we won't be able to survive unless we get back the brand power we once had. >> reporter: city officials decided it was time to get outside help. they teamed up with businesses from around japan to promote the fresh water fish. >> translator: so delicious. >> translator: people will love them. >> reporter: the company taking part is a leading beer maker.

they assembled a carp-promotion team. it's developing dishes that go well with beer and supplying the recipes to restaurants in fukushima. >> translator: in this project, we are helping to reinvigorate carp farming while trying to raise our brand value. >> reporter: carp farms aren't the only breeding grounds for businesses in the region. doctors at this clinic are using a new system to access patient's medical records located on tablet computers. a quick tab brings up information on 4,000 patients, anytime, anywhere. the system was developed by an office equipment maker. until recently they had little experience in the medical field. it all started when the company donated copy machines to hospitals. staff heard about a challenge facing doctors and the disaster hit communities.

many patients lost their homes in the disaster and are still living in temporary housing. >> translator: i visit elderly people, but i didn't have access to their blood test results, clinical history and so on. that made me less confident about my diagnosis. >> reporter: they used their thought know how to come up with a solution. it gives doctors internet access to the patient's medical records when ever and wherever they need it. >> translator: the system allows me to do my job accurately and helps me save time. it has become indispensable to me. >> reporter: other medical institutions have adopted the system generating contracts worth $5.3 million for the maker. >> translator: our interactions for people from disaster-stricken areas has led to more business.

>> reporter: an unlikely partnership, but it paid off for both community and company. the japan business federation is trying to dispel concerns about the safety of food from fukushima. it ran a symposium in tokyo on the eve of the quake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear accident. a fukushima prefectural official said prices for agricultural products from fukushima are lower since the accident. the head of an agricultural cooperative said some mass marketers stay away from selling rice, beef from the prefecture to avoid inquiries from the consumers. he'll keep explaining to the public how food is produced and why they are safe. this called for a need to dispel fears and attract business to japan's northeast. march 11, 2011, a magnitude

9.0 earthquake and tsunami devastate japan. years later they're still struggling to contain the radiation. but in the wake of this unprecedented disaster, new ideas are shedding light and hope. don't miss "confronting challenges." knockoffs of famous brands and other counter fit products are a growing headache around the world and the middle east is no exception. nhk world reporter looks at how authorities there are fighting back. >> reporter: saudi arabia, one of the world's largest exporters of crude oil. large malls are filled with luxury brands. but in local shopping areas, imitation goods are easy to find. many apparently made in china.

the world customs organization says more knockoffs are confiscated in saudi arabia than any other country. in 2015 alone, saudi customs o figures alls seized more than 140,000 items. fake products come in from china and other countries but it's the united arab emirates that holds the key. the uae is the regional distribution hub connecting the middle east with asia, europe and africa. many fake products are shipped through the uae that's because many of the ports are registered as free zones and they use si simplified customs procedures. take the sport. it deals with 50 million containers a year. uae customs authorities use state of the art equipment to

identify counterfeits but they say finding it can be tricky because the packaging could be very close to the original. >> it's difficult but we try. >> thank you for your time. >> reporter: this law firm specializes in intellectual property and has been helping the uae expose counterfeits. staff members conduct investigations and share what they find with law enforcement. one such investigation led to the discovery of scores of make toner cartilages. a member of the law firm copy the authorities when they confiscate the goods. >> without a brand and without anything. this is toner. we open. so this is a chinese product. when you remove the stickers then they replace the sticker

with the brand and then they repackage it. >> reporter: the cartilages were made in china but none are branded. counterfeiters apply the stickers and logos once the product is in the uae. it's having a crippling effect on the makers of knockoffs. she says brands must also act aggressively so fakes never reach the market. she says action on the parts of brands is the most important weapon against copy cats. >> when they see that this brand is not active, they will tell all the counterfeiters, don't worry about this brand they're not taking any action, so you can bring it, deal it. and we have to make a noise in

the market, have, like, an impact on the enforcement authorities. >> reporter: the dubai office of the japan external trade organization has joined hands with nearly 2 dozen japanese firms to tackle the issue and they're in close contact with the uae law enforcement authorities. their information sharing is stricter controls they hope to stop the swelling tide of fake goods. nhk world, dubai. and next is the three-day outlook on the world's weather. ♪ ♪

and that's all for now on this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo and from all of us at nhk world, thanks for watching. rñvx

>>this week on global 3000 wehead to the gambia where peope are celebrating their new-founddemocracy, their new president and the end of a dictatorship.in the u.s., immigrants are suffering increasingdiscrimination. far right groups are on therise. but we start in mosul, in iraq.after being liberated from islamic state, people in thecity are experiencing a fresh start.in the summer of 2014, so-called islamic state declared acaliphate made up of territoris it had occupied.since then there has been bitter fighting between members of theterror group and government