welcome to nhk "newsline" broadcasting to viewers around the globe. it's 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. they're about to launch a robert into orbit that's carrying an information gathering satellite. it's on the launch pad in southwestern japan. it's getting fueled up and undergoing other final preparations. information gathering satellites are designed to capture images of the ground and sea from several hundred kilometers away. the government uses these kinds

of spy satellites to monitor north korea's missile lawn unch facilities japanese waters. taiwan has unveiled a report on its new defense strategy. it says the island will strengthen its defense capabilities to counter china's growing military. the document says beijing has been increasing its defense spending year after year to rapidly modernize its equipment. it also says china has not abandoned the possibility of using force against taiwan. the report adds that the country already has the capability to blockade taiwan and take control of outlying islands. a taiwan ease defense official pledged on thursday to introduce new armaments. >> translator: we'll introduce a new type of stealth fighter jet

that can take off and land vertically. we also aim to push the construction of domestically produced submarines. >> the report notes beijing maintains an advantage in military preparedness and is stepping up military threats using fighter planes and vessels. it is the first such report since the president was sworn in last may. the document is evidence that the administration will quickly review its defense strategy. a cover up involving japan's self-defense force has its top brass on the hot seat. the case involves daily activity logs from a peace keeping operation in south sudan that were said to be destroyed, but they were not. what's more, nhk learned they are still in possession of documents. "nhk world" has details. >> reporter: the head of japan's grand self-defense force faced tough questions about the cover up. >> translator: i admit this may sound evasive, but i decline to comment at this point.

>> reporter: a senior defense ministry official has told nhk the general knew the politically sensitive logs still existed. the source said the ground self-defense force considered disclosing them, but was ordered not to. they also said this order came from the joint staff, the head of the self-defense force. the sdf has had a unit taking part in peace keeping operations in south sudan for five years. it filed daily reports on its activities in the local situation. in july of last year, major armed clashes broke out in the capital city of juba near the japanese base. and in october, media requested the government release daily rolls from that period. around that time, lawmakers discussed assigning the sdf new duties in the country. regulations stated peace keepers

were only permitted to operate in non-combat areas. the government said combat was not taking place, but the review of the report says fighting had broken out and they had indicate an increasing sense of crisis. the documents contradict government statements about the situation on the ground in the war-torn country. japan's opposition is demanding the defense minister step down over the controversy. >> translator: defense ministry inada has been telling lies and covering things up in the diet the last few months. she really has to take responsibility. >> reporter: the defense minister has refused to step down and said she has ordered an investigation.

>> translator: i have ordered the ground self-defense force to cooperate fully with the investigation. i will ask the inspectors to deliver results as soon as possible. >> reporter: chief cabinet secretary suga has come to inada's defense saying she had shown strong leadership on the issue. the joint staff has not acknowledged any involvement in the cover up. ayako, "nhk world." more and more aide workers are at risk. they attack add humanitarian aid convoy. the international organization

for migration says the attackers ambushed one of two vehicles carrying cholera responders. the wounded included one of the organization's officers nearly half of the country's population is facing food insecurity. the u.n. last month said parts of the country are already suffering from famine. doctors without borders said its hospital in the northeast was looted during recent fighting. >> the school operator at the center of a controversial land deal has linked prime minister shinzo abe to the scandal. he says abe donated money for the land purchased far below market value. >> translator: we had received support from many people.

i'm telling you now that this included a donation from prime minister shinzo abe. >> he said that he received the donation of about $9,000 in 2015 from the prime minister's wife. he bought the land last year for 20 % of its appraised value. the company has also been accused of receiving a state subsidy based on false documents. the prime minister and his wife had been under scrutiny for weeks as his wife was an honorary principal of the planned school. she stepped down from the post after the scandal came to light. abe has repeatedly denied that he or his wife had anything to do with the deal. the government's top spokesperson has contested the allegations. >> translator: the prime minister said he didn't make any donation, not by his wife, not via his office, and not via any third-party.

>> suga said they are checking whether he made a private donation. the diet is expecting them to give sworn testimony next week. the g-20 meeting will be the first such occasion for the leaders to discuss low gal economic challenges ever since u.s. president trump took office. all eyes are on whether they can continue promoting free trade despite the u.s. new protectionist stance. the g20 nations have agreed to oppose any forms of protectionism and push free trade to boost the world economy. the trump administration has seemed to pose this view saying its main goal is to protect u.s. jobs. washington has threatened tariff hikes and suggested it may

ignore rulings by the world trade organization. analysts are waiting to see if the u.s. will bring this stance to the g20. japan will be represented at the gathering by finance governor japanese economy minister the two agreed to boost ties by creating new trade and investment rules in the asia pacific region. ross didn't make any special demands on japan. the u.s. might push measures to reduce the two countries trade imbalance at next month's meeting. seko hopes to build a good relationship with ross who is seen as knowledgeable about japan and seek his

understanding. u.s. stocks ended mixed one day after the u.s. federal reserve decided to raise its key interest rate. the markets offered investors few clues. let's see how tokyo markets are opening this morning. we'll go to ramin. tell us what you're seeing over there. >> very good morning to you. looks like investors focusing more on that cautious tone set by the federal reserve after its policy meeting. we're seeing some falls, a bit of a pull back in stocks and a fall in the dollar as well. let's get an idea how the nikkei and topix are kicking off friday, march 17th. the nikkei down and the topix down. just a reminder on thursday the nikkei closed a touch higher. a softer dollar held back export related stocks. energy shares showed solid gains yesterday on high oil prices.

overnight the benchmark crude oil futures headed low again. commodity related shares were down on wall street but the worst performing sector were health care sector stocks and uncertainty really surrounding the new health proposals plans for the u.s. the focuses for this morning. >> tell us about currency. what's going on with major pairs this morning? dollar yen fell around 1% after the fed said that future rate hikes may be a bit more gradual. the u.s. currency has been

hovering around that lower 113 yen level since then. the green back struggled against the euro that hit a five-week high. many traders were relieved the far right party didn't gain as many seats expected in the dutch election. many were watching the netherlands as a signal to determine the strength of anti-eu populist parties. in the uk, the bank of england left its key rate at a record low of 0.25% as expected. the pound sterling popped higher as one policy maker voted to raise interest rates. let's get a quick look on asia pacific, indexes that are open now. sydney is higher. china markets open in an hour and a half. i'll have more for you then. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that. the beautiful beaches of okinawa are becoming popular

with international travelers. they aren't just going for the sea and the sand. >> reporter: this is near okinawa international airport. since opening two years ago it's become a magnet for foreign tourists. they now account for 60% of the customers. mr. wa many want to enjoy driving while on vacation. they want stick shifts. customers like them for their cute designs. >> translator: this brand isn't available in south korea. i plan to drive it again when i

get a girlfriend. >> reporter: thanks to foreign business, this car rental agency sells double in its second year of business. >> translator: some customers change cars every day. many foreign visitors will check availability and reserve their cars first and then arrange their flights and hotels afterwards. >> reporter: instead of using guide books, these tourists are look online to find new ways of enjoying okinawa. even the small picture bookstore hasword spreading through the internet. it rents popular favorites to newer works. on some days, more than half the customers are from overseas.

they learn about the store online. it's been featured and gives people information about how to get there. >> translator: the pictures in japanese books make it easy to understand the story without reading the text. >> the pictures are cute. the size is not so big so that i could easily take back to taiwan. >> reporter: the internet is changing the way people travel. there are new tourist spots waiting to be discovered in okinawa. nhk world. >> that's the latest in business. here's a check on markets.

>> there is intense action in osaka as the march grand sumo tournament approaches the halfway mark. let's turn things over to our resident sumo expert for the latest on the 15-day tournament. >> reporter: as almost anyone in osaka could tell you, the vibe around sumo is so different from usual. tickets for the whole 15-day contest sold out before the first even hit the klay. there is no question the main reason is newly promoted grand

champion. luckily for fans, the 30-year-old is off to a fantastic start. he simply has the man handling his foes. he enters day five with a perfect record. his opponent scored an upset win on day four. he gets a deep left hand grip and advances. he keeps up the pressure. he shows his determination to stay in the ring. but the opponent shows no mercy and forces him out. he remains perfect and goes to 5-0. making the most of his promotion is none other than his stable mate. he is showing vast improvement thanks to his daily workout with

a new partner. he fights at the third highest rank. he is undefeated in this tournament and motivated to make the second highest rank. he took on shodai on day five. he applies the pressure and then shuts down his foe without breaking a sweat. he is undefeated after five days. there's been some disappointing news of the top dog. the 37-time champion was hoping to take his first emperor's cup

in five tournaments but we have learned he has withdrawn due to a foot injury. he started the tournament despite hurting his right foot in practice just a few days before opening day. he suffered his second defeat on day four, the 32-year-old mongolian decided to sit out the rest of his tournament saying his body is not holding up. he gets back in top form to beat his rival the usual scare at the next contest in may. and that does it for a catch up on the march tournament so far. >> when we come back next week, we'll look at the chances of win being back to back titles and more. see you then. we take you to new delhi where body builders have a dream to muscle in on a well paid job. >> reporter: the village is the suburbs of new delhi.

it's dubbed muscle village. men train at an open wrestling ring. the martial art. he wins when he pins the man on the ground. they come to this ring every weekend. >> translator: i used to watch my uncle's muscular body when i was a child and i wanted to be like him. >> reporter: it's not just

showing off. the main reason for this boot camp is the men hope for a chance to be a bouncer. it has spurred a night life with new bars and clubs multiplying across new deli in the past decade. security guards and bouncers are in high demand. they earn about $600 a month. that's about five times the country's average. he dreams of becoming a bouncer pulling in a lot of money. his daily routine includes 500 push ups and 100 pull ups. his diet is aimed at building muscle. he drinks three liters of milk every day, fresh from the cow and the family specially poridge twice a week.

>> reporter: to become body guard, children in this village compete to be the strongest. they are rivals. we provide food for my son who wants to be a body guard. >> reporter: he keeps working hard and refuses to give up. every time he is thrown to the ground, he gets up again. when his fatigue reaches the experienced being a bodybuilder the first time. >> translator: i really lose control of myself so i can remain calm no matter what happens. i think i'm fit to be a body guard. >> reporter: the young men of muscle village keep building their strength as the dream of reaching their goals.

"nhk world," india. hope they get their jobs. let's check on the weather. we're seeing sunny blue skies across much of japan. robert speta joins us. >> heading into the weekend, it looks pretty decent out there. good weekend to get out and enjoy the weekend especially out in central and western areas of japan. in fact, take a look at the satellite picture. low pressure area bringing cloud cover is here on thursday. kind of interacting with southerly flow just south. if you are in the east, might see some showers, maybe a few rumbles of thunder out there and stretching back to northern areas of taiwan as well. overall this high pressure works its way in and as i like to say

with these big bubbles or domes of high pressure, big bubble, no trouble. that means a lack of weather as that moves off towards the east and tapers off the sea effect snow machine. still might see a few flurries but overall vastly improving conditions across seoul a high of 15. tokyo getting up into 15. it does warm up into saturday and sunday as well. south eastern china you might see the increasing showers as i mentioned. the high right about 22 here your friday. i do want to take your attention here to peru. it feels like this has been a repeated story. this season has been exceptionally intense across the country especially north of lima where you've been getting this on shore flow of moisture out here. that's been causing some severe flooding. i'll show you some of the video

we have coming out of this area here just outside of lima where severe flooding has been rather intense. you can see with these incredible aerial images. the death toll has risen from 50 to 62 now in recent days. over 500,000 people have been displaced and it's for the reasons you can see here. people having to be evacuated and across the road using the efforts right there. the forecast, unfortunately, we are still in wet season and really last all the way out to april. we're still expecting more showers out across this area. that's going to be an ongoing story as we look ahead. also i want to take your attention here across the middle east and specifically in iraq even extending down towards the arabian gulf. we have an area of low pressure tracking across the east. it's bringing scattered showers in tehran today.

some moisture flowing into turkey. i want to take our attention, we have another low that will be developing later on into early next week. that's going to bring some additional rainfall across central areas here. for now, 16 for the high. some scattered showers on your friday. does clear up. bahrain expect some thunderstorms in the afternoon and maybe dust mixed in there as well. abu dhabi, highs into the 30s. some close some cloudy skies from the low on friday. conditions remain weak throughout the weekend. heerp across the americas, still staying chilly in the east. maybe some scattered showers in central areas but warm down towards the south. los angeles up to 28 on friday. here is the extended outlook.

and that does it for this edition of nhk "newsline," thanks very much for joining us. n of "native report,"

we travel to the ho-chunk nation and take in their annual labor day pow-wow. and while we're at the ho-chunk pow-wow, we learn about the moccasin game. and we interview ho-chunk nation president wilfrid cleveland. we also learn something new about healthy living and hear from our elders on this edition of "native report." announcer: production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community, the blandin foundation, and the duluth superior area community foundation. [music playing]