welcome to nhk "newsline." it is 9:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. we have new video this hour from what police are calling a terrorist incident in london. four people were killed, and at least 40 others injured in the attack on wednesday. a driver mowed down pedestrians near the houses of parliament. he then round his car into a fence and fatally stabbed a police officer. he was shot dead by police. the moment of the attack was captured by a tourist. the attack began in the afternoon when the area was

bustling with people. westminster is usually crowded with tourists from around the world. >> we heard gunshots. what we thought was gunshots. turned around and saw the car plow into a lady. it was horrendous. absolutely horrendous. >> we declared this as a terrorist incident, and the command are carrying out a full scale investigation of the events today. >> the area around the parliament was put under lockdown after the attack. the british prime minister condemned what she called a sick, depraved attack on democracy, freedom, and human rights and said the parliament and londoners will never give in to terror. >> any attempt to defeat those values through violence and terror is doomed to failure. tomorrow morning parliament will meet as normal. we will come together as normal. >> the british government held an emergency security meeting late wednesday to discuss its

response to the attack. may spoke with the american president over the phone. donald trump told her the white house condemns the attack. he also applauded the quick response of the british police and first responders. a sunken ferry involved in south korea's worst ever maritime accident is now above water. a salvage team worked overnight wednesday to raise the fishery. the ferry was lying at a depth of over 40 meters. officials were hoping to be able to start moving the ship to a nearby port in about three days if it weather conditions permit. they say they'll proceed with the search for the nine people who remain missing. about 300 people died in 2014 when the ship sank off the southwest coast of the country. most of the victims were high school students. in 2015 the country's supreme court gave the ferry's captain a life sentence. it said he had abandoned the ship without issuing an order to evacuate. japanese lawmakers are hoping they can get to the

bottom of a school operator scandal that's raised questions about links to prime minister shinzo abe and his party. the operator's president will testify the diet in the coming hours. nhk has more. >> reporter: for less than 20% of the appraised vallue. the land was for an elementary school scheduled to open in april, but this plan fell through after opposition lawmakers raised questions about the deal. moritomo is also accused of falsifying documents to get government subsidies. >> translator: i'll tell all of the diet. i have nothing more to say. >> kagoike will give his testimony to lawmakers on thursday. he is expected to explain how the land deal was reached and whether any politicians were involved. lawmakers are also likely to ask about his allegations that prime

minister shinzo abe donated money for the school. members of both the ruling coalition and opposition say they want the matter cleared up. >> translator: we will try to clarify what mr. kagoike did to acquire the state-owned land and whether or not any politicians were involved. >> translator: i don't expect everything will be brought to light by the questions and answers tomorrow. it's only the beginning of the inquiry into the truth. >> reporter: osaka's governor says he wants to know why there were three different figures for construction costs to the central and governments and another entity. on wednesday residents submitted a complaint about the land deal to the osaka district prosecutor's office. they are accusing the regional finance bureau of doing damage to the state by selling the land at an unreasonably low price. prosecutors are reportedly

considering whether to accept the complaint. an osaka court has seized -- including a kindergarten. it says it is concerned about recovering the more than $9 million it is owed for building the school. the public is eager to hear what kagoike has to say about the scandal that has been making headlines for weeks. nhk world. we also have more details on the defense ministry's suspected coverup of the daily logs of japanese peacekeepers serving in south sudan. the logs recorded deadly fighting by warring groups in the country. that led to questions in tokyo over whether the situation violated its strict criteria for peacekeeping operations. ministry sources tell nhk ground

self-defense force officers were set to reveal they had found the documents, but were later ordered not to by bureaucrats. the ground self-defense unit is working with are the u.n. peace keeping mission in the volatile country. in december the ministry announced the gsdf had destroyed reports found in july when there were deadly armed clashes. the ministry later said the records were found at another department, but it's been discovered the gsdf was, in fact, in possession of the logs. ministry sources say multiple sections of the gsdf were preparing to announce the existence of the document but bureaucrats in the joint staff office told them not to and instead scrap all the related files. let's now shift gears and take a look at business headlines. the stocks took a dive earlier this week. both on wall street and in japan. let's get an update on markets from our business team. how are investors feeling today? >> well, catherine, some

investors, they are getting skeptical about whether u.s. president donald trump is really going to be able to deliver on his campaign pledges. you know, they are waiting to see now the outcome of a health care legislation being pushed through congress and on that u.s. stocks ended mixed on wednesday. the dow jones industrial average falling for a fifth day in a row. down just a touch, but that does follow a loss the day before of more than 1%. the nasdaq managing to end higher, but, of course, that follows a drop of 1.8% the day before. tokyo's nikkei plummeted on wednesday too. let's how it's opening this thursday morning. for that we are joined from the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. a bit of hez tasitancy it looks like. >> very good morning to you. the dollar is weak and risk averse mood seems to be setting in right now, and many really in the marketplace looking like they're hitting the brakes on what many call the trump trade, and that which had fuelled a

surge in stocks really on hopes of plans of a boost in spending and tax cuts. a little bit of hesitancy on that sentiment, and we're seeing that definitely in stocks. however, the nikkei actually opened in the negative and is now in the positive. a bit of a turnaround there. the broader topix pretty much unchanged so far this thursday morning, march 23rd. now, the nikkei has been down for three days in a row. largely on the back of a pullback in the dollar as investors paired back their estimation on the number of rate hikes by the fed. the main claim which looks to be dampening is the market players' lower confidence levels that the trump administration may be able to push through some key legislation from its campaign promises, says so many related sectors and japanese shares here, for instance, in banking, also construction machinery and heavy industry may be lagging somewhat as well. >> and ramina, a falling dollar

has been weighing on exporters here, and, actually, the dollar then going through another key level earlier. tell us what's going on with currencies. >> exactly. we traded below yet another key figure there. talk with 111. actually it traded at 110 yen levels just briefly. it popped back above that, as you can see. 111.34 right now. hitting flows on wednesdour-mon wednesday as well. separately we need to keep an eye on crude oil prices and how stocks in energy sector may trade. brent crude fell below $50 a barrel for the first time this year. now, let's also get a quick look at some of the stocks that are trading across asia right now. seoul's kos kospi up a quarter of a percent, and the -- china markets open in an hour and a half. we'll see how the shanghai composite and hong kong hang seng, for example, react as

well. so far now both of the broader topix ask in the nikkei after opening in the negative. a bit of a turnaround if they can hold that throughout the morning session. back to you. >> sounds good. thanks for that. columbia was until recently racked by social unrest and violence, but a senior columbian trade official says the south american country has made great progress to restore civility since the long-running civil war ended last year, and now he is calling out to japanese investors. philippe is president of the government agency pro-columbia. he has been attending an investment seminar in tokyo organized by the japan external trade organization. he explained agriculture and tourism in western columbia once the crashes of insurgent groups. >> now we have throughout the country and many of the rural

areas have the opportunity to receive foreign investment, to receive international tourists. >> about 150 business people, including representatives from financial services, heard his pitch. >> translator: my company plans to renew its investment in columbia as the country has resolved its security problem. >> officials say columbia is the third largest market in central and south america. they expect to see industrial growth particularly in the auto sector. japanese government officials want to see more cars with automatic brakes and other safety features. the goal is to prevent traffic accidents involving senior citizens. government regulators have been testing out new car models at an event open to the media. eight japanese automakers developed the vehicles. they're equipped with automatic brakes and mechanisms that prevent sudden acceleration if

the driver steps on the gas pedal instead of the brakes. the officials made sure the brakes kicked in on their own when obstacles were detected. fewer than half the new vehicles sold in japan in 2015 had automatic stopping systems. one-third had systems to deal with unintended acceleration. well, many officials in rural japan are worried about a hollowing out of their communities. they say this they need more young people if their villages and towns are to survive. some communities are launching what they call working holiday programs. these give students from big cities a chances to live and work in the country side. nhk world has more. >> reporter: these students are on a working holiday. the students stay for two weeks to a month, and they are helping

to harvest citrus fruits. >> translator: i'm happy. it's like eating jewels. >> translator: i can't experience this in tokyo. >> translator: by the time the program finishes at the end of the month, 70 people will have taken part. attends a university in tokyo. >> translator: it's not a vacation, but it seemed fun, so i applaud. >> reporter: the organizers want the students to meet the third generation who is working in farming with hopes for the future.

>> reporter: i'm really amazed to see how much care goes into the production. it was an eye opener. >> translator: i hope some of them will work in -- immediately after graduating or after working for a while. then we'll have more young people here. >> reporter: the program has other residents so the students can get a better sense of daily life he shares his experiences as a newcoomber. >> translator: stay for three years. they say jobs are scarce, but many people share information about work. >> i have a sense now that the relaxed way of life here is nice. it opened my mind to a new alternative. once the working holiday is over, the students rush to life

in city. the organizers are doing their best to make a lasting impression. nhk world. tokyo markets are higher this morning. i'll leave you with a check on that. >> we day you to south korea where prosecutors there are mulling whether to request an arrest warrant for ousted president park. an official for the prosecution says they were able to ask park everything they had planned. the official said the interrogation took a long time because park confirmed each of her statements with her lawyer

before replying. the official says they have not decided whether to seek an arrest warrant, but that they will make a decision after a full review of the interrogation report. many outlets say a decision is expected any time from this weekend through early next week. park faces 13 allegations, including bribery, abuse of power, coercion, and leaking government secrets. park reportedly denied all allegations during questioning. south korean and u.s. military officials are analyzing pyongyang's latest missile launch. the u.s. officials say it exploded seconds after takeoff wednesday morning. they're condemning the attempt. south korean defense officials say the launch took place from an eastern coastal city where other missiles have been launched in the past. they're trying to figure out what type of missile it was. american officials called on pyongyang to stop what they call provocations that threaten peace and stability. earlier this month pyongyang

fired four ballistic officials into the sea of japan. it's believed they were extended range scuds that can fly above 1,000 kilometers. north korea announced the lauo u.s.-south korean military drills. the two countries say they're stepping up their monitoring. wednesday's launch follows a visit to the region by the american secretary of state. in south korea he said a military option to deal with the north is on the table. chinese media say a stampede in an elementary school bathroom has killed at least two students and injured more than 20. it happened in the inland province of hannan. the accident was reported to have occurred on wednesday morning when a crowd of students began shoving to enter the toilet. two of them died after falling down and being trampled. the injured students were taken to hospital. the beijing news -- daily newspaper says the incident took place just before a monthly chinese language test began. local authorities are

investigating the cause of the incident. . to pakistan where the lower house of parliament passed a bill to reinstate a controversial secret military court for terror suspects. military officials claim conventional court trials take too long and fail to deter people from joining terrorist organizations, but activists warn military tribunals operating behind closed doors could lead to human rights abuses. pakistan first set up military courts in 2015 in response to an army school massacre by taliban militants. they killed nearly 150 people. mostly children. the courts had a two-year mandate that expired. in that time they have 161 death sentences. 17 convicts have been

euthanized. they say there are still extraordinary circumstances demanding special measures. under the system there is no media access to trials. the venue and schedule are withheld until the verdict is announced. the lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bill on tuesday. it will now go to the upper house. if it passes, military courts will be reinstated for another two years. a group of young people on a small island of thailand dream of becoming professional athletes, but they have to overcome adverse circumstances in pursuit of their goals. nhk world has that story. flat land is limited, so 2,000 people live in houses built over the sea. when children are asked what

they would like to be when they grow up, the most popular answer is -- >> footballer. >> footballer. >> reporter: with limited space where can they play snt answer is a court floating on water. members of the team are age 8 through 12. the court is only 1/20th the size of a normal soccer pitch. it makes it difficult to practice long passes, so they focus on short, swift passes. >> translator: go, go. pass the ball. >> reporter: the coach built the court 30 years ago. as a teenager he watched the world cup in mexico on tv. he wanted to practice like the

professional players he saw, but the island lacked a place to do so. so he and his friends started by arranging fishing buoys in the water. they got wooden plaings around the island and then put them together to make a platform. they covered that with plastic. after trial and error, they completed their dream project. >> translator: some people made fun of us, but we didn't care. we kept working and finished it. this soccer field on the sea is our pride. >> reporter: he wasn't able to become a professional player, but now he teach children and hopes they will be able to live out their dream.

one of them is his son. after each practice he watches professional games to learn from top notch players. >> translator: i want to play in the thai professional league someday. i will keep working hard. >> translator: the most important thing is to have hopes and dreams and to make maximum efforts to realize those hopes and dreams. >> reporter: he believes that dreams can come true is being passed on to a new generation. nhk world, thailand.

it is that time of year again when many people in tokyo are looking out for cherry blossoms and planning picnics. meteorologist robert bettis tells us if the weather will be cooperating and more in "world weather." >> well, if you are in tokyo over the next several days, even heading into the weekend, it's going to be pretty decent. a good day to get out there and enjoy some of the early cherry blossoms. the rest of japan, on the other hand, especially back towards hokaido and parts of kushu and the southern japanese islands, we do have precipitation out here. hokaido is seeing snowfall. the northwesterly winds kicking up. as much as 20 centimeters can be seen in the next 24 hours. meanwhile, down towards the south a low kind of working its way through. that's really going to stay south, but it is moving over the southern japanese islands, southern areas of kushu, and that will track off to the east. do want to know in the tokyo area, though, even though it is sunny, we do have some adverse weather, and the reason is we have the northwesterly winds

coming in, and that does bring the snowfall out here across the mountains, but do remember you have that humidity and that moisture, that gets drained out over the mountain here. of course, that's what produces all that precipitation. by the time it makes over towards the tokyo area, that air warms back up, but the humidity and the moisture content stays safe so we get very dry air, and the warmer it is, the likely the dryer it is going to be. if you have chapd lips and itchy eyes, something to keep in mind that it's probably the reason why. you have the sunny weather, but there is some adverse side effects with it. now, if we do look at that low, it is tracking to the east, that should stay south, but then back towards the west beijing is going to be seeing some precipitation. a little bit of a low moving through there. flurries north of the city. the metro area, though, you should see a high of 8 with scattered showers there in your forecast. now, let's take a look across the pacific and see what's going on here.

still talking about peru. the flooding out here has been ongoing. very tragic situation. over 70 deaths have been reported at the time and dozens of people are still missing. i want to show you a video of one instance -- almost a miracle here. that's a lady, and it's hard to see her. there she is. this one happened over a week ago. she got caught up in a mudslide, and this is absolutely incredible that this lady made it out of this absolutely horrid situation here. now, just on wednesday, though, she was released, actually, from hospital. you see here right there. 100% better. i am sure that is just one of the good situations, one of the lucky situations coming out of a very overall tragic scenario where over 100,000 people are still displaced. thousands of people are homeless. as i mentioned, there has been over 70 deaths. dozens of people are still missing. more rain still in the forecast, by the way. the rainy season doesn't really end until about april, but the big problem is we have above

average sea surface temperatures just off the coastline here. that's been fuelling up that precipitation and just making things that much worse. on top of that, the ground is still saturated, so flooding is still a big issue. all right. let's take a look across the atlantic now and talk about what's going on here in europe. actually, it's this cut-off low right there, see it spinning up, that's bringing scarred showers and even strong thunderstorms through parts of spain even and heading towards france. you just had that big dip in the jet stream here. also, some moisture coming off the mediterranean. as much as 150 millimeters of rain and heavy snow in some of the higher elevations. that low is going to continue to linger, though, so the next several days, scattered showers up and down the iberian peninsula here and your forecast. here's the extended outlook.

♪ >> and that wraps up this edition of "nhk newsline." thanks very much for staying with us.

♪ >> welcome to "in good shape." coming up -- how to treat a strained achilles tendon. when are contact lenses the right option? and, why muscles help protect you from disease. and here's your host, dr. carsten lekutat. dr. lekutat: hello. this show today is all about muscles. you might say, dr. lekutat, he's a lifestyle doctor. which i'm not. because muscles are not only good-looking, they're good for your health. and that's what i'm going to talk about today.