welcome to nhk world "newsline" i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the japanese prime minister has mapped out his policies in his first news conference of the year. u.s. weather officials are warning people to stay at home to avoid exposure to life-threatening cold temperatures. and, authorities in ecuador have identified the suspects in an attack on a japanese

honeymoon couple. the country's president is calling it a heinous crime. japan's prime minister is facing a number of challenges as he gets down to business for the new year. shinzo abe touched on some of the work ahead in his first news conference of 2014. he's calling for dialogue with china and south korea to improve relations. abe's faced criticism after his visit last month to yasukuni shrine in tokyo. the shrine honors japan's war dead, including military and political leaders, convicted of war crimes after world war ii. >> translator: because there are challenges, and problems, i believe we should be open to dialogue with no preconditions. i would like to explain directly to the leaders of other countries my true intentions in visiting yasukuni shrine.

for my part, the door to dialogue is always open. >> abe says he will continue to try to revitalize the economy. he says his goal is to take offensive moves to boost business across the country, and end years of deflation. he hopes improved earnings at companies will lead to higher wages and more personal spending. the prime minister also spoke about nuclear energy, a major issue in the wake of the 2011 accident at fukushima daiichi. he says the government has no plans at this point to build new plants. >> translator: only those nuclear power plants that satisfy strict new safety standards will be allowed to resume operations. currently, we have no plans to give the go-ahead to new nuclear plant building projects. >> political reporters across japan are going through what prime minister abe said, line by

line. masayo nakajima is here with his perspective. he says the door to dialogue is always open. is there any possibility relations will improve between japan and its neighbors. >> japan's relations between south korea won't be easy. prime minister abe says he wants to explain why he went to yasukuni shrine. but he admits that talks with china and south korea are not on the horizon. and south korean president park geun-hye agrees. she suggested on monday in her first news conference of the year that it would be difficult to hold a summit meeting for the time being. park says japanese leaders have recently been contradicting past apologies for their country's colonial rule. as for china a spokesperson for the foreign ministry says he keeps repeating that he attaches importance to relations with

china. but, he is insincere. the spokesperson says abe closed the door to dialogue, and that chinese people cannot welcome a japanese leader with this kind of mind-set. >> what will abe's focus be, or his main focus would be on the domestic front? >> well, abe's focus will remain the economy, and his pledge to pull japan out of deflation. the prime minister knows japanese and people abroad are paying attention to the fate of his economic plan, that abenomics. he knows his support rating is high because voters back his policies. he wants to keep the public behind him and continue to work this year on revitalizing the economy. abe acknowledges that many people still have financial difficulties, but he said the recovery is being more widely felt across the country.

he argued his plan is pushing the economy. his plan to push the economy is -- is having success. but, the consumption tax will rise from current 5% to 8% this april. experts say that might affect how much people spend, and cause the recovery to lose momentum. japan's economy is also dependent on the global economy. and any ups and downs will have an impact on abe's plans. so now, it's too early to say whether 2014 will be a good year for the prime minister. >> all right masayo thanks, as always. weather officials in the united states are urging people to stay indoors to avoid exposure to possibly fatal low temperatures. the advisory covers a large portion of the country ranging

from the midwest to the east coast. the national weather service issued a rare warning in response to a particularly cold front that moved in from canada last week. the cold spell has caused traffic accidents and the cancellation of thousands of flights. temperatures in chicago fell to a record low of minus 11 degrees celsius in the early hours of monday. forecasters warn the mercury will continue dropping to around minus 25 degrees with severe weather conditions lasting until tuesday. authorities called off school on monday in the entire state of minnesota, as well as several districts in wisconsin, and illinois. for more on this we turn to our meteorologist robert speta. robert? >> all right, gene, you're right. it has indeed been just absolutely frigid out here. i want to start off by showing you this on the satellite imagery. typically with the satellite imagery you look at clouds. we're not looking at the visible wave length we're looking at temperature. and over heard towards the east you have these clouds but off here towards the west, see all

of this? this is not clouds extending across all of canada and the central u.s. this is very cold temperatures. that white there, that's indicating that absolutely frigid air coming in, usually indicates higher cloud tops. but, it is just going to be absolutely chilly. and not just today, for the next several days. now what's kicking this off is our storm system that is now moving across eastern portions of canada over towards ontario, off in to quebec. still about 30 to 60 centimeters of snow could fall out of this, not to mention some fairly gusty winds. so you have blowing snow. as that moves east our high pressure all the way in from the northern arctic, and what's controlling this is this big dip in the jet stream, that's going to dive down there towards the south. and really, if you are outside in some of these temperatures, which, through the overnight hours, we're talking about minus 25 to minus 30 degrees, that's not including the windchill. windchills could get much lower than that. hypothermia, frostbite, all are going to be problems as this does continue to extend farther off here towards the east. then you have those gusty winds

coming in. let's take a look at your monday highs across the u.s. minus 24 in winnipeg. minus 24 there in chicago. this is that leading edge of that arctic air mass we're talking about. and now, take a look at the three-day forecast. lows, bismarck at minus 26. even in atlanta, you're not missing out on this chill. minus 14 there by your tuesday. all right. back to you. abenomics may be kicking in to consumers. sales rose at some upper end retailers. ron madison is here with more on that. >> yes, pretty encouraging sign for the economy, gene, because a lot of the items that people were buying were more pricey goods. folks also trying to get some of those purchases in before that consumption tax hike goes up in april.

now, 2014 really shaping up to be a promising year for major department stores in japan. they reported strong sales during the first few days of the new year. managers say sales through last friday increased 4.3% from the same period last year. sales rose 3% at sogo and seibu and 2.9% at takashima. the increases are for strong demand in watches and jewelry. daily goods like underwear and towels also sold pretty well and had a consumption tax hike in april. for japanese carmakers 2013 was a good year. overall auto sales showed a fractional gain but mini car sales did hit an all-time high. industry groups say about 5.4 million new vehicles were sold in 2013 up 0.1% from the previous year. of the total, about 2.1 million units were mini vehicles. their sales climbed about 6% to

levels not seen since industry officials started tracking the data back in 1967. officials traced the strong mini car sales to the introduction of new models that were almost as fuel efficient as hybrids. some models were also equipped with an automatic braking system and other safety features. officials noted that the increase in mini car sales offset sales in other categories. sales of larger vehicles have been suffering since government subsidies for eco-friendly vehicles ended in 2012. industry officials say total car sales could slow down after april when the consumption tax is scheduled to go up. let's get a check of the markets now. starting with currencies, upbeat data out of spain helped to push up the euro. the latest numbers show that spain's service sector in december grew at the fastest pace since july 2007. euro dollar right now is right around 1.3620. analysts say market players are also buying back the single currency after it fell to a

one-month low. dollar/yen meantime is trading at right around 104.54. taking a look at other asian currencies. the thai baht dropped to its lowest level in nearly four years against the dollar. political tensions in the country are intensifying after anti-government protesters said they are planning big rallies next week. let's get a check of the stock markets now. most markets in asia declined today. tokyo's nikkei gave up more than 2. % following last year's spirited gain. china's shanghai composite slid 1.8% on fears that upcoming initial public offerings may dilute share prices. european equities very little changed. we're seeing slight declines right now for london's ftse while frankfurt's dax is up nearly 0.2% as well as slight gains for paris cac 40. well japan has launched tax-free individual investment accounts. the move scraps taxes on capital gains, and dividends from annual investments of up to 1 million yen, or about 9600 u.s. dollars.

government officials are targeting the nippon individual savings accounts, or nisa at individual investors. tax-free period will last five years after an account is opened. officials hope the system will encourage people to move their money from savings accounts to investments. a japanese securities firm held a seminar in tokyo for female investors. about half of the attendees were new to securities investment. >> translator: i became more interested in nisa after i learned about it. >> translator: we'd like to promote the use of the account by explaining the system, and financial products. >> analysts are waiting to see if nisa helps push the japanese market even higher. well executives at many japanese companies have started the year's first day of business by speaking to their employees this monday. the head of tokyo electric power company said tepco has had to help people who have been affected by the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant in 2011.

>> translator: we will fully dedicate ourselves to working for people who are still suffering. we'll also help with the reconstruction of fukushima prefecture. >> tepco chairman kazuhiko shimokobe spoke at another nuclear power plant about ten kilometers away from the site of the accident. about 200 employees from both plants were present for the chairman's speech. shimokobe also spoke about a business plan tepco submitted to the government last month. under the plan the utility is spending about $19 billion to dismantle the damaged reactors, and deal with the contaminated water. he said the plan will push tepco gradually toward a recovery from the disaster. techco's president naomi hirose told reporters his company was late in dealing with the problems last year. he's included a radioactive water spill at the damaged plant. hirose said he will make sure that tepco will do its best this year to resolve the problems. he also said the utility will support the local residents to return to their communities.

all right. that is going to do it for biz tonight. let's close things out with the markets. tragedy has hit a japanese couple on heir honeymoon in ecuador. they were attacked by gunmen and the husband was killed. ecuadoran authorities say they have identified several suspects. nhk world has more.

>> reporter: the shootings happened on december 28th in ecuador's largest city guayaquil. tetsuo hitomi and his wife marito came out of the hotel after dinner and took a taxi. they were then attacked by gunmen. police say tetsuo was 28 years old. marito is 27. >> translator: the man was lying with his legs towards the street. >> translator: the woman was shot in the body, and her right leg. >> reporter: tetsuo died, marico was seriously injured and is being treated in hospital. people close to them say the couple was married in mariko's hometown just six days before the attack. the ecuadoran government appears to be taking the incident seriously?

enormously hurt the victim ess' families and damaged our country. we will capture and punish the assailants. >> reporter: interior minister jose serrano said investigators have been going over witness accounts and security video. he said they've identified several suspects. >> translator: we have some key images so i think we can get to the culprit soon. >> reporter: authorities say the couple may have been caught up in what's called an express kidnapping. gunmen abduct people, take their valuables, and force them to withdrew cash from an atm. taxi drivers are said to be often involved. authorities say 177 cases were reported in guayaquil last year alone. they say the group believed to be responsible for the latest attack is made up of about 10

people, and has repeatedly abducted tourists in this way. concern is growing in ecuador about the impact of the attack on tourism. the country has been trying to attract foreign visitors. >> translator: tourists won't be taking taxis. they won't trust our country, because of the poor security. >> translator: officials have doubled the reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects to $200,000. nhk world. 29 people were injured on sunday when a passenger jet made an emergency landing outside the islamic holy city of nadina. the saudi arabian airlines boeing 767 was carrying 315 people from the iranian city of mashhad. airline and aviation authorities say three of the injured people are in serious condition.

authorities say the crew told the control tower just before landing that they were having trouble lowering the plane's rear wheels. the associated press quotes authorities saying the injuries occurred as passengerers left the plane in a stampede. former u.s. basketball star dennis rodman is paying another visit to north korea. his team will play in an exhibition game to mark the birthday of the country's leader kim jong-un. rodman and other former american professional basketball players arrived at the airport on their way to pyongyang. >> this game is for his birthday. it's for his birthday. i hope this opens the doors and we can actually talk about certain things, we could do so, indeed. he's my friend first. he's my friend. >> rodman declined to comment on the execution of kim's uncle and mentor chang song-thaek last month. this is rodman's fourth visit to north korea. his team will play against a north korean team on wednesday. kim is expected to attend the game. he is known as a big fan of u.s.

professional basketball. analysts say north korea's trying to give the impression that it is flexible in dealing with the united states. government level talks between the two countries have been suspended since february 2012. safe drinking water can be hard to come by for many of india's 1.2 billion people. one innovative company sees that as a business opportunity and has launched a new service providing clean water at low prices. nhk world reports. >> reporter: in an indian shantytown like this, water comes not from a tap, but on the back of a truck. local residents rush to fill their water tanks. only 35% of indian communities are connected to water infrastructure.

the problem is even worse in rural areas, where 70% of the population lives. women shuttle back and forth getting water for their families. a typical home of five uses some 20 liters each day. but the water they collect isn't always safe to drink. the world health organization says 530,000 people die each year in india from dehydration caused by diarrhea. unclean water is most often to blame. one indian company has launched a water business to improve the situation. this is a water atm and it works similar to a bank atm. instead of dispensing cash, this dispenses clean drinking water.

this man presses some buttons, and instead of cash, out comes water. people with prepaid cards can access clean water around the clock. the company has installed machines at 28 locations serving 5,000 people. >> translator: a liter costs only 1.5 cents. a tenth the price at the market. >> translator: i can get clean water 24 hours a day. i've become healthier since i started drinking it. >> reporter: each water atm is equipped with a tank that hols s 1,000 liters of water. trucks make daily deliveries of groundwater, treated at nearby purification plants.

online management systems mean just three people can monitor 200 pieces of equipment, including water atms and treatment facilities. holding down labor costs allows the company to offer safe water at reasonable prices. gunga kumar is a farmer. ever since he was a child he has been drawing groundwater from a well like this. water in this area is high in salt and fluoride. unsuitable for human consumption. the water has caused pain in his joints. he's often unable to work in the fields. if he doesn't stop drinking well water, his condition will get

worse. but one liter of safe water normally retails for about 30 cents. gunga has a family of 10. he simply can't afford it. the arrival of a water atm in his village solved the problem. he uses the machine every morning and evening, buying 40 liters a day. >> translator: i feel healthier after starting drinking this water. i'm happy with the price. the water is also safe for my children. >> reporter: india lacks the infrastructure needed to provide safe water to its entire population. but water atms are delivering a solution to the problem. not only quenching people's thirst for water, but also

saving lives. nhk world, india. for the rest of world weather, our meteorologist robert speta joins us once again. robert? >> let's start off with eastern asia here, where at least today compared to the rest of the world, especially in the northern hemisphere, the relatively quiet out here. we still have some sea effect snow in northern japan. that's tapering off. high pressure is coming in. some isolated showers across eastern portions of china. you can see it here in the blue. that's really just going to be some really chilly drizzly type of rain. nothing too serious. once again, the high pressure is going to work its way in and that's going to be the dominating factor at least through the first half of the coming week. the northeast monsoon also setting up. so you're still looking at afternoon showers down there towards the tropics. manila high of 28. bangkok at 34. even off towards the north, tokyo take a look at that, 9 just for your high on tuesday. with that high coming in it is going to bring some chilly temperatures right around the

freezing mark for overnight lows. ulan bator typically cold this time of year at minus 22 for your high. we're talking about those high temperatures there in the u.s. over there in mongolia, that's normal for about here in early january. let's see what's going on in europe, though. we have a storm system spinning up there in the mediterranean. nothing too serious with this. you still could see some 60 millimeters of rain showers across southern portions of greece. but that's going to be tapering off going through tuesday. this is what i really want to talk about. it's the severe storm out here, towards europe. and the big factor with this, it's going to be the winds. every time we show the isobars really close together. that's all these lines. we're talking about high winds. and already you've been seeing some reports about 60 to 80 kilometers per hour, gusts up to 90 are still possible along western portions of the british isles as those winds come in you could even see some coastal flooding even off towards southern portions of scandinavian peninsula. and then we have the heavy rainfall to go along with this, as well. really one storm after another. it is that wintry pattern that is set up off here towards the west, and unfortunately, there

is a very limited breaks here in the near future. but that's a look at your world weather. here's the extended forecast.

an annual ice and snow festival featuring displays of huge sculptures is under way in haitian, northeastern childrena. the international event is held to attract tourists during the bitter winter. on the opening day, sunday, tourists braved temperatures close to minus 30 degrees celsius. the cultures are made from ice cut from a nearby river. one of the most popular exhibits is a 46-meter tall replica of a church in northern europe. >> my first time in harbin, loving it. it's very nice, and very cold. >> translator: i feel excited. this place is perfect for a photo shoot. >> the festival runs until the end of next month. that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk

world, thanks for joining us. a7c

>> we are going to be looking at the start of the political year here in france. francois hollande gets back to work. we will be asking what we can expect from his government. first, though, our top story this afternoon -- the iraqi prime minister has called for ofsident -- residents falluja to expel terrorists from the city. the riyal maliki called for people to act to avoid being subjected to the dangers of violent clashes. iran has offered help to i get in backing the al qaeda fighters who have taken o