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. anti-government demonstrators in thailand are ramping up their protests. as they try to shut down the capital. egyptians are facing tight security as they vote on a new constitution that would give a bigger political role to the military. and a new nhk poll suggests a majority of japanese voters

support what prime minister abe accomplished in his first year in office. anti-government demonstrators are occupying key intersections in the thai capital bangkok. they're calling on prime minister yingluck shinawatra to resign. we have more from bangkok. >> reporter: the demonstrators took to the streets monday with renewed energy. tuesday marked the second day of this latest round of protests. and opponents showed no signs of slowing down. many demonstrators spent the night on the streets of downtown. they marched near the headquarters of the labor ministry and customs department. some chanted slogans such as let's shut down bangkok, and restart thailand. >> translator: the only solution is for the prime minister to resign. that's what the masses are demanding. we have to listen to the majority of the people.

>> reporter: the government deployed around 20,000 police and soldiers to keep things under control. but the government forces have made no move against the demonstrators. staff from many ministries, and the prime minister's office, have moved to temporary facilities citing safety. some store managers in a shopping center near the site of the protests have decided to close early. officials at several branch banks have suspended operations, or shortened business hours. authorities at the airport are advising travelers to arrive four hours prior to departure. >> translator: staff at the hotel told me i should leave for the airport four hours before my flight leaves. it's hard. but i've got to get home and back to work. >> reporter: meanwhile, several airlines have reduced the number of flights to and from bangkok. a series of intense demonstrations last november led prime minister yingluck to dissolve the lower house of parliament. a general election is scheduled

for next month. yingluck's party is reportedly ahead in the race, with especially strong support in rural areas. on the other hand, anti-government demonstrators are mainly from the country's urban middle class. they're demanding the elections be postponed until political reforms are put in place. members of yingluck's administration so far are planning to proceed with the elections. proponents have only one way to change that outcome, continued protests. but some think the demonstrators are losing stream as the demonstrations stretch on. over 300,000 took to the streets in a huge demonstration last month. this time only around 100,000 have taken part. for the update from bangkok. egyptians are marking ballots once again as they work to rebuild a foundation of their political system. they're voting in a referendum on a new constitution, which the military-backed interim government drafted. people across the country cast

ballots on tuesday, and wednesday they formed long lines at voting stations such as this one in cairo. >> translator: i voted in favor of the new constitution. because i want stability in our country. >> egypt's generals overthrew president mohamed morsi last july, and suspended the old constitution. the new constitution would give a greater political role to the military. morsi supporters are calling on egyptians to boycott the referendum. members of the muslim brotherhood hope people will join them in a nationwide protest. more than 200,000 security personnel have fanned out across the country to try to prevent attacks that would obstruct voting. investigators are looking into a bomb explosion at a polling station in cairo. it happened just before voting started. no one was hurt. the new constitution is expected to be approved because opposition groups are boycotting the referendum. analysts see the interim leadership is looking to stress its legitimacy.

but they say the passage of the constitution may not lead to political stability. senior officials from japan and the u.s. have been holding talks in washington. high on their agenda was the japanese prime minister's visit last month to ashrine in tokyo. yasukuni shrine is dedicated to war dead including leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. senior vice foreign minister is a younger brother of prime minister shinzo abe. he met with steve schachabot wh chairs the subcommittee on asia and the pacific. south korea criticized abe for visiting the shrine. diplomats in the u.s. embassy in tokyo issued a statement saying the united states was disappointed. abe has said he made the visit to pay his respects to the souls of those who gave their lives for their country, and to renew a pledge to never again wage war. chabot said he understood the

reason for the visit but he hopes japan can improve its relationship with south korea. he said both nations are important allies. japan's prime minister has started off the new year and the second year of his term with a bounce. a new nhk poll suggested a majority -- or suggests a majority of voters are satisfied with what he accomplished in the last 12 months. but they're divided over a move he made that sparked an international backlash. nhk conducted a phone interview last weekend. more than 1,000 people answered. 54% said they support abe's cabinet. that's an increase of 4 percentage points from our december poll. 31% said they don't back the cabinet. our pollsters asked respondents to evaluate the way the prime minister has governed since taking office. 65% said they approve. 32% said they don't. our survey touched on abe's economic policies. 63% of respondents said they

support them. up four percentage points from the december poll. 33% said they're against them. we also asked about abe's visit last month to yasukuni shrine. he was the first sitting prime minister to go there since 2006. the shrine honors japan's war dead, including leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. more than half of respondents disapproved of the visit. 44% approved. 38% said abe should not return to the shrine. prime minister abe enjoyed his high popularity last year in office. but things may not go as smoothly this year. nhk world's mayoko abe reports. >> reporter: prime minister abe started off the year talking about something he mentioned again and again last year. he used his new year media conference to emphasize his determination to revitalize japan's economy. >> translator: it's time to take

offensive action to end deflation. i hope improved earnings at companies will lead to higher wages and more personal spending. >> reporter: abe's next challenge comes in april when the 5% consumption tax rises to 8%. he's trying to minimize the economic impact with a $50 billion stimulus package. prime minister abe took office at the end of 2012 following his liberal democratic party's monster lower house election victory. then the ldp and its low ligs partner new komeito consolidated their hold on power in july by winning control of the upper house. abe's support rating hovered around 60% for most of the past year. that's higher than it was for many of his predecessors during the past decade.

but nhk's opinion poll in december suggested abe's support had dropped by ten percentage points and the latest poll indicates it hasn't quite recovered. in some ways, the survey reflected how the public felt about his policy shift. after a year in power, he seems to be focusing on implementing some of his long-held goals. last month, his ruling coalition passed a controversial secrecy bill. the law gives the government authority to designate official information as special secrets. many respondents to our december poll said they were concerned it may infringe on the public's right to know. then, before the end of 2013, prime minister abe went to yasukuni shrine. the visit angered leaders in south korea and china. the u.s. government expressed disappointment, as did many japanese citizens.

abe is now pushing for japan to be allowed to exercise the right of collective self-defense, or the right to defend allies that come under attack. but to do that, he needs to change the long-standing interpretation of the constitution that self-defense forces can only protect japan. members of the ldp's coalition partner have already raised concern. prime minister abe is clearly trying to leave behind a legacy. something he failed to do the first time he was in power. but while few voters are opposed to the idea of fixing the economy, they're divided over his vision in other areas. abe knows his economic policies have kept his support high. but still, it seems he wants to find time to focus on his other priorities. mayuko ambe, nhk world, tokyo. economic figures have pointed to a rebound here in

japan. however, not so fast says the latest data on the country's debt. ron madison is here with more on that. ron? >> yeah, that's right. data on the current account shows that prime minister shinzo abe does have some challenges that he hopes to keep this economic recovery alive. gene, the current account is the broadest measure of trade and investment with the rest of the world. and the latest figures do show that it's reached its large es deficit on record. the deficit came to about $5.8 billion in november. more than $4 billion higher than a year earlier. it was the biggest deficit, as well, since officials started keeping comparable data in 1985. finance ministry officials have seen an end balance in trade month after month. the weaker yen pushed up the value of imported crude oil and liquefied natural gas. imports of smartphones from taiwanese and other foreign markers also rose. ministry officials say they're waiting to see whether the weaker yen will lead to an increase in exports. official data shows that business sentiment among

japanese workers improved for a second straight month in december. the cabinet office surveyed around 2,000 workers and service sectors. about their confidence regarding current economic conditions. the sentiment index rose 2.2 points from the previous month to 55.7. increased sales of automobiles, electrical appliances, and other luxury items ahead of the consumption tax hike in april really contributed to the rise. an increase in winter bonuses also helped. but the outlook index, that was down by 0.1 point. any respondents said they expect sluggish spending for dining out and traveling. and another sign of japan's economic recovery, the number of corporate failures in 2013 dropped for the fourth straight year to a seven-year low or to a level before the 2008 global financial crisis. credit research firm reports that a little more than 10,000 firms went out of business last year. each of them had debts of about $100,000 or more. the number of failures dropped

more than 7% from the previous year. researchers say bankruptcies declined, especially in the construction business. the drop is due to growing demand for public works projects, and housing construction. ahead of the consumption tax hike in april. total liabilities came to about 26.7 billion. that was down nearly 27% in yen terms from 2012. but, researchers caution that bankruptcies could rise again. they note that some companies are being hit by growing costs of imported materials, stemming from the yen's weakness. they also point to a possible negative impact after the consumption tax goes up. let's get a check of the markets now. investors are buying the euro after a member of the european central bank's governing council expressed optimism about the eurozone economy. ecb member says the region's economy has potential to grow stronger than officials previously expected. the euro rose to a near two-week

high against the dollar. right now trading at right around 1.3677. meanwhile dollar/yen is looking like this, 103.63. analysts say market players are waiting for u.s. retail sales data due out later on in the day. they want to find more direction about the u.s. economy following friday's weak jobs report. moving on to stocks now european equities are facing slowing pressure following two consecutive sessions of advances. london is down by about 0.2%. frankfurt's dax declining half a percent while paris' cac 40 moving lower by 0.4%. in asia most markets ended lower. tokyo's nikkei fell the most in five months posting a 3% decline. sydney's main index dropped 1.5%. china's shanghai bounced back from recent losses. u.s. cable tv industry may be headed for a major reorganization. fourth ranked charter communications is trying to take over time warner cable which is the second biggest in the

business. charter communications has sent a letter to time warner cable ceo, robert marcus, proposing to buy his company for $37 billion. u.s. media reports say the deal would eventually total more than $62 billion. since charter communications plans to assume time warner cable's debt. time warner cable executives say, though, they aren't interested in the offer. they say the proposed amount is too small. u.s. cable tv operators are facing an imminent immediate for reorganization because of a sharp rise in the fees for broadcast rights. business organization is getting a new chairman in june. he has been named next head of the japan business federation. he's hoping that the business community will try japan's economic growth together with the government. >> translator: i feel thrilled to take on this important job. there is a good mood in this country today because of

abenomics. so i'd like to help make sure that the economy will continue to improve, and i'll do all i can towards that end. >> the 70-year-old became toure's chairman in 2010 after serving as its president for eight years. he led the firm to become the world's top producer of carbon fibers for aircraft and other high tech products. he also represents the private sector on a government panel on growth strategies. he was the vice chairman for four years through 2011. that is going to wrap it up for biz tonight. let's get a check of the markets.

the russian designer who created one of the world's most prolific killing machines is said to have wrestled with remorse before his death. mikhail kalashnikov invented the ak-47 assault rifle that bears his name. kalashnikov was 94 when he died in december. the russian newspaper invest yeah reported that he wrote a letter to the leader of 9 russian orthodox church. he asked patriarch kuril whether he was to blame for the deaths caused by the ak-47. he told him he supported him and the russian soldiers who used the gun because they were protecting the fatherland. the assault rifle's durability, piece of handling, and low manufacturing cost made it popular around the world. the human rights group amnesty

international describes the gun as the world's favorite killing machine. politicians in japan and china have had a hard time of late getting past their differences. they're at odds over islands in the waters between them. and old wounds from decades ago haven't healed. but, some chinese feel differently thanks to some personal diplomacy. nhk world explains. >> reporter: an award ceremony it taking place in beijing. judges are handing out prizes for a japanese essay contest. the contestants are all chinese, and so it's the organizers. he started the competition nine

years ago, aiming to promote mutual understanding. >> translator: i want to send positive messages to help develop mutual understanding. even small efforts can make a big difference. >> reporter: one of the awardees attends a medical university in northeastern china. she trained at a university hospital in japan. she wrote about a touching experience that happened soon after she arrived. that japanese student held a birthday party for her, though they had only just met. >> translator: my birthday is in the middle of winter holidays, so for 23 years, i'd never celebrated it with my friends. i didn't expect it would happen in japan. >> reporter: before going to japan for the training, li was

afraid she might face anti-chinese sentiment. but she says her worries gradually disappeared, as she made friends with japanese students. >> translator: once i went to japan and met people of my own age, i started to understand the real picture of japan. >> reporter: mao is a college student. she wrote about an elderly japanese woman whom her mother came to know. they met when mao's mother worked in japan 14 years ago. the woman showed her great kindness. giving her vegetables and treating her like one of her own family. >> translator: even after my mother returned to china, she called her on the new year's

every year. i'll never forget the japanese, happy new year. >> translator: mao's university is low indicated in nanjing. several of her friends express strong feelings against japan. >> translator: i personally don't trust or feel close to japan. >> reporter: but mao believes that chinese and japanese can reach out to each other. just as her mother and the elderly woman did. >> translator: i hope everyone will look at the china/japan relationship in a level-headed manner. if we deepen exchanges sincerely, i think we can build a relationship of trust. >> translator: if the problems continue, people might

completely give up hope in the china/japan relationship. it's the job of the politicians of the two countries to foster friendship between the peoples, isn't it? >> translator: he says even if more by the politicians could be enough to improve relations. in the meantime he's putting his face in personal diplomacy and the power of real-life stories. nhk world. we're expecting snow in tokyo tomorrow. that's according to our meteorologist robert speta. robert, it's already been quite cold today. >> oh, yeah, gene. and i know it sounds a little bit disbelief here, but yeah we're going to be seeing some of the white stuff. here in to the canto area going through our day on wednesday, especially in the morning hours. now right now it already is chilly out here. and temperatures right around the freezing mark. we've already been seeing that heavy snowfall across the sea of

japan off towards hokkaido. still an additional 20 to 30 centimeters is expected in the next 24 hours for some of you out here. that's typical for this time of year. tokyo on the other hand doesn't see it very much. what we're seeing is that very frigid air. we have a storm system coming in from the southwest. now that is key in to accumulations out here on the eastern seaboard. because the mountains usually stop. so as that comes in, temperatures will be cold enough. enough moisture. some accumulation very well could be occurring. nothing too heavy or crazy with this. but, if you do want snow, you're going to be watching out for it here. so tokyo is a high of only 5 degrees there. it's going to be staying chilly. freezing mark through the overnight low, some snowfall in your forecast. farther towards the north this is where the chilly stuff is in support of minus 2, slightly warmer towards the south but in nagoya you're going to be getting double digits during the day and then through the overnight hours dropping once again below freezing. things staying chilly across japan. much of northeastern china, as

well. things staying on the cold side out here. temperatures well below zero for a lot of you. good news at least staying dry, not expecting very much in the form of snow. we are a storm system here and then towards the south and the tropics we've been talking about this low for the last several days in the last week. there was a tropical depression over the weekend. since has weakened off. but it is still bringing some heavy rainfall. numerous reports of flooding, and also landslides. it's caused several deaths out here in eastern portions of mindanao. and you can take a look at our graph here, just off here towards the top you can see the chart. about 800 to 900 millimeters in the past seven days. in those lighter pink. then over here, take a look at there, there have been seeing some fairly intense and heavy rain and that's what's been resulting in this flooding, and unfortunately, the next 72 hours that low is continuing to linger, in eastern portions in northern mindanao you're going to continue to see the heavy rainfall. do want to watch out for this

for that increased risk of flooding. let's take a look at north america, we have one storm system moving off, another one coming in. this has been bringing heavy rainfall across the eastern seaboard. big thing with it, it has warmed up ahead of it. unfortunately behind it we're seeing cold air yet again rush in from the northwest. this is bringing some snowfall towards the western portions of the great lakes. about five to ten centimeters out there for you. high pressure dominating the west, and that's the good news if you're in los angeles. actually, temperatures, up into the high 20s. take a look at that. 27 in los angeles, down towards the south. houston at 21. actually rather mild in washington, d.c. and new york, into the low teens, the high single digits. now over towards europe, well, western europe remaining rather messy here. and the british isles one storm after another. rain showers, not too severe, but enough rain and also cold temperatures overnight hours are in the making for some frigid conditions. also slick road conditions. watch out for that. want to have a slow go out and about. meanwhile, severe weather,

though, in to italy and over towards greece. you're been reporting some 70 kilometer per hour winds out there into the balkans. that's going to move overhead. some more heavy rain, even snow farther north into germany and also poland. but that's a look at your world weather. here's the extended forecast.

buddhist priests at a temple in central japan have held a unique ceremony that dates back hundreds of years. they've blessed a pair of horses to welcome the new year. minobu-san kuonji temple holds the service every year. the custom began more than 700 years ago. when a land owner offered new year's greetings to the temple on a horse. participants fitted the animals with special decorations, and led them to the front of the temple. the chief abbott then touched their heads. >> translator: it was the first time for me to see the ritual. it felt very sacred. >> participants fed carrots to the horses, and paraded them around the grounds of the temple before crowds of onlookers. that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

>> is voting gets underway in egypt, one protester is reporting does reportedly killed in clashes with elites -- police. they are determined to push through this new constitution. the prime minister of thailand says she will not resign. antigovernment investors blocked several buildings for day two of a blockade. the press conference look said to be hijacked with media interest in his