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. japan's annual trade deficit hit a record high last year, as the weaker yen made imports of fuel more expensive. in china, more than 100 people have been infected with h7n9 bird flu already this year. and we'll introduce you to a japanese sculptor who's been

turning heads with his image of a modern art icon. the perfect storm of factors has pushed japan's annual trade deficit to a record high. none of the country's nuclear reactors is running, so utilities need to import fuel. but the weaker yen has made those imports more expensive. finance ministry officials say the 2013 trade deficit was 11 trillion yen or $112 billion, marking its third consecutive annual deficit. the previous record was $68 billion in 2012. imports grew to $797 billion, up 15% year-on-year in yen terms. the weaker yen raised the cost of imported crude oil and liquefied natural gas for thermal power generation. japanese also bought more smartphones from china and taiwan. shipments to the u.s. helped drive exports up 9.5% to $684 billion. but the pace of exports

increased slower than imports. analysts say electronicsmakers are not taking up the slack, as they did in the past. this is because manufacturers have moved much of their production bases overseas. toshiba now makes 96% of its refrigerators, washing machines and other home appliances outside japan. that's up from 66% seven years ago. company imports most of the home appliances it sells in japan. and analysts predict that the trade balance is likely to remain in the red for some time to come. hideo kumano is one of them. he's an executive chief economist at day each chi life research. he has shared his insight on the impact of a prolonged trade deficit. >> translator: if the trade deficit cannot be offset by incomes earned abroad that would cause a current account deficit. that could prompt investors to pull money out of japan, leading to lower demand for japanese

government bonds and higher interest rates. >> on the outlook for japan's economy, he says domestic demand will likely remain sluggish due to the shrinking population. he says japan needs to boost its competitiveness by using technological innovation to make attractive products. japan's economy is improving and people want to be paid more. >> deflationary pressure is easing somewhat and the tax hike for consumption tax is coming up in april, so people's incomes have to go up for a solid economic recovery, so people are paying close attention to company managers and labor union leaders in japan, kicking off annual wage negotiations. the talks opened and the government's strong expectations for wage increases to re-ignite the country's economic growth. officials from both sides started a two-day forum hosted by the japan business

federation, or caden ran in tokyo. an official said his organization will encourage member companies to take a variety of steps increase wages. the chairman of the nation's largest labor organization cited the need for higher base pay for both regular and nonregular workers. he pointed out that prices are rising, and the consumption tax will go up in cape. >> translator: we'll focus on negotiating monthly wage hikes. we'll also urge them to raise base salaries and reduce the wide gaps between regular and nonregular workers. and between big and small firms. >> most of major companies are expected to respond to labor union demands in mid-march. but most businesses in japan are still mulling wage hikes for employees. that's according to a new nhk survey. the news comes as business sentiment continues to improve among japanese companies.

nhk polled 100 major companies in mid-january. 71% said they're considering bigger compensation packages from april. the figure is up 27 points from november last year. among the firms weighing wage hikes 32% are considering periodic raises while 37% said they would pay bigger bonuses. only 9% are weighing an across the board increase in basic pay rates. managers at ihi said they're among this 9%. brisk aircraft engine sales have triggered expectations for strong earnings at the firm this year. they said they want to raise salaries, because prices are likely to go up. but the managers are still cautious about increasing base salaries. >> translator: raising basis rates will increase our costs so we want to find out whether or not this is the best approach. >> many business managers cited the uncertain economic outlook

as a reason for not raising the base pay. some said it's still unclear whether the recovery in earnings is sustainable. let's check on the markets now. european equities are adding losses to their recent decline. jitters over emerging economies are keeping investors away from stocks. london's ftse is underperforming other major indexes in europe. it's currently down 1.43% trading at 6,568. the frankfurt's dax is also down trading at 9,360. and in paris, the cac 40 is also down by about 0.3%. the ftse dropped to its lowest level in five weeks. market heavyweight vodafone is weighing on the index. investors are selling vodafone shares after u.s. counterpart at&t said it doesn't plan to take over the british mobile phone operator. that dashed hopes for the mega deal. earlier, asia saw heavy selling across the board. many indexes tumbled to multimonth lows.

tokyo's nikkei closed at its lowest level in more than two months. hong kong's hang seng dropped to a level not seen since the end of last august. moving on to currencies, the dollar/yen is currently changing hands at 102.62 to 64. the dollar has rebounded from a seven-week low it hit during asian trading hours. analysts say some traders are keen to buy on the dollar's weakness. meanwhile, the euro dollar is being quoted at 1.3670 to 3672. the single currency got a boost from upbeat data out of germany. it showed that the country's business sentiment rose to its highest point since july 2011. and that's it for me for business. i'll leave you with market figures.

health officials in china report the number of people infected with a relatively new strain of bird flu is increasing sharply. the h7n9 virus has affected more than 100 people so far this year. authorities say that 49 cases have been reported in the province of zhijiang. 100 people have been diagnosed since the start of the year. among them 11 have died. infections are linked to contact with poultry. officials fear the virus could spread further in the lead-up to the friday start of lunar year celebrations. when demand for fowl grows. authorities are busy shutting down markets where live birds are sold. the first human case of h7n9

infection was confirmed in march. officials reported more than 140 infections last year in mainland china and hong kong. 48 of those suffering from the strain of bird flu died in 2013. south korean officials have proposed to their counterparts in north korea that they hold reunions in mid-february for families separated by the korean war. the dates are just before the south conducts an annual joint military exercise with the united states. >> translator: considering the ardent wishes of the separated families, we propose that reunions be held at the resort in north korea from february 17th through the 22nd. >> the spokesperson said the south also proposed holding a meeting between red cross officials from both sides on wednesday to work out the details of the reunions. earlier this month, south korean president pack geun-hye called for such reunions during the lunar new year period around late january. officials in pyongyang rejected

park's offer once but accepted it last friday. nearly 130,000 people have applied to meet their relatives in the north. the last reunions were held more than three years ago. analysts say leaders in the north could pressure the south into suspending the joint military drills with the u.s. in exchange for accepting the proposal. u.s. officials have posted online a report on the medical effects of atomic bombings in hiroshima and nagasaki. a part of the document was previously classified. the u.s. military dropped atomic bombs on the two cities in august 1945 during world war ii. u.s. army researchers compiled a six volume report on the subject in 1951. 180 doctors, and researchers from japan and the u.s. military, conducted the investigation from september to october in 1945. part of information gathered

reveals clinical observations for about 13,000 survivors. it includes information on how far from ground zero survivors were at the time of the bombings. and whether they were shielded by concrete buildings. researchers investigated the consequences of injury caused by the blast, and from heat and exposure to radiation. the last section of the posted report analyzes the lethal capacity of the bombs based on the number of casualties relative to where it was dropped. it focuses on 17,000 children in hiroshima who were within 4 kilometers of ground zero. the u.s. government had classified this section due to political concerns. the full report was kept at the u.s. energy department in the radiation research institution in hiroshima. experts say its online disclosure will help advance research on the effects of radiation exposure.

anti-government protests in ukraine are spreading to the president's support base in the east, as the deadly clasheses between demonstrators and police continue. at least three people have died in the past few days, and more than 400 have been injured. the demonstrations began in november, after the government, led by president viktor yanukovych, changed course on a trade agreement. protesters were angry about his decision to cancel a deal with the european union to pursue closer ties with russia. rallies are now under way not only in the opposition controlled west, but also in the east, including yanukovych's strongholds dnepropetrovsk, and zaporizhzhya. protesters scuffled with police as they tried to occupy government buildings in the region. the demonstrations are continuing despite yanukovych offering the posts of prime minister and deputy prime minister to opposition leaders.

he has also proposed a review of the anti-protest law, which triggered the latest flare-ups. ukraine's parliament will discuss the issues on tuesday. edward snowden has taken another swing at the u.s. national security agency. accusing it of engaging in industrial espionage. the former nsa contractor leaked documents last year that showed agents spied on people around the world by monitoring phone and computer data. snowden made the accusation in an interview with german public broadcaster ard. >> does the nsa spy on siemens, on mercedes, on other successful german companies for example to prevail to have the advantage of knowing what is going on in the scientific and the economic world? >> i don't want to preempt the editorial decisions of journalists, but what i will say is there's no question that the u.s. is engaged in economic spying.

if there's information at siemens that they think would be beneficial to the national interests, not the national security, of the united states, they'll go after that information and they'll take it. >> some of the documented leaked to the media showed nsa agents tapped german chancellor angela merkel's mobile phone. in the interview he questioned whether it is realistic to believe merkel was the only target in the german government. snowden said, he no longer has documents or other information on nsa activities. he said he has turned everything over to journalists. tunisia's national assembly has approved a progressive new constitution. it comes flee years after an uprising that overthrew the north african nation's dictator. islamic government and secular opposition parties compromised in order to draw up the new constitution. the document enshrines freedom of religion and expression and guarantees gender equality.

tunisia's democratic process has been marred by growing conflict between the two sides after two opposition leaders were assassinated last year. a caretaker government led by acting prime minister mehdi jomaa is expected to take office soon. tunisia is planning to hold parliamentary and presidential elections later this year. the focus will be on whether they can support the democratic process through peaceful means. the new year sumo tournament finished its 15-day competition on sunday. our sumo reporter has the full recap. >> heading into day 15 of the new year's tourney, yokozuna hakuho stood as the sole leader without a single blemish on his win/loss record. in second place ozeki kakuri with just one loss. the two slashed on sunday to decide the champion.

hakuho to capture his 11th championship without a loss. kakuryu was going for his first crown. he crushes the yokozuna. the challenger wins and forces a playoff. so who will it be? hakuho. or is kakuryu going to be the last man standing? this time hakuho closes the space between himself and kakuryu and stays tight. chest to chest, which is exactly the situation hakuho wanted. the yokozuna prevents kakuryu from using his speed and agility. hakuho gets set, drops his hips

and marches kakuryu out. hakuho wins the new year's tournament. the championship was hakuho's 28th overall. his closing in fast on the all-time record of champions taiho. even though kakuryu failed to capture the title this time his

outstanding 14-1 record enables him to challenge for promotion to yokozuna in the next competition so keep your eye on him. we now turn our attention to a fighter who heated up the competition with his sensational performance. endo. he turned pro last march but he's already a force to be reckoned with. the 23-year-old grappler always fights with a lot of poise and has a strong desire to win. he's got great ring sense that allows him to counter his opponent's onslaught in dangerous situations. in other words endo has a natural skill to find a way to come out on top. this is something you can't coach. endo racked up 11 wins and left the competition as the only rikishi to receive a special prize. he took home the fighting spirit prize. the next grand tourney, the spring tourney, will be held in march. so see you then.

fans of contemporary art flock to miami beach, florida, last month for a popular festival. painters and sculptors from around the world presented their latest works. an artist from japan stole the show with a giant image of a modern art icon. we caught up with him to learn more about him and his creation. >> reporter: sculpt miami beach. this annual exhibition showcases a huge variety of contemporary art, from paintings to sculptures, and installations. at the most recent show in december, one work in particular drew the crowds. >> wow. >> reporter: a hyperrealistic bust of pop art legend andy warhol. >> it's terrific. it's very weird but it's very terrific.

>> my first thought was yuck. you can see like all like -- like wringly skin and the hair and the detail. but it was like he was looking at me. >> reporter: the work won praise in the local press. and images of it spread fast through social media. creator kazuhiro sugi calls the bust portraits. this is the first time he's exhibited at the miami beach show. >> translator: i've had many compliments. people have told me it's the best piece in the show. it's had a great response. >> reporter: tsugi moved to the u.s. when he was 27 to work as a special effects makeup artist in hollywood. he's worked on many blockbuster movies, including "planet of the apes" and "men in black" and won two academy award nominations in

the best makeup and hair styling category. despite that success, he decided to branch out from the movie industry. he wanted to enter the world of contemporary art. so his work would be seen better and judged on its own merits. his first project was a portrait of abraham lincoln, which was exhibited at the ronald reagan presidential library. as the subject of his work for the miami beach show, tsugi chose andy warhol the pop artist who revolutionized modern art by co-opting elements of advertising and graphic design. the portrait is twice the size of warhol's actual head. instead of portraying the artist with a neutral expression, tsugi's aim was to express some feeling in warhol's face. tsugi wanted to show different phases of warhol's life in a

single piece, so he combined elements of the artist's face from when he was young, and after he became famous. it took him two months to sculpt the piece in clay. next he created a mold from a sculpture and poured silicone in to it. the hair and eyelashes are all inserted by hand. painstakingly, one at a time. in all, the work took four months to complete. the final stage is to insert the eyeballs, which are made of four layers of resin. for tsugi it is essential to get the direction of the gaze just right to really bring it alive. >> translator: i try to create facial expressions that are a little ambiguous.

expressions like that provoke a reaction in viewers, and prompt them to use their imagination. >> reporter:hanks to the huge success of his warhol portrait in miami beach, tsugi has created a strong platform for himself in the world of contemporary art. >> it's snowing in some parts of the u.s. our meteorologist robert speta has more on that. robert? >> oh, gene, not only snowing, but it's also fairly windy out here. and we have some blasts of arctic air coming down from the north. so what's happening is temperature is really just absolutely frigid. you get those winds. so when the snow starts falling it starts blowing around you get whiteout conditions. let's start off by showing you video. this is out of western new york. right around the buffalo area. and that's one of the highways just completely blocked off there. and a lot of the highways were shut down over the weekend back

on saturday. some wrecks also being seen, and very heavy snowfall coming down from this storm system. what's going to be happening over the next several days, is that we're still seeing gusty winds and this arctic chill that's setting in place here. the storm system that brought all that snowfall still moving off towards the northeast, and we're going to continue to see the lake-effect snow come out of this. but also those gusty winds and then towards the south along the tail end of that cold front we have a new low that's developing and this is going to bring some rain showers across florida, even over towards parts of northern mexico. see all these areas in the red? that's freezing rain. that really is going to be making for some slick conditions out here. also, the risk of power outages. definitely with this once you get that ice accumulation up on power lines, north of that once again, it's the gusty winds, combined with these cold temperatures. windchill is just going to be absolutely horrendous. but these are the high temperatures, on your monday. chicago at minus 19. winnipeg at minus 24. denver at minus 7.

take a look at the lows, though. i think the highs are a little bit misleading sometimes, because that doesn't show what it feels like through the overnight hours. and many of you, not even up to the freezing mark, washington, d.c. at minus 3. atlanta even getting down near the zero degree mark and parts of georgia, you're also under those freeze watches and then that freezing rain. so a lot of foul weather to be had out here. meanwhile across eastern asia, high pressure is dominating and it's setting down there towards the south. so remember last weekend, the last two weeks we've been talking about heavy showers across the philippines over towards thailand and also into malaysia. look how clear it is now. it's come with the side effect also very cool air, temperatures continue to drop down to single digits in some parts of the philippines. it's very unusual for the tropics. meanwhile farther off towards the north, warm-up in place. high pressure is dominating japan but along the western periphery of this we're going to have that warm air from the southwest sparking up this storm system.

could bring some light rain and fog along the upper river basin. shanghai high of 14. tokyo at 14 as well. and over the next three days, well take a look at this, above average on tuesday. average there on wednesday and back above average by thursday. so do enjoy, at least, the above average temperatures there over the next several days. meanwhile, in to europe, look at this storm system. that is one large circulation we're talking about here, and it's bringing some gusty winds, even some rainfall across the british isles. some areas could see some snowfall in higher elevations, up about five centimeters. all these clouds here looks kind of like popcorn, that's indicating that cold air that's coming in. so we have freeze watches and warnings in effect out here. meanwhile, eastern europe, you've been seeing one storm after another across the balkans. romania saw a pretty severe snowstorm over the weekend. that system has moved away and another round of foul weather is going to be coming right in to place. but that's a look at world weather. here's the extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. "france a7guc÷gç

"france 24 24 >> welcome back to the" -- >> welcome back to the "france newsroom. in tunisia, lawmakers finally adopted one of the most progressive constitutions in the arab world. ukraine threatens to impose a state of emergency if protesters do not leave the justice ministry the occupied late sunday, this as antigovernment protests read throughout the country. success inggest grammy history, duo daft punk win big for their smash song this summer "get lucky."