welcome to nhk world "newsline." people in japan have grown a bit less satisfied with prime minister shinzo abe. an nhk survey suggests that support for abe's cabinet is dropping, while the disapproval rate is up. the survey also suggests that the public is divided over the timing of summit talks with china. nhk conducted a telephone survey last week with people aged 20 or older. more than 1,000 people responded. 52% said they support abe's

cabinet. that's down two percentage points from january. the disapproval rate was up two percentage points to 33%. most supporters said they approve of the cabinet because it's better than any alternatives. people in the second largest group said they were hopeful about the government's ability to implement its policies. most of the respondents have said they were dissatisfied told survey takers that they have low expectations of the cabinet. and 18% said they can't trust abe's personality. the survey asked about a plan to allow nuclear power plants to resume operations after the nuclear regulation authority confirms their safety. 24% said they support the plan, and 38% said they are against it. asked about the timing of a summit between japanese and chinese leaders, 32% said it is necessary to hold the talks soon. while 30% said there was no urgency. leaders of the two countries have not met since the japanese government nationalized the

senkaku islands in the east china sea in 2012. japan controls the islands, china and taiwan claim them. japan insists the senkakus are its inherent territory, and that there is no territorial issue to be resolved. the poll says 57% of the japanese public approves abe's handling of foreign affairs, while 38% disapprove. asked about exercising japan's right to collect a defense, 29% said it should be permitted, and 22% disagreed. new york state lawmakers will deliberate a bill that's being backed by korean-american groups. the legislation would require textbooks to refer to the body of water between the japanese archipelago and the korean peninsula as both the sea of japan and the east sea. the state senate and assembly will decide whether both names will be used in new public school textbooks.

the bill's sponsor is state senator toby ann stavisky. she said in a statement that the widely used name sea of jan be was established when japan annexeds korean peninsula. she said the bill is intended to provide new york students with a fuller and more balanced picture of east asia. officials at the japanese consulate general in new york are trying to gain the understanding of japan's position that the sea of japan is the only internationally established name for the waterway. a similar bill was passed last week by virginia's house of delegates. korean-american groups are also pressing for a similar bill in new jersey. four ministers in the european union are trying to help defuse the political crisis in ukraine. they say they are ready to offer financial support to the government. the ministers met on monday in brussels. they called on ukrainian leaders to sit down with members of the

opposition and international mediators. >> we all focused on the need to continue to urge the dialogue between president yanukovych and the opposition leaders. >> the ministers said the eu will work with the international monetary fund to help the ukrainian economy. they say leaders must be willing to implement reforms. demonstrators have been staging rallies in the country since late last year. they're angry that leaders refused to sign an agreement with the eu that favors closer integration with europe. president viktor yanukovych has, instead, chosen a pro-russia policy. russian officials have offered ukraine a loan of more than $15 billion. georgia's foreign minister says her country wants to try to improve relations with russia. the foreign minister spoke with nhk in the georgian capital

tbilisi. she said the government decided to send athletes to the winter olympics in russia, even though they had earlier indicated they would boycott the games. >> it was not an easy decision, as i said. but it was part of the constructive approach of the new government. olympic games is a sports event. it's not a political event. >> georgian and russian forces fought an armed conflict in 2008. the dispute was over georgia's breakaway provinces of south ossetia and abkhazia. russian authorities recognized the two as independent states. but since last year georgian officials have been making overtures toward russia, after pro--west president saakashvili stepped in. she stressed that the sornlgian government still has sovereignty over the two prove sinces, but she said officials want to start talks with authorities in moscow. >> who believe that it's better

to speak with russia and to have a dialogue, and we really had some positive results after we created the special representatives post for russian relations. >> russian president vladimir putin said he is also ready to sit down and discuss the bilateral rift. he said the olympics will provide a good opportunity to improve relations. the olympics in sochi are only a few days old but the organizers of the next winter games in pyeongchang, south korea, are already busy promoting their event. 150 members of the organizing committee have headed to sochi. they set up a building to showcase their games and they held an event there over the weekend to introduce their culture to visitors. south koreans are looking for ideas that might help them as they prepare to host the games. nhk world's anna jong has more.

>> reporter: people around the world are following the winter games in sochi. but here at this resort in pyeongchang are paying particularly close attention. >> translator: i am so excited to have the olympic games come here. we have waited for this opportunity for a long time. i hope our country can become a lot stronger in winter sports. >> reporter: pyeongchang is one of the legion's leading winter resorts known by many for its ski slopes that appeared in the popular tv series winter sonora. the rural town has a population of a little over 40,000. and it's about a three-hour drive from seoul. >> pyeongchang. >> reporter: they won the right to host the olympics in their third try. almost 90% of people living in south korea supported the bid. >> translator: i hope residents

and merchants will have more chances to study english. >> reporter: pyeongchang has a lot to offer athletes in 2018. weather conditions in february are expected to be ideal for competition. three of south korea's 17 ski resorts are in the region. sports facilities already built are compact and highly concentrated, allowing for easy access. they're all designed to preserve the natural terrain as much as possible. this ski jump venue is one of pyeongchang's landmarks. the hills are 125 meters, and 98 meters high, and they are built using the natural slope of the mountain, so the athletes can be less affected by the wind. >> translator: our committee members in sochi are learning about facilities,

accommodations, logistics, and management, so we can succeed in pyeongchang. >> reporter: people here are showing their olympic excitement at a snow festival to coincide with the opening of the sochi games. >> translator: it's great you have the chance to ski here in pyeongchang where the games will be held in four years. >> reporter: for government leaders, the race is now on. pyeongchang has the major drawbacks, there are few tourist attractions to lure visitors from abroad. they will have to make major improvements to the public transportation system. they also need to prepare more than 100,000 rooms in the next three years. many are now learning new languages, and also how to prepare foreign meals.

>> translator: i have remodeled all the rooms and the exterior. and i got permission to construct a special lounge so that foreign visitors will have a place to relax. >> reporter: it will be pyeongchang's turn to welcome the world in four years. officials here have done a lot to nhk world updates you on what's happening across the peninsula, wednesday and thursday, here on "newsline." representatives of the syrian government and opposition forces are back at the bargaining table. they've begun a second round of peace talks in geneva, switzerland. the first round ended on january 31st with a disagreement over the transfer of power. the two sides are again sitting down together. u.n. arab league special envoy lakhdar brahimi met the delegation separately. he says the first step is to build trust between the warring

sides by negotiating partial cease-fires. but there was little sign of progress on the first day. the participants accused each other of undermining the talks with violence. >> we told brahimi that we would like to see the violence of the reege i'm stopped completely. >> negotiations with this conference is insisting on putting an end to terrorism. >> brahimi brokered a temporary cease-fire last month. it allowed aid workers to deliver supplies to residents in the besieged at the of homs. he says he'll ask u.s. and russian diplomats to help. he wants them to pressure the government, and opposition, to make real progress. a doctor working with the united nations in syria has been talking about life on the ground there. akihiro seta entered damascus last month and has been interviewing people about their daily lives.

he says they describe severe food shortages in homs and parts of damascus. >> translator: the situation is so bad, the residents said they haven't gotten enough food for months. they have water. so they've been boiling weeds for sustenance. they also told me that they eat a kind of soup made only with spices. >> seita examined a mother and a baby who had fled from a blockaded area. he found the 14-month-old baby was so malnourished that it was only the size of an 8-month-old. seita says the mother was unable to produce breast milk. he says the baby would have died if he hadn't been able to provide medical treatment. he says the situation is improving as aid shipments are beginning to reach the people, but he says many babies are still dying. authorities in syria have shipped another botch of chemical weapons out of the country. it's the third time they've sent

toxic agents overseas to be disposed. but members of an international watchdog agency are urging them to speed up the work. a joint team of the united nations and the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons is overseeing the project. it said the last shipment left for italy on monday. the chemical weapons will be destroyed at sea on a ship operated by the united states. syrian officials were supposed to have made the shipment by february 5th. but they missed the deadline. members of the u.n. opcw mission say many chemical weapons still remain in syria. they called on authorities to expedite the shipments. opcw director general ahmed uzumchu urged the syrians to comply with the u.n. security council deadline of disposing all toxic agents in the country by the end of june.

people in japan are noticing the tasty trend in communities across the country. more and more so-called farm markets are sprouting up. there were 17,000 of them at last count. customers love the cheaper prices, and the fresh produce. managers of one market have found a way to ensure their apples are even crisper, and greens even greener. >> reporter: every year, more than a million people pull in to this car park north of tokyo. this is one of japan's busiest farm markets. last year, it sold over $5 million worth of produce. there's a huge variety of fruit and vegetables, all sourced from 150 local farms. the big draw is price. most items cost 10% less than in ordinary supermarket. >> translator: there's such a great variety. i shop in many different places. but i always end up coming back here.

>> reporter: the secret to the market's success? a great selection of produce that's literally farm fresh. nothing is left to chance. each purchase is logged and analyzed at the cash register. the data is then sent direct to suppliers. farmers themselves. akime supplies more than 30 varieties of vegetables to the market. even out in the fields, she's kept in the loop. [ phone rings ] >> it's from the farm market. >> reporter: each farmer gets data on their sales sent to them by text message once an hour. >> 20 bunches of chrysanthemum greens. i'll get some more straight away. >> reporter: right away she starts pulling up more of the greens. she and her husband tie them in

bunches, and then rush them over to the market. this is how the market always keeps its produce fresh, by adjusting supply to meet demand in realtime. >> translator: it's really encouraging to see how much i've sold each day. it's great. >> reporter: this just-in-time supply system was set up by the market's manager yuzuru matsumoto. he has overseen a sharp rise in business. in the past five years the number of visitors has risen by over 25%. >> translator: we try to look at it from the customer's point of view, and give them the service they want. we're always looking to improve the way we do things. >> reporter: there's another factor that helps to motivate the farmers. the market lets the growers set their own prices for their produce. it takes just a 15% commission.

everything else goes to the farmers. the farmers coordinate closely with the market staff, in deciding which vegetables to grow. >> translator: as for spinach, between december 27th and the 31st we were about 300 kilograms short. >> translator: i'm thinking of sowing some after my tomatoes. if i put in 200 to 300 square meters, that should be about right. >> reporter: holding regular meetings like this has changed the way the farmers think about their crops. makoto watanabe started working the land seven years ago. he now grows six kinds of carrots. most of these are new varieties that he'd never thought of before.

>> translator: it's really fun coming up with new products to sell, and ways to create a market for them. >> translator: i think the producers feel much more involved as participants in this business. >> reporter: from the field to the market, and then straight to customers, it's an approach that works for everyone. every morning investors turn their attention to asia. the tokyo market leads the way. and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that could change the course of an economy. >> to the latest business trends. >> up-to-the-minute market reports. >> and analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news and insight every day. here on "newsline." diplomats in new zealand have slammed japan's whalers for entering their country's exclusive economic zone.

foreign affairs minister murray mccully released a statement calling the action deeply disrespectful. officials with new zealand's ministry of foreign affairs and trade say they summoned the japanese ambassador to express their disappointment. japanese officials had announced that a research whaling ship might enter the zone. but new zealand officials said they made it clear they did not want that to happen. new zealand prime minister john key says he hasn't decided what steps to take next. the commander of u.s. forces in japan says he's confident the military can cut down on the use of a controversial aircraft in okinawa. lieutenant general salvatore angelella says he believes it's possible to comply with a japanese government request to halve the training activities using tilt rotor ospreys. angelella held a conference call with reporters. he said they've already been using the planes outside the

prefecture. the ospreys have taken part in joint u.s./japan exercises in other parts of japan and he noted that the aircraft helped with rescue activities in the philippines in the wake of typhoon haiyan. residents of okinawa have been campaigning to remove the ospreys from their prefecture. they say they're concerned about the aircraft's safety record. okinawa hosts a majority of the u.s. bases in japan. chinese health authorities are warning people to stay away from live birds, as the weather takes a turn for the worse. they say bird flu thrives in low temperatures. the authorities say they expect the number of people contracting the h7n9 strain will peak in the coming weeks. at least 179 people have been infected this year in mainland china and hong kong. that's more than for the whole of last year. 35 people have died. but authorities say human-to-human transmission is extremely rare. they say most of those infected

were handling live birds. it's cold across much of eastern asia. and our meteorologist robert speta is here with more on that. robert? yes, it surely is. we're seeing this big blast of arctic air come all the way in from portions of siberia. that's all descending down here towards the south. hong kong, you've been seeing some of the chilliest weather in about a decade, actually out here. temperatures down well into the single digits on your tuesday. meanwhile, we're also looking at an area of low pressure just towards the east of japan. you can bring in some of the white stuff right along the coastal areas of the plains during the early morning hours. that's moving northeast. calmer weather settling in behind it. still this is going to bring some gusty winds to parts of tohoku as the storm continues to

stroll off. most of parts of northeastern asia is a dommenation of this high pressure. much of china, clearer skies over there towards korea. the sea of japan coastline could see some sea effect snow but really stunning weather to be had. that's going to be changing later on this week, though. we have this stationary boundary towards the south. right now bringing some light showers across parts of taiwan over towards the southern japanese islands. that's going to continue to linger and develop going through the next several days. parts of the yangtze river basin can see 5 to 10 centimeters of snow accumulation out of this and then as it continues to develop, likely is going to track off towards the east, one of the southern coast lows just like we saw last week, and could bring some wintry precipitation all along the pacific coastline and even including the tokyo by saturday. meanwhile, at least for your wednesday highs, it is staying chilly out here. tie pay with a high of 12, manila at 29, seoul at 5. lows, this is what it's going to feel like during the overnight hours, below the freezing mark there in seoul, ulan bator minus 26. you do want to bundle up there

for you. and into tokyo lingering right around the freezing mark on your wednesday. take a look over towards the americas. what's going on here? well the wintry precipitation definitely is the top story for the southeast. we have a new developing low pressure system. first it could bring some thunderstorms right near the immediate coastline. but the big topic coming out of this developing low is going to be the freezing rain. you have all this moisture thrusting in from the south, very warm, cold, dry air in the north. you get that interaction and the ingredients set up for widespread freezing rain all the way from texas, and the heavier stuff actually going to be farther toward the east as this low develops and pushes off and becomes stronger. you could be seeing some significant ice accumulation across the carolinas over towards northern portions of georgia, and what that often results in is not just slick roads, but widespread power outages. do be careful, and be ready ahead of time if you are living in some of these areas where you're going to be getting this

big basically wet, freezing rain over the next several days. so definitely want to watch out for this one. also it's going to continue to move northeast and dominate much of the northeastern sea board with heavy snowfall later on this week. staying chilly in the north. chicago at minus 11. winnipeg at minus 14. rain showers in seattle and british columbia, another storm system coming onshore bringing widespread precipitation. let's see what's going on in western europe. really this is the big topic out here. the uk, you have just been hit by relentless storm systems as of late. let's take a look at the most recent video we got coming out of southern portions of the british isles here in the uk, where tens -- or thousands of people have been evacuated along the river thames due to this very significant flooding. numerous severe flood warnings are in place, and when you get those, that means if you stay in the threat areas, it could mean life threatening floods. thousands of people just being displaced, and traffic also rail lines being cut off here, as

well. and unfortunately, the forecast still looks very grim. this relentless line of storms is continuing to impact the area. you still get to see about 30 to 50 millimeters there in southern portions of the uk in the next 24 hours. i know that doesn't sound like a lot but it's already on saturated ground so that means when the rain falls it goes directly there into the rivers. that's for western europe. i do want to talk quickly about eastern europe around sochi. pretty warm for the winter olympics. 18 degrees there for your high. in the city at least at olympic stadium. the higher elevations, that's where you will be seeing the snowfall. here's the extended forecast.

people in a japanese town north of tokyo hold quite a unique annual festival. based that people whose faces smeared with ink will enjoy good health for the rest of the year. about 200 participants, mostly children, took part in the event. they made their way around to houses in the neighborhood.

they carried pieces of daikon radish dipped in ink and used it to smear the faces of residents. people in the homes rewarded the children with sweets. >> translator: i hope to be healthy for the rest of the year. next year i'll prepare nor candies and snacks for kids. >> translator: my hands were cold. but i make people happy. >> the annual event dates back about 300 years. and that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. c

>> you are watching live from paris, "france 24." we will be together for the next hour for the latest headlines and news analysis from around the world. our headlines this afternoon -- the syrian regime and opposition sit down at the same table for the first time. no opposition was that if progress is made in this round of talks, there will be no third round. on the ground in syria, efforts to get more people out of homs today. warned theani has military threats against iran are delusional.