oç 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. french media say two suspects in the attack on a weekly newspaper are holed up in a building. they reportedly have taken one person hostage. japanese government leaders have approved a new space development plan that's aimed at boosting the nation's security. and, the japanese government

increases measures against cyber attacks. an american expert who wrote about japan's economic success in the 1970s is now looking at how china handles its ties with its neighbors. the two men suspected of carrying out the attack on the "charlie hebdo" weekly are holed up in a building in northern france. they're holding one person hostage. french investigators say police held a gun battle with men near the town of dammartin-en-goele. it's about 40 kilometers northeast of paris. the town is between the french capital and the area where police have been searching for the two "charlie hebdo" suspects. local media quote a man as saying that two men who resemble the suspects stole his car. media report the men broke in to a building and took one person hostage. police are restricting traffic

in and out of the area. armed personnel who appear to be members of french special forces are being brought in by helicopter. french interior minister bernard cazeneuve announced that an operation is under way to capture the suspects in the attack on the satirical weekly. police have been hunting for brothers said and sharif kouachi, 34 and 32 respectively. more than 80,000 police officers have been searching for them. the u.s. justice department says attorney general eric holder will visit paris. he'll meet with european ministers to discuss measures to tackle terrorist threats. department officials said holder will attend an emergency international conference on sunday. french interior minister bernard cazeneuve is holding the meeting. u.s. president barack obama has promised to offer whatever assistance is necessary in response to the "charlie hebdo" attack. he plans to share information on

extremist groups with the french government. u.s. defense authorities have unveiled drastic plans aimed at cutting military spending. they'll shut down 15 bases in europe and return the sites back to their home governments. but they say the move won't affect their commitment to security in the region. defense department officials announced on thursday plans to consolidate military infrastructure in six countries. they'll put about 2,000 air force personnel from their base in mildenhall, britain, and they expect the reorganization will save the government $500 million a year. defense secretary chuck hagel said at a statement the measure will help maximize u.s. military capabilities in europe and support its nato allies. >> we are consolidating and reducing some existing support infrastructure in order to be more efficient, but we are not affecting our operational capability. >> the department also announced

a plan to deploy f-35 joint strike fighter jet squadrons to britain starting in 2020. many european leaders have an increasingly concerned about threats from russia after the crisis in ukraine. japan's cabinet ministers have approved a new space development plan. it's aimed at improving the country's satellite surveillance system to make japan a safer place. government officials say the increasingly severe security environment around japan has made space more important. the plan calls for six more quasi-zenith satellites that will be used in japan's version of the global positioning system. the country has just one such satellite in orbit at present. the government will also raise the number of intelligence gathering satellites from the current four. they collect images of military facilities. >> translator: we have created a

long-term concrete plan that is closely in line with our new security policy. it marks a historic turning point in japan's space development. >> government officials hope to strengthen the country's industrial base for further development in use of space. they say the plan will expand the scale of japan's space industry operations to more than $40 billion over the next ten years. the number of cyber attacks in japan is surging, now the government is taking steps it hopes will stamp out hacking both from within the country and from overseas. nhk world's chie yamaguchi looks at what the group hopes to achieve and possible concerns. >> reporter: japanese leaders have launched a new body to tackle threats to cybersecurity. >> translator: i want you to make every effort to safeguard the lives, property and well-being of people in japan by strengthening cybersecurity.

>> reporter: the new body will look at ways to strengthen the country's ability to gather information about suspected cyber attacks. this includes staying on top of the latest anti-hacking software to ensure the country's servers remain safe. it seems no one is safe from cyber attacks anymore. in fiscal 2013 alone, more than 5 million cases were reported in japan. that's nearly a five-fold increase from a year earlier. the problem of hacking is an international issue. at the end of 2014 a movie about a fictional plot to kill the north korean leader led to a cyber attack on sony pictures. the u.s. government accused north korea of involvement. but later pyongyang denied it. the incident developed into a diplomatic dispute. washington eventually slapped more sanctions on the north.

an expert on sign irspace said it's reasonable that the japanese government has decided to act now. >> it's true that cyber attack to japan is increasing, and japan is kind of vulnerable for such kind of attacks. these days software controls many instruments, including automobiles, so actually now, the threat is now not really just in the cyber world, now threat is on the physical world. >> reporter: he also says taking countermeasures against cyber attacks must not infringe on people's privacy. >> we are facing risk of cyberwar, but agencies sometimes can lead the invading privacy,

or controlling -- overcontrolling people. and also i'm kind of concerned with the possibility of overgrowth of agencies. so we really should keep check any existing move by government. >> reporter: he said people cannot just let the government handle the problem by itself. he said every individual must educate themselves about the issue and remain alert. chie yamagishi, nhk world. japan approves billions to boost the economy. ron madison from the biz team has more on biz. ron? >> yeah that's right, gene. japan's government has endorsed an extra budget that contains money for stimulus measures. the cabinet of prime minister shinzo abe wants to give a boost to consumption, and revitalize local economies. the ministers have green-lighted a bill for the fiscal 2014 supplementary budget.

the measure is worth $3.1 trillion yen or roughly $26 billion u.s. dollars. it provides funding for the stimulus package worth about $30 billion. government officials plan to allocate nearly 10 billion to shore up spending by households and small and medium sized enterprises. that's to soften the blow of the consumption tax hike. regional economies will get more than $4.8 billion. just about $14.6 billion is allocated for post disaster reconstruction efforts. finance minister taro aso says the allocations are appropriate. >> translator: we compiled the extra budget focusing on weak sectors in japan's economy. we also believe the budget will facilitate the speedy implementation of projects. >> officials plan to finance the extra budget without issuing new bonds. it will tap unspent money from fiscal 2013 and tax revenues

from fiscal 2014. the government plans to present the budget bill to a diet special later on this month. china's inflation rate last year fell far short of government targets. the consumer price index released by the national bureau of statistics rose 1.5% in december from a year earlier. higher labor costs have pushed up prices in some industries. although falling crude oil surprises have slowed the gains. what this means is china's cpi rose 2% for 2014 as a whole. down 0.6 points from 2013. the figure was far below the government's target of around 3.5%. the producer price index for 2014 also fell. it was down 1.9% from the previous year. the index has now fallen for the third straight year. the figure measures the average change in prices of goods and services sold by manufacturers. bureau officials say real estate investment continues although sluggishly. and prices have collapsed for construction treerls. chinese economists say there is

strong yawnward pressure on prices which suggest continued weak demand. let's get a check of the markets now. the euro remains pretty weak against major currencies. many analysts are speculating that the european central bank will take unconventional measures to boost the economy. single currency is hovering around a nine-year low against the dollar. the pair at 1.1815. traders are selling the euro. they're betting at ecb chief mario draghi will announce a sovereign bond buying program at a policy meeting later on this month. the dollar is weakening slightly against the yen. right now it's at 119.26. market players are adjusting their positions ahead of the release in a couple of hours of u.s. nonfarm payrolls data. here's how stock markets in europe are trading. all of the majors are pointed downward at this time. all of them losing roughly half a percent. asia markets ended mostly in the positive. weak chinese inflation data raised prospects that beijing will take action to stimulate

its economy. even so the shanghai composite ended lower by a quarter percent after some considerable volatility. japanese government officials have released data suggesting a weak recovery. the key economic indicator fell in november for the first time in three months. officials at the cabinet office say the coincident index came in at 108.9. that was down one point from the previous month. now they calculate the index by looking at a range of data such as factory output, employment, and personal spending. the officials blamed sluggish shipments of cars and other products while having a hike in the consumption tax last april. lower crude oil prices also pushed down gasoline sales in value terms. the officials left their assessment of the index unchanged from the previous month. they describe it as a possible turning point toward a downturn. meanwhile the leading index which predicts the economy a few months down the road also fell. it was off 0.7 of a point. the second monthly fall in a row.

well the steep fall in crude oil prices has claimed a victim. a u.s. developer of shale oil and gas has filed for bankruptcy protection. analysts say this could be the start of a string of failures in the oil industry. executives at wbh energy based in texas, say its debts could amount to $50 million. the company is believed to be the first shale oil or gas developer to seek protection in the wake of the recent plunge in oil prices. many firms launched projects in the past few years to develop shale oil and gas in the united states. drawn in by relatively low cost. but west texas intermediate futures have dropped to below half their levels six months ago, putting a profit squeeze on the developers. many are trying to scale back production. and that is going to wrap it up for biz tonight. let's close things out with the markets.

an american expert is shedding light on how chinese leaders will handle relations with the rest of the world. harvard university professor ezra vogel believes that better ties between china and japan are the key to a stable east asia. but he says that will take time. nhk world has more. >> reporter: ezra vogel has long

studied east asia and relations between the united states and countries in the region. in the late '70s he published japan as number one. the book describes the country's economic success a few decades after the defeat in world war ii. vogel's other major work published four years ago is deng xiaoping who brought an economic transformation of china. both american and chinese leaders have been engaging in direct talks on global issues such as climate change. how do you evaluate current u.s. policy vis-a-vis china? >> the leaders of both countries recognize that there are so many difficult problems in the world. there's the problem of stability. of military weight. there is a problem of

international global warming. of pollution. there's a problem of economic exchange. and that the world requires that china and america work together to resolve those problems. so that even though japan is our ally our leaders will spend more time talking to chinese leaders, because it's so important to try to work to resolve those problems. >> japanese prime minister abe and china's president xi jinping, have their first official meeting last november in beijing. in both nations, this was seen as a positive first step to ease tensions. but vogel thinks improving the relations will take time. >> i do not expect that the improvement will go very far until japan acknowledges more

clearly the problem of historical recognition, and i think in the chinese case that as long as they have tensions among leaders, it will be easy for them to blame an outside country. and therefore i don't -- i wish our relations would get better very quickly. but i don't expect that that will be the case. >> people in hong kong saw large-scale demonstrations last year. they are demanding a democratic elections with the territory chooses its chief executive in 2017. but chinese leaders refused to back down or compromise. i asked vogel if he foresees any change in beijing's political system in the near future. >> i think they have decided that at least in the short run

they must respond very forcefully, and keep demonstrations and opposition under control. they believe that that's the only way to ensure stability. i don't expect that they will have democracy in the same way the west does. but i could imagine that within ten years they may have somewhat more voting. they may have more discussions where people have the choice between several possibilities. >> vogel is now planning to write a book about a centuries-old intertwined relationship between japan and china. he hopes that it will help both nations to have a better understanding of their shared history. nhk world, new york. a court in beijing has given the son of movie star jackie chan a six-month prison sentence

for drug charges. j.c. chan was charged with allowing friends to use marijuana at his home in beijing. he was also fined over $300. the 32-year-old is a singer and actor. >> translator: i broke the law and accept the charges. i'll never commit a crime again. >> jaycee chan was arrested last august. his father issued an apology at that time. media reports say the senior chan did not seek leniency. drug abuse is becoming a serious social problem in china. observers say chinese authorities are hoping the conviction of a celebrity will help to reverse the trend. government officials from japan and south korea have agreed to work together on energy and tourism projects. they're making efforts to deepen ties on the 50th anniversary of normalized relations between the two countries but a seafood embargo remains a sticking point.

japan's deputy foreign minister yasumasa nagamine met with his south korean counterpart ahn chong-ghee in seoul. they finalized plans for both countries to share experts for energy ventures. they also agreed to do more to increase the number of tourists traveling between the countries. but south korea would not budge on one issue. two years ago it banned imports of seafood from fukushima and seven other prefectures in japan. it was concerned about radioactive contamination following the 2011 nuclear accident. nagamine called for the ban to be lifted but ahn said people in south korea need assurances that the seafood is safe for consumption. the south korean government sent experts to fukushima in december to observe radiation tests at wholesale fish markets. now it is planning to send another delegation to the prefecture affected by the embargo. officials with the japanese agriculture ministry say the south korean experts will spend four days visiting seafood markets in affected prefectures

to review whether the ban should be lifted. mount sakurajima is one of the country's most active volcanoes. an eruption 100 years ago was one of the most powerful in japanese history. experts predict that another cataclysmic eruption could happen any time and people living nearby are trying to prepare. the massive eruption in 1914 left 58 people dead. local government officials hold an annual drill to ensure a disaster of that scale won't happen again. about 4500 people living at the foot of mount sakurajima took part in this year's exercise. an evacuation advisory was issued through an emergency radio channel. participants gathered at a nearby port and boarded a ferry.

>> translator: i think that the drill was quite helpful, because kagoshima is close to the mountains and the sea. >> tourists who enter kagoshima might not know about the dangers of sakurajima so i guess that's somehow informing people of the possible dangers. >> the volcano has been erupting almost constantly since 1955. during an eruption in 2013 the column of smoke stretched up 5,000 meters. the government is warning people not to approach the volcano. more snow is on the way for israel. and the eastern mediterranean sea. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here with the details. jonathan? >> hello, gene, yes. we are keeping an eye on the low pressure system that has been persisting during the past few days bringing snowfall into lebanon and also into israel. let's begin in israel. i want to show you some video coming out of the area because

this is something you don't see quit often. we've been talking about it this week and residents in jerusalem waking up thursday morning to a blanket of snow over the city. in total, five centimeters fill giving a little bit of a glitter over the walled city. on wednesday most schools in the city had to be closed in anticipation of the storm. we now go further north into jordan where thousands of refugees took shelter from the frigid weather. snowfall and high winds destroyed some of the makeshift tents people are staying in due to conflicts in the region. people were crowding around heaters and fires in the camps, as temperatures dropped to the freezing point. and the average for this time of year is around 13 degrees celsius. now let me tell you what's happening when it comes to this particular system. that low pressure has been spinning around the area it's still bringing in the moisture from the north. along with the cold air. and so even into israel into jerusalem you're looking at the possibility of seeing some more snow, some strong winds as we continue on throughout friday. i think the snow and the wintry weather will taper off as we go

into saturday for at least over into jordan and lebanon. but as we look further toward the north, turkey you're going to see the snow returning which means the weekend's going to be a little bit more wintry when it comes to the precipitation. now as we look further toward the north and west the northern portion of europe and germany you're looking at the possibility of some severe weather, a low pressure system is bringing in this instability and so some powerful gusts of 160 kilometers per hour along with some thunderstorms and isolated tornado possible in this region. so look out for that. also the northwest corner of the british isles, you're also looking at the possibility of some thunderstorms going in to saturday morning. central europe because of the oncoming cold front will bring some rain and single digit temperatures from warsaw to vienna and berlin and cold temperatures continue to build into russia. we're looking at snow and temperatures below freezing going throughout friday for daytime highs. speaking of cold weather and also speaking of snow we have a low pressure system still spinning northeast of hokkaido bringing in the sea-effect snow and the windy conditions and i think as we go into the weekend

we will still see some more snowfall to talk about for saturday, and even into sunday. so that snowfall will continue for the western side of the tohoku region and also into hokkaido. meanwhile back toward the west into china, this high pressure is very dominant bringing in that northerly flow so we will see cold temperatures, some windy conditions and that flow will create instability as far south as the meli peninsula, and that cold air may even bring some frozen precipitation into southern portions of china. high of 4 in seoul on saturday. 10 in tokyo. 9 in beijing. 20s down toward manila. cold temperatures also continuing for a good portion of the united states, as high pressure is driving down that chilly air from canada. we are looking at some wintry precipitation, some snow for the northeastern portions of the united states into southeastern canada. so toronto, new york, d.c. you will see some snowfall as we go through friday and again into chicago we're looking at temperatures at negative 14 with

a windchill factor down into negative 20s. we're wrapping things up with a look at australia because the asian cup has started and it's going to continue as we go into saturday. but notice a lot of cloud cover from the southeastern portions of australia, canberra and sydney, wet weather with a high of 30 degrees on saturday as day two of the asian cup continues. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

e north of the capital. the kouachi brothers, suspects in the attack on "charlie hebdo." there is concern that the second attack on a policewoman on thursday is linked to the kouachi brothers. the man was armed and wearing a bulletproof jacket, not yet named.