it's a new year in tokyo and this is nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara. french president francois hollande says the threat of terrorism remains at the highest level and stress that had protecting people from terror attacks is the country's top priority in 2016. he made the remarks in a televised new year's eve speech on thursday. >> translator: i owe you the truth. we are not done with terrorism

yet. the threat still there and even remains at its highest level. my first duty is to protect you. >> hollande also said france will continue with its bombing campaigns in syria and iraq against the islamic state militant group. he pledged the government will review the structure and operations of police, military and intelligence organizations. he also stressed constitutional changes to track down on terrorists. in 2015 france saw a series of attacks including bun against the satirical newspaper charlie hebdo in january and multiple deadly bombings in paris in november. people in paris have running in the new year under heavy security. countdown festivities along the champs-elysees and the arc de triomphe drew large crowds of local residents and tourists, but the celebrations rt

shortened and an annual fireworks display at the rifle tower was canceled. >> translator: i hope another terrible attack like last year's never happens. i pray for a peaceful new year with solidarity of all people. >> translator: no matter what religion you believe in the most important thing is that all the people live in peace. >> over 100,000 troops and police were deployed around the country in new year's eve. in paris alone more than 11,000 security officials were deployed along the champs-elysees. chancellor angela merkel says germany will make it through the refugee crisis. she was delivering her new year address on thursday. >> translator: it's natural to protect those seeking help, but there's rarely been a year in which germany has been challenged so much to follow its words with deeds.

>> she referred to the rifle in germany more than 1 million asylum seekers in 15. she said it's important the german people do not allow themselves to become divided. she also said that if handled right today's great task presented by the influx and integration of many people is an opportunity for tomorrow. she says countries have always benefited from successful immigration both economically and socially. her lenient policy is facing protests by conservative parties in her country. some german people are becoming increasingly concerned about the inflow of refugees. the u.s. embassy in jakarta, indonesia has warned people of potential security threats on lombok during new year's celebrations. the embassy posted an emergency message on its website on thursday advising people to be on the alert in public places. it cited senggigi beach a

popular tourist site on the island but did not give specific tails. japan's embassy called on travelers to remain vigilant. in december indonesian authorities arrested more than ten supporters of the islamic state militant group for plotting bombing attacks in jakarta and other places around 150,000 police and military troops have been mobilized as part of tightened security during the holiday season. a massive fire at a high-rise hotel in the center of dubai has injured at least 16 people. local authorities say the fire started on the 20th floor of the 63-story address downtown dubai hotel. they add that the flames mainly spread on the build's exterior. firefighters are trying to determine the cause of the blaze. >> it happened to quickly. i said, look, there is a fire, and i never in my head could

imagine the fire to become that big so quick. so then i realized that it was dangerous for us to be here, we have to get out. >> the fire started while local residents and tourists were gathering near the hotel to watch an annual new year fireworks display. the show went on as planned at burj khalifa, the world's tallest building located near the hotel. many of the war displaced japanese have already pair i wished, others endured years of hardship before returning to japan, but for one war orphan china became home. >> reporter: he is taking a journey with his wife. he recently turnedel 0 and has been reflecting back on his

life. >> translator: i remember a lot of things, regrettable things, painful things. >> reporter: he lives in beijing and has a chinese name. he has come to the province where he lived with his japanese family during the war. this is the first time he has returned. it was formerly a part of monchuria. he was five years old when he arrived with a group of settlers from japan. his parents worked very hard to create their land. they finally saved enough money to buy horses and cows, then their lives took a devastating turn. his father was drafted into the japanese army. he later went missing.

soon after russian soldiers killed his mother. he and his siblings were separated. a chinese couple took him in and later adopted him. he says they raised him as if he was their own child. >> translator: they helped me when i had nowhere to go. they took very good care of me. i remember everything. >> reporter: japan and china restored diplomatic relations in 1972. he could have returned to his home country, but he couldn't bring himself to leave his mother who had been disabled by a stroke. he decided to remain in china.

now he is back where it all started. he is heading for the settlement where he and his family suffered such hardship. the fields are filled with corn, long hills can be seen in the distance. it looks just like it did 70 years ago. a pass runs through a field, it's the same pass he took to school every day. >> translator: it's been 70 years. it brings back memories of my childhood. i walked on this path when i was young. it's changed a bit.

>>. >> reporter: these days there are only chinese people in this area. >> translato we japanese should not have come here, but china's land and people made it possible for me to live. i pray for my heart there will never again be fighting tween japan and china. >> reporter: the memories are painful but watanabe fears what will happen if people forget. he wants to see peace endure. many indian women face discrimination, sometimes from

the moment they're born. social traditions make some parents favor boys over girls. a campaign to change conservative mind sets is taking off using a simple medium of our age, the selfie. "nhk world" reports. >> reporter: the parents and daughters selfie campaign started in a village in northern state of hariana. the village head heads the idea. >> translator: please take a selfie with your daughter. >> reporter: he posted the message on facebook in june and received more than 2,000 selfies in just two weeks. >> translator: the parents smiles show how much they love their daughters.

you can see just how precious their daughters are to them. >> reporter: people in rural india often prefer sons over daughters because people believe only men can carry the family lineage. >> translator: a daughter leads the household after getting married, but a son inherits the house, that's why people prefer sons. >> reporter: indian marriage traditiones in rural india dictate that a bride's parents should pay a dowry to the husband's family. the custom is illegal, but still a common practice. some couples expecting a girl choose an abortion instead. jaglan started the campaign to

raise awareness about discrimination against girls, deep rooted in many rural areas. he recalls the birth of her own daughter and the cold reaction of hospital staff at what should have been a moment of joy. >> translator: no one should be discriminated against because of their sex. daughters, mothers, elder and younger sisters, they should all have the same rights as men. >> his message has caught the eye of the prime minister. >> prime minister in a rent dra modi has showed support for the selfie campaign to protect women. >> closing the status gap is one of modi's policies, he joined on indians to join the selfie

campaign. >> emboldened jaglan has been visiting villages and holding photo sessions to spread his message. >> everyone who sincerely loves their daughters, please raise your hand. >> reporter: many parents in this low income community have never had the chance to be photographed with their daughters before. jaglan does it for them in an instant with his smartphone. >> translator: after seeing the photo, i realized just how beautiful she is. i will be there for her. >> translator: through this campaign i hope to create an environment which will advance women's rights. i will appeal to the entire nation to participate in the campaign to eliminate discrimination against women.

>> reporter: various measures haven't yet managed to change deep rooted discrimination in india. this grass root initiative to change parents' values is one more step towards the goal of the full social equality of indian woman. "nhk world," hariana state, india. nhk has learned at least eight japanese organizations hacked last year were infected with the same community virus, it is the same virus that attacked the japan pension service last may, tokyo police expect the same hacker is behind the series of cyber attacks. the police say the eight organizations include the tokyo chamber of commerce and industry, the petroleum association of japan and ueda city off. the virus is called emdivi and

it's to have infected computers communicate with servers. they say they were communicating with the same servers in the case of the japan pension service. the petroleum association says some of its internal documents may have been leaked. the tokyo chambers of commerce and industry say the private information of approximately 12,000 individuals is likely could have been stolen due to the infection. japan's prime minister has expressed his commitment to address global challenges as host of the upcoming summit of the group of seven nations. shinzo abe says japan will lead international efforts to create a better world and brighter few fewer. in his new year message abe says japan shoulders great responsibility for global peace and stability. he cites an increasingly unpredictable global economy, the fight against terrorism, poverty and climate change as challenges facing the international community. abe says his government will

take on new challenges in 2016 to deal with japan's low birth rate and aging population. the prime minister says this year will mark the start of a creation of a society in which all people play an active role, he reiterates his commitment to boosting the gd, more support for child raising and more assistant for working people taking care of their aging family members. japan began serving as a nonpermanent member of the u.n. security council only friday, the first day of 2016. it's the 11th time the country has served as a nonpermanent member. the security council has five seats with veto power. they are held by permanent members such as the united states and china. the ten other seats are for nonpermanent members representing regions. the members will be focusing on a number of issues, they include dealing with the islamic state militant group and whether western countries and rugs can

find middle ground on the syrian conflict. the other issue is north korea's development of a nuclear program and suspected violations of human rights. >> translator: i believe that for japan we should approach north korea's suspected human rights violations as its nuclear and missile development programs as the most important issues. >> the council is split over whether the human rights issues should be referred to the international criminal court. japanese companies are planning to put their self-driving cars on the road in 2016 amid global competition in the development of autonomous vehicles. nissan plans to sl cars that run on their own on express ways when traffic is congested, the company aims to complete by 2020 a vehicle that can self-drive on ordinary roads. a leading i. ti firm dena plans to test a self-driving taxi on

the road. it will carry passengers between their home and a supermarket. toyota will set up a new research center in the united states in january to develop artificial intelligence which could be applied to self-driving technology. they could lead to the spread of automated technology in japan but experts say enhancing safety and legally clarifying responsibility in accidents are among the issues that need to be addressed. a wildly popular japanese econom comic has come to life on a kabuki stage and they hope it will capture hearts of munga fans around the world.

>> reporter: this kabuki star has taken on this unique form of kabuki. the story concerns a pirate called lupi who sets out with his friends on an adventure in search of hidden treasure. the popular munga series has sold over 320 million copies worldwide and been recognized by guinness world records. he once eight a devil fruit that turned his body into rubber and gave him the ability to stretch his arms and legs. the show's producers had to figure out how to bring the fantasy to the stage. they came up with playful ideas to makes his arm look like it's getting longer. supporting performers link arms and make a long fake arm appear

to punch his opponents. they also use video images. and projection mapping in other scenes. >> translator: we incorporate the latest technology. now using it feels natural. i believe that when it comes to kabuki anything is possible. >> reporter: they also found dramatic new ways to amaze the audience. he said some counters fly and even created a waterfall on stage using plenty of real water. along with the sound of clappers, actors make the most of kabuki's fighting styles.

he was determined to bring one more key element of the story to the stage. kabuki actors don't connect with the audience. i wanted more excitement. >> reporter: it is the importance of friendship between buddies. he wanted to create a strong bond between the actors and the audience, to break down barriers he invited everyone to sing the theme song together. that's another nontraditional feature of this kabuki. ♪ >> reporter: the audience clapped along, the lively spectacle of kabuki. >> translator: it was amazing, like a live concert. i have nevereen an audience

clapping at a kabuki play before. >> translator: the world is super kabuki in one piece worked really well together. it was a wonderful performance. >> reporter: just as lupi and his friends have taken their quest for treasure around the world. they hope to bring this new art form to paris andond for new audiences. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here with a look at what's ahead in world weather for this first weekend of 2016. jonathan unfortunately some rough weather is already impacting portions of england. what's happening? >> hello. we are keeping an eye on what took place last week that continues to have an impact over the bright i wish aisles. we had a storm named frank that rolled over england and

continued to move away. it's no longer a part of the story as an active system, however, we are still watching the impact from all the rains that have fallen over the area. you can see the flooding from a picture coming out on thursday in york, england, and this is actually debris on top of floating water. so flooding continues to be an issue over this area and it's not a good thing when another system moves its way toward the british aisles because another low is develops, wind and rain continues to move across the northeast. areas that are still coping with the flooding that's taken place is going to see even more rainfall as we go throughout the day friday and even into the weekend. so it's going to still be a problem for the next couple of days. i do want to point out what's happening down toward turkey. a low pressure system is driving in cold winds from the north and moving over the black sea, that's creating sea effect snow. a lot more snow not forecast as we move forward in time. on top of that some chilly air,

we're talking about highs down to negative 13 in moscow coming up on friday. that is cold. below average for this time of year. that cold air extending into warsaw and kiev, dryer towards central portions of europe. now, we are also talking about the flooding issues in north america. again, from a system that impacted the northern portions of the united states earlier last week and now we're talking the rain and all that water flowing down through the mississippi and down through missouri. missouri on thursday looking at flooding problems because the rivers are continuing to rise and that means submerged houses as well and i think we will see more problems as the rivers continue to move up. now, the good news on at least the little silver lining is that we are not looking at more rain toward the north. because of that as long as it stays dry we just need for the time to pass, but this is still going to be an issue for the next few days.

meanwhile, dry toward the west, high pressure is bringing chillier conditions. houston you will be looking at rain, cloudier skies into atlanta and also d.c., negative up to the north, negative 3 for the high friday in chicago. east asia, target off in japan, high pressure bringing beautiful clear conditions and this was the scene over mt. fuji as we start off the day, a traditional thing for people to wake and see the sunrise for the first day of the year. up north we did see a wintry weather pattern. that will continue as we go through the first weekend of 2016 in japan. a little warmer down toward the south, tokyo looking at 14 for the high on saturday, 16 on sunday and further toward the west we are seeing highs in the mid teens. elsewhere around east asia high pressure is bringing nice weather but the haze continues over beijing as the winds remain calm, we had that inversion effect taking place so hazy conditions expected for saturday

and sunday, cloudr skies on monday. we're looking at cooler conditions as we go throughout the weekend, further on down the mouth into manila and bangkok highs in the 30s. hope you have a great 2016 wherever you are, here is your extended outlook.

that's all this hour on "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. from all of us here at "nhk world," thank you for watching. ú

> >> security concerns dampen new year's eve celebrations in paris and brussels, while in munich, a terror threat forces train stations to temporarily close. out with the old, in with the new. celebrations in the u.s. and pacific, with cleanup post party already underway in asia as the world rings