glad you could join us on nhk world. i'm james tengan. welcome to "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following this hour. downward slide. tokyo stocks have touched their lowest level in a year. worries over oil and china are casting a deep shadow on the markets. and open for business. with the lifting of iran's economic sanctions many businesses around the world are

looking forward to opportunities in the major markets. the wave of selling on global stock markets has continued in japan led by plunging oil prices. gene otani from our business desk has the la oels that and other business headlines. we've been watching the sell-off in stock markets since the start of the year and today tokyo's nikkei index fell to a three and a half month low closing below the 17,000 mark. investors worried about the global economy are unloading stocks in step with the collapse in oil prices. our business reporter mai ushida has the details. >> reporter: we saw the nikkei 225 drop 20% at one point from its peak in june which fits the definition of a bear market. risk appetite is plummeting following a rout in global markets and oil prices. check out the global levels for

this monday january 18th. we saw buying after the nikkei slipped under 16,700. the index ended the day at the lowest close since late september. we saw movesn the broader topix as well. the index managed to stay above the one-year clowe but close at a three and a half month low, down 1% at then 87. both indices have closed in the red for three days in a row. we saw a spill-over from wall street in one of the biggest losers here in tokyo. soft banks lost 7.9% after its american subsidiary sprint plunged 10% on wall street on friday. soft bank is an incent heavyweight so weighed on the japanese benchmark. in energy japan petroleum fell 2% as oil prices remain below $30 a barrel. among automakers toyota is down .25% with the yen standing

tall. with oil this low and continuing volatility in stock markets one japanese currency strategist said the dollar could slip to 115 yen at the tloes week. fears are still behind the plunge in risk appetite. now the focus turns to china's g gdp numbers on tuesday for more clues on the economy there. >> all right, thanks. stocks fell in many other markets in the asia-pacific region. lower oil prices dragged down major benchmarks to multi-year lows. hong kong's sang hang fell to its lowest since september2012. sydney's resource-heavy index hit a two and a half year low. singapore tumbled 1.4% to a four-year low. weaker than expected trade data weighed on sentiment. not oil exports in september dropped more than 7% due to a fall in shipments to china.

shanghai come policy sit rebounded 0.4% closing at 2913. property shares rose on news home priltss for december had climbed in many cities. a china-led development bank launched full-phlegmed operations on monday. officials at the asian infrastructure investment bank have spent the last few days in ironing out personnel and other issues. they say they will promote economic development and hope to issue their first loans by the end of the year. but as nhk world's hiroki tells us, some countries that haven't signed up remain cautious about the new institution. >> reporter: the bank opened to much fanfare saturday. representatives from the 57 founding member nations came to beijing toee china's president unveil the asian infrastructure

investment bank, aiib. this monument behind me is a symbol of aiib. the meaning is that stones can be turned into gold. it expresses that aiib will promote sustainable development in the world. that optimism expressed by xi jinping, he said that lti-lateral financial institutions will cooperate with its global counterparts and says the aiib will strengthen the world's economic governing systems and make it more fair and efficient. >> translator: the aiib will effectively boost investment channels in asia. especially private sector money for infrastructure projects. it will promote regional connections and communication and will improve economic integration. >> reporter: but the banks and

china's veto power over decisions have raised concerns, including over lending and china's currency. japan and the united states have not joined the organization, saying the bank lacks transparency. japanese officials are questioning whether the bank board will be able to make fair decisions and if it will ensure environmental protection in its projects. >> infrastructure investment is key for broad-based economic social development, is key for poverty reduction. >> reporter: the former chinese deputy finance minister had also worked at the world bank and asian development bank. he told state-run media that all suspicions and doubts will be dispelled and china will show it

is responsible and trust worthy. the international community will be carefully watching to see whether the bank will live up to it. but that's unlikely to prevent another motivation behind china's involvement, increasing its prominence in the world economy. sales at department stores in japan dropped last year for the first time in four years, led by lower demand in the regions. officials at the japan department store association said stores nationwide so little a total of $52.6 billion in goods, down 0.2% in yen terms from the previous year. purchases by foreign visitors rose drastically in major cities but staples including clothing were down in major cities. officials say they expect sales to foreign visitors will rise further this year as tourism from china and southeast asia

grows. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. chinese officials say new home prices rose in more cities than they fell in december for the second month in a row. but in regional cities, investment in real estate development shrank and many condominiums remain empty. the trend is hurting related industries such as steel and cementmakers. chinese authorities plan to help clear the backlog of unsold condos by encouraging workers to relocate to smaller cities. officials from japan, china, and south korea have resumed working-level negotiations in tokyo on setting up a free trade agreement. it's the first round since the country's leaders agreed at a summit in november to speed up the talks. japan wants to quickly eliminate tariffs on autos and other industrial products and see a high level of trade liberalization. but china has been cautious, citing the need to protect its industries.

let's take a look at our global economic calendar for the week. on tuesday, china's national bureau of statistics will announce the gdp fig use for 2015. the country's leaders have set a growth target of around 7%. wednesday officials with japan's cabinet office will release the monthly economic report for january. their previous report kept the overall assessment of the economy unchanged. and the same day, u.s. commerce department authorities will provide the numbers for the country's housing starts in december. the figures for november bounced back from the previous month. on thursday officials at malaysia's central bank will hold a monetary policy. bankers kept rates unchanged when they met in november. policy meeting on thursday. they announced more easing measures at their previous gathering. every monday we invite a specialist to discuss events for the coming week. in this edition of "expert view," we hear from keyoke

significant gucci from the canon institute for global studies. >> for the fourth quarter we'll be between 6.8% and 6.9%. and a total of 2015, whole year, also between 6.8% and 6.9%, i think. chinese economy has already changed to consumption-leading economy. so the chinese government is make great important on costing excessive supply, especially in the heavy industries. they will keep such a policy in several years. so the heavy industry will continue to decline. but organization will push that subsector of industries.

and subsector industries invite high growth rate of employment and the wages will support growth consumption. that is a mechanism, the chinese economy, at present. >> significant gucci says chinese leaders should be flexible in setting their annual growth targets for this year. >> the prime minister already told 6.5% is their target. but i think they shouldn't stick such a specific 6.5%. they should have morelexible rget. r exampl around 6.5%. probably 6.2% or6.3%, that is no problem for them. they have very strong tendency to growth. but if they stick to 6.5%, they

should make too much accelerating policy. and that will invite risk of inflation. that is risky. >> and that's it for business news. i'm going to hand it back to you, james. >> gene, thanks for the updates. relatives of japanese citizens abducted by north korea have met a u.n. special investigator in tokyo. they called for continued attention on the issue in the wake of a nuclear test by the north earlier this month. the u.n. special on human rights in north korea is in japan to gather information. he'll present a report to the u.n. human rights council in march. he said it's clear the abductions are a crime against humanity. >> this next phase will be on claiming accountability, on the government of the democratic people's republic of korea to

acknowledge that abductions have been undertaken by the state with complicity and knowledge at the highest level of leadership. >> the leader of the families group is shigeo ysika. his sister was abducted by north korea in 1978. >> translator: support from other countries and pressure from the international community have a great influence on north korea. that will be a strong message and great leverage to solve the issue. >> north korean agents kidnapped japanese national in the '70s and '80s. the japanese government says at least 12 are still unaccounted for. three american prisoners long held by iran have reached germany following a prisoner exchange. the swap could be a further sign of thawing relations.

the move comeses after the u.s. and european countries lifted oil and financial sages on iran as part of a much-touted nuclear deal. it's not just the diplomatic world that's paying attention. >> we've achieved this historic progress through diplomacy. without resorting to another war in the middle east. >> reporter: thi >>ranslato this is histic day f our couny. >> today,ultilatel and nationalconomic d finanal nctions related to iran's nuclear program are lifted in accordance with the dpoa. >> reporter: the nuclear deal with iran and subsequent lifting of sanctions have been hailed as a major achievement around the world. and with a country of almost 80 million open for international business once again, many are seeing opportunities. the world bank has projected iran's economic growth for the in exyear at about 7%.

>> translator: we will move forward to lift sanctions according to the u.n. security council resolution. >> reporter: japan maintained a relatively neutral stance on iran. but was pressured by the u.s. and eu to reduce its business dealings there, especially in the oil trade. with most of japan's nuclear power plants still offline the country relies heavily on imported energy. energy companies in japan are eyeing the opportunities. executives at major oil wholesaler jx nippon oil and energy say they will consider increasing imports from iran. inpex corporation used to develop oil fields in iran and says it's considering resuming its investments. japan's government is prepared for the lifting of sanctions. it agreed to an investment deal

with iran that's expected to be signed next month. it is expected to help japanese companies make inroads in the major middle eastern market. >> translator: the government will support japanese companies' investments through the agreement. >> reporter: but the stability of iran and the region are far from guaranteed. the lifting of sanctions has alarmed saudi arabia which along with allies cut diplomatic ties with iran earlier this month. japan's government says it will try to stay out of any disagreements and find ways to renew ties. that would allow its companies the chance to flourish. hiroshi nakajima, nhk world. people in taiwan are embarking on a new era after choosing their first female president. they've handed tsai and her opposition camp a sound victory

and broad mandate to lead. many expect the result will put ties with china and the wider world on a new footing. >> translator: we're lighting up taiwan. we have achieved a change of government and we've shown the world how democratic our society has become. >> earlier i spoke with our reporter in taipei. >> this is a landmark result, how are people reacting there? >> after weeks of campaign fever climaxed over the weekend, people are back to work today. but even though things look the same there's a strong feeling here that taiwan is making a new start. people i spoke toed a this to say. >> i'm thrilled about the result. >> tsai is really smart, i'm sure they'll deliver on expectations. >> taiwan and china need to coexist peacefully. i hope she can find solutions to this issue.

>> no people here think of themselves as chinese. we're all taiwanese already. >> lawmakers from the nationalist party known as the koumintang have controlled the legislature for years. but they suffered a brutal defeat which cost them nearly half their seats. the opposition scored their first-ever majority as they took 68. the allies in the new power party picked up five with the help of young voters. the pear merges from a student protest movement two years ago against the movement. >> the election result tells me people want a government that actually listens t them and a government that will firmly protect taiwan's sovereignty. >> what's likely to happen to taiwan's relations with beijing and the wider world?

>> tsai has said the pro-china policies were bad for taiwan's autonomy, but in her campaign she said she'd keep close relations as they are. she said she wouldn't do anything to provoke beijing. before the election, tsai visited the u.s. and assured officials there that she'll retain her moderate stance. she's also visited japan and received a warm welcome from ruling party leaders. tsai has broad public support and a firm power base and that will make a big difference to the way leaders in beijing engage wh r. ey'veeleased stateme ying ty came exchanges with more parties, that one china policy was a so-called 1992 consensus, will become a big test for tsai and beijing.

they have different interpretations of the agreement. >> if she takes '92 consensus as a base, then i think her approval rate will get down quickly. because that kind of violates her principle. so how she can come up with a new base with mainland china will be the most important thing. >> reporter: chinese leaders say they'll respond firmly to any effort by taiwan to move toward independence. tsai is due to take office in may. she'll no doubt be feeling out beijing as she starts to map out a new course for taiwan. electronicsmaker toshiba has shown the media a new device designed to retrieve used fuel rods from the damaged nuclear power plant in fukushima. the remote-controlled robot was unveiled in a toshiba factory on

monday. it will be used to remove rubble and extract fuel rods from a storage pool at the number three reactor building. the device is suspended from six wires to enable precise maneuvering. it has two arms to pick up and break down debris and an attachment to retrieve fuel rods. after rubble is cleared out of the way, the device will remove 566 units of fuel from the pool. the reactor buildings at the facility held large numbers of used fuel rods in cooling pools when the nuclear accident occurred in march 2011. workers have cleared the pool at the number four building which did not suffer a meltdown. but fuel units remain in the other three buildings as workers cannot enter them due to high radiation levels. the plant's operator, tokyo electric power company, aims to bring the device to the reactor building in the coming months and to have workers trained and ready to start clearing work in 2018. people in tokyo got a blast

of some wintry weather along with the snow came dangerous driving conditions and transit delays. some sections of expressways in the greater tokyo area are still closed. one driver was injured after his vehicle overturned at an expressway exit. railway companies say the snow led to cancelations or delays of bullet trains and local trains in and around tokyo. some stations restricted the number of people on the platform for safety reasons, leading to long lineups outside. >> translator: i've been waiting here for an hour. >> translator: i haven't experienced anything like this. i thoughtfy came to the station i could take a train. was wrong. >> airline spokes people say more than 200 domestic flights have been canceled and they say more flights may be affected. bad wither in the north of japan has led to the cancelation of 35 flights to and from hokkaido. currently in tokyo it's fair with a temperature reading of 3

degrees celsius or 37 degrees fahrenheit. jonathan oh joins us with the latest weather outlook for northern japan and the rest of the world. >> hello. we are going to keep a close eye on what the weather's going to look like across japan as we go into tuesday. we're not only seeing wintry wither in terms of snow but strong gusts as this system continues to move north and east. on monday morning in chiba we saw reported gusts of 108 kilometers per hour. that's pretty gusty. as we go into tuesday as the system continues to wrap up and move to the north and east we're going to see breezy conditions. sometimes you may see gusts from 108 to 104 kilometers per hour in rares portions of japan. it should be mainly dry for areas along the pacific coast. further closer toward the sea of japan side you may be dealing with more snowfall. look at some of these snow depth reports in some of these locations in central and northern japan.

fukushima saw 27 meters of snow depth. in tokyo in the metro area we saw 4 meters. i know that sounds small relatively speaking to the other locations but it's still significant in the fact that there was snowfall in the metro area. as we move forward in time we have one low that's going to be the main moisture generator. another low that's going to be the significant cold factor. both of those combine together will lead to the possibility of even more snowfall. for the northern portions of japan as we go throughout the day tuesday. here's a look at the forecast. winter pattern continues in northern japan. for areas that saw either rain or snow for monday, overnight lows are expected to drop to around freezing. we're looking at possible surface freezing. be careful if you're walking out and about. we'll be keeping an eye on the transportation situation as well because that could be a bit of an issue. we're looking at snowfall possibly up to 127 centimeters in hokkaido and down along the sea of japan side anywhere from

60 to 120 centimeters of snowfall is possible. so here's a look at the three-day forecast. tokyo the snow is over for now. sunny skies, a high of 8 degrees. the windy conditions and the snowy conditions continue for the northern portions of japan. fuge woe ka, you're looking at clouding conditions wednesday and thursday. japan's not the only location dealing with wintry weather. we're seeing some of that hitting the korean peninsula. looking at some very cold temperatures. seoul a high of minus 7 coming up on tuesday. rain for taipei, chongqing is, much warmer down south, 30s into manila and also into bangkok. as we look at the forecast for europe we have an unstable pattern. a low pressure system is coming on board. that's creating a surface trop setup so that's going to create wet weather. back toward the south and east, another low near the balkan

peninsula is going to bring some windy conditions, looking at snow and rain all as part of that factor. look at gusts close to 90 kilometers per hour, up to 50 millimeters of rainfall tuesday into higher elevations. colder air will bring more than 20 centimeters of snow as we go into monday and by monday evening. look out for that. looking at some wet and also cold conditions monday and tuesday and looking at snow even into paris and rome by wednesday. a quick look at north america. we do have some unstable weather at the great lakes. look out for late effect snow. wet weather into vancouver with a high of around 9 degrees on monday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

dozens of women took part in an event to mark the new year in the japanese ancient capital of kyoto. it's an archery demonstration held every year at a temple. the participants, all women turning 20 this year. in japan what's the that's the age a person is considered to have entered adulthood. the archers shot arrows at targets 60 meters away. it's no easy task. the event is based on a tradition that dates back hundreds of years. >> translator: i'm so happy. i never dreamed i would have a chance to draw a bow at this temple. >> reporter: the temple is designated as a national treasure in japan. next year around this time if you're in kyoto, do check out the event.

we'll be reporting live from taiwan at the top of the hour so stay with us. ññ

genie: iran slams what it calls illegitimate new sanctions by the u.s. on its ballistic missile program, that comes days after tehran's deal with what powers was confirmed, giving iran some $100 billion in sanctions relief. hillary clinton and bernie sanders go head-to-head as the democrats hold their final debate before the iowa caucus, kicking off the official nominating race next month. also coming up this hour, as francois hollande promises more than 2 billion euros to fight unemployment, we will find out if that is really enough to help. a missing hong kong