here in japan it's 7:00 p.m. on a friday. welcome to "newsline." here are our top stories for this hour. bank of japan policymakers have decided to try negative interest rates in a bid to hit the bank's inflation target and boost the lagging economy. an act of remembrance, japan's imperial couple have paid their respects to those who

died in the philippines, one of the fiercest battle sites in world war ii. a u.s. government official says evidence indicates that north korea could test launch a missile within a few weeks. policymakers at the bank of japan have ended their two day meeting with an approach they have never adopted before. gene otani joins us with the details on that plus all the other headlines from the business desk. gene. >> thanks, james. the bank of japan policymakers have decided to introduce negative interest rates, the boj's new rate on current accounts held by financial institutions will be minus 0.1%. the aim is to prompt those institutions to boost lending. the decision was a close call, five members supported it while four were against. the policymakers have been grappling with the impact of lower crude prices, the economic low down in china and sliding global markets. the bank will also again push back the date for achieving it's

2% inflation target to the first half of fiscal 2017. boj governor puck road da explained his strategy to reporters. >> >> translator: so far we've daten qualitative and quantitative easing measures. now we have decided to allow easing on interest rates. >> kuroda said falling crude oil prices and growing inn sernts in china are complicating the bid to hit japan's inflation target. kuroda said the new policy will limit these risks. "nhk world" senior commentator ak here ra mik da is in the studio to discuss more. this is the first time this kind of thing happened. first of all, how does this work. >> basically negative interest rates will encourage commercial banks to lend more to stimulate investment and growth. the jap mean role requires banks

to develop money at the bank of japan to they can return money to depositors when requested. with negative interest rate boj will impose a fee on deposits. it means banks will be penalized for keeping reserves. right now the center of bank pays commercial banks interest on the funds they keep there. with introduction of the new policy boj expects commercial banks to lend more money for private companies to avoid punishment. >> the big question is why now? why did bank of japan policymakers decide to apply this policy? >> simply put to achieve the 2% inflation target. we have seen a persistent fall of crude oil prices. boj officials kept saying prices will rise so keep should spend money now. the idea was to consumption by

injecting massive amount of money into markets. they thought this would lead to an increase in both consumer prices and wages and threw japan out of inflation, but while commodity prices continue to fall businesses might doubt boj's scenario so this is the very reason boj introduced this unprecedented measure. >> you've been covering the economic situation in japan for quite a while. do you think this will actually be effective? >> there are a lot of uncertainties. if additional easing weakness -- if additional easing weakens the yen further that is where business owners sit they might then raise wages for workers and put more money into investment, but many experts are skeptical about the effect of this extraordinary measure. they question if private companies really have a strong appetite for launch each after

commercial banks keep more money on hand. another question is lowering interest rates to this level paralyze the market? and we have to think about what is really pushing down prices. the causes of the fall in oil prices and china's throw down and not in the control of japanese policymakers. there is a view that monetary easing by the boj alone will have a limited effect on prices. >> so what's essential to boost the japanese economy, do you think? >> amid controversy by going ahead with additional easing the boj shows strong resolution to end deflation and hit its inflation target, but it is difficult to prop up the japanese economy further solely by monetary measures. the key lies with to what extent companies agree to raise wages in upcoming negotiations and how

confident companies can feel about the future and how much money they will put into investment. >> ak hero, thanks as always. checking the markets, the boj's move sent major ripples across japanese financial markets. for the details we can to the tokyo stock exchange. mayu. >> it was a roller coaster rate. the neeky briefly soared 600 giants, you can tell how many kuroda's decision surprised the market. but then later on we saw quite a pull back and stocks tumbled into the negative. one analyst said investors calmed down as time passed but shares recouped those losses and ended at a two week high. neeky closed at 17,518. the broadered topics was higher

by 2.9%. the neeky posted its first weekly gain in five years. the yeerd on a ten year jgb briefly broke below 0.1% and that's a record low. kuroda's decision triggered a lot of volatility in japanese markets. most sectors on the topics reacted positively except for the banking sector. the bank plunged 11%. other groups were also down as negative interest rates are viewed as unprofitable for banks. the boj's decision sent a wave in currency markets as well during tokyo morning trade they were in the 118 yen range but that jumped to the mid 121 level after the boj decision, however, one currency dealer saying says the -- he was a key person in

the government's economic strategy. now, all in all on friday crude kuroda's move did shock the market. >>. moving on to other markets in the is that pacific region, south korea's kospi ended at 1912, shares rose after dipping intra day. over in china the shanghai composite added more than 3%, closing at 2737, analysts say investors bought shares on reporting that the peoples bank of china will further pump money into its hang. the hong kong index advanced 2.5%. singapore's sdi was up 2.rs, gains in oil prices helped boost investor sentiment there. the head of embattled japanese auto air bag taker takata plans to resign.

he's taking responsibility for one of the largest recalls in automotive history. sources say chairman and ceo shigehisa takada has expressed his intention to people close to the country. he is a major shareholder in the firm. reports of detective takata air bags have led to the recall of up to 24 million vehicles in the united states and 12 million in japan. ten deaths in the u.s. and malaysia have been linked to the air bag ruptures. company officials are negotiating with the domestic maker of air bag inflaters, they're hoping to speed up the supply of replacement parts. here is a look at some of the other business stories we're following. toyota mortar says it will take full control of die at sue. toyota the top selling auto maker wants to boost production of exact cars in emerging economies such as india and

brazil. december spending by all households with two or more members averaged $2600 that's down 4.4% in yen terms from a year earlier and the fourth straight month of decline. industrial production last month fell 1.4% from november. that's its second straight month of decline, looking ahead government officials predict a rebound of 7.6% in january but a drop of 4.1% in february. the consumer price index in december was up one-tenth of a percent from the year earlier it rose 0.8% when energy and all types of food were excluded, that figure rose for the 27th consecutive month. and that's it for business news, i'm going to hand it back to you, james. >> gene otani from our business desk. japan's emp remember or and empress have concluded one of the last stops on their visit to the philippines. they're visiting to mark of 0

years since the form normalization of ties. the emperor and empress paid their respects at a memorial built near manila. they placed flowers to honor the souls of those who side doo id in world war ii. the site was added to the couple's itinerary on their request. the emperor spoke to representatives of a group that supports families of war dead. >> more than 100 people, mainly former servicemen and families of war dead, gathered for the ceremony. >> translator: i brought a photo of my father who died here and showed it to the emperor. he told me i had gone through many difficulties. >> the imperial couple will conclude their trip on saturday when they are scheduled to

return to tokyo. over the decades emperor akihito and empress michiko visited many former battle fields of world war ii. their efforts have helped rebuild relations with neighboring countries. it's a warm welcome for the imperial couple. a return visit more than 50 years in the making. in a region where the past isn't easily forgotten, the imperial couple's gesture is helping strengthen ties. over the years they have visited many former battle fields of world war ii, each time to pay tribute the vicms of the war. for the 60th aiversary their journey to pay tribute to the war dead overseas started in sigh pan, the pacific island is where fierce battles took place, the emperor and empress offered

prayers to all victims including u.s. soldiers. last year they visited the pacific island of palalu in pa w wheretherierce battles were fought. for the imperial couple, though, this week's visit has andded eting. 's the rognitionf a friendsh built fm the aes of wa e philippines wasnder u. contro from the late 19th ntury. pan invadedhehilippin in 1941. toward the end of th whe u.s.ilitary tried to regn control. it was t scene of some of th ercest fhting in e pacific wa bo sides sferedigh numbe casualties. more than half a million

japanese died and morehan a miion fipinos were killed. in 56 the two countes agrd on prepations, the total amount $550 million, the largest amount jan pai for r compention to y untry. in1962 a vis byhen prie hackeat toe and princess michiko was a turning point for the people of the philippines. since then for more than five decades the imperial couple has dedicated themselves to bett bettering relations between the two countries. over the years they welcomed presidents of the philippines as state visitors. at a banquet for nawakino the emperor referred to the victims of the war.

[ speaking foreign language ] >> on this visit there will be much thought given to the past and those lost to conflict, but it's also a visit between friends and a look toward a strong prosperous future together. >> a u.s. government official says activity near a north korean missile site could mean they will have a test launch. the north believes they are getting ready to test a long range ballistic missile calling it a satellite launch. the official told nhk on thursday that u.s. satellite images show increased activity at the site. the location in question is in the country's northwest. the launch pad is currently covered which has also been the case before previous missile

launches. researchers at johns hopkins university in the u.s. say the satellite images indicate north korea is in the early stages of preparing for a launch. they say the construction of a shelter 11 meters wide and 29 meters high at an engine test site appeared to have been completed as of january 25th. the structure is large enough to house the first stage of a rocket. japan's defense minister is believed to have issued an order to shoot down any missile or debris. the ministry has not announced the order. officials say they won't want pyongyang to know how they're responding to the responsible threat. a major diplomatic effort aimed at ending syria's civil war is off to a rocky start. a fresh round of u.n. led peace talks, the first in two years, is supposed to begin friday in geneva, but they could be delayed over demands from one

major opposition group. delegates from the syrian government are in the swiss ci, but it remns uncle which gup opposed to president al assad will represent the other side. a saudi supported group in making demands. a spokesperson told nhk the preconditions for their attendance, they include an end to fighting and the lifting of government blockades. the fighting broke out in syria in 2011, more than 100 armed groups and regional alliances make up the forces fighting assad or islamic state militants. human rights groups estimate that more than 260,000 people have been killed and millions have fled. we have an expert on middle eastern affairs and he says the peace talks may be a good sign for syria, but still there are many hurdles to overcome.

>> the so-called hnc which is the higher negotiating committee backed by the saudis, saudi arabia, has been insisting that there should be some conditions set forth before they join the talks in geneva, which means that they need to see sort of a ceasefire and that humanitarian assistance should be allowed into certain regions where the government forces are holding control. for e9thf january i believe that there might be a negotiation, but in reality the negotiation would not come to its conclusion. it's very difficult to figure out what's going to happen, but having said that i have to say that since the last talks have been held amongst the parties, the conditions on the ground has changed dramatically, meaning that there is an islamic state that has become sort of a threat and menace to the entire international community, not only for the region, but for the international community, and that there is a huge influx of refugees tryg to head -- trying their way into europe or

european states. now that there are certain conditions that were not evaluated before i believe that there is.a necessity to come to some sort of a negotiating table and have some sort of a deal in the end. >> well, it all boils down to the point what should be done with the current assad regime and personally how president assad should either remain in power during the transition period or that he should leave immediately when the political process begins. now, having said that the russians and the united states are moving closely as they used to be now that they understand, especially for the united states and the europeans, that they have understand -- they have understood that the islamic state threat and also the civil war in syria is a top priority that they have to deal with and for that to happen, to achieve a ceasefire in syria they have to

have some sort of understanding with the russians and also with the assad regime for the moment. at least it's better to have sort of a negotiation on going rather than all parties just fighting against each other and accusing the other's parties of not fulfilling their commitments. it's better to have a deal, it's better -- but at least it should be better to have at least a negotiation, ongoing negotiation, so that the in the future there could be some ground to work upon. >> that was hanaka. the operator of a nuclear plant in central japan has fired up one of its reactors. it's the third reactor start since the government issued new tougher regulations. console electric power company has restarted the number 3 reactor. if all goes according to plan the reactor will start

generating electricity on monday. current estimates are that commercial operations could resume by late february. console electric is using mox fuel, a mixture of plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel and urine yan. it's the first time the fuel has been used in four years. the utility plans to restart the number 4 reactor as early as late february. world health organization officials have issued a warning about a mosquito borne virus. they say zika is spreading explosively in the americas and could infect as many as 4 million people. the who will hold an emergency meeting on monday. the director general says tre is an urgent need to find ways to stop the virus from spreading. >> we need to take actions now. whatever we can do in terms of vector control, environmental control, every member of the

community can do something. >> brazil has reported a steep increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads and brains. about 4,000 cases have been reported. and while there's no direct connection between the condition and the virus, the w.h.o. strongly suspects the two are linked. medical officials say there is no vaccine and developing one would take time. brazil, meanwhile, is just six nths awa fromhe openg of th olyic and paralymc ges inio de janeiro. the president of the committee says they are working closely with the w.h.o. >> we will do everything to ensure the health of the athletes and all the visitors. >> he added that the ioc will be in contact with all of its members to form a strategy on how to address the zika threats. also some worrisome weather-related news from down

under as we hear in this weather update. >> newly formed cyclone stan is approaching the north coast of western australia, this is the system. vessels have been evacuated from the port and also several flights have been canceled due to the system. now, stan is a category 1 system, it's packing wind gusts of 100 kilometers and because of the war sea surface temperature this one could become a category 2 possibly into a category 3 and may make land fall on the northern coast of australia by saturday afternoon local time. so powerful winds are expected to happen, probably 150 kilometer per hour wind gusts are expected. outside activities will be extremely dangerous. the system should weaken after making land fall dramatically, but rain will not weaken. so lots of heavy rain is expected to form in areas up to 200 millimeters of rain is likely for the next four days or

so. let's go to africa. severe drought is happening in many areas such as south africa, madagascar, as well as the horn of africa and one of the affected areas is ethiopia. we have footage from the country. drought conditions triggered by the el nino phenomenon are treating ethiopia quite hard. the usually dry weather pattern began in june 2015 spreading from the remote northeastern portions of the country into more populated areas leaving about 10 million people in need of food and help. onerganization says that the ongoing situation is worse than the 18 -- excuse me -- 1984 drought crisis. many residents have lost their livelihood and are now simply trying to survive. to improve the situation heavy rain is crucial but i'm afraid it's the dry season and heavy rain is not anticipated for the next several months. some rain is in the forecast in ethiopia into your saturday but

it's not enough to make a dent. different story across kenya, heavy rain is expected. so that will cause flooding up there. let's go to japan. rain is falling across the region including tokyo and rain should change over to snow as we go into tonight because temperatures expected to drop. the rainmaker is located to the south of japan and this system actually caused record breaking heavy rainfall, over 120 millimeters of rain fell in 20 hours, the system is making its way towards the east dragging cold air to the north. the they may see up to 40 inches of show, metro tokyo may be accumulating snow into saturday morning. across the west a high pressure system is dominating causing dry conditions across many parts of china, as well as mongolia and some spotty showers expected to

fall across the east of the philippines into the next couple of days. temperatures expected to be at 32 degrees in manila, taipei 18 degrees, tokyo 5 degrees. it was 14 degrees for the high in tokyo yesterday so about ten degrees difference in just one day. the okinawa region saw the highest temperature on record for this time of year across the continent. here is the extended forecast around the globe.

and with that we conclude this hour's "newsline." at the top of the hour it is nus room tokyo,

molly: welcome to the "france 24 " newsroom. i am molly hall. new allegations of child sex centralise in the african republic. the finalmp boycotts republican debate in iowa, but still manages to overshadow the event. rival candidates struggled to take center stage. an explosipr