it's 7:00 p.m. on a monday here in japan. i'm james tengan. welcome to "newsline." north korean officials have notified u.n. authorities they've closed the window on a planned rocket launch and state media is praising it as a success. but world leaders are condemning the move as a missile test and representatives from japan, south korea, and the u.s. are pressing for stiffer sanctions against the reclusive country.

>> reporter: just hours after sunday's launch, members of the u.n. security council held an emergency meeting. the council chair said the launch could lead to the development of technology for carrying nuclear weapons. >> the members of the security council strongly condemn this launch. the members of the security council underscore that this launch is in serious violation of the security council resolution. >> reporter: north korean state media reported the rocket blasted off from the western part of the country. the launch was tracked by japan, south korea, and the u.s. >> we have to take this issue very seriously. it is not only the violation of security council resolution, but it is the real threat to the security of japan, the republic of korea and other countries,

including the united states. >> as i know that the cost of this launch alone, estimated to be close to $1 billion, could affect the entire north korean population for a whole year. it is therefore an urgent task before the security council to adopt a significant and robust security council resolution. >> none of us here are for sanctions for sanctions' sake. we're for sanctions to make a difference and to affect the calculus of a regime that has brazenly and recklessly acted in defiance of international norms and in a continual threat to regional and international peace and security. >> reporter: the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. added that she hopes china will cooperate on this discussions about sanctions. she said she wants the country to understand the importance for taking unprecedented measures. but beijing has taken a cautious stance on adopting a stricter

resolution that includes sanctions. >> last month the security council issued a statement of condemnation following pyongyang's nuclear test. but its members have difficulty negotiating a resolution on sanctions. a fresh round of negotiations is expected to start next week. but south korean military officials say the provocation continues. they reported a north korean patrol boat crossing into their waters monday morning in the yellow sea. and they say they are stepping up vigilance. earlier we talked with the korea student for defense analyses. he's an expert on north korea. >> how did the device launch this time compare to the one in 2012 in terms of rocket technology? was this a device that was more

advanced? >> this missile test adopted similar bodies and upgraded technology. let me point out three significant improvements. first of all, the tip payload weight was doubled from the previous 100 kilograms to 200 kilograms, which is still less than required to mount nuclear devices. secondly, the first stage of a long-range missile fell off after two minutes of liftoff with more than 270 degrees, which implies that engineers impatiently inserted exploding mechanism. this technology was from the 2012 launch. at the time south korean military salvaged the first debris and analyzed the details of the rocket. lastly, north korean engineers of the project was confident in successfully putting the rocket into the orbit. my analysis is based on the fact that kim jong-un was at the site, the launching site, with a

premeditated propaganda purpose. >> mr. kim, north korea went ahead with this launch in spite of the warnings from many countries, including china. company do you expect north korean leader kim jong-un to further escalate provocations? >> absolutely. kim jong-un would intentionally escalate and aggravate the military tension on the korean peninsula. with that he can justify pyongyang's ultimate goal of a nuclear armed state. ahead of the south korea/u.s. joint military exercise in march, pyongyang would instigate localized provocations along the dmz or other spaces. >> what is the effect of this launch on south korea's policy on diplomacy and defense? >> south korea would exert a full effort for suffer sanctions on the north with united states

security council's strong resolutions. seoul defense ministry has already begun official talks with u.s. forces in korea about deploying them. a high-ranking official underlined if it's employed in the korean peninsula it will only be operated against north korea. beijing has been opposing the deployment in south korea as the detecting radar technology of the missile system could reach to the chinese area and perceive it as a minute drans to its military readiness. seoul has decided to negotiate for the deployment, catching justifiable moments for the national security of the republic of korea. the important thing is that the international community may underestimate the technological sophistication of north korean engineers. pyongyang is getting closer to possessing nuclear-tipped

intercontinental negligent ballistic missiles that could strike the u.s. mainland. rescuers in taiwan have pulled a man from a collapsed building 56 hours after an earthquake hit. they're racing against time to find more people alive in the condominium in the southern city of tainan. the 41-year-old man was trapped in a room on the sixth floor. rescue workers made a hole in the wall and pulled him out. he's reportedly conscious and able to speak. troops and emergency workers are scouring the rubble of the 16-story building. they're using dogs and special equipment to search for signs of life. officials believe more than 100 people are still inside the collapsed building. volunteers from all over taiwan are helping with the effort. theye providing warm meals and drinks. >> translator: we are doing our best to help the rescue workers. we hope they can pull out survivors.

>> emergency crews are going flat-out as they get closer to the end of the 72-hour window that's seen as crucial to saving survivo survivors. authorities have confirmed 37 people have died, most of them in the toppled condominium. a hospital in northeastern japan is chipping in to help victims of the earthquake in taiwan. shizukawa hospital was destroyed in the tsunami triggered by the it will 11 great east japan earthquake. 70 people died when the building was swept away. a donation box with a sign saying "send love to taiwan" has been set up in the lobby. people from taiwan sent more than $18 million in donations to help the hospital. it was rebuilt and reopened last december under a new name, the minami-sanduku hospital. >> translator: the support from taiwan encouraged us to keep

going forward so i want all the people affect the by the quake to overcome their hardship. >> other donation boxes are being set up in public areas in the town. japan's government has released figures on the country's current account balance. the broadest measure of trade and investment with the rest of the world. gene otani has the details on that and other business headlines, gene? official data show a sharply higher current account surplus in japan in 2015, the first expansion in five years. the finance ministry credits lower crude oil prices and a higher number of foreign tourists. ministry officials say the surplus last year was about $142 billion about six times as you can see from this graph than the previous year. the trade deficit was about $5.5 billion, shrinking more than 80. lower prices for crude oil and

natural gas were behind a fall in imports. they said higher consumption from increased foreign tourism boosted the country's travel account surplus. that figure grew to more than $9.5 billion. the primary income account measuring earnings from overseas investments posted a surplus of about $177 billion. a bank of japan summary shows debate was heated about the decision by policymakers to immove a negative interest rate. some said the boom could adversely affect financial markets. the boj board made the decision at their meeting in late january. the vote was split resulting with five in favor and four against. one member of the measure said it was needed to maintain momentum for a growth cycle and to sustain credibility for monetary policy. a dissenter said a negative interest rate will have larger side effects on functioningful market and the financial system

over positive effects on the real economy. another said the measure could lead to confusion and anxiety among financial institutions and depositors. the bank of japan's negative interest rate policy is meant to encourage investment and consumption and independent the deflationary mindset. the policy is already affecting people's personal assets. banks are cutting interest rates on consumer deposits, customer deposits, and suspending sales of low-risk money management funds. checking the marks, trading volume in the asia-pacific is fairly thin now that the lunar new year holidays have kicked off. here in tokyo stocks were volatile on monday after the u.s. jobs report on friday. but the markets managed to snap their losing streak. our business reporter mayu ushida has the details. >> investors were hoping the u.s. jobs report last week would provide more clarity on the u.s. economy. we found out that u.s. job growth slowed in january, but

wages picked up. so analysts are saying this mixed data did not give any clues on what the fed might do with its monetary policy in march. so that's why investors were having a rather difficult time with their position. so trading was choppy and subdued on monday. the nikkei hit a two-week low at one point but recovered and closed up 1.1%, just above 17,000. the first rise in serve sessions. the broader topix ended the day .8% higher. stocks were seeing earlier dallass as the dollar/yen gained. however investors are still worried about earnings at japanese companies as the dollar lost over 4% since late january. after the markets closed on friday, auto giant toyota released its earnings. toyota lifted its fiscal year outlook but operating profits fell over 5% during the october to december period. toyota's stock lost only 1% but it did hit a one-year low.

with most asian markets closed for the chinese new year holidays many investors stayed on the sidelines and according to a hong kong brokerage that applies traditional chinese astrology on forecasting market outlooks, the year of the monkey could be a rocky one as the monkey might play mischief with investors. i'm mayu ushida reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. as mayu mentioned many markets in the the asia-pacific are closed for the lunar new year holiday. sydney's s&p asx200 index ended almost flat as we see down by a fraction, 4975. trading volume was thin. analysts say many investors refrained from active bets after that u.s. jobs data produced a blurred picture. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're watching today. business sentiment among

japanese workers worsened in january for the first time in two months. the economy watchers index fell to 46.6. some respondents to the government survey said they were seeing fewer orders from corporate clients amid falling stock prices. labor ministry officials say the average worker in japan last year was paid about $2,700 a month. salaries were up for a second year in a row rising about .1% in yen terms from 2014. but real wages adjusted for inflation fell for the fourth straight year dropping nearly 1%. toyota motor has halted work at all of its assembly plants in japan for six days. company officials said the shutdown started monday. they blame an explosion at a steel plant last month that affected the supply of engines and other components. the suspension affects 16 factories across the country. the growing number of foreign businesses are hoping to profit from japan's tourist boom. chinese companies are among

those buying up hotels and inns. the investment is helping to revive local economies but some people are worried how the rush to make money will affect japan's famed standard of service. >> reporter: shuzenji is a popular hot spring resort. last year the hotel came under new management. a chinese travel agency took it over paying $5.4 million. open more than 20 years, the hotel had fallen on hard times. bookings had dried up and the previous operator was racking up losses. the new owner seems confident it can turn things around and not just here. the chinese company has been buying up hotels in areas popular with foreign tourists. it wants to use them for the group tours it organizes. jeffrey shu has been sent by the

china office to manage operations in japan. he says his company can turn a good profit by helping local hotels better cater to chinese tourists. that includes meal times. in the japanese tradition, dishes are served one at a time. but chinese people prefer to have a lot of food on the table. the new managers decided to upend tradition and serve the dishes all at once. the strategy seems to have paid off. the operator says the room occupancy rate surged to 80%. and earnings hit a record high. that was just four months after taking over. but the surge in chinese tourists has not been without problems. the influx of chinese guests means japanese guests can have a hard time booking a room. this is a reservation chart for next month.

there are only a few vacancies left. kobayashi is in charge of food services. he's concerned he can't uphold the traditional standards and provide all guests with the best hospitality possible. the number of guests has doubled. but the number of hotel staff remains the same. on this day, a group of japanese guests was left waiting for their main dish. >> translator: i'm very sorry. here's your dish. >> translator: this hotel lacks discipline. the management is not good enough. >> translator: we need good reviews from our japanese customers. we have to offer great service even if we get tied up caring for our chinese guests. or else japanese guests will not stay with us.

>> reporter: kobayashi says it's going to require a new mindset. he's come up with an idea for an event to mark the chinese lunar new year. it will feature rice cakes made to attract both japanese and chinese guests. >> translator: our wish is to serve both chinese and japanese guests to ensure they enjoy their stay. we must work together as much as we can to achieve this. >> reporter: though business is booming now, managers are not sure if chinese tourists will continue coming over the long term. the challenge is to ensure that all guests, both foreign and local, leave happy. >> that looks like a difficult balance there. that's it for the business report. i'll leave you with the markets.

nhk has done a poll looking at a range of political and economic issues. results suggest support for prime minister shinzo abe's cabinet remains stable. nhk conducted the telephone survey over the past weekend. about 1,000 people took part. the results show the support rate for the cabinet is 50%.

that's up 4 percentage points from the previous survey. the disapproval rate was 34%. 40% of those who approved said it was because the cabinet seems better than other possibilities. 23% cited its ability to implement policies. 42% of those who didn't approve of the cabinet say it's because they don't expect much from the government's policies. respondents were also asked about the impact of the resignation of the former economic revitalization minister. akira amari was a key figure for abe's economic policy but stepped down last month over an allegation of mishandling political funding. 63% said his resignation has affected or will affect the cabinet. 31% said it has no impact. amari said his secretary allegedly received political funds from a company and used them for personal expenses. when he resigned amari said he

was responsible as his boss. joining us is mayuko abe who's been following japanese politics for years. do you think the reverberations of the former economic revitalization minister stepping down will continue? >> i think it's no exaggeration to say it will. for abe the resignation must be a serious blow. he had enjoyed the full confidence of the prime minister for his policy, understanding, and political skill. amari was in charge of the transpacific partnership free trade deal for which abe is now seeking the diet's approval. the prime minister immediately replaced amari and members of the ruling bloc are likely hoping they can bring this issue to an end. but let's look at our polls. we asked whether citizens were purchase sueded by amari's explanation. 66% said they weren't convinced. and 25% said they were.

opposition party members still say amari has more explaining to do and want him to clarify the matter at the budget committee. the topic is likely to come up on wednesday at a committee meeting on politics and money where abe is expected to attend. with the upper house elections ahead in the summer, i'm sure opposition -- the opposition is going to make the best possible use of this scandal and step up their attacks. >> on a more recent note, how are abe and his cabinet members tackling the north korean issue? >> abe condemned the north saying launching a missile is not acceptable. we asked voters over the weekend whether they think the government is dealing sufficiently with north korea's missile development. a 20% said they felt it was. but 35% said the government wasn't responding enough. government leaders say they need to send a strong message to pyongyang. and along with the u.s. and

south korean envoys to the united nations, japan has called for the early adoption of a resolution to impose tougher sanctions. japan is also preparing to impose unilateral sanctions and is considering making them stronger than in the past. >> thanks very much. "newsline" will keep you updated on how japan responds. thanks for your insight. you're watching "newsline" live from tokyo. i'm james tengan. sayaka mori joins us for a look at world weather starting with the uk. >> it's the ninth winter storm of the season affecting much of the british isles with fierce nds and heavy prescription. traffic disturbances are occurring and we had reports of a 142 kilometers an hour wind gust in the bristol channel. now the system will continue to provide stormy conditions throughout your monday. the system will likely move up towards e north into tuesday and cold weather wl come i so weay see rn changing to

snow as we go into tuesday in the mid-part of the british isles. multiple systems are affecting much of the continent like paris as well as berlin with heavy precipitation and strong winds. we have alerts for winds posted in these countries. very warm air is coming in from the south. temperatures are extremely warm in the southern areas. so temperatures are going to be as follows. 12 degrees for the high in berlin. that's more like spring. 12 for the high in paris with a chance for thunderstorms. weather is going to be warm across the alpine region too so watch out for avalanches. let's go to asia. mid-winter-like cold air is blanketing many parts of northeast china, the korean peninsula, japan as well as taiwan. this low is causing snowy weather across north korea and parts of north east china and this system will intensify and affect the northwestern side of japan on on tuesday as well as wednesday. blowing snow and thundershowers

are expected. winds are going to be quite strong as well. we have cold advisories posted in the northern two-thirds of taiwan. the south is not too cold. actually warm, 22 degree for the high on tuesday. and the southern area was hit by an earthquake a couple of days ago. so we're looking at the wealt r wealther conditions right here and there's a chance for rainy wed over tuesday, possibly into wednesday and thursday. rescue efforts are taking place so this is not good news. across north america a winter storm located to the east of the mid-atlantic united states. this is a very potent system. hurricane-force wind warnings in place along the coles ast of no carolina. waves are going to be up to 10 meters. coastal flooding is highly likely. the system will likely stay near the coast into the next couple of days causing very low temperatures as well as heavy snowfall in areas along the new

england states may see up to 45 centimeters of snowfall. new york city will likely see some snow continuing into wednesday at least. another batch of snow can be found across the great lakes region. winds are going to be quite strong, probably up to 90 kilometers per hour, making for very dangerous driving conditions. weather is calm across the mid portions of the united states but temperatures are going to be dropping down into the next several days. take a look, toronto 3 degrees on monday for the high. down to negative 6 degrees, that's about 5 degrees lower than average. minneapolis down to minus 13 degrees on your wednesday. so do bundle up. a different story across los angeles. midsummer like conditions with abundance of sunshine on your monday. and it's the end of summer but weather is more like midsummer across western australia. mercury hitting 41.9 on monday. staying quite hot into thursday. here's your extended forecast.

with that we wrap up this hour's "newsline." don't forget to tune into

"newsroom tokyo" at the top of the hour live from tokyo. for all of us here on "newsline," thanks for watching. >> from paris -- ó

>> life from paris. your rendezvous with the world right here on "france 24." >> you are watching "france 24." these are the headlines. tens of thousands of syrians stranded on the border with turkey as the government backed offensive in a left continues -- alleppo continues. more miracle survivors in taiwan. an eight-year-old girl and her aunt are pulled out of the rubble 60 hours after the