here in japan, it's 7:00 on a wednesday. i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to "newsline." we start off with a quick look at the hour's top stories. rising rhetoric. a military drill planned by south korea is escalating a war of words in what is already a tense situation. uniting fronts. two japanese opposition parties

could agree this week to join forces and spruce-up their image ahead of upper house elections this summer. and taking off the mask. new technology could offer some relief to the many japanese who suffer from cedar allergies in the spring. a war of words is escalating between north and south korea in an already tense atmosphere between the neighbors. officials in seoul warn of regime collapse in response to pyongyang's latest threats. >> on tuesday, north korea lashed out over a planned military exercise by the south and the u.s. it threatened retaliation, which it said would be aimed at south korea's presidential office. officials in seoul quickly fired back. >> translator: the government strongly urges north korea to immediately stop all provocative acts that would lead to its destruction. if north korea ignores our warning and continues to make provocations it should be prepared to face severe

punishment. >> military officials reiterated any confrontation from the north would speed up the collapse of its dictatorial regime. south korea and the u.s. are planning to start their annual exercise on march 7. they say it will be the largest ever. top u.s. and chinese officials have been discussing penalties for north korea's recent test and rocket launch. they say they may soon agree on a draft u.n. security council resolution to impose stricter sanctions. >> we have made significant progress. if the resolution is approved, it will go beyond anything that we have previously passed. >> translator: important progress has been made. the u.n. security council could reach agreement on the draft resolution and pass it in the near future. >> john kerry and wang yi spoke after meeting in washington. wang also emphasized the need for u.s. officials to hold talks

with the north koreans. japanese officials are working to enhance air defense by manufacturing their own stealth aircraft. they've tested the prototype on a runway. it took place at nagoya airport in central japan. the plane sped down the runway at about 100 kilometers per hour. more than 200 domestic companies have been working on the project for seven years. >> translator: we have high expectations for future development of our country's fighter jets. the technical innovations could apply to the entire aviation industry and other areas. >> the united states uses f-22 stealth fighters and russia and china are also developing the technology. japanese officials are planning the first test flight next month.

two of japan's opposition parties s could agree as early this week on a plan to merge. party leaders are looking ahead to this summer's upper house election. they hope that by joining forces it will improve their electoral chances. the democratic party is the largest opposition party. they agreed tuesday to prioritize a merger with the japan innovation party. democratic party president met with the senior party officials on wednesday to brief them on how to proceed with the merger and a plan to change the party's name. officials approved the plan. >> translator: if the dpj and the japan innovation party fight separately, it would benefit the main ruling democratic party and the people's will will not be reflected appropriately. >> the japan innovation party also held a meeting on wednesday. >> translator: we are aiming for a change of power, to counter the ldp and the administration of prime minister shinzo abe.

>> from the ruling camp, the secretary-general of the ldp has said a union simply for the sake of an election is a marriage of convenience, and he said a political party without a clear goal is immature. the possible merger could expedite cooperation among opposition parties, including facing only one opposition candidate in certain constituencies. the anticipation is that the merger would help them compete better with the coalition of the ldp and komeito which holds the majority in the upper house. and over two-thirds of the seats in the more powerful lower us who. earlier, nhk spoke with an expert about the aim and effect of this merger. >> the two parties are looking forward to this summer's key upper house election. public support for the cabinet has been fairly stable since

prime minister abe came back into power three years ago. so members of the two opposition parties want to form a united front to confront them. they're not the only ones reaching out to other parties. three other opposition parties have agreed to cooperate in the upper house vote. one of them is the japanese communist party. it could withdraw many of its candidates planning to run for single-seat constituencies under certain conditions. but in terms of the merger, some members of the ruling bloc have been critical. they've called it a ramshackle coalition, formed just for the election. others are concerned it could influence the vote if the opposition parties succeed in unifying their candidates in the single-seat constituencies. still, the new party would be relatively small. it would occupy 93 seats in the 475-seat lower house. the ruling coalition holds more than two-thirds. >> so then what's timeline for this?

>> for the two parties, the important thing is to get this done with enough time to prepare for the summer election. as we've said, there are still hurdles. senior members of the parties are aiming to complete the merger by the end of next month. >> thanks. u.s. based researchers probing ruptures by air bags made by takata have released their find beiings. the independent testing coalition comprising ten of takata's customers, including toyota and general motors have found that three factors working together can cause the air bags to explode on inflation. after testing and analysis, the findings come.

one factor behind the defect is the use of an ammonium nitrate compound that lacks a moisture-absorbing ingredient. the second issue is long-term exposure to high temperature and humidity. and the third factor is a failure to seal against moisture. rupture in takata air bags have caused at least ten deaths worldwide. more than 12 million units in japan have been made subject to recalls. 20 of the biggest world economies will gather this friday in shanghai. although japan's prime minister shinzo abe will not attend, he told lawmakers member countries should discuss ways to stabilize the global economy. he indicated they must deal with china's economic slow down. >> translator: i want china to work for structural reforms like fixing its excess capacity.

every nation at this meeting will need to make its best effort if we're to have a constructive discussion. >> he said the g-20 nations should discuss ways to realize sustainable economic growth. checking the markets, tokyo stocks followed wall street into negative territory. a strengthening yen dampened investor sentiment. >> a combination of lower oil prices and the weaker -- they sent the yen higher, and that weighed on japanese stocks. let's take a look at the closing levels for this wednesday. the stronger yen hit big cap stocks with the nikkei posting a loss of 0.85%. meanwhile, the broader topix closed down a half a percent.

against the euro, the yen hit a three-year high. investors are starting to price in the higher yen take being a toll on earnings. and in addition to that, demand for smartphones is sluggish. so nitto is down. we saw gains in smaller shares, and that's after a report that japanese regulators started considering the virtual currencies like bitcoin the same as common currencies. and these stocks skyrocketed because they offer services that use bit coin. it is a good time to invest in large cap stocks with concern over the global economy right now. i'm mayu yoshida from the tokyo

stock exchange. the uncertainty is also pushing investors into japanese bonds. the figure there 0.05%. moving on to other markets in the asia-pacific region, singapore fell nearly 2%. although the fourth country gdp beat expectations. the hang seng, as you see there, dropping by 1.2%. they hit a one-week low. shanghai outperformed the rest of the region. the shanghai composite gaining by almost percent. over in sydney, lower oil prices took a toll on the asx 200. it finished at 4875, the

sharpest drop in two weeks. and here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. companies in japan are paying more for services they receive from other businesses. the services producer price index was up 0.2% last month from a year earlier. hotel rates surged as international tourists pushed demand. construction-related costs rose due to a shortage of workers. and a firm has struggled to make money. logitec has a customer base of 1200. full deregulation in april will allow them to sell power to households. but industry officials say they have withdrawn their request for a license. the global plunge in oil prices has cast a dark shadow over rush yark the world's third

largest oil producer. the gdp shrank. and consumers are feel the pinch. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: the impact of the oil slump extends far and wide in this vast country. this is a village in northern russia, facing the arctic sea. the government under putin has planned for a huge energy development here. people assumed the project would give a huge boost to the local economy. construction began seven years ago and was supposed to create 200 jobs. but then oil prices tumbled. dashing those expectations. work was suspended. now the roads and bridges lead nowhere. >> translator: the central

government budget covers the development of infrastructure. without , the villages' finances cannot function. >> reporter: the 2016 budget assumed that oil would cost $50 a barrel. to this figure -- revenues going to government coffers have fallen short. the economic fallout has been severe. a shadow has fallen over the auto industry, which is key to russia's manufacturing sector. car sales last year were off almost 36% from previous years. consumers no longer feel like branching out.

this man works at a factory. >> translator: this is a taxi license. >> reporter: a scaling back of production at the factory has sent him home. he lost a third of his wages and started driving a taxi last year for extra cash. but he said it's not enough. >> translator: there are more drivers now so more competition and people want to avoid taxes. >> reporter: the slump in oil prices is eroding russian currency. the ruble was at an all-time low against the dollar last month. every day, banks are dealing with the fragile customers trying to negotiate their mortgages. the homeowners took out loans in dollars, not rubles, so they are

struggling to make payments. nine years ago, this woman bought a condo with a 20-year mortgage in dollars. she says it was the only option the bank gave her. but she said it's tough. >> translator: when i took out the loan back in 2007, the russian government as well as a lot of the media, was playing up the idea that the economy was strong and that the ruble's value would never go down. >> reporter: but the ruble has since dropped to a third of its value. that made it nearly impossible for her to make the payment. >> translator: i can't support a government that doesn't map out any measures so solve foreseeable problems. if the government doesn't do anything, there is no future for

us. >> reporter: high oil prices for many years fueled russia's check boom. that assured president putin the solid support of his people. but now, as the economy struggles, they are facing a severe test to help them out of their struggles. nhk world. moscow. >> and that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.

a recent inquiry is pointing to another problem over how the operator of the fukushima daiichi plant responded to the accident five years ago. the company failed to report that three reactors had likely suffered meltdowns, even though evidence suggests they could have known. the meltdowns occurred following the march 2011 earthquake and tsunami. but tokyo electric power company did not admit they happened until may that year. the utility claimed it lacked a criterion for judging a meltdown. but a recent inquiry found the company's in-housmanual gave the definition of dnl amage of more than 5% of its reactor core. it was found that 30% was

damaged. in future, they will report on a meltdown in cases of less than 5% damage. researchers are looking at ways to offer relief to allergy sufferers. nhk world's reporter tells about new technology that could nip hay fever in the bud. >> translator: my nose runs and my eyes become itchy. i always feel hazy. >> translator: i always carry eye drops and nose spray and a face mask. >> reporter: for many people in japan, wearing a medical mask is a sign that spring has come. the reason? theirarily jis have started amping up because of cedar pollen. roughly one in four japanese are set to suffer from the allergies. many buy high-quality masks to avoid symptoms.

this gun is a best seller. it fits the face well to block pollen. >> translator: this is very popular because of its new features. it uses new materials and is light and soft in texture. your ears won't feel uncomfortable using this mask and you can reuse it even after washing it. >> reporter: one farmer north of tokyo is trying to get to the root of the problem. he is growing trees that release only 1% of the pollen of ordinary cedars. he brings the seedlings inside his greenhouse in winter where they grow more easily. and he uses special pots that allow him to grow seven times as many seed willilings as before. >> translator: i hope the number of pollen free or pollen reduced cedar trees will increase so the lis ollergy sufferers will

become easier. >> reporter: but replacing japan's seedary trees isn't an easy task. many of the 10 billion trees were planted after world war ii as the demand for timber rose for reconstruction. japanese researchers have been studyingays t me tho trees plen fr. >> transtor: we me up with the ia of using existing bacteria to curb the release of pollen. >> reporter: he and his colleagues focussed their attention on the disease that can kill male cedar blossoms. they cultivated the bacterium that causes the disease and turned it into this liquid. three months after it's sprayed on the trees, the male blossoms die. pollen comes from yellow,

mature, male blossoms. the liquid turns them black and pollen free. so far, the researchers have succeeded in 80% of their experiments. but they have yet to thoroughly assess the liquid's impact on the environment or humans before using it as an agricultural chemical. they also need to find an effective way to spray it. >> translator: it is difficult to manually spray the liquid on male blossoms high up on big trees. we're conducting an experiment to find out how the liquid can be efficiently applied using a drone. >> reporter: people with pollen allergies won't be getting relief from that method anytime soon. it's expected to take a few more years before the liquid is put into practical use.

nhk world. according to my pollen alert app, there's a considerable amount of pollen in the air in toke quo right now. thanks for that report. sayaka mori joins us now for a look at this hour's weather forecast. >> yes. snow has fallen across many parts of northern japan this week. the peak is over, but more snow is on the way. very frigid air is continuously moving in from the continent. so actually, cold air masses blanketing much of the country. so today tokyo's high was only 7.7 degrees. that was more like midwinter. as i mentioned, snow will continue across northern japan and hokkaido to the western portions of japan. some areas may see quite a lot of heavy snowfall at times. now your temperatures will continue in sapporo, as you can see, minus 9 degrees. as for tokyo, we may see some light snowfall tonight going

into early tomorrow morning. across north america, deadly tornados affected the southern areas of the united states. we had 22 reports of tornados on tuesday in louisiana, mississippi, alabama as well as florida. and in fact, three people have been killed due to tornados. now this system is also dragging cold air from the north behind this cold front. heavy snow is falling. this system is moving to the east. so the risk of severe weather will shift from the east coast from florida to virginia. the heaviest will be in north carolina. so more storms will happen, and to the north, torrential snowfall. and to the north, freezing rain is expected. this could cause icy roads, making for extremely hazardous driving conditions. and then towards quebec towards arkansas, heavy snow is expected. so widespread areas will be affected by various kinds of weather. temperatures are not too bad on

wednesday. washgton, d.c. at 1degrees. 12 degre in new rk city, that'sore likepring. now let's go to the middle east. severe floods occurred in israel monday. we have footage from the country. heavy rainfall flooded southern areas of israel monday, submerging roadways and damaging buildings. the situation was very critical at the time. schools stayed opened in some of the hardest-hit areas. but nearly half of the students were unable to attend the classes, because of the flooded roads. now weather has improved, but the situation will not improve anytime soon, unfortunately. anacross europe, that atlantic system is expected to hit much of spain and france with strong winds, strong rainfall and heavy mountain snowfall. and another area of disturbance can be seen across the northern areas.

we may see thunder snow across the north of sweden as well as finland. and wet and windy conditions could be moving into turkey. temperatures are going to be as follows on wednesday. moscow at 2 degrees for your high. people in moscow enjoyed a very fun event on tuesday. sled enthusiasts gathered in moscow on tuesday for a big tradition. themes had anything from batman to mical concepts on their sleds. they had a chance to slide down a short slope in front of a crowd. so funny. here's the extended forecast.

hope the weather's looking good in your neck of the woods. be sure to wat

♪ host: welcome to "live from paris." i am claire pryde and i will be with you for the next hour. donald trump easily wins the republican caucuses in nevada and marco rubio beats ted cruz for second place. iran ahead of key elections on friday. good results for reformists are both governments could he