it's a friday night here in japan. glad you could join us here on nhk world. i'm james tengan. welcome to "newsline." we start off with a look at the hour's top stories. a legal battle is over. officials from tokyo and okinawa are heading back to the barga bargaining table. cutting carbon, a draft plan

for japan to counter global warming includes a long-term goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 80%. and explosive words. kim jong un orders his country's warheads to be readied for use. officials from tokyo and okinawa have reached a settlement over a u.s. base. they will head back to the bargaining table. >> translator: following the settlement, the government wants to reach an an amicable conclus. >> translator: it is reasonable that the government accepted the settlement. now both sides need to show

accountability to resolve this long-standing issue. >> abe has agreed to suspend construction on the planned base. the government and okinawa will drop all lawsuits against each other and hold talks. the central government filed a suit in november. it is one of three cases between tokyo and okinawa. the government wants to move the u.s. marine futenma station it a coastal area within the prefecture. residents call futenma the most dangerous place in the world because it is in the middle of a populated area. the governor wants it moved out of okinawa all together. he revoked a permit to reclaim land at the proposed site. but the government wants authority to overturn the decision. before the meeting, the government said there is no other alternative than that of

the current site. and both sides say they will deal with the issue to reach a final deal. a white house representative said the government will not comment on legal procedures, but he did say the current relocation plan is the only way to avoid continuous use of the futenma base. japanese officials have drafted a plan to counter global warming through 2030. it includes a long-term goal of cutting greenhouse emissions by 80%. the draft plan was presented at a government panel on friday. it calls for renewable technologies and the continued use of nuclear energy. the goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by 2030 compared to 2013 levels. it's the first time officials set a long-term target to cut emissions by 80% by the year

2050. the plan comes from agreements made in paris last december. countries agreed to bring down net global emissions to zero in the latter half of this century. the head of the government panel stresses that a long-term perspective is essential. >> translator: we actually need to tackle this issue throughout this century and for more than a hundred years than now. >> the environment minister shares his view. >> translator: we need a long at any term strategic approach that includes drastic changes of the economic and social system as well as our lifestyles. >> officials intend to have the plan formally approved before the group of 7 summit in may. chinese officials say they'll spend more money on defense this year, but the percentage of the increase will not reach double digits.

the defense budget will rise by 7% to 8%. china's national people's congress spokesperson made the announcement one day before the annual session of the npc kicks off. >> translator: the percentage of increase is lower than in recent years. it will be 7% to 8%. >> she says defense spending is set in terms of necessity and economic situations, including economic development and financial status. china's military spending has seen double digit increases every year since 1989 with the exception of 2010. the amount is now second only to the united states. china's neighbors and other world powers have been concerned about the build up of the country's navy and air force. officials in beijing have not disclosed a break down of defense spending. it is not known whether it includes the expense of building

an island in the south china sea. experts brief the actual defense budget is larger than what was announced, as funds for purchasing air fighters aren't included. north korean leader kim jong un has responded to tougher global sanctions with a new threat. he says his country must be ready to fire nuclear warheads at any time. the korean workers party newspaper is reporting that kim wants his army to be prepared to launch preemptive strikes. he issued the order while supervising an exercise with new rocket launchers. the threats follow u.n. security council backing for new sanctions and come ahead of the military drill by the u.s.nd south korea. kim reportedly said the situation has left the north with no choice but to act. u.s. government officials say there's no evidence that pyongyang has developed the technology it needs to make nuclear warheads small enough for ballistic missiles. the north's military commanders

recently said they wouldn't hesitate to strike first at south korea or the u.s. mainland. a japanese couple whose daughter was abducted by north korean agents is renewing calls for her return. they hope that government efforts and public support will bring back their child as well as other victims. they spoke out on thursday. their daughter was taken in 1977, when she was 13 years old. >> translator: i believe all of them will be able to return home once north korea decides to do so. >> translator: i want to see the abductees come back to japan as soon as possible. >> pyongyang's rocket launch last month was met with tougher sanctions from japan. north korea then announced it would stop an investigation into the fate of the abductees that the country promised in 2014. the head of japan's central

bank has discussed how he intends to steer monetary policy. gene otani has the details on that and other business. >> bank of japan governor kuroda denies he plans another interest rate cut for now. >> translator: at this point, i'm not considering further lowering the negative interest rate. >> kuroda spoke at an upper house committee. he says he believes qualitative and quantitative easing steps will lead to an early achievement of the inflation goal. but he indicated he would take additional monetary easing measures if necessary. checking on the markets, tokyo stocks extended gains for a fourth straight session. for the details, we go to giang nguyen. >> tokyo shares opened lower on profit taking after three solid

days of gains. indexes wavered ahead of u.s. data due out friday. let's take a look at the closing levels this friday march 4th. the nikkei is up 0.3% at 17,014. over the week, the index had a solid performance, adding about 5% for a third consecutive week of gains. topix was up 0.46%. the top gainer was sharp. a news report said negotiations could conclude as early as monday. and crude oil prices climbed during asian trading and oil and gas companies rose. inpex climbed 6.8%. and showa added 4.3%.

investors no doubt will be taking numbers into account on monday as well askews from chinese leaders on economic policy. china's national people's congress starts on saturday. i'm giang nguyen, reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. >> moving on to other markets, china's shanghai composite finished at 2874 for the close. many investors are keen to see fresh trading cues from the national people's congress that kicks off this weekend. sydney's gaining almost .2%. gains in commodity prices underpinned mining and financial shares. and for other benchmarks, taiwan's thaiex-gained. and the kospi lost .13%.

a court in tokyo has opened a damages suit against toshiba and former executives. a group is suing for about $2.6 million in damages. the plaintiffs say they suffered losses after toshiba's accounting scandal triggered a plunge in its share price. they say the firm and former officials intentionally misled investors, presenting false statements in the company's securities report. lawyers for toshiba and its former executives deny the allegations and ask the court to throw out the case. the legal team representing the investors says individual stakeholders in western japan have already filed similar suits. the total number of participants is 100. there are others expected to file suit throughout this month.

the japanese government wants to promote the entry of companies into the space business. the cabinet has approved a bill that would allow more private firms to launch satellites if they meet certain conditions. the only company currently allowed to operate in businesses is mitsubishi. as contractor to japan aerospace exploration industry. the bill would set up a system to screen and set up rocket designs and launch facilities. the bill would guarantee the safety of launch paths. the government could pay for losses on underinsured losses on a case by case basis. the cabinet has designed another bill designed to limit the sharing of images for national security reasons. the government plans to have the bills enacted during the current diet session. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following today. the japanese government plans to impose legal controls over digital currencies such as bit coin.

amended legislation would recognize that virtual money can be used to buy goods and services and convert it into yen and other real currencys. businesses that exchange would be obliged to register. real wages in january rose for the first time in three months. officials say preliminary results show workers earned an average of about 24 hundred dollars in january. that's up 0.4% from a year before when adjusted for inflation. government officials in brazil say last year's gross domestic product shrank. it's the first time in six years the rate has turned negative. behind it is a slump in resource prices. they are a major exporter of iron ore. china's leaders are planning

to nail down a target growth rate for this year and sent out an economic agenda for the next five at the annual national people's congress earlier discussed. a top economic planner recently said the government is hoping for growth of between 6.5% and 7%. to put that in perspective, last year, gdp grew 6.9%. that was the slowest rate in 25 years. my colleague, ai uchida spoke with daniel so. he's a strategist at cnb international securities in hong kong. >> i expect 5% growth over two year. the environment is still challenging, and domestically, china's plan to reduce overcapacity, and even if they want to boost growth, it is more difficult than the past few years. and i think in the first half of

this year, growth rates could drop below 6.5% and rebound in the second half. >> daniel, many people fear that slowing growth will take a big toll on jobs. what's your take? what do you think leaders will do to try to stabilize the job market? >> the job market is really a headache for the officials, and i think that the slow down in economic growth is not the only reason which caused job loss. also the structural change in the economy is also taking its toll, because china is trying to upgrade from low end labor intention sieve manufacturing to high end industry. and that means many jobs will be lost permanently. the government plans to have some impression on the job market. so i think they would do the reform carefully and gradually.

>> you know, government officials are counting on a fiscal policy to boost growth. what do you think would be the most effective way to go about doing this, and when? >> they have to add as soon as possible. first, they need to boost domestic consumption by tax cuts and improving social welfare so people will be both able to spend and willing to spend more. and boost business investment by tax cuts and business operating costs. it has caused some firms to move factories abroad to neighboring countries. the government has to cut this tax to keep some of these firms in china. >> they have indicated they would increase the budget deficit to 4% of gdp. is this feasible?

>> 4% is acceptable, if it is only for a few years, although not very sustainable over the long term. and now that the pressure on t ecomys quite high, china really need to carry out -- if they don't, fiscal income will be hurt. and 4% deficit is really necessary and acceptable now. >> and that's it for business news. i'll heave yl'll leave you with.

on march 11, 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami hit north eastern japan. our special series, journey from disaster, will look at the region and its people five years on. in this installment, homecoming. the tsunami swept an untold number of objects across the pacific. now some have come back, generating feelings of goodwill between communities an ocean apart. nhk reports. >> reporter: the port in aomori prefecture is a place of coming

and going. late lt year thi shrinate wa restored. the horizontal beam is the most important part of the structure. it's been washed away by the tsunami in march 2011. four years later it arrived back home. a carpenter restored the gate. >> translator: i'm feeling quite happy that we have been able to restore the tori here today. after many, many months. >> reporter: in 1988, the gate was built that stood on this spot. local fishermen pray here for safety before going out to sea. but in 2011 the five-meter-high tsunami engulfed the port and the gate was lost.

two years after the disaster, a part of it turned up on the other side of the pacific in the u.s. state of oregon. this man works at a japanese garden there, he tried to figure out where the beam had come from. characters carved on the tori led to a clue. he visited the disaster area in japan and found that the tori could have come from a port in aomori. he gathered donations for returning it from individuals and businesses in the u.s. and japan. >> translator: tori have special meaning for japanese people. once the lost part was found, he wanted it returned to its original place. >> reporter: newspapers picked up on the story.

this man was among those who read of the long journey. >> translator: when i saw the newspaper, i knew right away that it was the tori i had built. >> reporter: in october last year, the beam came back to the place from which it had left. it had traveled 14,000 kilometers in its round trip across the ocean. people felt they would never see it again. but there's one who traveled from the u.s. to share the joy of the homecoming. >> translator: the character i carved here allowed it to return home. i'm overcome with happiness. thank you very much.

>> reporter: for him, the sight of children around tori made everything worthwhile. their generation and others to come will learn the story of the gate. >> translator: i'm very happy. the gate belongs to the children. i hope they will always treasure it. i did this for them. >> reporter: others have hopes for the restored tori, too. their hope is for it to serve as a revival of the fishing industry. >> translator: i put up the tori hoping everyone will be able to reestablish their lives as they were before the disaster. >> reporter: the community wants to hold a celebration in may, inviting people from the united states who helped with the project. the rebuilding of the gate has

also built friendships across the ocean. nhk world. >> yuko, thank you very much. we invite you to experience more from our series journey from disaster here on nhk world. now to weather. it tis the season for sandstorms. jonathan oh joins us with the details of what's going on in china. >> hello. this particular sandstorm situation is expected to bring yellow sand into t northetern portions of t countras you glate friy into saturday. so it's definitely having an impact. not just the areas currently seeing the sandstorm but other areas pushing on into time. this satellite gives an idea of

how the air is flowing, all pushing toward the east right now, and a part of that includes some of the yellow sand as the first time being reported for this particular year, and as we look at the video coming out of the region in northwestern portions of china, you will be able to tell the low visibility that is taking place with the strong winds. let's see if we can look at the video real quick. as we look back on thursday, the sandstorm hit with strong winds. dust reduced visibility to less than 100 meters in some of those areas. because of the conditions, classes were suspended and train services have been halted. windowpanes of most vehicles in this particular area being broken by gravel. you can see right there, the gravel flying through the area. and because the windows are being broken, police have to stop all the cars from entering this area when the strong winds were blowing. and, as we go throughout the next day, we're going to watch and see how this impacts areas like beijing. so the winds are really strong and pushing through the northern

portions of china. beijing already having issues because of the air quality issues. so the haze is already in place. you add the yellow sand on top of that, and it makes it even worse. i think as we go throughout friday into saturday, this is going to still be a problem as the flow continues to push towards the east. meanwhile, as we look at the rest of the forecast for asia and japan, it's warm for japan. we're going to see more temperatures favorable for early to mid april as we go into saturday. you may notice moisture trying to develop over the korean peninsula. that is eventually going to spread to the east and bring more rain for japan as we go into sunday. but for saturday, partly cloudy skies. rain off in shanghai as we go throughout the day. now, as we look at the forecast for north america, you notice this aa of clouds rolling through the southeastern portion of the united states. that's associated with a cold

front not only bringing rain for the deep south but snow further to the north. this system is expected to continue to move to the north and east, and that's going to bring the possibility of wintry precipitation for new york city and areas further up north to toronto for friday. meanwhile, back to the west, another area of low pressure associated with what we call a pineapple express setup is continuing. so this flow coming away from hawaii and bringing all that rain away from the pacific side of canada and through the united states with high rain totals. some areas could see 120 millimeters rainfall. speaking of the snowfall to the northeast, that's going to take place as we move throughout the day on friday. so be prepared for that. now as we wrap things up and look at turkey, lots of rain in istanbul. 46 millimeters of rain reported on thursday. a low pressure system is rolling through. and it will bring another chance of rain and strong wind gusts up to 75 kilometers per hour as we progress throughout the day on friday.

hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

be sure to watch "newsroom tokyo" at the top of the hour. for all of us here at "newsline," thanks for watching. q

>> welcome to the newsroom to you are watching "live from paris." french president francois hollande and his german counterpart spoke after meeting in paris. they pledged to reinstate the schengen zone. thatalso want to assure refugees stay in the region. kim jong-un escalates his military rhetoric