p.m. on a thursday. welcome to nhk news line. i'm james tengan. here are some of the stories we're following. election upset. the party of park geun-hye has lost its majority in parliament. ready to act. head of the bank of japan says

policymakers won't hesitate to adopt additional easing mers. increasing openings. greater numbers of muslim visitors to japan means expanding market and japanese companies are looking to cater to them. south korea's ruling saenuri party has failed to win a majority. it casts a shadow over the party's prospect for the 2017 presidential vote. electoral officials released the final count. the saenuri party is took 122 seats. >> translator: i will step down to take responsibility for the election result. >> the opposition minjoo party grabbed the largest proportion of seats with 123.

the opposition s splinter party people's party took 38. neither has the intention of forming a coalition with saenuri. >> translator: i think that the citizens voted on how bad economic policies of the party's administration are. >> the party was embroiled in a feud between park's supporters and opponents in the run up. it's the first time in 16 years that the ruling party becomes minority. earlier, we spoke with a correspondent on the election in south korea. >> was the defeat a surprise to you? >> it was seen as a reflection of the park administration. and voters took their opportunity to express their discontent. the surprising trend this time was the increase in the percentage of younger voters by

as much as 7%, and they voted for the opposition. they are frustrated with failed economic policy, the higher income gap about and higher youth unemployment. it is the highest in nearly two decades. the issues are all thins park promised to solve when she took office three years ago. party infighting also had a negative impact on the results. the process of selecting candidates generated a lot of friction. park supporters refused to give nomination to lawmakers who had distanced themselves from her. those who had left out ran as independents, so that discouraged conservative voters. >> so what will this mean for next year's presidential race? >> it has put a dent in their

chance for a presidential candidate. as for diplomacy, there's an impact on relations. observers say as park's power decreases, it affects the government's implementation of agreements with japan on those referred to as comfort women. as well as its handseling of north korea. the minjoo party takes a different stance on both issues. they said south korea made concessions to japan and insist on dialogue with north korea. so park's administration will be under a microscope for the remainder of her term. people will be watching to see if she changes her approach and how much pressure she can take from the other parties. a south korean news agency says north korea has deployed up

to musudan mid-range missiles. the yonhap news agency broke the news. they said one or two have been launched. they have a range of up to 4,000 kilometers. it puts a japan and a u.s. base in guam in reach. a defense ministry spokesperson in seoul declined to confirm the deployment. >> translator: our military is keeping an eye on the possibility of a fifth launch, including a musudan and preparing for this. >> officials in tokyo are raising the alert level. >> translator: we cannot rule out further provocation by the north. japan will continue to watch the situation and take all necessary measures. >> the move comes just before the birthday of the country's

founding father. the bank of japan chief says policymakers are prepared to wrap up theirs easing mers if it calls for it. gene otani that's the details along with other news. >> analysises are looking at adopting a negative rate but he said policymakers won't hesitate to lower it further. kuroda was giving a lecture at columbia university in new york. >> we would not hesitate to further ease our monetary conditions utilizing three options individually or collectively, meaning quantity,

quality and negative interest rate. >> kuroda described the boj's efforts to end inflation as the most powerful by any central bank in history. economists at the international monetary fund say ththe bank ofof japan's negative-interest-rate is crucial. but it has the potential to destabilize the financial system. the imf report warns negative interest rates could reduce profits of regional bankser and credit unions. the director of the imf s ske with nhk. >> i think that negative rates are a net positive for the economy because they have to relax further monetary and financial conditions, and that's something that should support demand and inflation.

>> the imf report also touches on japan's plan to raise its consumumption tax from 8% to 10 next april. imf officials support the hike as well as short-term measures to deal with the impact. checking the markets the rally in tokyo shares continued for a third day on the back of a weaker yen. and it reached its highest close in more than two weeks. for the details we go to the tokyo stock exchange. investors are in a buying mood after encouraging figures came out on wednesday. sentiment was boosted by the rebound in oil prices which cents tokyo shares higher. nikkei average added 3.2% to end at 16 rk,911. the improved sentiment drove down demand for safe-haven assets. the pair went into 109 level

touching a one week high. exporters are breathing a sigh of relief. shares of toyota were up 3% and panasonic added 4%. kobe steel jumped more than 8% and jfe holdings rallied by credit suisse from neutral to outperform. susupermarket chain aeon added more than 5%. it g grew moree than 25% for th year through february. and that's their first increase in four years. many investors will be taking a careful look at china's first quarter gdp, the figures will be released on friday. thanks very much for that. in the asia-pacific region let's take a look at shanghai the composite index gaining by . of 1%, 3082 is the finishing number. three month high. recent strong economic data

seemed to ease concerns over the country's economic slow down. investors turn their focus to the country's gdp figures due out on friday. the central bank in singapore surprised markets as the bank ease its monetary policy. it's aimed at reigning in the rise of the currency. it gained by .8 of 1%. banking shares led the gains there. seoul's kospi index advances by 1.75%. indonesia bucking the trend down bioy 0.8%. engineers at sharp have designed a smartphone for those who aren't afraid to stand out. they say their new hand set which doubles as a humanoid robot will be in stores in may.

users get all the basic mobil phone functions in the robo phone humanoid set. they can use the head as a laser projector to blow up images. people at sharp recently agreed to take overr by hon hai. >> translator: we hope to make a fresh start with the release of new products. >> the humanoid phone will cost about $1800. and data charges will be extra. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. the heads of the world bana

andd china bank asian infrastructure investment ba have agreed to work together. the two bank chiefs are discussing about a dozen project s. the aiib is expected to spend $2.5 billion for projects in >> australian prime minister called on china to expand trade links. he's making his first visit to the country since taking office last september. 1,000 people participated in the tour. he said the free trade agreement with china has already delivered big benefits. car sales in japan have slumped. winning customers has been a challenge, but one auto maker has a hit. they stuck with what they were always good at, nothing super high tech. they built a rag top that gives an experience like no other.

nhk reports. >> reporter: each year in march, organizersrs of the new w york internrnational auto show annoue the world car the year. this year's winner was the mazda mx 5. since the latest model d debute in may last year, the car maker has sold 9,500 unitsn japan and 16,000 overseas. far more than anticipated. >> translator: the car's shape and color is appealing. >> translator: this car is completely unique. >> reporter: yamamoto leads the development team. he chose a special plane for the new model. >> translator: driving enjoyment is key. so i decided that creating feelings of joy would be the theme of my project.

>> reporter: he -- mazda rolled out the first mx 5 in 1989. they wanted to produce a car that was easy to drive and gave drivers a sense of being one with the vehicle. the convertible was a hit, selling more than 140,000 units world wide in just three years. but stricter safety and environmental rules led to changes in design. the first generation mx 5, in 2005, was 150 kilograms s heavi than the origiginal. which affected the driving experience. the development team analyzed five categories of feelings that drivers experienced, oneness, fun, movement, response and openness. they also rated 15 japanese and

foreign sports cars. surprisingly, the japanese car with the highest score was the original mx 5. the team made the car as light as possible. they used aluminum and developed car parts that have been considered too difficult to make from aluminum. that helped reduce the weight by 20 kilograms. a smaller engine took off another 14 kilos. next, they focussed on the small details. they used four bolts, not five, to fasten the tires. the sun visor got thinner too. the result is a car that's 100 kilograms lighter but just as

safe and environmentally friendly. when the first generation convertible hit the market last may, something unexpected happened. in addition to all the drivers who owned the original, young people have trekked to the new mx 5, the reasonable price is one factor. the basic model costs about $23,000. >> translator: the mx 5 responds every time i'm behind the wheel. it's like the car and i are one. >> reporter: automakers like toyota and honda are hoping that they, too, can drive up sales. nhk world. >> that's it for business news. i'll toss it back to you james.

gene otani from our business desk. thanks gene. negotiations have started again over relocating the base on the japanese island. okinawa. the resumption comes after a settlement was reached in a legal battle betweween central d local governments last month. the issue is the u.s. marine corps futenma air base. tokyo and okinawa agree on moving the base but disagree where. tokyo wants to relocate it within the prefecture but okinawa demands it be moved off the island all togegether. senior officials from both levels of government sat down in tokyo to resume tatalks. the okinawa side reieiterated i demand the futenma base cease operating in fire yaefs. the central government agreed to make that happen. they continued negotiations with the host city of the base.

japan coast guard are reporting another chinese incursion. three war ships entered near the senkaku islands. coast guard p personnel say chinese ships werere near one o the senkaku islands for two hours. they warned the crews not to come back. japan controls the senkaku islands. the government maintains they are an inherent part of japan's territory. china and taiwan claim them. > a man who once headed japan's air self-defense force is under arrest. prosecutors think he misused money he raised during an unsuccessful campaign to become tokyo governor. he claims his hands are clean. prosecutors arrested him and a former financial manager. they suspect and his then financial manager gave $25,000 in cash to people who would work on his election campaign.

he think he let the financial manager keep almost as much for himself. the prosecutors had already raided his financial office. they say staff there have not accounted for nearly $500,000 from donors. the islamic state militant group has hinted at more terror attacks. this came after the three suspected bombers in belgium were also involved in last year's attacks in paris. in an english language online magazine on wednesday the group described last month's attacks in belgium as retaliation for participation in the coalition against the militants. the group has claimed responsibibility f for the atta which killed 32 people. it also explained that one of the airport suicide bombers had prepared explosives for the paris attacks as well. it went on to say that ibrahim

el bakraoui and his brother were involved in the paris attack. in the magazine the group add that paris was warning and brussels was a reminder. what is more to come is more devastating. indonesia and malaysian tourists visit japan topped 500,000 last year. both countries are home to large muslim populations. japan's tourism industry is important to adopting to their religious traditions. >> reporter: tourists in tokyo have tens of thousands of restaurants offering all sorts of foods. for some muslims it's hard to find what they can eat. >> in indonesia it is okay to eat in a small street. but when we go abroad it's

important for us. >> reporter: muslim customers want meat following islamic tradition. they also don't eat products that use pork and alcohol. japan's food industry is becoming aware of the problem. they started this food fair for companies to promote products that muslims demands. this woman is a buyer originally from indonesia. >> japanese food are like, containing alcohol, like also in the product that we didn't expect before like for example chocolate lalt ice cream. so i think it's a problem. >> reporter: company sees good bubusiness turns. they are developing products with more chicken and foods without alcohol. food thahat are approved are labeled with a certificate.

soy sauce is not always muslim friendly. alcohol is often'ed to preserve and this company decided not to do that. and it tastes the same as always. the global market for manufacturers could expand to around $10 trillion by 2020. >> translator: we can provide good and safe made in japan products. i think there's a big chance to win more customers. i see a huge potential in the market. >> reporter: the tourism industry is taking notice. >> translator: hotels say they have more muslim guests, and they want to provide more options. >> they study the market, local market first and then see what is needed then they can offer.

>> reporter: some companies are also looking to the lucrative export market. >> translator: we have an overseas business department, a muslim market to look into our products so we can take them abroad. >> reporter: with the 2020 tokyo olympic games coming people here say that making dietary recommendations are more important than ever. you're watching nhk "newsline" live from tokyo. i'm james tengan. it's time now for weather. the debilitating drought in venezuela is having an impact. >> hello. it looks like the rain is coming and may take a little bit longer before it comes into full effect, but we are expecting some showers to start helping out as we go forward in time, to see how drastic the situation is

with that dam, let me show you the video. it almost looks like you're in the middle of a desert in some places, because the guri dam, one of the biggest dams in the world is completely, well, not completely, but quite dry because of excessive drought because the water levels are reaching critical levels. long-sunken boats are visible and cattle are walking across the ground. there is a chance of rain from late april to may. as we go throughout the next few days we are looking at the chance for showers nearby. we're looking at a chance for rain thursday, friday and saturday, quite warm, but it's not going to be nearly the sustained rain that is needed to cut down on the drought situatioion, but a at least whe is we seeing the possibilities of some of the precipitation as we go through the next few days. as we go to north america we're keeping an eye owhwhat's happing fofor the nonorthwester portions of the united states. we do have a low pressure system moving into the area, and they have a bit of energy with them.

we are looking at the possibility of songer storms closer to montntana and d scatt thunderstorms across the rockies and pacific northwest. so we're looking at the chance for rain, and a little windy to the south. so denver is looking at a high of 24 degrees. now as we take a look at t the forecast for east asia, it has been a gloomy, cloudy day. quite warm in japan. we had showers earlier. now we're seeing most of that departing from the country, but we are going to see warm temperatures remain in the area. highs are expected to be around 20 degrees around central japan as we go forward in time. back to the southeastern portion of china we will continue to see heavier rainin taking place. we are in the rainy period where we are going to see some problems.

rain from hong kong to taipei. ing chongqing 21. in tokyo, temperatures into the lower 20s. i want to show you the weekend, look at this. looking dry for tokyo for friday, saturday, but then rain comes into the picture for sunday for most of the country. you want to keep that inin mind. also rain into shanghai, mainly drying out by sunday. as we wrap things up with a look at the middle east. we've been talking about a couple areas of strong weather, iraq and amman looking at heavy rainfall. we're looking at the rainfall to continue. the next few days looking a bit stormy as we go through the rest of the week. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

more updates and special reports come your way on "newsroom tokyo" at the top of the hour. in the meantimeq?q?q?q?q?q?q?q??

you are tuned to france 24, you are watching live from paris. it is 1:00 p.m. local time. we bring you all then latest news for the next 60 minutes. in the wake of the paris and brussels terror attacks, your votes to tighten up security, introducing a pnr sharing flight data on airline passengers. in nigeria, a sign of