here in japan it's 7:00 p.m. on a friday. i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to nhk "newsline." we start off with a quick look at the hour's top stories. fighting for survival. south korea's president apologizes to the nation for her role in a scandal and says she'll cooperate with any investigation. a real deal. the paris agreement on climate

change is now international law. more than 190 countries and territories have agreed to follow the framework. and in a land known for its endearing mascots, we visit a company that creates designs with just the right amount of cute. south korea's president says she'll cooperate with investigators on a corruption scandal involving her friend. park geun-hye once again apologized. >> translator: i am again deeply story from the bottom of my heart for causing so much disappointment and concern. i will sincerely comply with the prosecutors' investigation if it is needed. i will even agree to submit to a special investigation. >> this would be the first time that a sitting south korean

president is subject to such an investigation. prosecutors arrested choi soon-sil on sunday. she's been a friend of park's for more than 40 years. choi is suspected of conspireing with former presidential aide an chong-bum. choi is also suspected of trying to defraud the organizations out of about $600,000. on friday there was an arrest warrant. they've also detained former presidential secretary. he's accused of releasing classifies information to choi. late last month, park made her first apology to the public over the matter. she also unveiled a move to reshuffle her staff.

but her actions have had little effect. many are demanding she step down. results of a new poll show park's approval rating is dropped 12 percentage points from last week and it's the lowest of any south korean president since such polling began in the 1980s. as park is about to face an investigation, people in the country are responding to their latest apology and aren't very pleased. nhk world's kim chan-ju reports. >> reporter: that have involved choi soon-sil. park says she will comply with prosecutors as much as needed. >> translator: i'm not sure it's right that park only talked about her feelings. while so many points are still unclear. 3 it's good that she's open to an investigation, but because she is in office, the probe will

be limited.it's good that she's investigation, but because she is in office, the probe will be limited. >> translator: president park has no ability to manage the country. first we need to reform the prosecutors. because we don't trust them. we need a special investigation team. >> reporter: many south koreans still feel disappointed and angry. here in central seoul, a protest is under way demanding park's resignation. park's party has apologized for the scandal saying that they will cooperate to create a new cabinet. but the head of leading opposition party says that such reshuffling is unacceptable. a tug of war between the ruling party and the opposition appears to have begun as next year's presidential election

approaches. prosecutors suspect choi of conspireing with former presidential aid an chong-bum in cases of abuse of power and attempted fraud. people in south korea are waiting to see how the investigations go and if president park will be implicated. many people in the country seem to be harboring distrust of the president. kim chan-ju, nhk world, seoul. earlier, yamamoto spoke with kengo okamoto about park's address. >> kengo, so what is your take on her announcement? >> well, most of park's announcement was an apology. she explained why she had close contact with choi soon-sil. she said it's because she didn't have anybody to rely on for personal advice after her presidency began and choi is

long-time friend. she also denied the accusation that she's part of a cult. choi was a daughter of a religious figure who many in south korea say was a cult leader. he died in the '90s. this is the second time they have addressed the scandal. the first time she apologized for causing shock and worry. but that wasn't enough. there have been protests in seoul calling for her to step down. plus she's been taking a beating online. >> so what comes next? do you think things are now under control? >> well, it's a hard question. she says she hopes there won't be a political vacuum. and she called for the unity. we'll have to wait and see if this latest apology has any

effect. it depends on how people in the country react to the second policy and her latest political moves. papark named byoung-joon. this move is park trying too deflect the political criticize by showing she's wililling to wk with the opposition. no south korean president has ever stepped down before the end of a term. this is a critical moment for park's presidency and possibly her legacy. the paris agreement on climate change took effect on friday providing a new international framework for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. more than 190 countries and

territorories signed thehe agret at a u.n. climate conference last year. it aims to cut global emissions as quickly as possible and lower them to virtually zero in the latter half of this century. unlike the kyoto protocol which mandated only wealthy nations reduce emissions, the paris agreement includes all countries. each country must emit targets. the targets are up to each nation but they're subject to verification. it's decision time for america. two divided presidential candidates have been fighting a bitter battle for the white house. >> she should not b be allowed run. >> he is denigrating, he's talking down our democracy. >> the winner for the next four years impacting decisions around the world including here in

asia. u.s. election 2016 on nhk "newsline." opinion polls are predicting close outcomes in ten states. nationwide polls indicate the gap in support for the two candidates has narrowed to only 1.7 percentage points. 47% of voters say they back hillary clinton. while 45.3% say they'll cast ballots for donald trump. trump spoke thursday in the swing state of florida. he referred to the reopening of an fbi inquiry into clinton's use of a private e-mail server for government affairs while she was secretary of state. he said she should not be allowed to run for president. president barack obama was at a rally in florida and he called

trump temperamentally unfit to become commander in chief. he plans to make his last pitch alongside clinton on monday, the final day of campaigning. jittery investors are keeping close tabs on the race to the white house which is proving to be tighter than many expected. gene otani has more on that and other top business stories. >> the u.s. presidential election is putting investors on edge prompting many to seek out haven assets such as the yen. the nikkei closed between 17,000 for the first time in about two weeks. giang nguyen has more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> investors are w watching the presidential race with a growing sense of anxiety. that nervousness is evident in the weakening dollar. let's take a look at the closing levels this friday, november 4th. the nikkei 225 lost 1.3%

finishing at 16,905. the broader topix fell almost 1.6%. the nikkei had a dismal week losing 1.3% since last friday. that's the worst weekly performance since july. let's talk about individual movers leading the index lower where casio computer and minebea were down more than 7%. the companies reported b below theieir earlier projections. onon the bright side,, renesas jumped more than 15%. the company credited higher sales and cost cutting measures. so we're just days away from the u.s. presidential election. giang nguyen reporting from the tokyo stock exchange.

moving onto other markets of the asia pacific region. the shanghai composite closing at 3,125. ended the week ahead completing four straight weeks of gains. analysts say recent positive data has eased concerns over the latest. australia declining for the fourth day in a row. slumping to a four-month low. oil prices dragged down. the overall trend in asia pacific region was negative. with investors increasingly nervous about the race to the white house and waiting on a u.s. jobs report due out later friday. troubled japanese autoparts maker takata is working on its business. its defective air bagss have le toto massive recalls worldwide. company officials say they will choose backers for its

turnaround a and decide how to y for rececalls by the end of the year. sources say a panel of outside experts set up by takata is negotiatingg with four companie. they include japanese and foreign autoparts makers. takata's u.s. subsidiary has been hit especially hard. it's recalleled 69 million air bags so far. the american f firm might fileer bankruptptcy, but a takata official down plays that possibility. >> translator: we hope to rebuild our business with a process of lenders. we have never changed that idea. we believe this is the only way to continue a a stable supply o our products to customers. myanmar's aung san suu kyi wants japanese business leaders to invest more in her country. aung san suu kyi made the announcement at the japan

chamber of commerce indususy and othehers in tokyo o on friday. >> i would like those which to do business to be confident of the fact that there is a future for them in our country. >> japananese business chairman said japanese companies can offer myanmar their technology and know-how. >> translator: we want to work for both country's growth by strengthening cooperation. >> the number of japanese firms doing business in myanmar has risen six fold to more than 300 in the past five years. a special committee of the japanese lower house has passed bills approved the transpacific partnership or tpp free trade deal. the vote was held friday afternoon amid protests of members of the democratic and communist parties. the bills were approved with support from the governing

coalition and the nippon japan innovation party. the ldp and komeito want to send the bills to the upper house next week. but opposition groups want to scrap them. the bill's passage comes as white house officials say 4.7 million jobs could be at risk if the tpp doesn't come to effect and the rsep does. it's being negotiated by 16 countries including japan and china. because the pact would likely reduce tariffs on chinese goods. both the democratic and republican presidential candidates oppose the tpp. white house officials are working to gain approval of the pact before barack obama's term ends. the paris agreement on climate change came into effect friday putting pressures on countries to start slashing greenhouse gases. it's leading many japanese firms to develop cutting edge

technologies that reduce carbon output. officials with japan's largest business group want companies to promote this technology abroad and lead the effort against global warming. japan's steel industry accounts for 40% in the industrial sector. working together to develop new technology. other methods involves injecting hydrogen into high temperature blast furnaces. researchers say they're aiming to lower emissions by 30%. >> translator: we're one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters so we have to make all efforts. >> officials at fuji heavy industries say they're putting more resources into their hybrids and electric vehicles. japan is known as the land of original mascots. many businesses depend on them

to appeal to customers. we take a look at a company that creates custom designed ones with just the right amount of cuteness. >> reporter: this business provides rental wi-fi routers to customers arriving at tokyo's haneda airport. they introduced two time traveling characters from the edo period. these foreign visitors find them irresistible. >> ninja wi-fi. >> ninja wi-fi. >> many people are fascinated with japan because o of mangas. >> translator: it's a distinctive look that other countries can't copy. >> reporter: but these characters didn't really travel through a rift in time. they were created by a company in shizuoka. they provide designs to businesses that want to transform their brand and reach a largeraudience. it matches images uploaded by

artists to clients' products and target markets. customers can review these images and choose what they like. each design costs about $3,000. half of that goes to the artist. and the rest goes to the company. >> translator: many firms are having difficulty with new customers and markets. characters like these can really help them expand their customer base. >> reporter: some of the characters this company has made is already making a big splash. this aquarium on awashima island opened 40 years ago. recently the number of visitors has declined. so the management enlisted outside support. an unusual mascot. the character is decked out in a blue and yellow costume. it's modeled after the sea slugs

commonly found in the area. >> translator: it's cute. >> translator: it even has the antenna eyes. >> reporter: but it wasn't just what caught the attention. like the slug that inspired it, it has both male and female traits. that led to 10,000 posts on social media in a single day. so the aquarium decided to expand the character's social network to include a sister and a childhood friend. and as the story expanded, so didid the visitors. >> translator: i believe people got caught up in the idea that one figure could be both male and female. that's not t the result we were aiming for but now we feel that the sea slug was the right choice. >> reporter: as more affordable designs make it easier for smaller firms to get into the character game, the cuteness boom is likely to continue for a long time to come. you can catch our report again online together with a full transcript. look for nhk world and business

wrap. that's a look at business news, i'm going to leave you with the markets. the president of kazakhstan will visit hiroshima next week and give a speech on world peace. he'll call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. the president spoke before his visit to tokyo and hiroshima which begins on sunday. many people in kazakhstan suffer

from radiation-related health problems. more than 450 nuclear tests were conducted in the country during the soviet era. >> translator: i want to send a message from hiroshima protesting all nuclear tests and calling for the world to unite abolishing all nuclear weapons. japan and kazakhstan are leading the global movement towards denuclearization. >> he says he'll call for more cooperation with japan to achieve the goal. when asked about north korea's nuclear and missile development, he made the following remark. >> translator: the existence of nuclear arms will no longer guarantee a country safety because such weapons already exist. >> t the president said that kazakhstan has made economic process and gained the trust of its neighbors by renouncing nuclear weapons inherited from the soviet union.

thousands of people have paid final respects to prince miksa in tokyo. he died last week at the age of 100. a hearse departed his residensi on friday morning. many people waited along the route to the palace to say their farewells. >> translator: i'd like to thank prince miksa for having compassion for the public just as the emperor does. >> about 600 people attended the funeral including the crown princes. as well as prime minister shinzo abe. the emperor and empress did not attend in accordance with imperial tradition. the priest opened the ceremony by touching on his contribution to historical studies and activivities. hiss wife offereded a prayer an others followed suit.

later in the day, the general public also paid tribute to the late prince. and here on nhk "newsline," it's time for weather. from chilly back to warm, tokyo has been seeing higher than normal temperatures with tomorrow's high expected around 21 degrees celsius. jonathan oh joins us now with the wrapup starting with a storm brewing in the pacific. >> it looks like we're going to have t to wait a few more days until we k know if it will impa. right now it is on the open waters and that is a good thing. we don't want it to be impacting any particular areas. but you can tell by looking at the satellite perspective that because of the way it's interaingg with this tropical system, we're seeing clouds over into the philippines and the islands towards the east as well. it is a severe tropical storm. meati is currently moving at 15

kilometers per hour. we are expecting the system to become a strong typhoon as we go into sunday afternoon. but for the moment, it does not look like for at least the next few days not impacting any land. but we'll keepp a close eye on t whether we'll have enough to move in any direction. it will continue to move into the open water and that would be a good thing. we don't want to run into trouble with this particular system. while we're talking about a late season tropical system to the south, we're talking about really winter type weather up toward the north into hokkaido. we saw snow reported at around 9 centimimeters on thursday. now, there's a place where they opened a ski resort but they want to have more snow. . let's take a look at the video and give you an idea of how it looks ready over in karuizawa in nagano prefecture. the first ski resort opened but they had to use artificial snow

because they haven't had enough snowfall to make it actually work for them. slopes are about 15 meters wide, 400 meters long. it will be open through the early part of april. so if you're a skier or snowboarder, it looks like nagano's ready for you. up toward the north, definitely seeing a lot of snowfall. over hokkaido, some areas are seeing snow up to 74 centimeters. we do have a couple of areas of high pressure moving to the east. areas towards the north may deal with more snowfalll like hokkaido. but we are looking at a big cooldown toward places like chinina and the korean peninsul. wewe're talking abo a huge dror where you're going to be shifting from warm weather to much colder weather with longer sleeveves in place. and for those looking into hokkaiaido, you may be dealing with snowfall over the next 24 hours. and high wave heights. be on the lookout for that. so look at this. by sunday in beijing, we're

dropping 7 degrees for the high. it's going to stay that way through monday. and look at this in tokyo.. going from 21 to 14 from sunday into monday. make sure you have your late fall/early winter type clothes reready. looking at north amamerica, we have an extended cold front moving through the deep south into the desert southwest. now, the tail end of that system is bringing occasional downpours and thunderstorms as well. we are looking at the winds picking up along the eastern seaboard. so look out. you may be dealining with dange in the area. highs in the teens in new york and d.c. as we wrap things up with a look at europe, we are seeing a low pressure system into the iberian peninsula. that's going to bring rain through friday all the way up into london where the high will be 11 degrees. hope you have a good day

wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

"newsroom tokyo" comes to you live at the top of the hour@

>> welcome to the france 24 bedroom. it is 1:00 p.m. in the french capital. migrantlear a makeshift camp in northern paris. several thousand people being relocated to temporary shelters. germany summons turkey's envoy arrests a dozen pro-kurdish mps. the historic paris climaea