here in japan, it's 7:00 p.m. on a tuesday. i'm james tengan. welcome to nhk "newsline." authorities in fukuoka have sealaled off a road because of

sink hole. there are no reports of injuries direct lly related to the accident. the hakata district hosts the busiest train station in the region. officials say construction was under way on a subway line where the incident occurred. they say workers were digging a tunnel when water began flowing in. gas has been shut off to the area to avoid leaks. up to 800 houses and businesses were without power, including parts of fukuoka airport. >> translator: i was surprised because it was so dark. >> translator: i was inconvenienced. i want this situation rectified as soon as possible. >> phone and internet services are down. some atms are also out of service, and banks were not able to do transactions. there were two other sink holes related to the subway project. one in 2014. it was just 500 meters away. >> translator: we're very sorry for causing the accident again

and failing to make use of past experiences. >> workers have started filling the hole. city officials say they're examining possible damage to surrounding buildings. it's decision time for america. two divided presidential candidates have been fighting a bitter battle for the white house. >> she should not be allowed to run. >> he is denigrating, he is talking down our democracy. >> the winner will impact relations for the next four years, including here in asia. election 2016, on nhk "newsline." >> in just about an hour, americans will go to the polls to choose their 45th president. it's been a tight race between the two main contenders. in their final push for votes, democrat hillary clinton and republican donald trump held rallies in battleground states.

president barack obama appeared in pennsylvania in a show of support. >> hillary clinton! >> for an america where we build bridges, not walls. let's get out and vote, philadelphia, tomorrow! let's make history together! thank you and god bless you! >> trump and his running mate mike pence ended their campaign in new hampshire. >> tomorrow, we are going to win the great state of new hampshire, and we are going to take back the white house. >> results of support polls last week suggested clinton was leading, but the gap was narrowed after a fresh fbi investigation into her use of a private e-mail server for government work and it pushed up the number of swing states. battleground states hold a

key to election victory. the most important one is florida. and the deciding bloc will likely be the large hispanic population. as nhk reports, there's a big shift in the way they're voting this time around. >> reporter: here in palm beach county, both candidates' supporters are having last-minute rallies here. we see donald trump supporters on this side, on the other side of the street we see clinton supporters. >> hillary, hillary! >> trump, trump, trump! >> reporter: about 100 volunteers from each side gathered at this early voting station to call for support. sometimes they exchanged insults. >> i don't trust her, i don't think other americans trust her right now. >> there's a lot of really --

aggressive, a guy that yells "nasties." >> reporter: palm beach county is said to have slightly more republicans than democrats. the town is home to many wealthy caucasians. it is also sometimes a home to tycoon donald trump. he owns a mansion with 58 bedrooms. his business also runs a 6,200 square meter golf course. among the growing number of hispanics in the area, cuban-americans are the second-largest group. they have also tended to be more republican. for those who fled for asylum, they have a sense of alliance with the republican party which takes a harsher stance on communism. >> donald trump is better for the relationship between cuba and the united states. >> i vote for trump. i like trump. >> reporter: but millennials who were born in the united states have different thoughts. >> i'm cuban and he hates latin people. so what's the reason for me to vote him? >> reporter: this is a big factor in the voting in florida. julian sosa was born in the u.s.

in a cuban family. he's been helping the clinton campaign as a volunteer. his parents are hard-core republicans. but he says most of his cuban friends are democrats. >> first-generation cubans are going separate from our parents who vote republican. traditionally they're republicans. i'm not. >> reporter: clinton supporters say young cuban-americans play an important role in campaigning in florida. >> i'd say it's 50/50. it's really 50/50. it's votes all ages. all ages. >> drain the swamp! drain the swamp! >> reporter: where does the millennial cuban-american vote go? both candidates and their campaign volunteers are working hard to obtain their support up until the last minute. kazuaki hiroma, nhk world, palm beach county, florida. delegates from the around the world are in marrakech for a

global climate conference. >> this is a new phase for the international climate process. >> t the deal calls for all nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. delegates will try to work out specific rules needed to implement the paris agreement. one key issue is how to assess reduction targets for each country. another is how to verify the efforts being made. participants who have ratified the agreement will hold their fifirst cig story meeting durin the conference. japan has yet to ratify the pact and will join the meeting as an observer. this means its delegates will have no right to object to decisions made during the talks. >> translator: it is true that we can't participate in decisions at the conference, but joining as an observer won't harm the nation's prosperity.

>> one day after the conference started, japan's diet approved a bill to ratify the agreement. the government plans to submit the necessary documen soon to the u.n. in order to enter the pact. prime minisister shinzo abe released a statement outlining japan's determination to take a leadership role and uphold the spirit of the agreement. he said the country will help to create rules to heighten the nation's transparency and reduce their emissions. japan is certain to become one of the latest among the world's major emitters to join the agreement. experts are worried the country's presence at u.n. negotiations is too little, too late. >> those who have ratified the paris agreement early spent significant amount of political resources to make it happen. you know, it's not like the u.s.

and china have anything important than paris agreement. they got their own issues. but they set aside those things and, you know, prioritized. india did too. and eu, with many member states, they did so too. japan didn't. so this is a huge difffference. shoes, they wouldn't treat j jan as the same counterpart. it's a pity situation because japapan could h have been a goo player, especially when it comes to the rule making like this. yoyouknow, japan can bridgdge a difference between large developed countries and large developing countries. >> yamagishi says japan can regain leadership if it prepares

its long-term strategy earlier than other countries. >> japan can hurry up and intensify the process and create an ambitious one before anybody does. so in that way, japan can show leadership in creating a way forward for the governizing society. south korea's president has been scrambling to smooth over a scandal plaguing her presidency. and now she says she'll give in to demands of opposition parties and let go of some of her power. she says she's willing to withdraw her nominee for prime minister and let parliament choose.. park geun-hye met with the national assembly speaker on

tuesday momorning. according to south korean medid, park says she'll accccept a candidate recommended by the legislature. park went as far to say that she would let the new prime minister control her cabinet. last week park named kim as prime minister. he's close to some opposition parties and once held a key post under the progressive late president. his nomination was rejected by opposition parties. park has been embroiled in a scandal that has shaken her administration. prosecutors have detained two of her close aides following the arrest of her close friend and confidant of 40 years. she has been charged with conspiracy to abuse power and attempted fraud. park may face questioning by prosecutors later this month. in connection with the scandal, prosecutors raided nine locations on tuesday, including the offices of samsung

electronics. local media report that samsung provided about $3 million to a company in germany founded by her and her daughter. people at a giant automaker are struggling to steer the business through some rough terrain. gene otani has the details on that. >> toyota motor group's sales and profits for the april to september period both declined from a year earlier. that's the first drop in five years. company executives say the stronger yen has hurt overseas earnings. the executives say sales during the first half of this fiscal year were about $125 billion. that's down more than 7% in yen terms from the previous year. operating profit dropped nearly 30% to $10.7 billion. the executives attribute the drop to poor sales in north america and a shut down of assembly lines due to a series of earthquakes that hit southwestern japan in april. toyota revised down its forecast

for global car sales ending in march to 10.1 million units, but the company revised its operating profit upward to about $16.3 billion through cost-cutting efforts. chinese customs officials say the world's second largest economy bought and sold less across their borders in october. the officials say exports dropped more than 7% to about $178 billion. that's seven consecutive months of decline. they say the fall can be mainly attributed to a slowdown in exports of clothing and car parts to europe and japan. imports also shrank 1.4% to about $130 billion. that's because of sluggish trade in liquid crystal panels and machine tools. the total trade volume was down nearly 5% from a year earlier. many analysts had expected both exports and imports to fall but the figures were weaker than they thought. checking the markets, tokyo stocks traded in a narrow range

as investigatoors awaited the rs of the u.s. presidential election. our reporter phoebe amoroso reports from the tokyo stock exchange. >> trading got off to a rally after the fbi announced hillary clinton would not face charges for her use of a private e-mail server. but some investors took profits from monday's gains. the nikkei 225 ended marginally lower, closising at 17, 171. the broader topix finished slightly in the positive. the dollar held to its gains during tokyo trading. the greenback jumped more than 1% after the fbi announcement on sunday. the financial sector added some support to the nikkei. we saw dai-ichi life holdings and sumitomo both close higher. investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the presidential election. whatever happens, we're likely to see some dramatic moves. phoebe amoroso reporting from the tokyo stock exchange.

other markets across asia pifblg region ended higher after the fbi's announcement boosted stocks in the u.s. indonesia climbed by 1.6%. a bounce in oil prices pushed up shares in australia. up by 0.13%. investors in china seemed to shrug off worse than expected exports in october. the shanghai composite ended up half a president to 3,147, closing at a ten-month high. investors were relieved to see volumes higher recently. hong kong, most sectors ended in the positive with financials leading the gains. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. precision instrument maker nikon says it plans to reduce

its work force by about 1,00000 next year. that's due to a slowdown in the semiconductor and digital camera businesses. the firm's digital cameras have been hit by the spread of smartphones. the estimated net income already $60 million in the red. earlier they had expected to log a profit. a key index showing the current status of japan's economy rose in september. the cabinet office says the index was up 0.2 points from the previous month. the figure is based on a range of data, including corporate output and consumption. the upturn is mainly due to car production. tokyo fire insurance will become the first japanese insurer to provide products to cover,s involving self-driving vehicles. the new product will allow policyholders to receive insurance payouts promptly, even if the degree of driver negligence is unclear.

it will be introduced next april, but they say the insurance will not cover fully automated driverless cars since such vehicles are not yet on the market. a common misconception is that artificial intelligence is all about robots and cars. not anymore. a.i. is entering the workplace and the impact could be profound. >> reporter: this firm has developed an ai-based computer system that has been adopted by more than 1,000 client firms. the system's t task is to rate e faces of empmployees for stress and will to work. the ai program has a data bank of 20,000 faces, giving it the ability to distinguish subtle expressions. >> translator: the program checks how the edges of the eyes have gone down and the corners of the mouth have gone up. it then compares the results with sample data and rates the smile with numerical points.

>> reporter: the same worker can score vastly different points depending on his facial expression. the points are combined with the person's overtime and other irregular work data to comprehensively assess presumed stress and motivation levels. the idea is simple. the ai program alerts managers before workers take sick leave or quit. >> translator: managers can make a quicker initial response. there will be fewer cases in which they only realize their workers are in serious trouble after being told. >> reporter: this restaurant introduced the system in september. staff members have their photos taken every day when they arrive and before they leave. >> it's fun. >> translator: it's different from just punching time cards or writing down work logs. >> reporter: wataru sakamoto introduced the system. he works for the restaurant's parent firm. in japanan's tight labor markete

thought it would motivate workers and keep them on the job. sakamoto visited the restaurant's manager to check how the system is working. >> translator: how's it going? >> translator: i don't even need to interview workers. i just need a short, casual conversation to take care of them thanks to the face-reading program. >> reporter: it's been two months since the system was introduced, yet he feels it has already helped him improve his relationships with employees. >> translator: knowing more about workers helps retain them. and happier workers can help raise customer satisfaction.n. i feel everything is moving in the right direction. >> translator: workers communicate less because of the spread of workplace computers. artificial intelligence is helping to boost their motivation. as the technology expands in the

office, it will bring enormous changes to how we work and interact with each other. >> that's a a look at business, i'm going to leave you with the markets. police in tokyo think they found the cause of a weekend fire that left a 5-year-old boy dead. they say a hot lightbulb likely sparked a pile of woodchips at an outdoor art festival.

now they're questioning what safety measures were in place. nhk world has more. >> reporter: it's every parent's worst nightmare. a place that appears safe but hides a surprising and deadly danger. it happened sunday at a tokyo design week exhibition. the wooden jungle gym was part of the display, but the design by a group of university students may have contained a fatal flaw. police suspect that a hot incandescent lightbulb was to blame. one expert says it's possible. >> translator: the tememperatur of an incandescent lightbulb can rise to about 200 degrees celsius. it's highly likely that the heat generated by the bulb couould igninite the nearbyy woodchchip. >> r reporter: thehe designgner they had been using the light outside the structure, but on sunday they placed it inside.

that's where the 5-year-old boy was playing when the blaze started. his father and another man tried in vain to rescue him. both of them suffered burns. people have visited the site to offer prayers. >> translator: i can't say anything. >> translator: my child was also playing in the same exhibit about a week ago. >> r reporter: an official of t university held a press conference. >> translator: if you ask whether we had such safety measures in place, i would say no, we did not. >> reporter: an organizer of the event offered an apology and said safety measures are a challenge. >> translator: there are 600 art exhibits, and it's very hard to examine every one of them.

>> reporter: police are now looking into whether charges of manslaughter through professional negligence can be filed. chiaki ishikawa, nhk world, tokyo. nhk "newsline" comes to you live from our studios here in tokyo. as voter turnout is more critical than ever in what has become a tight race to the white house, weather conditions can be a decisive factor for voters not all that hell bent on going to the polls. jonathan oh has the weather outlook. >> well, it's a very interesting study. it was one of the more comprehensive studies done when it comes to comparing weather data and voter turnout. for every presidential election year since 1948 to the year 2000, all the county weather data was interpolated from 30,000 weather stations and also the voter turnout and how the of the voter shares took place in each of the counties. they were computed together to

give us interest data. one of the interesting pieces of data we got out of this is how much impact did rain and snow have in some of these locations? one of the numbers that caught the attention of those studying there in 2007 was in the 1972 presidential election in mississippi we saw rainfall that was 110.5 millimeters above the average. this is a daily precipitation average and this is how much rain fell on top of what was expected. when it comes to the estimated likely voters coming out, that dropped off by 3.8%. that was very significant. in terms of snow, back in 2000, it was a famous election in the nights, between george w. bush and al gore. at that time in new mexico in lincoln county they received snowfall that was 18.1 centimeters above average and that depressed turnout by 3.2%. it was a big change when it came to that and when it came to

people coming to the polls. looking at some of the years since 1948 for the election day for the presidential years a look at the estimated voters that are deterred by the precipitation, 1972, this was one of those years where we saw a lot of rainfall throughout the united states. we saw more than 300,000 people estimated that stayed home because of that precipitation. 1992, that was also a particularly big year. that was the year between george h.w. bush and bill clinton. and we see more than 500,000 -- close to 700,000 people likely deterred because of rain and snow. so, what does that mean for what's coming up on election day in the united states? now, we are looking at some scattered showers extending from the ohio river valley down toward texas. and also in portions of the deep south. down here we had hail reports on monday. we had severe thunderstorms in some locations and we have a

chance of seeing thunderstorms down into the south. that's going to be interesting. the far eastern areas looking at drier conditions, and then the mountain west, all of the areas central plains toward the west mainly dry except for the pacific northwest. some of the key locations i will be watching out for. concord, new hampshire, sunny skies, 16, very warm. over into cleveland, ohio, looking at showers, high of 18. warm into richmond and charlotte with highs in the 20s. 19 in utah as we go through election day. a quick look at what is happening over into japan. we are seeing a change in the weather pattern. much cooler conditions turning out with beautiful fall foliage in the area. these are pictures from the past week further up into the mountains. beautiful here. we are seeing the change of colors. now we are going to see a big drop in temperatures again. a cold front will be crossing through the area. lots of moisture behind this. because of the cold air moving over the sea of japan we are looking atat the possibilityf sea-effect snow picking up along the sea of japan side of the

country. be on the lookout for that. as this moves through, we look for temperatures dropping down. overnight lows will be dropping down to 8 degrees wednesday morning in tokyo. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

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>> on "france 24," as we cover the race for the white house. hello and welcome back to the "france 24" newsroom in paris. these are the headlines this hour. polling stations have opened their doors across the americas east coast as elections get under way to elect the country's next president. has a host ofn celebrities. donald called on americans to dream big. democrats