welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm kanako sachno. japan and south korea have signed an agreement aimed at improving their response on threats from north korea. the pact is expected to speed up the sharing of information. officials from japan and south korea signed the general security and military information agreement on wednesday. japan has similar pacts in place

with the united states and india. the deal strengthens cooperation between the two countries against the backdrop of repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests by north korea. previously information on pyongyang's activities was channelled through the u.s. japanese foreign minister fumio kishida called the pact extremely meaningful. >> translator: i hope this agreement will enable ththe japanese and south korean governments to share security-relatated information more quickly and smoothly. >> officials witith the south korean defense ministry said they expect the deal to enhance their surveillance capabilities and response to provocations from the north. it faced resistance from opposition lawmakers in south korea. they claim the government forced the agreement through without sufficient discussion. a japanese ground self-defense force unit arrived in south sudan on monday.

for a peacekeeping mission. the security situation is tense in south sudan's capital of juba. the sdf members have been given expanded duties that allow them for the first time to use weapons to defend people, inincluding aide workersrs. >> i'm happy they are coming and we pray that they y continue giving us the gogood security i south sudan. >> the peacekeeping is something people think has failed. they say the u.n. has not done enough to protect the citizens. >> more than 270 people were killed in july in clashes between forces loyal to the president and anti-government forces. an nhk crew h has claimed that halted and destroyed buildings were seen in manany places. governmentnt troops were on hig alert for possible attacks. the japanese group will build roads and carry out other duties

while carefully monitoring the security situation. a non-governmental organization says the number of people killed or injured by land mines rose sharply last year to more than n 6,000. the international campaign to ban land mines released its annual report on tuesday. it says nearly 6,500 people were killed or wounded d by land nen anand other explosive remnantst war in 2015. 75% more than the previous year. there were 18 victims a day on average and 38% werere children. the report attributes the sharp rise in casualties to conflicts in syria, yemen, and other countries. it says most of the land mines wereaiaid by insurntnts and terrorort organizations, including the islamic state militant group. the international community reduced financial support for land mine reremoval and victim assistance. the group warns it may not be able to continue providing

sufficient aid to victims. the trial of muslim cleric and members of his group has begun at a high criminal court in ankara, turkey. authorities charged that he e a 72 other defendants organized a terrorist group and trieied to topple the government. the charges are not related to an aborted military coup in july in which more than 240 people died, but it appears to be closely linked to ongoing investigations into the failed coup. he lived in self-imposed exile in the united states. the u.s. government has not complied with turkish demands to extradite him. the situation has led to chilly relations between turkey and the u.s. the two nato members are allies in the fight against militants in iraq and syria. a south korean court ruled in favor of five people who sued

a japanese firm for forcing them into hard labor in world war ii. the seoul central district court upheld the claims of the plaintiff against machinery maker. the firm is based in central japan. the judges ordered the company to pay $101 million, about $8$85,000 too each person. japan maintains that all indivialal compsation clas we settled in 1965 when the countries normalized tieded. but the supreme court ruled in 2020 that individual relatives have the right to sue. japanese firms have since lost several suits brought against them in south korea and more cases are pending. foreign businesses are

rushing into myanmar forcing competition this time among cell phone providers. nhk world tells us what kind of services are set to win the hearts of the people there. >> reporter: ownership is growing at an astonishing rate in myammar. as of two years ago only 10% of people used cell phones. but now the percentage has soared to 90 in an explosive burst of growth. >> translator: i can live without a girlfrfriend, but not without my smartphone. >> reporter: a city's entrance to the market. myanmar by a state-run company followed by firms from qatar and

norway. all of them scrambling for larger market share. been gaining new subscribers. in a bid to secure a larger customer base, the company has launched a simple smartphone base service. >> the reason they're using our service is because it's coverage everywhere and very high quality. >> reporter: pitted against mpt which has partnerred with japanese telecom communications and trading companies. it is about to launch 4g high-speed internet service. at thiss shopping mamall, subscribibers will be able to u this service to connect to the internet at speeds more than five times faster than conventional services can offer.

the carrier plans to launch the new service across the country at areas beginning of next year. by taking advantage of the high-speed 4g system, the company also wants to provide music download services. by offering popular downloadable content including korean dramas, it ames to differentntiate itse from its competitors. >> translator: japanese businesses know how to createe and propose new services. that's what i want to promote in myanmar. >> reporter: with the entry, markets in myanmar are evolving quickly. the key to success is how to offer more attractive subsidies

than the competitors. nhk world. business leaders are in myanmar are looking for new opportunities and they paid a visit to a new industrial site. shareman of the chamber of commerce of industry and 12 other members visited on in yangon on tuesday. 39 japanese firms currently operate there. the business leaders inspect ee factory operated by a steel processing company. managers plan to expand the complex to about 100 so it can accommodate more factories. >> this compmplex has great potential. lots of japanese firms already operate there and it plays a key role in supporting the

development of myanmar. >> myanmar's economy is growing by about 8% a year, this is due in part to the increasing number ofoforeign comompanies that started operating there since economic reforms in 2011. south korea is still number one in the world for highest internet usage in relation to its population. this is the second year in a row that the country has ranked top. iceland came in second followed by denmark, switzerland and britain. japan placed tenth. one notch higher than last year. the international telecommunication union on tuesday released its annual index of 175 countries in the region. the ranking is based on access to and use of mobile devices on the internet, as well as large speed data communications.

the united states ranked 15th and china placed 81st. the report says about half the world's population were about 3.5 billion people could have access to the internet by the end of the year. a sharp increase from about 2 billion in 2010. japanese weather officials say they continue to detect seismic activity off fukushima prefecture. they're warning people t that anotother tremor of the same strength could strike withinn te next seven days. the officials say they divert 85 quakes registeringng 1 or highe on the japanese intensity scale of 0 to 7 by 11:00 a.m. on wednesday. tuesday's quake caused a 1.4 meter tsunami in northeastern

japan. that's the highest in the country since a huge earthquake struck the country in 2011. fisherman on wednesday checked for damage. they said that nearly half of the 700 seaweed conservation were piled up or had become enta entangled with one another. >> translator: i w was surprise when i saw the damage. it will take a long time to recover. >> fishermen are still feeling the effects of the disaster five years ago. he said the seaweed crop had been good this year and he feels disappointed. others recalled the most recent catastrophe. >> translator: we're still rebuilding frorom the powerful typhoon that hit the area earlier this year. the disasters keep coming. i need a break. >> fishermen at another port worked t to salvage a ship capsized by tsunami waves. they were also trying to recover

its anchor. the earthquake also affected nuclear power facility. the miyagi plants were shaken. >> reporter: nowow heree is an executive. he spoke at a hastily arranged news conference e on tuesday morning. >> reporter: fukau shima daiichi suffffered b both plantss were 5 minunutes after the quake. >> translator: no reports with the workers at either plant. they have confirmed to be safe.

>> reporter: the work they had already started at fukushima workers had to evacuate to higher ground. all emergency steps had gone smoothly at diiachi. but that wasn't the case at fukushima. a cooling system for nuclear fuel shut down for over 90 minutes. more than 2,500 rods of nuclear fuel are stored in a pool of one of the reactor buildings. they must be constantly cooled by water or they will heat up, again. it is a temperature as it rises unchecked, there could be a meltdown. water is kept circialiating through the cooling system. the overflow goes into the surge tank. when a sensor in the tank

detects a drop in the water level, the flow is automatically shut off to prevent possible leaks. this time there was a false reading. the water insidide thehe tank w sloshing around, but the senseer read it as a drop in the level. the pump shut off ten minutes after the jolt. >> translator: the building where the pool is shook. so the water inside the pool was disturbed. the detector sensed a drop in the water level, which actually was the water sloshing around. and this caused the cooling system to stop. >> reporter: tepco said there were no leaks anywhere. it said the temperature of the spent fuel rose by 0.2 degrees while the cooling system was off and added it is now falling back to normal. a power failure temporarily knocked out a monitor that

measures the level of radio active materials around the plant. many of japan's nuclear plants remain off line, but they all have massive amounts of nuke ler fuel to keep safe. this case is showing us, once again, how difficult this important task can be. takafumi . a plant in southwestern japan back online. they're seeking to restart two of its. the japanese government and local authorities have drawn up an evacuation plan for residents around the plant. under the plan, approximately 8,100 people living within five kilometers of the plant will be evacuated beyond the 30 kilometer radius in the case of an accident. residents living on 16 remotileeneds within the 30

kilometer radius will be evacuated by boat. the nuclear regulation authority effectively approved the safety measures foror the plplant's nu three and number fouour rereact earlrr this month. the nra scheduled to finalize its decision after hearing public comments. the fifth commercial nuclear plant in japan to reach this stage since new government requirements were introduced after the fukushima diiachi accident in 2011. nra officials have approved assessments by japanese power companies checking the durarability of steel component for their nuclear plants. thee officicials a asked 11 uts across japan to check components made with forged steel. forged steel with a high carbon content is relatively fragile. after reviewing their records, all firms reported back last month t that the steel componen

containened the correrect propon of carbon. thee move came after safety concerns grerew in frarance whe steel used in reactor walls was found too be weaker than expepected. the japanese reacactors usedd ps made with the same steel. the authority also plans to review the inspection method so the amount of carbon for nuclear part components can be more accurately measured. the cost of hosting the 2020 olympics and paralympics in tokyo could amount to 2.5 times the original estimate. sources told nhk the latest estimate organized by the committee stands at around $18 billion. major items such as the construction of venues and

security expenses are projected to cost about $11 billion. that figure doesn't include operational costs for the athlete's villages and other expenditures. the c cost of hosting the games was initially assessed at $7.2 billion when tokyo was in competition to be the host city. the tokyo organizing committee said comparing the two estimates is not appropriate since the initial figure didn't include security, transporfagz atation tokyo and the central government are responsible for. the committee plans to discuss ways to cut costs in meetings with the tokyo and central governments, as well as the international olympic committee later this month. for people with intellectual

disabilities finding work and living independent can be a challenge. a program that can help them do just that. >> reporter: confront an evil snake in a japanese myth. theatrical dance. people in the area of western japan have been performing it fofor centurieies. >> translator: it was amazing and powerful. >> reporter: players on this stage are members of a local welfare facility and many of them have intellectual disabilities. the center has been encouraging them to perform for 30 years. plays one of the key roles. handling the snake cost umwhile

moving. he finds it difficult to communicate with others. but working with his fellow performers has helped him grow and now he also speaks up. >> translator: i get hyped up when i perform. it makes life fun. >> reporter: the confidence he gains from the stage helps him start living independently. in april he was hired by a building managemenent company aa janitor. his boss sayays oka has a posite attitude about his job and picks things up quickly. >> translatotor: he communicate well with other members of staff and i believe he's a good team player. >> reporter: people at the facicility not only perform, th also make costumes and props. their work has gained a good reputation and trips around the

country. this brings in nearly $1 million a year, which helps the craftsmen remain independent. >> translator: their a ability concentrate and to work with others grows through the performance and production process. the confidence and even the money they receive is a great encouragement to them. >> reporter: in fact, the efforts of oka have been so successful they have been invited to an art festival in france in october next year. they are now working hard to improve their performance. >> i'm nervous because it will be my first appearance abroad. but i'm looking forward to it. >> reporter: performing art tradition is a great source and also helping people with intellectual disorders find a

place for themselves in the local community. people in central japan are preparing for the possibility of snow on thursday. jonathan oh is here with a look at the forecast. jonathan, how likely is it that we'll be seeing some snow? >> it looks like we'll be contending with some wintry weather as far south as we go throughout the day thursday. it's something that gets people a little bit excited around this part of the country. further towards hokkaido you get snow around this time of year. but the difference further down to the south is the fact that we have a lot of cold air now being pushed in from the north and that's where we are going to see that change. coming up on thursday morning, we're going to see that cold air really try to push its way into the areas and ovever the mountains. so, because of this, we're lookining at the chance that wel

see see snow into metro tokyo. flurries, i don't know about accumulation. how much snow starts to fall and how cool it gets. the chance is there. up to five centimeters is possible even into the metro portions of tokyo. look at this further towards the west and into the western areas of tokyo and the prefectures you're looking at ten centimeters or up to ten centimeters possible. going to the mountains, you can see up to 20 centimeters of snowfall. the only tiny little issue is when you have that type of snow coming into the area, it causes a little bit of commuting problems in terms of traveling problems. that's something that people have to look out for as they go into thursday. snow for south tokyo and, look at this. 4 degrees for the high on thursday. it's going to be chilly. make sure you bundle up. 10 degrees f for fridaday in to and slowly warmingng up as we g towards the weekend. now, as we look at the forecast down south of the united statat, we are keepingng an e eye o on

hurricane.e. this iss a categorory 1 storm a it is continuing to move towards the westt over somome of thehe sosouthern p portions of centra america. lots of rainfall, though, as this system continues to push towards the west. it is suspected to stay over the area for the n next few days. becacause of this, somome place could see 200 millimeters of rarainfall and flooding could ba bit of an issue. for those of you living in the area, make suree you are prepard and keep paying attention because as we go throughout thursday, friday and maybe even into saturday as the system continues to move its way towards the west, it could be a bit of an issue. now, moving back towards north america, we're looking at the busiest travel day of the holiday season. taking place wednesday. we have a little bit of a potential travel issue because of low pressure system that is coming out of the central plains and that is bringing in some busy, stormy activity possible as we go throughout the day on wednesday. and that's going to be a bit of an issue for those trying to

travel through places like m minneapolis and chicago. snow is possible further up to the north and thunderstorms and snow c concerns over to the rockies and into the pacific northwest we're looking at some wet weather. some thunderstorms possible down to the deep south. some of them may be strong. that's also a bit of a possible travel headache. chilly along the eastern seaboard. 7 new york, 10 in d.c. and vancouver and seattle and as we go into thanksgiving day, we're looking at sunny skies over towards the west. but a big contrast here. 13 degrees and 1 degree and then right along the seaboard as we go through thanksgiving day. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline."o#qñ

>> time for 60 minutes live around the world. these are the headlines. two former french prime minister's fight for votes in the final round of the conservative presidential primary. the previous favorite is trying to pick up to the a group -- trying to play catch-up to the big round one winner. u.s. president-elect donald trump seems to be backing off of his more controversial campaign positions, hinting at softening