it's a thursday night here in japan i'm james tengan. a senior white house official has welcomed a new intelligence sharing pact. the agreement will allow tokyo, seoul and washington to boost cooperation which will help counter threats posed by north korea. in a statement, ned price says the u.s. will continue to work closely with its asian pacific allies otowards denuclearizing the korean peninsula.

his country may push had u.n. security counsel to impose on the north. the nuclear and ballistic missile programs through the u.s. the new pact will allow for direct exchanges between them. it's expected to speed up information sharing and sharpen responses to north korea's activities. many south koreans are opposed to the pact. another reason they're upset at their president, park geun-hye involving a long-time friend. prosecutors have issued another request to interrogate park, this time by next tuesday. the president's lawyer has refused repeated requests. prosecutors have raided some conglomerates and the headquarters of the national pension service. they seized computer hard drives, cell phones and other materials. they expect samsung donated large amounts of money to two

foundations and a company linked to park's friend. the donations are allegedly in return for help from the presidential office in a merger deal. two of park's former aides were indicted on sunday to abuse the president's power as well as fraud. park is unlikely to comply with the latest request from investigators. the general prosecutors plan to continue their investigation until a special prosecutor begins work as early as next month. the individual will have more investigative powers and will be independent. the mayor of hiroshima has urged the government to lead talks to ban weapons. the committee approved negotiations on a legally binding treaty. japan voted against it. >> translator: japan is the home of the only atomic bomb cities

hiroshima and that's the reason japan is in a unique position to push for a nuclear-free world. >> he handed a letter of appeal to foreign minister on thursday. matsui said it's regrettable it opposed the talks. an agreement between nuclear and nonnuclear states is needed to abolish atomic weapons. japan has been consistent in its position to act as a bridge between the two sides. kishida will work notions in march and work towards that. tokyo stocks continue their bull run following record highs on wall street. >> the nikkei closed higher for the sixth in a row.

here's a report from the tokyo stock exchange. >> major currencies on expectations that the federal reserve would raise the key interest rate in december. this had many traders here picking up stocks. let's see the closing levels for this thursday, november 24th. the nikkei added 0.9%. that's the highest finish since early january. the broader topix advance adding more than 0.8%. the dollar climbed above the 113 yen level for the first time in eight months. the stronger than expected durable goods order helps support the rise. export related shares in japan. we saw automaters close sharply higher. still related stocks also outperformed on the strong u.s. economy would increase demand. it's the thanksgiving holiday in the u.s. on thursday, so we may see a quieter trading day in

tokyo on friday. phoebe reporting from the stock oexchange. asian pacific region stock prices were lackluster and the rising dollar and the prospect of higher interest rates in the u.s. had investors there worried about capital outflows. indonesia slipping by 2% and singapore index inching up higher, higher by just 1.4%. 2843 for the closing number. downgraded gdp outlook for 2016 after confirming the economy contracted in the third quarter. 1971 the closing number amid the country's deepening political crisis. media outlets reported that they raided the offices for allegedly giving to foundations linked to president park's long-time friend. for visitors to japan, the language barrier can turn a simple task that is such as grocery shopping into a major

headache. but help is on the way in the form of a smartphone app that explains product details in 15 languages. they already started testing it out in tokyo. consumers can use it to get information about daily necessities in english, chinese and other languages. by scanning a mark on the wrapping they can find out what the ingredients are and if they include allergens.s. the app relies on t the very latest image recognition technology. >> translator: so that foreign customers can buy them without worrying. >> the firms plan to run more tests and will start phasing in the system across the tokyo area

by march 2018. executives with japanese telecom giant softbank are preparing for a future when everyday items are connected to the internet. they are using mobile phone stations to test the networking technology that can support the so-called internet of things. softbank's trial the first of its kind in japan. the narrow band technology is already standard in europe and other parts of the world and while it may not be fast, it is energy efficient. the test involves a scenario where a person uses a smartphone to search for parking space and pay the fee. other japanese carriers are planning to adopt the same narrow band technology. the three carriers aim to begin services in the fiscal year that begins in april 2017. here's a look att some off e other business stories we're following. japan's trade minister is calling for cooperation to set

opliquefied natural gas market in tokyo by the first half of the 2020s. told an international conference in tokyo that producers and consumer should look at ways to create a flexible and transpsparent market. japan is keen to stabilize prices a as the largest importe of lng. cover losses and virtual currency insurance and protection for up to $9 million. losses from cyberattacks and unauthorized accesses starting this month. other japanese insurers are considering launching similar products. a jpnies company is developing robotic legs to help people with spinal injuries walk again. the developer is motivated by

the smiles and the faces of those who wear the devices. >> reporter: these are the robotic legs. when worn by people with spinal injuries, they help them stand up and walk with a push of a buttonp a robot company in prefecture developed the legs. his company is partly drivenn b the s surge foror new business opportunities. >> reporter: the basic technology of ropottics uses sensors. i wanted to use the technology and apply it to a new area. >> reporter: a university hospital asked the company to develop a walk assist robot. the hospital has been strug tool find good rehabilitation equipment for the disabled.

>> translator: when i try to stand up, i can't. help me up. >> reporter: a patient can stand up with help. but walking is tricky. he came up with the idea of installing motors in the joints of the equipment to make the legs move. he stududied how the abled body walk. >> translator: i gather data on ankle and knee angles and the relationshship between those angles and the movement of the hip joint. >> reporter: his researchers concluded that motors are needed in the hip joints, knees and ankles. they adjusted the strength of the motors so the joints could bend smoothly. it took nine years to make robotic legs that everyone was satisfied with. then it was time to test them. the university hospital has been

conducting clinical trials for three years. university student damaged his spine in a car accident. he uses the legs and rehabilitation. >> translator: i'm more motivated than before to walk. i hope to be able to go to places like restaurants t that often have s stairs. >> t translator: the expressionn the faces of patients who stand up and walk for the first time or start walking faster, well, they look so happy. my dream is that they will one day be able to use the legs in the home and as part of their daily lives. >> reporter: will he realize his dreams? he says he will continue trying to climb the technological steps towards perfection. one day he hopes his robotic

legs will help the disabled to lead normal lives. >> and 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. china's state-run media says that 67 people are dead after a scaffolding collapsed in the eastern part of ththe country. the news agency says the

accident happened in fengcheng. a work platform tumbled down. about 70 people were believed to be at the site. beng ludash is trying to secure its border to stop a flow of muslims who are fleeing escalating violence in myanmar. the foreign minister summoned on wednesday to express concern over the situation. reuters news agency quotes the u.n. as saying up to 30,000 people have been displaced. aide workers told the agencncy that a at least 500 crossed the border to bangladesh from myanmar since the weekend. >> translator: i don't know where my wife and children are. i somehow was able to cross the border to save my life. so, if there is peace again in our country, i hope t to go bac. >> some of the refugees are feared to have drowned after their boaoat sank as they were trying to cross a river.

>> we try to file illegal crossing and the boundary in this area. >> more than 80% of myanmar's population is buddhist but it accounts for a large proportion. torching homes and killing civilians. myanmar's government denies the accusations. it's stepping up a security operation since attacks on its border post months ago left nine police officers dead. human rights monitors say they're growing alarmed at the growing security situation in south sudan. a new report by human rights watch says fighting between the south sudanesese government ana rebels is worsening.

killing ofof civilians and rape are on the rise. the u.n. has a peacekeeping mission in the country. >> officers that were part of the patrol reported that there were a lot -- there was a lot of devastation. our reports reveal an awful lot of atrtrocities had occurred o the ground. >> t fighting flflared up again in july. mostly in the southern border area. it's concentrated in the southern border area. the capital juba is mostly calm. that's where japanese peacekeepers are stationed. a replacement team arrived earlier this week. they have a new task. armed rescue of u.n. personnel and others that come under attack. that wasn't previously allowed under japan's old laws. u.s. president-elect donald trump is diversifying his team. his appointments had all been white men but in his latest he named women to two key positions, despite their criticism of him during his campaign.

trump appointed nikki haley to be ambassador to the u.n. on wednesday. she's the governor of south carolina and is of indian decent. during the presidential race, haley slammed trump over various policies, including immigration. she also called him unfit to be president. trump also announced he was nominating betsy devos as education secretary. a former chair of michigan's republican party. she had also been critical of trump. lewd comments by trump about women emerged during the campaign and tarnished his image. the two female nominations are seen as an attempt to reconcile wi b both menn a mainn streaeam repuicicans. >> w w beginoo heal our divisionanand me forwd as on country. this h historicolitical campaign is now over. bu now begins a great national

campai to rebuild our countr t trumps now working on more cabibinet appointments while spending the thanksgiving holiday with his family in florida. president barack obama also called for national unity during his final thanksgiving tradition of pardoning turkeys. >> and while accepting our differences and building a diverse society, it has never been easy, it has never been more important. we h have a lot more in common than divides u us. >> in hiss speech obama pointed to some of his achievements including creatating jobs s and unemployment rate. expressed gratitude to the american people for placing their trust in him. a handwritten poem by ann frank has sold at auction for 140,000 euros or around $150,000. the poem is separate from her writing published later as the famous book, "diary of a young girl."

>> the auction was held in the netherlalands on wednesday.. the successful bid was well over an original estimate. the poem was written in dutch in 1942 when frank was 12 years old. it's addressed to a sister of one of her best friends at school. the eight-line verse is about the importance of working hard at school. it says the best answer to criticism is to do a better job. it includes in memory from anne frank. it's dated march 28, 1942, three months before anne and her family went into hiding. anne wasas later captured and t to a concentration camp in germany. she died there at the age of 15. the poem is attracting widespread interest. few other manuscripts handwritten by frank are known to exist.

a professional board game player in japan has scored what has become an increasingly rare victory. he came out on top against an artificial intelligence program. the grandmaster in the ghost series took on his opponents in a three-game faceoff in tokyo. >> translator: i cannot lose against the computer. >> reporter: legendary player in japan. he became professional at just 11 years old and won the record 74 titles. his 50 years of playing he never faced an opponent like this. artificial intelligence program. the program was developed b by researchers, specifically for playing him. and they teamed up with the university of tokyo and the i.t. company for the first h human a

match in japan with no handicap. it is a traditional, strategic board game. the two players take turns putting white or black stoness n the grid and the game is won by whoever has control of the most territory. computers have topped the best human players at most of the games, including chess. but with it being far more complicated, critics predicted human players would have the advanta advantage. in march, the program made a breakthrough beating a master from south korea. after the match, japanese ai researchers thought developing a program using technology called deep learning. they are far behind google's success, but in just six months, they made great ststrides. and they put their program to the test in this ththree-game nailbiting series.

he won the first match. struck back to claim the second. it a all came down to the final game where ai tookhe leadd b by using big data. a data base of professional matches. halflfway through, he began dominating the match and after three hours acknowledged defeat. >> translator: the matches were very meaningful for us. we learned what we should fix in order to get stronger. >> translator: i felt as if i was playing with a human. it was really strong in somome paparts of the game. >> reporter: cho says if the a gets better, the human players will be able to study a new approach from computers and can reach to new heights.

nhk world, tokyo. you're watching nhk "newsline." people in japan have been taken by surprise at the wintry conditions spreading across the country's northern and eastern areas. old man winter isn't following the calendar and bringing early snow and sleet. people in tokyo woke up to their first white november in more than 50 years. it's also the first time snow has settled on the ground at this time of year in well over a century. >> translator: it's still the season for autumn leaves and it's snowing. >> translator: i'm worried that the trains will stop on my way home. >> some people in the tokyo suburbs went out to clear roads and walkways of as much as 6 centimeters of accumulated snow. >> translator: i'm surprised to see this much snow pile up early in the day. >> the snow had disrupted some train services and at least a

dozen people sustained injuries as they slipped and fell on icy surfaces. and more than 15 car accidents were reported. electricity consumption soared to 95% of capacity as heheing demand rose due to the unusually cold weather. for us here in tokyo the forecast calls for fair and partly cloudy skies with a current temperature reading of 2 degrees celsius or 35 degrees fahrenheit. for the latest in weather, jonathan oh joins us with this hour's update. >> looks like at least for this particular round the snow has ended. in fact, most of the precipititation looks like it h wrapped up at this point. but who knows. maybe we'll look forward into the rest of winter and see what takes place. if you want to see more snowfall, go up to the north. plentyty of sea-effect snow tak place here. look at these streaks coming over the sea of japan and moving into hokkaido region of japan.

we are expecting those areas to be contending with more snow. for us here in tokyo, the rain and snow factor, the maker, is the low pressure system that has pushed further toward the east. so a lot of that is wrapping up. still a misty situation possible outside from time to time and maybe a few flakes possible especially for the higher elevations. but most of the winter precipitation is gone, just for now. but the cold weather's here to stay. that's really the big key in this whole situation. we had a low pressure system bring in all that moturere, but then a a surge of cold air that covered from the surface level all the e way to the sky. that hpeped to cryrystallize an bring big snow flakes from time to time during the daytime hours. most of that now is starting to wrap up. to the west, we're looking at a drier pattern, but still seeing a little bit of a northerly flow. that's going to help keep temperatures a bit cool as we go foforward timime. i do want to p point out there

a tropical system down toward the philippines. look outut for thihis system as moves closer and closer toward the west. and then also getting closer to luzon eventually. you're going to be dealing with the rainfall from this system. to be on the lookout for that. chilly coming up on friday, not as cold, though. 10 in tokyo with sunny skies. 6 6 for the high in beijing. rain from shanghai to taipei throughout friday. look at the forecast down through central america. we're keeping an eye on hurricane otto. it is a category 1 system. it is about to make landfall. as it continues to move to the west, it's going to be a slow mover. we're looking at the possibility of this system becoming a prolonged weather event for thursday, friday evening, into portions of saturday. the next few days look at rainn totals inching closer towards that 200 millimeter mark, especially for the coastal areas of the atlantic. as it moves into the pacific, that's when things should taper off. meanwhile, up into the north in

the united states, thanksgiving day is here. it is a big holiday for the americans. we are looking at some wet conditions along the eastern seaboard. it's going to help destabilize the weather system along the atlantic coast. so you need to look out for wet weather, especially ifif you're preparing th tururkey outstside. highgh pressurure will be controlllling the weather to th west. keep things relatively dry. we do have another low pressure system coming into the pacific northwest. and that's going to bring a chance for rain along the coastal areas maybe even some snowfall for the higher elevations. here's a look at the thanksgiving feast forecast. california, sunny skies. utah looking at chilly conditions. sunny skies with a high of 2. south dakota may be dealing with snow flakes and some snow. look at this along the eastern seaboard from new york state down toward west virginia looking at wet weather to snowy weather. georgia with a high of 26 under partly cloudy skies. 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 the show, thank you for watching. o#qñ

genie: this is france 24. time for 60 minutes live around the world. i'm genie godula. these are the headlines. the european parliament votes to freeze membership talks with turkey. the turkish president says the nonbinding vote is of no value. iraqi troops say they have surrounded the islamic state group stronghold in mosul. the i.s. still holds a key tow