live from our studios here in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline" i'm james tengan. we start out with some of the quick stories we're following this hour. searching for survivors. rescue work is under way in indonesia's aceh province after a powerful earthquake rocked the region. >> i just want to thank you very much. thank you very much. making deals. the head of a japanese telecom

and internet giant meets with president-elect donald trump. and promises billions of dollars in investments. global test results. while japanese students are doing well in mathematics and science, they dropped in reading setting sail around the globe. auat a yachtman in japan becomes the latest in a race. 52 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured. the u.s. geological survey say the magnitude 6.5 quake struck around 5:00 wednesday morning. strong jolts went on for 15 seconds. they destroyed dozens of buildings near pidie near the epicenter. >> translator: i received reports about the quake this

morning and have instructed agencies to take action according to their authority. my presidential chief of staff will be heading there. rescuers fear many people are trapped under rubble. they're using heavy machinery to clear it away. the area was devastated 12 years ago by a huge earthquake and tsunami. the head of a japanese telecom giant has taken steps to boost its investment in the largest economy. with more on that and other stories. >> the chairman and ceo visited u.s. president donald trump at his home in new york city. son promised to invest more in i.t. ventures and create jobs in the country. >> this is masa of softbank of japan and just agreed to invest

$50 billion in the united states and 50,000 jobs. >> the investment will be made over the next four years. son says the money will come from a new fund he's setting up with a saudi arabia sovereign wealth fund. softbank has the potential size of $100 billion. >> i believe that the u.s. will become positive again for the growth. there will be much more job students, business students. it will be much more deregulated and it will, the people will be energized. >> son has already made large investments in the u.s. his company took over mobile carrier sprint and then tried to buy t-mobile u.s. but gave up. u.s. authorities expressed strong concern about the deal saying it would reduce competition. officials at the major japanese i.t. firm dena said

they're letting a third party company look at the contents on its website. following allegations that some of the allegations lack solid basis. the medical and health care web page. the president and ceo has apologized to users of their services for causing trouble. he says dena will fully cooperate with the third-party probe. the panel will look into the cause of problems and whether the websites were properly operated. other major i.t. firms including yahoo! japan and i.t. holdings have come under criticism for accuracy of some of the articles. turning to the markets, tokyo stocks advance after the dow jones posted another record high and boosted investor sentiment. more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> the gains on wall street stoke investor appetite for risk. in tokyo a weaker yen and markets ended higher for a second day.

let's see the closing levels for this wednesday, december 7th. the nikkei 225 close at 18,496. that's a one-week high. the broader topix gained 0.9%. the stock saw more than 6% after ceo met with u.s. president-elect donald trump. shares of financial traded higher following a rally in italian bank that came on the news that the government is to take a controlling stake in one of the country's troubled lenders. mitt sue beeshy ufj and sumitomo mitsui gained almost 1.5%. oil refinery ideitsu and both companies managed to end the day higher. the european central bank is in focus on thurz. many investment support the

bond. traders will also look from comment on the impact of italy's referendum on the euro zone. reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. moving on to the markets of the asian pacific. the shanghai composit snapping three days of losses. hong kong up 0.5%. sydney's index also advancing almost 1%. 5478 the closing number there. the country's third quarter gdp contracted. that weighed on the currency but investors bought stocks and hopes for government stimulus measures. the jakarta composit down and the strong earthquake in the northern part of samatra island dampened sentiment with most sectors ending down. here's a look at some of the other business news we're following.

a key index of the japanese economy has risen for the second straight month. the coincident index for october rose to 113.9. the officials say the upturn is due to orobust sales of automobiles and winter clothes. they say growing exports of smartphone parts to the asian markets was another factor. japanese oil wholesalers are considering a capital tie up. hold 24.9% of showa shell's e i equity under the plan. showa shell would obtain 25% of the shares through a takeover bid or by idemitsu issuing new shares. a business aviation trade fair got under way in the united arab emirates. showcasing their latest

technology. japan's honda jet is partacepating for the first time at the fair. company o officials s say their craft offers the best fuel efficiency among aircraft of the same grade. an official from brazil says demand for business jets will increase once crude oil prices recover. and from the skies to something more down to earth, a small town in japan is doing its part to attract investments. a group of plum farmers are sharing the secrets of their success. why so many people are coming to listen to them. >> reporter: in the mountains of southwest japan, oyama was once a poor farming village. now it's a tourist town, attracting a steady stream of visitors from around the world. last year alone, about 1,400 came, about half the town's population. the town recently hosted a group

of farmers from south korea who want to learn from their success. a local official tells them they need to do more than grow produce. >> translator: we produce, process and sell. it's about increasing income from limited farm land. >> reporter: the town has been developing its business model for decades. back in the 1960s it decided to switch from large farming to growing plants and chestnuts. farmers' income rose sharply. so much so they began a tradition of taking vacations to hawaii every year. but a real turnaround started in 1970. the e town began processing its crops. focusing on jams. over the years, oyama continued to find ways to generate higher profitits. in 1990, the cooperative opened its own market and restaurant.

it now operates ten stores. last year, sales rose to over $50 million. the farmers from south korea are keen to know more. some have seen their income decline with the rise of free trade, and thehey are worried about the future. >> translator: it was educational. i wasn't s sure about the busins model, but i learned a lot. >> translator: this system is taking off in south korea. i'm from a small town, that's why i joined the observation tour. >> reporter: despite its success, oyama is facing a new challenge. the town's population is declining. down 50% from the 1960s. the agriculture core is working on the next idea of a farming theme park. >> translator: it's a great view, isn't it?

it will be a great place. >> reporter: it has already chosen a site where it plans to grow 35,000 trees using a handful of varieties. the park will give visitors the hands-on experience of farming including harvesting trees. they are also planning to build hot spring resorts and museums. the idea is to make farming fun. the town hopes some visitors will decide to stay. >> translator: to achieve a dream, one must first plant the seeds. many farming villages in japan are suffering from declining population. people are leaving villages because they feel they cannot make a livining. we need to create villages where people can have fun and dream. agriculture cooperatives must help such efforts. > reporter: many rural communities are slow to embrace change. the farmers of oyama see it as another chchance to o grow.

nhk world. you can catch the report again online together with a full transcript. that's a look at business news. i'll leave you with the markets. zoo keepers in central japan say one of their black swans died tuesday and preliminary

tests suggest it had the bird flu virus. workers at the zoo noticed the swan appeared to be weakening but they couldn't save it. two other black swans died in the last eight days but they both tested negative for the virus. they will send samples from all three birds to a lab for further tests. there are no reports of the virus spreading to humans, but the zookeepers are taking precaution. they say they will close facilities where visitors have direct contact with birds. >> translator: we'll do everything we can, including disinfecting the area to prevent the virus spreading to other animals and outside the zoo. >> localal facilities will chec for dead wild birds within a ten-mile kilometer radius around the zoo. 650 kilometers away are taking preventative measures. yokohama is home to four zoos.

the operators of zoo asia are asking visitors to walk on disinfectant soap mats before entering. they're keeping the visitors away from pheasants and wild ducks. >> translator: we decided to cancel bird shows for the time being. >> and they canceled events to mark the coming of the zodiac rooster. farms else where in japan after some birds tested positive for avian flu. you can call it a global report card. it's an oecd assessment that ranks countries on the educational performance of their teenagers. while japan's teens are typically ranked close to the top, some people are worrieded about the latest results. nhk world's moshe komata has the story. >> reporter: every three years the oecd sends out the program for the international student assessment. it tests 15 year olds from

dozens of countries on science, math, reading and problem solving. 2015's grades are out. compared to their international peers, japanese students continue to rank high in math and science. but one score in particular is seen as cause for concern. japanese students dropped from fourth to eighth place on the reading test. experts and teachers are worried it's part of a trend that could get worse. they think today's digital world is hurting student vocabulary and also their comprehensive abilities. take this school in tokyo, for example. two years ago, they introduced tablets in the classroom. teachers say student motivation improved and so did grades. but they say there's a tradeoff. for one exercise, half of the

class didn't even give an answer when they were asked to write their opinion based on the information that was given. and here is one of the reasons. >> translator: the tablet and the internet give answswers instantly, so it makes accessing knowledge easier for students. but on the other hand, they don't have to work hard to get the right answer. so it prevents them from thinking. >> reporter: this expert says today's classroom makes things too easy for students, and that hurts their abilities. >> translator: you must get trained to access several sources, understand them, and then structure them by yourself. otherwise, you cannot write well. >> reporter: part of the answer toto the problem could be at th school. students are given short assignments througughout the w where they have to summarize

long articles. then they are asked to give opinions on what they read. teachers say the students here are performing better than the tokyo avererage. >> translator: now i'm able to read more easily while understanding while i write down what i wanted to say, i enjoy reading more. >> reporter: while giving general opinions can be helpful, this expert said it's not going far enough. he says critical thinking is absent. >> translator: logical thinking is important for children. it leads to original and creative ways to give one's opinion. education should focus on these aspects. >> reporter: the next round of international testing will come in 2018. this time the oecd wants to check if students are able to think critically about global

issues. for japanese students, if there's no change in the classroom, that could prove to be a pretty big challenge. moshe komata, nhk world, tokyo. a japanese yachtsman became the first asian to compete in an around the globe raut race that many consider the ultimate challenge in sailing. donovan ranol has the story. >> reporter: he is 49 years old and travel across the ocean. at the age of 26, he became the youngest sailor to complete a solo around the world. this is his first attempt around the globe. he arrived in france seven

months ahead of the race to prepare. >> translator: i always wanted to take part in this race. this is the only yacht race in the world in which y you can ta on the whole planet by yourself. >> reporter: the yacht start from the french port of and head for the frozen hemisphere and and a journey of more than 40,000 kilometers. he takes about three months. sailors have to keep their boats in all kinds of weather and have little time to sleep. they're not allowed to start or ask for help except in emergencies. most of the time, about half the boats retire before the finish. he loads his yacht with supplies. the food alone weight 150

kilogram. the population of 40,00000, butt this time, evevery four years, almost 2 million people turn up to watch the event. today a lot of people are coming from all over the world came to see the boat and try to meet its keepers. the sailors report three times a week. hi r report showewed h his yht sailing smththly. the equator celebrating in japanese stylyl and on day 2525 he hadad to c c

to the top of the mast too fix some equipment. despite that,, hee seemed toto n good spirits. but two days later, disaster struck. he reported a broke on mast. on sunday, he told organizers he was retiring from the race. >> translator: unfortunately, i have had to pull out of this fun day globe. i would like to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me. >> reporter: it's not the end that he hoped for, but remains an inspiration to all the other sailors. donovan raynal, nhk world, paris. japanese musician and d compososer ryuichi sakamoto has

been nominated for a grammy. he is up for best score sound track in the visual media category together with german musician novovoto. sakamoto won a grammy in 1989 and he also won an oscar and a golden globe for that movie. he's best known for his soundtrack and acting role in the 1983 film with david bowie "merry christmas mr. lawrence." he was nominated in 1995 for his film. the winners will be announced in los angeles on february 12th. during the winter months, cities across china grapple with air pollution, but the city of light is seeing a substantial drop of air quality and coming up with measures to tackle the issue.

>> several steps officials are trying to take in terms of trying to shift the number of people who are using cars into public transit system and also trying to tell folks to stay home with a certain pattern that they have in place in order to reduce the amount of cars on the roadway. let me show you some video out of paris to give you an idea of the situation there. it may not look particularly impressive. if you look to the higher sections of the video. the haze taking place. the second highest alert level in paris. banned vehicles with odd number license plates and drivers were also encouraged to share with other folks in terms of car sharing rides and to reduce their speeds on the city's main routes and the subway was free for all passengers. so getting people into public transit so that they're not on the roadway. it looks like in terms of the weather side of things, we're not going to see a lot of help. the reason why we're seeing things getting worse is because high pressure has been dominating the weather for a

good portion of europe, especially over france. when you have high pressure with calmer conditions and the winds not really moving around and no rain coming into the picture, it tends to make things a little more difficult, especially if there's a cap type situation where we're not seeing air able to escape from the city. so we look forward into the day on owednesday and possibly into thursday. lookss like more calm weath will be in place. we have to watch and see maybe by the weekend we'll see a low pressure system out of the atlantic. maybe come in and bring some showers into the picture and hopefull t that wilill help eas the situation. further up to the north and east, we do have some snow once again coming into the picture. moscow looking at snow for wednesday. staying below freezing. and rain into stockholm and sunny into paris with a high of 13. as you look at the forecast for north america, we are starting to see things dry down towoward ththe deep southth in the unite states. but up towards the upper midwest, we had a decent amount of snow herere over into portio

of northth dakota. we saw a report of 40 centimeters of snow falling on the day tuesday. we look at what's happening for the weather scenario across the united states and also into canada. a low pressure system continues to move north into the great lakes and that will bring rain and even the possibility of snow. temperatures chilly in the northeastern areas of the united states. back towards the west, we have a couple areas of low pressure system rolling through. chance for more snowfall into places like colorado and nebraska and also into kansas. meanwhile, another low pressure system bringing in the possibility of freezing rain along the west coast. be on the lookout for that freezing rain. just a nasty scenario and you can't get any traction in those cases. try to stay home if at all possible. looking at very chilly conditions along the eastern seaboard and looking at temperatures down into the single digits for new york and 10 in d.c. and atlanta at 14 and snow in denver with a high of 10 below zero. now, wrap things up with a look

at east asia. a decent amount of snowfall over the past four hours. saw 24 centimemeters of snowfal. we havave more possible sea efft snow in place and this is not thee end of the story, n not ju for thursday, but another system possibly moving into thursday and the weekend. more snowfall into the northern portions of japan. tokyo looking at a slight warm up with a high of 14 degrees on thursday. 6 in beijing. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

and with that we conclude this hour's nhk "newsline." be sure to watch xxxxxxxxx÷o÷o÷ñ

♪ host: this is "france 24." time now for 60 minutes live around the world. these are the headlines. syrian army takes more than a quarter of territory previously held by rebels and aleppo. the number of people who are run from the ravaged city now tops 80,000. france's prime minister wrapped up his first ever cabinet meeting. he takes over from the man who quit the job yesterday to focus on his presidential campaign.