it's 7:00 p.m. on a monday here in japan i'm james tengan. the u.s. military has resumed flight of a controversial aircraft in southern japan following a crash landing. the move is reigniting anger over the osprey's deployment in oklahomak now wu.

japan's defense ministry had requested the stop of flights until safety was confirmed. >> translator: the u.s. military confirms that they have checked every osprey they have and made sure nothing is wrong. so, i understand their decision to resume operations today. >> but the nago mayor says it's unacceptable. >> translator: i have no choice but to say that protecting people in oak nkinawa. >> osprey were involved in a series of deadly accidents in recent years.

the japanese government decommission a prototype reactor. meant to play a key role to recycle japan's nuclear fuel but plagued by safety problems for decades. officials met with a local governor on monday. they pointed out it would take at least eight years and cost more than $4.5 billion to resume operations. they say instead they want to develop a new reactor in cooperation with france. they also intend to make the area around the monju reactor nuclear research and development center. the local governor says he's not happy and urged the central government to reconsider its decision. >> i don't think there has been enough discussion on the challenges facing monju. this decision has been made far too hastily. >> since the trial run it only operated for 250 days and run up costs of more than $9 billion. an atomic bomb survivor in

hur sheema has received a thank you note for u.s. president barack obama. sent a letter to the u.s. leader prior to his may visit to the western japanese city. the first u.s. president to pay respects in hiroshima. she welcomed his visit. she enclosed the book of poems by an american poet. the letter of thanks from obama arrived last tuesday. obama's letter reads, as long as more people take the time to understand the past with compassion i am confident a brighter future lies ahead. >> mr. obama want to eradicate nuclear arms. we are on the same page. i want him to seek joint action with us. >> she hopes obama will continue

to take action on nuclear weapons after his time as president. the woman at the center of the oulth korean political scandal has denied all charges in a seoul court. testified during the first day of a corruption trial that includes two former presidential aides. the hearing was chez first public appearance since her arrest last month. led to park's impeachment. h choi has been -- pressured companies into donating $65 million to two nonprofit foundations. prosecutors say choi was running the foundations at park's request. choi told the hearing at first she was willing to accept any punishment given to her, but she says she now thinks she should clarify things at the trial after going rigorous

interrogation. she cannot be found guilty. another secretary is -- his lawyer said he essentially admits to the allegation. prosecutors say last year park asked several business leaders to support the creation of the nonprofits. local media say if convicted choi could face up to 15 years in prison. a group of japanese firms is teaming up to create three dimensional maps for drones. geno has more on that and all the other top business news. >> authorities are increasingly using drones to assist with disaster relief efforts. now, a group of japanese firms says leading an effort to make unmanned flights seizure and safer with 3d maps. the officials with the mapmaker say they're working with a

start-up firm and a major communications company. they say their maps for drones will have all the information contained in personal maps and the heights of buildings and mountains. the maps can reset routes for flying by cell phone circuit. the drones will also be able to get mapping data on a realtime basis. these features will make drone flying safer. the companies plan to start marketing the 3d maps starting in april. the first japan made drone maps for commercial use. checking the marketsts, tokyo benchmark nikkei average snapped nine days of gains after trading in a narrow range. more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> a stronger yen also dragged down sentiment. many stayed on the sidelines ahead of the bank of japan policy decision on tuesday. let's take a look at the closing levels. the nikkei 225 closed slightly.

19,391. the broader topix sled 1%. looking at individual stocks, financial shares traded lower as investors took profits from the recent rally. nomura holdings and shinsei bank closed lower. apple supplier alps electric and pioneer were also down. a pause in the tokyo rally. investors are watching the baj for a decision on tuesday and analysts largely expect the bank to maintain its current monitoring easing. i'm phoebe amoroso. most benchmarks ended lower. the index slid to 0.85% extending its losses since the u.s. rate hike. shares in the philippines slipped nearly 2% to the lowest

in more than nine months. over in china, the shanghai compozt by almost 0.2%. property shares fell after the country's leader said they'll curb the real estate bubble next year. sydney outperformed the rest of the region to finish at 5,562. and some investors were cheered as major ratings agency kept australia's s sovereign bond triple a rating following thupidate thu the update on the budget. new figures show government efforts to contain the figure are having a limited effect. the national bureau of statistics says from october to november, new home prices rose in 55 out of 70 cities. they were flat in four and declined in 11. this last november has increased for three months. the overall upward trend began

after the government eased restrictions to jump start sales of condominiums and now trying to stop the market from climbing too fast and potentially collapsing. limit speculative purchases in urban areas. the quarterly report by the bank of japan shows total holdings by individual s rose for the first time in nine months. the value of these assets as of the end of september was worth over 1,700 trillion yen. cash and deposits accounted for more than half the total and rose more than 1%. stocks and other investments were down about 2%. mutual funds also fell a little by over 3%. the declines for both were smaller than the previous data taken at the end of june. the officials also released data on the central banks holdings of japanese government bonds. they rose more than 30% to a

record 403 trillion yen. japanese automakers are expexing big visitors. one exative says they're rolling out a next generation taxi to deal with the rush. the officials at toyota motor say their new car will be available for next year. 20 centimeters taller than the sedan-style taxies that currently cruise japan's streets. it will sit five people and fit two suitcases in the trunk. also sit lower by five cecentimeters make itt easier f the elderly and people in wheelchairs. they have been selelling a -- >> translator: environmentally friendly and safe for everybody. we hope this will be widely used and boost tourism industry.

>> sorry about that. nissan motor has been selling a station wagon-type taxi since 015. it's got sliding doors and retractable steps for easy access. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. japan's trade balance in november stayed in the black for the third c consecutive month. the finance ministry says the surplus was about $1.3 billion. the value of exports was down 0. 4% from a year earlier posting a 14th straight month of decline. the overall volume grew as shipments of cars to the u.s. and auto parts to china increased. but a stronger yen reduced the value of exports in terms of dollars and euros. imports shrank 8.8%. due to lower prices of crude oil and natural gas. mgo has released the results of its survey of labor productivity in 35 countries.

the japan productivity center says out of the group of seven, industrialized nations japan came last. labor productivity is a measure of the quantity of goods and services that workers produce within a given time. analysts say japan's low ranking is partly due to slow progress and service industries that are streamlining their operation. they also point to japan's long work hours. let's take a look at our global economic calendar for the week. on tuesday, the bank of japan ends a two-day meeting with its last policy decision of the year. the same day the japanese government announces its economic growth projection for the next fiscal year. on thursday, japan's cabinet is due to give the officicial go ahead to the budget plan for fiscal 2017. the same day we'll get the figures for u.s. durable goods orders for november. every week we ask specialists to share their view on the week. in today's edition of expert

view, we ask martin shultz for his outlook on the up coming policy decision by the bank of japan. decided to raise key intrast rate last week. first hike in a key. shultz doesn't expect any surprises. he thinks the boj will keep monetary policy unchanged. >> the bank in the u.s. has just been moving with interest rates. they increased interest rates which has a big impact on japan, as well. the bank of japan will first observe the impact on the japanese economy and interest rates before they do any additional move on their own. >> schultz says boj officials may adjust one of its easing measures. that's the buying of exchange traded funds. he says that won't happen just yet. >> the bank of japan has already changed its overall policy set up from buying quantities of etfs and governmenent bonds to

interest rate policy. etf buying is still going on and the bank of japan will probably gradually scale that down, but i doubt this month because the federal reserve has already increased interest rates and the bank of japan does not want to give the impression that t they are following up with more restrictive policies. >> as for the inflation outlook, schultz doubts the boj will hit its 2% target in the near future, even with the weaker yen. >> next year inflation consumer prices will increase because the japanese yen is much weaker and also because energy prices are increasingly again. we will probably have inflation around 0.6% in 2017. this is a level that will afterwards in 2017/'18 increase a little bit more. i do not expect inflation in japan much higher than 1% for the foreseeable future.

>> 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'll leave you with the markets. the evacuation people trapped in the war torn city of aleppo has resumed. government forces took control of almost all of the city and rebel forces agreed to leleave. the government later haltedd opererations saying the governmt

was trying to take weapons with them. the syrian observatory human right says a convoy of buses carrying about 300 people departed around midnight sunday. a section of the city had been a rebel stronghold for years and tens of thousands of people are still there. the u.n. security council is expected to agree on monday to deploy monitors to ensure the safe transport of those people. russia helped broker the evacuation but was poised to veto the monitoring proposal. its representative said it needed syrian government approval. the council eventually reached a compromise. >> we worked very constructively together with the representative of the russian federation on the text and i can't speak for how his system works, but we expect to vote unanimously at 9:00 a.m. >> calls for the u.n. secretary-general to make arrangements before sending monitors. aleppo's recapture seems to

be cementing assad's advantage in the war, as well as survival of his regime. nhk correspondent is following what it means for rebel supporters. >> reporter: for days people who have been called for fighting in aleppo have been -- >> dear world, there's intense bombing right now. why are you sililent? why? why? y? >> t this may b be my lasast vi. save aleppo. save humanity. >> don't believe any more in the united nations. don't believe any more in the international community. >> reporter: what started as a civil war has turned into a battle as countries like the united states, russia, turkey

and iran got involved. experts say the city and government may have been timed with the upcoming change in power in the u.s. and that could alter things directly. president-elect donald trump says he will focus on wiping our islamic state and we walk with russia, a u.s. arch rival that strongly supported assad. syria refugees who support the opposition are struggling to stay hopeful. this woman is one of them. the 22-year-old escaped the forces in southeastern turkey. >> i want everyone to get out safely and then maybe i can meet

all my friends, again. >> reporter: in particular, she is concerned about her boyfriend who remains in the city. he's part of the rebel f forces and hadd been postiting footage the conflict. >> translator: many people have been wounded, but there is no medical facility to accept them. >> reporter: this is urgent and won't leave until they have gotten out safelyly. >> translator: w we need to evevacuate the residents quickl or there will be more bloooodsh. >> reporter: her boyfriend might be takaken by government forces. >> why does everyone have normal livess when we dodon't. everyone gets to see each other and we don't.

we lostt our land. this is the land we were born in. this is the land that we loved each other in. this is where we met. andd now we lost and we can nevr go back. >> reporter: and the anguish isn't over. government troops are now expected to turn their rebel else where in the country. nhk world. donald trump is continuing to take aim at china over a u.s. navy drone it seized in the south china sea. tensions were already there building air fields and other facilities. nhk world has more. >> reporter: let them keep it. that was trump's assessment of

the situatition after he accuse china of stealing the drones. but officials from both the pentagon and china say it will be returned. >> the u.s. is demanding china return an underwater drone. >> reporter: the story was widely reported by american media after the drone also known as an unmanned underwater vehicle was snatched on thursday. the u.s. navy was about to retrieve it. itit says it was conducting scientific research for submarine activities. chinese defense officials say they only later discovered it was an american drone. they claim the waters belong to china and want american ships and planes to stop conducting military research and surveillance there. has been coverining security issues for years. >> the u.s. navy and undederwat vehicles collect different data on the ocean. this can be used for both submarine, but also

anti-submarine operations against china. so, china is extremely nervous about the activities. >> reporter: he also says the location of the incident is significant. it's close which is claimed by both china and the philippines. in july an international tribunalal r ruled agagainst bes claims in a case brought by manila. >> china south china sea hasn't changed. and i i rejects. they will not allow the u.s. navy to act greedy unwhat they claim is their wawater. >> reporter: the tensions come just weeks before trump's inauguration. he r ruffled china's feathers b acaccepting a phohone call from taiwan's president. somethining the u.s. h hasn't d in past decades. follow china's one policy but the u.s. isn't necessarily bound by that.

trump's strong reaction to the drone incident seems to be a signal that tensions aren't likely to go away any time soon. nhk world. and you're watching nhk newsline. tokyo had a considerably warm day today. highs in the mid-teen celsius or around 60 degrees fahrenheit. here with this weather wrap up is jonathan oh. >> if you like warm weather and you classify that as nice, yes, we will continue to see some of that nice, warm conditions as we go forward in time. albeit as we go towards late wednesday and thursday, you'll need the umbrella here in central portions of japan as we see moisture heading in our didirection. we saw some temperatures that we haven't seseen, npding on where you are anywhere six days to almost two weeks in terms of seeing these temperatures return back into the picture. i mean, look at some of these highs as we went throughout the day on monday. a hihigh of 17.6 degrgrees and

in tokyo, we saw recorded high of 15.7 degrees. we haven't seen that temperature in about a week or so. and i think we're going to see these warm conditions continue forward because we have a high pressure system that is nearby and as the southerly flow associated with this system continues, that's going to usher in some of those warmer temperatures. we also have a low back towards the west that is bringing rain into south korea, but also ushering in southerly flow and help pick up some of the moisture, as well. look at the possibility of rainfall for the western areas of japan as we go throughout the day on tuesday. slow build in terms of the moisture which on the flip side means it takes some time to get out of the area. rain for late wednesday and thursday and possibly into a good portion of friday. here in the central portion of the country. high pressure keeping things warm over japan with wet weather back towards the west and into the eastern portions of china and also into the korean peninsula. look at these highs coming up. tuesday five and mid-teens into

tokyo and kyoto and rain coming into the picture as we go late wednesday into thursday and also friday looking at wet weather. by the way, seeing some dry conditions for the moment thaha sea effect snow machine has ended for the moment. it will start picking back up as we head towards the weekend. i wanted to point out the high pressure is keeping the air stagnant over the northeastern portions of china. because of that, we're seeing some very bad air quality in the area. red alerts have been posted for, including beijing. please make sure you're taking care of your health as we go throughout the day on tuesday. 16 in tokyo and some showers in shanghai and t the basin as we through tuesday. as we look at the forecast for europe, high pressure is controlling the weather for the central continental areas, but up towards the north we have a low that is trying to move through the area and that's creating a pressure gradient and some very windy conditions already seeing some winds bumping up to 60, 70 miles per

hour. and down towards the mediterranean ao forcing a pressusure gradient. windy conditions into places like italy as we go throughout the day on monday. looking into wet weather, as well, in rome. with a high of 11 and also looking for madrid. single digit highs for the north and snow into moscow ask kiev as we go throughout mondayay. it has been frigid to sayay the least across the united states and also into canada. because of the system that has been really pushing down that moisture. and in the process during the past few days as we have seen some decent amount of snowfall into indiana and illinois. high pressure continues to dominate the weather over most of t the united d states. we do have s some showers alalo the deep south. not seeing much in terms of active weather with that, but, still, looking at that rain tapering off. but cold weather remains seeing temperatures below freezing for most of the day in the northern areas of the united states into canada for monday. hope you have a good day

wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

for updates and special reports, be sure to watch newsroom tokyo at the top of the hour. for all of us here on nhk "newsline" thanks for watching.

genie: this is "france 24." aroundr 60 minutes live the world. i'm genie godula. over 3000 syrians is activated from the last rebel held area of aleppo after days of delays. many more wounded are still waiting to get out. the u.s. electoral college is set to officially formalized donald trump's win, but not without protest against the president-elect and the electoral system itself. the head of the international monetary fund is due to get her verdict today in a case linked to her time as france's finance minister. christine lagarde is accused of negligence over a huge payout to