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tv   Newsline  LINKTV  December 20, 2016 5:00am-5:31am PST

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nhk "newsline" comes to you live from our studios here in tokyo. police in berlin say terrorism was probably behind monday night's truck attack, which claimed at least 12 lives. the truck rammed into people gathered around wooden huts serving wine and sausages. at least 48 people were injured. some of the christmas shoppers
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narrowly escaped the incident. >> it went just past me, past my girlfriend. i think it missed me by three meters, missed her by five. came into the entrance, hit the sides of the barriers and then carried on past us. >> translator: when we arrived at the scene, the whole situation was shocking, even for our people. it was very hard, because everyone needed help. >> police have arrested a suspect they believe was the driver. another man was found dead in the truck. >> translator: we're now investigating why the truck was driven into this christmas market. how could this have happened? in this context, one suspect is being interrogated who is likely the truck driver. >> the police say the truck belonged to a polish transport company. the firm had lost contact with the driver hours before the incident. >> translator: the person who
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was driving and jumped out of the truck was not my driver. i can vouch for my driver. the way i see it, they did something to him and hijacked his truck that was near berlin's city center. >> local media say some evidence suggests the suspect was from afghanistan or pakistan and had entered the country months ago as a refugee. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is following up on his meeting last week with russian president vladimir putin. abe expressed his commitment to potential joint economic activities on four russian controlled islands claimed by japan. >> translator: during our meeting, president putin invited me to visit russia. i wanted to make that happen sometime soon next year and add to the momentum toward better relations between our countries.
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>> abe said that the start of negotiations on joint activities will be a significant step toward concluding a peace treaty. he said if the joint activities begin, some japanese will frequently visit or even live on the islands. he added that deeper mutual understanding and trust would make the islands a place for coexistence rather than antagonism. last week abe and putin agreed to begin talks on joint economic activity on the islands. japan maintains the islands are an inherent part of its territory. it says they were illegally occupied after world war ii. moscow says they became part of russian territory as a result of the war. the territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty. the japanese government is trying to find ways to make tokyo electric power company more profitable. this comes after the doubling of the latest estimate for
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compensation, decommissioning, and cleanup for the 2011 nuclear accident. it's now projected to cost $180 billion. a government panel says the share tepco should cover is $140 billion. but it notes there are limits to the amount the utility can raise on its own. it's calling on the company to streamline or merge with other power companies so that the burden on the public is not increased. the government plans to put a new system in place that would require consumers to bear some costs. the system would require most utilities to raise electricity rates. the panel is calling for transparency and minimal burden on the public. officials at japan's central bank have wrapped up their two-day meeting. gene otani has more on that and the other top business stories. policymakers at the bank of japan have decided to keep their massive easing program unchanged. meanwhile, they've upgraded their assessment of japan's economy for the first time in a
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year and seven months. they say the economy has continued its moderate recovery trend. the policymakers will keep on focusing on a new framework introduced in september to achieve a 2% inflation target. it'll aim to manage short and long-term interest rates. the interest rate on a portion of deposits that commercial banks hold at the central bank will remain at minus 0.1%. the officials are also maintaining their target for the bank's annual purchase of japanese government bonds at about 80 trillion yen or roughly $680 billion. that's so the yield on the benchmark ten year jgbs will be around 0%. after the meeting, boj governor kuroda explained that japan is feeling some positive effects from the economic improvement overseas. >> translator: we've seen clear signs of recovery in exports and production. economic data are also showing an increase in personal consumption as employment and
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household income continue to improve. >> kuroda also commented on the recent rapid depreciation of the yen against the dollar. he said he doesn't think the weakening yen poses a problem. he said its current value should not come as a surprise. checking the markets, tokyo stocks ended higher after the bank of japan's decision even though there was no surprise regarding monetary policy. tokyo's nikkei average finished at its highest level in a year. here's more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> the boj's decision to stick with monetary easing came as no surprise to many, but investors were encouraged by the boj's economic assessment. so let's take a look at the closing levels for this tuesday, december 20th. the nikkei 225 was up more than half a percent to finish at 19,494. the broader topix gained 0.2%. looking at individual stocks, domestic demand related shares led the gains this tuesday.
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asahi group holdings, west japan railway, and s heroic ionogi all showed strong gains. softbank announced it will invest $1 billion in a u.s. venture that plans to launch satellites to provide global internet access. so with the boj saying the japanese economy is on a moderate road to recovery, investors are keen to see how things will progress from here. i'm phoebe amoroso reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. on the currency markets, the boj's announcement boosted the dollar. the greenback moved back up to the 118 yen level following kuroda's comment on the weaker yen. looking at stocks in china, the shanghai composite slid half a percent to hit a seven-week low. it closed at 3102. the government's move to tighten regulations to prevent financial risks and asset bubbles weighed on sentiment.
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some say janet yellen's comments on the job situation indicated there will be more rate hikes next year. the japanese government is expecting the country's economy to improve in fiscal 2017, which starts in april. officials project gdp growth around 1.5% in real terms. that's 0.3 points higher than they predicted in july. the growth forecastt was a adop at a cabinet meeting. government officials say the job market and household income will improve, leading to a moderate rise in personal consumption. they say corporate earnings will also improve based on the assumption that the yen will continue to weaken. and they forecast that economic measures included in the second supplelementary budget f for fi 2016 will boost japan's economy. the officials project gdp growth
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around 1.3% for the current fiscal year ending in march. and here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following. japan's transport ministry has decided to lower the initial fare for taxisis operating in central tokyo. it's currently about $6 for up to two kilometers. the new fare will be about $3.50 for up to one kilometer. it will take effect on january 30th, 2017. taxi companies hope the new system will appeal to older passengers, foreign tourists, and others who only want to travel short distances. sales at japan's department stores fell in november for the ninth consecutive month. officials say sales total about $4.5 billion, down 2.4% in yen terms from a year agago. the officials said slow sales of winter clothing are partly to blame, along with the reduction in the number of public holidays.
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one of japan's largest banks has agreed to buy a u.s. rail car leasing firm. sumitomo mitsui will buy them at $2.8 billion. the comompany owns more than 30,000 freight cars. it's the sixth largest u.s. firm in its field. the bank of japan's negative interest rate policy is putting a squeeze on commercial banks. the purchase is seen as a way for sumitomo mitsui to diversify its profits. cacars, boats, a and planes. these are the transportation modes we're most familiar with. now a company in the u.s. is working on a new technology that promises to revolutionize travel by transporting people and cargo at near super sononic speeds. nhk k world'ss rosa sabrino h he detatails. >> repeporter: thiss is whahat l could l look like in the
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not-too-ststance fufuture. first, you reserve your seat and settle intnto a smama p p at a nenearby station. then y you're shott throuough a at extremely high speeds to yr dedestination. the top speed is mororthan 1,000 kilometers per hour. meet t hyhyperlp, an entely new mode off transportatation. travavelers will l be ablee too from los a angeles to san francisco, a a disistance of ov 600 kilometers, i in around 30 minutes.s. despite the high speeds, the pod will travel silently. this l.a. company i is developi the groundbreaking transportation system. about 200 people are working on it with specialties ranging from aerodynamics to i.t. this is the actual size of a hyperloop tube. it'll bee carrying pods that wil be traveling faster than an
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airplane.. a vacuum created inside the tube is key to those high speeds. it eliminates air resistance so there's nothing to slow the pods down. also, the system will use magnetic levitation to allow the pods to glide above the track with minimal friction. it relies on permanent magnets that don't require a lot of electricity. firm officials say it will be cheaper to operate than regular high-speed trains. they say the system is ready to go, and all that's left is to figure out how to integrate it with existing technology. >> when the wright brothers built the firstst aircraft, the essentially used a lot of technology that didn't exist at the time. we are taking existing pieces of technology and we are connecting them together in ways that have never been connected before.
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>> three, two, one. >> reporter: the system has passed a series of tests using prototypes. as it nears completion, it's attracted the interest of government officials in the united arab emirates and finland. >> well, when i think of transportation and the networks we built over the last 50, 100 years, generally they're not keeping up. i think that will be transformational situation the internet was to the world we expect today in broadband. i ththink hyperloop will me that same transformatition in the transportationon worldn the future. >> rororter: t devevelops arere aimi to make the hyperloop passenger ready by around 2020. and they're hoping it will fundamentally change the future of travel. rosa sobrino, nhk world, los angeles. and that wraps up this segment of business news. i'm going to leave you with the
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markets. japan's highest court has ruled in favor of the central government in a contentious and long-running dispute with okinawa. it involves relocating a controversial u.s. military base to a coastal area of the southern prefecture. the court says governor onaga acted illegally last year by revoking a permimit to reclaim land at t the relocation site.
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it says the permitt issued by onaga's predecessor was based on appropriate and sound judgment. >> translator: the ruling was what i expected. we are wondering what the governor will decide to do going forward. >> translator: an offensisive decicision. >> governorr onaga has been refusing the central government's order to change his mind. the futenma air stragags ha been an issue for decades. tokyo and washington cite the issues of having it located in a densely populated area. many residents want futenma moved, but not in this area. they want it outside the prefecture altogether. with the ruling, the central government is now expected to resume relocation work. now, residents of okinawa are also upset over an american military move to resume flights of a controversial aircraft. it follows a crash landing last week that sparked a lot of anger and drew questions over safety.
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nhk world world reports. >> reporter: the osprey aircraft is once again flying in okinawa's skies. a local mayor went to the u.s. marine c corps headquarters in e prefecture to express his concerns. >> translator: we have around 100,000 peoeople living around e u.s. air base in our city. i'm anxious about whether another incident like the crash landing could happen again. >> reporter: two crew members werere injured when the osprey aircraft crashed off the coast. it was the first serious accident since the aircraft was deployed in okinawa four years ago. but the incident touched a nerve. >> translator: it's ridiculous. they shouldn't be flying them. >> translator: i'm always scared
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about a possible crash. >> reporter: people have dedemanded the u.s. military st using the aircraft. it's just one of the concerns over the many american bases in their prefecture. over the years, other accidents, noise complaints, and murders of local people have created resentment. people want the bases gone and the land returned. in this case, the u.s. militita is stressing that the accident occurred during midair refueling training. it says there was no problem with the aircraft itself. the head of u.s. forces in okinawa visited the crash site to try to reassure people. >> i know that the people of okinawa are very concerned. all of our pilots have been retraining on simulators, on procedures. we have gone through every possible process to ensure that
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safety of flight is our number one priority. >> reporter: and jajapan's defee minister doesn't see an issue. >> translator: we've been told that the rest of the fleet has been checked and deemed safe. it's understandable that flights, other than refueling training, are resuming. >> reporter: on thursday, the central government plans to mark the return of a u.s. training facility. people are calling for that to be canceled or postponed. others are preparing a measure in the city close to the crash site. nhk world. four countries are calling for safety a head of potential
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clashes in the antarctic ocean over whale hunting. japanese crews are on their way there to conduct what they call research whaling. an anti-whaliling group has vow to disrupt that. in november, the sea shepherd group sent a new high-speeded sp to block the hunt. that prompted the u.s., australia, new zealand, and the netherlands to issue a statement. they call on the captain of all vessels to ensure safety at scene and avoiding injury and loss of life. they say they condemn all dangerous, reckless, or unlawful behavior. at the same titime, the s state expresses concern over japan's research hunt, sayingg science has shown killing whales isis n necessary for research. the sea shepherd group has clashed with japanese vessels in recent years. there's been a global moratorium on commercial whaling since the '80s to protect the animal. people at the u.n.
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headquarters in new york have been marking a milestone in their history. they're commemorating 60 years since japan joined the organization. secretary general ban ki-moon and other officials carved messages into a wall of clay. the u.n. chief chose the japanese characters for peace. >> peacece is the bedrock for a our hopeses and dreaea. we look f forward to strengtheng our ties in the years ahead as we build a world of peace, prosperity. >> the japanese ambassador inscribed the character for trust. >> translator: i have chosen this word to go with the character for peace because i believe it's essential to have trust in international relationships if we want to have world peace. >> japan is the second largest contributor to the u.n. budget. it has served as a member more
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times than any other member state. the u.n. general assembly has adopted a resolution demanding north korea move to protect human rights. the resolution was approved last month by the u.n. third committal t committee and passed by a majority in the general assembly on monday. north korea and china opposed it. >> my delegation condemns and rejects the resolution as an illegal d document, not worth consideration. >> japan and the eu have been jointly sponsoring the resolution every year since 2005. the u.n. security council adopted a resolution seeking sanctions against north korea. for the first time it condemns pyongyang for redirecting funds to improve people's lives to its missile and nuclear program. t the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. is criticizing japan for
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not supporting sanctions. fighting continues dedespite la year's peace deal. japan recently sent its peace keeping unit there. the security council wants to adopt a draft resolution that proposes an arms embargo on both sides. but japan says the u u.n. shoul further the political process to achieve peace rather than push for sanctions. u.s. ambassador samantha power is leading discussions on the plan the at the u.n. security council. >> i think it is highly -- it's a highly questionable logic to think that the way to keep your peacekeepers safe it to not support an arms embargo. >> sudan's state minister for foreign affairs said a potential arms embargo would not work. he said the conflict in neighboring south sudan is no longer a political one. he chararacterized it as being ethnic and tribal conflict. and he called for allowing the opposition leader, who is exiled
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abroad, to take part in peace talks. >> we should not leave anybody out. we should take all them on board. >> he also indicated that the sudanese government would work to resume talks. nhk "newsline" comes to live from tokyo. it's time for weather. dangerously cold temperatures continue to create havoc in parts of north america as jonathan oh tells us in this weather report. >> it looks like we're going to see things warming up just a little bit as we go forward in time, but the below freezing temperatures during the overnight hours arere not likel to go away now that we're going into the wintertime period. it has been very cold over a good portion of the united states and canada. you're i in that winter mode. you're a already feeling t the chilly temperatures. when we went through the weekend, w we had a huge plungef coldld air coming in from the north. that sent temperatures down into
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bebelow freezing categoriess no only for the morning houours bu also durining the daytime hours into places like chicago. that madee it very difficult fo thosee who were not able to go indoors duringng that time per. let's look at some of the video. it's hard to see some of the things happening during that time. mamany of thesese people arere outdoors in the frigid cold. they're homeless in chicago. they had to deal with not onlnl ththose low temperatures but al the heavy snow that ran through the city. many of these people happen to be military veterans. some of these people are also disabled. there are also other people who are not able to find shelter as mothers with smamall children. the shelters are already filled with people, so there are many others who could not find shelter. what makes it more d difficult that authorities recently cut their budget on helping out these shelelters. so that made it much more difficult for those who werer without homes to find a place to get out of the very cold weather. we are looking at temperatures to moderate a bit, but still looking at cold weather.
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the snow is going to also be a part of the equation as we go forward in time. we have a low-pressure system moving across southern ontario. that's going to introduce t the possibilility of some more s sns we go throughout the day on tuesda a and extending into wednesesday. so areas like tororonto will al be dealing with some of the snowfall. chicago looking relatively dry, but the high of only about 1 degree means overnight lows are going to be below freezing once again as we go not only into the morning hours on tuesday but also the foreseeable future. o rain into vancouver and seattle with a high of 8. for those in the deep south, you're going to see temperatures starting to move back up a aftea very cold few days from the weekend. as we look at the forecast for what's happening down near australia, we are watching a tropical low northwest of the continent. it has been dragging a lot of moisture furtherromm the north downwn toward the south. so those of you inn the norther portions of western australia, you're likely to see heavy
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rainfall. in fact, between darwin and port headlund, we're looking at up to 200 m millimeters of rainfalll e n next fewew days. flooding is a possibility. please make sure you're careful. meanwhile, we go toward the north and we're looking at relatively dry conditions. japan relatively dry. we also saw sunny conditions into the korean peninsula. the stagnant weather taking place into northern china continues to create a problem when it comes to air quality issues. red alerts have been posted since early last week. we're continuing to see air pollution issues as w we go int tuesday e evening for beijing a points south. be on the lookout for jgenerati southern area. that wilill bring moisture ioo shanghai into wednesday. also look at rain developing into the western portions of japan and expanding across. still relatively warm, but rain
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picking up late wednesday, into thursday, and also friday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.
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we invite you to download the nhk world app and follow us wherever you go. for updates and special w1w1w1wñ
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>> hello and welcome to "live from paris." i'm and that young. but look at the headlines. dealing with a terrorist attack now that a truck plowed into a crowd at a christmas market in berlin, killing 12 people and injuring 48 others. an asylum seeker is currently being questioned by police. the russian ambassador is killed by a tur

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