it's 7:00 p.m. on a wednesday. i'm james tengan. welcome to nhk world "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following. considering arrest. a south korean court will decide whether to approve the arrest of the heir of the massive samsung conglomerate over his alleged role in a scandal.

getting a feel for things. a young product developer is helping people with hearing disabilities. reaching out. japanese-americans concerned with some of donald trump's rhetoric are lending support to another minority community. lee is suspected of bribery and embezzlement in connection with a political corruption scandal that's engulfed south korea. a special prosecutor's team requested lee's arrest warrants on monday. the team accuses his business, samsung group, of offering bribes to two foundations and a company in germany. prosecutors say they amounted to over $36 million. they suspect lee embezzled more than $8 million of that. all the entities suspected receiving the bribes were created or controlled by choi

soon-sil, a long-time friend of the president. the prosecutor's team says they can prove choi shared some of the money with president park geun-hye. investigators allege in return for the bribes the presidential office supported a merger between samsung group companies. they believe it was necessary for lee to cement his power inside samsung. in a byrd to officially take over from his ailing father. nuclear regulators have confirmed safety measures for two reactors put in place after the 2011 fukushima daiichi accident. it covers kyushu electric power company's number three and four reactors at its genkai plant

in saga prefecture. the regulator started public hearings after it compiled a draft of the assessment in november. an nra official said some were critical of the draft for failing to reflect potential lessons from earthquakes that struck the region last year. but the official pointed out that regulations require the plant to function normally, even if a quake occurs. detailed checks for quake resistance and local consent are still needed. the reactors may be back online as early as this summer. the genkai facility is the fifth in the country whose safety measures have received nra approval. >> translator: i want the government and prefecture to keep a close eye on the operator's security measures. i'm sure many residents will find that most reassuring. >> other issues include evacuation plans for the elderly and people living on 17 small islands near the plant in the event of a nuclear accident. japan's biggest advertising firm has already suffered a loss of face over a scandal involving overworked staff.

now dentsu's cutties stand to lose even more with one company saying we'll bar the company from bidding on projects. they say the penalty applies to any business that's been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of certain crimes. other prefectures across japan have similar rules and are likely to follow suit. dentsu has several contracts with shiga prefecture, including campaigns to promote tourism and beef. about a year ago, a 24-year-old dentsu employee committed suicide in a case labor officials say was due to overwork. dentsu says it will punish five executives and will cut their pay by 20% for three months. the first batch of the u.s. military's f-35 stealth aircraft has arrived in japan.

the state-of-the-art fighter jets have never been deployed outside the u.s. mainland. two of the aircraft landed at the marine corps air station in the western japanese prefecture of yamaguchi. they left the base in arizona along with eight other f-35s last week. the u.s. military is deploying advanced equipment in washington's pivot to asia policy. a total of 16 of 35 will be deployed this year. some local people have voiced concern over their safety. an f-35 caught fire in midair in the u.s. last year. they also say the deployment could increase the risk of an attack on the base. japanese electronics maker toshiba is struggling to recover from big losses in its business. gene otani joins us with more on that and other business headlines. executives at toshiba may spin off their flash memory

manufacturing operations. the plan comes after their announcement last month that the firm may post several billion dollars in losses from its nuclear power business in the united states. the officials say they've yet to make a final decision. they may seek investment from other companies. sources say they're considering selling a partial stake in the chipmaking operation to western digital. the companies jointly produce flash memory chips. the executives are also considering approaching several other firms to take stakes. toshiba hopes to clarify exact losses from its nuclear power business within this month. the company is expected to ask its main bank for additional assistance, including more capital. officials at asset management groups have launched talks to merge part of their asset management operations. sources say two banks are trying to integrate the trust and custody services bank and trustee services bank.

those units mainly manage assets of institutional investors such as pension funds and life insurance companies. executives hope to reach a merger agreement by the end of the current fiscal year. the new entity would manage about 380 trillion yen or over $3 trillion in assets under custody. the two banks hope the move will strengthen their asset management business to secure stable revenues. tokyo's benchmark nikkei edged higher amid volatile currency swings. our business reporter has the details from the tokyo stock exchange. >> it's just days until donald trump becomes president of the united states, and analysts say the focus will turn from his tweets to his actions. investors are cautiously waiting to hear what he'll say at the inauguration. let's take a look at the closing levels for this wednesday, january 18th. the nikkei 225 gained .4%, closing at 18,894. the broader topix rose .3%.

checking on currencies, after trump said the dollar was "too strong" the greenback fell to the mid-112 yen level. the british pound rallied after prime minister theresa may laid out her brexit plans. looking at individual stocks, exporters were mixed as the yen see-sawed. some automakers closed higher, like nissan. sony lost about .5%. toshiba shares gained 2.3% on news the company is mulling a sell-off of its semiconductor business to u.s. company western digital. markets saw mixed results across the asia-pacific region. hong kong climbed more than 1%. australia fell 0.4%, dragged down by financials. the shanghai composite rose

slightly to 3113. trade is was thin before the release of the country's gdp figures on friday. president-elect donald trump's comment about the dollar being too high lifted other currencies in the region. amazon has launched a japanese website that specializes in new products made by startup companies. amazon launchpad lists more than 250 products. the items claim to offer unique functions and include headphones, watches and shoes. amazon controls inventory and sells and ships the products on behalf of the startup firms. the online retailer collects a percentage of sales as commissions. >> translator: there needs to be more support and investment in information technology to encourage japanese startups to develop. we want to help as many entrepreneurs as possible succeed.

>> launch pad is already operating in the u.s., china and elsewhere. officials at japan's justice ministry say they want to make it easier for highly skilled foreign professionals to stay in japan indefinitely. the officials say they're thinking about easing permanent residency requirements. the ministry uses a point system to evaluate applicants. the criteria include career achievements and salary. applicants must have lived in japan for at least five years and score a minimum of 70 points. the period could be shortened to three years. the officials may also cut it to one year for applicants with 80 or more points. another idea is to give more points to graduates of leading universities or people involved in cutting-edge projects in i.t. and other growth sectors. officials say they hope to introduce the new criteria by the end of march at the earliest. here's a look at some of the other business stories we're following.

property investors in china might see a warning in figures just out. data from the national bureau of statistics show prices dropped for december in 20 out of 70 major cities surveyed. that's nine more than the previous month. although prices in 46 cities rose, this is the first time in about two years both beijing and shanghai marked a fall. chinese officials have been trying to contain the real estate bubble. the chinese communist party newspaper says authorities in the northeastern province published false financial data for four years through 2014. the people's daily says the provincial governor confessed to the irregularities at city and county levels. local officials reportedly overstated tax and other revenues by nearly 20%. we often talk about a feel for music. a young product developer working with people who have disabilities is bringing that idea to life. >> reporter: most hearing

devices work by amplifying sound. this one works in quite a different way. it is as easy to use as a barrette. just put it on. vibrations from surrounding sounds are relayed to your hair. >> a, aah -- >> reporter: the device's microphone picks up sound from the surrounding environment and converts this into vibrations and light. more than 250 categories in all. the wearer can then feel those sounds. even people with no hearing at all. this woman has been deaf since birth. [ doorbell rings ] when the doorbell sounds, the device vibrates, letting her know she has a visitor. [ phone ringing ]

this time she responds to a ring tone on her mobile phone. the vibration pattern on the phone is different from the doorbell. the vibrations also signal the loudness of sound and distance to the sound source. an approaching car, for example. by varying the vibration strength, it can even convey the rhythm in music. tatsuya honda is the young designer behind the device. he works at electronicsmaker fujitsu. he calls his invention ontenna, and he began working on prototypes as a university student. it all started after honda befriended a person with a hearing disability. >> translator: i was looking for ways to help him. so i began researching technology that would convey sounds to hearing-impaired people. >> reporter: honda has tested his device on many parts of the

body. the hair clip has proved most popular. but he's working on other kinds of attachments. feedback from potential users is helping honda to impro the ontenna. already his device has put many of them in touch with a whole new world of sound. >> you can catch our report again ontine 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.

u.s. president barack obama has commuted the sentence of a former soldier convicted of leaking military secrets. american media say a senior government official said she expressed remorse. chelsea manning is one of more than 270 people granted clemency by obama. she was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 for leaking classified materials to wikileaks. manning will be released in may. republican senator john mccain says the decision is a grave

mistake. he says it could trigger more leaks and undermine military discipline. house of representatives speaker paul ryan says the decision sets a dangerous precedent. wikileaks founder julian assange has thanked those who campaigned for manning's release. another high-profile leaker also backs obama's decision. edward snowden was granted political asylum in russia in 2013. washington wants moscow to hand him over. snowden faces espionage charges in the u.s. donald trump and his team are counting down to this friday's inauguration. the incoming president has given a speech touting his cabinet choices. >> we have put together a team i think the likes of which has never been assembled before. >> the new white house press secretary says trump will exert

his authority from day one. sean spicer suggested the new president will announce some executive actions on his first day in office. trump has said he will pull the ups out of the tpp free trade agreement. hi has also pledged to replace a national health care program known as obamacare. trump's critics are preparing to show their opposition. about 50 democrat lawmakers from the house of representatives say they'll boy cow friday's inauguration. their numbers increased after trump attacked senior african-american congressman and civil rights leader john lewis on twitter. lewis has called trump's presidency illegitimate and said last friday he would sit out the inauguration. some of the lawmakers say they will join one of the protest rallies being staged to coincide with the ceremony. some of trump's rhetoric toward muslims has struck a chord with japanese-americans. it reminds them of a dark chapter from their past, and they're speaking out.

>> my name is haru kuromiya. i'm 89 years old. >> reporter: this is a public service announcement released online just days before the donald trump inauguration. it's about the internment camp experience of haru kuromiya. a second-generation japase-amerin. >> iall stard with fr and mors. then it llooned in the gistrati of japane-america and labing th physicatags and eventually internment. >> reporter: the reason for the video? comments from trump during the race to the white house have some people worried. >> donald j. trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states. >> reporter: in the fall, one of his surrogates mentioned the internment of japanese-americans as a precedent to having a

muslim registry. that's led some people to take action. >> hi. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. >> reporter: this is a filmmaker of japanese and australian descent who co-directed the public service announcement. she said she saw parallels between trump's anti-muslim rhetoric and the mass incarcerion of japanesemerican tizens duri world w ii. athe endf the vio, it's vealed tt the janese wom isctualla muslim wan wearing spial make. >> d't let hisry repea itlf. i think tmp stirsp a lo of contrersy iterms of marginizing ceain groupsf people.

and i think over time, it can be normalized, and that's really scary to me. >> reporter: other japanese-americans are reaching out as well. kathy masaoka is an activist in l.a. who has worked with the muslim community ever since the 9/11 attacks. she feels that the japanese-american community needs to stand in solidarity with muslims. >> but i feel japanese-americans, we have a particular role and responsibility to really remind people that the camps were wrong, that this government apologized, and that we are not going to let people say that it was okay. ever. >> reporter: it's a reminder that this man feels is completely necessary. >> of course everybody's alarmed, everybody's worried. they don't know how life will change after january 20th. they don't know if they should be ready for any kind of crisis

or emergency or somebody knocking on their door from the government and disappearing. >> reporter: but not everyone in the muslim community feels so strongly. others say they want to see trump's policies before they make any judgments. >> he has made a lot of comments, true, but let's see what he actually does. because until and unless you sit in the chair, maybe he might think differently. we don't know until and unless he does something. >> ias with father en the fbi pick him up. itas 194 reporte a japanesameran man featur in thisideo w based on haru karomiya. she has seen firsthand how american society can change for the better. she says things have come a long way since the days of internment.

>> when we went, there was no one that spoke up for us. absolutely no one. and hopefully, people will come to the aid of the muslims and the other americans. >> reporter: in his election night victory speech, trump promised to be president for all americans. for many in minority or immigrant communities that pledge is cold comfort until his actions in office match the words in his promise. >> thanks very much for that report. you're watching nhk "newsline" live from tokyo. we've been reporting on inundating rain. parts of south america have been seeing more than its spare of precipitation and can use some respite as jonathan oh reports. >> depending on where you're located we're going to see

improvements but other areas such as peru will continue to see rainfall from time to time. it has been a very wet period for places like argentina down toward the santa fe province and buenos aires. because of flooding, at least one person has died because of that. it started to dry up there now. i want you to look at this very impressive video. we're talking about a deluge of water flowing down here, almost looks like a river coursing through, a waterfall, because of the unusually heavy rainfall during the weekend. that water hit -- violently hit those cars and homes in eastern lima. at least 15 people have been injured and about 100 homes damaged due to mudslide. look at this car, just absolutely covered in mud. and it looks like the widespread severe floods have impacted the country all over the place with water levels rising as high as 1 meter. heavy rain continued to batter the area tuesday.

we look forward into the forecast. you see the cars backed up because of the impact down on the roadways there. that vid is justompletely dramatic there. but i want you to notice the pattern coming up as we go throughout t day on wednesday into thursday. notice the showers continue to linger in the area for lima. down toward the south into argentina, i think you're going to get a break. even though we are expecting more of a drier pattern for lima, right outside of the city we're looking at possibilities of maybe seeing rain totals up to 100 millimeters in addition over the next few days. just be on the lookout for that. highs in buenos aires looking at the mid-30s as we go toward saturday. lima mid to upper 20s. again, more of a scattered shower variety. nevertheless, looking at that possibility as you go through the rest of the week. up toward the north, we have been watching problems when it comes to freezing rain into the great lakes area. the low pressure system is now moving off the coast outside of new york state.

but behind it we still have some moisture that will be moving in and with high pressure bringing colder air, we may still be dealing with some wintry-type precipitation. down toward south, looking at some showers and storms from time to time. atlanta at 19. 20 houston. i also want to bring to your attention the pacific northwest. we do have a system coming onshore, may be dealing with flooding issues once again on wednesday. be on the lookout as heavy rainfall may be a part of that equation. down through the philippines in the southern portions of the country, we have been dealing with some extremely hey rainfall. points frocebu downward into mindanao, 've beenealing with so much rainfall that a few people have reportedly been killed because of the flooding. more rainfall in the forecast. some people could see close to 150 to 180 millimeters of rainfall. please be aware of this as we continue through the week. up to the north in continental asia we are looking at a calmer pattern over japan for the moment. we do have a couple of areas of low pressure developing.

that's going to eventually bring in moisture and maybe even dealing with some more of a wintry precipitation situation once again as the sea-effect snow starts to kick up for the northern areas of the country. back toward the west, relatively dry. we're looking at sunny skies. seoul a high of 4 with clouds. beijing at 1 on thursday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

tokyo might see some snowxxp

>> 24 newsroom. these are the latest world headlines from paris. she was convicted of carrying out one of the biggest intelligence breaches in u.s. history, but thanks to an order issued by president obama, hassea manning's sentence been shortened and will now walk free inmate. national assembly agrees to allow younger version made to stay in office of further three months with a state of emergency in