here in japan it's 7:00 p.m. on a thursday. welcome to nhk newsline. we start off with a quick look at some stories we're following. two days to go before leaving the oval office barrack obama warns his successor against lifting sanctions on russia.

nhk newsline sits down with a trump advisor on what his asia pacific policies may look like and request denied. a south korean court is the head of samsung. >> u.s. president barrack obama used his final news conference to offer a message saying america will be okay. but he is also suggesting he may ease sanctions on russia. >> it's important to just remember the reason sanctions have been put in place against russia has to do with their actions in ukraine and it's important for the united states to stand up for the basic principle that big countries don't go around and invade and bully smaller countries. >> trump suggested in an interview with a british newspaper that he would be open to lifting sanctions in return for a deal for both the u.s. and

russia to reduce their nuclear arsenals. the sanctions were in response to russia's annexation in 2014. a constructive relationship with russia is in the interest of the u.s. and the world but vladimir putin's presidency brought a return of the cold war like adversary spirit. he also looked ahead and said he would not hesitate to speak out about discrimination, suppression and deportations. >> there's a difference between that normal functioning of politics certain issues and certain moments where i think our core values may be at stake. i will do something that will merit me speaking out. >> obama's term ends on friday when trump takes the oath of office. a trump spokesperson criticized

democrats for being slow to confirm the president elect's cabinet picks. sean spicer accused them of criticizing the confirmation process. he said further delays will send the wrong message to the world. many of trump's nominees come from the world of business. congress has to check their financial records for possible conflicts of interest before they can hold public office and that takes time. democrats have expressed concern over some of trump's picks including secretary of state nominee rex tillerson. the former exxon mobil head was probed over his deep business ties with russia when obama was worn in 7 of his cabinet picks were already approved. most of trump's will still be waiting for an answer when he is inaugurated. >> america gets ready for the trump presidency and many are

wondering what his policies will look like once in office. nhk world sat down with his transition team advisors to talk about the asia pacific region. >> one of the biggest questions for the region, what will trump's approach to china policy look like? tensions started to rise when trump broke with tradition by receiving a call from taiwan's president. he also questioned the one china policy. the principal considers taiwan a part of chinese territory. >> i understand the one china policy but i don't know why we're bound by a one china policy unless we make a deal with china. >> steven yates say former deputy national security advisor for the administration of george w. bush. his take. >> he's looked at a power balance that's gone in china's

favor and. >> china is dictating trade and what words americans are even allowed to use so i think like a business man he's entering into this conversation intent on negotiating a better position for the united states first by saying he's not accepting these conclusions that lead us where we are today. >> he'll seek to change the conversation with china. >> they live today based on a robust economic relationship with the united states they live today as a dominating non-democratic party run state because of economic ties with it's neighbors. some of whom are our allies. they live today because of the relative peace that our alliances have kept in that

region so there's a lot that china is dependent on the world for. we don't need to threaten anyone. just to remind that this has been for the greater good and if they would like to challenge that, that's probably very destabilizing for china. >> trump had this to say. >> i want to defend japan. i want to continue but they have to continue to pay. they have to pay us a fair amount. maybe japan has to defend themselves, okay? >> even a u.s. ally like japan should be prepared for an unconventional approach from trump. >> the tradition and habit that's been in place has been to rely upon the united states. the united states nuclear umbrella and other elements of american policy to allow for a lot of our allies to be able to

grow and develop economically and they h have beeeen able to compete with american goods and manufacturing because they're investing a smaller percentage of their gdgdp on defense than e united states is and i ununderstand that t things haven discussed especially in news coverage and maybe a a politica discussion that may come across as shocking but i think the intention is to shock a system in order to get people out of old thinking and reenter this discussion. >> yates suggests trump may take a tougher stance against china to force them to deal with their neighbor. >> northth carolina depends heavily on economic assistance from china. they depend heavily on energy from china.

>> that's a hard challenge and whatever those are i don't expect mr. trump or his administration too talk publicl about what they are. you may have noticed when people are talking about his isis strategy during the c campaign y would i signal to an adversary what i'm going to do? and the same would happen here. >> nhk world washington d.c.

>> nissan motor president is seeking to increase the auto makers presencnce in the u.s. he is attending t the world ececonomic forum in davos switzerland. >> the nissan chief commented on president elect donald trump's calls to increase manufacturing in the u.s. all auto makers will have to think carefully about their investments there as well as the jobs they are creating. nissan may be prepared to ramp up it's business in the near futu future. > there is something that is not new and something that's going to continue and going to adapt for the new policies. >> the incoming u.s.

administration may soon start negotiating the north american free trade agreement. president elect donald trump has blamed nafta for destroying american jobs saying it encourages companies to move their u.s. factories to mexico. according to a canadian newspaper the nominee intends to ask mexico and canada to renegotiate the agreement shortly after taking office. wilbur ross will send a formal negotiation letter. the incoming administrations focus will largely be on addressing the u.s. trading balance with mexico. ross said at his senate confirmation hearing that nafta would be the first issue for the new administration. >> the first thing we have to do is to deal with the unfair both tariff and non-tariff trade

barriers that other countries impose on us. >> trump wants a tarifff on z businesses out of the country. the analyst said the center for automotive research said the tariff would raise new car prices. sales would fall by 450,000 units. they also say fewer car imports from mexico would effect u.s. parts makers and could lead to a loss of at least 31,000 jobs. mexico is the world's 7th most auto manufacturing country. three quarters of them were shipped to the u.s. the financial difficulties facing toshiba are deepening as losses from the company's u.s.

nuclear business are expected to be far larger than initially thought officials estimated the losses at $4.3 billion. but a closer examination revealed the figure is a little over $6 billion. it hasn't decided how much of the losses will be included in it's earnings report for the current business year through march. toshiba is considering spinning off it's flash memory conversations in japan and also aiming to raise $2.6 billion by selling other business operations and assets. executives plan to also ask the main lenders for additional support as it faces the risk of its debts exceeding it's assets. the dollar has strengthened the following upbeat comments from fed chair janet yellen and that's helped to boost share prices on the nikkei 225 index. more from the tokyo stock

exchange. >> the chair of the federal reserve has confidence in the u.s. economy. in a speech wednesday, janet yellen said the economy is near maximum employment and inflation is moving toward the fed's goals that gave investors reason to cheer. the yen retreated and investors bought shares across the board. it gains .94% closing at 19,072. the broader topix was up by the same margin. it rebounded on yellen's optimism as well as the growing prospect of interest rate highs this year. gained about 2% from wednesday's 7 week low. rebounding along with u.s. treasury yields. dai-ichi life holdings gained more than 2%. toshiba tumbled 16% on reporort the company could be facing losses from its u.s. nuclear

business to the tune of about $6 billion. friday is shaping up to be a big day. china will release the fourth quarter gdp and investors will be looking to donald trump's inauguration speech for details on his policy. reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. >> yellen's remarks may have lifted sentiment in some markets but they fuel concern about outflow from others. the hang seng was 0.2%. s&p higher 5692 after two days of losses. full time jobs increased despite the overall unemployment rate worsening. in malaysia the central bank kept the key interest rate study as widely expected. the main index there ended up just slightly to 1,666 reversing earlier losses. the number of new condominiums

for sale fell more than 10% from the previous year. rising prices are to blame. the real estate economic institute said 36,000 new units went on the market in tokyo and it's three neighboring prefectures in 2016. that's down from a year earlier and the lowest number since 2009 after the global financial crisis hit. analysts say people refrain from buying condos as higher labor and material costs pushed up prices. the average unit price was about $480,0 $480,000. >> earthquakes shake japan and a pair of strong tremors last year left many people feeling rattled. japanenese housing firmsms are coming up with new ways to make homes safer. nhk world explaiains. >> this footage by a major housing company made waves around japan.

after the compapany released t video on the internet people viewed it more t than 100,0,000 times. it showed an experiment that recreates the shake caused by major earthquakes in japan. even after it was repeated 60 times the house showed no serious damage. the secret to the resilience is in the structure. it was built using a modified version of the panels typically used in north american homes. most homes are made with 2 by 4s but the wood in this home is 6 inches wide so it's thicker and stronger. other parts have also been fortifified. the foundation contains twice the usual amount of reinforced ststeel and the roof has six inchches wide composite panels. company officials say they'll use data from the shaking experiment to make even sturdier structures. the house requiuid more wood than conventional methods but thee cost was only $2,000 moree

than a typical home. it's made with standard cuts of wood. >> we believe this technology can be applied anywhere. we want to use it to develop our business globally. >> in the earthquakes in april last year, strong jolts continued for weeks. it was difficult for the residents to decide whether they should evacuate or not. another housing firm developed a system that could be of help. itit could telell homeowners whr their houses are damaged. the key is an earthquake sensor installed in the foundation. this shows how the system might work after a big quake. the sensor detects and calculates the intensity of the shaking and then it determines if there's damage to the house and displays the results on a

panel the data is sent to the headquaters and then they confirm theirir safety. severely affected homes are given top priority and staff members rush to help. >> when there's an earthquake everyone is in a slight state of panic but having objective information can help calm nerves. it's very important to provide information with evidence. >> earthquakes are an ever present risk to japanese homeowners and thehe housing sector. improved safety measures could encourage peace of mind and help housing companies attract new customers. nhk world. >> 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 markets.

a court in seoul says it will allow an arrest warrant for the head of samsung. it doesn't see the need right now. the court spent all night trying to decide whether to approve the warrant. it was requested by a special prosecutor. a judge heard from him for about four hours on wednesday. in the court's decision it says there's room for legal debate

about the allegations. he isuspected of bribing the president't's cononfidant that accused of iluencing president park. it's all part of the corruption scandal that lead to president park being suspended. a spokesperson says they're really disappointed by the court's decisision. >> we will prepare necessary measures to continue our investigation. we're determined to keep going. >> prosecutors believe there's government support for a merger between two samsung afail yachts. they believe that helped him submit power to take over from his ailing father. police in japan have new data that underscores the country's reputation for safety. they say criminal offenses last year were at the lowestt since world w war ii.

the nationall police agency say recorded offenses dropped below m million foror the first time. crcrimes peaked in 2002 at 8.5 million. they have sensese come down eve year. in 2016 violent offenses hit a record low. still white collar c crime was 7%. it was the biggest in five years. security camera videos play a part in about 6% of solved cases. still an expert says surveillance carries risks. >> we must not forget that we can fall into the trap of thinking anyone in the video is the culprit. he warns of mistaken arrests and false charges. the a and a aircraft failed to

tuturn after landing and plowed into a snoww drifift. the officials say the plane was trying to m move from the run w to a taxi way after landing around noon. the captain has blamed ice on the runway. >> there were 25 passengers and crew on board. there's been no r reports of injuries. >> the plane ran for awhile after landing. when i thought maybe it's having a hard time stopping i heard rattling sounds and it drove into the snow. >> the incident has forced the airport to close one of its two runways. >> tourists hoping to escape the deep freeze were shocked to see that conditions in spain weren't that different from where they came from. for more on spain's weather here's jonathan oh. >> it's looking chilly as we have a low pressure system helping to usher in the only cold air but also plenty of snowfall as well and you may

notice the clouds there moving around at this point and usually we talk aboutut how it's warmer but we're seeing wintry weather coming into the picture. looking pretty nice. it's forcing authorities to issue warnings for low temperatures and that snow. the temperatures are running about 10 to 12 degrees lower than average for this time of the year and wednesday was the peak of the cold weather. people still out and about hiking and going around the snow drift and ski lifts as well. now the snow for overnight tuesday and wednesday in many areas and that also includes some beaches as well and people are just having a good time as well in the process of all of the wintry weather. we are looking at the weather pattern to still be in place because low pressure is still straddling the coast of spain and that'shehen itt will usher n precipitation. meanwhile further to the east we

have bee talking a about this lw over italy for the past several days. it doesn't seem likike it wantso go anywhere but i think we'll finally see the system pushing toward the east and eventually losing it's grip over the region but still looking at some thunderstorms possible throughout the day on thursday with a high of 12. moscow looking at snow and so is w warshaw and highs to the west. meanwhile, we go down now toward australia andnd new zealand. i want to point out what's happening here. look at ththis. that is a low pressure area bringing verery powerful winds d stormy weather and i think as we go forward in time thihis syste will at least still bring some more rainfall as we go through the d day on friday. we do have a deveveloping low that's also going to move acrors portions of southeastern australia. sidney, melbourne, you'll be dealing with this weather and you may also be dealing with the heheavier showers from time to time b but the big focal point

ally ove to western australia and some places may see close to 120 millimeters when it's all said and done. down toward new zealand you'll see rain but the maiain thing, additionally more in terms of heavy rain throughout the next few days. meanwhile people in tokyo are going is snow coming up on friday? well, we may be seeing that possibility because low pressure is moving out of china over the korean peninsula. it is expected to gather s stea over the sea of japan and as it does so it's going to bring inn plenty of cold air and also wet weather in the process but burst of cold air is mixing in which we are thinking is pretty likely even in the metro area of tokyo and maybe even flurries. we'll be watching that into the day on friday. high pressure is controlling the area over china and that keeps things dry and chilly. snow flakes maybe flying around in the capitol as we go throughout the day on friday.

as we wrap things up with a look at north america pointing out the western side where a cold front and low pressure system coming on shore will bring the possibility of some rain. some of it may be heavy so be on the look out for that. hope you have a good day where ever you are. here's your extended outlook.

>> residents in ray town near tokyo are making the most of the winter chill. they created a series of ice sku sculptures. the icicles have grown bigger as the mercury sharply dropped. >> you don't see something like this every day. it's even better than i expected. >> some people compared the landscape to an enormous chandelier. visitors can enjoy this winter

wonder land until late february. >> that's all. that's a wrap for us

we discussed the challenge of taxation. >> watch events unfold on "france 24" and france24.com. "> welcome to the "france 24 newsroom. i am molly hall. it is 1:00 p.m. in the french capital. john got john day -- jammeh ends as the president ignores calls to give up power. troops are on standby to intervene. dozens are feared dead as an avalanche buries a hotel in central italy. rescue teams are searching for possible survivors. final preparations are underway in