coming to you line from our studios here in tokyo, this is nhk "newsline," i'm james tengan. woe start off with a quick look a at some stories we're looking at. crossing the line, mexico's leader has called off a summit with u.s. president trump as a rile over a border wall escalates. ready for a close-up, people in japan can now use a new

service to capture photos when smartphone photos aren't good enough. and going with the flow, how a japanese company put a screw to a snowplow and turned it into clean energy that could help bring clean energy to rural communities worldwide. the back and forth over president trump's border wall continues. the white house says it wants to pay mexico pay for the wall through import taxes. the white house says it will impose a tax on its southern neighbors. the announcement is another hit to the relations between the two companies. on thursday, mexican president pena nieto said he would skip a summit with trump that had been scheduled for next week. pena nieto was responding to a tweet from trump saying it would be better to cancel the meeting, if mexico is unwilling to pay for the wall. the wall was one of trump's main

election pledges. estimated construction costs would be in the billions of dollars. over 10 million people from mexico and elsewhere are said to be in the u.s. illegally. well, trump is also expected to sign more executive orders pushing ahead with other key messages from his election campaign. trump plans to impose a temporary ban on all refugees and is preparing an order to suspend visas for anyone from seven predominantly muslim countries, including syria and iraq. trump sees it as an anti-terrorism measure. >> we're going to have extreme vetting in all cases. i mean extreme. we're not letting people in if we think there is a chance of some problem. >> when it comes to terrorism, trump is supportive of reintroducing the practice of water boarding. an interrogation method widely considered a form of torture. he says it absolutely works. >> that so-called enhanced

interrogation technique was deemed ineffective by the senate after being used at american prisons around the world. it was eventually banned by barack obama. trump says he'll listen to the advice of his defense secretary and newly appointed cia director on the matter. both have indicated opposition to the technique. britain's prime minister will be the first foreign leader to meet face to face with the new american president. their discussion could provide some perspective on the foreign policy of trump, who advocates america first. the leaders will meet at the white house on friday. they're expected to reaffirm the close ties between their countries. they're also expected to discuss trade and measures against the islamic state militant group. trump has been positive toward bilateral trade deals, saying he would sign one with britain quickly. he claims that multilateral pacts don't benefit the u.s. and has ordered his country to pull

out of the trans-pacific partnership. theresa may wants to seal new trade deals with other countries as britain plans to leave the eu. the summit could pave the way towards negotiations. may told republicans on thursday that britain bears a fair share of defense costs as a u.s. ally. she indicated she will urge others to do the same. trump and may are expected to discuss nato, which he has criticized for being obsolete. trump, meanwhile is finishing up his first week in office. he spent much of it trying to make good on the list of promises he made on the campaign trail. and his actions are drawing both praise and protest. nhk world's uri ito has more. >> we are transferring power from washington, d.c. and giving it back to you, the people. >> on day one, trump pledged to keep every one of his campaign promises and drain the

washington swamp. if anyone thought trump would be a golf course president, this week is proving otherwise. the reset of the obama era was noticeable as soon as he sat down in the oval office. the curtains had been redecorated to fit his esthetics, his choice, his trademark color, gold. within hours, came trump's first executive order. he directed his agencies to phase out on his predecessor's health care law, obamacare. and it didn't stop there. he signed more than a dozen executive actions so far to roll back obama's policies. they include backing out of the trans-pacific partnership. >> great thing for the american worker, what w we just did. >> the move led the markets to rally. the dow hit the 20,000 mark for the first time on wednesday on expectations trump would help american companies. >> but it's not just the markets that are rallying. protests are taking place across

the country. >> this is definitely a blow to immigrants and refugees. and i hope that he will hear the cries and the pleas and the concerns of his citizens. >> in mexico, the reaction to the planned border wall -- anger. >> translator: he thimpgs only about himself and doesn't care about other people. >> translator: the wall doesn't have anything to do with us. why do mexicans have to pay for it? he probably just wants to take our taxes. i think that's bad. he's crazy. >> the rest of the world is also watching. waiting to see plans that could affect them. one possibility -- moving the embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. the city's status is disputed between israelis and palestinians. such a move is likely to anger palestinian and heighten tensions in the middle east. and many u.s. a allies are nervs about statements like this -- >> our haallies are not paying

their fair share and i've been talking about this recently a lot. our allies must contribute toward their financial, political and human costs. have to do it. of our tremendous security burden. >> defense secretary james mattis is scheduled to visit japan and south korea next week. it will give the asia pacific region a sense of what trump acactually has in store. yuri ito, nhk world. now on to business news, the japanese government is considering ways to boost trade with the u.s. now that it has formally dropped out of a key free trade deal. gene otani has the details on that and other business headlines. >> japanese prime minister shinzo abe has indicated he may discuss bilateral trade when he meets u.s. president donald trump. earlier this week, trump signed an order to formally withdraw the u.s. from the trans-pacific partnership free trade deal. the japanese and u.s.

governments are trying to schedule a summit for next month. abe spoke at a session in the lower house budget committee. an opposition lawmaker said the u.s. withdrawal from the tpp is a given for president trump, who has clearly stated he'll pursue bilateral trade negotiations with many countries. the lawmaker went on to say if japan raises the possibility of bilateral trade negotiations with the u.s. from the beginning, that would be playing into trump's hands. abe disagreed. >> as i've already said, while pursuing the tpp japan has concluded the bilateral trade deal with australia and is in talks with canada. so bilateral trade negotiations with the u.s. will not contradict japan's policy. >> abe said he intends to stand firm and take the best path towards maximizing japan's national interests and there's no change in this policy.

japan's finance minister has commented about the possible meeting. taro aso said abe needs to seek understanding from trump as his country describes this country's trade deficit with japan as a problem. >> translator: it's important that the two leaders exchange opinions on the current status, and establish a proper relationship. >> aso says japan needs to point out the u.s. trade deficit with japan is, shrinking in proportion to other trading partners. and that japanese firms employ 800,000 workers in the u.s. trump is expected to propose a bilateral trade deal with japan at that summit. "reuters" is quoting a senior administration official as saying the u.s. will try to come up with a deal to replace the tpp. the officials say that in the

summit, the american president will seeeek quick progress towa an agreement with japan. the "associated press" has reported that trump will soon take steps to begin bilateral negotiations with most other tpp member nations. the president on thursday repeated his intention to pursue one-on-one trade deals to protect u.s. workers. white house officials are considering taking measures on firms in the u.s. that import goods, they want revenue to help pay for the wall president trump is planning to build along the mexican border. press secretary sean spicer spoke to reporters about a possible levy. he said one idea is a 20% tax on goods brought in from countries that the u.s. has trade deficit with. media reports say the white house is also considering reforming the corporate tax system. they say the idea is to lower taxes on companies that export and raise those on firms that import. the proposals face opposition from u.s. importers and could

affect japanese businesses. time for a check on the markets, tokyo stock prices edged higher. our business reporter giang nguyen has more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> investor sentiment is steady following corporate earnings that lifted wall street to record highs. but profit-taking capped earlier gains. let's look at the closing levels this friday. january 27th. the nikkei 2250 added .33%, closing at 19,467. the broader topix gained nearly .3%. the nikkei added 1.7% this week reversing weekly losses from the previous two weeks. expectations for the policies of the new t trump administration drove the gainsns on the nikkei ththis week. on the currency front, the dollar bounced back to the 115-yen level during tokyo

trading. analyststs say expectationss fo interest rate hikes this year are providing some support to the u.s. currency. looking at individual stock performances, the energy sector jumped on overnight gain in crude oil prices. all developers like inpex and japan petroleum exploration rose 3%. market players will be closing watching the central bank meeting. giang nguyen reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. moving on, markets in the asia pacific region in sydney, the asx finished at 5713. higher interest rates in the u.s. but declined to metal prices weighed on resource shares. stock prices in singapore climbed 0.4%, 3064 the closing number. gains in major banks and property shares pushed the index up to a 15-month high on their

half-day session. hong kong ending slightly lower, several markets in the region were closed for the lunar new year holiday. trading in mainland china will resume next friday. here's a look at some other business stories. >> executives at toshiba have apprproved a plan to split off s flash memory business. and develop it within a new firm partially financed by invnvestmt from other companies. the move is an effort by the japanese electronics maker to rebuild finances afteter reelin from huge losses in its nuclear business in the u.s. toshiba plans to set up a new firm at the end of march after obtaining apppproval by shareholders. the executiveves say they w wil sell less than 20% of the new firm and aim to raise about $2.6 billion. >> mitsubishi motors has been fined more than $4 million for

promoting its vehicles using falsified fuel data. the consumer affairs agency says the car maker showed fuel data for nine models that were up to 16 better than they actually were. the agency pointed out that nissan motor failed to act properly when the problem was found. and many vehicles supplied to the company by mitsubishi motors. today anyone with a good digital camera or smartphone can take beautiful photos, but there are some occasions where only a professional portrait will do. new kinds of photo services are popping up that are far cry from the formal studios of the past. nhk provides a snapshot. >> this couple is on a date. but this time it's different. they brought someone else along, a photographer. >> great, nice, now cheek-to-cheek, please.

>> reporter: the person happened behind the cap camera accompanies the family on an outing and takes their pictures for a fee. he shoots about 200 pictures over a couple of hours. prices start at about $100. >> wow! it's amazing. >> this is the first time for me. the pictures are more natural and informal than the traditional kind. we want to capture what we really like. >> of course, i'll post them on twitter. i can't wait to hear what people have to say. >> the service has a thread that most of young customers do the most t. companies that provides it receives about 200 order orders a month. people who want more natural-looking portraits of their kids can now visit a special kind of studio, like the one in this ordinary-looking

house. professional studios also use harsh lighting, but here a professional photographer tries to capture a child's expressions under the natural light. surrounded by lovely furniture. at the studios creating the right atmosphere is just as important as understanding how to use the camera. >> thank you. i'm so happy! >> reporter: professional photographers can capture a child's changing expressions when they're smiling or surprised. that's something i can't do. >> japan's portrait studio industry is undergoing a transformation. in tokyo, the number of children is on the rise and that presents an opportunity. and that presents an opportunity. >> translator: parents and grandparents tend to spend more money on kid these days. so i think this market will continue to grow.

>> getting into the business is easy. all you need is money and to hire someone to shoot the pictures. many firms not normally associate with the phohotograph industry are now getting into the action. keiko takata took advantage of the opportunity to expand into this area. >> translator: i didn't know anything about this business, or about how to use cameras, either. but they taught us everything, so i don't need to worry. that's very important. >> people used to have formal portraits taken to commemorate key events in their life. they allow the elements to capture more prouder moments, wherever and whenever they like. nhk world, tokyo.

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'm going to leave you with the markets. in sumo, newly promoted yokozuna champion kisenosato performed his first ring-opening ceremony before throngs of fans. 20,000 people were on hand at meiji shrine in tokyo to watch the ceremony. kisenosato is the first japanese-born wrestler in 19 years to reach the sport's highest rank. he wore a braided white rope around his waist. a symbol of grand champions.

kisenosato perfoformed in the style that's said to represent sumo offense and defense. spectators cheered as he stomped the ground. >> tokyo police are investigating whether an international jewel theft network is targeting japan. they've arrested two more chinese nationals they believe are members of a gang known as pink panda. investigators suspect the two stole at least one diamond at a trade fair held this month. the suspects deny the allegation. police have already arrested three others they believe belong to the same group. they showed up at the event this year and last, when police suspect they also stole a diamond ring. all the suspects came to japan a few days beforore the fair started. police believe they were

targeting it because security is less tight there than in jewelry shops. that type of theft is said to be typical for the pink panda network that's been active in europe. a company in central japan is making waves with the device that can harness the power of even the gentlest streams and it's an invention they say could transform the lives of people across the world. >> this facility is a small hydro power plant. it uses water flowing into rice paddies to generate electricity. >> translator: water keeps flowing in the cacals. without being affected by the weather or season. its strength lies in stable power generation. >> 36 such facilities are operating in toyama prefecture. the number has grown 5050% in past four years.

hiro minami is in charge of generating systems in the prefecture. his firm makes generators that can be used in canals where the cascades are small. a two-meter chute generate enough electricity to power ten average households. >> translator: we just installed this in a stream, that's its beauty. we don't have to do anything. we just leave it there. not many other hydro generators are this small. >> minami originally developed screws for snowplows. he adapted the screws so they could be used as water wheels. using the energy of falling water to generate power efficiently. >> translator: the water wheel consists of angled blades with a shortened shaft. it's easy to make them. and they work well. >> a generator costs up to about

$350,000, depending on its size. they've already been installed in 34 locations in japan. minami has done good business with the generators. he's now targeting overseas markets. he set his eyes on myanmar, which is enjoying brisk economic growth. electricity is available in only about a third of the country. but rice production is widespread. and there's a network of canals for irrigation in place. minami is taking part in an official development assistance project to provide power generators to myanmar. his firm received an order from jayko, the japan international cooperation agency, it will supply two power generators to a farming village 500 kilometers from myanmar's largest city. minami and an agency official are checking whether preparations are going well.

>> translator: i'm excited that the power generator i saw now willll be installed in villages without electricity. i'm looking forward to seeing what happens there. >> minami hopes the jayco project will show how useful the power generators are. he sees the project as a stepping stone to the firm's business overseas. >> translalator: i hope to makey company the global top brand in hydro power generation. >> microhydro power generation can change people's lives. new markets abroad look set to open up for this simple, but transformative technology. here with the weather update is sayaka mori who starts off with the wildfires plaguguing chilly. >> chilly temperatures have led to historic wildfires in the region of south america. i w want to takake you to the

central portions of the country to show the situation. the worst wildfires in chile's modern history is ravaging wide areas of the central region. 10 people have been reportedly killed. there were 85 fires as of wednesday, covering 190,00000 hectares, more t than twice the area of new york city, in the town of santa olga, more than 1500 buildings have beeeen burn. forest f fires are unundmont coy in summer, this year is quite exceptional. we need rain and lower temperatures to stop the fires but a a high pressure systetem controlllling the weathe noo rnn is expected at least into next week. temperatures not as hot as compared to what we saw a couple of days ago. but still warm, 33 degrees expected in santiago on friday and saturday. very different story in peru,

ongoing heavy rainfall has led to signinificantnt floods. we have some video from southern portions of the country. a hotel was swept away by floodwaters in southern portions of the country on wednesday. no injuries were reported, because the guests had been evacuated before it collapsed. usually march is the wettest month of the year in the area. some more rain is expected in the coming months. more rain is expected at least for the nextxt three days or so so conditions will not improvev any time soon. there's a winter storm affected in eastern portions of canada, especially in the labrador region. you see blowing conditions. you see the pressure gradient is quite tight. so winds are quite strong in many areas as r asas the northeastern portions of the united statates, lake effect s is quite heavyesespeciallyly in the state of new york. some areas may see up to 1 meter of snowfall into your sunday. here are your expected highs on your friday. minus 1 degree in chicago with snowflakes expected.

as the cold front moves through the country, you will see quite cold air coming in from the north. >> this is a warm day in tokyo, the mercury hit nearly 16 degrees in tokyo. more like early april. as the cold front moves through the country we'll see quite cold air coming in from the north. temperatures going down about fiveve deges g going intnto saturday. we w will see snowfalall across northern plalaces of japan, esespecially hokkaido. which may see upp to 40 inches f snowfall up into your saturday morning local time. but as we go into sasaturday nit it's's going to be clearining u. roross cnana, saturday is the start of the lunar new year. we will see quite sunny weather inin places of the country including beijing and shanghai. tomorrow's air quality is not so good in beijing.

but at least sunny weather will continue into your monday at least. that's it for now. here is your extended forecast.

for special reports and feature stories, visit our website. for all of us here at nhk "newsline," thanks for watchings

♪ stuart: 1:00 p.m. in the french capital, the headlines from around the world. theresa may is set to meet donald trump today, she already launched a charm offensive to secure a transatlantic trade deal. spat with trump's mexico intensifies, after he suggests tax and imports to pay for the wall. fighting to lay's worst ever