it's 7:00 p.m. on a tuesday here in japan. i'm james tengan in tokyo. start off with a quick look at some of the stories we're following. park gets grilled. south korea's former president is questioned over her alleged involvement in a corruption scandal. stepping up security. the japanese government wants to pass an anti-terror bill, but some are worried it could

infringe on sicivic rights. and we'll have the story of a man in war-torn iraq who makes sure the dead get a proper burial. south korea's former president has spent most of tuesday being questioned by prosecutors. park geun-hye is facing a slew of charges connected to a corruption scandal that has gripped the nation for months. prosecutors provided an update saying proceedings were behind schedule. questioning is expected to last into the night or early morning hours on wednesday. then it's expected that park will be allowed to return home. park started the day by briefly addressing the media in front of the prosecutor's office. >> translator: i sincerely apologize to my fellow citizens. i will fully cooperate with the investigation. >> park is the fourth former president to be questioned over criminal allegations, but she's the first to be kicked out of office by impeachment.

park is reportedly repeating her claim of innocence while under questioning. joining me in the studio is kengo okomoto, who has covered the korean peninsula for years. what have prosecutors done to build their case up to this point? >> well, james, it's been a long journey to park's fall. a special prosecutor took over the probe in december and spent 70 days investigating the allegatio allegations. that paved the way for park being kicked out of office and got things to where they are today. so far, 39 people have been indicted, including choi and a former aide of park. in total, prosecutors now suspect park of 30 separate criminal offenses.

>> first off, there's the allegation she was involved in extorting millions in bribes. >> that's right. she's suspected of colluding with choi and her former presidential aide. both are accused of pressuring conglomerates and companies into draining huge sums of money into two foundations linked to choi in turn for political favors. the special prosecutor says more than 50 companies coughed up close to $70 million. company heads have denied allegations that the money they gave was in exchange for favors. park's side maintains the money was for culture and sport-related programs. local media reported the two foundations were ordered to be shut down on monday over the scandal. as for choi's private companies, it's also suspected of pressuring conglomerates to do

business with them. the firms were relatively unknown and had no proven track record, but these three companies racked up large amounts of cash for providing questionable business services. >> can you explain the other allegations against her? >> yes, park is suspected of leaking confidential state documents to choi through her former aide. park and the aide admitted they leaked some drafts of speeches. park says it was so she could make her speeches better. then there's the so-called blacklist. prosecutors say park abused her authority by ordering her former aide and a minister to blacklist thousands of artists deemed unfriendly to her administration. park's side has denied this allegation. and it also alleged park interfered with low-level

government and private company staffing. prosecutors say she wrongly had people fired without a cause. they also say she used her influence to get a promotion because of a request from choi soon-sil. now that park is being questioned, we will hopefully get a better idea of what her defense will look like. she's expected to continue to deny all allegations. >> okay. we'll keep you updated on all the developments here on nhk "newsline." kengo, thanks very much. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ the japanese government wants to pass a bill that will criminalize the act of preparing a terrorist attack and other

serious crimes. it says the point of the new law is to increase security and prevent terrorism. the government says the bill is necessary ahead of the 2020 tokyo olympics and paralympics. all involved will be punished if at least one of the group's members raised funds, purchased goods, or took other concrete action to prepare for the crimes. >> translator: the bill has been approved by the cabinet. we will explain it based on its content. i hope the bill is discussed in the diet sufficiently and will be promptly passed. >> but opposition parties say ordinary citizens could be targeted by the proposed legislation. they fear law enforcement authorities could apply it arbitrarily. about 300 people gathered in front of the prime minister's office. they called for the withdrawal

of the bill. >> translator: i don't know whether i can prove i'm not involved with an incident that has not happened yet. it's scary. >> translator: i think the risks are not widely known to people. we have to keep telling them. >> the lawyers' association is also protesting the bill, saying ordinary citizens could be unjustly punished. a japanese government survey shows about one in four adults have thought about committing suicide. the figure is higher than the past two surveys. the health ministry conducts a question every four years asking 3,000 men and women aged 20 or older. around 2,000 people responded. the survey shows about 23% of respondents said they had serious thoughts of killing themselves at one time or another. respondents in their 50s were followed by those in their 30s. less than 7% said they knew about local government phone

counseling services. health ministry officials said they will promote suicide prevention measures because of japan's high suicide rate. last year, over 21,000 people took their lives in japan, down almost 10% from the year before. after public outcry and urging by the international olympic committee, a golf club outside tokyo has decided to allow women to become full members. the country club is the planned golf venue for the 2020 tokyo olympics. it's been a male-only course since it opened over 80 years ago. board members unanimously voted for women to become full members. the ioc said the original policy ran counter to equality set out in the olympic charter. last week the famed centuries' old muirfield club in scotland decided to allow women to become members for the first time. the move had been voted down

last year. ioc vice president jon coates says in a statement he welcomed the japanese's cl club's decisi. the average price of residential land in japan is up for the first time in nine years. demand was firm due to low mortgage rates on the back of the central bank's negative interest rate policy. a tax break also helped. land ministry officials have released data as of january 1st for about 26,000 locations. the average price of residential land edged up 0.02% from the previous year. the increase is greater in three major cities. tokyo, osaka, and nagoya saw a rise of half a percent. prices of commercial land were up for the second straight year. they rose an average 1.4%. commercial land prices in the three major cities increased more than 3%.

the most expensive plot of land in japan was again in tokyo's ginza district. its price surged more than 25% in yen terms to nearly half a million dollars a square meter. japanese finance minister taro aso says the group of 20 economies hasn't given up on free trade. his comment comes after it released a joint statement that left out a pledge to resist protectionism. >> translator: g20 members agreed on the importance of free trade. >> t the statement sayss thehe countries are working to strengthen the contribution of trade to their economies. it dropped a long-standining positionon on freee tradede a a u.s. pushed for more emphasis on fair trade. that's in line with the greater protectiononism said to be favod by donald trump. aso insisted on using the word fair to describe balanced trade.

china wanted to use the term free. turning to the markets, tokyo stocks closed lower as a stronger yen weighed on sesentiment. phoebebe amoroso hasas more. >> thehe yen advanced against t dollar over the long weekend. investors aring noing to thehe safe haven currency as they're concerned the g20 finance leaders dropped their pledge to keep global trade free and open. let's take a look at the closing levels. the nikkei ended 0.3% lower, closing at 19,455. the broader topix fell 0.16%. let's go to currencies. the dollar fell to three-week lows against the yen in earl tokyo trading. in addition to the g20 meeting, some traders were disappointed after a u.s. federal reserve official reaffirmed a gradual pace of rate hikes. looking at individual stocks, financial shares weighed on the benchmark. they took a hit from lowower u.

yields. analysts say there's also some profit taking after recent rallies. dai-ichi life holdings and mitsubishi ufj financial group both ended lower. that stronger yen dragggged dow shares o of exportrters, such a electronics manufacturersrs. alps electric and tdk were both down more than 1%. invevestors are waiting t to he announcements from feded officis this week. i'm phoebe amoroso reporting from the nhk market studio. other indexes in the asia pacific region were mixed. south korea's cospi was up almost 1%. the shanghai composite added 0.3%. singapore down nearly a quarter of a percent. taiwan's taiex rose 0.6%, closing at 9,972. that's the highest in nearly two years. apple parts suppliers led the gains. sydney's s&p asx 200 index was

slightly lower, finishing at 5,774. japan's agricultural minister has criticized chinese state-run tv for a report on japanese food products c chines authorities s have banned impor of certain food items from japan since the 2011 fukushima nuclear accident. they say it's not clear if they're safe. chinese state-run tv claims japanese retailers sold banned food products in china. the agricultural minister countered with these words. >> translator:r: japan exports only the items that have been confirmed safe. if the tv report says prefectures, including tokyo, are radiation contaminated areas, that's totally incorrect. >> yamamoto calls such misunderstandings regrettable. he said he'llll urge beijing to

make sure the facts are understood. he added he would step up efforts to have china ease restrictions on food exports from japan. a popular online home sharing company is expanding the range of services it offers in japan. airbnb serves as a go-between for travelers and private individuals who want to rent out rooms of their homes. it does business in some 200 countries. an airbnb official says the firm is launching an app with a guidebook function for travelers visiting japan. people will recommend events and places like restaurants that may not be well known. let's check our global economical d economic calendar for this week. on wednesday, we'll see the trade balance numbers. the next day, the monthly economic report. the same day, singapore officials give us the key inflation figure, the consumer price index for february. on friday, we get the figures for u.s. durable goods.

that's also for february. at the start of each week, we ask specialists to share their perspective on what's ahead. in today's edition of "expert view," we hear from the senior economist at mitsubishi ufj research and consulting. trade figures from japan put in the spotlight by u.s. president trump will be under special scrutiny. he says february results will show an increasing surplus. >> translator: i expect exports will go up by around 12%. shipments of semiconductors, electric parts, and car parts will be robust. imports will be the same level as lower clothing imports have offset the effect of rebounding oil prices. the higher oil prices will begin to squeeze japan's trade surplus for m march. >> he says there's no easy way to erase the trade surplus with the u.s., but he says imports of

shale g gas from america may he to hold it down. >> translator: as long as the u.s. economy stays on the recovery track, japanese exports to the country will keep growing to some extent. so i think it's unlikely that japan's trade surplus with the u.s. will go down soon. but japan began to import u.s. shale from january. if these imports grow, it could help curb the trade surplus. as president trump appears to be positive about exporting resources, shale gas could serve as a factor to balance bilateral trade. >> but nakata doubts that will be enough to satisfy the trump administration. hehe says the u.s. will likely demand japan open the door to more beef and other farm produce. >> translator: the united states and australia are competitors in exporting beef to japan.

japan imposes a 30.5% tariff on australian beef imports in accordance with the bilateral economic partnership agreement. butt rate on u.s. beef is 38.5%, putting those producers at a disadvantage. so i think it's highly likely the united states will demand that japan lower its tariff for its beef as well. you can catch our report again online together with a full transcript. just look for nhk world and business wrap. that's a look at business news. i'm going to leave you with the markets.

japan's health ministry says abuse of elderly peoplely family members and caregivers at nursing facilities is on the rise. an annuall s survey has found te were 16,384 caseses in 2015, up 345 from the previous year. the vast majority of them involved abuse by family members. most of those involved physical or psychological abuse. among the victims, 20 people died as a result of causes including homicide. abuse at care facilities reached a record high for the ninth straight year. an expert researching elder abuse says people need to increase their awareness of the issue. >> translator: i think reported cases are the tip of the iceberg. solutions only come after the

abuses are recognized squarely. so reports and consultations need to be encouraged. >> the ministry plans to promote the use of consultation centers. the fight against islamic state militants in iraq rages on. the group has killed countless people and some aren't even given the dignity of a proper burial. nhk world has the story of a man who is providing some comfort to the dead. >> reporter: the city of erbil in northern iraq lies a kilometer east of mosul, one of the main bases for the islamic state militant group. this man runs a small cell phone store in the city. but he also has another calling

as a mortician. he has the important responsibility of taking care of people who have died, ensuring that they're buried appropriately. he has p performed this role on voluntary basis for more than 20 years. under the control of islamic state, so many people couldn't go back to their hometown. then they passed away. as youou can see, there is no tombstone because they were not identified. in muslim culture, the rituals are conducted by the family and the local community. the team of around 20 are called in when there are no friends or relatives. >> t translator: there are so my displaced people now who have no money or whose identities are

unknown. islam teaches us we must treat them with kindness, no matter who they are. >> reporter: kawa also devoted time to recruiting more volunteers. many people have been inspired by his work. so he has begun holding workshops. islam has strict rules about how these rituals must be conducted. >> translator: first, we wash the head three times and close the mouth. then we wash the arms, starting with the right. >> reporter: there are other specific ways of handling people who have died in battle. >> translator: if there's a wound to the arm, you must cover it with plastic wrap so that the blood does not stain the white cloth. >> translator: i would willingly work for kawa if he needs help.

we live in tough times, and i want to take pride in my work. >> reporter: kawa receives a phone call asking him to help with a funeral service. his destination is a church rather than a mosque. regagardless of the person's religion, kawa accepts the job of transporting the coffin. >> translator: it doesn't matter if a person is a christian or a muslim. muhammad says all men are brothers. >> reporter: kawa is heartbroken by the grim reality of the world he lives in. he prays that some day the displaced people will be able to return home to live in peace and that life will return to normal. mostafa fathy, nhk world, erbil.

nhk "newsline" comes to you live from tokyo, where it's wet with a current temperature reading of 9 degrees celsius, or 48 degrees fahrenheit. sayaka mori from our weather desk has good news for you planning to visit tokyo this week. >> yes, rainy weather will likely come to an end tonight, and we'll see sunny and warm weather tomorrow. and today it's chilly and wet, buthat a surprprise, the cheher blossoms are starting to bloom. we have somome video from centr tokyo. cherry flowers have officially started to come out in tokyo totoday, that's five days earli than normal. the same as last year. it's the first time in nine years that tokyo was the site of the first bloom in the country. it takes about a week to reach full bloom.

lots of lovely flowers. tomorrow the high will be 15 degrees and beautiful, sunny weather should come back on wednesday. nice and mild weather will likely continue throughout the week. more flowers wilill bloom m in fukuokoka. let's go down to the southern n hemisphere where you see lots of rainfall in eastern queensnslan and new south wales. over the past 24 hours, over 135 millimeters of rainfall has fallen in parts of queensland and m more rain is expected. into the next three days we will see 250 millimets ofof rain oro more. we have severe e thunderstorm warnrnings in pla for parts of new south wales, including sydney. large hahail, damaging win andn severere thunderstorms. heavy rain could lead to flash floooods. sydney has b been dealing with very wet weather so far this month. it could be the wettest march on recocord if we see morore raini. lelet's go to ghana. the rainy season has just started and tragedy occurred. we have footage coming out of

the country. a deadly accident happened in ghana afteter a rainstorm hit o sunday. at least 18 people killed or, rather, 20 people were injured at the base of the water fall. many of them are high school students. it occurred when a large tree fell into the pool where they wewere enjoying swimmiming. the water fall is s known as a popular beauty spot and was busy with weekend day trippers. in ghana the rainy season has just startrted and more rain is expected. now inin central portionof g gha whwhere the accident occurred we'll l see more rainfall from wednesday going into the weekend.d. typically, we see heavy rainfall along the equator and more rainfall will fall over ghana. in europe there's a line of rainstorms into the baltic states and then up towards the north. you can see the pressure

gradient is quite packed. that means gusty conditions are happening over the scandinavavi peninsula as well as the british isles. down towards the south, more rain is expected for the north of the iberian peninsula. temperatures expected to go down as we go into the next several days. madrid, the high could be 19 degrees on tuesday, but on thursday it's going to be cooling down by about 10 degrees. you may see some snowfall as well. lisbon, 17 degrees for the high on tuesday. up towards the east, temperatures are quite warm. 10 degrees in kiev, nearly 5 degrees higher than normal. 12 in warsaw with rainy weather. that's it for me now. here's your extended forecast.

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>> people and profits. >> welcome to live from paris. top stories of this hour. security, immigration, unemployment and the economy some other issues as the leading candidates clashed on live tv with just 33 days before the election. the race is heating up. the prime minister prepares to meet the interior minister amid accusations that bruno le roux employed his 2