here in japan, it's 7:00 p.m. on a thursday. i'm james tengan. welcome to nhk "newsline." we start off with a quick look at some of the stories we're following. a rare event. the head of an education group connected to a political scandal in japan gives sworn testimony to lawmakers. investigation under way. police believe the attacker that killed three and injured dozens

near britain's parliament was inspired by islamic extremism. they've arrested seven people in raids. and a missile analyzed. u.s. defense officials are speculating the type of missile launched by north korea on wednesday was not an intercontinental ballistic type. a school operator in the center of a political scandal that's rocked japan's ruling party has given sworn testimony no lawmakers. allegations have surfaced over illegal interference in a state land purchase and possible connections to the prime minister. nhk world's tomoko kamata reports. >> reporter: the school operator spent thursday giving sworn testimony to both houses of japan's diet. he was summoned by lawmakers in an effort to clear the air surrounding a scandal that implicated the prime minister and other lawmakers. at the heart of the issue is this statement. >> translator: shehe took an envelope out of her bag and told

me it was from prime minister shinzo abe. >> reporter: kogoike was referring to the prime minister's wife. he says she gave him a $9,000 donation on behalf of her husband. something shinzo abe says never happened. kogoike is the head of the educational group that teaches curriculum supportive of abe and his policies. lately it's been in the spotlight. the group made headlines when it was revealed that it purchased state-owned land in osaka for a fraction of its estimated value. the opposition cried foul and alleged political interference. the government says the price was appropriate. it was also revealed that abe was the honorary principal for a new school being built on the

controversial land. she has since stepped down. what's more, they had planned to name the school after the prime minister. the prime minister even staked his job on the fact he had nothing to do with the land sale. >> translator: if i or my wife were involved, i'd clearly say i'd step down as prime minister and end my career as a politician. >> reporter: abe may have thought the comment was enough to put the scandal behind them, but then kogoike claimed he received a donation from the abes. that led him to being summonedd to the diet to answer questions about the donation and the land sale. >> translator: i believe there was political involvement concerning this matter. >> reporter: a recent nhk poll indicates abe's cabinet has seen a drop in its support rate. while the ruling party is trying to put this mess behind them,

the opposition says the testimony is only the beginning. tomoko kamata, nhk world, tokyo. british police say they've made gains in their probe in the deadly attack in the heart of london. they've made seven arrests and have searched six addresses. they say they're looking to leads in other parts of the country. in the attack, a man drove a car into pedestrians along west minister bridge. in this surveillance footage, a person can be seen falling into the river. four are dead, including the attacker. 29 others have been injured. exkuds excuse me, three are dead, including the attacker. 29 others have been injured. the area is usually filled with tourists from around the world. people ran for their lives as gunshots rang out. >> it happened so quickly.

i jumped the left into the road. i think one of the guys that had been hit unfortunately passed me. then looked around me in shock because i could see bodies and people. it was all a real shock. >> the driver stormed the gates of parliament and fatally stabbed a guard. he was then shot dead by police. officials have not disclosed his identity but say they know who he is. they suspect he was influenced by islamic extremism. the british prime minister condemned what she called a sick, depraved attack on democracy, freedom, and human rights. she said londoners will never give in to terror. >> any attempt to defeat those values through violence and terror is doomed to failure. tomorrow morning parliament will meet as normal. we will come together as normal. >> the area around the parliament was under lockdown

after the attack. that has since been lifted. police remain on high alert. in washington, representatives from more than 60 nations and organizations have discussed stepping up the fight against terrorism. the u.s. secretary of state says his country is continuing to put pressure on islamic state militants. the meeting was the first since the inauguration of u.s. president donald trump, who has pledged to make the fight against the militants a priority. >> i recognize there are many preszing challenges in the middle east, but defeating isis is the united states' number one goal in the region. >> tillerson also says the u.s. would set up interim zones of stabilility in syria to help refugees return home. >> i ask each country to examine how it can best suppoport these vital stabilization efforts, especially in regard to contributions of military and financial resources. >> he called on the coalition

partners to make good on financial pledges to secure and rebuild areas where the militant group has been expelled. a group monitoring the syrian war is reporting a deadly air strike on a school sheltering civilians. it says at least 33 people were killed near the islamic state-held city of raqqah. the britain based syrian observatory for human rights believes the air strike was carried out by u.s.-led coalition forces. it says about 40 families who fled fighting were taking refuge at the school. coalition officials told nhk they have no indication that an air strike hit civilians, but they say they have carried out several strikes in the area and they will investigate. the coalition is part of an ofoffensive with syrian governmt troops aimed at retaking raqqah. the city is the de facto capital of the islamic state group, but human rights groups say the coalition's campaign is resulting in a large number of civilian casualties. the associate the press says

u.s. president donald trump's former campaign manager secretly worked for a russian billionaire. it says paul manafort was paid to support the interests of president vladimir putin. the aim was to benefit putin's government. it says that manafort pitched the plans to oleg deripaska. it adds manafort signed a contract with deripaska in 2006. white house spokesperson sean spicer said president trump had nonot been aware of the arrangement. >> he had clients around the world. there's no suggestion he did anything improper. to suggest that the president knew who his clients were from a decade ago is a bit insane.

>> the report also says that manafort is the target of an fbi investigation into possible ties between trump's campaign team and the kremlin. u.s. defense officials say north korea did not launch an intercontinent intercontinental ballistic missile during its latest test. a pentagon spokesperson says wednesday's launch was a major failure, as the missile exploded seconds after taking off. and he said it was not capable of reaching the u.s. mainland. but a u.s. militaryy offfficial warns n north korea couldld use launch to step up its missile capability. >> every time we had a failure, we learned from it, right, and eventually got to the point where we are today. i think the same thing will happen with north korea. they are learning from every one of those. >> he stressed the need to study measures to respond to any missile threat from pyongyang. the sunken ferry in one of south korea's deadliest maritime disasters is now above water.

the sewol went down three years ago killing nearly 300 people, most of them high school students. a salvage team worked overnight wednesday to raise the ferry. our reporter got a close-up look at the operation. >> reporter: the barge behind me holds the sewol. we've watched the recovery take more than a day.y. there arare over 400 salvage workers involved in the process. they are a lot of boats here. some is media. other are family members of the dead. the next step is too bring t th sewol into the port. >> the sewol had been lying at a depth of over 40 meters since april 2014. families of victims have been demanding the government to raise the vessel that weighs over 8,000 tons. teams used cranes mounted on two ships to carefulllly liftt it a avoid spilling any fuel.

>> translator: we've set up a goal to mount the sunken ferry on a barge between tuesday and friday. for three days during a low tide. we'll do everything we can to make sure it goes well. >> 295 people died when the ship sank off the country's southwet coast. the bodies of nine victims are believed to be trapped inside the vessel. in 2015, the supreme court gave the capaptain a life sentence f murder. it said he had abandoned the ship without issuing an order to evacuate. now turning to business news. a global financial institution led by china says its members are on the increase. gene otani has the details on that and other headlines. >> the asian infrastructure investment bank has approved 13 new applicants to join. it was established in 2015 to

support infrastructure development across the region. china holds a leading role. the new members include canada, belgium, and hong kong. bank officials say they expect more new members will join later this year. the inclusion brings the total members of the aiib to 70, exceeding 67 in the asian development bank. with canada joining, japan and the united states are the only non-aiib members among the g7 countries. advances in artificial intelligence are leading to a world where advertising is more personal than ever. two japanese firms have harnessed the latest in this technology to create a system that analyzes emotional expressions to recommend products. the sysystem is the work of microsoft, japan, and advertising agency hakuhodo. it checks the facial expressions

of the person who looks at it and displays an ad. a man with a beard might see an ad for shavingng cream. a person who looks tired might be recommended an energy drink. the firms are hoping to put the system into use around the middle of this year. they say they've already received expressions of interest from several companies, including a shopping mall operator and a household goods maker. an internet-based bank in japan is about to start offering a service that will allow depositors to withdraw cash from atms with only a smartphone. people who have an online account with the bank will be able to use the new service at more than 23,000 atms around the country. the atms are owned by seven bank and are located at 7-eleven convenience stores. customers must first enter the amount i into a smartphone app. a qr code will be displayed that

must be scanned with the camera. once the user enterss the numbe and password for their account, they'll be able to get their money. the service will start next monday. bank officials say it'll be the first time in japan that people will be ablble to make atm withdrawals nationwide by using their smartphones. tokyo stocks rebounded slightly after wednesday's big selloff. but the gains were capped by growing skepticism over u.s. president donald trump's ability to implement his campaign pledges. our business reporter has more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> trading on tokyo's benchmark index was choppy. the nikkei hovered around wednesday's close for much of the day, but a risk-off trade did briefly bring the share average below the 19,000 mark. let's take a look at the closing

levels this thursday, march 23rd. the nikkei 225 rose 0.2% closing at 19,085. the broader topix ended flat. energy sector shares were among the big winners following a rebound in oil prices. shares of oil and gas developers inpex and japan petroleum exploration ended higher. switching to kurn currencies, t dollar edged up after falling below 111 yen overnight. that was a four-month low against the yen. so if trump doesn't get his way on the health care bill, it could shake confidence in his ability to implemement other priorities, including tax cuts and pro business policies. we could see stock markets and the dollar falter. other benchmarks in the asia pacific region also improved

after wednesday's losses, but concern about the situation in washington again slowed the upward momentum. seoul's cospi rose o.2%. shanghai composite gained 0.1%. in the philippines, the main index rose by 0.6%, finishing at 7301. the central bank held its key interest rate unchanged, as widely expected. over in sydney, the s&p asx 200 index ending up by 0.4%, snapping its three-day losing streak. two of japan's largest companies are partnering to take self-driving cars to the next level. sources say toyota motor and telecom giant ntt will develop connected cars t that use ntt's highgh-speed wireles tecechnolo. ntt is currently developoping t fifth generation mobile network, which is promising data transfer speeds ten times faster than

now. 5g is expected to improve the self-driving system. it will allow cars to exchange data with other vehicles and sensors along rds in reaeaime. passengers will be able to watch high-definition videos. toyota is alrlready working wit another japaneseelecom firm, kddi, to develop connected cars. executives saidd the carmaker hope to speed up development with their latest tie-up with ntt. foreign tourists in japan are often confused by signage, which sometimes uses unfamiliar similar bombs. authorities are responding by making the images more universal ahead of the 2020 tokyo olympic games. a panel of experts has unveiled 18 new designs. included is a wi-fi hot spot. the image of an electric plug means charging station. the atms that accept credit cards issued outside japan will show the yen sign and the image of a global. government officials plan to

finalize the designs by july. many officials in rural japan are worried about a hollowing out of their communities. they say they need more young people if their villages and towns are to survive. some communities are launching what they call working holiday programs. these give students from big cities a chance to live and work in the countryside. nhk world has more. >> reporter: these students are on a working holiday in ehime prefecture. local government officials created the program. the students stay for two weeks as they earn money while helping to harvest citrus fruit. >> translator: i'm happy. it's like eating jewels. >> translator: i can't experience this in tokyo.

>> reporter: they are provided with lodging free of charge. by the time the program finishes at the end of the month, about 70 people will have taken part. this man attends a university in tokyo. >> translator: i'd never been to ehime. it's not a vacation, but it seemed fun so i applied. >> reporter: he's working for a citrus fruit farmer who's in his 20s. the organizers want the students to meet someone of the same generation who's working in farming with hopes for the future. >> translator: i'm realllly amad to see how much time and care go into production. that was an eye opener. >> translator: i hope some of them will work in ehime immediately after graduate or after working for a while. then we'll have more young

people here. >> reporter: the program s integrates other residents. >> translator: stay for three years and you'll develop ties here. they say jobs are scarce, but many people share information about work. >> translator: i have a sense now that the relaxed way of life here is nice. it openedd my mind to a new alternative. >> reporter: once their working holiday is over, the students will return to life in the city. the organizers are doing their best to make a lasting impression. soyou 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. businesses in japan are using more and more drones, so firms that make them are showing off their latest models in hopes of boosting sales. about 120 drone manufacturers and industry groups gathered near tokyo. they came from japan and abroad to drum up interest. this compact model can be folded

up for transport. it weighs 700 grams and carries a high-performance camera.a. this bigigger drone is designed for parcel delivery. it can carry a load up to 100 kilos. this model is designed to patrol offices and keep an eyeye on workers. it sendsds pictures to superviss to help them prevent excessive overtime. an industry representative says he wants visitors to have fun and learn that drones have all kind of possibilities. tokyo's making moves towards its goal to nurture globally minded people in the run up to the 2020 olympics and paralympics. the metropolitan government has plans for an educational center where kids will get complete immersion in english. tokyo global gateway is due to open in september next year. students will range from elementary school kids to high school seniors. they won't be allowed to speak japanese. students will practice using

english in real life situations such as hospitals and restaurants. then they'll debate global issues, including politics and the economy. they'll also experience the japanese tea ceremony and computer programming, all in english. we have a correction to make on our london terrorist attack story. earlier we said three are dead, including the attacker. the correct number of dead is four, including the attacker. our apologies. you're watching nhk "newsline" live from tokyo. it's time for a weather update with sayaka mori, who starts off with the forecast for flood-stricken peru. >> well, unfortunately, more rain is expected, especially in the northern areas. peru has been deaeang withh the worst floods in 20 years. dozens of people have been killed. it's typically dry, especiallll along the coastal region of the country. for example, lima's a annual rainfall i is only 15 millimete. that's 1% of ththe annual raiail in tokokyo. however, a lot of heavy rain has been coming down since december.

we have some dramatic video coming out of lima. take a look. this dramatic footsa matdramati captured last week. a woman grabbed on to pieces of wood and tree branches and miraculously survived a mudslide. the mud also dragged away her cows and pigs, but they were rescued by residents. she was taken to a hospital and wawas released onn wednesday. so it's fantastic news. however, at least 75 people have been killed over the past several months in the area. more rain is on the way. we are expecting more rainfall. temperatures off the coast of peru are much higher than normal. in fact, about 5 degrees higher than normal. so lots of moiststure is moving into the country. that is resulting in tremendndo amounts of heavy rainfall. into the next t three days, mor than 250 millimeters of rarain on t the menu, especially over e northern areas.

more rain is definitely notot gd news in the area. and across north america, we're seeing a lot of clouds over the midportions of the u.s. the system caused heavy rainfall along the western coast of the united states on tuesday and wednesday. ahead of the system, warm air is surging in. that's pushing up temperatures. albuquerque had the record high temperatures for the day on wednesday. the mercury hit 28 degrees, but as the cold front moves through, the temperatures will go down by about 10 degrees. along this cold front, there's a chance for severe thunderstorms. from the southern portions up towards the northern plains, we're expecting very severe thunderstorms, gusty wind, and even large hail. so please watch out for the dangerouss weather on your thursday. and out towards the west, i it' mild acroross the westetern aref the u.s. at this moment, but another pacific system will likely move into the area on your friday. so wet weather is coming up once again. seattle, you'll see the sun finally coming out on your

thursday. take advantage of the blue skies. vancouver at 10 degrees with rainy weather. l.a., sunny weather with a high of 20 degrees. still quite hot in denver. 23 degrees. albuquerque, you'll see temperatures going down by about 10 degrees on your thursday. and across japan, snow is falling across the north, and rainyy weather is happening ove western areas of the country. rain will likely move away by your friday, but snow will likely continue across the northwestern flank of japan. now, tokyo will see quite low temperatures, especially on your sunday as well as monday. but next week is going to be quite warm. sapporo, one more day of snowy weather on friday. as we go into next week, temperatures will be warming up. here's your extended forecast.

more updates and special reports at the top of the hour on "newsroom tokyo." in the

>> hello. welcome back to the newsroom. i'm claire pryde. this was an attack on free people everywhere says britain's prime minister in a statement to parliament. theresa may revealing that wednesday's attacker was british-born. arrestedple have been in raids in london and birmingham. the death toll has been revised to four including the killer. 40 people were injured.