hello. welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm yamamoto miki, in tokyo. a day after a mob of president supporters stormed congress, lawmakers say donald trump is responsible. they are nandi demanding he be removed from office in his final days of his presidency.

>> by inciting sedition, as he did yesterday, he must be removed from office. while it's only 13 days left, any day could be a horror show for america. >> pelosi, a democrat, has asked vice president mike pence to invoke the 25th amendment. that would enable trump's own cabinet to oust him from the country's top job. pelosi suggested congress begin impeachment proceedings for a second time. some republican governors and lawmakers are, also, calling for trump's removal. secretary of transportation, elaine chao, said she will resign, calling wednesday's event dramatic and spiral avoidable. trump supporters smashed their way into the capitol building, and disrupted a joint session of congress to certify president-elect joe biden's election selectry. four people died on the capitol grounds and 68 people were arrested. biden says that trump unleashed an attack on the country's

political system. >> yesterday, in my view, one of the darkest days, in the history of our nation. an unprecedented asslt on our democracy. what weitnessed yesterday was not dissent. it was not disorder. it was not protest. it was chaos. >> trump had been calling on social media for a massive protest on capitol hill to coincide with wednesday's joint session of congress. he is now facing new restrictions online. facebook and instagram have suspended his account. ceo mark zuckerberg issued a statement, saying trump had used the mat foplatform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government. claiming, witho eviden, the nomber predentiallection has since been ken do

from youtube, facebo, and twitter. now, these developments will not stop the president-elect from taking the oath of office. still, they have magnified cracks in american democracy. the department of politics and international relations at youngstown state university. nhk world's katherine kobayashi spoke with him earlier. >> professor, what did the break with norms, the challenges, what happened at the capitol, say to you about the state of this republic? >> well, the state of the republic is not good, right now. we are a deeply divided people. we've known this, for a long time. what we saw at the capitol, yesterday, was reall kind of the -- the -- maybe, the tip of the iceberg or what sort of surfaced but it's been lying below the surface, for some time. we have these sort of great divisions and what's really difficult is to see how we are going to resolve these divisions. >> in most transitions, members of congress voting to formalize

a victory is a ceremonial affair, marked by decorum. how would you characterize the process, this time around? >> well, you know, clearly, you know, it took place in the end, late at night. so, most people didn't even see it. but these ceremonies are really, really important, in any political system in a democracy. what we forget is that we are always going to have conflict. we are always going to have division, in every society. but what's important is that we have these sort of mechanisms to make those who came out below, who didn't win, happy sort of with the process. this formalization of it and that's what we are missing right now. you know, we don't have this sort of going away, saying, yeah, one side lost but now we are going to move forward. now, at least, you know, you -- you got justice. it was a fair process. we have lost that. and that is really, really important, i think, t a functioning, political system. >> and how much will the senate victories in georgia change the president-elect's ability to govern?

>> well, you know, in some ways, it's going to have less of an effect than what people think. and that's because, on most issues, you nd 60 vot in united states senate. so, merely having 50 or 51, essentially, with vice president kamala harris being able to break ts, it's not going to ma that much of a difference, in most legislation. in addition, among the 50 democratnow, is joe manchin from west virginia, who is a very conservative democrat. in fact, he is going to wield a great deal of power, i think, as the swing vote. so, i don't think are going to move as quickly as possible or it's not going to be as different as we might have thought. to the previous questions we ng talked about. maybe, what this isoing to do is continue to dve policy towards the middl and a sortf moderate middle-of-the-road policy may be exactly what we need to heal the nation. >> and professor, where does the republican party go from here? >> well, there is going to be a

tremendous fight within the party. and what yesterday did was kind of severely damage people who had aligned themselves with president trump. who sawhat sort of as the future of the party. they have been discredited with a lot of people in the united states, right now. so, there is going to be a fight. some of trump's policies, including on tra and things like that, are still very popular in places like the midwest. and i expect, the republica party is now, forever, changed. but the real question is who is going to take up the mantle, who is going to be able to bridge these divisions in the party? and we will have to see but that's going to be quite interesting over the next really two years. >> indeed, professor, thank you, again, for being with us. meanwhile, wall street's three major indices closed at all-time highs on thursday. the dow jones industrial average gained more than 211 points, from wednesday's close, ending at 31,041. setting a record high for a second-straight day. the tech-heavy nasdaq ended over

2 1/2% higher. investigators were given a sense of relief, after congress confirmed joe biden as the winner of the presidential election, despite the turmoil when trump supporters occupied the capitol building. democrats, also, won runoff elections in the state of georgia this week. market watchers now expect further measures from a democrat-controlled congress to poobt the economy. they also say the new administration will increase public spending, immediately after biden is sworn in. but some are advising caution, pointing to the coronavirus pandemic and the current job situation. in japan, a state of emergency is now in effect for tokyo and three neighboring prefectures to curve the rise in coronavirus cases. >> translator: the rapid spread

of covid-19 kacross the country has created a situation that could have a serious impact on people's lives and the economy. therefore, i, hereby, declare a state of emergency, based o the anti-virus law. >> the declaration covers tokyo, kanagawa, saitama, and chiba prefectures. it will remain in place, until february 7. a state of emergency is less strict in japan than in many western countries. it gives prefectural governors the legal authority to urge to cooperate with prevention efforts. bars and restaurants are being asked to close by 8:00 p.m., and to stop serving alcohol an a hour earlier. residents are also being asked to refrain from nonessential outin outings at 8:00 p.m. schools, however, are not being asked to close.

prime minister suga asked for the public's cooperation during a thursday-evening news conference. >> translator: the coronavirus pandemic is becoming worse than we had ever imagined. but i believe we can overcome the situation. to accomplish this, we have no choice but to ask you to, once again, restrict your lifestyle. we are determined to improve the situation, within the next month. as prime minister, i will do my utmost and take every, possible measure to prevent the spread of infection. >> suga added the government hopes to start vaccinations by

late, next month. he also said he is determined to hold the postponed tokyo olympics and paralympics, this summer. >> translator: the government should have taken the step, much earlier. >> translator: i wonder whether everybody will stay home just like the last time a state of emergency was declared. in france, the government has pledged to accelerate its vaccination program against the coronavirus. concerns are growing about a new spread of infections, following the winter holidays. prime minister said, on thursday, that all french citizens aged 75 years or older and health workers, aged 50 or older, will have access to the vaccine, this month. inoculation for these categories was originally planned for february. he said he hopes the vaccine will fight a way out of the crisis. the government plans to give the pfizeraccine to 1 million people, by the end of january,

with priority to the elderly in nursing homes. only 500 people had been inoculated as of sunday, one week after the vaccination started. among the factors slowing the process are the need to obtain the consent of nursing-home residents and have them undergo a preliminary health check. the government also says it will spread out the interval between the first and second doses of the vaccine, to six weeks, instead of three. so that more doses are available for other people. let's check out the world weather with our meteorologist, yoko komogata. so, yoko, snow don't seem to be letting up any time soon. what are the biggest risk in the situation? >> yes, biggest risk is more and more snowfall is expected in the same locations for the next couple of days. the recent snowfall has already led to major road closures and

flood delays. people in niigata prefecture saw 81 centimeters of snowfall in the last 24 hours in addition, strong winds have been producing blizzard-like conditions. the snow and winds are creating dangerous situations on friday morning. a strong blast of cold air spread through the sea of japan side, into the weekend. more roads are expected to be closed, due to heavy snow accumulation. many flights across japan have been cancelled. heavy-snow warnings and advisories for avalanches are still in place. we are going to deal with more and more snowfall in the many areas as we go into the weekend. we ev we are looking at over 2 meters of snowfall in many parts of niigata prefecture. on top of that, more than 3 meters of snowfall is expected in the hokuriku region. and snowfall will also increase in hokkaido and the tohoku region, as we go into the next couple of days.

the heaviest snowfall will be seen in the sea of japan side of the country. but some snowfall will also spread into the pacific side of the country. even low areas may get some snowfall. sapporo will continue to see snowy and windy days, as we go into the weekend. meanwhile, tokyo on the dry side as we go into monday. but temperatures will be in the single digits. many parts of northeast asia are dealing with the coldest temperatures of the season, on friday morning. cold weather will persist in beijing, shanghai, and seoul, on friday. but a warming trend is expected as we go into the next week. a little moisture from the pacific will produce persistent showers along the western seaboard of british colombia, all the way down to northern california for the next couple days. we have already had copious amounts of rainfall in the area. additional rainfall could trigger flooding and landslides.

that's it, for now. stay safe. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> and that is all for this edition of nhk ne"newsline." i'm yamamoto miki. please, stay safe and healthy, wherever you are. thanks for staying with us on nhk world-japan. welcome to our "newsline in depth" special. talking sumo. today, we are going to look at last year's grand sumo, and see what we might expect in the year ahead. our special guest is the one and only master sumo commentator, demon kakka. >> it's been a while, hiro. >> yes, it has, and we are so

glad to have you back. now, what a year 2020 was. >> yes, it was almost beyond description. >> there were many unprecedented events in the world of sumo. all right, kakka, are you ready to talk sumo? >> i'm always ready. demon kakka, here are the 2020 tournament winners. in january, tokushoryu won his first title. and that was followed by hakuho, terunofuji, and shodai, in succession. takakeisho, coming out on top in november. kakka, what's your take on these results? >> the top wrestlers, namely the yokozuna grand champions, were mostly just as i had predicted.

it was a year of the changing of the guard and the coronavirus took a toll. >> without a doubt. let's look back on the year shaped by the covid-19 pandemic. for the first time, ever, the japan sumo association held a march tournament, without any spectators. following the government's declaration of a state of emergency, the may tournament was cancelled. then, tragedy struck. a cluster of infections hit several sumo stables. in mid-may, a wrestler died after developing covid-19-related pneumonia. the sumo association suspended tournaments, normally held outside tokyo, moving them to the capital city.

spectator numbers were restricted. fans were asked not to cheer. but they could still wave towels and clap. most of the tournaments in 2020 had strict protocols and regulations. kakka, this had a big impact on wrestlers' preparations? >> yes, they could not visit other stables to practice. and provincial tours were cancelled. >> training with wrestlers from other stables didn't resume, until october. meaning, they were unable to have competitive practice for seven months. >> that's right. stables that have top-division wrestlers to train with had a big advantage. the difference really affected the quality of their practices. >> as we know, wrestlers hone their techniques by training with stronger opponents. >> exactly. that was proven by the winning

wrestlers in the second half of the year. terunofuji, shodai, and takakeisho. they all have top-division training partners in their stables. so, they could be fully prepared. >> among those who were not fully prepared were the yokozuna grand champions. hakuho and kakuryu. both only competed for the full 15 days of the tournament in march. under these circumstances, the ozeki wrestlers stepped up and made their presence felt with some inspiring performances. last year, asanoyama and shodai. first, asanoyama. he is from toyama prefecture on the japan sea coast and has a large physique, earning him the nickname, toyama, human mountain. he won his first championship in 2019. his consistent performances saw him rise to the rank of ozeki,

in may. >> next, we look at shodai, who won a championship in september and owned the ozeki promotion. in the past, he rarely showed his fighting spirit. he was known for making pessimistic remarks, and was called the negative wrestler. but all that changed, in 2020, when he became a force to be reckoned with in every tournament. in the final tournament of the year, it was ozeki takakeisho who rose to the occasion. putting his faith in his pushing and thrusting style, takakeisho captured his second championship. it was, also, his first ec

emperor's cup since becoming ozeki. in the upcoming new year's tournament, takakeisho says he will take on the challenge of earning the top rank of okozuna. kakka, the newly promoted pair of ozeki, asanoyama and shodai, had to withdrawal from the november tournament due to injury. but overall, i would say they were 2020's big winners, would you agree? >> yes. i believe you are right. that being said, neither of the ozeki have shown enough consistency, yet. >> i think asanoyama needs to

work on his right-hand inside and left-hand outside, which is his go-to technique. >> i agree. also, he has never defeated hakuho. if he wants to reach the top, he needs to dethrone the king of the ring. >> for shodai, it depends on whether he can perform like an ozeki. it will be his second tournament fighting at the rank. >> that's right. it will be a test of his mental strength, to see if he can handle the pressure of being an ozeki. >> uh-huh. now, as for takakeisho, in november, he silenced critics by winning his first title in two years. >> there must have been tremendous pressure to win the emperor's cup. >> it seems, his fepushing and thrusting attack is back. kakka, do you think he will be

rising to the ranks of okozuna, in the near future? >> it's possible. i think he could win the new year's tournament and win the rank. >> if that happens, takakeisho will be the first new yokozuna since 2017. >> indeed. but his physical condition and performance quality are issues. he needs another weapon that will keep him injury free and at the rank of yokozuna. >> well, takakeisho is good fighting in vertical attacks, going forward with his pushing and thrusting. i think he needs to work on his lateral attacks, like thrusting down from the side and dodging. >> hiro, you're not forgetting about ter knunofuji. a former ozeki, are you? >> of course, not. terunofuji. because of injury and illness, he was demoted to the second-lowest division.

since then, he has steadily climbed the ranks. ter kn terunofuji returned to the top division in july, and made a statement by winning the championship. >> it was amazing. i'm very happy for him. we saw a real-life drama playing out in sumo. >> uh-huh. terunofuji once considered retiring but his stable master persuaded him to wait until he was fully recovered from injury, and to give himself another shot. terunofuji made a breakthrough, after this, and put off a dramatic comeback. kakka, do you think he can regain the ozeki rank? >> i think he has a good chance because of his great, physical strength. he works on building his upper body when he was recovering from knee injury. when they heal, he started to focus on training his lower body. as a result, his strength is

improved incredibly. >> i agree. and i think that, deep down, he's aiming to climb all the way up to yokozuna. >> i am rooting for him. >> kakka, which young, top-division wrestlers, are you keeping your eyes on, these days? >> immediately, comes to mind. he is flexible, nimble, and the real deal. >> i think so, too. he's gotten more wins than losses in 12-consecutive tournaments, now. including, the last three in the top division. he is only 21 years old and seems confident and fierce, regardless of who he fights. >> also, promising. he struggled with an injury. but he is very competitive. i am sure he doesn't want to take a backseat to his

stablemate and rival. >> kotonowaka is two-years older kotoshoho. they both went to the same high school so they have been rivals for quite some time. >> yes. and what makes him special is that his family background. yokozuna and h father and stable master is former third-highest rank. now, i also think that takanosho and daieisho have been building up their power. >> kakka, i think so as well. either one of them or kotoshoho will become the next ozeki. >> they will be major threats to the top rankers, this year. >> all right, demon kakka. how do you see 2021 sumo playing out? >> i think, the generational shift among wrestlers will

finally take shape. >> i think so, too. and i think the younger wrestlers will start to take center stage, and replace the top dogs, like hakuho. now, as the pandemic continues, what do you think the wrestlers must do to perform? >> they need to focus on what they are able to do, under these circumstances. fans have always looked up to sumo wrestlers because of their work ethic. now is their chance to show the true virtue of sumo. >> i feel the same way. now, finally, kakka, what do you hope to see in sumo this year? >> i hope a true champion will emerge from the younger generation. there are three young ozeki but it's too soon to say who will be first. >> demon kakka, thank you, as

always, for your insightful comments. >> thank you, hiro. and sumo fans around the world, take care, until we meet again.

and speakable assault on our nation and our people. >> nancy pelosi joins growing calls for president trump to be removed from office the day after his supporters stormed the u.s. capitol building. ♪ you are watching al jazeera. the u.s. president joe biden has called the people responsible for the unrest domestic terrorists. the mayor of washington