glad to have you with us on this editi ok "newsli." i'm raj pradhan wh the new from ky we start with the coronavirus situation here in japan. the government is revising rules to deal with theapid sprea o th ocr vaant. mo tha ,000 coravus infections were confirmed on thursday. the seven-day average of the day tal is moreha eight tis as hig a theee befo. the record daily total of almost 26,000 was set in augustast ar tokyo repord mor tn 000

new se the figure increased by about 1,000 for two days in a row. healthperts monitorg the situatioay the daily tally in the capital is expected to exceed 10,000 by the end o nuy. >> tralar: a rou spreadf infections would raise the risk for all residents, including medical workers and essenal worker contracnghe virus cing into contact with an infected person. that could force us to susnd soal activits. >>he governo pnso a tokyoorutrity to take stricter anti-virus measures if the medical system becomes strain. tnslator: w wl conside ki the goveren topp teive anti-infection measures if 20% of hospital beds are occupied. if tate rises t 50e wi csider aing t goveme to dlare a state of emergency. >> the prime minister says his vernment i csidering measur to maintn social

nctions a the omiontrain becomes dominant. translato iant to nsider takg asures sucas thquarantineerd for thos who have come into close contact withnfected people. khida says onthe steps would be shortening the quarantine period. it is currently 14 days. theovnment is sedg up erollout of booster shots. they're also preparing to approve the use of the pfizer vacceor childre ad to 11. currently,hiren below 12 are not eligible for inoculation. the u.s. government has slappedanctionsn six nth res forheir invvent in clr andisle programs. it is also sanctioning a russian ma and rusancompan th tasy departmtroze their assets in the united states and barred companies a

peoplerodoing busissith them. officialsanorth kore i using people overseas to buy weapons parts illegally. north korea continues to improve s weans cabity. it testired two hyrsonic test missiles the last two weeks. leader kim jong-un was reportedly present a one of th launch. crary of stantony blinken sshe.s. will use every appropriate tool to address the north's nuclear and missile program. he called them a serus threat iertional pea and secutyhat undermis the global non-proliferation regime. blinken urged all u.n. mber stesompmentecity council resolutns tarti north korea. members of the only parachenit in pan's lfefense fors ve shown off some of their training. they gave the media access to a drill in which they took back a mote isnd the gun self-defense force's first airborne brigade has 2,000 mbers. they parhud from japes and u.ircraft a an aite

of 340 meters. their scenario was to take back a remote island. once ty hadlaed, ty retookacities withuprt from helicopters. then they checked the procedures for deploying unit tt have rfe-to-ship misle thself-defense forces are beefing up their ability to defend remote islands. they've done some of their traini wh top from e uned states th ces as china i creasinglycte at sea. a south korean official says it is likely that president moon jae-in will not attend the beinolympics wchet under way xtonth. the offialith the presidential office said on thursday that south korea hopes the games will contribute to obal peacendrosperity d anmpvement in tekorean relations. the official said although plans areoteing madoroo t te, the presidentlffe is condeng senng a

delegation in accordance with custom. last month, moon said south korea has not been asked by any couny join a diomic boycotofhe beijingam. the moon administration had seen the olymcs as a chance to improve ties with pyongyan seers say noh rea's annocent that itilnot take parinhe games, together with decisions by the united states, britain, japan, and others not to send government officis,ay have leto moon's thiin we're less than fortnight into the ye,ut south kea are arg up for aotthat will sha their futures. whoever wins the upcoming presidential election is set to have their hands full on the geopolitic fnt. nhk world kean expert om a leading thinktank about what to pe. >>orr: new yr, new present. south korea goes to the polls in march and all eyes are on the frontrunners. the econ from thrung reformeang democrac rty

against a nsvativerom the main opposition people's power party. and there's also the centrist people's party, whose approval rating is up. james kim is a reseah llow at the instu for policy study. he says three-horse presidential races are quite the rarity here and says t candidates have new ideas where to position south kore ot koan the worlste. regardleswhgets ect, we'll see changes in poli. th include nationa surity relad matter the curntdministration had an approach to policy largely centered onor korea. no my issues tside ofhe noh re were you know, talked about or considered. but i think both candidates, both leadi caidates, ang

with the third-party candidate even, has stated an interest in broadening thatutnto a more so o global approach. >> reporter: that's not to say cross-border ties won't be a prrity. and a chgef leader ith south means pyongyang could soon be making its presence felt. >> wner we have ne goveme in place sul, north rewill try tret the relationship. and the best way to do that would be with some kinof provocatio rth koreanrocation cou mean you want to send right sial to north korea, tt thisin ofehior i not to be tolerated. i think provocation is an opportunity. it's northor's signal south kore uted stesan the rest of the world, that they're interested in engi. >> reporte a in termsf e derregi, kim ss twof

the world's big superpowers are jostngornfluencen asia, and it may be time for seoul to stop sitting on the fence. >> we didn't have a clear strategy that went beyond north korea. south korewalargely le o of b tnd developntat the regional and global level. regionally, the great power mpition betwn s. and in certain cntes have taken sides or have tried to somehow inject themsels to that -- th damic, and have reaped benefits as a result of atof their ptipation. and we could look at countries like australior instce thatav h a strge sion from aational serity stanoint on dealing with threats related to china. japan is another party that i believe has also benefitted. and south rehas largelbe left out oth discussio

which is unfortunate. >> reporter: kim bies tha it is i sth koa' bt interest t me cloly agn with the western world. easier said than done when china is b r, yr bgest trading rtner. make no ste, whoeverin thelection has plenty to ponder this year and beyond. nhwod,eoul. next, eight member couries of the unidations he los theirotgigs at the genel assembly bau of unpaid dues. u.n. secretary general inrmed eeneral assemblyredent of theecion in writing. iran, sudan, and venezuela are among the nations infected. the.n decides how mh each meeration should contribute to its budget based on economic indicators, based on gross national incomend oth factors. the u. chaer stipute

members who have two years of contributions will lose their voting righ. cntry can rega the rht by paying theecessary amount. delays in payments are behind the u.'shronic fanal proble ♪ > aapese singe has endured some trials in his life. he survived the earthquake 27 years ago that devastated the weer city ofobeut lost family. he's wke through his grief through music. nhk world has the sry. ♪ >> reporter: he is a singeronriter fro kobe.

♪ rorter: tashiro is the fourth of five siblings. when he was 10, his house w torn down by t earthquake. his sister was killed. she was 17 at the time >> tnstor: i wil never foethen my motheram out shaking her head, saying my sister didn't make it. >> reporter: tashiro'sarents voed after t dister. for a ile, he was homeless. in his most desperate men, memoesf his ster came to nd. she had lke after the family every day while studying toward herdrms. >> tralar: ieazed ias oasmed to face my sister

like this. >> reporter: tashiro decid to make aivingithis psi r music. he composed "dear sister," a song in which he vedo face his fein on the qke and his sister death. he made his professional debut with the song. he sings it each year when the annirsy of thearquake approaches. ♪ >> transto this is o o my favorite sgs by him.

>> translator: i know how he feels becau i ao expernc thrtuake. theon cveys the very painful memory of losing a sister. >> reporte t songested inequests to sha his stories the disaster with children who are unaware of it. >>ralator: i'mnved to elemenrynd junrigh schools a a gst teach t talkbo the earthquake. i'm grateful in many ways for being a ng. >> repte shiroil contin t sing abo overconghe tragedy of the saer and thereousness of life a heheshes the promise meo his ster. ide mizuha, k rld, kobe

♪ peoplen st areasf northe jan have be dling th heavy dumps of snow this week. our meteorologist jonathan oh has more on the situation in our rleaer report. >> hlowe're stiltaing about en of snow iacng northern areas of japan as we go into friday. we're als talking aut aas alg theea of pan, a far south as maybe even osaka, maybe seeing a possibility of some snow as we go through the day on friday. look a t lowpinning u towardhe north. strong winds a part of this setup. we're looking at anywhere from 50 to 60entimeters o snowfl se locio throughou t da o friday whi a 24-hour

span. we'll see the snownfluence itings the sw pushingff t east. high preurmoving in hi , reinforcg the northerly wind for friday and then things wind down into the weekend. looking at the 24our forest plty of snow, possibly to osaka and niigata, looking for ow on friy,chilly as well. tokywi a high of, rtly ou skies as wp up the workweek. meanwhile, as we go toward the south, wreeeping an e o thisycne moving its w downowd the south. new zealand, you need to be on the lookout for this. we'l seef theysm can make it to nor land. even i i doesn't,e' still talking authe possibility of seeing some high waves and strong winds and some rain coming up as we head towardhe weekend. we'lleoving tth south withheinds pickiup be on the lookout on this as we go forward to saturday and sunday. northern areas ofusalia still lki at the rnants of a tropicallow. avy rainfall and flooding

possibilities associated with this. be on the lookout for that. thunderstorms with a high of. in also into brisbonnd syey on frid. g orm in norerareas of eupestrong winansnow intolas likeory, that's the story through thursday. high pressure through the south into central areas of europe. lave calm weaer but chilly. 6 for high in paris, 7 in london, and 5 in vienna for thursday ho y have a go d erever youre ♪

♪ and that's all for now on th edition o k "newslin" m raja pdh in too. coming up next is "newsline biz" with ramin mellegard, so don't go away.

♪ iss "newslinbi" i'ran mellegar a new estimate by japan's cabinet office shows the country could achieve a primary balance surpluiniscal 2026onyear earlier th arevious evaluation made last july. a primaryalce surplusea e vernment h eugh tax revenue to cover annual expenditures without issuing bonds. de tes io countiges fromot the niol and local governments. the latest estimate is based on

acerio in wch jan's economy cties to gw atn annualat of abo22% in real terms. officials say the update reflects eectationsha coore earnings wil cor fr the pdemicniscal 2022, leading to all-time high tax revenu. they add ttf the govnmt continue t spendn fcal reform efforts, it could even achieve a primary balance surplus i fca2025. thisas been o of the government's targets since 2018 under the abe adniration. > totas theworlsop sellg automaker in 2021, holding on to its number one ranking for the second year in a row. theapanese c mufturer ys its worldwide group sales from january to november came in at more than9. mli vehicles. the figurencdesales by

bsidiaries toyo yota's clostrival, lkagen of germy, announced roughly 8.9 million vehicles. parts shortages created b t ronavirusanmic force t rmer to cut pduion from summer to autumn, but toyota managed to limit the impact of the disruptions bette tn othermars. it en ireed sesn the unitedtas and china. prime minister kishida fumio has been calling o binses to raise sars ahead of the nu labortalks. wage hikes are one of the major pillars of his economic policy kishida vised aar dealership in tokyo as part of these efforts. he spoke with staff about the struggles with the lab shorgemong mechanics. >> translator: people who work in theut secr need we hikes,nde needo improve business conditions and help

increaserofitabili acrs e indust. >> the prime minister also spo to the staff about the dealership's efforts to take moref their work onli and to create a friendlier environment for women. the u.s. federal reserve ys aeveab shorte is forcing binesses to increase ge leading to the highest level of inflation in almost four decades. dffials madehe cments in t nk's latest beige book report on economic conditions across 12 distris. th say the cotry's ecomy expanded a a mes pace i december thanks to robust personal spending over the holiday season. but the rept ss persien stf shortes are forci se restaurants, retailers, and manufacturers to cut operating hos. es businesse we offering gh wag toetn current stf members and hire new ones. in turn, passing on the rise in

cost t stomers. the bgeook was reased o the sameay the departmenof labor announced the consumer prices had risen 7% in december, e fastest pace sce 1982. pes doot expect labor shortages to ease any time soon, as the omicron variant is evting my peopl fm rerng to work. all three of japan's major convenient store chains reported a domestic opeti profit f earch toovber periodf last year, but the figures are still below pre-pandemic vels. mily mt saw a 46ncase in operatingrofits compared to the same period a year earlier. lawson was up 2%. coanies say more ctors sited the srefterhe vemeiftedts ste of emergency. they also say sales recovered at stores inusiness a entertnmt districts. fren foo and deli items sold particularly well.

industry leader 7-elen japan post a 2% smaer prot mped to a yeararer but says this was partly due to the cost of introducing self-checkout machines. theigures fll thr companie we down cpared t the sameerd two years ago, before the pandemic. lawson's profits were down 39 7-elen were dow 10%. familyart saw a 7% decline. ♪ amsteams kwn for being forward thinking and environmentally friendly. the city has even laid out a alo achieve airlar econy by 2050. that means reusing and recycling everything. we look at how one restaurant is

deliri on this. nhk world's tamura ginga has the details. reporter:hi ateam reaunt gets ctors from all over the world. they are attracted by its chef. roaste cliflower and a veggie dish called beef wellington were on the mu. e nterpiece tse meals s cal vegetaesn season. the cost is about 50 u.s. dollarfoa full-coue al an is great bargain. >> it looks really michelin star. >> rorr: the price is me poib by how t restaurant gets its inednts. they are ims ttsupermarts d farms abouto thr away.

>> reporter: the motto of the restaurant is food rescue. e iding inplis to ke food thawod otherwisbe discarded and prepare it for service. getables sh radishes e cks. herbs are preserved in olive oil. the chef decides on the menu afteseng what cos that day. today, it was cauliflower. the damaged part is cut away, anthe rest ius for the inourse. the leaves are cooked first. caulifweis then bad an en th is toppedffith homema uty. the cauliflower leaves and pickled radish.

baked pukiseeds are de for flavor >> you have freedom. just see what products you get ,nd youookitit. so as a ch, at is beaufu beusyou get th fedom. um, but also that creativity and onhespot, y he to chae things itaseally ni. rorter: forheast two years, the company that manages this restaurant has alsoun storageenters that collects food waste from farms. the ingredients are displayed t over the internet and made available to other restaurants. about 200 restaurants currently use the service. is restaurt s offered meals using over 1,500 tons of discarded food since its open. it haslsbecome exalyhe kind of business that amsterdam needs to achieve its goal of a

circular eno. tamura ginga, nhk world amsterdam. ok. let's g aheck on th maet ♪ ♪

>>th's it for "newsline biz" from tokyo. i'm ramin mellegard. thank you very much for watching. ■úxx sites.

al jazeera, tripoli. ♪ host: it's good to have you with us. the headlines on al jazeera. the w.h.o. is warning of an approaching tidal wave of coronavirus infections in europe. this is more than half of people there are likely to be infected by the omicron variant in the next two months. more people in the u.s. than ever before. -- in the u.s. in the hospital with covid-19 than ever before. quebec could soo