hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline," i'm yoshi ogasawara. we begin in the united states where votes in tuesday's midterm elections are still being counted. control of both chambers of commerce hangs in the balance. americans cast their ballots to decide 35 of the 100 seats in the senate and all 435 seats in the house of representatives. republicans have been surprised to see the democrats hold on to some seats in the senate and

even flip one in pennsylvania. abc news is reporting an even split, 48 seats for each party. there are still four races to be called. georgia is one of the most hotly contested states. secretary of state brad raffensperger says fewer than 10,000 votes were left to be counted because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, georgia will hold a runoff election. that is set for december 6th. multiple u.s. news outlets are reporting it will be weeks before votes across the country are fully counted. the republicans see a number of paths to power in the house of representatives. abc news projects the republicans have at least 211 seats right now. seven short of a majority. even before being assured of victory, republicans are suggest ago show down over how to finance government spending.

they have also signalled that they will open investigations into gas prices, the handling of the covid-19 pandemic and even president joe biden's family. despite the new congress yet to fully form, people are already looking ahead to the next big race, the 2024 presidential election. biden was asked if he plans to be part of it. >> my intention is that i will run again but i'm a great respecter of fate, and this is ultimately a family decision. >> he says he would make a final decision by early next year. biden referred to the results of the midterm elections saying it was a good day for democracy. >> our democracy has been tested in recent years, but with their votes, the american people have spoken, and proven once again that democracy is who we are. >> he said the so called red

wave or large republican takeover didn't happen. he added he's prepared to work with republicans. biden also suggested that if he holds talks with chinese president xi jinping on the sidelines of the g20 summit in indonesia next week represents to discuss what he calls red lines for each country over issues such as taiwan. tensions have been intensifying between washington and beijing after u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi visited taiwan and china staged massive military drills around the island in august. philippine officials say what's likely debris from a recent chinese rocket launch has been found off the coast of islands facing the south china sea. the government plans to quickly ratify treaties to seek compensation for damages from space launches. photos released by local

authorities show large metal plates. one of them bears what appears to be a chinese flag. the philippine space agency says it's highly likely that they're from a long march 5b rockethat china lauhed last week. it carried a module for a space station the country is building. beijing said previously that most of the rocket components burned up on reentry. philippine official says they're racing to ratify u.n. treaties allowing people to seek compensation for damage or injury caused by space objects from other states. there have been growing concerns in the country about accidents stemming from such incidents. in july, drae from another chinese rocket was found in the exclusive economic zone o. philippines raising worries among people in the fishing industry. a former senior chinese communist party official who called for political reform in china has

paodung was 90 years old. purged for sympathizing for student led pro democracy protests in 1989. he played a key role in zhao's political reforms. he was sentenced to seven years in prison on charges that included leaking state secrets. he remained under strict surveillance even after his release but he continued to demand through hong kong and foreign media that the chinese government disclose the truth about the tiananmen incident. with media in china tightly controlled, people seeking freedom of speech looked at him for moral support. zhao's family said he died wednesday at a hospital in beijing. ♪

japan's justice minister is under fire for a gaffe involving the death penalty. he said he has a low pro file job that only makes headlines when he authorizes executions. hanashi yasuhiro made the remark on wednesday at a gathering of lawmakers from the liberal democratic party. he offered his apology in a diet committee the next day. >> translator: i'd like to apologize for my words which left the impression that i don't respect my duties. i want to take back my remarks. >> the gaffe led a diet steering committee to postpone a vote on a legal amendment that was proposed by the justice ministry. opposition lawmakers say the duty to authorize an execution

is extremely significant. they're calling on the minister to immediately step down. >> translator: we just want to say that a person who makes such an inappropriate remark is unsuitable to be justice minister. >> the government's top spokesperson met with hanashi yasuhiro at the prime minister's office. he reprimanded the minister and told him to refrain from making careless comments in the future. people across japan are struggling with a rising cost of living. one demographic suffering a serious blow is single parents. many say they've struggled to even buy basic foods. a group supportingingle parents ran a survey last month. they got answers from about 2,800 people across the country. more than half the respondents said they'd had to stop buying

meat and fish and even staples such as rice. more than 60% said they'd started eating smaller portions or fewer meals. some said their children had too. also about 20% of responsibilities said they were behind with their utility bills. the suppo group's represe representative shared her concerns. >> reporter: unless the children will suffer worse and physic and mental health. >> she said the government including bigr allowances for people raising children. one of japan's all time baseball greats says he hopes the sport will continue to connect his krcountry with the united states. hideki was speaking at an event marking 150 years since baseball was introduced to japan.

he played for the giants in tokyo, and won a world series with the new york yankees. he gave a speech at an anniversary event at new york's columbia university. he says baseball can serve as a bridge between the two countries. >> translator: if children in japan and the u.s. could have more opportunities to experience the baseball culture in both countries, it would lead them to accept differences and broaden their minds. that would enrich the friendship between the two countries. >> he says baseball culture in japan helps children grow and teach them respect. he says he also admires the fun americans have playing the game. ♪

world leaders gathering in egypt to discuss climate change are finding it hard to ignore what's playing out in ukraine. the push for renewable energy is far from new, but the disastrous effect of russia's invasion on global commerce is throwing the issue back into the spotlight. nhk world went to denmark to learn about one potential solution. >> reporter: a small european nation at the forefront of the move to renewable energy. denmark is home to more than 5 million people and a lot of wind turbines. access to strong stable currents fueled by the jet stream. denmark gets half its

electricity this way, making it a world leader. the industry is still growing. and drawing more and more attention from its neighbors, looking to become more self-sufficient. >> a wind of change is blowing across europe. we are harssing the power of wind to break free from russian fossil fuels. >> reporter: denmark is now working with germany and other countries along the baltic sea. the project aims to produce as much power as 20 nuclear reactors by the end of this decade. that will mean another 1,700 turbines. every day, danish factories build parts and ship them out. but the turbines are far from one size fits all. since countries have different geography and climates.

denmark's project is fairly inexpensive but other nations need to start with cursory research and infrastructure. the potential is enormous for both government and big business. >> we need to do something about it, in securing our energy supply. >> reporter: i'm here on the island. this island will play a key role for future energy strategies. people here are trying to solve another problem, how weather creat creates uncontrollable power fluctuations. >> 15 kilometers outside of the coast, we'll have offshore wind. >> reporter: larger turbines generate more power than those on land, and this is an idea spot. surrounded by water and close to multiple countries. an energy island gathers and

stores power. it would then send the energy to the danish and german electrical grids. researchers are also looking for a way to use excess power to produce fuel for trucks, ships and planes. >> this will probably be the first place in the world. he hope to develop a lot of different kinds of solutions. >> reporter: danish officials say the situation in ukraine shows the importance of being independent. they hope their journey will inspire a global shift. nhk world,

it's time for world weather with our meteorologist sayaka mori. we saw another sunny day on thursday, but it's quite dry. it would be nice to get a little bit of rain. sayaka has more in the forecast. >> hello there. it's been exceptionally dry here in japan in many places. chiba city hasn't had any rainfall since the beginning of november. it's the first time in years. we definitely need rain. a big change is on the way from saturday to sunday. this is the forecast for the weekend. a line of heavy rain will be drifting over the country from the west to the east. we might see rain in many places. tokyo could see rain because of the mountains in the north and west. it's going to be rainy on sunday. in tokyo, we have 22 degrees. sapporo could see the first snowfall of the season, overnight sunday into monday and temperatures would drop significantly after the rain or snow. next week, the highs will be in

the teens every day here in tokyo. the daytime highs this week will remain in the 20s. sapporo could see single digit highs next week. you might want to prepare thicker coats for next week. meanwhile, we're seeing a hurricane named nicole. nicole made landfall in the bahamas, the first hurricane to do so in three years, and it's now hitting florida. we have video from florida taken on wednesday. in florida, schools, theme parks and airports have been closed with about 2,000 flights being cancelled or suspended. the main concern is gusty winds that could cause power outages. since records began, only two other hurricanes have struck florida in november. in fact, nicole has just made landfall in florida. it's the first november hurricane to strike florida in about 40 years. the system will likely move over florida throughout thursday

dropping heavy rainfall plus powerful winds. storm surge is going to be a problem as well, and as we go into the weekend, it's going to move into the mid atlantic phase. it could affect eastern canada later this week. that's it for me. stay safe. ♪

and that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara in tokyo. thanks for watching, and do stay with us for more.

this is "newsline biz." i'm gene otani. china's new car sales rose in october, but the pace of growth slowed largely due to a resurgence of coronavirus cases. some dealerships were unable to do business while delays in the supply of parts hit production. the china association of automobile manufacturers says sales last month were up 6.9% from a year earlier to 2 1/2 million units. that's a fifth consecutive month of increases but a drop of 19

points from september. sales of so-called new energy vehicles including electric were up more than 80% year on year to over 700,000 units. the cumulative total from january to october topped 5 million. new sales have been strong despite china's slow economic recovery but the autoindustry group mentions the outlook is uncertain. they say it's unclear if government insen tichs for buyers will continue and the cost of materials for making ev batteries keeps rising. toyota motor has announced that it will start selling an electric vehicle in thailand. the stheast asian nation is a major overseas market for the japanese car maker. toyota said at an event in bangkok on wednesday that the suv will be a model manufactured in japan. the price is set at a little little over 1.8 million bot or $50,000 when combined with subsidies from the tha oorks government to promote electric

vehicles. the ev was shown driving through 30 centimeter water, roads there are often inundated by rain. toyota is offering evs where it has a 30% market share, facing competition from leading maker, ebd unveiled a plan to open a new factory in the country. a japanese railway operator is about to make crossing its train lines safer with a new security system that uses artificial intelligence in 3d imaging technology. saber railway, which operates in the tokyo area will begin using the new system next monday. it consists of two cameras, one is an ai camera that will activate when it detects humans at crossings. the other is a 3d camera that will capture more detailed images of people, taking into account their height and size. a warning will be sent to the nearest stop signal and the train operator, if the cameras

detect a human or bicycle in a crossing after the gates begin close. the system will initiallye installed at smalled crossings. the transport ministry says operators have begun using ai security systems. but the first to use 3d imaging technology. now that we've got a high quality safety system made possible by ai and 3d, we're hoping this will lead to fewer accidents at crossings. >> over 1,000 accidents have been reported at railway crossings across japan with more than 450 deaths and five years through the end of march 2022. more elderly people are increasingly falling victim to such happenings. a railway operator in western japan is also adopting the latest digital technology to make the clean up of its station washrooms more efficient.

western japan railway developed a system with a tokyo based tech firm. it features toilet paper and soap dispensers embedded with sensors that tell cleaners when refills are needed. sensors are also attached to the doors of cubicles to let staff know when they are unoccupied. that's seen as a time saver. another innovation is a toilet with a function to prevent clogging that also helps reduce the workload as the rail operator faces a shortage of cleaning staff. >> cleaning railway washrooms requires a lot of manpower, but with this system, we can do it in a more efficient way. >> jr west will introduce the technology at a new station due to open in osaka city next spring. it will consider outfitting other stations after a trial period. it may offer the system for use at expressway rest areas and

airports. the operator of the popular japanese online clothing web site zozotown is going to o operate a brick and mortar store next month so people will be able to try on clothing before ordering it online. zozo said its first physical store will stock 700 items offered on its web site. customers will need a reservation to make a visit. they will be served by stylists and provided with ai recommendations for clothing or shoes. the company's president says they hope to attract new clients who may be reluctant to buy clothes online. >> translator: colors, how a customer feels and their thoughts, these things are important when it comes to choosing clothes that make people look good. face-to-face service has an advantage in that area.

>> he hopes to use data collected from the store in the future for its online business. more than 14 million people have fled ukraine since russia's invasion began more than eight months ago, but many wheelchair users have been left behind due to the evacuation difficulties. and those who do manage to escape continue to face challenges as they begin their new lives. one japanese entrepreneur has come up with a solution. nhk world reports. >> translator: it is knack mur ra's second visit to poland. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: he's here to donate his invention to welfare organizations. it is a device that can be attached to wheelchairs. it functions like a crow bar and

allows wheelchairs to be pulled with this. it's particularly useful on bumpy roads and stairs. he came up with the idea in the after math of the 2011 japan earthquake and tsunami. many wheelchair users died in the disaster as they were unable to escape quickly. >> translator: some people lose their lives because they're unable to navigate a single step. i believe we should act without hesitation in distributing this device, if it can help save lives. >> reporter: in poland, nakamura met ukrainian evacuees who had cerebral palsy and required a wheelchair. olena says the escape in march was only possible with the help of support groups. >> translator: many children with disabilities and their mothers are unable to leave the

country. >> translator: to evacuate is not a decision a physically able person can make. some people do not have that choice and simply have to give up. if someone can't leave, unfortunately, people around them often have to stay too. i believe that this can help in these situations. >> reporter: the benefits go beyond saving lives. as nakamura discovered when he went for a walk with olena and sasha. he saw how much it helped in daily life in poland since evacuating. >> translator: he really likes the device because he's now able to fulfill his dream of visiting various places and seeing new things. >> translator: sasha is smiling more because with the help of this device, he can move more

freely. i plan to continue to promoting jiniki so that more people can be happy like him. >> reporter: with the help of support groups, nakamura has sent dozens of devices to ukraine where hospitals are now using them, and as he seeks financial support, there may be many other wheelchair users that he can help in the future. nhk world. let's have a look at the markets.

♪ and from the "newsline biz" team in tokyo, i'm gene otani. thanks for being with us.

to disembark. ♪ >> the headlines on al jazeera. millions of americans are voting for who will represent them in congress. the polls have closed in several states. all 435 seats in the house of representatives are up for grabs and 35 of the 100 seats are being contested. the elections will also determine the future of president biden's agenda. kimberly has more on that from the white house. >> what we have been told is that the president has spent the last few hours making calls into some radio stationsar